InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Scar Tissue ❯ Three's Company ( Chapter 5 )

So……I started this story when I first started high school. Now I'm in college. I have no commitment and I apologize for that. But, ONCE AGAIN, I am attempting to wake up my muse and re-introduce life into one or more of my fics. So……Here we go……..again…..

Disclaimer: InuYasha, both the show and its characters, are not mine. This fic is all I own.

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Chapter 5: Three's Company

Kagome awoke the next day from an unrestful sleep feeling uneasy. She'd remembered her actions from the night before as soon as she'd opened her eyes. She turned her head slowly to InuYasha's side of the bed to, once again, find it vacant. She was slightly relieved this time at finding his side empty, as she wasn't quite sure she was ready to face him right off the bat. As she made her was to the bathroom, she wondered what she would say when she finally did have to talk to him. Kagome thrust her hands under the warming water of the faucet and frowned angrily at her reflection in the mirror.

“Dammit Kagome!!! Why'd you have to go and mess this up, too?!?! Everything was going so well, and he said I could stay, and I was finally out of Derrick's presence, and...OUCH!!”

Kagome scowled at the steaming water pouring from the faucet as she snatched her hand from under it. As she examined her reddening hand, she found it more difficult to see it or anything at all. “Great. Now I'm crying. I mean, who was I kidding? I couldn't just freeload off him forever. Not to mention Derrick is gonna notice I haven't submitted my `spoils of the night.'”, she said to herself, attempting to recreate Derrick's low calculating voice with her own. A cold shiver ran down her spine as her thoughts continued to dwell on her boss/landlord. `What if InuYasha does make me leave? I'll end up going back to Derrick empty-handed. That is not something I'm looking forward to doing. Not after the last time….' She refused to let her thoughts travel any further down that path. She quickly splashed her face with water to clear her head.

“OUCH!!!! Hot! Hot! I forgot to cool it down. Stupid Kagome. Stupid Kagome. Stupid Kagome……”, she chanted aloud as she grabbed a towel off the towel rack and made her way to the door.

Kagome slowly made her way down the hallway and to the stairs. She could smell breakfast being prepared and knew that InuYasha was down below. `I guess hoping he would've left for work early would have been too much.' She tip-toed down the stairs as silently as she could manage and was almost to the dining room, when she heard a shout erupt from the kitchen.

“If you take any longer to sit down at the table, the food is gonna be frozen solid,” InuYasha's teasing voice floated to her.

She relaxed slightly at the familiar tone in his voice. `Well at least he doesn't sound mad…' she thought as she hurried her pace and took her seat at the table.

“Not to mention I might have died of old age…” he mumbled as he burst out the kitchen doors with the coffee jar in one hand, and two cups dangling from the other. Kagome jumped as he made his noisy journey to the table. She met his eyes as he set the jar and cups down, and saw no hint of anger or awkwardness in their golden depths. He flashed a crooked smile at her as he sat down in his chair, “Good morning.”

Kagome's face broke into a relaxed, genuine smile as she realized he held no ill feelings toward her. She then shot him an equally cocky grin, “I doubt YOU would've died from old age, Oh Great Demon One.”

InuYasha was relieved to see her entire body visibly relax as she smiled at him. He'd felt her toss and turn in her sleep after last night's `incident' and could almost feel her tenseness and worry as she made her way toward the dining room. He'd promised himself that he would try to make it as un-awkward as possible for her as he watched her frown and whine in her sleep the night before. He was glad she was so easily set at ease and that she was already returning his earlier teasings.

“That's exactly the point. You were taking SOOOOOO long that I, the half-demon, would have grown old and died,” he shot playfully as he simultaneously filled her cup with coffee and pushed the sugar toward her.

“Well I'm here and you're not dead,” she teased as she proceeded to load her coffee full of sugar.

InuYasha chuckled at her while loading her plate full of the breakfast entrees arranged around the table. “Thank you.” Kagome blushed when he sat her plate in front of her.

“No prob.” He replied as he began to load his own plate. “How did you sleep?”

“I slept well.” Kagome lied to him. For some reason, she knew he didn't believe her words as soon as they left her mouth.

“Well that's good.” InuYasha decided not to let her know he didn't buy it.

They continued their meal in silence. Kagome began to feel the quiet weigh down upon the table and was just finishing a bite before speaking when the stillness of the room was broken for her as the front door swung open.

“InuYasha! I finished the documents you had been working on, so I thought I'd bring them by for you. And lemme tell you, boy, your grammar really needs some help. I spent more time making your memo sound less like a child wrote it than I did finishing the actual report for you. You don't pay me enough for this. And why did you suddenly need to dip out of work early yesterday any…….”

The woman who burst into the room stopped her last sentence short as she realized she had a larger audience than she's originally expected. Kagome stared at the new addition in slight awe. The woman was tall and shapely, with a tiny waist connecting her curvy upper torso to her equally round lower body. She looked to be a few years older, and more mature, than Kagome herself. She had long, shiny, dark hair pulled back into a smart cascade down her back and held in place with a simple black headband. Her dark brown eyes, which darted quickly between Kagome and InuYasha, sparkled lightly in her pretty face. She wore a sugar pink blouse with a black pencil skirt that stopped just past her knees, and heels that made Kagome's feet cringe. She held in her arms a large load of manila folders and important looking papers.

