InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Off Again, On Again ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of the manga/anime characters. They belong to the wonderful genius Rumiko Takahashi. I just enjoy making them do things to each other.

 

 

AN: On a totally unrelated note, I wish to thank knittingknots, ladyathenis, and landofthekwt for the following nominations at the InuYasha Fanfiction Guild: Minoue for Best Completed Serial and Best Characterization (InuYasha), Hello, Mother for Best Short Short, Tell a Little Tale for Best Characterization (SessMom) and Hangin' `round the Mistletoe for Best Drama. Seconding begins Sunday, January 24th and will continue through February 2nd. Voting will be from February 14th through February 27th. Thanks so much for your support! I do appreciate it.

 

And on another note, I would like to thank those of you that admit you read this story by leaving a review, emailing me, or commenting on my LiveJournal. I really do enjoy your observations and comments on the story. I honestly never thought anyone would take it so seriously. Then again, I never thought I would continue it past being a crazy oneshot!

 

And now, what is Sesshomaru up to? Enjoy!

 

 

Off Again, On Again - Chapter 7

 

Sesshomaru dressed and then headed back to the home office. He had two calls to make before he left. He picked up the phone and dialed the first number from memory.

 

“Yes?” he heard when the phone was picked up on the second ring.

 

“Is everything ready?” he asked.

 

“As you requested. I have only been waiting for word from you,” the voice on the other end responded.

 

“Good. Meet me there. It's today,” Sesshomaru said and hung up only to redial and repeat the brief conversation.

 

 

He returned to the bedroom to find that InuYasha had crawled into bed with Kagome and had her tucked protectively into his body. “InuYasha?”

 

The younger brother raised his head and cocked his eyebrows. “You're going to do it?”

 

Sesshomaru nodded.

 

“About time. If Kagome wakes I'll let her know you had business to take care of,” he whispered. “Will you be back before Dr. Miroku gets here?”

 

“If everything goes as planned.” The elder brother sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Kagome's hair. “If I don't do it today, I'll have to wait another three months. Don't let her think I ran out on her - it was just the timing. I need to do this for all of us.”

 

“Do you need me to do anything?” InuYasha asked.

 

Sesshomaru shook his head. “Not yet. Stay with her and take care of her. And don't be alarmed if you see a couple of men outside. I called and arranged for extra security in case he decides to return.”

 

“All right. Hopefully she'll sleep for awhile,” the younger brother said softly. “She really wore herself out. Just make sure the security guys know about Dr. Miroku coming.”

 

Sesshomaru grinned. “That won't be a problem. It turns out Bankotsu has a successful security agency - he only works at the clinic for the hell of it. It's a couple of his men that are guarding you.”

 

InuYasha shuddered involuntarily. “I hope that Jakotsu guy isn't one of them.”

 

The elder brother laughed. “I think he sent a couple of his more manly men - but it doesn't matter since Jak knows you don't swing that way and I think he's busy at the clinic today, anyway.

 

“Well, I had better get moving. I have a stop to make before the meeting.” Sesshomaru smoothed his dark charcoal Armani suit and straightened the black and silver paisley tie.

 

“Knock `em dead,” InuYasha encouraged.

 

Sesshomaru grinned. “I'll try to restrict that to only one person today, but the others may wish they were soon.”

 

And with that, he walked out of the bedroom.

 

InuYasha settled back down behind Kagome. “I do believe my brother is back,” he said, mostly to himself.

 

 

 

Sesshomaru pulled into the parking garage of his first stop and found a space. Pulling out the briefcase he had brought with him, he strode towards the elevator of the structure. When the car arrived he pressed the button of the floor he desired. The elevator began to move upwards and with a “ding” the doors opened and he stepped off. He didn't even check the directory because he knew where he was going. With purpose, he marched down the corridor and opened the door to the office suite of the man he had come to see.

 

The girl behind the reception desk looked up with surprise. “Sir! He's—”

 

She was cut off by Sesshomaru's curt, “He will see me now.” He did not wait for an answer before he opened the door to the inner office and walked in. “Musou.”

