InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hereditary Secrets ❯ Chapter 4

SUPER DISCLAIMER!!!

I lay no claim to any of the characters, instances, companies, or products that may be mentioned in this story. This story is a work of fiction. The events and characters portrayed are imaginary. Their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts are entirely coincidental, except for the names of a few select companies, most or all Japan based, that have no real affiliation with this site, the original author of the “Inuyasha” manga (Rumiko Takahashi), the events occurring in this work of fiction, or me. They are there purely for lack of imagination. Toshiba, by the way, is not a private company as portrayed in this story. Nothing in this story should be taken as factual, unless you research it and find it to be true. Rumiko Takahashi is, to the full extent of my knowledge, the one and only owner of the Japanese comic “Inuyasha” and its characters.

 

The point of this fanfic is to pay homage to the great and powerful Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of a new teen cult…that was a joke, so laugh already!!

 

For readers who may not be aware of this, Japanese names are usually presented with the family name in the front (i.e., John Smith would be, in Japan, Smith John.) and the personal name at the end.

 

 

Chapter 4

 

Kagome's POV

 

“Ach! My poor stomach. What on earth possessed me to go on that horrendous ride?” Kagome glanced at her escort then promptly elbowed him in the stomach. “Wipe that smirk off you face, Inuyasha.”

 

“How could you have not been on a Super Plunge ride before? There's a different version of it in every theme park on the face of the planet!” Inuyasha's arm had managed to slip around Kagome's waist. He caught her as she stumbled, and Kagome figured it was to steady her.

 

“I'm sorry if I don't have the amount of experience you do. I tend to do more important things with my time, like school, gym, and shopping.” She sniffed, and turned away.

 

“Okay, wench. School, I get. Gym, okay. But… shopping.

 

“Yeah, shopping. It is a very important activity. Where else would I get all my shoes? Not to mention outfits like the one I keep seeing you appreciate.” Kagome snickered - on the inside, of course - as she watched Inuyasha try to decide if she was serious. Shrugging, she grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the marina. “The show starts in ten minutes, Inuyasha. We better get going.”

 

Inuyasha nodded absentmindedly. He was messing with his ears as if they hurt.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah. My ears just popped on that ride, and they haven't un-popped yet. I'll be fine. Besides, with you screaming in my ear on that ride, it's a wonder I can still hear.”

 

“Ha, ha. Try yawning. It works for me if I don't have any gum to chew on… how did your ears pop? That wasn't really that high…” Kagome laughed as he tried out her suggestion. Well, it wasn't really the execution of the idea that had her laughing; despite the huge yawn that split his face, he was also stretching. A large, languorous dog stretch. `He looks like a puppy when he does that,' Kagome thought. She grinned, and voiced her thought.

 

Inuyasha spluttered, and then glared. “I ain't no pup, wench!” he nearly yelled. The other people around them studiously ignored the loud outburst, and evacuated the area quickly. He crossed his arms, and pointed his angry eyes at her.

 

“I'm sorry, Inuyasha…” Kagome had no idea why he was so offended. Why had he reacted that way? “I just meant that you looked… different. Innocent, I don't know. But, I think it looked good on you.” Kagome settled her hand on his arm tentatively. The muscles beneath her hand tensed, but relaxed slowly as his eyes met hers.

 

“Keh. I've seen too much to be innocent. But be careful of who you call a puppy; in my family, it can be taken as an insult - kids are pups, if you're around us.” Inuyasha slung his arm back around her waist. “You didn't know, so don't even think of apologizing again.”

 

Kagome felt completely perplexed. How had this man known what she was about to say? Was she so transparent? How a man she hadn't even known for twenty-four hours could be able to anticipate what she was about to say was wholly lost to her. He was almost a complete stranger, wasn't he? How did she end up with a stranger's arm wrapped around her like she belonged with him? It was hard to believe that they ended up together just because of both of them trying to avoid their exes.

 

“Kagome?” Inuyasha's voice was soft, and she looked up. “What are you thinking about?”

 

She smiled at him. “I was wondering how I ended up with a complete stranger at an amusement parks, having one of the most fun days of my life.” Kagome smiled. “It's a little bit strange that I found you while trying to escape the clutches of Wolfson Koga.”

