InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ LOVE LIFE ❯ Just Like Dominos ( Chapter 7 )

[A/N]

Yume: Sorry for the long wait. I was going to update on Saturday, but sadly, my parents dragged me off on a "family trip."

CF: (shudders)

Yume: Yeah. That bad. Anyways, I hope you can all forgive me for leaving you like that. ^^

CF: Last time, Kagome ran into Naraku at the good ol' bookstore!

Yume: And now, here's this time.

[Disclaimer]: Inuyasha not mine, simple as that. I don't need this crap right now…

~^_^~

LOVE LIFE

By: Youkai Yume

Chapter 7: Just Like Dominos

There was nothing but stunned silence. The corners of Naraku's lips curved in an amused smirk as Kagome stared at him, mouth agape like a fish. It wasn't until she felt his thumb rubbing sensuously up and down her wrist-which he still held firmly, that she snapped back to reality.

"Ano…it's a…pleasant surprise to see you here, Naraku-sensei," Kagome said nervously, pulling back her hand form his lecherous grasp. He only smiled.

"Indeed," was his simple reply, but the one word alone made her shudder. 'OMG! What's my professor doing here, OF ALL PLACES?! Why today? Why now? What do I do?!?! Why is he staring at me like that?!'

The thoughts raced through her mind like wildfire, not able to say a thing more as Naraku continued to look at her curiously. He watched in pure amusement as the emotions flickered across her flushed face, and he could imagine what she was thinking as her sapphire eyes widened considerably as the seconds ticked away.

"W-What are you doing here, Naraku-sensei?" Kagome managed to form the words once she regained her composure.

"The same reason why you're here, of course; to find a good book. It's a small world after all, ne?"

"Oh," was her simple reply. In the midst of running into her professor, she had momentarily forgotten that she was in search of a good novel as well.

When she looked back up at him, she realized he was mere inches from her face, his expression serious.

"Is there something that you're looking for in particular?" He asked, his voice low. His crimson eyes glittered, staring fixed on her pink lips as she bit her lower lip…he almost licked his own in a craving to taste them.

"Actually, I'm here looking for a fantasy sort of book."

"I see…" He inched closer to her, his mind running wild with the utterance of the word "fantasy." "You like reading such things, Higurashi?"

"Um…yeah…" She answered nervously, noticing how he was closing the gap between them. "OH LOOK! Here's one!" Quicker than lightning, Kagome picked up the nearest book on the shelf and shoved it in front of his face to see, at the same time using it as a shield.

Naraku drew back, eyeing the book with a sort of annoyed look, but it quickly turned to amusement.

"I didn't know you were into dark books such as that, Kagome…"

"Dark?" She turned to book around, and read the cover. It was entitled, Interview With a Vampire, by Ann Rice. Sapphire eyes went up to meet with his crimsone ones.

"You and I have more in common than I thought. I myself enjoy vampire books immensely, but that one you have there is one of my favorites," He commented in his silkily smooth voice. "There's something very sensual about vampires, wouldn't you agree, Kagome?" He all but cooed, and Kagome shuddered at the sound of her name spoken like a cool breeze against her bare skin.

"Um, yeah…dark, sensual, sure…I like rainbows!" She blurted out randomly just to say something-anything to change the subject. 'I really don't like the way he's looking at me…'

"Come and sit with me, Kagome. We can have more on this discussion if you like-unless of course, you have more searching to do…" He eyed her as she fidgeted on the ground, her lip a swollen red from biting too hard.

'So very red…'

Kagome meanwhile, was at war with herself in side. Every part of her being screamed "Run, you stupid idiot!" But being raised to be a polite young lady, it was rude to just run out like that, especially when a man was asking so earnestly for just a good chat.

Still… 'Make up an excuse! Oh…where's Sesshomaru when I need him? That's it!'

"No thanks, Naraku-sensei-"

"Please, outside of class, it's just Naraku."

"Okay, um…Naraku…I'd love to join you, but I promised my boyfriend that I'd meet him…in the magazine rack!"

Naraku's face faulted, and the gleam in his sharp eye was replaced with one that flashed with warning.

"Your boyfriend?"

"Yeah…Sesshomaru Taiyoukai…you met him the other day, remember?" She pressed; gaining a bit more confidence as the older man seemed to back off slightly.

Naraku ran his hands through wavy ink black hair, his eyebrows furrowing together in thought. But his look of dissatisfaction was soon replaced to a cooler demeanor, and he smiled wily at her.

"Really? Sesshomaru is your boyfriend?"

Kagome nodded slowly, slightly surprised that he was so collective and casual about it. Even more to his surprise, the man began to chuckle and shake his head from side to side.

"My, my…I never would've thought that Taiyoukai was the player-type…" He mused almost idly to himself. He smirked as he watched the confused look that came over the young girl's face out of the corner of his eye.

"Player? What are you saying?!" She started, suddenly very interested in what Naraku had to say as an uneasy feeling overcame her.

