InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Corporate Deception: Fate of Her Land ❯ Sparks Will Fly ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Corporate Deception: Fate of Her Land
Chapter 2: Sparks Will Fly
By: TruSuprise

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all affiliated characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko. The views expressed herein are solely those of TruSuprise.





“Thank the gods for the shinkansen.” A young, boyish voice said to his two traveling companions as he braced his weight against the pole to keep from bumping into anyone one in the morning rush. Dressed in a freshly pressed black suit with a purple shirt and tie underneath, he extended his hand downwards to the lovely young woman sitting next to him.

“Time to wake up, Sango my dear.”

At just over two hours, the commute on the bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo really wasn’t all that bad, but having to wake up so early just to make that train to meet with their prospective client, Taijiya Sango grumbled. If they were to win this client, they’d better think about renting some property in the Eastern Territory.

“Shove it, Miroku.” Obviously, she wasn’t quite the morning person. She smacked away the hand of Houshi Miroku, preferring to stand of her own accord as she straightened out any wrinkles in her light gray suit. She ran her fingers through her thick, dark brown, layered bangs and down her long ponytail as she followed behind their boss.

Inuyasha stepped off the shinkansen, the chilly spring air slamming into his face as the two young professionals trailed behind him. Mentally, he began a countdown. Getting out of a tight, crowded spot with people pressed closely together meant one thing was certain for his dear old friend, Miroku.

‘Five…’

Inuyasha caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye as Miroku’s arms pin wheeled as the man was supposedly caught off balance, his thin little ponytail wagging to and fro from the commotion.

‘Four…’

The hands connected to those arms landed on Sango’s rear end.

‘Three…’

“Houshiiiii-samaaaaaa.” Sango fisted her hand and visibly shook with rage.

‘Two…’

Miroku put his hands up in front of his chest, protecting his vitals as a soft smile covered his face. “Sango-sama, please excuse me, I must have tripped in the crowd of peo-”

‘One.’

Sango swung her torso, landing a slap on Miroku’s face that echoed, even above the swarm of people bustling about them.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and began to walk away from the two would-be lovers, if only the pervert would learn to control himself. Over his shoulder he called for them. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, can we finally get going to the Higurashi Shrine? Really.”

Sango blushed and hurried after her boss, followed suit by Miroku seconds later after stealing a good look at her rear end as it swayed from side to side with its owner’s quick pace.

* * *

Kagome chased her brother out the front door with a broom, her traditional miko garb billowing about in the breeze created by her movements. She hadn’t told her brother about Naraku’s offer the day before, or of her declining such an enormous sum of money, still unsure of where she stood on the idea.

“It’s time for you to get to school and for me to get to work, now get out of here, you!”

“But Buyo, I can’t find him!”

Kagome sighed and swatted her brother in the thigh with her broom. “That cat is around here somewhere, you know he won’t be gone from his food bowl for long, now get lost.”

Finally giving up, Souta slung his backpack over his shoulder, turned and ran across the shrine grounds and began the descent down the steps.

Spotting Buyo in the woods next to the steps, he took off after the spotted cat. Despite his pancake-like body, he was still pretty agile. The small annoyance juked and dodged, always staying just barely out of the young man’s grasp as they zigg zagged down the steps.

Suddenly, Souta spotted a trio of bemused people ascending the stairway. “Hey, can one of you grab that cat? Please?”

The man in front with silver hair seemed to be rather grumpy, as he replied with something that sounded like, “Keh.” Whatever that meant.

Thinking he wouldn’t bother, Souta was surprised when the man quickly darted to the side with amazing speed and scooped the fat feline up off the ground, holding him up by the undersides of his two front legs. Buyo was twice as surprised at being caught, and he hung in the man’s hold perfectly still as though he were prey caught in it’s predator’s claws.

“Oi, kid, you looking for this thing?”

Souta caught up with the three people, slightly out of breath. ‘Speaking of claws, that guy has claws and are those …dog ears?’ He asked himself before realizing he must be a rare hanyou. He had a couple of youkai friends, but had never met a hanyou before.

“Hey, thanks! That’s our cat, Buyo. I was trying to bring him back to the house.”

“You look like you’re in a hurry kid, I’ll bring this smelly cat back up.”

Miroku and Sango rolled their eyes at Inuyasha’s blunt manner of speaking. With his assertive manner, he was great at working proposals, but sometimes, he spoke a bit too truthfully. In fact, the man had seemed to get more and more cynical and bitter as time passed. Pair him up with someone else who had a temper, or didn’t appreciate being pushed around, and you were asking for sparks to fly.

‘Inuyasha definitely needs to get some.’ Miroku observed, nodding his head. He realized Sango was giving him the eye of death and chills ran up Miroku’s spine. ‘How does she always know when I’m thinking these things?’ He asked himself.

Climbing the stone steps to the top of the Higurashi Shrine took forever and then some. But once Inuyasha finally reached the top, the smelly cat still in his grasp, dangling an arm’s length from his body, he froze.

A young woman, dressed in miko clothing swept the granite pathways of the shrine grounds. Her long, wavy black hair tied back into a ponytail, she concentrated diligently on her task at hand.

Breaths of dust kicked up into the air from the traditional style straw broom and danced about the wide hems of her hakama. As the sun ascended over the top of the blue slate shrine roof, she looked up, pausing in her work to push a long bang out of her face. She made a mental note to herself to trim them later before returning to sweeping.

