InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Secret Lovers ❯ Collaborations ( Chapter 13 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: saphira404 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.26.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 10.1K | Visits: 301 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.26.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 10.1K | Visits: 301 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 13: Collaborations
A/N: Once again, I am so sorry for the lack of updates as of late; I’m making it up to you guys with an extra long chapter. Despite my horrendous updating pattern you guys are still reading and supporting my story, which I really appreciate.
Disclaimer: Sadly even though I love writing AU stories on my OTP, they don't belong to me. I tried to buy them, but all I could afford were plushies. Oh well better than nothing lol.
“Talking”
'Thoughts'
“ I see…Kagura, may I have a word with you.” The coolly controlled voice in which Sesshoumaru spoke his request let her know that she was in no position to refuse. The fact that his face was void of emotions also let her know that he was beyond being furious.
“Sure… we’ll be right back.” She forced a smile on her red painted lips, and headed towards her room. Once inside she could not prevent her crimson eyes from straying to her unmade bed, where the scents of their entwined bodies still lingered. Her brief flashback about the lusty events which had taken place in that room only a few hours ago came to a crashing halt when Sesshoumaru came in behind her, and tightly shut the door.
“Whatever I did, I did for you.” She immediately started talking. She could only hope that she would be able to convince him about how genuine she was before he blew up on her. ‘Not that I’ve ever heard Sesshoumaru scream at someone. All he needs is to give them the icy look, and they quiver under his gaze.’
“Had this Sesshoumaru not explicitly asked you not to get involved in my familial issues?”
“I only…”
“Answer the damn question!” Never had he swore at her, so the harsh language took her aback.
“Yes.” She finally admitted.
“Then why did you take it upon yourself to meddle in affairs that did not concern you?” In a weary gesture, he ran his hand over his forehead, messing up his usually perfect silver bangs. “No, do not even bother answering.”
“Well I will nonetheless! The truth is that I care about you. You’re more than just a guy I sleep and work with. You’re my friend! I saw a situation that was broken, and I wanted to fix it. Yes, your father is an asshole, and no one is denying that, but don’t you think it’s a bit extreme to reject your brother because of that? He’s innocent.”
“You do not understand.” He grumbled. ‘How could she know that every time I see Inuyasha all I can think about is how father betrayed mother in her hour of need. He is the very embodiment of father’s infidelities and lies.’
“You can’t blame the poor kid for something he’s not a part of. He didn’t lie and cheat on anyone, and certainly never betrayed you. The way you’re acting towards him is just not fair to him, or to you. You deserve to be at peace, and to know what it’s like to actually have family members you get along with.”
Her tirade was followed by a long pregnant pause. When Sesshoumaru finally opened his mouth to speak, Kagura’s felt her pulse quicken. She could not wait to find out if her words had managed to get through to her lover’s tough exterior and iron emotional armor.
“When you decided to get involved in my professional life, I let it go… at least to an extent.” He referred to how she had invited herself to his investigation of the Miko Powder. “This time around you have however gone too far. I have told you on several occasions to stay out of my family business, but you do not listen!”
She could understand why he was angered, but she had really not expected for him to react this strongly. “I’m sorry if you’re upset. I really thought I was doing what was best.”
“This is an ongoing issue with you… you always assume that you always know what is best for everyone… you simply act without thinking about consequences.”
“What consequences are you talking about? I’m just trying to reconcile you with your family.” The few feet separating them felt like a wide opened ocean, so she decided to walk towards him. She hoped that by increasing their proximity, she would be able to remind him of everything they had shared in this very room only a few hours before, causing his anger to diminish.
He silently watched her approach him, the cold mask of indifference on his face not even slipping for a second. He waited until she was as close to him as possible without actually touching him to react, and not in the way she would have expected.
“We are done.” His short announcement was met by a deafening silence. The only thing registering through the young woman’s head was the thundering beat of her heart, and the blood rushing through her ears.
“What… what do you mean?” She asked with a breathy shocked voice. Even as she questioned him, she understood all too well where the conversation was headed, and she was not liking it one bit.
He took a deep breath, then staring inside her beloved crimson eyes pronounced. “Whatever arrangement we have had for the past few months is severed as of tonight.”
“You don’t… you can’t mean that.” She struggled to keep her voice as leveled as possible. The closed of expression on his face was miles away from the tender look that had been on his face when he had made love to her during most of the day. “You’re joking right…”
“Do I look amused?” He answered dryly. ‘I have already sacrificed so much because of her. I have let Naraku mock me and insult my professional abilities just to preserve her, but I will be damned if I let her take over my personal life as well!’ Just thinking about the trap Kagura had set up for him, he clenched his fist in anger. He really did not understand what made her believe she was entitled to meddle with his life. ‘Ours was not supposed to be such a relationship. We were just having fun while sharing companionship.’
“I was trying to help you…”
“I never asked for your help.” He retorted icily. His hard cold words caused a shiver of unease to roll down her spine.
‘This can’t be the same man who tenderly held me in his arms when I told him about how I lost my baby…’ Kagura was sure that she had to be in a bad dream. She had anticipated that Sesshoumaru would be upset about her deception, but never could she have imagined he would be this furious.
“You cannot simply do as you please with people’s lives.”
“I know that…but you have to understand…all I wanted was to make things better…”
“Has it not occurred to you that this might be impossible? Anyways, I have heard enough. I will see you at work.” Without bothering to offer any kind and tender farewell as he usually did with her, Sesshoumaru simply walked out of the room. She could not believe that he would end things between them on such a note. Had she been honest, she would have also admitted that a part of her had always figured that if one of them had to break things up between them, it would have been her.
“Go ahead! Run away from me! Just don’t expect me to run after you!” She screamed out even as tears of pain and frustration pooled in her crimson eyes. The head of the young woman was buzzing, and she could feel an intense headache settling in. Before she even realized what had happened, she found herself crumpled on her messy bed.
‘The last thing I want right now is to go back out there, and play perfect hostess to Inuyasha and Kagome.’ Kagura wiped some of her tears from her face with the soft sheets of her bed. As much as she tried blocking the scents which assaulted her nose, she could not help but take in the lingering smells that still clung to the fabric. She and Sesshoumaru had spent most of their day in bed together, and the sheets still bore testament to that. ‘How could things go so wrong so quickly?’ She wondered as the floodgates were opened, and tears starting falling freely from her eyes.
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“Go ahead! Run away from me! Just don’t expect me to run after you!”
Sesshoumaru Tashio was seeing red; the only thought in his mind was to get away from his lover as quickly as possible. He did his best to block out Kagura’s anguish filled voice as she screamed after him. He walked down the corridor of her condo, and straight towards the exit. He had been so focused on his goal that he was taken by surprise when he saw none other than Inuyasha and Kagome loiter in the entryway of Kagura’s home.
Kagome and her boyfriend had heard the shouting coming in from the master bedroom, but it had been too muffled for them to make out what exactly was being said. The elevated tone of the lovers’ voices was enough to make Inuyasha uneasy, and he had had enough. Even if Kagome had been reluctant to let Sesshoumaru and Kagura hash it out, she knew that it was not her role to intervene in the couple’s argument. They had therefore sleeked out of the dining room, and headed towards the door, but had yet to actually step out of the condo. However now that Sesshoumaru was clearly leaving, she did not see any reason not to get involved.
“Hum is everything okay?” The young dark haired woman asked.
Sesshoumaru paused briefly in his progression to send her the coldest and haughtiest look he could manage. He was too unnerved to take the time to deal with the two unexpected guests.
“Oh!” Kagome gasped in shock. Never had she seen eyes as haunted as the ones Sesshoumaru had turned towards her. The mix of rage and pain in his golden orbs stabbed her right through the heart.
Without bothering to speak a word, he walked right though the door, and stepped outside in the cold night air.
“Do you think they’ll be okay? I mean… Maybe we should check on them…” Kagome gently suggested. The young woman turned towards the corridor to go see to Kagura. She felt responsible for how things had turned out that evening, and wanted to make sure the older woman was fine. She had barely made a few steps in that direction that a loud crashing sound came in from behind the closed doors.
“Keh! Seems to me that she doesn’t want anyone to see her right now.” Inuyasha’s sharp hearing had easily made out the sound of an object being thrown against the door, and by the sound of it shattering into a million pieces.
“Hum maybe we should focus on your brother…” Kagura’s act of rage was the only proof Kagome needed to know she should let the other woman well enough alone. Besides Kagome could see how upset her boyfriend was by what had transpired that evening. Had she been honest, she would have admitted that she too was unsettled. She could not banish from her mind the revelations she had been given about the real reason for the strain between Touga Tashio and his eldest son.
“You saw the way he reacted earlier. What do you think we could do? He clearly doesn’t want our help.” The note of longing in his voice did not escape her keen gaze.