 

The man behind the desk paled, but stood and bowed. “Sesshomaru-sama, how may I help you today?”

 

“It is time for you to end this farce and release my brother's trust fund. Do not think I don't know what you have been doing,” Sesshomaru stated.

 

“Well the terms of the trust—”

 

He was cut off. “Are not what you told my brother or I. You lied.” Sesshomaru opened his briefcase and pulled out a folder. “This is the actual trust. You have been using my brother's money for yourself. Not only are you going to turn everything in it over to him, you are going to repay every yen you have stolen from it.”

 

Musou puffed out his chest. “I am allowed to recoup expenses.”

 

Sesshomaru grinned and reached into his briefcase once again and pulled out a thick manila envelope. He opened the clasp and spilled the contents onto the desk. “Yes, I'm sure all of these qualify as `expenses'.” The envelope was full of photos taken of the attorney with different women in exotic locations and expensive restaurants. “Not only that, I know you've been working with Kikyou since before she met my father and that you were the one that recommended she be InuYasha's nanny. You helped her to try and destroy my brother and convince our parents he was gay. I'm here to tell you that he is not gay, he is married, and his wife is pregnant with their first child. Even by the terms of the trust you forged and substituted for the real one, he has met them.

 

“Here is what you are going to do. You are going to give InuYasha every yen he is owed, every piece of property you purchased in his name. Do not think I don't know about them all - I assure you that I do. You are going to return every piece of yen you have taken from his account, even if it takes you the rest of your natural life to do it. Do you understand?” Sesshomaru concluded.

 

Musou was shaking his head. “But it will take time. I can't do it all today or you'll ruin me.”

 

Sesshomaru placed both hands on the flat surface of the desk and leaned towards him. “Do you think I care? You have brought this on yourself through your own greed. You could have made a nice sum if you had taken care of the accounts honestly like the Trustee of my trust did. He did such a good job I paid him to continue to manage it even after it was turned over to me. Instead, you tried to find a way to keep the entire thing under your control and never give it to my brother. Well, that ends today. If you don't, we will sue you and expose you for what you are. Not only that, we will file a lawsuit against you and Kikyou for what you did to InuYasha.” The furious brother leaned in closer and whispered angrily, “My brother finally remembered everything she did to him - how she tried to destroy his sexuality. How do you think it would go over in a court for everyone to find out what you two did, especially since sex is so important in this country? You will lose every client and account you ever had and neither of you will ever work again.”

 

Sesshomaru pulled another folder out of his briefcase and pushed it across the desk. “Here is all of the paperwork you need. Start signing and initialing to immediately put everything under InuYasha's control. Once the forensic accountant has finished going through all of the records we will contact you to inform you of how much you must return to the estate.”

 

Sweat was dripping from Musou's brow as he nervously started to sign the legally binding documents. “This is blackmail. I could—”

 

“You can do nothing. The real trust says that the money is to be turned over to my brother on his thirtieth birthday or once he is married, whichever comes first. He won't be thirty for another three years, but he was lawfully married nearly four months ago.

 

“That girl might just be after his money!” the attorney rebuked. “We should wait!”

 

Sesshomaru snarled, “The only one after his money is you and Kikyou. If we wait, there probably won't be anything left. You've been building the account up, but it is only a matter of time before you start moving it out and hiding it.”

 

Musou was white as a sheet. “How long have you known?” he croaked in horror.

 

“Since I saw you and Kikyou walk into one of those “love” hotels together.” Sesshomaru smirked. He'd let the man sweat as to how long ago that was since they'd been doing it for years.

 

“Why now?” the crooked lawyer couldn't help but to ask.

 

Sesshomaru glared at him. “Because my brother has a wife to care for with a baby on the way. The paltry allowance you dole out to him will no longer suffice. Plus, like I said, I've been keeping an eye on you and the trust holdings. It is at the highest it has been since you took over and I'm not giving you the opportunity to squander it or hide it.”

