InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Deep Wounds ❯ The Two-Faced Co-Worker ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Eleven-The Two-Faced Co-Worker

 

It was late in the evening by the time they finished bringing in the boxes from the old apartment and put the contents in their new places. Shippo had been helping out as well, but was still tired from the excursion the night before and had just fallen asleep on the couch. Kagome was carefully covering him with a green fleece blanket. She smiled down at him and then placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. He yawned in his sleep and rolled over, sticking his thumb in his mouth as he did. A small smile spread across her face as she turned off the lamp on the table beside the couch and walked into the kitchen.

 

She really had nothing to do at that point, except rearrange the items on the counter and put away the last of the silverware. InuYasha had gone out to find a grocery store and get some food for a couple of days. The money was tight, so they had to budget what they had until they could find jobs to see them through. Even then, they would be part time jobs, as InuYasha insisted that he and she both finished school. She sighed and shut the utensils drawer before leaning on the counter.

 

She was tired, but was too lazy to spread out the blankets on the living room floor. There weren't any beds in the house, and it would be at least a month before they could afford to get one. It was frightening, yet exciting at the same time. The feel of being one's own boss. Kagome had never known what that was like before, not with her step-mother reigning over her almost her entire life. Eventually she heard the car pull into the driveway as InuYasha returned home with only a couple of bags of groceries. When he got to the door, she opened it and took one of them from him, sluggishly walking herself over to the fridge to put the items away.

 

When she was done she folded up the bag and stuck it beside the fridge, taking the other bag from InuYasha and doing the same to it as well. All the while, her tiredness made her oblivious to what was going on around her. When she had finished, she stretched out, the hem of her shirt rising up over her belly button. Before she knew it, InuYasha had snuck up behind her and lightly tickled her sides before wrapping his arms around her torso and setting his head on her shoulder.

 

“Brat.” she said lovingly as she place a hand lightly on his cheek and turning her own head to kiss him on the nose. He smiled a bit, and returned the token by kissing her deeply.

 

“I know.” he replied in that same tender tone of voice as he nuzzled her neck and breathed her scent deeply. The world felt perfect when he held her, though his mind knew this was not so. He turned her around and placed another kiss on her lips before looking deeply into her eyes and smiling. “Come here.”

 

“What is it?” she asked as he turned off the light in the kitchen and then covered her eyes. She could feel herself being led a short distance, then stopped, and finally sat down. When he lifted his hands and she opened her eyes the sight before her brought a smile to her face. They were in the living room and there was a blanket spread out on the floor and the room was lit with a few candles, giving it a soft, romantic glow. Shippo still lay sleeping soundly on the couch, oblivious to the world. Kagome let out a light gasp as she saw two wine glasses sitting next to an unopened bottle of sparkling wine.

 

“Allow me.” InuYasha told her as he reached over and popped open the bottle, pouring each of them a glass of the fine drink. He handed one glass to Kagome and picked up the other for himself, staring at her a moment with a small smile on his face, and then down at his drink. He raised the glass slightly and said “To a semi-normal life.”

 

“Normal, what's that?” Kagome joked in a hushed voice as they clinked together the glasses and took a drink.

 

“Heh, yea.” he said quietly, sliding over by her and putting an arm around her shoulder.

 

“This is so sweet.” she told him, taking his hand in her own. “But I thought we were nearly broke?”

 

“We are, but I felt as if we had to have a little special moment.” he explained. “And, I never got the chance to tell you. To tell you that I love you.”

 

Kagome could feel her heart swell with affection at those three words and found herself speechless. Her mind raced with amazement as she gazed into his warm eyes. Then, as if some ethereal force was there, the two were locked in a sweet and tender kiss. The world disappeared and it was just the two of them in existence for that brief moment. Kagome let out a quiet sigh when they finally parted and looked into his warm eyes.

 

“You don't have to tell me, because my heart can feel it.” she told him, smiling lightly. Finally, my world is perfect.

 

---Mid-December---

 

InuYasha leaned against the railing on the front porch as he waited for Kagome to finish helping Shippo with his coat and snow boots. A thick layer of snow covered the ground and it was quite cold out, thought the winter sun was shining brightly in the sky. Finally, the two came bounding out the door, almost running into him as they did. Shippo simply brushed it off and hopped down the steps before grabbing a snowball and tossing it at him.

 

“Hey, squirt, cut it out. We've gotta get going.” he told him as he carefully walked down the icy steps, with Kagome following close behind. They all scrambled into the car and InuYasha started it up and turned on the heat.