“Maybe we could follow him to make sure he’s okay…” Something told Kagome that Sesshoumaru was more in need of their help and support than Kagura. A shiver ran down her spine when she remembered the sorrowful look in his eyes. “Please Inuyasha, I just have a bad feeling…”
“Feh! I feel like it’s a bad idea, but I guess we don’t have anything to lose.”
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Sesshoumaru Tashio needed to get away. He hated the way in which he and Kagura had parted, and even as he exited the highway, he had to wrestle against his urge to turn around and drive back to her condo so the two of them could have a talk.
‘As much as I am angered by her machination, I hate the look of pain she had in her eyes.’ He sighed deeply. It was not the first time he and Kagura had had a disagreement, but it was the one and only time where he had spoken to her in such cold terms. He had no intention to go back on his word, no matter how much he wished to.
‘I need to clear my head.’ He knew that dwelling on the unfortunate evening would not be doing anything favorable for him. Since he could not spend the evening with Kagura, he had decided to at least be productive by advancing in his investigation.
Even if his mind was not completely focused on his driving, his car easily glided through the empty darkened streets. He had driven enough times to the Edo campus while being a student to know where exactly to park closest to the dorms. In just a matter of minutes he had parked in a hidden dark corner of the parking structure, and was walking towards the section of campus called Dorm Row where all the different living accommodations for the students could be found. Many students of Edo University preferred staying at Dorm Row during their studies. Its proximity was definitely a plus, but Sesshoumaru knew that the fact that wild parties and group entertainments were always taking place over there was also another attractive side to Dorm Row for the students. He himself had some interesting memories about the time he had shared a small apartment with Jaken in one of the many buildings of the street.
As Sesshoumaru approached the street, he noticed diverse sized groups of college aged people walking towards a large green house, which stood in the middle of Dorm Row. As if the throng of people converging towards the house was not proof enough that a big party was taking place in it, as he got closer he heard loud music blaring from the place.
‘How surprising that campus police hasn’t shut down this celebration yet…This will surely prove to be the perfect opportunity for me to find out more about the Miko Powder.’ Sesshoumaru thought to himself, his mind finally free of his previous worries about Kagura now that he had something else to focus on.
Even though he was more than a dozen years older than the people walking down the street, Sesshoumaru hoped to be able to blend in with them. He was glad that since he had not intended to go into the office that day, he was wearing casual clothing. To liven up his look, he tucked his shirt out of his jeans and tousled his always perfect hair a bit. As not to attract too much attention, he joined up with a band of seven guys and girls. He was close enough to them to make it look as if he belonged to their crew, but kept enough of a distance between them for the twenty-somethings not to realize he was following them.
“Can’t wait! The Thunder Bros always throw the best parties.” Sesshoumaru’s keen hearing picked up on one of the dark haired girls gush happily. Her remark caused the members of the group to laugh out loud.
“Yeah, of course you’d say that Souten.” A brown haired young man gently teased her.
Sesshoumaru was not too interested in finding out what was happening between the group members, or why they were teasing their friend. All he cared about was to get inside the party as inconspicuously as possible, and that entailed having to put up with the group of young people he had infiltrated.
‘As soon as I get inside that house, I will stay as far away from these kids as I can.’ He thought to himself. His already raw nerves, thanks to his confrontation with Kagura, were being even more grated by the second thanks to the annoying chatter of the band he was trailing. A mix of relief and eagerness ran through his body when he saw how close they were now from the house. He barely contained a growl of annoyance when a voice interjected and halted their advance.
“Hey guys wait up!”
‘I know this voice.’ The Shikon Magazine journalist thought to himself, and sure enough when he turned around he saw none other than a very familiar red haired young man run towards them.
“Sessh…” Shippou gasped in shock, but a dark glare from his boss shut him up. “Souten…nice to see you.”
“I’m glad you could make it Shippou.” The young dark haired girl beamed at him. “This party wouldn’t have been half as fun without you.” Her words caused his cheeks to blush a bright red.
“Come on Souten, you know he would have never refused one of your personal invitations even if it’s to one of your cousin’s crazy dorm parties…” One of their friends gently mocked Shippou; everyone knew he had a huge crush on Souten even if he was too straight laced to like what her cousins Hiten and Manten were into.
Shippou smiled good naturedly at his friend’s joke. “Suon, you’re such a kidder…let’s just get on with the party.” The young intern did his best to move things along for two reasons. The first was that the last thing he wanted was for Souten to find out through their mutual friend about how he truly felt about her; the second was he may not know what exactly Sesshoumaru was doing there, but he was sure his boss did not want him to blow his cover.
“Let’s hurry, I want to get to kiss Hiten hello before he gets thrashed, and won’t recognize his own cousin.” Souten announced before resuming her progression towards the house party. All her friends, including Shippou, and Sesshoumaru followed closely behind her.
‘I just have a bad feeling about this…’ Shippou thought to himself. Even if he walked next to his friends, hi usual goofy smile on his lips, he could not help but let his green eyes roll to the side to give small glances to the tall man silently following behind them. ‘A very bad feeling…’
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“Keh! I’m not liking this…and for the record I said it would be a bad idea.”
Sesshoumaru Tashio was not the only one following people that evening; his younger half brother Inuyasha and his girlfriend were doing the same, albeit to him.
“We’ve come this far, we can’t back up now…” The young woman was too feeling uneasy, but refused to quit now. Despite her confident words, she let a groan escape her lips when she saw Sesshoumaru join up with a group of Edo students heralded by none other than Souten. If she had any doubts that the Shikon journalist was headed towards the Thunder Brothers’ lair, they were definitely dismissed for good. She had personally never set foot in the large green house, which served as on campus living accommodation for the group of delinquents, nor did she particularly wish to. No one knew better than her how much she had crusaded against having Hiten and his “brothers” be allowed to share the same house on campus. Everybody, she was sure including the school officials, knew that every weekend the house Hiten and the Thunder Brothers shared was transformed into a big party where she was convinced many not very legal activities took place. The irony of the fact that she was now going to attend one of the wild parties was not loss on her.
Inuyasha easily picked up on her unease, and easily guessed the reason behind reluctance. “You know we don’t have to follow him in there. He looks more than capable of handling himself…” The two of them had witnessed Sesshoumaru’s earlier ‘transformation,’ and had noticed how despite his height he easily managed to blend in with the people around him, making it hard to notice he was an outsider.
“Would you rather we speak about whatever it is your father did to Sesshoumaru to turn him so cold towards you?” The young woman was dying to know what exactly the Tashio family secret might be.
“No, not really.” Inuyasha was really not in the mood to talk to his girlfriend about that shameful part of his parents’ lives.
“Okay then let’s do this!” Her cheerful tone did not fool Inuyasha whatsoever, but he decided to go along with her plan for now.
Only a few minutes after they saw Souten’s group of friends, and Sesshoumaru, disappear into the large house, they did the same. As Kagome and Inuyasha made themselves a way through the dense crowd, in search of Sesshoumaru’s imposing figure, they ran into the last person she would have expected to see at a dorm party thrown by the Thunder Brothers: her second in command in the Associated Student council, Abi.
“Abi? What are you doing here?!” Kagome gasped in pure shock. Her vice president was the most reserved person she knew, and she was also a real stickler for rules, which Kagome was sure stemmed from Abi’s mother being on the board of directors of Edo University.
“Keh! You know what Miroku says, it’s always the quiet ones…” Inuyasha’s muttered remark earned him an elbow hit to the ribs courtesy of Kagome.
‘How the heck did she even hear me?... She never ceases to amaze me.’ He was shocked to see she had heard him despite the loud music and the various conversations going on around them.
“President?! It’s not what you think…I just…I’m still worthy of being your vice-president…I just…I.” Abi started to defend herself, but a deep blush stained her cheeks as words failed her. Noticing her collaborator’s great discomfort, Kagome decided to intervene, and put her out of her misery.
“I won’t judge you, or think less of you because you decided to go to a party on campus.” ‘It actually makes her seem more human to me…She’s always so serious, so seeing she can let her hair down and have some fun makes me like her more.’ Kagome thought to herself.
Abi, her vice-president, was an efficient worker, who was always on top of everything at the Associated Students meeting. She was in charge of setting up the agenda, taking down the minutes, and made sure that everything was always done rightly.
‘She always does everything perfectly and takes care of every little detail, so seeing her like this is actually fun.’ Kagome thought about saying aloud. “I do think you should be careful around those Thunder Brothers though, I wouldn’t accept an opened drink from them; these guys are dangerous.”
“I promise to keep my eyes opened.” Abi displayed a tentative smile. “You promise not to tell my mom? I know that she would freak out and give me hell if she found out I went to a party on campus were they served alcohol.” She self-consciously looked down at the can of beer she had been sipping on before Kagome and Inuyasha had surprised her.