 

Sesshomaru gathered the papers and started going through them to make certain that everything had been signed and initialed properly. Satisfied, he put the documents back into the folder. He then gathered up all of the photos and other evidence he had dumped on the man's desk and stuffed them back into the envelope before placing all of it in his briefcase. He turned and said coldly as he placed his hand on the door handle, “And if you try to move or sell or do anything with any of the accounts or properties before we have acted on all of them, you will wish you had never been born. You may think me to be my father's son, but I am most like my mother.”

 

If there was any color left in Musou's face, it was completely gone now. While the father was strong and powerful, he was capable of compassion. Sesshomaru's mother was completely ruthless in her business dealings and had none. It was well-known that a couple of her opponents who tried to bring her down had simply disappeared and were never heard from again. Whenever one of Mrs. Takagi's friends or business associates asked about them, she smiled - not a warm friendly one, but one that made your blood run cold.

 

Musou pressed the intercom button to his receptionist. “I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off, and maybe Monday. I feel sick, like I'm coming down with the flu or something.” The man started gathering files from drawers and stuffing them in his briefcase. He slinked out of the back door to his offices, looking shiftily up and down the hallway before stepping out into the corridor and pulling the door shut behind him. Right now, getting out of town seemed like a very good idea. Plus, Sesshomaru had only said he couldn't touch InuYasha's account - he didn't say anything about the others he had control over.

 

Little did he know that the same men who had been watching him for years still were. As long as he relied on his own resources to run, Musou was safe. But the minute he started to steal from any of the others - other trusts that had been put in his care because it was known he was the Trustee over InuYasha's account - he would be dealt with. The Thunder Brothers were just sitting and waiting and watching, hoping that he would make a move that would allow them to act. All they needed was one call from their little sister Souten to let them know there was irregular activity in any of the trusts. Once that happened, he would disappear, too. Manten and Hiten really hoped he tried something. Nothing Musou said or did would interfere with their plans for him.

 

 

InuYasha was dozing lightly, his arms still wrapped firmly around Kagome and his nose was nestled against her neck. He loosened his grip when he felt her stir in front of him.

 

Kagome had been completely drained from her exertions earlier and was still groggy when she started to come to. Her eyes cracked open and she recognized her bedroom. She snuggled back to feel the firm body wrapped around her smaller one.

 

“Kagome?” InuYasha whispered softly. “Are you awake?”

 

“Sort of,” she mumbled in return. “How did we end up back in bed?”

 

“You fell asleep, and I was tired since we didn't get much rest last night, so I put you to bed and climbed in with you. I hope you don't mind,” he answered.

 

She rolled over to face him. “How can you love me after what he said?”

 

InuYasha brushed her tears away. “How can you love me, knowing that I can't give you everything you need?”

 

“But you have…” her voice trailed away.

 

“Only with my brother's help,” he finished for her.

 

“Where is Sesshomaru?” Kagome asked. “He left because of what happened, didn't he?”

 

“Yes, I mean no. Kagome, wait!” InuYasha shouted as he scrambled after her. “Let me explain!”

 

“That he was disgusted and left? And you'll be next?” she cried as she ran across the room.

 

“No, Kagome, that's not it at all. There was something he had to take care of. He'll be back when he's done,” he insisted.

 

“What was so important—”

 

InuYasha cut her off before she became hysterical. “The Board of Directors' meeting. It's this afternoon.”

 

He took her hand and coaxed her into sitting in the large chair in the bedroom with him. “Once every quarter the Board of Directors meets with all of the executive officers of the company. If he didn't move today, he would have had to wait another three months. He was already considering taking action today, but had not made up his mind. Something happened this morning when you were attacked that set him off. He's in the mood to kick some ass so he's gone to the corporate headquarters to shake things up. He hopes to be back before Dr. Miroku gets here.”

 

“You called Dr. Miroku?” she whispered.

 

“Sesshomaru did. We were at a loss on how to help you, and are worried that that bastard may have hurt you. He's supposed to bring that doctor he told us about with him to give you a check-up. However, I still want you to set up an appointment and go into his office and get a thorough examination.” InuYasha gently placed his hand over her belly. “We want to make sure everything is okay with both you and the baby.”