Inuyasha was suddenly gripped with a peculiar sensation of déjà vu, his mouth hanging slightly slack as for a moment, he saw Kikyou in front of him instead of her predecessor. His associates stood behind him, looking at him quizzically, wondering what had stopped someone like Inuyasha dead in his tracks.

“Kikyou.” He said quietly.

Kagome turned around and took note of the three people at the top of the steps. The mention of her cousin who had suddenly left the faith and her family for an unknown reason three years ago had caught her off guard.

“Kikyou no longer tends this shrine. She abandoned it years ago. I am Higurashi Kagome.”

“Kikyou…”

Kagome took a good look at the man in front of her. Between his half human, half youkai aura and the dog ears atop his head, he was obviously hanyou. She also reluctantly admitted that he was one of the most handsome looking men she’d ever laid eyes on.

His silver-white hair, angular face and firm build were all attractive, but there was something else, some kind of magnetism that just drew her to him as soon as she had laid eyes on him. Not to mention those adorable white, furry ears that were so cute. The black suit with the deep red silk shirt and the full-length pea coat was a handsome ensemble that suited him well. Such expensive taste usually wasn’t her style, but for this guy, she’d just have to make an exception.

But this was not the time to get all googly eyed over some guy who couldn’t even remember her name for more than a second.

“ Ka-Go-Me.” She annunciated. “And what are you doing holding my cat like that? He’s choking.”

Inuyasha looked down at the cat in his claws and jumped. The poor thing was wheezing and starting to struggle. He released his hold and the chubby thing fell to the ground somehow landing on all fours before running away.

“Oh! Um…Excuse me, I offered to bring your… Buyo I think he was called, to some kid on his way down the steps as we were on our way up.” He was straining himself to be as polite as he could, as his job required it of him.

“Some kid, huh? Dark brown hair.”

“Yeah.”

“My brother, Souta. Maybe you can remember his name.”

“Keh, I said excuse me, didn’t I?”

Kagome shrugged. Buyo knew his way around. She regarded the man and woman behind the hanyou with a kind smile. “By the looks of it, you aren’t here to pray at the shrine. Were you sent by Naraku?” Quick and to the point, she was busy and had work that had to be done.

Kagome would have sworn she heard Inuyasha growl, a quiet yet deep rumbling noise that came from deep in his throat, at the mention of the real estate tycoon’s name.

“No, we aren’t with him, but I’m aware that he is also pursuing your shrine. His company and ours do not share the same goal.” Inuyasha answered.

“Goal?” Kagome asked.

“Let me explain.” Focusing on being persuasive, Inuyasha gathered himself. “My name is Taisho Inuyasha. My associates and I are with Inu Properties and Preservation. We have learned that Naraku Onigumo was pursuing this land, and we wanted to prevent it from being sold.”

He bowed to her from the waist and proffered her a business card made of heavy weight paper inscribed in silver text. Kagome leaned forward and placed her fingers on the opposite corners, taking it gently from his hands.

“We’re co-sponsors for many historical sites in the nation, our company prides itself on leaving the land we sponsor in the hands of its original families. Our goal is to assist you in providing traditional services to increase visitors to your shrine. In return, we build museum sites on your religious grounds to further preserve Japan’s history for which your shrine is eligible.”

“Eligible?” Kagome asked. “Pardon me if I seem rude, but you’re the second such person to offer services to my shrine in as many days. Are you sure you’re not after my land?”

Inuyasha knitted his eyebrows. This woman was tough, and wouldn’t be fooled. “No, as I said, the land stays in your possession. We merely use a small portion of your grounds in which to convert an existing building or build a new structure for museum purposes, with which we keep the proceeds.”

Kagome eyed the man warily. Inuyasha motioned to his colleagues. “Please meet Houshi Miroku-kun and Taijiya Sango-san.”

Each bowed as their name was spoken, and Kagome tripped over the literal terminology of their family names.

“The ancestors of the Miroku family have been Buddhist monks since Buddhism came to Japan and Sango’s have been youkai exterminators since about as long. Both families have been closely aligned with the Inu-Youkai shortly after youkai integration. It’s our combined knowledge that produces such excellent results in the turnout of the shrines we assist.”

Inuyasha paused to let his information sink in before continuing.

“I would like to make a proposal.”

Kagome smirked, this one was too good to pass up. “Really? Don’t you think it’s too early for that? I mean, we just met!”

Inuyasha blushed and Miroku couldn’t help but chuckle. A glare cast by Inuyasha caused him to go into a coughing fit as he tried to disguise his amusement. Sango almost dropped her briefcase, she had never seen Inuyasha blush in all the years she had known him.

‘He isn’t so aggressive when the tables are turned, is he?’ Kagome asked herself. Well, anyway, she couldn’t just leave him there stuttering and blushing like that. It really wasn’t right to see a grown man with dog ears act like that.

She smiled kindly at Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku. “Why don’t we go inside the shrine office to discuss your offer, Inuyasha-kun? Please, follow me.”

The hanyou regarded the spunky woman with narrowly slitted eyes as he followed behind her. He realized that this woman would be quite the challenge. ‘The bitch has a tongue on her, that’s for sure. And what was I thinking? She’s nothing like Kikyou. Her hair is wavy, her cheeks are colorful and full of life, her eyes are so expressive, her lips are so full, and…woah! What the fuck am I thinking!?’

