InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Our Love Affair ❯ Here's to You... ( Chapter 2 )

Warning: This fic contains strong adult contents. It won't be as graphic as an NC-17, but there will be sex, so use good judgment.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters, Rumiko Takahashi does.

Our Love Affair

Chapter 2: Here's to You…

By Cataluna

Sango stomped inside the apartment without saying a word, simply pushing past her to get the other side, as though she was part of the door. Her heels clicked with such force against her wooden floor that Kagome was surprised they didn't leave any dents or scratches.

"Well hello to you too," Kagome muttered softly under her breath as the lock bolted shut, a bit startled by her friend's sudden aloofness. Sango had never been so cold to her before. They had met during freshman year when they were randomly chosen as roommates through pure luck. Their friendship had been cemented in stone ever since. She could not remember the last time they had disagreed on anything, or had been mad at each other, until now.

"Do you have something to tell me?" Her voice was filled with anger and accusation.

She sighed and slowly turned around. Sango was just standing there, glaring at her, with her arms folded across her chest. For some reason, Sango was majorly pissed at her. Several possible scenarios ran quickly through her mind. `Did I forget her birthday? No, it's not for a couple more months…' "What?" she finally dared to ask, a look of complete bewilderment on her face.

Sango answered her question by waving the front page of today's newspaper in her face. "Merger of Fukumori Corporation and Higurashi Investment Company by Engagement."

"Oh," she blinked at the large headline, trying to shuffle past the confusing state her mind was in. "Oh!" she repeated again for no one in particular, and glanced down quickly at her empty ring finger. Despite its beauty, the stone had weighted heavily down on her hand. It was anything but what it was supposed to symbolize. There was no affection, and definitely no love. He had given it to her as though it was merely another signature on a piece of paper. She had taken it off as soon as she was home, tucking it in her drawer for safekeeping.

The newspaper fell fluttering to the floor. "Oh? You got engaged and you didn't tell me… your best friend! Kagome, how could you?" She sunk down on her sofa. "And how long have you been seeing this guy? I didn't even know you were dating anyone!" She glanced around suspiciously at the room, as though she was expecting Kagome's fiancé to suddenly emerge from behind one of the doors.

A hard lump squeezed at her throat. Sango seemed so hurt by all this, and she was still acting like it was nothing. Kagome sat down beside her. "Sango, please don't be mad."

She sighed, still not looking at her. "I'm not… just hurt." The last part was almost inaudible.

She clasped and unclasped her hands together. "It might be hard to believe, but my engagement had been the last thing on my mind all morning. Grandpa is retiring and wants me to run the company. Now everything's happening so quickly and it's a total mess."

Sango turned her head slightly. "Wait… so you're marrying that guy as part of a business arrangement?"

"Yea."

"And you actually agreed to this?"

Kagome laughed dryly. "You know it made more sense last night than it did today. Everyone seemed to think it was the right thing to do, including mama. My parents had an arranged marriage too, and they turned out alright."

"They were lucky." Her face softened in concern. "Kagome, I thought you've always wanted to marry for love. Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late, you know?"

She bit lightly on her bottom lip, eyebrows furrowing, staring off at some random spot on the floor. "I don't know…maybe I have too much of an expectation when it comes to love. I mean not everyone can be like you and Miroku. Sesshoumaru seems like a nice man, not very friendly but polite. And I know that he's not marrying me for my money like all the others. It'll make my family happy," she rambled, trying to convince both Sango and herself that this was the right thing to do.

"But he's marrying you for shared control of your company, isn't it just as bad? Anyways, the most important thing is if it'll make you happy. I'm sure your family would understand. You're still young, who knows… maybe you'll meet the man of your dream tomorrow, or you've met him already."

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Inuyasha took off his jacket and threw it carelessly on the couch. His brother continued to type on his laptop, only acknowledging his presence with a slight nod of the head. He decided to make himself comfortable in one of the chairs in front of his desk, preparing himself for a long stay. His eyes threatened to flutter shut from boredom and hearing the sound of rhythmic keystrokes.

