InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kindergarten Flirting ❯ Mark of Intent ( Chapter 45 )

Kindergarten Flirting

Back in kindergarten, your mother would tell you that if a boy pulls your pigtails he likes you, and if he dips them in paint he loves you. That goes for the rest of your life too. Moreover, when you're an adult and work for the Hottest Man of the Year.

.xx.

Sitting in the conference room, Kagome was sitting through a meeting Jessica had called. She was covering the information required for the five staff members that were going to do the examination of the prototype products for Puppy Trails. She also handed Kagome the proposal for Cherub—something about editing it before handing it to Inuyasha.

Kagome had gone to lunch with Inuyasha and returned to find that three messages were left for Inuyasha from Naraku. Giving her a kiss goodbye, Inuyasha told her he'd catch up with her after clock out and drive her home. If he was caught up with work and Naraku, he would let her know and have the limousine take her home.

Kagome was taking notes when a knocking on the boardroom door broke the aura of concentration that blanketed the meeting. It was Yura.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said apologetically, "but Atashi Kondo is here and is requesting to see Kagome."

Immediately, Kagome's eyes widened. Atashi Kondo was a leader in the fashion industry and was one of the VIP guests that were to attend the party. For him to drop by, unexpectedly, was a big deal. Scratch that—for him to drop by, unexpectedly, requesting to see Kagome, was a big-freakin'-deal. Glancing at Jessica, Kagome saw her grin and nod before she launched out of her seat and hurriedly followed Yura out of the boardroom.

"Kagome!" Jessica called and the Head Secretary glanced over her shoulder.

"I'll e-mail you the minutes of the meeting sometime this afternoon."

Giving her the thumbs up, Kagome continued to follow Yura. They wound through the intricate hallways that were within the walls of the Takahashi Group of Companies, leading themselves to the waiting area. "What does he want?" Kagome murmured.

Yura shrugged. "No idea. I think his daughter is with him, but I wasn't too sure. She's young and really hot—could be a gold digger too."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Atashi is happily married for thirty-nine years, Yura. I doubt he's going astray now."

"Woman, you never know." Yura muttered. "Do you want me to call Inuyasha?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, no. He's on the phone with Naraku I think. Important calls… ahh! I see him!"

Yura slapped Kagome's butt playfully, giving her friend the nudge she needed to greet Atashi Kondo. Kagome squeaked involuntarily but quickly composed herself, bowing low in front of the genius. Atashi and the young woman beside him stood up immediately and bowed back.

"Mr. Kondo," Kagome breathed, "it is an honour to meet you."

Atashi Kondo's warm but aged eyes softened. His smile was small but it had much warmth behind it. "Miss. Higurashi, the pleasure is all mine. Allow me to introduce Meilisa, my daughter."

Kagome grinned and shook her hand. "Meilisa? That's a very unique name."

The petit girl with a spunky boy cut shot a wide smile to Kagome. A soft dimple was evident on her left cheek. "Right? I love it."

Kagome laughed. "I would too. What brings you here today?"

Atashi pushed his demi-circle spectacles up from the bridge of his nose. Meilisa looked at her father expectantly and Kagome stood there, unsure of what to do or what to say. The pause was longer than intended and Kagome didn't know if she said something wrong.

"We wanted to ask you for a favour," Atashi finally admitted. "You see… well, first of all I would like to confirm my attendance at the annual Takahashi party. We'll arrive fashionably on time, as always."

Kagome laughed. "That's excellent. A party would not be the same without the Atashi Kondo there."

Atashi cleared his throat. "That is exactly it… Meilisa has designed her first evening gown and we were hoping that, alongside your Puppy Trails debut, that we could introduce her into our club of elites?"

"Congratulations!" Kagome immediately proclaimed and Meilisa beamed. "We'd be honoured to have you debut your evening gown at the party. Wow, this is most definitely a huge surprise."

Atashi laughed at Kagome's enthusiasm. He had seen her only a handful of times and he was glad to say that she was a very pure soul that had strong ambitions. Kagome reminded him of his very own Meilisa and, because of that, Atashi was proud of Kagome. She had achieved something that most women her age could only dream of—a top paying and high position at one of the classiest employers on their side of the hemisphere.

"Meilisa was going to wear it herself but," Atashi glanced at his daughter, "her sister-in-law is due for delivery that week and…"

"And the father of the baby high tailed it out of there when he found out Yukari was pregnant," Meilisa spat. "So Wei and I are going to stay home that week to keep her company and I was hoping you could wear my dress for me."

Kagome's eyes snapped wide open. "Wha-?"

Atashi chuckled. "When I asked Meilisa who she wanted to wear her dress, she immediately said your name."