“Aaah…it all makes sense now, InuYasha. You really are a dog, after all. But leaving early?” the woman smiled a knowing smile at the man at the table, “Although, I am surprised you've gone through the effort of cooking this one a meal. Oh, she must have done some crazy things in the bedro….”

“Sango! Please, shut your trap. And sit down,” InuYasha barked, cutting off her sentence once again.

“Yes, sir.” Sango immediately sat down next to InuYasha and laid the stacks of folders and papers in her hands on the table.

“Sango, this is my friend Kagome. She's a new friend and has taken up residence with me for the time being.”

Sango seemed to visibly start at his words and craned her vision to fall heavily upon Kagome. As soon as her gaze landed on her, Kagome wanted to bolt from the table. Sango's brown eyes bore straight through her; Kagome almost felt like the older woman was sizing her up. After a few minutes of silent staring, Sango's face broke out into a brilliant smile and she extended her hand out quickly in Kagome's direction.

“Well, it's nice to meet you Kagome. I'm InuYasha's office assistant Sango. He really is quite terrible at introductions, hence why Sesshou-maru handles most of their business connections.”

Kagome snapped out of her stupor to accept the woman's extended hand and form a small smile of her own, “It's nice to meet you as well.”

“You must excuse my previous rantings. You see, I've known InuYasha and his family for quite a long time, and some of his behavior can be…well……..anyway! How did you come to befriend my canine boss?” Sango's smile grew as she felt the heat of InuYasha's glare rest upon her.

Kagome wasn't quite sure what to say, “Well….umm….you see….”

“She was sick and injured outside my place, so I took her in and nursed her back to health,” InuYasha quickly provided for Kagome. Both women shot him open-mouthed stares after his statement.

“What is she, a puppy? Though that still doesn't seem like you either…..” Sango trailed off as she considered the `facts' briefly and shot glances back and forth between her tablemates.

“Enough about that! How the hell did you get in my house? And what the hell do you want?”

“Well, if you'll think back a few years ago, InuYasha, you'll remember that you gave me a key. And I already told you why I'm here. I finished YOUR work and came to drop it off for you to look over before we go into the office.”

InuYasha blinked stupidly before realization filled his face, “Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about that. Well lemme have a look at those documents.”

Sango quickly flipped through the large stack to pull out several smaller stacks of stapled paperwork, “You're gonna need to sign these papers, as well as your four memos, the output report here, and sign and date these under Sesshou-maru's signature.”

As Sango and InuYasha bent their heads over the documents, Kagome took this time to resume her meal and her assessment of the other female. Sango seemed friendly enough, though up close she could see the serious set to her shoulders and the determined set of her brows. Sango knew her stuff, almost better than InuYasha, and Kagome became lost among their business mumbo as they delved through the massive stack Sango had brought with her.

“Ugh! I'd rather handle the rest of this in the office, Sango. Have you eaten yet?”

“Oh, no. I stayed up late finishing these and woke up late…. I rushed over here as soon as I woke up and got dressed.”

InuYasha's face softened as his friend spoke, “Thank you, Sango. You really didn't have to do all this. I would've been just fine making Sesshou-maru and his associates wait `til I got around to it. Please make yourself a plate, there's plenty of food.”

“But we need to be at the office soon. I'll just grab something on my way.”

“You know I never give a fuck about showing up on time. I'll give you a ride, besides, you're my assistant. What's the point of you being there if I'm not?”

“Well one of us has to be productive,” Sango smiled as she relaxed back into her chair and began to help herself to the spread of fare on the table.

“Let me get you some coffee!” Kagome jumped up to break her silence and ran into the kitchen to acquire another coffee cup. However, once she opened the doors, she realized she'd never been all the way inside InuYasha's kitchen and had no idea where anything was. It was a beautiful kitchen; large, just like every other room in his impressive home. As she had expected, it was decorated in a crimson motif with the shiny, silver chrome she'd noticed before. The wood cabinets were a rich cherry wood and spanned most of the wall over the crimson red stove. The refrigerator across the room was the same deep red as the stove and the dishwasher. There was enough black granite counter space to prepare a nine-course meal. Every handle, spout, and sink was gleaming, polished chrome. In the middle of this large kitchen was a long, cherry wood island with a web of pots and pans dangling above it. Like every other room in his home, InuYasha's kitchen had an overwhelming effect on Kagome.

“Umm……”

“First cabinet to the right above the sink,” InuYasha called when he noticed her hesitation.

“I knew that…” Kagome mumbled as she located a cup and saucer, and returned to the table.

“Well thank you so much, Kagome,” Sango smiled warmly as Kagome filled her cup. Kagome gave her a small smile that grew into a full grin as she noticed Sango liked just as much sugar in her coffee as she did.

“I swear all you girls are the same,” InuYasha rolled his eyes. His point was proven as both women stuck their tongues out at him.

