InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dystopian Story of Lovers ❯ Doppelganger ( Chapter 2 )

Doppelganger

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

 

 

~*~

 

 

For the first time in his life Sesshoumaru felt unsure of himself. His feelings were going haywire, and the worst part resulting of it was that his knees started to weaken. His hand was desperately trying to grip at something solid, which actually wasn't, so he fell down hard, making a loud cracking sound while he was holding a minimalist style of vase and its fragile holder.

 

Kagome immediately looked up. She scanned her surrounding hastily to find the cause of the racket. Before she had the chance to look closely, someone put himself in her line of vision.

 

“Miss Higurashi? Hello, how do you do? Remember me? Inoue Inuyasha, I'm the one who interviewed you for the job.”

 

Kagome could only look at him blankly. And when he reached out his hand to her to greet her, she broke out of her trance and took his hand hastily, shook it almost with force.

 

“Yes, of course, how do you do? You have to excuse me; for just a moment ago I thought I heard a crashing noise.” Kagome replied nervously.

 

“Oh, did you?” Inuyasha looked around impassively and then set his gaze back on her. “I didn't hear anything. I'm sure it's nothing. We have some reconstruction's work in the left wing of this building. Perhaps you just heard some little accident from back there.” Inuyasha still held her hand, and seeing that he was not going to release it anytime in that moment, Kagome pulled herself up from the sofa.

 

When she stood up, her height only reached until his chest. She had to tilt her head up in order to look at him. And when their gazes met, she was startled to find his intent searching stare upon her face. Instinctively she brushed the corner of her lips lightly, afraid that there might be something on her face. Inuyasha smiled warmly at her and squeezed her hand tightly. Leading the way to the lift, he still kept her hand in his.

 

Somehow she felt suffocated and had to pull her hand away from his grasp. He stopped and stared at her in surprise.

 

“Excuse me, it kinda hurt,” she lied.

 

“You have cold hands,” Inuyasha replied.

 

“It's —” she didn't know what to reply. “I like it when it's cool.” Kagome mentally smacked her head. The whole foreignness of the situation seemed to affect her brain and not to mention her mental state.

 

“I see,” Inuyasha commented with an amused glint in his eyes, “We could work something out for that.”

 

“Mr. Inoue—”

 

“Inuyasha,” he cut her off.

 

“Inuyasha, are you the person I'm supposed to work under?”

 

Inuyasha smiled for a moment. He was wondering if he should point out the innuendo of the statement, but seeing her big lucent eyes staring innocently at him, he decided not to.

 

“Far better, you get to work with the owner's successor of this company, but I must warn you. His personality is flawless,” Inuyasha said with an ironic accent in his voice.

 

“Oh?” Kagome was slightly surprised. What kind of warning was that? “But isn't that a good thing?”

 

They were entering the lift-cabin, and Inuyasha threw a quick glance, checking if his brother had recovered from his stupor. He grinned when he saw him nowhere to be found.

 

“It's a good thing when you're a heart donor,” he whispered under his breath.

 

“Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.”

 

“Nothing. Maybe you're right. It must be a good thing.”

 

~*~

 

After his absolutely embarrassing, debutante-like performance, Sesshoumaru went and hid for quite some time in the restroom. He looked at the vase and the thin triangular table he held in his hand. In his eyes the confusion was still very much apparent. He had caught a whiff of scent, and then he saw her face. And the world seemed to whirl in blackness.

 

“Kameko …” Sesshoumaru whispered in agonized tone.

 

How could one resemble another in such perfection?

 

~*~

 

“So, you're sure you can find your way in this building, Kagome?”

 

“Yes, Inuyasha, I'm sure I can. I mean after we stopped through the entire forty stocks, and after you explain to me even the department that actually has nothing to do with the department I'll be working in, I'm pretty sure I will never be lost in this building,” she answered him in a hidden sarcasm.

 

Inuyasha grinned. “I'm glad you enjoyed the excursion. Now to meet his Excellence …” He knocked at a door and stepped inside without waiting any consent.

 

“Hello, Big Brother. Kagome, I would like to introduce you to Inoue Sesshoumaru, the president director of this Incorporation, and you will be working for him. Sesshoumaru, this is Higurashi Kagome, your new secretary.”

 

“How do you do, Mr. Inoue, Sir?”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded briefly, but he refused to raise his head to look at her. For a moment Kagome seemed baffled by his rudeness, but she decided to dismiss it and didn't think much of it.

 

“Now what do you think of your young secretary?” Inuyasha smirked as he gripped Kagome's hand, and he watched as Sesshoumaru, as if intoxicated, followed the motion of his hand.

 

“She's stunning, isn't she? Just fresh out of the business school, she'll bring a new wind in this antiquated shed.” Inuyasha was still watching him intensely. All the while he was smiling that annoying smile of his.

 

Kagome still held her head down. She was too confused and embarrassed to hear the playful banter of the man who had interviewed her for the job.

