InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Living The Promise ❯ Assignment ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Assignment

 

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“Good morning Kagome. How was your weekend?” asked Mai with a big smile.

 

“Not quite long enough,” Kagome chuckled ruefully.

 

“Are they ever?” The stocky receptionist handed Kagome her messages. “So what did you end up doing?” she asked.

 

“Mom and I went shopping on Saturday and then went to dinner. It was quite pleasant spending time with her.” `Mom kept trying to get me to talk about what was bothering me. I evaded her questions as much as I could, but I think that Inuyasha talked with her. I guess I just am not ready to discuss our love life with anyone,' she thought to herself.

 

“By the way, Kagome, Mr. Tanaka wants to see you.” Kagome felt a chill run down her back.

 

“Did he say what it was about?” Mai shook her head.

 

“No, but he didn't sound upset, just kinda resigned.”

 

“Okay, thanks Mai,” Kagome said distractedly. A slight frown appeared on her face as she wondered what the newspaper's editor wanted her for. She quickly dropped her things off at her desk and made her way to Mr. Tanaka's office.

 

Kagome paused for a moment to straighten her skirt and jacket before knocking on the closed door. Hearing a muffled “Come in,” she opened the door and stepped inside. Two men stood as she entered; one was a frail seeming man in his mid sixties with short grey hair and piercing brown eyes, the other was a tall gentleman with long silver hair and gold eyes. Wait a minute…long silver hair…gold eyes…

 

“Kagome Taisho, welcome. You know Mr. Sesshomaru Taisho, I assume?” At her nod, Mr. Tanaka gestured her to have a seat, both men sitting as she did so.

 

Kagome nervously sat and looked at her brother-in-law and then over to her editor. Interpreting her expression, Mr. Tanaka smiled and said, “You are probably wondering why I called you in this morning.” Pausing to catch her nod of assent, he continued. “Mr. Taisho has been asked to look into several allegations regarding unsafe housing down on the eastside of town. He approached me asking for someone with connections to the area to help him gather information. In return, we would receive exclusive rights to the story.”

 

Kagome was confused. “But sir, I…”

 

“Kagome, I know that you have several contacts in the area from the story you did last year on the gangs. Also, one of the buildings in question is the children's shelter.” Kagome bit back her denials. She always was a sucker when it came to kids in trouble. She looked over at Sesshomaru, who had been observing her quietly.

 

“Kagome, I have seen your work and I have been impressed. Mr. Tanaka has had nothing but praise for your abilities.” Kagome was shocked to see a faint smile appear on his normally expressionless face. “I believe that your talents are exactly what I need to get to the bottom of these allegations.”

 

Kagome sat quietly and studied the two men. Making her decision, she nodded in agreement. “Okay, I'm in.”

 

Mr. Tanaka stood with a relieved smile. “Very well. Kagome, Mr. Taisho, if you will excuse me, I must be going. I have another meeting to get to. You may use my office to work out the details.” Picking up his briefcase, he shook Sesshomaru's hand and gave a nod to Kagome as he left the office, closing the door behind him.

 

“Okay, how do you want to do this, Mr. Taisho?” Sesshomaru's finely arched eyebrows rose in response.

 

“To begin with, you may call me by my first name; even though this is a business association, you are still family.” He gave her another small smile as she nodded in understanding. Kagome chuckled to herself `surely I must be imagining things; the icy Sesshomaru smiling at me twice within 10 minutes?'

 

Sesshomaru opened his briefcase and handed her a packet of papers. “This is the information that we have acquired to date regarding the safety of several buildings. I would like you to use your contacts and verify or dispute the allegations.”

 

“Why can't you just have the buildings inspected?” asked Kagome as she scanned the packet.

 

“We have done so, but my informant claims that city officials are being bribed to look the other way.”

 

Kagome nodded absently. “I see. Give me a week or so to get in touch with my contacts and see what I can come up with.”

 

“That would be just fine. Please give me a call next week and we can meet for lunch and go over what you have found.” Snapping shut his briefcase, Sesshomaru stood and held out his hand to Kagome, who stood and shook his hand in return. “If you have any questions, just call my office. My assistant, Jaken always knows how to get a hold of me.”

 

“Thank-you Sesshomaru. I look forward to working with you,” Kagome said as she escorted him out to the lobby and watched as he got into his car.

 

“So who's the cutie?” Kagome blushed lightly and looked at Mai, who looked back at her with a twinkle in her eyes.

 

“That is my contact for a big story. His name is Sesshomaru Taisho.” Kagome flashed a quick smile at the woman before turning and heading to her desk. Mai's mouth fell open.

 

“Taisho, isn't that …”

 

Kagome laughed and nodded. “Yep.”

 

“Wow!”

 

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Sesshomaru relaxed as his driver drove him back to his office. He found himself thinking about Kagome.

 

He had been a little surprised when Mr. Tanaka had recommended her as the one to help him on this story. `To be totally honest, I had not even realized that she worked for the Tokyo Sun (A/N: This is not a real paper to my knowledge),' he thought to himself. Sure, he had read several of her stories, including that one about escaping the street gangs. `That one won several awards if I remember correctly.'

 

`I wonder how Inuyasha will react to her working with me on this story,' he mused. Sesshomaru shook his head and rubbed his temples with one hand; trying to relieve the threatening headache.

 

Sesshomaru wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. His rest had been disturbed the past several nights by a reoccurring dream.

 

**Dream Flashback**

 

He opened his eyes and saw a grassy hill with a single tree standing serenely at the top. He looked around, but he couldn't see anyone. There was a calming aura permeating this place. He found himself walking up towards the tree. As he neared, he could make out low voices, but could never understand the words. As much as he tried, he couldn't seem to find where the voices came from.

 

**End Flashback**

 

Sesshomaru found himself growling and quickly brought himself back under control. It wasn't that the dreams themselves were disturbing, quite the contrary. They were actually very relaxing. What bothered him, though, was the fact that he always woke up feeling like there was something missing; that there was a reason behind the dreams that he knew nothing of. Once he had awoken from the dream, he found that he could not get back to sleep.

 

The car pulled up to his office building and Sesshomaru stepped out. He took the elevator to his office where his assistant, Jaken greeted him eagerly. “Jaken, hold my calls. I am not to be disturbed,” he said quietly as he shut his door behind him. Perhaps he could take a small nap before his next meeting.

 

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TBC

 

A/N: Why is Sesshomaru having those dreams? What is he missing? What will Inuyasha think about Kagome's new assignment? Hmmm…

 

Thanks to my wonderful betas: breezie and inuyasha_lover5209. Thank-you to all who have reviewed to this point. I look forward to updating soon.

 

As always, Read, Enjoy, and Review!