 

Kagome took his hand and slid it down to the apex of her legs. “Show me you still love me,” she whispered.

 

“Kagome, I…” his voice faltered.

 

“I knew it!” She jumped up.

 

InuYasha grabbed her hand. “Kagome, you were bleeding earlier! I don't want to hurt you!”

 

“Bleeding? You mean? Oh no, the baby!” she wailed.

 

“Shhhh,” he tried to calm her. “It wasn't that much blood. I think he may have torn something when he attacked you. I just don't want to do anything to make it worse, I promise.”

 

“You mean I can fuck a dog and even a horse and not tear, but that bastard ripped something when he raped me?” Kagome said angrily.

 

InuYasha had pulled one of her robes from the closet and held it for her. “He probably did it on purpose since he was trying to hurt you every way he could, physically and emotionally. You had no control over the situation like you do at the clinic.”

 

“That makes sense, I guess.” Kagome slipped her arms through the sleeves and let InuYasha tie it shut for her.

 

He moved her house slippers to where she could slide her feet into them, and then pulled on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and his own house shoes. “Come on, and I'll heat something up. You must be hungry.”

 

“All right,” Kagome agreed.

 

InuYasha took her hand and led her to the kitchen.

 

 

His first task successfully completed, Sesshomaru was moving on to the second. He entered the parking structure of the building of the corporation that bore his name and parked in his rarely used assigned place. He took the express elevator to the top floor, which housed all of the executive conference rooms. Unannounced and unnoticed, he slipped into one of the smaller rooms.

 

The two men who were waiting there for him bowed. “Sesshomaru-sama,” they said together.

 

Sesshomaru returned the bow. “Myouga-sama, Toutousai-sama, thank you for meeting me here and for helping me to accomplish my goals. I know that neither of you have been pleased with the direction my father's company has taken.”

 

Myouga spoke first, “As you know, we were forced out when we disagreed with the changes in policy and practices.”

 

“Your father would be very disappointed. We know that he intended for you to follow in his footsteps, but that the current board and officers would not allow it and forced you aside as well. I have been looking forward to this day,” Toutousai said. “I think I speak for both of us when I say that we will assist you in any way we are capable of.”

 

“You have everything we need?” Sesshomaru asked.

 

Each of the two men picked up their briefcase. “We are ready.”

 

“Then let us proceed,” Sesshomaru said and pulled the door open.

 

When they reached the large conference room at the end of the hall, Sesshomaru threw open the door and walked in, Myouga and Toutousai trailing behind him.

 

The men at the table gasped when they saw him entered and scrambled to their feet.

 

They may not respect him, but Sesshomaru still relished the fear his sudden appearance struck in the hearts of many of those around the table.

 

“Sesshomaru-sama, to what do we owe this pleasure?” the President of the Board asked. “We were not aware you were coming for this meeting.”

 

“Do I need permission to attend the board meeting of my own company?” Sesshomaru responded.

 

The CEO was more than a little overconfident. “Well, frankly, you have little to do with the running of the company and your presence is a distraction.”

 

“Actually, gentlemen, that is why I am here. That is about to change. As President of the Takagi Corporation, I am taking charge and the first order of business is to fire those of you responsible for changing the goals that my father established for this company,” Sesshomaru stated.

 

“You can't do that!” several of the board members and officers shouted.

 

Toutousai stepped forward, “Actually, he can.”

 

Sesshomaru smiled, not unlike his mother when she made her opponents and friends alike blood run cold. “Thanks to the greed of the majority of you, I now control most of the stock. And since part of your contract says that you must hold stock in this company in order to serve on the Board of Directors or to be an officer, every one of you who sold out is relieved of you duties as of now. You are running Father's company into the ground and that ends today.”