“Do you think we’re tattle tales or something? Don’t worry and just have fun. We wouldn’t tell the old bird anything even if she threatened to pluck our eyes out.”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome did not hold back any of her strength when she hit her boyfriend this time around. His yelp of pain let her know that she most certainly left a nasty bruise on his ribs. ‘Hopefully it will make him keep his mouth shut!’ She then hissed aloud. “Show some respect, it’s her mother you’re talking about!”
“Keh! Everyone calls her the old bird…I mean have you seen her nose, it looks like a damn beak.” He defended himself, and quickly intercepted his girlfriend’s next hit. “Keep your bony elbows away from me wench!” Inuyasha then pointed towards the smiling Abi. “Besides she’s not offended, so I don’t see why you should be.”
Kagome never had a chance to retaliate to her boyfriend’s words since a deep voice spoke behind them.
“Well well well. What do we have here? Isn’t this our dear prez?! Your presence honors me. Welcome to our humble abode. Usually I would have given you a hard time, but I’m in a good mood tonight; hence this little celebration.”
“Hiten.” The president of the Associated Student greeted him on as frosty a tone as she could manage, one which could have made Sesshoumaru proud.
“Tsk tsk no need to be so prissy, I’m welcoming you into my house ain’t I?” Hiten had been called many things throughout his life, but never an idiot. He knew full well that he had just been handed a great opportunity. ‘If I can collect some dirt on Kagome, and ruin her perfect little reputation, I’ll be able to get rid of her.’
“Listen, I didn’t come here to fight…” As much as speaking the following words hurt her pride, she knew it was warranted. “The truth is that I actually came to apologize.”
“You?! Apologize to me?” Hiten roared with laughter. He was tempting to ask his ‘brother’ and DJ for the night to shut off the music, so everyone could here Kagome, but at the last second decided against it.
“I wrongly accused you of being responsible for distributing the Miko Powder, and I am sorry for that.”
Her apologetic words caused a broad grin to appear on his lips. For so long he had longed to hear Kagome apologize for her angry and hateful words, but seeing her eat some humble pie was not as gratifying as he had imagined it would be.
‘Ugh I can’t even enjoy seeing her grovel at my feet.’ Hiten had always thought that he would relish triumphing over Kagome and the annoying members of her Associated Students Council; unfortunately, he did not feel anything at seeing her apologize. ‘Must be because Manten has always had stupid a soft spot for her… He must have influenced me.’
“I’m in a good mood, so I guess I can forgive you today. You may haven’t heard yet, but my brother’s out of his coma; he should be out of the hospital soon. I don’t know why, but Manten has always liked you, so to please him I’ll let you off the hook…” ‘At least for now.’ The young man added silently to himself.
“Really? That’s really good news. I’m happy for your brother.” Even though she was genuinely relieved to hear about Manten’s improved condition, Kagome did not like nor feel reassured by the look in Hiten’s small eyes. Besides now that she had done her apologies, the only thing on her mind was finding Sesshoumaru to see what he was up to; she of course intended to use as an excuse the fact that they had just found a potential witness for his investigation in the person of Manten.
“Well… that’s good and all, but we have places to be.” Inuyasha quickly intervened. He had been able to tell that his girlfriend was struggling for a way to get away from the head of the Thunder Brother, and since he did not like the other young man, he had no issues providing his love with an exit strategy.
“I hope you won’t leave before I get a chance to say hello.” A deep and silky female voice spoke.
Kagome rolled her dark eyes in pure annoyance. ‘Can this night not get any worse?!’ She thought angrily before turning towards the newcomer with a broad fake smile plastered on her lips. “Kikyou, it’s such a pleasure to see you again.”
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“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Souten exclaimed happily as she and the various members of her group mingled among the many people present in the house. They may have all come together, but in a matter of minutes they were all spread around. Shippou was torn between following after Souten especially now that her backside was swaying suggestively to the music, and staying next to Sesshoumaru, whose motives he was still trying to figure out.
“Go get her a drink.” Sesshoumaru’s deep commanding voice caused the young intern to jump out of his lustful thoughts about Souten.
“Hum…sure okay sir.” He was surprised by the older man’s suggestion, but was quick to do as told. Choosing between staying with the visibly annoyed Sesshoumaru, or spending the evening with Souten was easy. As soon as the words left his boss’s mouth, Shippou scampered away.
Sesshoumaru Tashio had always had a keen eye when it came to scrutinizing people and analyzing their behavior. He scanned the crowd of people around him, and his gaze stopped on none other than Suon, the friend of Shippou and Souten who had been walking with them towards the party.
‘It seems he is more than just a little joker…’
The thing that had caught Sesshoumaru’s notice was the attention being paid to the young man as soon as he walked inside. He had barely had time to pick up a can of beer from the refreshment table that he had been assaulted by two pale faced young men. If their soiled ill-fitting baggy clothes, sweaty skin and shivering bodies were not enough to raise his suspicion, their speech definitely was.
“Where have you been man?” The first man roared angrily.
“We’ve been waiting for you for hours!” The second snatched Suon by the arm, and did not look like he was about to let go anytime soon.
“Chill guys! Don’t worry, I have it all under control. She just gave me a brand new cargo, and I’m willing to share with anyone.,. of course for the right price.” He tried shrugging the hold one of his clients had on him, but the hand of the man only clenched tighter.
Suon’s announcement was received with sighs of relief. The first young man dug into his pocket and with a shaking hand retrieved a wad of crumpled bills. In a move almost too quick to pick up by the naked eye, Suon pushed the young man’s hand back, efficiently hiding the money from the gaze of the party goers.
“Not here you dimwit!” Suon scanned the crowd with his clear blue gaze to make sure that no one was paying any attention to him.
‘I am willing to bet anything that these two men are users of the Miko Powder, and that Suon will be my clear ticket to finding out who is behind the drug.’ Suon’s mention of a ‘she’ had not escaped Sesshoumaru’s sharp ears. From the beginning he had always suspected that whoever was in charge of the Miko Powder had to be an intelligent and strategic person who was capable of masking his or her identity, he therefore knew that being able to get access to the manufacturer through one of the dealers was a real struck of luck.
“Where? When?...Come on Suon I need some…now!” The man grabbing on to him exclaimed, spittle flying freely from his thin dry cracked lips.
“Yeah, yeah I got it.” As disgusted as Suon might be by the behavior of his biggest client, he swallowed down his burst of annoyance. He was not about to let a sale slip through his fingers. For the second time he tried to shrug off the hold of the other man on him, and this time he succeeded. ‘I guess the thought of finally getting some was enough to mellow him…’ “Come on let’s go up to one of the rooms. After all we should fine an empty bedroom now before things start to get crowded up there.” He added aloud with a grin, in reference to the well known fact that by the end of the night all the bedrooms in the Thunder Brothers house would be occupied by amorous couples.
Suon wasted no time implementing his words. He turned around, and pushed though the crowd of people assembled around the stairs. His two clients followed closely behind him, and so did Sesshoumaru. The brown haired man checked the first few doors of the upstairs, but was only greeted by the sight of half naked or completely nude entwined bodies making free use of the accommodations of the house.
“Wow! Guess the party started a little early today.” He closed the last door tightly behind him before checking the next one. When he was greeted by a messy, dirty bedroom, which was thankfully empty, he ushered his two clients into it. Suon took the time to scan the hallway to make sure no one was following him. He was relieved to see none other than an older looking man chatting up with a girl he remembered from one of his chemistry classes. The only reason why he recalled her was that the woman had the largest breasts he had seen on a woman with a frame as small as hers, ever. The fact that he had also met her in this class was note worthy as well.
‘Bet those two will make use of one of the bedrooms real soon.’ He grinned before following after his two clients and closing the door behind him. As much as he would live to loiter around and watch the show, he knew he had a sale to make. ‘Maybe once I’m done with these two idiots, I’ll try to find myself a partner with boobs that big.’
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“I mean my dream’s always been to be a vet…” She took a deep breath, pushing her large breasts even more against her deep cleavage, just the way she had practiced in front of the mirror for long hours.” I just love animals….they’re sooo cute; especially little puppies!”
Sesshoumaru looked over the head of the young girl who was talking to him, and when he saw Suon and the two addicts enter the bedroom, he could barely contain his sigh of relief. The young woman across from him had proved to be the perfect shield, but now that she had served her purpose, he was not sure he would be able to endure her annoying and unstoppable chattering for one more second.
“Good…stay in school.” Sesshoumaru exclaimed before pushing past the woman without sparing her a glance. He had no interest whatsoever in her; he was still reeling from his argument with Kagura, and had no intention to get involved with any other woman; especially not one almost twenty years younger than him who had trouble putting together a simple sentence.
He heard her huff in annoyance behind him, but he did not pay any attention to her; he had a job to do. Sesshoumaru slowly walked down the corridor. He knew he would not be able to enter the room while it was still being used, but to his relief, in his hurry to conduct his transaction, Suon had left the door slightly ajar.