 

“Wow, it's gotten cold so fast.” Kagome said with surprise. Having lived near the south most of her life, she never really knew what a real winter was like. Still, she loved every new experience she encountered. Her biggest one having to hold down a job. There was a local 7-11 store near their home and she'd managed to get a job there. It was a good thing too, as InuYasha planned to shut the car up in the garage soon and leave it there, if and when they had to run away again.

 

“That's northern weather for you.” InuYasha commented as they pulled into the 7-11 parking lot. “You sure you can take Shippo with you?”

 

“Yea.” Kagome replied. “The other girl I work with brings her daughter in all the time.”

 

“All right. I just hope my schedule changes so that one of us will be at home when the others working. It's a lot less stressful.” he said as they scrambled out. InuYasha himself had to get to work. He'd found a job at a mechanics shop, repairing and rebuilding cars and things of the like. It paid rather well, and it kept them far enough out of the red that they didn't have to worry. “I'll see you at home later.”

 

“Bye.” Kagome said, waving lightly.

 

“See ya Uncle Yasha.” Shippo said as well, smiling big and showing off a small gap where another of his teeth had fallen out. The two quickly made their way inside and out of the cold.

 

“Hey Kagome.” said the other girl she worked with as she waved at her. Kagome took off her coat and hung it up on the hook in the back, and did the same with Shippo's before setting him up with a coloring book.

 

“Hey hun.” Kagome said, joining her at the counter. She noticed that the girl was all dressed and ready to leave. “I thought you had this shift today too?”

 

“Didn't management tell you?” the girl asked. Kagome shook her head. “I'm being replaced, well, not replaced really. Me and my lil' girl are moving in with her dad, but he lives in Detroit. We're leaving today.”

 

“What? Does this mean I gotta work the shift alone?” Kagome asked, not wanting to be stuck in the store with no one to talk to besides Shippo. Not that she didn't mind talking to him, but there was just so much one could discuss with an eight year old.

 

“No, management got some new guy or something. I dunno.” she replied. “He's supposed to be in any time now; I just gotta wait for him to get here so I can give him my key to the register.”

 

“Oh, okay, I guess.” Kagome said, sighing lightly. She had the dead shift that day, so it was highly unlikely that any customers would be coming. That meant she'd have to chat up the new guy, and she wasn't quite sure if she'd like it.

 

As she stared blankly into space, the bell on the door rang and a man with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail walked inside. He smiled at both of the girls at the counter; though Kagome thought it looked more like a smirk. He sauntered over and leaned on the counter near Kagome, looking at her with brown hawk-like eyes. That simple look gave her a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach and caused her to back away a step.

 

“Can I help you sir?” Kagome asked him, trying to figure out what this man wanted. The mans smirk grew wider and showed off his set of teeth. This made him appear more like an angry dog than a person.

 

“Why, yes.” he said in response, straightening up and looking at both of the girls. “Could you tell me which of you lovely young ladies will be my new co-worker?”

 

“I have to get going. I'll miss you hun.” said the girl simply as she waved to Kagome before rushing out the door into the cold. Kagome watched her go, but then remembered the man - her new colleague.

 

“I guess that'd be me.” Kagome said in a low, wary voice as she extended her hand to him. He took it in his own and placed a light kiss on the back of her hand. She had to fight back a scowl and wiped her hand on her khaki pants when he let it go. He pulled off his jacket and hung it up on one of the hooks in the back. He took a moment to take an extra glance at Shippo, though Kagome hadn't noticed as she had been hurrying to rub hand sanitizer into her skin.

 

“By the way, my name is Koga.” he said, standing in the doorway to the coat room and smiling that animalistic smirk again. This time Kagome could feel her spine tingle.

 

“I'm Kagome.” she told him politely as he walked back to the counter and stood so close to her that she could smell his cheap cologne. She would move over a bit, but every time she did, he would just fill the gap she made. They didn't really say anything to one another the entire shift, mostly just standing there awkwardly, with only one or two customers during the entire shift. She was fortunate enough to have to occasionally check in on Shippo and make sure he had what he needed, which gave her the opportunity to get away from Koga, who obviously had never been taught what personal space was. However, when the little boy fell asleep, she was stuck with only him. Luckily, the shift was over shortly after and she made sure she hurried on leaving, getting Shippo up for the walk home and deeply hoping that she would not have to say anything to the intrusive man. Her efforts, conversely, were in vain.

 

“So, can I interest you in a cup of coffee or maybe something to eat before you head home?” Koga asked her in a flirtatious manner, as she was almost out the door. “My treat.”

 

“I'm sorry, I can't.” Kagome told him, taking Shippo's gloved hand in her own bare one” I need to get him to bed so he'll be awake in school tomorrow, and I have a boyfriend.”