Meetings with Sesshoumaru were never "pleasant." That was the one thing they could always agree on. These innocent rendezvous had a way of quickly turning into heated arguments. He didn't mind. To him, arguing was a much better alternative than listening to his lecture.

Still not bothering to look up from his work, "Inuyasha, whatever trouble you have planned for tomorrow night, cancel it."

"Like hell- "

Sesshoumaru continued before Inuyasha could add in a few more choice words of his own. "The event is very important to our company. I need you to make an appearance as Vice President…"

Inuyasha groaned and rolled his eyes, already starting to tune out. He hated these so-called important events. They were nothing but an excuse for rich people to broadcast to each other about their wealth and success. The only reason why he would go was to fulfill his role, and get everyone off his case.

"…My engagement party, and meet my fiancée, Kagome Higurashi."

His blinked several times in surprise at what he had just heard. `Fiancée? Did I fucking hear right?' "You're getting married to that bitch?" He had heard more than his share of gossip about that girl upon his arrival at the office this morning. She was supposed to be brilliant, just a few years out of college, and already taking care of most of the company. She was also ice cold and a total snob. In another word, a perfect match for his brother.

Sesshoumaru closed his laptop and removed his wire-rimmed glasses. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly in annoyance. "That bitch is your future sister in-law, and you will treat her with respect. Our marriage will end the pointless rivalry and combine our companies into one powerful empire," a hint of excitement entered into his usually calm voice.

Inuyasha looked at him in disbelief at how he could be so tactical about all this. Sesshoumaru was acting like he was merely gaining large shares of stock and assets, instead of committing the rest of his life to one woman. "And is this all you ever care about? Business?" He didn't even know why he had bothered asking this question. For as long as he had known him, it had and would always be business. He hoped that this girl knew what she was getting into.

"Well someone has to since all you do run wild with father's money instead of helping me take care of our company," Sesshoumaru retorted, and resumed his work on the laptop.

Inuyasha's hands curled into tight fists on his lap, and the muscles on his jaw tightened. It just proved that Sesshoumaru would never really accept and see him as a part of his family. To him and everyone else in the family, he would always be the bastard that his father had produced from a one-night fling with his secretary. He was the black sheep of the family, their shame.

Inuyasha never asked for any of this, his job, his wealth. He did not even know that he had a father until his 18th birthday. Now he was trying to make up for missing out on his childhood by providing him with all the advantages and benefits of being a Fukumori. A soon as he was out of college, Inuyasha was handed the position of vice presidency and a year supply of Armani suits.

"Mr. Fukumori, your two o'clock appointment is here."

"Send him in," Sesshoumaru pressed the intercom to reply. "I will see you tomorrow night," his voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

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"Congratulation on your engagement."

Kagome forced another smile and shook his hand politely. She looked up at the man with his arm wrapped lightly around her slender waist, "Would you please excuse me, I need to freshen up."

He nodded, and released her, already focused on another important board member he needed to talk to.

Desperately needing a breath of fresh air, she grabbed a glass of white wine and walked outside to the garden. She never thought that her own engagement party could be so…well boring. The greater part of the evening was spent shaking hands and smiling, meeting so-called important business partners.

Sesshoumaru had been cool and polite, never showing more emotion than needed. He had complimented her on her choice of evening wear, a green strapless gown that she wore with a matching emerald choker, but that was it. He was more interested in discussing the stock market than paying attention to his future wife.

She sighed deeply and stared at the moon, rubbing her arm with her free hand. She knew that she shouldn't be expecting him to love her so soon, but he should at least make an effort to be a little warmer towards her. `What would our marriage be like if he's like this now?' she asked herself before drowning down the entire glass of wine in one gulp.

"You know…you need to stop drinking so much," a familiar deep voice spoke out from behind her.

Kagome spun around quickly, nearly dropping the glass in her hand. "Who's there?"

