InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Decisions ❯ Never Ending Woe ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12: Never Ending Woe

Sesshoumaru was back in the bar in another terrible mood. This morning, Kagura, his secretary had declared her undying love for him in front of the entire secretarial pool. They had all stopped tip tapping immediately and gazed avidly at him waiting for his response.

He was regretting his words. Or rather his face was regretting his words judging by the vicious red slap print across the left side of his face. And on top of it all he was now going to have to find a new secretary as Kagura had stormed out of his office in a completely dangerous mood.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. He had learned that the hard way.

Souta had mentioned nothing about the mark and had just put a `Sesshoumaru' (as he had christened the drink at Christmas) in front of him before bidding a hasty and strategic retreat.

He stared into the molten gold liquid and wondered what he could possibly do to alleviate the tension he was feeling.

A shoulder massage from Kagome.

His brain supplied the answer too fast for his liking. He didn't appreciate the fact that he actually seemed to enjoy her company. That girl had a strange effect on him and made him do thing without thinking. And he was Sesshoumaru he always thought before he acted.

The door behind him opened and an all too familiar scent washed over him.

Kagome.

He turned to look at her and swallowed hard.

She looked... windswept. Technically she looked like someone who had dressed up as a teacher to go to a costume party and had tried to look provocative.

She was wearing a short pencil skirt that was tight on her slim legs and a white blouse that had the first three buttons undone revealing the lilac lace of her bra. Her hose were laddered along the upper left thigh. Her hair was loose and tumbling over her shoulders, her cheeks were flushed from the cold outside and she was wearing her spectacles. They did not detract from her beauty. Her eyes were blue fire, she looked murderous.

Every man in the bar turned to look at her with lust in their eyes. All except her brother who laughed out loud. Sesshoumaru growled at the scent of arousal he picked up from every male except Souta.

“Bad day?” Souta asked as she walked up to the bar and sat heavily into the seat next to Sesshoumaru's.

She growled at him and he raised an eye brow. “I've got just the thing” he told her walking away whilst she massaged her temples with her thumb and forefinger.

He came back and put a glass down in front of her “Jamaican Whisky, it's strong enough to render a normal human paralytic” he told her “or kill a full size rhinoceros”

She looked at it for a moment her blue eyes unfocused before snatching it off the bar and downing it in one. She frowned and looked at her empty glass for a second before clicking her fingers “More”

“At least she's talking and not growling” Souta muttered as he walked away to get her a refill

“Your day looks as if it could've been as bad as this Sesshoumaru's” he said wryly

“It was worse” she growled turning to face him and then she noticed the slap mark “or maybe not”

“You first” he said leaning across and doing up two of the buttons on her shirt and glaring at the rest of the bar. Who all coughed shuffled in their seats and pretended they hadn't been ogling her.

“Thanks” she said absentmindedly noticing he was protecting her from her fans. Souta handed her the next glass and this time she decided to take it more slowly.

“What happened?” Souta asked bending over and leaning his arms on the bar to listen

“I got every board member on my side” she said

“Isn't that good?” Souta was confused

“Let me finish” she growled in a deadly `I'm going to rip off your face' voice.

“Go on” Sesshoumaru prompted whilst Souta winced.

“Every board member except one” she glowered into the wood of the bar as if it had caused her personal harm but they both knew she was imagining him. “Naraku said no”

“Oh dear” Souta said sympathetically

“Your sympathy sounds suspiciously like mollycoddling” she flashed him a look and he backed off his hands in the air defensively

“Hey I wasn't being a jerk I swear” he said crossing his heart “I was being sincere!”

“He is such an ass!” she fumed “how dare he deny those kids their computers”

“Explain” Sesshoumaru barked at her making her jump slightly in her seat

“I wanted a grant from the education board to get a new computer suite built” she said “After practically three months of no results they all agreed except that one asshole”

“I think it's time to move on” Souta advised Sesshoumaru as she finished her glass and beckoned imperiously for another.

“So what happened to you?” she asked looking at his face. She needed a subject change before she beat the bar up like a toddler having a tantrum.

“This Sesshoumaru was slapped by a wind sorceress” he said annoyance seeping into his tone

“You let a woman slap you?” Kagome was amused “I didn't think that the great Sesshoumaru would allow such an atrocity”

He growled at her and she sniggered “Notice this Sesshoumaru did not bait you” he said narrowing his eyes at her

“Because that's my job” she said grinning “besides your problem is damn funny”

“Hn”

“Aww, come on don't close up on me now!” she flicked his ear and he turned around and flicked her forehead

“Do not flick this Sesshoumaru” he said

“But you let me touch you when we were at the festival!” she whined

“Do not make this Sesshoumaru repeat himself” he said catching her fingertips before she could touch his marking again.