 

“Aren't you going to say something?” Inuyasha asked him, almost pushing him over the edge. He then dragged Kagome forward, putting her in Sesshoumaru's vision. “Come on, you're making your secretary nervous. I'm sure she would love to hear you complimenting her on her choice of wardrobe. Is it formal enough for you, Sesshoumaru? Before I hired her, I mentioned that you would like your employee to dress appropriately and formally. Aren't you going to compliment her now?”

 

“Inuyasha! That's quite enough. I want you to escort Miss Higurashi to her desk and explain to her all that she needs to know.” Sesshoumaru warned him coldly.

 

Inuyasha nodded mockingly. With his hand still on Kagome's he led her almost roughly to the door, but before he stepped out, he spun around to face his brother again.

 

“Don't you think she's stunning, Sesshoumaru? I mean, you must have. Before you even meet her, you must have thought that her face is beautiful, am I right?”

 

Sesshoumaru froze while Kagome was looking at him then at Inuyasha, confused. But the hanyou only winked at her and squeezed her hand slightly.

 

“Inuyasha.” Sesshoumaru called out to him.

 

“Refrain yourself from calling me brother ever again. Blood line isn't based on illegitimacy.”

 

Inuyasha immediately hardened, but he nodded briefly and left the room.

 

~*~

 

The morning after the peculiar introduction went in fact somewhat well for Kagome. She found it actually pretty relieving that her boss hadn't once called her to give her any tasks. A bit odd, but still who was she to complain.

 

The following afternoon had actually promised to be peaceful as well until Suzuki Kagura, the executive manager, decided to pay Sesshoumaru a visit. She didn't bother to gaze her way when she ordered Kagome to bring two cups of coffee into the room, and she just barged into Sesshoumaru's office without even asking her, the secretary, if he was free.

 

The lady was beautiful, Kagome had to admit. She was stylish and fairly tall, and she moved elegantly like a catwalk model.

 

Kagome knocked at the door to bring the coffee inside, and instantly both went quiet when she was in the room. The arrogant EM was about to drink from her cup when she suddenly caught a glimpse of Kagome's face, and she dropped the cup as if the coffee was searing hot.

 

Kagome immediately went down on her knees to clean up the mess, but she was shocked to find Sesshoumaru suddenly grasping her arm, pulling her up. Then he pushed her away while he told her brusquely to call for the cleaning service.

 

After the incident, Suzuki Kagura exited Sesshoumaru's office and stopped before her desk. She watched Kagome with a mixture of hate and suspicion, and then she left without saying anything at all.

 

When it was time to have lunch, Kagome went down to seek for a place to eat alone. As she was making her way to exit the building, she could feel eyes that were watching her, probing and full of suspicion. As she was lining up to buy a cup-ramen from a vending machine, suddenly the line in front of her parted, making a room for her. She wanted to ask them if the vending machine was broken, but they left hurriedly as if afraid that she was going to speak to them. The machine was not broken. She bought a cup of ramen and went out of the building.

 

Outside the building she sat down on a bench and began to stir her ramen.

 

“Instant noodles are not good for you.” Inuyasha dropped a bento box on her lap. “You like sushi, I hope.” He sat down next to her and took her ramen from her hands. He started slurping it heartily.

 

Kagome was silent for a moment, and then she shrugged and opened the bento. “If you wanted the ramen, you could've told me so.”

 

Inuyasha grinned and took one of the sushi from the box. Kagome gave him a look of annoyance that made him pop the sushi innocently into his mouth, taunting her.

 

“You don't like sharing?” Inuyasha asked her teasingly.

 

“It's impolite to take someone's food from their plate,” Kagome commented reservedly.

 

“It's not a plate.” He answered her grinningly.

 

Kagome closed the box shut and put it down on the bench with force. She left the place hastily with a frown on her face.

 

“Wait! Look, I was only teasing you. You can't just leave without having anything to eat. Come on, I'll buy you lunch.” He hastened to catch up to her and grasped her hand.

 

Kagome spun around abruptly and gazed at him with fiery eyes. She pulled her hand away and rubbed it reflexively. “What is it with you and my hand?”

 

She started to leave, but then she changed her mind as she turned to face him again. “What kind of game are you playing, Mr. Inoue? Ever since this morning people around me acted strange and so did my boss. For what reason did you hire me? I have no references, no experience at all; in spite of all that, you've given me this position that normally required experienced professionalism. Why? What could you possibly want from me?” She half-screamed at him. Tears of distress were threatening to spill, but she refused to shed them as she brushed them away from her eyes almost furiously.

 

And suddenly Inuyasha felt awful. He had wanted only to get even with Sesshoumaru, but out of inexplicable reason he felt guilty hurting her when he barely knew her. Maybe it was because the way she shivered out of cold this morning in the lobby, or the way her pale, beautiful face seemed so jaded, detached from any emotion, empty without any expectation. It was as if she was waiting for someone to light up that spark in her eyes that made her beautiful countenance more heartbreakingly stunning than before.