"I saw you on T.V. when Kouga Lang had his party," Meilisa grinned. "You looked gorgeous and I knew it had to be you."

Kagome spluttered and lost the ability to form coherent words. Seeing her struggle, Atashi burst into peals of laughter which was followed by Meilisa. Kagome managed to make her brain function once more before stuttering out what she was struggling to say: "Me? Why me?"

"Why not?" Meilisa shrugged.

"But… you're… famous!" Kagome stressed the word famous and Atashi smiled.

"So? You are as well, dear. You work for Inuyasha Takahashi and attend every business event with him. Besides, Meilisa picked you and believe me when I say that, based on your skin tone and the distinct structure of your face, the dress was made for you." Atashi winked at the younger girl. Kagome was at a loss for words so she did the next best thing—

Cry.

Atashi's eyes widened and Meilisa hurried to Kagome's side. Sniffling, she turned to the woman who looked to be the same age as herself, and threw her arms around her shoulders. Meilisa couldn't help but laugh as she rubbed Kagome's back.

"Tell me you're crying from happiness," Meilisa teased. Before Kagome even had the chance to respond…

"Wench?" Inuyasha burst into the waiting room. "Why are you crying?" He paused and digested the situation presented before him. "… Atashi? What the hell are you doing in my office and why is my wench crying in your daughter's arms?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded, her tears suddenly disappearing. "Can you be polite? Mr. Kondo is an honoured guest that will be attending our party—don't demand to know why he's here."

Inuyasha twitched. "Ehh? I'm here being all worried and shit because I smelt your tears and you're lecturing me about manners?"

"Obviously Izzy never lectured you about it!"

"I have perfectly well-honed manners, thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Kagome grinned victoriously, "see! I already taught you how to say thank you. Wow, I'm amazing." Winking at her boyfriend, she turned back to Meilisa and threw her arms around the girl once more. Atashi and Meilisa watched in utter amusement at the interaction between boss and secretary.

"I'd love to," Kagome admitted, "I was kind of overwhelmed there… I've always had a childhood dream that I'd be able to one day wear one of Atashi Kondo's creations."

"And now you get to wear his daughter's. Hey, second best isn't all that bad." Meilisa teased. Looking over Kagome's shoulder, she raised both eyebrows at Inuyasha. "And you don't call a woman your wench, Takahashi. Either you refer to her with her name or her title."

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Fine, my girlfriend. You happy now? Damn, Meilisa, you've always been a brat."

"Always," Meilisa teased. She and Inuyasha had known each other as soon as he entered the business world. Throughout the many years, he's always had a partnership with Atashi Kondo and his only daughter sometimes tagged along to corporate events. As such, they both were on friendly terms and were comfortable enough to joke around with each other. Inuyasha had even grabbed a few drinks with Meilisa's husband, Wei.

"Anyway, now that Kagome and I have reached an agreement, I gotta go. Daddy has a few suppliers to meet as well." Hugging Kagome once more and shaking Inuyasha's hand, Meilisa hurried out of the waiting room with her father in tow. Inuyasha stood there for a split second longer before whirling onto Kagome.

"Did you have to do that in front of them?"

"Well you could've used some of your well-honed manners." Kagome giggled. "Besides, apart from your lack of manners when it concerns my well-being, you looked really cute running in here all heroic and worried."

Inuyasha puffed his chest out. "Yep, that's me, your average heroic and worried Inuyasha." He held his arms open. "Now come give me a damn hug and tell me why the fuck you were crying."

Kagome burst into laughter. "Oh, Inuyasha…"

.xx.

"Wow," Inuyasha reacted as he and Kagome headed to his office. She was telling him what had just happened and, just as she predicted, he was shocked.

"Really? Meilisa's first evening gown design too, eh?"

"Yep!" Kagome squealed. "I'm so excited… you should really ask her what colour it is so you could match," she teased. Inuyasha poked her ribs and chuckled when she screamed and jumped away from him. Opening his office door, he held it open for Kagome to enter before kicking it shut.

"Well, congratulations," he offered, "you're gorgeous so I don't see why they wouldn't want you to wear her dress."

"Aww, shucks." Kagome winked before throwing herself onto the couch and closing her eyes. "Can I nap, Inuyasha?"

"I don't pay you to nap, wench," he teased. Kagome opened one eye and glared at him. Inuyasha threw a tissue box at her but Kagome was unfazed. His couch was more than just comfortable and she intended to squeeze in a nap, even if it was only two minutes.

Inuyasha sat in his armchair and leaned back. "So I spoke to Naraku, all fucking afternoon might I add."