“You guys look about five” Souta said dryly cleaning a glass with his dishtowel. They snapped back to their senses and looked in opposite directions in a small amount of embarrassment.

“Hai, hai” she laughed herself out of her embarrassment “back to your problem, why did a wind sorceress slap you?”

“This Sesshoumaru refused her” he said sighing as he remembered it again. He took a restorative sip of his drink.

“Ah” she said in understanding “let me guess; the wind sorceress is your secretary”

“Exactly” he said “now this Sesshoumaru needs a new secretary”

“So again” she said “why did she manage to slap you? You're a big Yokai couldn't you have stopped her?”

“Have you ever tried stopping the wind before?” he asked dryly

“Oh, I see” she nodded in understanding

“Ne, Oneechan” Souta said “back to your problem why do I know the name Naraku?”

“He's in the papers every other week” she said shrugging “he's incredibly rich and has a reach that extends all over the world. He's also a notorious playboy”

“Of course” Souta nodded in realisation and then he paused “I have a feeling I know the name from somewhere else though” he was musing and stared off into space as he tried to remember

Kagome panicked slightly as she thought that maybe her brother would remember and then exhaled in relief when he gave up and shrugged it off.

Sesshoumaru heard the change in heart rate because nothing escaped him and wondered why there was a need for such a reaction.

He knew Naraku too. He had met him a few times due to the fact they were of the same heightened social class. He looked at the woman's depressed face and decided he would fix that.

Her stomach grumbled suddenly. It was so loud that the old man who had been asleep on the left corner of the bar jumped in his sleep. She blushed furiously.

“Come” he said standing and grabbing her arm pulling her off her seat.

“Huh?” she squeaked as he dragged her from the bar “What's going on?”

He opened the passenger door to his Ferrari and threw her into the leather clad seat before shutting the door behind her.

She watched him walk around the car and get into the drivers seat. He started the engine calmly and pulled out of the tiny pub car park. His car was one of the only ones there and it was ludicrously upper class for such a dingy area.

“Sesshoumaru!” she yelled “what are you doing”

He rolled his eyes “This Sesshoumaru is taking you out to eat”

“I'm not hungry” she lied obstinately

He chuckled “Your stomach and your brain disagree with each other” he told her

“Bite me” she said wittily

“Are you giving this Sesshoumaru permission?” he smirked

“Cocky bastard” she snarled a small blush lighting up her cheeks

“Hn” he pulled up outside a huge building with a red carpet stretched outside the entrance. She could tell at first glance that this was an incredibly respectable establishment.

“If I look as bad as I feel I'm going to get turned away from this joint” she said

He rolled his eyes in imitation of her and got out of the car and walked around to her door opening it.

She sat there and looked at him folding her arms stubbornly across her chest in an `I'm going nowhere' sort of way.

He sighed “Either you get out of the car or this Sesshoumaru will carry you” he was not amused

“You wouldn't” she narrowed her eyes at him distrustfully; he had picked her up once before but there had only been a cook and a Hojo present but now they were in a street filled with people.

“That sounds like a challenge” he said stooping down and grabbing her around the waist. She pounded her fists on his chest.

“Stop!” she hissed and he released her stepping back to survey the slightly flustered female

“Do you promise to go inside behave and eat?” he asked

“I'm not Rin” she said standing and stalking past him angry for being patronised.

He chuckled and followed after her.

She was trying not to be impressed, she really was. But it was hard. As soon as they had seen Sesshoumaru his car had been whisked away to their private garage and their coats had been whisked to a cloakroom that was the size of her bedroom and they were given a table looking out over the darkened city in their own private roped off section.

He was treated like royalty and every member of staff knew his name. As they walked through the restaurant he was stopped by a minor European principality, greeted by a Rock star and nodded at by a millionaire property tycoon.

She could almost compare the situation to Cinderella, except that she had been given a dress so she blended in whereas Kagome was still in her work clothes and stuck out like a neglected thumb. She was actually kind of glad for the private roped off section; it meant she didn't have to meet the disdainful stares of the rich women in the restaurant who wanted Sesshoumaru.

She stared at the table in silence feeling kind of insignificant.

“What's wrong?” he asked noticing her previous temper had dissipated somewhat.

“I feel this big” she said holding out her forefinger and thumb pressed together with no space between them. Melodramatic much?