“That’s it? We…I need more!” The first Miko Powder user roared angrily. The wad of bills he had been clutching in his sweaty palms had been transferred to Suon’s pockets in exchange for little packets filled with a blue powder.
“That’s all I have for now. Don’t worry, I should be able to get more soon.”
“How soon?! This won’t last me two days!” The more aggressive of the two users shouted.
Suon’s mouth turned into a frown. He had not realized that the consumption of his two top clients had escalated this much. He knew all too well what overdosing on the Miko Powder could cause. He may not have sold him the drug, but he had after all heard about the side effects Manten had suffered. ‘Then again I heard he’s out of his coma, and should be fine…so it’s not like the drug is that dangerous.’
“Calm down, I should be able to get you some more tonight… After all she’s at this party.”
“Yeah well go get more!” As if anticipating Suon’s next question, his client took out some more crumpled bills. “Money isn’t a problem, just get us more.”
“Your wish is my command.” Suon grinned as he quickly took the cash, adding it to his growing pile. “Always a pleasure doing business with you guys. Stay here for now, I’ll get back to you as soon as I get in touch with my lovely supplier.”
“Just don’t take too long!”
Sesshoumaru pushed himself away from the door as quickly as possible. The last thing he wanted was for his prime witness to notice he had been spying on him. Suon opened the door and marched away as quickly as possible. He was in such a hurry to go get more of Miko Powder that he failed to notice the man with his back glued to the wall.
‘He walked right past me…’ If Sesshoumaru had had any suspicion that the people involved with the drug trade on the Edo University campus were not the brightest, they had just been reinforced. ‘and is going to lead me straight to whoever his provider may be…I never guessed it would have been this easy.’ The journalist spared a quick glance towards the bedroom, and saw the two drug users stuffing the fine blue powder up their nostrils, a look of pure ecstasy etched on their faces. A look of disgust on his face, he turned around; he had never been able to abide of weaknesses.
Leaving some distance between Suon and himself, he followed the younger man once again, waiting for him to lead him right to the mysterious woman who was the brains behind the operation. One of his eyebrows shot up in suspicion when he saw Suon head towards none other than Shippou and his young friend Souten.
‘She could be the ‘she’ Suon referred to after all they seem to be close, and she is related to Hiten, the leader of the Thunder Brothers…’
To the surprise, and relief, of the Shikon Magazine co-editor, after exchanging just a few words with Shippou and Souten, Suon walked away. Sesshoumaru would have hated to find out that the girl Shippou was obviously enamored with was a cold hearted criminal.
‘I guess the kid has grown on me.’ He pushed away a dancing couple, and followed his lead. He had no time to dwell on his annoyance about his recent change of feelings towards the young intern.
The direction in which his prey was heading next caused Sesshoumaru’s previous annoyance to explode in full blown anger, for just a few meters from him stood someone with hair almost as silver as his own…
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“I heard that you were going to volunteer for another term as president of the Associated Student Council.”
Kagome forced a smiled on her lips. She would not give Kikyou the satisfaction of knowing she was affecting her. “Yes, I hope to get re-elected. There are a lot of projects I hope to accomplish before I leave the council.”
“You’ve always been such a dedicated woman… just keep in mind to devote some time to yourself and your loved ones.” Kikyou took a sip of her soft drink as she sent a glance in the direction of Inuyasha.
The young silver haired man could not repress a sigh. ‘Geez why won’t these two get along? Kikyou and I haven’t been together since high school…I don’t understand why Kagome is always so upset when she’s around...I mean I’m still friends with Kikyou. Then again when we were dating, Kikyou hated that Kagome was my best friend.’
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to keep your good advice in mind.” Kagome said on a sweet syrupy voice even as she was boiling inside. ‘What makes her think I need her advice?!’
“Good.” Kikyou smiled back. “I hear the preparations for the school festival are well under way.” She said referring to the annual event, which took place to celebrate the anniversary of their university.
“Speaking about that, I see Abi over there, and I should probably go talk to her about the latest idea I’ve had for the festival.” Since Kikyou had just provided her with the perfect excuse to slip away, Kagome had no intention of wasting it. She raised her hand, and frantically waved in the direction of her vice president, calling her over. She did not know if she had done it on purpose, but Abi did not respond to her silent request, and kept her gaze focused on the crowd of dancers across from her.
‘Ugh she’s too busy checking Hiten out to pay attention to me. I guess my warning was not followed.’ The young woman reflected as she followed the gaze of her second in command.
An intervention by Kikyou thrust Kagome out of her thoughts.
“You intend to do council business at a party?”
Kagome simply hated what she perceived to be the condescending tone on which Kikyou just questioned her.
“Well you know what they say…no rest for the…hard workers.” Kagome said weakly. As much as she hated it, Kikyou had always been able to get her tongue tied. She had been in love with Inuyasha forever, but for a long time she had been persuaded she would never be able to get her best friend to think of her as a woman because of Kikyou’s influence.
‘People always say we look alike, but it never seemed like it to me…she’s so regal and so cold…and I’m me.’ She forced her insecurities down. She was with Inuyasha now, and she knew he loved her. ‘I really need to stop giving her so much power over me. They’re through.’ As cowardly as it might be, at the present moment there was nothing Kagome wanted more than to be as far away from her boyfriend’s ex. Since she had failed to flag Abi to have her come over, she feared she would have to either suffer Kikyou’s presence for longer, or simply turn back and leave with her tail between her legs; something she would hate. As she was about to give into her second option, an unexpected
‘Thank you God! I may have just cashed in all the prayers I have done at the shrine over the years, but it was well worth it. I don’t know how long I could have stood to pretend to chit chat with Kikyou…’ She thought before speaking out loud.“Hey Sesshoumaru over here!”
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Sesshoumaru was getting as close to Suon as he dared without the young man noticing when he saw the most unexpected sight from the corner of his eye: Inuyasha and Kagome standing close by with a beautiful young woman with the coldest dark eyes he had ever seen.
‘Could she be the one Suon is going to report to?’ He wondered when the drug dealer pushed through the throng of dancers to go towards Inuyasha and his little group. ‘Wouldn’t it be just my luck that she is an acquaintance of Inuyasha…this evening keeps on getting better and better.’ His bitter thoughts were interrupted by none other than a female voice he was starting to know all too well shouting loudly in his direction.
“Hey Sesshoumaru over here!”
Rather than the silver haired man, it was Suon who turned his head towards Kagome upon hearing her words. His dark gaze followed where she was waiving, and his head then snapped back. He gasped when he saw Sesshoumaru standing so close to him.
‘I’ve seen that old guy before…behind us when we were walking to the party…then upstairs outside of the room…then now. Is he following me?! Damn it is he with the police! I need to get out of here.’ Suon felt his heart beat faster, and sweat bead in his palms and at his forehead. He had barely thought the words that he was forcefully pushing himself through the crowd, and bolting towards the door.
‘Damn he’s getting away!’ Sesshoumaru thought, but before he had the chance to follow after his quarry, he felt a hand wrap around his arm.
The journalist lowered his golden eyes and wished that with just a gaze, he could burn holes through the small pale limb curled around his bicep. However as much as he wished, he of course could not.
“Hey! Are you okay? After what happened at Kagura’s place we just…”
“Take your hand off me now!” He spoke with pure anger. This was his second time in one evening getting angry, and speaking coldly to a woman.
Kagome was so taken aback with Sesshoumaru’s furiousness that she instantly let go.
“I’m sorry…I just…”
Seeing moisture gather in her eyes brought Sesshoumaru back to his previous confrontation of the evening, and his lover’s own tears. Only thinking about his co-worker and their quarrel caused a stabbing pain to resonate through his heart. He had hoped that focusing on his investigation would have allowed him to forget all about Kagura, but in that moment all he could think about was her, and all his thoughts were so negative.
‘What am even I doing here?’ He realized then and there that he had been running around and away trying to evade the problem even though it was still there burning a hole in his chest. ‘I had hoped to get to the bottom of this Miko Powder business, but it seems everything keeps bringing me back to Kagura.’
This evening had proved not to be quite what he had expected at all. Nothing was going as planned. Sesshoumaru had had enough; all he wanted at the moment was to go home. ‘Shippou is clearly acquainted with Suon, and should be able to get me the information I require whenever I am ready to use it. I’ve done enough for today.’
For the second time that day, Sesshoumaru simply walked away from a situation he did not want to face. He had enough on his mind worrying about the dissolution of his agreement with Kagura to worry about his brother.
“Should we just let him go?...” A truly worried Kagome whispered to her boyfriend. Her voice was still strained due to the high volume of emotions running through her.