That caught Kaogme's attention. She immediately sat up. "And?"

Inuyasha picked up two sheets of paper that he was making notes on. Kagome gawked at the sight; Inuyasha had notes?

"They contacted Morimoto, said they found out he's Kikyo's baby's father," Inuyasha put air quotation marks around 'father' to emphasize his sarcasm. "Of course he denied it all… until Ryuukotsusei played the tape for him."

Kagome's mouth dropped. "What?"

"Yep," Inuyasha skimmed over his notes, "he tried to deny it all, saying he was set up but it's solid proof. He verbally declared that he is the baby's father and that they were out to sabotage me and that's enough to screw his ass over in human court. He still denied it so Naraku told him that we'd be in contact with his lawyer; we're taking him to court for defaming and attempting to manipulate me. Because we also have proof that Chiisu was the one that hurt Souta, we can get Chiisu for having the intent to hurt another person. That's killing two birds with one stone."

Kagome was speechless. Wow. In a matter of twenty-four hours, Naraku and Ryuukotsusei were capable of everything. "Go on," she ushered for Inuyasha to continue. He looked at his notes and was silent for a brief moment before continuing.

"Ryuukotsusei also was able to get the Demon High Court to review my father's case. He, somehow, got them to look into why Morimoto's wife killed the panther. Apparently the higher officials in the High Court tried to convince Ryuu that it's a cold case but he wouldn't hear of it," Inuyasha cracked his neck with a grunt. "Sesshomaru and I should be hearing from them in two weeks' time with their decision of whether they really are opening the file again, or not."

"And your brother is nominated for a seat, too."

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah. I called Sesshomaru after I got off the phone with Naraku and Ryuukotsusei. He was informed by the High Court already and he's glad—justice time."

Kagome grinned broadly. "Well, guess everything's falling into place then, isn't it?"

Laughing, Inuyasha pat his lap. Kagome got off of the couch and went to snuggle in her boyfriend's lap, immediately his arms wrapped around her waist and he kissing the column of her neck. "I love you," he whispered against her. Kagome turned her head to look into his eyes. He pressed his lips to hers and, after a brief moment, Kagome pulled back.

"I love you too."

.xx.

Inuyasha, to his dismay, was caught up after clock out. A few of the manufacturers dropped by, requesting to see Inuyasha immediately and he had to give them his audience. He called Kagome a limousine though, claiming that he didn't want her taking a cab home. She kissed him goodbye before heading downstairs with Yura.

"You're smitten," Yura shoved her playfully in the elevator. Kagome could only blush.

Climbing into the stretched car, Kagome decided to have a bottle of champagne. Why not, she told herself, everything is looking amazing now. As she popped open a bottle, her cellphone (which was sitting on the spot beside her), began blaring. She picked it up and pushed the device between her ear and shoulder, continuing to pour her drink.

"Higurashi Kagome speaking," she greeted. She hadn't even looked at her caller ID.

"Where's little brother?" Rin squealed. "I called him but his phone is off!"

"Last minute meeting," Kagome informed her as she leaned back in her seat with her champagne in hand. "Anything wrong? I can call the Emergency Line if you need him—"

"No, no!" Rin interrupted her. "I can tell him when he gets home but I can't wait to tell you!"

"Tell me…"

"I'm pregnant!"

Kagome paused before exploding into squeals herself.

Yep, most definitely a good day.

.xx.

"You're pathetic!" Souta scolded as he beat his sister in another round of Mario Kart Wii. Kagome growled and threw her WiiMote down. Not only was she losing to her brother, but she was losing to her brother who was using a Wii wheel! How pathetic was she?

On a lighter note, his bandages had come off and he was beginning to walk on his own again. He was recovering. Slowly, but surely.

"Well I'm not the one playing Wii all day, mister."

"Neither am I," Souta snickered. "I'm always playing the PS3. Kohaku, being the amazing friend that he is, loaned me the Wii."

"Yeah, your average saint of a friend." Kagome muttered. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, hungry for a plate of victory with a side of sore-loser Kagome."

She threw a cushion at her brother and disappeared into the kitchen. Even though she disliked losing to her baby brother, she had to admit that hearing him laugh was the most refreshing sound in the world. "Wanna order pizza?" She called out to him.

"Not really! Onee-chan, can Kohaku and I go out?"

Kagome poked her head into the living room. "How the hell do you propose you do that?" Kagome and her brother were home alone for the weekend… something about her mother and grandfather making a pilgrimage that weekend. They did the most random things at the most random times.

"He comes, I hobble my way down the stairs, we go to a park, chill, I hobble back up the stairs, and ta da!"