* * *

The three humans and the hanyou were seated at the table. Kagome was getting a kick out of watching Miroku squirm from leg to leg, sure that his limbs were falling asleep as a result of kneeling at the low table for thirty minutes. Sango was starting to loose her control over her legs too, but the hanyou seemed fine and if it was bothering him, she couldn’t tell.

A variety of papers were spread out before them as Inuyasha explained his plan to the shrine miko.

The proposal from Inu Properties and Preservation was seemingly perfect. A combination of being able to keep her shrine both in tact and in her family, while raising profits at the same time. Sure, their company would be keeping a cut, but that was to be expected. This was a business, after all.

However, still hesitant to sign any deals, Kagome was unsure of signing any papers. After all, the past couple of days had been odd ones, what with two companies that seemed to somehow know each other that were suddenly fighting for land that was never for sale to begin with. Add to the fact that both companies were hanyou and youkai run, Kagome sensed that something was amiss, and if they thought she was overlooking so simple a fact, they were wrong.

Inuyasha recapped his deal, tracing a long, clawed finger over lines on a sheet of paper. “So, step one is for Miroku and Sango here to offer their services to the shrine. Miroku is proficient in ancient history, and even though his family is Buddhist, he also has extensive knowledge of Shinto traditions. He can hold discussions for tour groups on either subject.”

Miroku nodded “I can also offer extra tours for the pretty young-”

“What he means to say, Kagome-san, is he is a pretty hard worker to offer extra tours in your place.” Sango glowered at the priest and Kagome chuckled, starting to pick up a little of their personalities the longer they talked.

Inuyasha ignored them, immune to Miroku’s perverted ramblings. “Sango’s strength is in martial arts and ancient weapon demonstration. That alone brings in a lot of people and additional revenue.”

“Wow, Sango, ancient weapons? That’s an amazing skill.” Kagome complimented.

Sango blushed slightly.

“Team her up with the houshi in battle, and you’ll see one of the most unique, heated fights you’ve ever seen.” Inuyasha mentioned offhandedly as he, Miroku, and Sango shared a knowing nod.

Kagome basked in the group dynamics. Miroku was obviously a caring, yet perverted friend, who definitely had something for the young taiji-ya. Sango was demure, yet obviously a skilled warrior, and the sexual tension between her Miroku could almost be seen by the naked eye if you knew how to look for it.

Inuyasha…Kagome was still trying to figure him out. He seemed gruff, cynical, and bitter, but every once in a while, he flashed a knowing lop sided grin at one of his two companions sitting at the opposite ends of the table, and Kagome would feel the loyalty and fierceness of a true friend.

She suddenly realized that it had been a long time since she had been so close to anyone, being so burdened by responsibility, and she realized she desired to get to know the people in front of her better. She would accept their proposal, albeit it perhaps not the way they had expected, she concluded as Inuyasha continued.

“We begin an advertising campaign, at first local, and then to the surrounding areas, and that will bring in waves of people. After that, we begin to plan the building of the museum, deciding if we want to build a new structure or convert an old one.”

Inuyasha paused, looking determinedly at Kagome, staring into the depths of her eyes. “What do you say to our proposal?”

“No.”

Inuyasha deadpanned, his jaw hanging slightly ajar. “How can you turn down such a sure thing?!”

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. “You have a very good plan laid out, Inuyasha-kun, but you have to understand that I am just the slightest bit wary of all the interest in my shrine. Before I accept to your proposal, or anyone else’s for that matter, I have a lot of thinking to do, and maybe some trying out.”

“Tying out? What the hell does that mean?” The words sounded weird on Inuyasha’s tongue.

Kagome shrugged. “Why not? Think of it as a trial period. Let me see what your company can do for me.”

Inuyasha grumbled. It wasn’t that such a thing had never been done before, but Kagome didn’t understand the urgency behind the fate of her land, and he was painfully aware he couldn’t tell her that, as he was bound by the rules declared by the Youkai Council. “Keh. You want me to give you Miroku and Sango for free?”

“No.”

“What?!” Inuyasha was starting to get annoyed and had to really reign himself in to not call her any of the names that were hanging dangerously on the tip of his tongue.

“I want all of you. Miroku, Sango, and you too, Inuyasha. I’m sure you can provide some kind of service too.”

“Oh yeah, like what?”

“Well, the well house needs painting. I was going to work on it tomorrow.”

“Painting?!” Inuyasha barked. “If you think I’m going to spend my Saturday painting a well house, you’ve got-”

Miroku made a motion to shift his sleeping legs, and made a show of leaning forward too far. He spilled his hot tea across Inuyasha’s lap, obviously on purpose. The hanyou jumped up, one eye squeezed shut as he grabbed his pea coat from the floor behind him and pressed it into his crotch.

“What Inuyasha meant to say is that he’d be happy to help you paint the well house tomorrow.” Miroku smiled boyishly at Kagome.

“Oh really? I’m so happy to hear that, Inuyasha-kun!” Kagome exclaimed, taking advantage of the situation. “I expect to see you tomorrow morning at nine am.”

Fire raged in Inuyasha’s eyes and both Sango and Miroku each jumped up to stand on either one of Inuyasha’s feet.

