InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bittersweet ❯ One Ending is the Beginning of Another Story ( Chapter 1 )

Bittersweet

An Original Fanfic including Made-up Characters.

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING WITH RUMIKO TAKASHI'S NAME ON IT!

Chapter One

~~~~~~

A tall, pristine white man walked into his dark room, his long, silver-white hair dancing around him as he walked. His amber eyes pierced the darkness of the vast chamber and found a pair of angry, molten gold eyes staring back at him.

“Inuyasha, why do you intrude upon my house at this hour?” asked the man, his cool voice sharp enough to slice through the velvety dark of the night.

“Sectors 9 and 5 fell at midnight while you were feeding. Two of our best snipers were killed before the enemy was even in range of-”

“Inuyasha… Do you not think that I am aware of this crisis? I knew of this hours ago. I just returned from assessing the damage,” said Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha shook his head in frustration and let loose a low growl.

“Shippo was injured, Sesshoumaru, you heartless bastard! How can you stand there and talk about this like-” the one called Sesshoumaru had had enough; Inuyasha gasped and sputtered as Sesshoumaru's claws tightened around his throat.

“Shippo became my son when he mated Rin. This is the last time you doubt me on this matter,” he hissed, venom dripping from his words. He dropped Inuyasha abruptly and turned just as the clouds hiding the moon outside parted, letting pristine white light illuminate the room. Inuyasha rose and dusted himself off, grumbling about stupid emo taiyoukai. He silenced as Sesshoumaru spoke.

“Investigate it… Shippo is in his chambers with a healer if you wish to see him,” he said softly, and with that, dismissed his half-brother. He turned to his window and peered up at the moon, clouds once again moving to consume its light. `Who?' he thought to himself as his eyes closed, `Who would be able to wield that kind of power without being detected?'

~~~~~~~

“Mate!” Suki sat bolt upright in her bed as the image of those piercing golden eyes faded from her mind. She looked at her clock and groaned, once realizing that it was only a dream. It was 5:30 AM, and she was about to miss her ride. She got out of bed, her mind still trapped in the room with the moonlit face while her body moved around the room, gathering the few things left there, including the little atomic clock. She finally dressed in her favorite pair of blue jeans and a navy tank top. She tied her long black hair up in a ponytail and went downstairs, closing and locking the door behind her. Just as she stepped out onto her porch, a red 87 Corvette pulled up in front of the house, brearing three grinning girls.

“Suki-chan,” called the girl in the front passenger seat, “You owe me five dollars! I knew you were going to be late.” The pretty black-haired girl giggled and held out her palm as if to request money.

“Waaahh… Meko-`neechan, you're so mean!” said Suki, coming over to the car and putting her things in the trunk before hopping in the back seat and handing a $5 to her friend.

“Hahahaha. It's your own fault for gambling in the first place,” said the driver, a red-haired, sweet looking girl.

“Idiots, lets go, already! We can't wait forever ya' know. We've been waiting for this trip for too goddamn long!” said the girl to Suki's right impatiently.

“Hai, hai~” Suki cheered as Momi put her foot on the accelerator. “Off to Japan!”

They sat and chattered for a while, stopping about an hour later for McDonald's breakfast munchies. They sat in silence a while after and just thought. It had been eight years that they had been planning this. Finally they all had the money...and the luck. Suki was a writer, and her book had just been published. She did not think that it would sell very well because for the first year it was out, she only sold 50 copies.
The next year, however, she had 100 copies printed and they were sold out in less than a month, then the demand grew and her publisher decided to sell publishing rights to a larger corporation. And now, in 2014, she had already sold almost 20,000,000 copies worldwide. She was an acclaimed author under the alias `Freefalling_DrAgOnFlY', and had never even appeared in public for her book. She had been living alone since she graduated from high school. She and her friends stayed in the general area, despite the fact that they went to different colleges. Now, she was moving to Tokyo to attend the university there, after which she would be able to attend Yale for further schooling if she so desired. Her friend, Himeko, was the president and founder of a new company whose sole purpose was the funding and ownership of public activities and services, promos, construction, and anything else that required a large amount of money.