"Oh? You mean you didn't know?" Naraku acted as if surprised, his crimson eyes searching her sapphire ones. 'Perfect…' He thought, smiling like mad on the inside when all he saw was more confusion. "You poor, poor girl…you don't deserve to be put through all of this…"

He came towards her, a concerned look on his face as he gently brushed away stray ebony locks from her face. 'It feels like silk…' He thought to himself, resisting the urge to just full on bury his fingers into her tresses.

But Kagome batted them away, suddenly angry.

"What are you trying to say?!"

"Why, Kagome. I'm only looking out for the welfare of my-"

"YOU!"

Their conversation was interrupted (much to Naraku's annoyance) by a rather disgruntled voice that belonged to none other than the object of their topic. Low and behold, Sesshomaru came walking briskly down the aisle of books toward them, a look of pure contempt on his face directed straight at Naraku.

He only stared back with a fake look of greeting. Kagome turned around to face the silver boy, but before she could make a full turn, she found his arm had wrapped around her waist and he held her firmly to himself protectively.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome all but choked out, still in a bit of state of surprise. He responded with a growl, not taking his eyes off Naraku.

He bowed, a thin smirk on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru chose to say instead.

"Well, despite popular belief, us professors DO have lives outside of the classroom."

'Doing what? Hitting on your students?' Sesshomaru thought to himself, giving Naraku a "How Sick" look. He began to growl even louder when he noticed the lecher eyeing Kagome (who was still silent and still) in his arms. He pulled her tighter against his chest.

Kagome suddenly felt a bit uneasy in his embrace, and wriggled a bit to loosen his arm.

"Um, Sesshomaru, I was just…"

"Hey, Bro! You gotta read this one, it's totally kick-ass…." All heads whipped around to see Inuyasha emerge behind a shelf of books, holding up a manga book that read "Rurouni Kenshin" in the air. His amber eyes shifted from the dark professor to his best friend and brother.

With raised eyebrows, he walked over to them, tucking the books under his arm.

"Hey, what's going on? Why is Naraku-sensei here?" He asked.

"Looking for a book," Naraku replied casually.

"Is that all?" Sesshomaru asked suspiciously, golden eyes flashing in warning.

"We were talking…"

The Inu brothers turned to look at Kagome, who up until now had remained silent most of the time. Her voice came out meek and timid.

"Yes, that's right!" Naraku quipped. "In fact, we were just talking about you, Sesshomaru."

At this, the boy turned sharply to meet with Naraku's mockingly crimson eyes, and a foreboding feeling lurched in the pit of his stomach.

"What about?"

Kagome began to shift uncomfortably in his arms, and Naraku smiled at the sight of it.

"About your little business arrangement," He answered coolly.

Both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha seemed to freeze on the spot, identical golden eyes widened in shock and panic. Whatever they expected was going to come out of Naraku's mouth, that wasn't it.

"Sesshomaru, I think we should go to the others now," Inuyasha insisted, taking Kagome by the other arm and tugging. Blinking back to reality, he nodded and dragged a rather confused Kagome away.

"I'll see you next class session then," The dark man said silkily, watching as the two brothers protected the young girl.

As they walked past a smug Naraku, Sesshomaru sent a heated glare that spoke volumes of hatred. Crimson eyes followed them as they rounded off a corner and disappeared behind an aisle of books.

Running hands through midnight locks, Naraku could not help but chuckle to himself as he sat down by a nearby table. Flipping out his cell phone he began to dial numbers. Holding the phone up to his ear, he waited for someone to pick up.

Moments later, a female voice sounded from the other end.

"Hello, Shikon Corporation. This is the office of Mr. Onigumo, how can I help you?"

"Yes, this is Naraku. I'd like to speak with my brother, please," He said to the secretary.

"Of course sir, I'll get him on the line for you right away."

After a pause, the deep male voice of Onigumo could be heard.

"Naraku. I didn't think I'd hear from you for a while."

"Yes, well something has come up that I think it will benefit the both of us, dear brother." Naraku said smugly, looking at the book that he had in his hands.

"You know I don't care much for your schemes, Naraku. It usually ends up ugly."

"But they work, don't they?" He pressed. "Trust me, you have everything to gain in this one. All I ask is for a little favor…" There was a momentary lapse of silence as Onigumo mulled over the answer. After a few seconds…

"Fine, what is it?"

Naraku smirked. 'It's just like dominos…' He thought with relish. 'I have but to knock one down, and the rest will fall.'

~ ^_^ ~

The two brothers sat in silence, not looking at the other as they played with their drinks. They were outside of a soda shop, and currently it was just the both of them. Sango had begged Kagome to go with her to go check out a teddy bear shop with her, and Miroku tagged along on account that he caught sight of other pretty girls fawning over the stuffed animals.

"I'm going along so that anything you want, I'll be able to get it for you, my dear Sango!" Miroku quickly said when the girls gave him a dirty look.

So here they were, alone and rather tense as they sat across from each other. Each knew what was on the other's mind, and it was rather preferred that they wouldn't have to talk about such a matter. However, it was no use. It could not be avoided for much longer.