 

“Wolfson? That's his last name?” Inuyasha smirked.

 

“Yeah, well, their family is an extremely prestigious one… that's why he thinks he has the right to stalk me. My mother `does not want to create a scandal', which means that she is friends with his mother, so I can't get a restraining order to hold him off. Besides, Wolfson isn't nearly as bad as Inutaisho. Their surname doesn't even allude to any pretense of modesty or humility…”

 

“Oh? Well, I'm sure the head of the family is a truly exceptional bastard, but the younger brother? He's probably not that bad. I've heard the younger brother is actually a lot like me.”

 

“Cocky, arrogant, and quick tempered?”

 

“No, more like cocky, charming, handsome, irresistible... things like that.” The grin he shot her way was contagious.

 

“Not quite, Inuyasha. I think that I'll keep my impressions in tact. They seem to be a bit more accurate.”

 

Sighting the marina ahead, Kagome slipped an unobtrusive arm around Inuyasha's waist.

 

`Definitely the funnest day I've ever had.'

 

Inuyasha's POV

 

` “Wolfson isn't nearly as bad as Inutaisho. Their surname doesn't even allude to any pretense of modesty or humility.”'

 

Her sentiment had stung. No, it had done more than sting; for some reason, her statement about his family had damn near ripped his heart out of his chest. He had no idea why; a quick trip to the nearest of their family's doctors was definitely on his to-do list. He was glad, though, for the opportunity to trash on his brother. When push comes to shove, yeah, he supposed that he would be there for him - to fight alongside him, to defend him - but right now, he would enjoy ruining his reputation as best he could. It was his job as a brother, after all.

 

After he had dropped her off at her apartment, Inuyasha headed to his own. At the door, he was intercepted by Jaken. “Where have you been? I've been waiting here for you forever! You meeting ended hours ago.” The small man glared at Inuyasha.

 

“Hey, Toady. I decided to go to the gym after the meeting.” Inuyasha pulled the shrimp away from the door to get inside.

 

“You were not at the gym so long! You've been gone all day, and that is despicable. What if my Lord had need of you?”

 

“He would have called me on my cell phone, Jaken. This is not Sengoku Jidai. We have the technology.”

“That does not matter!” he responded, spluttering. “The fact remains that you were not at home when you were expected to be. Where were you?”

 

“Well,” Inuyasha's voice took on the tone of a patronizing teen to parent. “I went to the gym, then I went to lunch… a movie, then the amusement park… then I took her home…”

“What! That's what you were doing… wait… Took her home? Who was she? Not that insufferable Kikyou, I hope. Any encouragement at all, and she will never leave my Lord alone!” Jaken began to flutter his hands nervously.

 

“Kami, no! I'd rather die than spend any time at all with her, unless it was to slowly drown her in hot oil… The girl I'm talking about is named Kagome… and she's wonderful. And, she understands perfectly well what I'm going through; she's being stalked, too. His name is Wolfson Koga, and he's one of us, too.”

 

“Wolfson, did you say? Oh, my, they are purely despicable, Wolfsons. Worse than vultures. Their heir, Koga, is worse than you when it comes to manners. Horrible. And he's stubborn - too stubborn. At least you have the sense to realize when something is impossible. The Wolfsons will never marry out of our ranks; it is part of their family law. No half-breeds, there. Too proud, too stuck to the old ways. I wouldn't worry about your woman, Inuyasha. Koga will never be permitted to mate her.”

 

“To avoid scandal, Kagome said, her mother wouldn't let her sue for a restraining order. Because it might damage relations with the Wolfson family, and her `close friend'. Does that sound like he will never be allowed to mate her?” Inuyasha was in his room by now, yelling through the door as he pulled on a vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt.

 

Dressed in old, ratty painters' pants and a tight fitting T-shirt, Inuyasha looked anything but the heir to a multi-million corporation, not to mention all of the family's many large bank accounts - there were a number for the purpose of security - all well over fifty million dollars, American value. They had four Swiss bank accounts - and he was wearing jeans he had owned for ten years.