“I’m sure you’ll find our services are worthy of your shrine, Kagome-sama.” Miroku said, bowing briefly to her. “We all look forward to working with you.”

“Wonderful, you two can help us paint the well house also.”

Miroku’s jaw hung open loosely. “But tomorrow is Saturd-”

Sango tried to hide her amusement. Kagome was strong, aggressive, and knew how to get what she wanted. She liked her already. “What he means to say is he’d be more than happy to help you out on Saturday.”

Kagome bowed respectfully to the three professionals. “It was nice meeting you. Now, if you don’t mind, I have duties to attend to.”

Sango ground her heel harder into Inuyasha’s foot. Forcing himself to swallow his pride, the hanyou bowed to her. The discussion completed, Inuyasha turned haughtily and led Miroku and Sango out of the office.

Inuyasha was power walking back to the shrine steps. In fact, Miroku could have sworn he’d seen steam coming out of Inuyasha’s furry ears as he paused to pry his feet into his shoes on the porch of the shrine office. Sango slid her heels on, steadying herself with a hand pressed against Miroku’s back. Leaning over, she picked up Inuyasha’s shiny black shoes before the taiji-ya and the houshi jogged to catch up with the hanyou at the top of the steps.

Sufficiently out of the miko’s hearing range, Inuyasha growled. “I fucking hate that woman!”

Sango held his shoes out to him. “You forgot these.”

Inuyasha looked down at his decidedly dirty, socked feet. “Son of a bitch.” He grumbled as he snatched the shoes from Sango’s hands and tossed them on the ground He wiggled into them before storming his way down the steps, ignoring the bits of gravel eating into his feet as the laces flapping noisily against the leather shoes.

“Come on, Inuyasha, is she really that bad?” Sango asked.

“Keh!” The hanyou called over his shoulder. “She’s obnoxious, she’s pushy, and she basically bossed us around!”

“And that in no way, shape, or form reminds you of anybody?” Miroku asked, a suggestive tone coating his voice like syrup.

Inuyasha threw his hands into the air. “I’ve had enough of you guys! Can we please stop talking about that woman and just go the hell back to the office?”

Miroku smiled knowingly at the irate hanyou. Kagome was good for Inuyasha. Despite all the carrying on and complaining, he could tell Inuyasha was going to fall hard for her, and he couldn’t wait to be there as it happened.

* * *

The wolf prince sighed and scrolled through the information his computer screen was feeding him on the Higurashi Shrine. One hand lazily supporting his head, which lolled to the side, he whined. “Do I really have to read all of this?”

“Kouuuuga!” A young man by the name of Hakkaku with a most un-business-like mohawk type hairstyle wailed, clearly exasperated. Being the left hand man of Ookami Kouga was a tiresome job.

“I mean, can’t you guys just recap it for me?” Kouga asked.

Another young man, fitting in better with a closely shorn silver hairstyle and a small bushy puff of black bangs by the name of Ginta, sighed and spoke up. Being the right hand man of the Lord of the Northern Lands was even more difficult. “Five hundred years ago-”

“Never mind, never mind!” Kouga waved his hands in the air. “Too much damn information. Ookami Properties just isn’t as financially strong as either Naraku or those smelly dogs. The bottom line is that I’m sure we can’t compete against either of their proposals. I’m just going to go introduce myself to this person and simply persuade him to sell the land to me.”

Ginta sat forward in his seat and placed a stack of papers on Kouga’s desk. “At least read this material. It’ll help you understand a little-”

“Whoa, you never told me the owner was a she! Is this vixen her?” Kouga exclaimed, snatching the papers out of Ginta’s hands.

“Um, she’s the owner of the Higurashi Shrine, if that’s what you mean.”

“Time for plan B.” Kouga said conspiratorially.

“Plan B?” Hakkaku wearily asked.

“To mate this woman and inherit her land, of course. Just look at her!” He held the paper at an angle so his omega pack members could see the image of Kagome. “She would be a perfect mate!”

Kouga tilted his head and looked towards the mirrored ceiling of his office in thought. “Let’s see, three hours south from Sendai to Tokyo by shinkansen? That should get me there around three this afternoon.”

Ginta and Hakkaku deadpanned, each raising a hand as Kouga rose from his seat. Before they could protest, the Ookami-Youkai had vaulted over his desk in between his brethren and bolted out the room and down the hallway. No doubt, his unnatural speed had taken him to the ground floor of their office building by now.

Suddenly, Kouga’s desk phone rang. Checking the caller ID, Ginta hurriedly pressed the speaker phone option. “Yes, Kouga?”

“What’s her name, anyway?” Kouga asked casually.

Ginta and Hakkaku stared at each other incredulously. They could tell they were in for a long afternoon.

* * *

Kagome wiped the sweat from her brow as she approached the front door of her house. ‘What’s this?’ She asked herself as she fingered a delivery receipt taped to her front door. “Sorry we missed you, your delivery is waiting at 1037 Jinja Toori… Who the hell sent me something, anyway?”

Sighing, she abandoned hopes for a relaxing bath and a novel in the hour before her brother came home from school and the light number of visitors who sometimes visited her shrine would arrive. Running into the house, she went up the stairs to change out of her miko garb.

