InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Overboard! ❯ Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Neither the characters from the storyline `Inuyasha' by Rumiko Takahashi, nor the plotline from the movie `Overboard' starring Goldie Hawn, are mine.

 

Overboard (Inuyasha-style)

Chapter 7:

 

Awkward. That was one word for the evening. Even as he deflected his Father's nosy questions, he had to deal with Kikyou's questioning looks and doubtful expressions. Clearly, his posturing had not gone unnoticed. Thanks to all the excuses he had made, the woman felt alarmed and knew something was wrong.

 

Just a few days ago he had complimented himself on his ability to lie smoothly, but now he seriously lacked faith in his skills. Writing down his trail of answers on paper wouldn't help either, since his lies were part of the problem. By now, the whole situation seemed vaguely out-of-control and ridiculous. Tomorrow, Inuyasha would return, and he would let her go regardless. The original idea had been merely to keep her happy and healthy until his brother returned from his trip.

 

If only his Father hadn't gotten tied up in all this! Sesshoumaru had invented more ridiculous excuses in the last day, than ever before in his life. He couldn't rightly tell his Dad that he was trying to torture (a.k.a. instill responsibility in) his little brother, could he?

 

When Touga had departed for the evening, Kikyou had immediately rounded on him, demanding to know exactly what he had told her `Father-in-law' about her amnesia. In truth, he had told his Father next to nothing - she had been explained away as a girlfriend, nothing serious. Since the old man never paid attention to the girls Inuyasha flirted with, he hadn't recognized Kikyou. But there was no way he could have answered her questions without digging himself an even deeper hole. In response, he had wearily replied that Touga would likely force them to separate if he learned of her memory loss…

 

Appalled by the news, Kikyou had continued to rant about his unsympathetic Father, until she remembered an even more important point. “And another thing,” she had asked, the tremor in her voice cutting him to the quick. “Why is Rin afraid I'll leave? She asked me not to go earlier - have I done it before?”

 

Too stunned to think of a reply, he had stood mute as her eyes filled with tears. “Is that why you took down the pictures of our wedding?” she had murmured sadly. “I … I did something terrible, didn't I?”

 

And that had been the moment he realized he was no where near as good at lying as he had thought. In fact, he was downright horrid. The woman thought she had been unfaithful, and this explained why he was angry with her, why Rin thought she might abandon her family, why there were no pictures of her anywhere in the house…

 

Chilled by the crazy scenario she had imagined, Sesshoumaru had corrected her by harshly denying her self-accusations. Then, he had practically fled the house, stating he had more to accomplish at the office. It was true too. He had wasted the entire day thinking of plausible ways to wriggle out of his dilemma and avoid raising his Father's suspicions, and he had gotten nothing done.

 

It seemed there were only two options at this point. On the one hand, he could tell her the truth and hope she remembered herself, in order to send her home. She would be furious, of course, but what did it matter, since he wasn't really interested in her, and he could think of no real reason to keep her any longer?

 

He shuddered slightly, envisioning her anger upon learning the truth.

 

On the other hand, he could forge some pictures of their wedding. Surely there were pictures on her tiny, digital camera depicting her with friends. And he was fairly good at digital manipulation on a computer. Better than he was at lying, in any case.

 

Or maybe he could simply claim the house had burned down, taking the family photo albums with it…

 

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It was nearly midnight by the time he rallied the strength to go home. Deciding to cover all his bases, he had `found' a few pictures of his wife on her camera, then combined them with his own image, but the forgeries looked ridiculous and fake, and he had deleted them immediately. What was he supposed to tell her?

 

The truth seemed like the only option, after all. Next time, he would keep in mind how dismal he was at all things dishonest before he embarked upon a similar, foolish adventure. In the morning then, he would explain the situation to her, calmly and clearly. Furious and upset, she would doubtless retreat to the safety of his brother's arms, as soon as Inuyasha reached the city. His half-brother would be angry too, for taking his girlfriend back to Japan without warning him, for making him worry about her (if indeed he had). And perhaps Inuyasha would even learn a lesson out of the ordeal… but perhaps not. Somehow, this part of his plan did not seem so important anymore. In the last few days, the plan had begun to lag behind and finally it had fallen by the wayside. Instead, his mind kept focusing on Kikyou's tearful reunion with Inuyasha. They would kiss and make up…

 

Why had he thought this was a good idea again? He could have just left her there to rot.

 

One light at the end of the tunnel remained. At least Inuyasha would be equally ashamed of losing a girlfriend in Shanghai, as Sesshoumaru was now for stealing her back to Japan. Neither one of them had any incentive to tell Father about the incident. From experience, Sesshoumaru knew his half-brother feared Touga's wrath as much as anyone. And if Inuyasha threatened to say anything, well then, he could remind his sibling of the many times Inuyasha had gotten out of trouble in the past, scot-free. The favors he had done his half-brother without informing Touga would finally come to fruition.

 

How ignominious - he was actually contemplating blackmail! Inuyasha was an idiot, and Sesshoumaru had only chosen to assist him in the past when he knew it would emphasize that point in his half-brother's mind. Each time he had helped his half-brother, his support had been designed to remind the boy he was not invulnerable, not so Sesshoumaru might use these favors as a bargaining chip later. It cheapened the whole thing to use them in such a fashion.