“Why?”

“My flat is as big as their cupboard” she ticked the points off on her fingers “I'm in my teachers clothes, my hair is defying gravity there's so much flyaway, you have your own roped off section and you are getting greeted by minor European principalities as if it's nothing”

A waiter had snuck up her and she literally jumped in her seat when he put a flute of vintage champagne in an ice bucket down on the table.

“Compliments of the house” he said before walking off

“And you're getting vintage Champaign on the house” she said accusingly

“This Sesshoumaru did not take you as the jealous type” he was colder than ever

She grabbed an ice cube from the bucket and threw it at him “I'm not Jealous! So don't look down at me!”

He dodged the flying ice with ease and wondered what the waiter would think when he came back to find it on the floor. He was resisting the childish impulse to throw some ice at her and she how she liked it.

“So what is it?” he asked

“I don't fit here” she said shrugging “I feel bizarre”

“You are out of your depth and wrong footed” he nodded “now you understand what this Sesshoumaru feels when you are around”

“Huh?” she asked

“You are confusing” he stated in a matter of fact voice “and rude and annoying”

“Gee thanks” she rolled her eyes “Has anyone ever complimented you on how silver tongued and charming you are?”

He ignored the sarcasm as something occurred to him. “Surely the average income of a headmistress of a school is more than adequate to buy a large house than that flat”

“Don't knock my flat” she said “I like it”

“You were the one who compared it to the cloak room” he observed dryly

She fumed in silence as the waiter came and Sesshoumaru ordered for both of them.

“I'm perfectly capable of ordering for myself” she bit out

“Quiet” he said handing her a glass of Champaign

“Hn” she said in an uncanny imitation of her companion

“We were talking about your living accommodations” he reminded her

“My grandfather and mother run the family shrine” she said and grinned “You remember Ojiisan don't you?”

“The ningen who thought to place a sutra on this Sesshoumaru” he said frowning at the less than pleasant memory

“Anyway most of my money goes into repairs on the old thing, it's basically falling down. Souta always says it's held together by prayers”

“Surely it is their responsibility to look after the shrine”

“It's also my responsibility to look after the place I grew up in” she said coldly. She was pissed that he would suggest she would shirk her responsibilities like that.

“Hn” he said realising his mistake but not apologising, he had never really truly apologised ever.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked

“Hn”

She took this as a yes “How did you acquire Rin?” she asked “I know her parents died but...”

He could remember asking her the same question about her son “Her father was this Sesshoumaru `s driver and her mother this Sesshoumaru's cook. Rin grew up in my house mostly and so when they died she was left to me”

“You love her” she said. He had never said so aloud but she could tell for this Yokai the only way he would tolerate having a small human live with him was if he cared about her.

“Hn”

She hadn't expected him to admit it.

He wished he could admit it.

After a sublime meal of food Kagome didn't know existed he drove her to her flat.

“Where is your son?” he asked

“He is staying over his friends house” she said “did you believe I would have left him in the flat on his own?”

“Hn”

He walked her to her doorstep and she wondered why. He brain went into over drive. Was he going to kiss her again?

No, she was being stupid. He had kissed her for revenge.

“Night” she said smiling

“Good night” he said and kissed her on the forehead before.

Part of her brain was kind of happy he had kissed her again. The other part was screaming: FOREHEAD? Am I that physically unappealing that he kisses me like I'm Rin?

He watched her facial expressions and smirked a little. Throwing caution to the wind, just for that night he leant in again and gently kissed her lips. It was a delicate kiss, a gentle kiss but it was lingering. And when he eventually pulled away her brain had turned to mush, it was trying to figure out what the hell had just happened to shut down all motor functions. And it took her a while to realise he had bid her goodbye and was driving away.

She growled incoherently with her new confusion as she turned her key in the lock.

Stupid Inu Yokai and their amazing kissing. Then she almost hit herself on the head when she realised she had been reduced to a teenager by a peck on the lips. It was like she was fifteen all over again! It wasn't fair!

He drove away and wondered how he had managed to stop himself from kissing her thoroughly. With a normal female he would have bedded her by now. But then again their relationship wasn't exactly normal.

A small voice at the back of his head told him he hadn't tried to seduce her because she meant more to him than that, simply laying with her was not what he wanted, he wasn't sure what it was he wanted but he knew she calmed him like no other and he wasn't willing to give her up. He quashed it firmly just as he always did. Stupid voice telling Sesshoumaru Taisho unnecessary things.

A/N: I do not own Inuyasha and I make no profit from this.

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