Himeko was a mastermind when it came to things that had anything to do with money, and now her company funded projects and organizations all over the world. Her main base, for now anyway, was in Malaysia, where she had first started the company while living there and going to school there as a representative for Yale during college. At 22, she was considered a genius in her field. She and her friends had different parts of her company, and she was considered the best. Half of her success depended on support from her underlings and friends, which was given easily because everyone loved her smile and mild manner. She was on this trip because of them, but also because she was building a new base in Tokyo. Beside Suki, Aki yawned and smiled at her. Aki... Aki was a different case all together.

Aki Minamura had been Momi's friend from the beginning, and she was a hacker, as was Suki, and worked to develop new technologies under Himeko. As for Momi, she was Himeko's partner in crime in that she went to meetings with her. She wasn't a licensed lawyer but her quick tongue and innocent appearance made getting clients and partners to agree easy. She was, on most days, an actress and singer. At 16 she had been scouted for a Broadway musical and since then she performed in many more places, all around the world. Now she was going to be a movie actress and model in Japan. Because of her beautiful voice and trilingual talents, she was hired immediately.

These friends had been together since middle school, they had wanted this trip, to live together as best friends, for the longest time, and they finally had what they wanted. They had their own paradise awaiting them, away from everything they had ever known, and away from the harsh reality of their childhoods, to which none of them wished to return to. Suki sighed and gave Himeko a hug from around her seat and received a pat on the head. Aki laughed and they turned up the music, speeding down the highway towards their destiny.

~~~~~~~

“Inuyasha,” hissed Sesshoumaru, his deadly voice sending a chill throughout the grounds of his estate. The crash and splintering of wood was heard as Sesshoumaru broke down the door to Inuyasha's bedroom. He found his half brother fast asleep, curled atop his dresser. Growling in irritation, Sesshoumaru grabbed the blanket Inuyasha held to and pulled abruptly, bringing Inuyasha to the ground in a loud thump. “Why, pray tell, was I not informed of tomorrow's meeting with the delegates of Inoue Finances?” said Sesshoumaru coldly while Inuyasha righted himself, a string of profanities spewing from his mouth.

“Damn you, Sesshoumaru, I was having a good dream!” said Inuyasha, sleep still lacing his words.

“Baka, there is a woman by the name of Inoue Himeko on her way to Japan at this moment. She and her partners will be funding some of the research we need to do on the ones who injured Shippo, as well as our black market operations. This little fact must have slipped your mind…” said Sesshoumaru icily.

“Oh… That...” Inuyasha muttered, “Well you can't expect me to concentrate on shit like that when there's ramen in the house…” Sesshoumaru's fist made contact with Inuyasha's head before he stalked out of the room.

Sesshoumaru growled as he returned to his office, annoyed with his half-brother and pissed at the boy's stupidity. Sighing, he sat down at his desk and looked at the e-mail he left open. Sent via satellite receptor, it illustrated all of today's growing frustrations for Sesshoumaru.

Inoue Himeko, the 22-year-old business genius, was on a first class flight to Tokyo with her associates, all of which had yet to be named. Sesshoumaru knew not what he should expect from this woman, but hoped that she would be less of a disappointment than his previous financers and partners. Sesshoumaru sighed for what seemed to be the 100th time in the past 24 hours and turned to look into a small window hanging from the wall.

`Vampire,' he thought as he extended his fangs and his eyes bled red, `That is what our kind is known as now that we have been nearly wiped out.' He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, relaxing his Jaki and letting his true form show through his human mask. A royal blue crescent appeared on his forehead and his long white hair lengthened even further, reaching to his calves. `I want relief from this false life.'