 

But who was he to fool himself? It was because she was enticingly beautiful when she was angry, and attractiveness always held a great importance for him. He didn't like to make a pretty girl cry. As selfish and chauvinistic as he was, a part of him that was gallantly brought up was stating its disapproval.

 

“I assured you, Miss Higurashi. I'm not playing any games. It's true that you didn't have the required references when I hired you, but I trusted my instinct and decided to give you a chance.” He reasoned his case smoothly. The lawyer in him won.

 

“Oh….” Kagome was speechless for a moment. Her face crimsoned immediately. “You must think of me ungrateful to pull a scene like that.” She stuttered softly. For a moment Inuyasha was captured by her enchanting demeanor.

 

“No, not at all. I know that working with Sesshoumaru is not always easy.”

 

“No, that was not what I meant, Mr —” Inuyasha cleared his throat, reminding her to call him by his name again.

 

“I mean Inuyasha. Mr. Inoue Sesshoumaru was as correct as any boss can be. It's just that the situation in the office was somewhat foreign. Maybe I just need some time to adapt myself to this whole new environment.”

 

Inuyasha nodded smilingly. Feeling she had sorted everything out, Kagome walked ahead of him. Suddenly Inuyasha called out to her, pulling her into a halt.

 

“Kagome, why do you seem unhappy?” Putting himself in front of her, he held her upper arm.

 

Kagome's eyes dropped down to watch where his hand touched her.

 

“Sorry.” Inuyasha immediately released her arm.

 

“I'm not used to this,” She whispered softly.

 

“Excuse me?” Inuyasha heard her, but he couldn't make out what she was trying to tell him.

 

“Eating together, socializing, my hands to be held, acting so informally with each other; I'm just— I'm just not an outgoing person. It makes me uncomfortable. Even though I feel indebted to you—”

 

“Don't be,” Inuyasha cut her off impatiently, “I'm not doing this to expect a reward.”

 

“That's not what I meant.”

 

“Then what did you actually mean?”

 

“I like to keep things professional.”

 

Inuyasha blinked. “Are you trying to say that I was trying to hit on you, that I hired you, so that I can go out with you?” He snorted. “Yes, I do think that you're very attractive, but I already have a girlfriend, well almost a fiancée actually, and I'm not the cheating type.”

 

“You don't understand!” Kagome replied exasperatedly. “I don't like to be friendly with anyone. It puts me in the position to do something for them.”

 

Inuyasha was taken aback. He never thought that she would come up with something like that. As he watched her walk away, he realized that there was something about Higurashi Kagome who didn't like to befriend him.

 

~*~

 

“You're late,” Sesshoumaru commented coldly.

 

“I'm sorry, Mr. Inoue, Sir, but I was—”

 

“I don't know what the regulation was in your previous workplace, Miss Higurashi, but here we don't spend three hours from our work schedule to have lunch.”

 

“I'm aware of that, Sir, but I have a good reason to—”

 

“I don't care what your reason is. You should've known better than to come late after lunch in your first day at work, Miss Higurashi. Do you realize what your position is?

 

In her heart Kagome screamed, `yes, I realize what my position is, you arrogant prick! I realize it my whole life long without you reminding me of it!' But instead of voicing it, she simply held her head down and nodded weakly.

 

All the while Sesshoumaru was reprimanding her, his face contorted as if he was in pain, and when she dropped down her gaze, his hand reached out tentatively as if he couldn't fight the urge to touch her. Hearing a voice behind him, he abruptly pulled his hand back.

 

The gesture, however, was not lost from Inuyasha's sight. He had even caught his brother's expression.

 

“You'll have to excuse Miss Higurashi, Sesshoumaru. She was helping me out with some problems, and that was why she was late.”

 

“Inuyasha, if I wanted your help in disciplining my employees then I would've asked you.”

 

Without warning Kagome stood up. “Mr. Inoue, I'm sorry that I was late. I understand if you have to take a certain measure according to the company regulation.” Right then and there Kagome was sick of it all. She was sick of submission, pretense, and covertness, and most of all she was sick to be treated inferiorly.

 

“Sit down! And I don't have to do anything, Miss Higurashi!” Sesshoumaru bellowed at her. Kagome looked up at him in shock. This was the first time today that they had finally looked at each other.

 

Sesshoumaru immediately lost himself in the sea of her eyes. He watched as the spark slowly dimmed, and sheen moist covered the porcelain clear orbs. “Don't cry …” he whispered subconsciously, “Kame—”

 

“Sesshoumaru!” Inuyasha warned him gruffly while Kagome blinked rapidly to stop her tears from spilling.

 

But Sesshoumaru was past from hearing him. He gripped her upper arm violently to yank her away from her desk, leading her forcefully to his office, and slammed the door behind him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*end of chapter*

 

 

AN: don't get bored yet! I'm not promising you that the story will be better, but I promise you to do my best, so if you guys read this, reviews will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! I would also like to thank the talented Lady of the Mist for her idea of this fiction.