"If I had another cushion, I'd throw it at you once more."

Souta cheekily grinned at her before catching the cordless phone she threw at him. "I'm letting you stay out two hours, maximum. Understand? Otherwise I'll have Inuyasha hire the SWAT team to go out and look for you."

"Your boyfriend is so cool."

Kagome winked. "I know."

She dodged the cushion her brother threw at her.

.xx.

Kagome lay on her bed, reading a book. It was one of the rare times that she didn't have to worry about cooking, or cleaning, or finishing up paper work, or rushing to meet deadlines. She had all weekend to do all of her work and frankly, she wanted to relax. Sango called Kagome not too long ago and told her she would be bringing Souta back to her place for dinner.

Souta was excited and Kagome couldn't say no. Besides, Sango regarded him as her own brother and Kagome knew Souta would be safe with her. Turning the page, Kagome was just about to dive into a world of literary imagination when the voice she loved so much spoke—

"Baby, stop leaving your window open."

Looking up, she grinned before putting her book down. "But then you wouldn't be able to sneak into my room," winking, she pat the bed beside her. Inuyasha crawled in and wrapped his arm snugly around her waist before closing his eyes and digging his face into her neck, inhaling her scent.

"That would be a problem, wouldn't it?" He mumbled. "Rin is pregnant, by the way."

Kagome smiled. "I know," she murmured. His index finger began trailing up and down the inside of her arm and she couldn't help the shiver that shot up her spine. "She called me as I was sipping champagne in your limo."

She felt him smile against her neck. "I know, the driver told me you were enjoying yourself."

"I would've enjoyed myself more if you were there."

Growling playfully, Inuyasha pushed away from her and shot up to straddle her. "Why don't you enjoy yourself now?"

Without needing to be told twice, she grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. Licking her lips, her eyes were locked with his. "Why don't I?" She purred before their lips locked. Her fingers immediately shot through his hair and he was propping himself up, so he wouldn't crush her with his body weight. The sizzle of electricity was ever present and the feeling of euphoria never lessened.

Every kiss always felt like their first. And Kagome loved it. The renchaku throbbed on her wrist, and she knew that the mark was calling for him. The masculine scent of Inuyasha, the feel of his hands, the presence of his aura, everything was just perfect.

His lips trailed down from her mouth, over her cheek, and down to her neck. She moaned softly as he suckled on her, intentionally creating a deep hickey. She felt his fangs graze over her soft flesh before he began nibbling on her earlobe. "Baby," he whispered. Kagome wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him closer to her body.

"What if I said I wanted to mark you again?"

"Isn't it outlawed?" She didn't even register what he said. She was merely going with the flow, and the flow was presently in a state of sexuality.

"Not the renchaku," he clarified, "the Mark of Intention…"

Kagome froze and Inuyasha took the opportunity to break away from their frenzy of passion to look her deep in the eyes. "To see if it feels right," he murmured softly as he pushed some of her bangs out of her eyes. "To see if it works… if we'd want to…"

"Take it to the next level?" She finished for him, her heartbeat racing. Inuyasha's ears tweaked as he distinctly heard it. As he nodded, she reached her hand up to rub his soft and fuzzy ear. "Well," she bit her bottom lip, her eyes reflecting the fact that she was teasing him, "so long as it isn't outlawed."

Laughing, Inuyasha leaned forward and kissed her once more. His tongue danced with hers and her hands wrapped tightly around his body. He was hers and she would have it no other way. Kagome's heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest, and she loved that feeling.

Being with Inuyasha just felt right.

"Are you ready?" He purred gently. Kagome nodded and moved her head to the side, exposing her neck. His inner demon roared in pleasure and Inuyasha could just about rip her clothes of right then. Ever carefully, he licked the spot he was about to pierce before kissing it, three times. Murmuring a soft I love you into her ear, he sank his fangs deep into the junction of her neck.

Kagome's mouth opened into a silent scream. It didn't hurt—it felt pleasurable. Withdrawing his canine teeth, Inuyasha licked her wound clean before pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. Kagome moved her head back and lay there, unmoving, for a brief moment. Eyes widening, she brought her wrist up to see that the Mark of Renchaku was disappearing… Totosai was right, she thought amusedly.

"Well look at that," he teased, "it's gone. I guess I can travel to Alaska now!"

She rolled her eyes. "Takahashi, if you ever travel that far without me, you'd wish you were facing the wrath of the renchaku instead of mine."

He smiled. "Wench, I can't even stomach the thought of being so far away from you."

Before she could respond, he shut her up with another kiss.

.xx.

Yet to come: two court cases, paste in hair, and an epic proposal :P