A silver haired man stepped out from the shadow. "Inuyasha." At first glance, he greatly resembled Sesshoumaru, but the similarities lied in their amber eyes and the color of their hair only. This man radiated warmth whereas her fiancé was icy. "We didn't really get the chance to introduce ourselves last time," he added, the corner of his mouth tugging into a mischievous smile.

`Last time?' She squinted her eyes, trying to recall where and when she had met him.

"I guess you were a little too drunk to remember anything about that evening," he snorted.

"That evening…" her voice trailed off. She blushed deeply as scenes from that night suddenly flashed through her mind, including images of her trying to seduce him. Her lips suddenly grew hot with remembrance as though he was pressed against her again. She absentmindedly touched them with two of her fingers. "I-I- I, we…we didn't…did we?" she stuttered, her face growing shades redder by the minute as she tried to make more sense of that night, desperately needing assurance that nothing had happened.

He chuckled lightly at her embarrassment and stepped towards her till they were but a few inches apart. Running his finger lightly on her bare arm, he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Don't worry, we didn't `do it'."

Her heart thumped loudly as his lips accidentally brushed against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. She was having trouble standing and remembering to breathe at the same time. The only thing she could think of was how soft his lips had felt, and how good they tasted. `What am I doing in the dark with his guy thinking about his lips? For heaven's sake Kagome, you're engaged.' She took a step back, needing to distant herself.

He looked down at her flustered face. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Despite the distance she had put between them, she could still feel the heat that was radiating off of his powerful frame. Kagome had to swallow a couple of times to make sure her voice was working, "I-"

"There you are."

Her head snapped towards the direction of his voice, and took an even greater step away from Inuyasha. "Sesshoumaru," feeling incredibly guilty, but at the same time relief at the timely interruption. She didn't know what could have happened if Sesshoumaru had not found them when he did.

Her eyes flickered quickly back toward Inuyasha, who seemed deep in confusion at this turnabout.

Sesshoumaru stood between them, facing her and with his back toward Inuyasha. "Kagome, I see you've already met my brother, Inuyasha…"

The glass slipped out from her shaky hand and shattered on the ground, barely missing their feet. They both jumped back to avoid the sharp fragments. "B-brother?" her voice barely above a whisper. She peered over Sesshoumaru's shoulder at Inuyasha, who appeared to be as shocked as she was upon the same conclusion.

Sesshoumaru frowned at the mess on the floor, before lifting his eyes to hers again. "Yes, your soon to be brother in-law." "Are you feeling okay?" He touched the side of her flushed face. "You're warm."

Kagome nearly jumped at the feel of his hand on her cheek. "Y-yea, just startled and nervous I guess."

Sesshoumaru observed her keenly, but seemed to find no fault in her vague explanation. Remembering that they were not alone, he turned around to face Inuyasha. "I expect to see you inside when we formally announce our engagement."

For once Inuyasha simply nodded at his request.

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He gazed intently at the front as his brother addressed the audience with a natural poise and confidence that he could never hope to possess, not that he gave a damn about being a dynamic speaker or anything Sesshoumaru had to say. His eyes was fixated on one person, and one person only, the woman standing next to Sesshoumaru, also known as his new sister in-law. `Kagome,' he tested her name out softly in his mind.

All the damaging rumors that had clouded her reputation had immediately dissipated; replaced by the image of the unhappy girl he had met at the bar. He still did not know or understand why he was so compelled toward taking care of her, and the many nights after. All he knew was that since then, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her.

The reason was not weighted on the fact that she had practically begged for him to take her. After all, she was not the first woman to do so. There was just something he had felt that he just could not seem to ignore, a tug at his heart. He had watched her that night: the expression on her face as she experienced perhaps her first taste of hard liquor, and how she kept drowning one drink after another despite her obvious distaste for them.

The need to escape was in him as well, since that was the reason for his being there in the first place, but to watch her try and destroy herself was too much for him to take. He finally decided to step in to help, and now found that he could no longer step out.