 

Myouga added, “The next time you sell every share of something you are supposed to keep to a company, you might want to find out something about it - like does it really exist and who owns it. You may have believed you were selling to a small start-up company that was trying to get its feet wet in the market by buying stock when it was at an all-time low, but in reality you were allowing Sesshomaru-sama to repurchase the shares in his company that you were entrusted with. The two junior officers who refused to sell will be allowed to stay.”

 

“The rest of you are fired.” Sesshomaru stated firmly as a dozen men led by Bankotsu entered the room. He turned to the guards that had just joined them. “Escort each of them out of the building. Make sure to get their key card and pass to the parking garage. We will have someone pack their personal things and ship them to them.”

 

He faced the stunned men directly. “Because I have no desire to hurt your families as this was not their fault, I am being very generous and giving each of you three months severance pay. If you are old enough, you will be offered early retirement. However, if you fight me and try to force your way back, you will not receive anything - your pay and benefits will end as of today. Don't forget that you were the one who broke your contract and sold all of your Takagi stock. Technically, I could force you to repay any salary and benefits accrued since the day you released it. Now, with the exception of the two who refused to sell, you may leave.”

 

When the room cleared, there were two rather frightened and anxious looking young employees left.

 

“Why don't you move up a little closer?” Myouga suggested as he took a seat at the table.

 

Toutousai nodded and waved his hand, indicating he would like for them to join them. “Yes, come and tell us why you refused to sell when everyone else was dumping their stock. You had to have known about it.”

 

Sesshomaru sat at the head of the table. “But first, tell me who you are.”

 

When they stood, he saw that one of them was actually a female in a proper business suit with a skirt. The two bowed and the young man introduced them. “This is Shiori, and my name is Satoru.”

 

“Please, sit down,” Myouga invited. “I must admit that I was surprised to see you were in attendance since it is usually executive officers and board members.”

 

“They use us for running errands, getting coffee and that kind of thing,” Shiori offered.

 

“So did you pay attention to the proceedings?” Toutousai asked.

 

“Oh yes!” Satoru answered.

 

“Though we weren't thrilled with the way things were being handled,” Shiori said, and then slapped her hand over her mouth. She bowed her head and said,. “One hundred pardons, sir, I should not have said that.”

 

“No, I would agree with you. That is why we just discharged everyone,” Sesshomaru said. “So, tell us why you held on to your stock.”

 

Shiori spoke first, “My mom worked here for years and remembers what it was like when your father ran the company. She was certain that it could be turned around and returned to greatness one day, but then she was forced to resign. She signed her stock over to me rather than allow the current CEO or Board President get their hands on it.”

 

Sesshomaru looked at Myouga who was nodding. “Yamaguchi Yuriko was my assistant when I was the Chief Financial Officer under your father.”

 

“Would you like to see if she is interested in coming back?” Sesshomaru asked.

 

Myouga lit up. “She was an excellent assistant and with her experience could have followed as my replacement. She has degrees in accounting and business. She wasn't just a secretary, but a true assistant.” Myouga turned to Shiori. “Do you think she would like to come back? Or is she happy where she is now?”

 

Shiori looked down at her hands. “To be honest, she had difficulty finding another job. She said they sabotaged her applications elsewhere. I still live at home to help support her since my father passed away three years ago. She works temp jobs, but someone even manages to kill those for her when she finds one that looks promising to be long term.”

 

“And you, young man?” he asked Satoru.

 

“My grandfather was Hosenki, who worked with your father. He left me his shares when he passed away and told me have faith, that one day the company would be strong again. I've held on to them in his honor. And like Shiori, I hoped the company would regain its stature some day.”

 

Sesshomaru stood and the others jumped up. “Please, sit down and continue. Myouga and Toutousai, I leave things in your hands for now. Hire anyone you need to help turn my father's company around. You have my numbers if you need to reach me.”

 

“You're leaving?” Toutousai asked.

 

Sesshomaru nodded. “I'm afraid so. I still need to see Jaken about InuYasha's trust so he can go through and see what that thief Musou was up to.”

 

“So, you took care of that today as well,” Myouga said. “Something certainly lit a fire under you this morning.”