Jogging down the seemingly endless steps of the Higurashi Shrine, Kagome’s blue pleated skirt bounced with each step as she snuggled into her favorite light, wide necked white sweater. Noticing the first of the green tips poking out of the buds of a line of sakura trees, she mentally took note of their progress. The coming of the sakura blossoms meant the city would be alive with hanami parties, traditional viewing of the cherry blossoms. She could always count on extra revenue during this season, as a shrine was always a desired spot for families and lovers to lie out for hanami.

How perfect that she had her new found friends to help her fix up the shrine and provide assistance starting tomorrow, as there was less than a month to go before the cherry blossoms had reached their peak bloom!

Finally reaching the street, she jogged over to her neighbor’s house. The Houjo family had been good family friends for as long as she could remember. Houjo himself had been her on again off again boyfriend since their high school days had begun eight years ago. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the guy, she just didn’t like him the way he wanted her to.

She hoped he was off at classes and she could just let herself in with the spare key. Knocking on the door, her hopes were dashed as she heard Houjo’s loud footsteps amble towards the door.

“Higurashi!” He exclaimed, lowering his hand that held a human anatomy textbook. With boyish good looks, wide shoulders, and a trim build, not to mention his career path as a surgeon studying at the prestigious Tokyo University, Kagome was a fool not to fall for the man.

“Hey, Houjo-kun.” She said distractedly.

“You must be here for your delivery.” He said, noting the delivery slip in her hand.

“Yeah, what is it?” She asked.

Houjo’s brows furrowed. “You mean you weren’t expecting them?”

Kagome furrowed her brows in return. “What are you talking about?”

Houjo walked away from the door and down the hallway, signaling for Kagome to follow. Stepping into the kitchen, Kagome was greeted by the colorful sight or an enormous vase of spring flowers. Filled with tulips, irises, gladiolas, daisies, and daffodils in a myriad of vibrant colors, the arrangement was lively and fragrant. Not to mention ridiculously huge.

“So, who are they from?” Houjo asked. Kagome detected the slightest hint of jealousy in his voice.

She reached up and pulled the envelope from its perch, dwarfed by the massive arrangement and read the message aloud. “To Higurashi Kagome. I figured you might enjoy an arrangement other than the white chrysanthemums and lilies honoring your beloved grandfather. I hope these bring some color to your day. Regards, Naraku Onigumo, Kumo Properties and Investments.”

Houjo cleared his throat. “Naraku Onigumo? Isn’t he-”

“Yes.” Kagome relied.

“You’re not going to-” Houjo began.

Kagome preempted him. “No.”

Their long friendship had created an advanced form of communication between the two. Pacified that the flowers were not from a man pursuing his on again off again girlfriend, Houjo glanced at the clock. He suddenly jumped, realizing it was already half past three and he was certainly going to be late for his anatomy class. He dropped his thick book on the floor with a loud crash and ran upstairs. Kagome calmly picked his book off the floor and handed it to him as he came sprinting back down the steps, his backpack bouncing on his shoulder.

“I’ll lock up.” She told him, handing him his textbook.

“Thanks, Higurashi.” He said as he took it from her gently and slung it under his arm. He leaned towards her and shyly gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Kagome rolled her eyes. After all the years they had known each other, their relationship had advanced little past ‘second base’. Hell, they still called each other by their last names.

She had never understood it, really. She may not have been drop dead gorgeous, but she was still a good looking woman. But for some reason, Houjo had never pushed her past the typical heavy petting stage. Between Houjo making her feel undesirable and her responsibilities that kept her so busy, she had never had the chance to date anyone else.

As she watched him run off, his backpack bouncing around wildly, she envied his college life, longing for the same opportunity that was stolen from her. Tired of the lonely feeling and her self- pity that was so unlike her, Kagome forced herself to stop thinking about it. Walking back to the kitchen, she hefted the large vase and clumsily walked out of the house with it.

After locking up with the hidden spare key, she stood at the bottom of the shrine steps, absolutely dreading the ascent with the heavy arrangement. ‘I mean, it was really nice of him to send these, but come on, this is a little overkill!’ She complained to herself.

“Can I help you with that?” A masculine voice called from behind her.

“Excuse me?” The young woman craned her head around the spray of flowers.

A surprised expression overcame the man’s face, realizing he had found the woman he was seeking. She was even more beautiful in person than she was in photographs. Her girlish appearance did nothing to hide her womanly beauty. Her legs were long, her frame lean, yet curvy. Definitely a woman worth bearing his pups.

“I said, can I help you with that? That’s a lot of steps, and that’s a lot of flowers.” He repeated himself.

Kagome regarded the almost devilishly handsome wolf youkai in front of her, he looked rough, rugged, definitely the outdoor type, something Kagome found very attractive. She asked herself if this could this be just a random youkai whom she happened to run into? ‘As if. I’ll bet this one is after my land too. These guys are just coming out of the woodwork!’

“You asked for it.” Kagome said casually, cautiously handing the heavy vase to the confident man.

Kouga huffed to himself at the sheer weight of it. ‘Is this woman really human?’ He pondered, following behind her, watching her hips sway and her long legs that reached past the hem of her skirt.

“Must be some boyfriend you’ve got to get you flowers like these.” He said, trying to make small talk.

Feeling the man’s gaze on her rear end, Kagome replied. “Some guys will go to any lengths to get what they desire. Business acquaintance or otherwise. Besides, I’m not the type of girl to be won over by flowers.”