~~~~~~~

After a 25hour flight in the first class section of the huge jumbo-jet, Suki, Aki, Meko, and Momi were all itching to get off of the plane. They had passed over the entire of the United States, and now they were preparing for landing. Suki had her arms wrapped around a leather portfolio, in which all her art work, planning, and the final product of her efforts were stored. She had written about this city, this country, and so many other things, a sense of home, ever since she was in middle school. Momi was close to crying, as she knew everything about their pasts were over, and Aki and Himeko were practically standing in their seats—Aki because she was excited, and Meko because she was close to throwing up. Finally the plane touched down and the four friends passed smiles and laughter as they joined the small queue of people on their way off of the plane while trying to get luggage off of the wracks. Suki reached up and tried to get her suitcase out of the storage bin, going so far as to stand on her tiptoes to get it. But somehow, during flight, it had slid behind someone else's bag and was now against the far wall of the container. Himeko reached up to help, but someone else's hand beat her to the little blue suitcase.

“Hello, there,” said a smooth, masculine voice in Himeko's ear. She took a step back as the owner of the wonderful voice heaved down Suki's luggage and gave it to her. “Are you not used to chivalry? To be honest, I didn't mind watching the little girl doing that cute little dance in her efforts to retrieve that troublesome thing, but it would have been a shame if it had been jerked out. Your pretty face would have been scarred…” Himeko blushed at his words and smiled shyly. Suki got pissed.

“I AM NOT mphmmmhhhh (that little)!” she tried to say, standing on tiptoe to achieve her ultimate height before Momi put her hand over her mouth. She glanced at the man and Himeko and Suki giggled. Aki was smirking, still in her seat, the only one smart enough, besides Momi, to wait to get her stuff.

“So, um, who am I supposed to be thanking for his most gracious act?” asked Himeko, blushing still. The man before her bowed and took her hand, placing a soft kiss there, not lifting his lips from her skin for a moment, his sparkling sapphire eyes conveying compliments to the owner of the delicate hand of a pianist.

“My name is Takahashi Koga, and you, Dear Girl, must be an angel,” he said softly. He took his briefcase out of his seat and bowed slightly, indicating that Himeko could go first. He held her hand while she descended the stairs to the first class exit, and went so far as to pull her suitcase while she walked beside him and the others walked ahead. “How long will you be staying in Japan, milady?” he asked. Himeko looked up at him, confused as to why he was being so nice, and why she actually believed that it was sincere. She scrutinized him as he waited patiently for her answer, here eyes taking in his relaxed but business-like appearance, resting especially on the two piercings in his left ear, one of these earrings in the shape of a small silver fang. He wore a gray-blue Gucci suit with well-polished Italian loafers, as well as a light purple silk shirt beneath his jacket. His brown hair, long for a guy, was tied up in a high, neat ponytail, a couple flyaway strands of hair loose around his face, finishing off his loose but controlled look.

“I'm going to be here permanently, aside from the occasional business trip,” she said softly, realizing that she had been staring. He smiled down at her kindly then frowned.

“Business trip? Miss, you're much to young for that sort of thing, aren't you?” he said, confused.

“Well, to most people, I suppose, but they aren't my associates or me. Perhaps you've heard of us? The new facility in Akasaka?” Koga's eyes widened and he almost dropped Himeko's suitcase.

“YOU'RE Inoue Himeko?!” he exclaimed, not believing his ears. He stared down at her, his eyes wide. Suki and Aki turned, hearing the rather loud realization. Himeko's face bore a huge grin. Suki smiled and came to her friend's aid in “proving” that they were the founders of the now multi-million-dollar company.

“Yep, yep! Watashi wa Nakashima Suki desu!” said Suki cheerily. “I'm in charge of security and technologies along with Aki-kun,” she said, gesturing to Aki, “And Momi is our lawyer~” Koga looked down at this short, black-haired girl and sighed.