“We’ve already tried that, and it obviously didn’t work.” Inuyasha looked sadly at Kagome. He knew she had truly hoped that this evening would mark a new beginning for him and his half brother, but had only resulted in widening the gap between not only the two of them, but also Sesshoumaru and his lover. ‘I’m sure she must be blaming herself…’ He sighed deeply. “Come on, I’ll take you home. There’s nothing more we can do over here.”
“Okay.” Kagome might have just agreed to a retreat, but she had no intention to give up. ‘What I broke, I intend to fix, and that is a promise.’
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Kagura balanced the gift she was holding with her left hand, and with her right one rung the bell twice. After her fight and ensuing break up with Sesshoumaru, the young journalist was in sore need of some companionship, and a kind ear to listen to her.
In a matter of seconds the white door was thrown opened. She looked down, and despite the sadness still wringing her heart, a smile found itself on her lips.
“Aunt Kagura!” Hakudoushi shouted happily. His mother had not told him they expected a visit from their aunt, so he was delighted by the surprise.
“Hey you! You know you shouldn’t open the door. I could have been a stranger.” The simple sight of her nephew was enough to finally broaden the smile on her lips.
“You’re not a stranger, you’re aunt Kagu!” Hakudoushi pointed out, then as he noticed the plate she was carrying, he quickly added “Is that for me?”
Kagura walked inside her sister’s house, and safely shepherded her nephew back inside. The idea of resisting did not cross his mind since his eyes were stuck on the little present she had brought him. She noticed his interest, and let out a chuckle before lowering the treat to his eye gaze. “Share with your brother. I made these for you.”
“Chocolate chip cookies. Yeah my favorite!” Hakudoushi practically wrestled away the dish out of his aunt’s hands before running away towards his bedroom. He hoped he would be able to wolf down as many cookies as possible before his mother intercepted him, and either forced him to share with his brother or worse, have him wait until after lunch to eat some of the sweet treats. However before he had a chance to make it to the stairs, Kanna walked out of the kitchen, where she had been putting together lunch for her sons, and headed towards the entryway.
“What’s this I hear about cookies?” The mother-to-be managed to figure out the whole situation by looking inside her son’s guilty eyes. Hakudoushi thought about fleeing, but his mother snatched up the plate before he ever had a chance to make up his mind. She was holding the hand of her youngest son who was staring avidly at the plate as well.
“Aw mom! Can I have a little bit? Aunt Kagura made them just for me.”
“Actually it was for both you and Akago…” Kagura quickly interjected.
Kanna looked at her big sister, and saw the purple bags under her crimson eyes. Kagura visiting unannounced was surprising, but seeing the other woman actually bake something was downright shocking to her sister.
“Guess what boys, I’ll let you have dessert before your meal.” Kanna handed back the plate to her oldest son. “Haku, go pour a glass of milk for both you and your brother, but don’t mess up my kitchen, I just cleaned it.” The words had barely left her mouth that both of her sons were scampering towards the kitchen. They were both afraid their mother would change her mind. Ever since she had become pregnant, the usually even tempered Kanna had on occasions showed some very unexpected strong emotional outbursts, which had prompted her husband to claim her mood swings could only be due to her expecting a girl. This in turn had caused for Yukiyo to spend a very uncomfortable night on the couch.
The white haired younger woman waited until her boys were out of earshot to walk towards the living room. She did not need to look back to know that Kagura was following closely behind her. The two of them settled next to each other on the couch, and Kanna wasted no time digging in.
“So what brings you here? It has to be something serious for you to have baked.”
Kagura bristled at her sister’s tone. She knew firsthand that cooking and baking were not her forte, but hated being reminded of that.
“I couldn’t sleep and was in need of a little distraction. Besides is it so bad to want to bring my dear nephews a little gift?”
Kanna cocked an eyebrow in skepticism upon hearing her sister’s statement.
“Oh alright…” Kagura sighed. “I may have come here with an ulterior motive.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Kanna’s interest was picked.
“Sesshoumaru and I… have gotten into an argument, and he left me.” Simply speaking the words aloud made Kagura feel the pain of seeing her lover walking away from her all over again.
“What?!” Kanna was unable to keep in her shock. ‘I thought he was the one for her! The two of them looked so good together…’ “What happened?”
“I may have tried to force him to reconcile with his estranged brother…”The young woman knew all too well what her sister was going to tell her; namely that she had been wrong to trick Sesshoumaru. In hindsight she still thought that her intentions were good, but she regretted the way she had gone about it. ‘Deceiving him was definitely not the way to go about it…’
“That was not the best idea…” Kanna pointed out the obvious. She could just imagine how she would feel if Yukiyo tried to get her to forge a relationship with Naraku.
“Well there was more to it than just a family matter…his brother is actually a very good lead for an article Sesshoumaru is working on. I was really trying to help him out with his work as well as his family.” Kagura could not help but spit out the excuse she had used to reason her actions.
Both of Kanna’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She had just found her sister’s statement very interesting. “Since when do you put Sesshoumaru’s professional and personal well being over everything? To think that when he had first come in at Shikon Magazine you had done all your best to get him fired. When did your position change?” She could not help but point out the obvious once again.
Kagura was taken aback by her sister’s simple question. “I don’t know…” She honestly admitted. ‘I have come to care for Sesshoumaru a lot…I was even willing to help him out with his article without expecting any credit on it.’ She thought to herself, shock rolling through her. “I didn’t realize he had come to be so important to me…to be honest I thought that whatever this thing between us is…it involved just sex, and I figured things would fizzle out eventually…” ‘But they haven’t...it’s actually been the complete opposite.’ She remembered all too well how she had cried herself to sleep in the wee hours of the morning only after she had finally managed to exhaust herself.
“And now you’ve fallen in love with him.” Kanna finished for her the thought she did not dare form aloud or even in her head.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” The older of the two Jiyuu sisters scoffed. The mere thought of her falling in love with anybody, let alone Sesshoumaru was ludicrous to her. Her relationship with Kouga had cured her of such notions, or so she had thought. Even if she tried to deny it, simply thinking about her co-worker and how he had left her without looking back, caused her heart to throb, almost painfully, and tears to appear in her eyes.
“No… I can’t be…” However now that she was confronted with the facts, she couldn’t deny it anymore. They had not even been apart for an hour, and she was already missing him; not only his kisses and his tender love making, but most of all his companionship. Other than her sister, Sesshoumaru had become the one closest to her, the only person she had dared reveal her deepest darkest secret to. The two of them had spent hours talking to each other about their past and their aspirations. ‘I miss him so much. It’s barely been a day, but I want him to see again.’
It was impossible for her to deny what was in her heart. “Oh my God! I am in love with that jerk!” Kagura sprung to her feet.
“Good,” Kanna grinned, laying her hand on her rounded stomach. “Questions is, what are you going to do about it?”
To be continued…
A/N: I am pretty sure you’ve figured out who is the brain behind the whole Miko Powder organization. Just in case her identity will be revealed in the next chapter. We’ll also have another confrontation between our two lovers, and see how Kagura’s recent realization will change things for them. The chapter will be named Rebuttal. I’ll try to have the next one up as soon as possible.
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A/N: Once again, I am so sorry for the lack of updates as of late; I’m making it up to you guys with an extra long chapter. Despite my horrendous updating pattern you guys are still reading and supporting my story, which I really appreciate.
Disclaimer: Sadly even though I love writing AU stories on my OTP, they don't belong to me. I tried to buy them, but all I could afford were plushies. Oh well better than nothing lol.
“Talking”
'Thoughts'
“ I see…Kagura, may I have a word with you.” The coolly controlled voice in which Sesshoumaru spoke his request let her know that she was in no position to refuse. The fact that his face was void of emotions also let her know that he was beyond being furious.
“Sure… we’ll be right back.” She forced a smile on her red painted lips, and headed towards her room. Once inside she could not prevent her crimson eyes from straying to her unmade bed, where the scents of their entwined bodies still lingered. Her brief flashback about the lusty events which had taken place in that room only a few hours ago came to a crashing halt when Sesshoumaru came in behind her, and tightly shut the door.
“Whatever I did, I did for you.” She immediately started talking. She could only hope that she would be able to convince him about how genuine she was before he blew up on her. ‘Not that I’ve ever heard Sesshoumaru scream at someone. All he needs is to give them the icy look, and they quiver under his gaze.’
“Had this Sesshoumaru not explicitly asked you not to get involved in my familial issues?”
“I only…”
“Answer the damn question!” Never had he swore at her, so the harsh language took her aback.
“Yes.” She finally admitted.
“Then why did you take it upon yourself to meddle in affairs that did not concern you?” In a weary gesture, he ran his hand over his forehead, messing up his usually perfect silver bangs. “No, do not even bother answering.”