The wolf youkai huffed. “If you were my woman, I wouldn’t waste my time with such meaningless gifts as flowers, a common plant that can be pulled from the ground.”

Taken back by this man’s blunt approach, Kagome blushed as he caught up to keep pace with her.

“The name’s Ookami Kouga. Pleased to meet you.” He said, displaying a handsome grin with one elongated canine protruding from his upper lip.

Looking into the man’s azure depths, Kagome couldn’t help but respond, a slight blush across her cheeks. “Higurashi Kagome.” After getting a hold of herself again, Kagome decided on trying to make small talk. “So, you’re not from around here, are you?”

“Nope, I’m originally from up north, the Sendai area, but I was thinking about moving down this way.” Kouga replied.

“That far north? What’s Sendai like, anyway?” Kagome asked, interested.

Kouga paused to ponder his homeland. “Well, it’s nothing compared to this place, at only a fraction of the size, but it’s just as crowded for the amount of space people squeeze into, I suppose. The best part about the Northern Lands is the wild territory in Tohoku, north beyond the city. Wild pack animals still roam the forests, and lakes lay untouched in the jagged mountains. It’s nothing like this.”

Kagome pictured the pristine lands of the north, where the mountains were too tall and rocky to build expansive cities. She was jarred out of her relaxing images as Kouga asked her, “You like it here, in Tokyo?”

Kagome thought for a moment, a distant expression on her face. “It’s very busy here. The lights are on twenty four hours, seven days a week, people are always on the go, noise fills the air, and the pollution is terrible.” She looked up at Kouga, sincerity in her big, brown eyes. “But it’s home. It’s where I grew up, and nothing can replace that, right?”

The wolf Prince was shocked at the depth of emotion the girl next to him radiated, the way she projected her pure feelings. She was down to earth, and real, nothing like either the normal city women or most of the floozy ookami princesses his parents had tried to mate him to in his younger days.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs, Kouga paused, taking in the strange mix of expansive historical shrine buildings and ancient trees, all surrounded by sky rise apartment buildings and neon signs in the distance. “So, this is your place?” He asked casually.

Kagome spun on her heel and stared the man kindly, but defiantly in the eye. “Don’t play dumb with me, Kouga-kun. I know you’re youkai, and if I’ve learned nothing else in the past two days, that means you’re after my land too. Don’t play games.”

Kouga blinked as he was called on his bluff, taken aback by this assertive, strong woman. His pack was long overdue for an alpha female. It would be a challenge, hell, she would be a challenge, but it was a challenge he was certainly up to.

“I’m not here to pursue your land, Higurashi Kagome. I’m here to pursue you.” He retorted confidently.

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m no more for sale than my land is.”

“I would not think to buy you with anything. With flowers, wealth, or power alone. Would you turn me down before you’ve even gotten a chance to know me?” He asked passionately.

Kagome for once averted her eyes, the blush returning to her face. She could feel it in his aura, he was broadcasting it intentionally. He was looking for a relationship, and from the thoughts she was previously feeling before she ran into him, she was sure he could sense that she was too.

Kagome wasn’t sure that was something she was ready for, from Kouga, or anyone else, but what the hell, at the very least, she could put him to work. She pulled the arrangement from Kouga’s strong hands and hefted it into her grasp.

“Fine then. Be here tomorrow, early. Dress casual, you can help paint the well house.” She said.

Kouga’s jaw dropped as Kagome spun around and walked back into the house.

* * *

Kagome lugged two buckets of paint in each hand. Balanced atop the buckets were stacks of paintbrushes, and the back pockets of her overalls held numerous paint scrapers in various sizes. Setting her implements of construction down next to the well house, she scrambled back to the house and poured the second pot of coffee she’d made into a large thermos. Sure, she was making them work, but that didn’t mean she’d be a taskmaster about it.

“Souta!” She yelled up at her little brother, who was no doubt still fast asleep. In fact, the young man had gone out last night with some friends and didn’t come home until just after midnight. She made a mental note to interrogate him later, wondering if there was a girlfriend involved.

She trudged up the steps, a cup of coffee in one hand. Rapping loudly on his door, she loudly swung it open to find him buried under his comforter, purposely shutting himself off to the world.

Setting the hot cup on his bedside table, she violently shook the young man, who groaned at the motion. Pulling the comforter away from his head, he squinted and turned away from the light. She noted a small, round purple bruise on the side of his neck. He was going to get quite a talking to later.

‘Damn, my little brother is getting more play than I am!’ She huffed to herself, leaning down next to his ear. “Souuuutaaaaa. Souuuuuutaaaaaaa.” She whispered.

A smile drifted across the young man’s face as he replied with a sleepy, “Hmmmmm?”

Kagome sucked her breath deep into her lungs. “BOOOOOOOOK!” She yelled in the highest octave she could muster.

Souta jumped straight up, his hand smacking the coffee cup on his bedside table, sending hot coffee all over his sheets as he yelled.

“I’m up, I’m up already!” He grumbled crossly. “Didja have to do that?”

Kagome sighed. “I told you I need your help with visitors today, I’ll be painting the well house with those people you met the other day.”

“Oh yeah, that neat Inu-kun!” Souta exclaimed, remembering meeting the interesting hanyou the day before.