 

“Oh.” he said, more dully than before. “So, he's your son then?”

 

“Oh!” Kagome said, realizing the impression she must have given Koga. “No, he's my boyfriend's nephew. We take care of him.”

 

“Then, can I at least give you a ride home.” Koga asked, his voice insistent. “Not to be nosy, but the only car in the lot is mine, so I assumed you could use a ride.”

 

“No, we'll be fine. It's not that far.” she said, just wanting to get home to her and small but comfortable bed.

 

“Then at least allow me to walk you home. It's the gentlemanly thing to do.” he told her as she sighed and nodded, giving up on trying to weasel her way out of it. Koga smiled again and held the door open for them, snuggling right up to Kagome's free side when they were all out. Kagome groaned mentally, but decided not to say anything about it, but just that one night, seeing as he was new and all. They walked the few short blocks back to the small rental house, Koga acting like an overprotective pet the entire way. Kagome unlocked and opened the door, then had Shippo go inside while she turned back to Koga, who stood there waiting for her to say something.

 

“See, no problem. I hope this will be the last time you insist upon this.” she said, standing on the top step while Koga stayed at the bottom of the porch, staring up at her with a discomforting look of desire in his eyes.

 

“Yes, the last time. I will see you next time.” he said, finally turning away and leaving. She went inside and quickly locked the door behind her, watching out the window until he disappeared out of sight. However, just in case, she went and locked the back door as well. When she was done with all of that, she went back to getting Shippo into bed. The boy, still quite tired, had flopped down on the couch after taking off his winter jacket and boots, and had then fallen asleep. Kagome smiled at him and let him lay there, covering him in a blanket. She would have carried him into his room, but she was not only tired from being on her feet for so long, but she was mentally exhausted from having to deal with Koga. Silently, she turned off the house lights and settled herself into bed as well, glad that the day was over at last.

 

---The 7-11 Parking Lot---

 

Koga leaned against the side of his shitty rental car, puffing on a cigarette, the end glowing in the night. He finished that off and threw the butt off into a bush before opening the car door and flopping inside. He opened up the dash compartment and snagged a black flip phone from inside. He started up the engine and blasted the heat, warming up his cold fingers and cheeks before closing the compartment again. He squealed out of the parking lot and began driving to his hotel, which had to have been the most run down place in the entire city.

 

As he drove, he flipped open the phone with one hand and dialed a number before shoving the phone up against his ear as he sped along. It rang twice before finally being answered. Koga could hear a light music playing in the background, intermingling with the sounds of girls giggling and the tink of wine glasses. A voice, which was anything but calm, asked. “What the hell do you want?”

 

Koga laughed to himself and told the voice “It's me. The informant gave us credible information.”

 

“Excellent.” said the voice on the other line, which had fallen into a placid, emotionless tone. “Tell me, where are they skulking this time?”

 

“Well, they're in the same town that the informant told us, somewhere in the middle of Michigan.” Koga replied, stopping abruptly when he caught a light and mumbled curses under his breath. “They're staying in a small house, a rental I think, he's got that girl with him. The one from the night at the hotel.”

 

“That bitch. We'll have to make sure that she is properly dispatched before we set things into action.” spoke the voice, clearly Sesshoumaru, who snapped a shrewd comment to the girls in his presence when they had gotten too loud, though Koga hadn't managed to hear it.

 

“Well, she is a pretty little thing. Probably a virgin too.” Koga said, desire thick in his voice as he made a proposition. “You could just hand her over to me when you need it done and we can both benefit, if you know what I mean.”

 

“You've not disobeyed me, yet, so I will take it under consideration.” Sesshoumaru told him. “I'm in the process of coercing a prospective family into taking him, for a hefty fee of course, but it'll be difficult because he's so old. I'm getting a psychiatrist in to see if he can brainwash the little twerp.”

 

“All very good. Should I get our informant his money now?” Koga asked, finally pulling into the parking lot of his hotel. He got out and slammed the door behind him as he made his way up to his room.

 

“Not yet. Tell him that he will get his payment in due time, but not until we've actually managed to get a hold of InuYasha and the kid.” Sesshoumaru replied. “Now, I've other matters to attend to, I'll be in contact.”

 

“All right.” Koga said in short response as he snapped the phone shut and shoved it into his pocket. He got to his room and slunk inside, shivering from the cold air and the lousy car heater. He grabbed out his pack of cigarettes and began smoking one, throwing the rest onto the end table next to a moldy bed with sheets too thin. He shivered a bit and took a puff from his cigarette. “Damn! It's fucking cold here. That bastard Sesshoumaru better pay me pretty damned well for this shit.”