“Well I will nonetheless! The truth is that I care about you. You’re more than just a guy I sleep and work with. You’re my friend! I saw a situation that was broken, and I wanted to fix it. Yes, your father is an asshole, and no one is denying that, but don’t you think it’s a bit extreme to reject your brother because of that? He’s innocent.”
“You do not understand.” He grumbled. ‘How could she know that every time I see Inuyasha all I can think about is how father betrayed mother in her hour of need. He is the very embodiment of father’s infidelities and lies.’
“You can’t blame the poor kid for something he’s not a part of. He didn’t lie and cheat on anyone, and certainly never betrayed you. The way you’re acting towards him is just not fair to him, or to you. You deserve to be at peace, and to know what it’s like to actually have family members you get along with.”
Her tirade was followed by a long pregnant pause. When Sesshoumaru finally opened his mouth to speak, Kagura’s felt her pulse quicken. She could not wait to find out if her words had managed to get through to her lover’s tough exterior and iron emotional armor.
“When you decided to get involved in my professional life, I let it go… at least to an extent.” He referred to how she had invited herself to his investigation of the Miko Powder. “This time around you have however gone too far. I have told you on several occasions to stay out of my family business, but you do not listen!”
She could understand why he was angered, but she had really not expected for him to react this strongly. “I’m sorry if you’re upset. I really thought I was doing what was best.”
“This is an ongoing issue with you… you always assume that you always know what is best for everyone… you simply act without thinking about consequences.”
“What consequences are you talking about? I’m just trying to reconcile you with your family.” The few feet separating them felt like a wide opened ocean, so she decided to walk towards him. She hoped that by increasing their proximity, she would be able to remind him of everything they had shared in this very room only a few hours before, causing his anger to diminish.
He silently watched her approach him, the cold mask of indifference on his face not even slipping for a second. He waited until she was as close to him as possible without actually touching him to react, and not in the way she would have expected.
“We are done.” His short announcement was met by a deafening silence. The only thing registering through the young woman’s head was the thundering beat of her heart, and the blood rushing through her ears.
“What… what do you mean?” She asked with a breathy shocked voice. Even as she questioned him, she understood all too well where the conversation was headed, and she was not liking it one bit.
He took a deep breath, then staring inside her beloved crimson eyes pronounced. “Whatever arrangement we have had for the past few months is severed as of tonight.”
“You don’t… you can’t mean that.” She struggled to keep her voice as leveled as possible. The closed of expression on his face was miles away from the tender look that had been on his face when he had made love to her during most of the day. “You’re joking right…”
“Do I look amused?” He answered dryly. ‘I have already sacrificed so much because of her. I have let Naraku mock me and insult my professional abilities just to preserve her, but I will be damned if I let her take over my personal life as well!’ Just thinking about the trap Kagura had set up for him, he clenched his fist in anger. He really did not understand what made her believe she was entitled to meddle with his life. ‘Ours was not supposed to be such a relationship. We were just having fun while sharing companionship.’
“I was trying to help you…”
“I never asked for your help.” He retorted icily. His hard cold words caused a shiver of unease to roll down her spine.
‘This can’t be the same man who tenderly held me in his arms when I told him about how I lost my baby…’ Kagura was sure that she had to be in a bad dream. She had anticipated that Sesshoumaru would be upset about her deception, but never could she have imagined he would be this furious.
“You cannot simply do as you please with people’s lives.”
“I know that…but you have to understand…all I wanted was to make things better…”
“Has it not occurred to you that this might be impossible? Anyways, I have heard enough. I will see you at work.” Without bothering to offer any kind and tender farewell as he usually did with her, Sesshoumaru simply walked out of the room. She could not believe that he would end things between them on such a note. Had she been honest, she would have also admitted that a part of her had always figured that if one of them had to break things up between them, it would have been her.
“Go ahead! Run away from me! Just don’t expect me to run after you!” She screamed out even as tears of pain and frustration pooled in her crimson eyes. The head of the young woman was buzzing, and she could feel an intense headache settling in. Before she even realized what had happened, she found herself crumpled on her messy bed.
‘The last thing I want right now is to go back out there, and play perfect hostess to Inuyasha and Kagome.’ Kagura wiped some of her tears from her face with the soft sheets of her bed. As much as she tried blocking the scents which assaulted her nose, she could not help but take in the lingering smells that still clung to the fabric. She and Sesshoumaru had spent most of their day in bed together, and the sheets still bore testament to that. ‘How could things go so wrong so quickly?’ She wondered as the floodgates were opened, and tears starting falling freely from her eyes.
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“Go ahead! Run away from me! Just don’t expect me to run after you!”
Sesshoumaru Tashio was seeing red; the only thought in his mind was to get away from his lover as quickly as possible. He did his best to block out Kagura’s anguish filled voice as she screamed after him. He walked down the corridor of her condo, and straight towards the exit. He had been so focused on his goal that he was taken by surprise when he saw none other than Inuyasha and Kagome loiter in the entryway of Kagura’s home.
Kagome and her boyfriend had heard the shouting coming in from the master bedroom, but it had been too muffled for them to make out what exactly was being said. The elevated tone of the lovers’ voices was enough to make Inuyasha uneasy, and he had had enough. Even if Kagome had been reluctant to let Sesshoumaru and Kagura hash it out, she knew that it was not her role to intervene in the couple’s argument. They had therefore sleeked out of the dining room, and headed towards the door, but had yet to actually step out of the condo. However now that Sesshoumaru was clearly leaving, she did not see any reason not to get involved.
“Hum is everything okay?” The young dark haired woman asked.
Sesshoumaru paused briefly in his progression to send her the coldest and haughtiest look he could manage. He was too unnerved to take the time to deal with the two unexpected guests.
“Oh!” Kagome gasped in shock. Never had she seen eyes as haunted as the ones Sesshoumaru had turned towards her. The mix of rage and pain in his golden orbs stabbed her right through the heart.
Without bothering to speak a word, he walked right though the door, and stepped outside in the cold night air.
“Do you think they’ll be okay? I mean… Maybe we should check on them…” Kagome gently suggested. The young woman turned towards the corridor to go see to Kagura. She felt responsible for how things had turned out that evening, and wanted to make sure the older woman was fine. She had barely made a few steps in that direction that a loud crashing sound came in from behind the closed doors.
“Keh! Seems to me that she doesn’t want anyone to see her right now.” Inuyasha’s sharp hearing had easily made out the sound of an object being thrown against the door, and by the sound of it shattering into a million pieces.
“Hum maybe we should focus on your brother…” Kagura’s act of rage was the only proof Kagome needed to know she should let the other woman well enough alone. Besides Kagome could see how upset her boyfriend was by what had transpired that evening. Had she been honest, she would have admitted that she too was unsettled. She could not banish from her mind the revelations she had been given about the real reason for the strain between Touga Tashio and his eldest son.
“You saw the way he reacted earlier. What do you think we could do? He clearly doesn’t want our help.” The note of longing in his voice did not escape her keen gaze.
“Maybe we could follow him to make sure he’s okay…” Something told Kagome that Sesshoumaru was more in need of their help and support than Kagura. A shiver ran down her spine when she remembered the sorrowful look in his eyes. “Please Inuyasha, I just have a bad feeling…”
“Feh! I feel like it’s a bad idea, but I guess we don’t have anything to lose.”
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Sesshoumaru Tashio needed to get away. He hated the way in which he and Kagura had parted, and even as he exited the highway, he had to wrestle against his urge to turn around and drive back to her condo so the two of them could have a talk.
‘As much as I am angered by her machination, I hate the look of pain she had in her eyes.’ He sighed deeply. It was not the first time he and Kagura had had a disagreement, but it was the one and only time where he had spoken to her in such cold terms. He had no intention to go back on his word, no matter how much he wished to.
‘I need to clear my head.’ He knew that dwelling on the unfortunate evening would not be doing anything favorable for him. Since he could not spend the evening with Kagura, he had decided to at least be productive by advancing in his investigation.
Even if his mind was not completely focused on his driving, his car easily glided through the empty darkened streets. He had driven enough times to the Edo campus while being a student to know where exactly to park closest to the dorms. In just a matter of minutes he had parked in a hidden dark corner of the parking structure, and was walking towards the section of campus called Dorm Row where all the different living accommodations for the students could be found. Many students of Edo University preferred staying at Dorm Row during their studies. Its proximity was definitely a plus, but Sesshoumaru knew that the fact that wild parties and group entertainments were always taking place over there was also another attractive side to Dorm Row for the students. He himself had some interesting memories about the time he had shared a small apartment with Jaken in one of the many buildings of the street.
As Sesshoumaru approached the street, he noticed diverse sized groups of college aged people walking towards a large green house, which stood in the middle of Dorm Row. As if the throng of people converging towards the house was not proof enough that a big party was taking place in it, as he got closer he heard loud music blaring from the place.