Breakfast continued with light, cheerful conversation among the three. Kagome learned that Sango's family had been long time friends of InuYasha's mother's family. She also discovered that InuYasha's half-demon status was a result of his mother being a mortal woman. Izayoi had caugh the eye of InuYasha'a father, a very rich and powerful demon, and fell into a torrid love that resulted in the birth of the man sitting across the table from her. This also made Sesshou-maru his half-brother. InuYasha seemed slightly uncomfortable with talk of his parents and his birth, so Kagome decided to change the subject in order to spare him some embarrassment. Sango went on to explain that her family eventually became cordial with the demons in InuYasha's family and entered into business with them. Sango's family owned a small part of the business Sesshou-maru and InuYasha ran, what kind of business Kagome had still yet to find out, but it was still more than enough to make Sango a girl of means in her own right. She worked as InuYasha's assistant because, honestly, he was no good at serious business and, as his childhood friend, Sango helped to take some of the load off. She'd been helping InuYasha appear more responsible since they were young, as Sango herself was an extremely responsible and well organized person. Kagome was in awe of the sibling-like bond between the two, and laughed enthusiastically as they poked fun and bickered lightly with each other. Eventually, InuYasha figured they had to show up to work sooner or later and began to clear the table.

“I'll handle that, InuYasha,” Kagome jumped up to help clear the dishes. “I'll do the dishes, too.”

“Kagome. You don't have to do that. We're not really in that much of a hurry. I can do them before we leave while this one gets ready.” InuYasha cocked his head toward Sango who was sitting at the table applying a red lipstick to her mouth.

Kagome stared at the beautiful woman before her for a second before returning her gaze to InuYasha, “No, I insist. I need something to do with my hands while you're gone anyway.” Leaving no more room for discussion, she began balancing plates and made her way to the kitchen sink.

InuYasha sighed in defeat as he watched Kagome's form retreat through the double doors.

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“Well, that was a surprise of sorts InuYasha. I never expected you to be the type to take in strays. Although, I think Kagome is absolutely delightful. She's very sweet and has a good heart. I like her. Just don't make this a habit, kid. Don't wanna make you some twisted form of a crazy cat lady,” Sango laughed and jabbed a finger into InuYasha's shoulder from the passenger seat beside him.

InuYasha kept his eyes on the road as he cracked a small smile, “Don't think I didn't notice you burning holes into the poor girl at breakfast.”

“Hey! I'm just looking out for you. You know how you always seem to get yourself into crazy, ridiculous situations. SOMEone has to try to weed out some of the shit before it begins, and as always, that's me.”

“Overprotective as always I see,” InuYasha smiled before dropping his voice to a serious tone. “But Sango, I need a favor from you.”

She noticed InuYasha grip the steering wheel ever so slightly tighter. She'd learned long ago that the best way to discern his feelings was to pay attention to his body language. She felt his sudden tenseness. “What is it, InuYasha?”

“I need you to keep Kagome's existence to yourself. Discuss her residing in my house with no one in the office. Especially Sesshou-maru.” InuYasha applied more pressure to the accelerator, pushing his red sports car to go just a bit faster down the Tokyo streets.

“What's going on?” Sango was hopelessly curious about InuYasha's reason for secrecy, especially when he seemed almost smitten by the girl. “You know I've always told you there's nothing wrong with being with a human.”

InuYasha blushed lightly as her turned into the office parking lot, “No! That's not it! It's just…..I can't explain to you quite yet, but will you please do this for me?”

His tenseness had made its way up to his shoulders as he jerked the car into its reserved parking space. Sango nodded and breathed a light “Yeah” before gathering her things and unlocking her door. She would get her answers in time. Right now, she decided it was best to not push the topic any further.

“Thank you, my friend.”

Sango cracked a cocky smile, “Doing your work, keeping secrets; I do, sir, believe I'm in the market for a raise.”

“For what? You basically volunteered to be my assistant. And you have your own money, which comes from the company by the way. But if you insist…”

“Oh, you know I'm just poking fun. Now let's get to business, sir. You have three meetings before lunch and one very important meeting with a high powered financier before the day is up. I've left your schedule open for him and have already had lunch lined up to be delivered to your office after your last morning meeting.”

“You're a life saver, Sango,” InuYasha grinned at the seat next to him to find it empty.

“C'mon! We're already an hour late. You still have to finish going over this paperwork before you meet with the clients,” Sango called over her shoulder as she walked swiftly toward the elevator doors. InuYasha caught up with her easily and pressed the button for the elevator.

“You'll be joining me for lunch, won't you?”

“Don't I always? I'm surprised you have to ask, sir,” Sango threw her friend a bright smile as she entered the elevator. “Now let's get to work.”

“Yes, ma'am,” InuYasha returned her smile as the doors shut behind him.

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Whew! I finished this chapter and it only took me a few years…..let's hope the next one doesn't take as long. Hahaha. But really, I hope to get the next one out in a few days or weeks between work and stuff. I have an outline so that should help. I forget sometimes how much I enjoy writing and end up just putting it off….ugh. But! Reviews are always nice. If I need to improve somewhere or if anyone has suggestions I'm always open. ^_^

Thanks for reading! Til next time!

Peace, Love, and Pocky

~KissEternal