 

Of course, it would not come to that. No one wanted to see Touga angry. In the end, Inuyasha and Kikyou might hate him, but arguably he had done nothing illegal, and his half-brother would keep the situation quiet.

 

With a frown, he parked his car and then trudged to the front door, staring at the door handle in the subdued light from the moon. It glowed back at him eerily, defying him, daring him to enter his own house.

 

She was probably asleep by now, like yesterday. In the morning, he would tell her the truth, which meant he had all night to figure out the right thing to say and the right way to say it. Silly actually, that he was hesitating on this issue at all. He had been in worse predicaments before now.

 

The lights were all off as he slipped through the door, and he never bothered to turn them on as he crept upstairs, quietly making his way to his bedroom. Tomorrow, he would tell her the truth, and his life could go back to normal. It would be a blessing, really. He had not accomplished anything at work since she came, and the woman was generally a nuisance around Rin, letting his daughter have the run of the house. Rin would understand too, glad to get her nanny back, while her nurse would be grateful for a week of paid vacation. Yes, everyone involved would be happier once his `wife' was gone.

 

So why did the idea make him feel so miserable? Was he really so afraid to hear what she had to say? It wouldn't be the first time that he made a woman angry. And tinted windows on the front of his office would effectively prevent him from observing Kikyou interact with his brother, when Inuyasha brought her to work…

 

Hmm. That wasn't such a bad idea, actually. Tinted windows would keep him from seeing many annoying things, like employees generally milling about and doing less than they should, like Inuyasha flirting with his secretary when the boy had a perfectly wonderful girlfriend to attend to…

 

Furrowing his brow, Sesshoumaru quickly halted his mental tirade and resurrected the last few thoughts for further inspection. Did he just indirectly admit (even if only to himself) that he was jealous of his brother? True, he had always been slightly jealous of Inuyasha - he often felt annoyed by the boy's lackadaisical manner and he envied his half-brother's ability to easily acquire friends. And he always hated the fact that Touga doted on his second son while ignoring his first. But this was different.

 

Before, when Kikyou had annoyed him, it had been through his brother. Inuyasha had been the medium, since his half-brother was the one Sesshoumaru truly resented. Now though, when he imagined Kikyou happily reunited with his sibling, it… burned. She was no longer a minor irritation, part and parcel with his exasperation toward Inuyasha for slacking off or being irresponsible or careless. When he thought of her now, it made him want to break things. He was jealous of his brother for having her and not appreciating her.

 

Which meant…

 

Taking a deep breath, Sesshoumaru tried to calm down. His chest shuddered slightly as he exhaled, and he clenched one hand as though he was afraid he might lose hold of his sanity if he loosened his grip, even the slightest bit. He was almost to his bedroom, so he just had to keep going, one step at a time. This was not the right moment for an epiphany.

 

In fact, it didn't mean anything. Why did feelings have to mean something? Sentiments were useless and absurd. He had the rest of the world convinced that he felt nothing at all, which meant he had only one more person to convince. Looking at the situation in that light, it no longer seemed so daunting. One more step.

 

And just as he finally managed to rein in his shock and control his breathing, he heard a tiny sniffle from his room. Turning around, he saw a small glow tracing the carpet, and a short trip down the hall revealed a slim figure sitting alone in the dark, illuminated only by the dim light from the open closet. Surrounded by his mother's clothes, she was crying softly.

 

Not even looking up when he entered the room, she miserably began speaking to him, as though he had been there all along, “I tried to follow you in the car, but then I thought…” Here, she paused to hiccup. “… maybe I can't remember how to drive. I'd hate to find out how far amnesia extends while on the road, right?”

 

In one hand she held the dress she had worn that evening, crumpled against her legs, while the other hand lovingly stroked the fabric. “If its not me who … who had an affair, then…” Another sniffle interrupted her monologue, louder this time. “It's you, I guess. Is that why you didn't want to tell me? I thought maybe I did something, but you said that wasn't it, so… Is that why your Father seems so surprised I would move back into the house?”

 

Paralyzed, his legs didn't seem to want to cooperate, and he found himself staring at her from the doorway, aghast. Honestly! This was even worse than the last crazy scenario she had dreamed up earlier in the evening! Of course he wasn't cheating on her! What kind of a husband did she take him for? After learning how much it hurt first-hand, to discover Kagura was already married, he had vowed he would never do that to anyone else. And he hadn't even been married to Kagura, for heaven's sake! Er… not that he was technically married to this woman either…

 

But still! It was the principle of the thing. That particular kind of lie was too horrible to consider.

 

“What did I do wrong?” she bawled, picking up the pace now that she had an audience. “I know you don't love me, but you could at least stay home in the evenings and love Rin a little bit, it's not her fault…”

 

“No, you have completely misunderstood the situation,” he interrupted, gently enough that he wouldn't disturb his daughter in the next room, but firmly enough that she would stop babbling. “I am not cheating on you with another woman.”

 

“Working late nights…” she mumbled, obviously ignoring his protests. “And I don't even care who she is, it's not like I can remember being mad at you. So…”

 

“No, no listen to me!” he growled. It was the perfect opportunity to come clean, and he took it. “We're not even married. I… I found you in Shanghai. You had virtually no memory of who you were, but the doctor there said you were supposed to get it back, when you saw familiar things and places. And so tomorrow…

 

“Tomorrow, you will get your memory back,” he finished dismally, trying to ignore the pain this admission caused him, “Because Inuyasha will come and take you home.”