‘How surprising that campus police hasn’t shut down this celebration yet…This will surely prove to be the perfect opportunity for me to find out more about the Miko Powder.’ Sesshoumaru thought to himself, his mind finally free of his previous worries about Kagura now that he had something else to focus on.
Even though he was more than a dozen years older than the people walking down the street, Sesshoumaru hoped to be able to blend in with them. He was glad that since he had not intended to go into the office that day, he was wearing casual clothing. To liven up his look, he tucked his shirt out of his jeans and tousled his always perfect hair a bit. As not to attract too much attention, he joined up with a band of seven guys and girls. He was close enough to them to make it look as if he belonged to their crew, but kept enough of a distance between them for the twenty-somethings not to realize he was following them.
“Can’t wait! The Thunder Bros always throw the best parties.” Sesshoumaru’s keen hearing picked up on one of the dark haired girls gush happily. Her remark caused the members of the group to laugh out loud.
“Yeah, of course you’d say that Souten.” A brown haired young man gently teased her.
Sesshoumaru was not too interested in finding out what was happening between the group members, or why they were teasing their friend. All he cared about was to get inside the party as inconspicuously as possible, and that entailed having to put up with the group of young people he had infiltrated.
‘As soon as I get inside that house, I will stay as far away from these kids as I can.’ He thought to himself. His already raw nerves, thanks to his confrontation with Kagura, were being even more grated by the second thanks to the annoying chatter of the band he was trailing. A mix of relief and eagerness ran through his body when he saw how close they were now from the house. He barely contained a growl of annoyance when a voice interjected and halted their advance.
“Hey guys wait up!”
‘I know this voice.’ The Shikon Magazine journalist thought to himself, and sure enough when he turned around he saw none other than a very familiar red haired young man run towards them.
“Sessh…” Shippou gasped in shock, but a dark glare from his boss shut him up. “Souten…nice to see you.”
“I’m glad you could make it Shippou.” The young dark haired girl beamed at him. “This party wouldn’t have been half as fun without you.” Her words caused his cheeks to blush a bright red.
“Come on Souten, you know he would have never refused one of your personal invitations even if it’s to one of your cousin’s crazy dorm parties…” One of their friends gently mocked Shippou; everyone knew he had a huge crush on Souten even if he was too straight laced to like what her cousins Hiten and Manten were into.
Shippou smiled good naturedly at his friend’s joke. “Suon, you’re such a kidder…let’s just get on with the party.” The young intern did his best to move things along for two reasons. The first was that the last thing he wanted was for Souten to find out through their mutual friend about how he truly felt about her; the second was he may not know what exactly Sesshoumaru was doing there, but he was sure his boss did not want him to blow his cover.
“Let’s hurry, I want to get to kiss Hiten hello before he gets thrashed, and won’t recognize his own cousin.” Souten announced before resuming her progression towards the house party. All her friends, including Shippou, and Sesshoumaru followed closely behind her.
‘I just have a bad feeling about this…’ Shippou thought to himself. Even if he walked next to his friends, hi usual goofy smile on his lips, he could not help but let his green eyes roll to the side to give small glances to the tall man silently following behind them. ‘A very bad feeling…’
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“Keh! I’m not liking this…and for the record I said it would be a bad idea.”
Sesshoumaru Tashio was not the only one following people that evening; his younger half brother Inuyasha and his girlfriend were doing the same, albeit to him.
“We’ve come this far, we can’t back up now…” The young woman was too feeling uneasy, but refused to quit now. Despite her confident words, she let a groan escape her lips when she saw Sesshoumaru join up with a group of Edo students heralded by none other than Souten. If she had any doubts that the Shikon journalist was headed towards the Thunder Brothers’ lair, they were definitely dismissed for good. She had personally never set foot in the large green house, which served as on campus living accommodation for the group of delinquents, nor did she particularly wish to. No one knew better than her how much she had crusaded against having Hiten and his “brothers” be allowed to share the same house on campus. Everybody, she was sure including the school officials, knew that every weekend the house Hiten and the Thunder Brothers shared was transformed into a big party where she was convinced many not very legal activities took place. The irony of the fact that she was now going to attend one of the wild parties was not loss on her.
Inuyasha easily picked up on her unease, and easily guessed the reason behind reluctance. “You know we don’t have to follow him in there. He looks more than capable of handling himself…” The two of them had witnessed Sesshoumaru’s earlier ‘transformation,’ and had noticed how despite his height he easily managed to blend in with the people around him, making it hard to notice he was an outsider.
“Would you rather we speak about whatever it is your father did to Sesshoumaru to turn him so cold towards you?” The young woman was dying to know what exactly the Tashio family secret might be.
“No, not really.” Inuyasha was really not in the mood to talk to his girlfriend about that shameful part of his parents’ lives.
“Okay then let’s do this!” Her cheerful tone did not fool Inuyasha whatsoever, but he decided to go along with her plan for now.
Only a few minutes after they saw Souten’s group of friends, and Sesshoumaru, disappear into the large house, they did the same. As Kagome and Inuyasha made themselves a way through the dense crowd, in search of Sesshoumaru’s imposing figure, they ran into the last person she would have expected to see at a dorm party thrown by the Thunder Brothers: her second in command in the Associated Student council, Abi.
“Abi? What are you doing here?!” Kagome gasped in pure shock. Her vice president was the most reserved person she knew, and she was also a real stickler for rules, which Kagome was sure stemmed from Abi’s mother being on the board of directors of Edo University.
“Keh! You know what Miroku says, it’s always the quiet ones…” Inuyasha’s muttered remark earned him an elbow hit to the ribs courtesy of Kagome.
‘How the heck did she even hear me?... She never ceases to amaze me.’ He was shocked to see she had heard him despite the loud music and the various conversations going on around them.
“President?! It’s not what you think…I just…I’m still worthy of being your vice-president…I just…I.” Abi started to defend herself, but a deep blush stained her cheeks as words failed her. Noticing her collaborator’s great discomfort, Kagome decided to intervene, and put her out of her misery.
“I won’t judge you, or think less of you because you decided to go to a party on campus.” ‘It actually makes her seem more human to me…She’s always so serious, so seeing she can let her hair down and have some fun makes me like her more.’ Kagome thought to herself.
Abi, her vice-president, was an efficient worker, who was always on top of everything at the Associated Students meeting. She was in charge of setting up the agenda, taking down the minutes, and made sure that everything was always done rightly.
‘She always does everything perfectly and takes care of every little detail, so seeing her like this is actually fun.’ Kagome thought about saying aloud. “I do think you should be careful around those Thunder Brothers though, I wouldn’t accept an opened drink from them; these guys are dangerous.”
“I promise to keep my eyes opened.” Abi displayed a tentative smile. “You promise not to tell my mom? I know that she would freak out and give me hell if she found out I went to a party on campus were they served alcohol.” She self-consciously looked down at the can of beer she had been sipping on before Kagome and Inuyasha had surprised her.
“Do you think we’re tattle tales or something? Don’t worry and just have fun. We wouldn’t tell the old bird anything even if she threatened to pluck our eyes out.”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome did not hold back any of her strength when she hit her boyfriend this time around. His yelp of pain let her know that she most certainly left a nasty bruise on his ribs. ‘Hopefully it will make him keep his mouth shut!’ She then hissed aloud. “Show some respect, it’s her mother you’re talking about!”
“Keh! Everyone calls her the old bird…I mean have you seen her nose, it looks like a damn beak.” He defended himself, and quickly intercepted his girlfriend’s next hit. “Keep your bony elbows away from me wench!” Inuyasha then pointed towards the smiling Abi. “Besides she’s not offended, so I don’t see why you should be.”
Kagome never had a chance to retaliate to her boyfriend’s words since a deep voice spoke behind them.
“Well well well. What do we have here? Isn’t this our dear prez?! Your presence honors me. Welcome to our humble abode. Usually I would have given you a hard time, but I’m in a good mood tonight; hence this little celebration.”
“Hiten.” The president of the Associated Student greeted him on as frosty a tone as she could manage, one which could have made Sesshoumaru proud.
“Tsk tsk no need to be so prissy, I’m welcoming you into my house ain’t I?” Hiten had been called many things throughout his life, but never an idiot. He knew full well that he had just been handed a great opportunity. ‘If I can collect some dirt on Kagome, and ruin her perfect little reputation, I’ll be able to get rid of her.’
“Listen, I didn’t come here to fight…” As much as speaking the following words hurt her pride, she knew it was warranted. “The truth is that I actually came to apologize.”
“You?! Apologize to me?” Hiten roared with laughter. He was tempting to ask his ‘brother’ and DJ for the night to shut off the music, so everyone could here Kagome, but at the last second decided against it.
“I wrongly accused you of being responsible for distributing the Miko Powder, and I am sorry for that.”
Her apologetic words caused a broad grin to appear on his lips. For so long he had longed to hear Kagome apologize for her angry and hateful words, but seeing her eat some humble pie was not as gratifying as he had imagined it would be.