“I can't believe you four are the ones that Taisho International will be meeting with later today,” he said, “And that as soon as you sign off a contract with him, you, pretty one, will our rival,” he said, his large hand stroking Himeko's cheek. She turned bright red and Suki glared, tempted to yank the tall businessman's ponytail. Himeko and Momi saw the look in her eyes and Momi pulled her hand gently, pointing towards a Dip 'n' Dots ice cream machine. Suki went with Aki and Momi for ice cream, leaving their friend with Koga. Koga made a small noise that sounded almost like a puppy's whine, then grasped Himeko's hand.

“Don't worry. We can have our friendship be a little secret! Its not like Muttface and Mr. High-and-mighty Taisho can do anything about it,” he said cheerily. Himeko smiled as Koga's eyes sparkled and his lips curled into a boyish grin. “So! Why don't I call you guys a taxi… Or do you have a car onboard?” he asked, glancing at the huge jumbo-jet outside, still unloading, cars rolling out of the bay. Suki came over with rainbow ice cream and handed it to Himeko.

“We have a car waiting,” she said, smiling. “Give Meko-neechan your number already so we can be on our way,” she pouted, annoyed that she and her friends had not yet been able to enjoy the fact that they were finally in Japan and also with the fact that this guy was so flirty. Koga nodded and input his cell number into Himeko's phone and walked off, blowing her a kiss. She slowly turned back toward her friends, here eyes clouded, her face appearing dazed.

“Am I dreaming..?” she asked the air while her friends grinned. Suki reached up and pinched her cheek, earning a smack on the back of the head. She smiled up at her adopted big sister, rubbing the now rather sore spot on the back of her head.

“Nope... you're definitely awake,”

“Oh my God, he was sooo HOTTTTTTT!!!” cried Himeko and Momi together. The two did a happy jump and then pulled Aki and Suki into the jumping circle to rejoice in the hot guys and awesome country.

“Ok ya'll I wanna see the city so lets get our asses out of here!” said Aki happily.

“Yeah!” said Suki, rushing out of the area that held the airport gates. Everyone linked arms and went out into the luggage claim area, meeting a gray-haired old man holding a sign up with the name of their company on it.

Suki sat in the back of the limo with her friends, a laser-touch keyboard sitting before her on a little electronic stand that slid out of the door of the car. Before her friends and her was a monitor that took up all of the partition separating the driver's side of the limo from the passenger's side. She was typing rapidly, the keytouches unheard but evident as new windows were pulled up on the screen, displaying their company statistics, their website, and then on Google Earth, the new building, almost completed besides the lack of a parking area.

“Wonderful,” said Himeko, smiling at the image of their new offices. The glass and white cement building was a total of 23 floors. The top four belonged to them, the top floor being Himeko's Office.

“Meko-`neechan, it's huge… I got lost in high school; imagine me trying to find my way around here!” pouted Suki.

“Don't worry, Imoutosan,” said Momi, “I'll help you find your way.” Suddenly a flash of silver passed behind her window.

“WOW it's shiny!” Suki cried, giggling. The driver head and sped up slightly so we could see better. “Oh wow! Pretty hair…”

“Oh My God HOTTTTT,” thought Momi.

“Is that a girl?”

-SMACK- Momi's palm came across the back of Suki's head in more than a playful chastisement.

“Owwwww…” Suki whimpered, rubbing her already-sore head.

“Ahh…Gomen, Imoutosan!” said Momi, wrapping her arms around the pouty shorty. She turned to look back out the window at the speeding red motorcycle weaving in and out of the spaces between the moving cars, a red helmet perched atop waving cascades of beautiful silver hair. Suki's eyes watched the ass perched atop the leather cycle seat.