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Yeah, him. He’s just soooo cool.” She said sarcastically. “Now get up and get ready!” She pulled her brother’s pillow out from underneath his head and smacked him with it before heading back downstairs to pick up the thermoses of coffee and styrofoam cups and heading out to the well house.

Not about to wait for those who certainly weren’t up at dawn as she was, she pulled a paint scraper from her pocket and kneeled down.

* * *

Inuyasha grumbled loudly, Sango trudged forward like a zombie, and through it all, Miroku, the only morning person of the bunch, pushed them forward. The ride in on the early shinkansen had been brutal, especially considering this was their second day in a row waking up so early.

The hardest part for Miroku to adjust to was wearing such casual clothes as shorts and a t-shirt to meet with a prospective client. It was unheard of, but he had to admit that liked it. “Come on, my rays of sunshine. Up we go.”

Inuyasha and Sango moaned as they began the ascent up the Higurashi steps. Her baggy green cargo shorts jingling with the sound of loose change in one of the deep pockets, Sango complained. “Inuyasha, can we please rent some kind of housing near the shrine if we’re going to be doing this on a regular basis?”

“Trust me, I’ve already got Jaken on it. This commute is a killer. And to get up this fucking early on a Saturday morning? Damn woman.” Inuyasha mumbled.

Finally making it up to the top, they scanned the grounds. “The well house is this way.” Inuyasha said simply.

Remembering that Inuyasha vaguely knew his way around from his relationship with Kikyou when she was the shrine’s miko, Sango and Miroku tentatively followed behind him. They had never known much about the mysterious woman, Inuyasha had never brought her home to meet his family and friends, and from what they understood, even Kikyou’s family hadn’t known much, if anything, of the hanyou, as she preferred her privacy.

They were sure this place brought back difficult memories for their friend, and although he was snippy and rude about it, they really couldn’t blame him. Everything he looked at must have reminded him of his past love, including Kagome herself.

Inuyasha went rigid upon seeing her, only this time, she looked nothing like Kikyou. She looked so…practical, so…it angered him to realize that he found her cute, even beautiful. She was concentrating so diligently, the paint scraper in her hand, the tip of her tongue poking between her lips as curls of scraped paint fell from the side of the well house. The white paint-stained overalls and red t-shirt she wore accompanied with the backwards red baseball hat keeping her ponytailed hair out of her face were adorable, but the woman possessed a hidden beauty that she obviously didn’t even see in herself.

Sensing their presence, Kagome looked up from her work. “Nice to see you guys!”

Miroku and Sango bowed, the best she could get out of Inuyasha was a slanted-eyed nod of his head. “There’s coffee underneath that big tree over there, join me when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Higurashi-san.” Sango said, wobbling towards the tree.

“Please, Sango-chan, my first name is fine.” Kagome corrected her.

“Okay…Kagome…chan.” Sango lit up instantly.

Miroku smiled gently at Sango. It certainly wasn’t that she wasn’t good friend material, but for some reason, perhaps her skills in weaponry and her realistic edge, Sango had just never been close with other women before. Yet, for some reason, she seemed to get along well with Kagome. He hoped the two would become close.

A smile pulled at his lips as he imagined his lovely Sango and this new girl as…more than friends. A seething glare directed at him from Sango caused him to swallow audibly. ‘Or, perhaps not. Damnit, how does she do that?’

“Inuyasha, coffee?” Miroku suggested.

“Keh. I only drink Starbucks, you know that.” Inuyasha said crossly.

Somehow, Kagome wasn’t surprised by his answer. She eyed the irritating hanyou and tried to ignore how handsome he looked in his loose, light blue jeans and red t-shirt. “Give it a try, I think you’ll find it’s better than Starbucks.” She tried.

“I bet it isn’t.” He retorted.

“Twenty thousand yen says it is.” She challenged him.

“Keh, that’s all you’ll bet? I’ll bet you three million yen, the price of a new car, little girl.” Inuyasha countered her wager.

Miroku took a sip of coffee, his eyes widening like saucers as Sango was already greedily pouring herself a second cup. “Inuyasha, I don’t think you should-”

“Give me that.” Inuyasha grumbled, snatching the cup from Miroku’s hand. Taking a tentative sip, his eyes drifted up and to the right, the delectable taste sitting on his tongue for a moment before swallowing. Then, he looked down at the cup in his hand crossly.

‘That’s some good ass coffee.’ He said to himself.

Noting Inuyasha’s facial expression, Kagome jokingly insisted she receive her winnings. “I told you it was better than Starbucks, now pay up.”

Inuyasha looked at the young woman, one short, black bang sticking out the hole of her backwards baseball hat. “Keh, I never said it was better.”

Kagome rolled her eyes and went back to scraping. As soon as her back was turned, Inuyasha chugged the rest of the delicious coffee on one quick gulp.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that, you jerk.” Kagome said casually, still scraping at the paint.

“Bitch.” Inuyasha retorted, snorting loudly through his nose.

Kagome spun around, dropping all formalities as she pointed the metal scraper at the indignant hanyou. “Really, Inuyasha, that’s no way to speak to a potential client.”

Inuyasha blew air between his teeth, exasperated. “Get off it, woman. You’re getting our services for free, so you’ll just have to deal with me the way I am. You’re the one who insisted I be here.”

Miroku and Sango shook their heads. These two were arguing like an old married couple. “Can you handle damage control?” Miroku asked Sango in a whisper.