 

Inuyasha had not been raised as most second sons in wealthy families had been. In all actuality, he hadn't been raised like any other kid in the world. He had been one of the worst abused orphans in the history of orphans, but also one of the richest. He had spent his childhood as a poor orphan boy, only to be told by Myoga, an old friend and assistant of his father's, at age fifteen that he was the heir to a portion of one of the largest fortunes in the known world. Of course, Myoga had no idea how to access that money; only Sesshomaru did, and he wasn't about to tell Inuyasha something that might have made his life any easier.

 

No matter, though. Being raise the way he had been assured that Inuyasha did not turn out the way his brother had - a pompous ass.

 

“Oi! Jaken! What're you doing here, anyway?”

 

“My Lord instructed me to produce a new phone, with caller ID and an answering machine. I have also produced a new number for you.”

 

“What is this?”

 

“It is on the post-it attached to your new phone, Inuyasha. I have notified Myoga of your new number.” Inuyasha heard the front door open, and then quietly, it closed. He let a breath he had been holding go, and made a fist. `Why does Sesshomaru keep that intolerable toad around? How can he even stand him?'

 

Sesshomaru's POV

As the business class slowly fell asleep, Sesshomaru had to get up. He had been in a chair for the past eight hours, and he needed to stretch out before he became permanently stuck in the sitting position. To add to that, the air pressure in the airplane was not very conducive to his comfort, either. His ears were driving him crazy. In an airplane, miles above the ground, his ears were bound to give him trouble. Strangely, he had not noticed the discomfort they usually caused until the woman - his neighbor, the one he was supposed to call `Sango' - had fallen asleep.

 

`This Sesshomaru wonders what her real name is…' As he strode towards the back of the plane - or, as far back as the private class went - he tried to remember why she was so familiar looking.

 

“Sir? Do you need something?” an American stewardess asked him.

 

“No. I am simply stretching my legs.'

 

“Well, this plane doesn't have that tall of a ceiling, so don't stretch them out much further. You look like you could use something to ease the trip; let me guess - sensitive ears?” The young woman smiled at him.

 

“Hai.” Sesshomaru wondereed if she would recognize the word; apparently, she did.

 

“Thought so. I'd suggest JuicyFruit gum, or a small glass of Scotch.”

 

“This Sesshomaru will have a Scotch, please.”

 

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. Quickly fixing the drink - it took her less than a minute - she handed it to him with a wry grin. “On the house, buddy. Also, some advice and an opinion: Good relationships are built on trust, which is a little easier to earn when one gives another their true name, instead of an alias. And the use of a third-person speech pattern when you're talking about yourself? Yeah, creepy, and symbolic of an unstable and insecure childhood. I took psych 101 in college; seemed to have a knack for it.”

 

Sesshomaru finally recognized the girl. She was the stewardess he had requested a drink from to replace the one he had ruined with that damnable mint. `Bleh...' he thought upon reflection. She had gotten the drink for him quickly while they were preparing for a brief landing in China.

 

“I shall keep your advice and your… opinion… in mind when I begin to contemplate beginning a relationship with someone.”

 

“Looked like you had a pretty good start with Miss `Sango' over there. Of course, since she didn't give you her real name, either, I suppose the baseless trust is okay with your new… girlfriend. Because, I can tell, you like her. You really, really like her. Might I even go so far as to say - Love At First Sight? Oh, I think I shall go so far. Beware, the trustless relationships are pains in the ass.”

 

“Thank you for that bit of scintillating conversation, miss, but as I have now finished my Scotch, I believe I shall try to get some sleep. Good night.”

 

Sesshomaru slowly walked away from the woman. He was pondering rapidly how the woman could be so… `Impudent!'… with such a theory about him - him! - and… `A complete and total stranger being in LOVE?' … not to mention the completely insolent way she had talked with him. `If that is how Americans act, then thank Kami I am Japanese!'

 

As Sesshomaru settled down into his seat, he could not help but glance at the slight woman curled up in her own chair. `This Sesshomaru does not love a stranger… It is impossible.' He fumed this thought to himself for the rest of the plane ride.

 

Now all he had to do was convince himself of it.