Inuyasha's expression was grim, while Sesshomaru's was impassive as ever. But behind golden orbs, his brother knew he was equally troubled.

"So, how did Naraku-sensei know about the business arrangement?" Inuyasha finally broke the silence. He looked up at the older boy whose eyes did not meet his.

"I don't know. I've never talked about anything that goes on in our family or the company outside of father's office," Sesshomaru began, "There must be rumors flying around the city."

"I'm betting you haven't told Kagome about it yet."

The elder of the two growled.

"How the hell am I supposed to tell her something like that?! 'Kagome, I forgot to mention, but I happened to be engaged to another girl.'" He shot off sarcastically, his voice laced with bitterness.

Inuyasha scrunched up his nose, sipping his soft drink idly.

"You don't have to tell her like that," He mumbled. "But you gotta tell her sooner or later! You can't just hide things like this, especially not from Kagome."

"Damn, how in the world could I have forgotten about the arrangement?" Sesshomaru groaned, running his hands through his silver locks in frustration.

"Personally I didn't know how you could've forgotten about it either," His younger brother shrugged, sitting back against his chair. "Why don't you just convince Dad to call the whole thing off? I mean, once you explain to him that Kagome's back, he'll understand…"

"You don't get it. The company is Father's life. If I don't go through with this marriage, he'll lose the opportunity of a lifetime. On top of that, he'll probably disown me from the family."

"Dad wouldn't do that," Inuyasha urged, scratching his head at the very idea. Sesshomaru only scoffed.

"You'd be surprised, 'Yasha. Our father loves that company more than anything else…he'd sell his soul for it if he could." Now it was his turn to slump back in his chair, golden eyes reflecting the stress that spawned from his predicament.

"But that's not what's bothering you, is it?"

Sesshomaru shook his head.

"Frankly, I could care less about what father wants. But what about Kagome?" He looked off in the direction that his beloved had walked off last. "What if when she finds out…she'll leave me?" The very thought brought a knot to his stomach and a lump in his throat. He couldn't bear it if Kagome were to walk out of his life a second time. Three years was hell, but forever?

It was a fate far worse than whatever judgement Inutaisho could pass.

"Ah, c'mon, bro. Kagome's not like that. If you just explain to her the situation, I'm sure she'll understand."

"Damn." Sesshomaru growled again. "Damn father and damn this fucking business arrangement," He cursed, sitting up with a dangerous glow in his eyes. "I've never even met this whore, let alone marry her!" He slammed a fist on the table, knocking over his drink and nearly knocking over Inuyasha's as well, if he hadn't made a hasty move to rescue it.

"Shit, Sesshomaru! Calm down!"

"Unless you have a way to get out of this stupid predicament, I refuse to do so!"

Inuyasha sighed; drinking deeply from his cup and not caring about the brain freeze that would come shortly after.

"Listen. Whatever happens, you have to tell her first. I mean…" His amber eyes softened. "It's better for her to hear it from you than someone like Naraku."

The older boy narrowed his gaze at this. 'Damn, I hate it when he's right.'

"Besides…" Inuyasha continued. "If she finds out on her own, she might think you were hiding it from her…like you really were two-timing her behind her back…"

"I WOULD NEVER!" Sesshomaru bit out angrily, his golden eyes flashing dangerously at his younger brother. Still, Inuyasha did not flinch. On the contrary, his expression became even more hardened.

"Yeah. But if you don't make sure Kagome knows that…you might lose her for good, big bro." With that, the younger of the two laid back in his own chair again, finishing his soda and tossing it in the nearby trash. Sesshomaru all but stared at him, a million thoughts racing in his mind.

Lose…Kagome? He sighed, wanting nothing more than to take her and fly away from all of these troubles. But it did no good to wish for these things. The simple truth was, his brother was right. He had to fix it before it was too late.

And just when I finally had a taste of paradise…

End Chapter

[A/N]

Yume: Okay, that's all for chapter 7. Sorry it was so short, but lots more drama on the way next! So stick around! BTW, for those of you who might be confused with their names, 'Taiyoukai' is the last name of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

CF: Yume will ATTEMPT to be more prompt with the next update, so please have patience!

Yume: THANKS SOOO MUCH FOR ALL THAT REVIEWED! (blows kisses)

CF: Please read and review! No flames please!

Yume: And stick around for the next chap, in which maybe there will be some lime, a twist, and some other things that I just love to play around with! Just the tip of the iceberg my friends!

CF: I could go for some ice…

Yume: You want me to shove you in the freezer again?

CF: NOOO! Oh wait, there's some leftover ice cream. Okay!

IMPORTANT NOTE!

There have been recent acts of plagiarism going on lately, and let me say that IF YOU EVER PLAGERIZE, ANYONE ELSE'S WORK, OR MINE, I SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN LIKE A DOG! I'm serious, a crime like that is the lowest of the low. No one should steal someone else's hard work, YOU WILL BE CAUGHT! If you know anyone who is plagerizing others work, set them straight, report them. People like that deserve to be punished!

Ja Ne!