A panicked look gripped Sango’s face. “You know I don’t know how to talk to girls!”

“But I’ll bet you can make an exception for Kagome-sama.”

Watching the fiery young woman, who she knew to be only a year younger than herself as she defiantly stood up to her difficult hanyou boss, Sango nodded her head. “I’ll try.”

Miroku patted the lithe woman on the small of her back, thanking her silently with his eyes.

Sango seethed. “Houshi-samaaaaa…..”

Miroku reluctantly lifted his wandering hand from her rear end and deterred her attack by calling out to his best friend, diffusing the heated argument between him and Kagome. “I think we’re going to need a ladder to reach the top of the well house. Where could we find one, Kagome-sama?”

Tearing their angry gazes away from each other, they both looked at Miroku. “The store house.” They both barked at the same time.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha questioningly. How did he know that? “It’s around back.”

Inuyasha nodded as he followed Miroku to get the ladder.

“Kagome…chan?” Sango asked tentatively, still not used to the suffix. “You’ll have to excuse him, he’s not really as bad as he makes himself out to be.”

Kagome raised an eyebrow and then sighed. “Honestly, I can believe you. He seems like he’s being bitter in spite of himself.”

“Well, he’s been through a lot in the past few years.” Kagome’s questioning expression urged Sango to proceed. “In a nutshell, he had a pretty rough life growing up, what with being a hanyou and all. Youkai don’t take well to mixed offspring.” Sango clarified, knowing she wouldn’t know such information otherwise. “Then, his father died, and to top things off, he had a really rough break up with… this woman he had been seeing for a few years, who left him for his best friend.”

“Ouch.” Kagome said, looking off to the direction Inuyasha had disappeared to. “I feel kind of bad now.”

Sango shook her head. “Don’t give him your pity. It’ll only make him more bitter.” Kagome nodded, understanding as the taiji-ya continued. “I know his history is no excuse for his rude behavior, but please believe me when I tell you that he really is a great guy, and he really is trying, even if it doesn’t seem like he is. See, unless he’s planning a proposal for work, Inuyasha is the type of guy who thinks about today and looks no further. I know he’s blunt and he’s unapproachable, but he’s not like that once you’ve gotten to know him. ”

Kagome smiled warmly at Sango. “Even with as grumpy as he is, he seems like a very dedicated friend to you and Miroku.”

Sango grinned confidently. “He’d die for either of us, and Miroku and I would honor him in the same way. His pack means the world to him.”

“Pack.” Kagome chuckled. How cute.

Sango shared the laugh with her. “It’s true, that’s what we are, part of his real family, even though we aren’t born of the Inu Clan, he and his family have adopted us into it.” She looked away shyly for a moment, fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt. “Maybe one day you’ll be a part of it too.”

Kagome was taken back by the woman’s round about compliment.

“Here’s your damn ladder.” Inuyasha’s gruff voice called out, followed by the crash of the aluminum ladder as he dropped it on the ground next to the well house.

Kagome gave him a sweet smile, which even though he blanched at it, it warmed his very soul. She handed him a paint scraper and he reluctantly set about peeling away the aged paint as the humans around him engaged in inane conversation as they got to know each other better.

Eventually relaxing into a routine of menial, yet somehow gratifying labor, Inuyasha started loosening up. So far, Kagome had learned about how he had met his friends.

Having become close to him ten years ago when Inuyasha got his first Mercedes and showed it off to their family friends the Houshis’. Thanks to Miroku’s previous interest through high school in German engineered cars, Inuyasha gained a life long friend in the young man through that car. As soon as Miroku had been of the legal working age, he had begun working part time for Inu Properties and Preservation as a preservationist for the Buddhist religion while still attending school.

Sango, Inuyasha and Miroku had explained, had been both a high school friend of Miroku’s and a family friend of the Inu-Youkai, so it seemed only fitting that she be employed as a taiji-ya preservationist. Inuyasha at first was unsure, but it took only one demonstration of her skills to earn his respect and undying friendship.

Inuyasha had even grudgingly explained his on the patch relationship with their company’s owner, his half brother, Sesshomaru. The two had never been close, but after the adoption of a young girl, and a tragic family death, which Inuyasha didn’t go into detail about, Sesshomaru had reached out to his few remaining clan members and after a somewhat violent working through of their misunderstandings, they slowly began to mend their broken relationship.

Kagome was in awe at the depth and complexity these people brought into their friendship. And now, after only a few hours of knowing each other, and a rapidly stripped well house, she felt closer to these three people than any of the other friends she had.

Shaking herself out of her contemplation, Kagome realized that Inuyasha had dropped his paint scraper. His ears twitched forward, alert as his nose frantically sniffed the air rapidly. His body was rigid and his fingers flexed outwards, long claws glinting in the sun.

“Inuyasha, what’s wrong?” She asked, startled by his dog-like reaction.

Inuyasha snarled in response. “I smell a wolf.”

* * *

Author’s notes:

I admit, this chapter is kind of long and rather boring, but I needed some background and the chance to get the tangled ball that is the relationships between our main characters rolling. So, please, bear with me. The next chapter, titled ‘First Gear’ is due out soon and I promise it will be more exciting, and we’ll finally get to see a little Inuyasha/Kagome interaction. I know that’s what you’ve all been waiting for! Stay tuned!