 

“That's the other thing. My sister-in-law was attacked before lunch. InuYasha is with her, but I need to get home to check—”

 

The others gasped. “Is she okay?” they all asked in unison.

 

“We think so, but the doctor is coming to the house to make sure. I would like to be there to support them when he arrives,” Sesshomaru responded.

 

“Any idea how much longer you will be living with your brother and his wife?” Toutousai asked innocently.

 

Sesshomaru shook his head. “They've done such a poor job remodeling my home I'm considering bulldozing it and starting over. That may end up being faster. Though as it is, I was glad I was there this morning since it took both of us to pull the creep off of her.”

 

Everyone murmured their agreement.

 

Toutousai couldn't help but to comment, “You have no idea how happy I am that you have worked things out with your brother. You must be getting along very well to stay under the same roof for so long.”

 

Sesshomaru looked back, his hand on the door. “You know, you're right. Though I think I'd have to thank my sister-in-law Kagome the most for that. She acts as both a bridge and buffer between us.

 

“I must be on my way. I leave things in your capable hands for now. Make whatever changes you feel you need to - discharge whoever you need to and hire whoever you need to in order to make the business successful again. Toutousai, you are to resume your place as the Chief Executive Officer for now and Myouga, the Chief Financial Officer. Find out what these two are good at and put them to work. I'm going to see if InuYasha wants to put that Graphic Arts degree to work in the advertising department since someone on the board sabotaged his applications for employment as well. I'm going to see Jaken, and then I'm going home to check on my sister-in-law. Call me if you need me.” Sesshomaru felt the best he had in years - since the board overthrew him and sent him home with his tail between his legs. He had to admit that he had enjoyed that immensely.

 

 

His one stop before he went home was to the forensic accountant's office. “Jaken?” he called out as he entered the office. The old man still refused to have an assistant of any kind, believing if you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself.

 

He found him working at his desk. “Are you all right? You look a little green,” Sesshomaru said as he stood in the door.

 

The little accountant looked up from his work. “I tried the new Thai place down the street. I don't think it agreed with me.” He waved him to the chair in front of his desk. “So did you get everything?”

 

Sesshomaru nodded and placed the folders on the desk. “Here is everything I have on InuYasha's Trust holdings and the paperwork turning it all over to him. Go through and find every yen that greedy bastard charged against the trust that is not a legitimate expense. We're going to make him pay back every bit of it if it takes him the rest of his life.”

 

“And will that be a very long one?” Jaken didn't even look up as he thumbed through the papers.

 

Sesshomaru shrugged his shoulders. “That depends on him. If he tries to steal from any of his other clients or move on these holdings he'll have a very short lifespan. If he uses his own money to run and hide then we'll leave him alone.”

 

“And your father's company?”

 

“I discharged the executive officers and the board of directors this afternoon. Toutousai and Myouga are in charge of reorganization. They did all of the ground work and helped me implement the stock repurchase, so I'll stay out of their way and let them do what they need to do. There were a couple of youngsters there that were fired up and wanted to help so I told them to put them to work. They were the only two who refused to part with their shares, so we'll give them a chance to help the company succeed. In fact, one of them was Hosenki's grandson.” Sesshomaru fell silent.

 

“Hosenki was a good man. I went to his memorial,” Jaken commented. “Is Bokuseno going to handle the trust once I've gone through everything?”

 

“That is what I'm going to recommend to InuYasha. He's done a good job investing for me and I'd rather do other things than worry about mundane stuff like that. He looks into things that I ask him to, but he won't make a move without thorough research. But I'll know for certain by the time you finish going through everything. Will a week be enough?” Sesshomaru asked.

 

“It depends on how hard he tried to hide what he was doing. But from what I see it looks like he was so arrogant he didn't care. I don't believe he thought he would ever have to turn any of it over,” Jaken observed.

 

“Call me if you need anything, I need to get home,” Sesshomaru said on his way out the door.

 

Jaken just waved. His beaky nose was already buried in the paperwork and files that Sesshomaru left with him.