He didn't think that he would see her again, or that she would even remember. Imagined his complete surprise when upon his late arrival at the party, he immediately spotted her, looking even more gorgeous than he had remembered. He then followed her silently out to the garden, thanking the gods above for giving him a second chance.

He had sworn to himself that this time he was not about to let her walk away.

But in his wildest dream he never could have imagined that she was THE Kagome Higurashi.

Inuyasha laughed bitterly to himself, and stood with the crowd as they prepared to toast Sesshoumaru and Kagome. `Of all the women I could have fallen for, I ended up falling for yours.' Sesshoumaru had always succeeded before him in everything, but this was the one time where he refused to stand by and let his brother win.

He raised his glass high. `Here's to you, and may the best man win…'

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She tried to avoid his heated stare from the back of the room, but found that it was impossible, like trying to stop the waves from crashing upon the shore. She kept a smile plastered on her face, praying that no one else could hear the loud pounding of her heart or notice her erratic breathing. Stealing a glance at the man standing next to her, `Why can't he make me feel like this? Why can't he make my knees go weak with one simple gaze?'

Much to her relief, his speech was finally over. The audience stood and toasted them on their new beginning, their new future. She stared at the drink in her hand before finally taking a tiny sip of her champagne with a heavy heart.

He smiled and wrapped his strong arm around her again.

She briefly closed her eyes and leaned into him. Now all they had to do was stand and pose for a few pictures. She hoped that her face didn't look too flustered.

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru whispered quietly to her, with his face still turned to the blinding flashes of light coming from various high tech cameras.

"Mmm?"

"Maybe you should go home after they're done here, you still don't seem too well," he stated.

Pleased at his concern, Kagome's mouth curled into the first genuine smile of the evening. "Alright." She placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

He seemed a bit startled at her public display of affection, before waving off the cameras and leading them across the room. They were stopped numerous times along the way with best wishes and congratulations. Her chest constricted tightly, and her mouth went dry as soon as she had realized where they were heading.

His passion-filled eyes burned a smoldering path into hers.

She held on tightly to Sesshoumaru's hand.

Completely oblivious to the reaction Kagome and his brother were having with each other, "Inuyasha, I have more business to take of here, please see to it that Kagome arrives home safely." He released her hand.

`No!' Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off once again.

"I'll call you later this week, have a good night."

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"Turn left at the light, then-"

"I know," he interrupted, his voice sounding lower than she remembered. His hand griped tightly at the steering wheel, knuckles almost turning white.

"Oh," she blushed slightly and stared at the moving scenery ahead, while watching him discreetly out of the corner of her eye. She continued to mentally compare between the two brothers. While Sesshoumaru had an almost feminine type of beauty, Inuyasha was handsome, with an appealing kind of roughness about him. `You have got to stop thinking about him. Nothing happened… get over it.' She wondered what Sesshoumaru would say or do if he were to find out that his brother had claimed her lips first.

Inuyasha sighed deeply, working to untie his restricting collar. "Don't worry, nothing happened and I'm not going to say anything," he reaffirmed her, as though he was reading her mind. The bow tie came loose, along with the top few buttons on his shirt.

She turned her head to face him, giving him a warm smile of gratitude. "Thank you... and for taking me home safely that night." She did not even want to think what could have happened if she had met someone else instead.

"Keh."

They continued the rest of the way in silence, purposely choosing to avoid looking at or conversing with each other. The tension was overwhelming enough without words. If they were to look, and if they were to see…

Inuyasha stopped the car in front of the entrance to her apartment, and finally allowed his eyes to rest upon her.

She looked back, withstanding the urge to brush his bang from his eyes, and smooth the slight frown on his face.

He reached out toward her, then drew his hand back into a fist before the tips of his fingers could stroke her soft skin, as if he couldn't trust himself to stop with just one touch. "You really think he could make you happy?"

Without saying a word, she quickly got out of his car, forcing her legs to carry her away as fast as they could.

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A/N: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! I think this is the most I've ever received for one chapter. Sorry for not getting this chapter out sooner. I hope none of you were giving up on the possibility that there was going to be another chapter.