“Cute ass on the he-she.” She promptly received a smack to the back of the head.

~~~~~~

“FUCKING DAMNIT ALL TO HELL!!!!!!” screamed Koga as he stalked into his office, throwing down his briefcase in frustration. “HOW THE FUCK DOES THE ONLY CUTE GIRL I MEET HAVE TO BE SIGNING A FUCKING CONTRACT WITH MUTTFACE AND HIS FUCKING ASSHOLE ICEPRINCE?!”

“Calm down, Koga. You are overreacting,” said Li from the corner. “Who is this woman you speak of?” she asked, as calm and collected as ever.

“Inoue… Never mind. It's not like it matters…”

“Koga…” she trailed off recognizing the name immediately.

“FUCKING HALF DEMON BRAT AND HIS OLDER BROTHER FUCK UP EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED”

“And what is the matter with half demons?” asked Li icily, her body suddenly rigid, as if preparing to attack the man before him.

“Ah… Gomen, Li-sama,” he said softly, bowing. Li laughed and smacked him on the back a couple of times, evil still lingering in her sparkling eyes.

“That's ok, Koga,” Li laughed.

“Anyway, what's the deal with Shiinha-sama getting all… well… weird?” asked the less-angry Koga.

“I suppose it is because of those girls,” Li mused. “Don't you think it's odd that such young women can achieve such success?”

“Not really,” Koga answered conversationally, not liking the current subject.

“Koga, you just met this girl. Please do not involve yourself further in her life; it will only bring you pain,” she said softly, standing and leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~

Aki looked up at the ceiling, lying on the floor of her new, and very large, room. The house smelled of cherry blossoms and tatami. The whole house was immaculate, free of dust, and even had its own shrine in the back yard, which, by the way, was HUGE. A dojo stood beside the main house. This is where Momi was at the moment.

“Wow… this will be perfect when I'm practicing.

“YAAAAYYY,” cried Suki, running around the room, “I FINALLY GET TO FENCE WITHOUT ANYONE BUGGING MEEE!!!” Himeko laughed and grabbed her by the collar as she ran by. “Ow.”

“Stop that, Suki-chan… Save some energy for the library,” said Himeko, turning Suki around to face the shoji door. “Second door in the east corridor, to the right,” she said happily, turning Suki loose again. The hyper girl ran up into the house and into the library, following Himeko's instructions. She found Aki there, sitting on her butt, looking up at the volumes and volumes of books, scrolls, and pamphlets.

“Wow,” whispered Suki, awed by the sheer size of the room. Aki nodded and pulled her over to a chair with piles and piles of fiction, romance, science fiction, and other novels littering the floors, piled against the walls, up on shelves.

“Wow…”

“You can stop saying that, now,” said Aki softly. “Anyway, we need to get ready for the meeting with Taisho Inc.”

“Hai…” Still dazed by the sight of the books, Aki and Suki went to their rooms, their stuff already unpacked and in drawers and the closet. She hastily washed her face and brushed her long hair, putting on a pair of black dress pants and a matching jacket, wearing a white midriff beneath it.

“Suki-chan! Aki-kun! Get your butts out here; we wanna take the `Stang!” called Himeko from the main hall.

“Haaaiii!!!” called Aki and Suki together, finishing up their preparations, Suki grabbing her laptop, Aki taking hers.

A few minutes later, everyone stood in the garage of the huge estate, looking over at four covered cars. Suki's Mustang GT 2000 series was backed up, ready to be driven out the garage door. She hopped in and let her friends take their seats, composing themselves. She put her hair in a quick, loose braid and let the black canvas top down. She adjusted the mirrors and raised her seat a little, smiling wickedly in the rear-view mirror. Now, at past lunch time, the city's streets would be in a near-deserted state, and she could go as fast as she wanted. Her friends, wary of her driving “skills,” fastened their seat belts and held tightly to their belongings. The garage opened slowly and Suki backed out gently. The gates to the grounds opened with a screech of rusted iron and soon they were speeding up the highway towards the Taisho main building. Suki sped up, reaching a speed of 80 km an hour before squealing to a halt outside the Taisho building, all four of them holding up passes with their pictures and names on them. The guard stood, staring at us as we laughed, parking in the VIP section before marching in a line towards the elevator, Himeko sliding the barcode across her pass beneath the scanner that operated the elevator. Smiling at each other and slightly nervous, they boarded the lift and waited to reach the 11th floor, where they would become acquainted with the ice prince, Taisho Sesshoumaru.

~~~~~~~