‘Ugh I can’t even enjoy seeing her grovel at my feet.’ Hiten had always thought that he would relish triumphing over Kagome and the annoying members of her Associated Students Council; unfortunately, he did not feel anything at seeing her apologize. ‘Must be because Manten has always had stupid a soft spot for her… He must have influenced me.’
“I’m in a good mood, so I guess I can forgive you today. You may haven’t heard yet, but my brother’s out of his coma; he should be out of the hospital soon. I don’t know why, but Manten has always liked you, so to please him I’ll let you off the hook…” ‘At least for now.’ The young man added silently to himself.
“Really? That’s really good news. I’m happy for your brother.” Even though she was genuinely relieved to hear about Manten’s improved condition, Kagome did not like nor feel reassured by the look in Hiten’s small eyes. Besides now that she had done her apologies, the only thing on her mind was finding Sesshoumaru to see what he was up to; she of course intended to use as an excuse the fact that they had just found a potential witness for his investigation in the person of Manten.
“Well… that’s good and all, but we have places to be.” Inuyasha quickly intervened. He had been able to tell that his girlfriend was struggling for a way to get away from the head of the Thunder Brother, and since he did not like the other young man, he had no issues providing his love with an exit strategy.
“I hope you won’t leave before I get a chance to say hello.” A deep and silky female voice spoke.
Kagome rolled her dark eyes in pure annoyance. ‘Can this night not get any worse?!’ She thought angrily before turning towards the newcomer with a broad fake smile plastered on her lips. “Kikyou, it’s such a pleasure to see you again.”
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“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Souten exclaimed happily as she and the various members of her group mingled among the many people present in the house. They may have all come together, but in a matter of minutes they were all spread around. Shippou was torn between following after Souten especially now that her backside was swaying suggestively to the music, and staying next to Sesshoumaru, whose motives he was still trying to figure out.
“Go get her a drink.” Sesshoumaru’s deep commanding voice caused the young intern to jump out of his lustful thoughts about Souten.
“Hum…sure okay sir.” He was surprised by the older man’s suggestion, but was quick to do as told. Choosing between staying with the visibly annoyed Sesshoumaru, or spending the evening with Souten was easy. As soon as the words left his boss’s mouth, Shippou scampered away.
Sesshoumaru Tashio had always had a keen eye when it came to scrutinizing people and analyzing their behavior. He scanned the crowd of people around him, and his gaze stopped on none other than Suon, the friend of Shippou and Souten who had been walking with them towards the party.
‘It seems he is more than just a little joker…’
The thing that had caught Sesshoumaru’s notice was the attention being paid to the young man as soon as he walked inside. He had barely had time to pick up a can of beer from the refreshment table that he had been assaulted by two pale faced young men. If their soiled ill-fitting baggy clothes, sweaty skin and shivering bodies were not enough to raise his suspicion, their speech definitely was.
“Where have you been man?” The first man roared angrily.
“We’ve been waiting for you for hours!” The second snatched Suon by the arm, and did not look like he was about to let go anytime soon.
“Chill guys! Don’t worry, I have it all under control. She just gave me a brand new cargo, and I’m willing to share with anyone.,. of course for the right price.” He tried shrugging the hold one of his clients had on him, but the hand of the man only clenched tighter.
Suon’s announcement was received with sighs of relief. The first young man dug into his pocket and with a shaking hand retrieved a wad of crumpled bills. In a move almost too quick to pick up by the naked eye, Suon pushed the young man’s hand back, efficiently hiding the money from the gaze of the party goers.
“Not here you dimwit!” Suon scanned the crowd with his clear blue gaze to make sure that no one was paying any attention to him.
‘I am willing to bet anything that these two men are users of the Miko Powder, and that Suon will be my clear ticket to finding out who is behind the drug.’ Suon’s mention of a ‘she’ had not escaped Sesshoumaru’s sharp ears. From the beginning he had always suspected that whoever was in charge of the Miko Powder had to be an intelligent and strategic person who was capable of masking his or her identity, he therefore knew that being able to get access to the manufacturer through one of the dealers was a real struck of luck.
“Where? When?...Come on Suon I need some…now!” The man grabbing on to him exclaimed, spittle flying freely from his thin dry cracked lips.
“Yeah, yeah I got it.” As disgusted as Suon might be by the behavior of his biggest client, he swallowed down his burst of annoyance. He was not about to let a sale slip through his fingers. For the second time he tried to shrug off the hold of the other man on him, and this time he succeeded. ‘I guess the thought of finally getting some was enough to mellow him…’ “Come on let’s go up to one of the rooms. After all we should fine an empty bedroom now before things start to get crowded up there.” He added aloud with a grin, in reference to the well known fact that by the end of the night all the bedrooms in the Thunder Brothers house would be occupied by amorous couples.
Suon wasted no time implementing his words. He turned around, and pushed though the crowd of people assembled around the stairs. His two clients followed closely behind him, and so did Sesshoumaru. The brown haired man checked the first few doors of the upstairs, but was only greeted by the sight of half naked or completely nude entwined bodies making free use of the accommodations of the house.
“Wow! Guess the party started a little early today.” He closed the last door tightly behind him before checking the next one. When he was greeted by a messy, dirty bedroom, which was thankfully empty, he ushered his two clients into it. Suon took the time to scan the hallway to make sure no one was following him. He was relieved to see none other than an older looking man chatting up with a girl he remembered from one of his chemistry classes. The only reason why he recalled her was that the woman had the largest breasts he had seen on a woman with a frame as small as hers, ever. The fact that he had also met her in this class was note worthy as well.
‘Bet those two will make use of one of the bedrooms real soon.’ He grinned before following after his two clients and closing the door behind him. As much as he would live to loiter around and watch the show, he knew he had a sale to make. ‘Maybe once I’m done with these two idiots, I’ll try to find myself a partner with boobs that big.’
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“I mean my dream’s always been to be a vet…” She took a deep breath, pushing her large breasts even more against her deep cleavage, just the way she had practiced in front of the mirror for long hours.” I just love animals….they’re sooo cute; especially little puppies!”
Sesshoumaru looked over the head of the young girl who was talking to him, and when he saw Suon and the two addicts enter the bedroom, he could barely contain his sigh of relief. The young woman across from him had proved to be the perfect shield, but now that she had served her purpose, he was not sure he would be able to endure her annoying and unstoppable chattering for one more second.
“Good…stay in school.” Sesshoumaru exclaimed before pushing past the woman without sparing her a glance. He had no interest whatsoever in her; he was still reeling from his argument with Kagura, and had no intention to get involved with any other woman; especially not one almost twenty years younger than him who had trouble putting together a simple sentence.
He heard her huff in annoyance behind him, but he did not pay any attention to her; he had a job to do. Sesshoumaru slowly walked down the corridor. He knew he would not be able to enter the room while it was still being used, but to his relief, in his hurry to conduct his transaction, Suon had left the door slightly ajar.
“That’s it? We…I need more!” The first Miko Powder user roared angrily. The wad of bills he had been clutching in his sweaty palms had been transferred to Suon’s pockets in exchange for little packets filled with a blue powder.
“That’s all I have for now. Don’t worry, I should be able to get more soon.”
“How soon?! This won’t last me two days!” The more aggressive of the two users shouted.
Suon’s mouth turned into a frown. He had not realized that the consumption of his two top clients had escalated this much. He knew all too well what overdosing on the Miko Powder could cause. He may not have sold him the drug, but he had after all heard about the side effects Manten had suffered. ‘Then again I heard he’s out of his coma, and should be fine…so it’s not like the drug is that dangerous.’
“Calm down, I should be able to get you some more tonight… After all she’s at this party.”
“Yeah well go get more!” As if anticipating Suon’s next question, his client took out some more crumpled bills. “Money isn’t a problem, just get us more.”
“Your wish is my command.” Suon grinned as he quickly took the cash, adding it to his growing pile. “Always a pleasure doing business with you guys. Stay here for now, I’ll get back to you as soon as I get in touch with my lovely supplier.”
“Just don’t take too long!”
Sesshoumaru pushed himself away from the door as quickly as possible. The last thing he wanted was for his prime witness to notice he had been spying on him. Suon opened the door and marched away as quickly as possible. He was in such a hurry to go get more of Miko Powder that he failed to notice the man with his back glued to the wall.
‘He walked right past me…’ If Sesshoumaru had had any suspicion that the people involved with the drug trade on the Edo University campus were not the brightest, they had just been reinforced. ‘and is going to lead me straight to whoever his provider may be…I never guessed it would have been this easy.’ The journalist spared a quick glance towards the bedroom, and saw the two drug users stuffing the fine blue powder up their nostrils, a look of pure ecstasy etched on their faces. A look of disgust on his face, he turned around; he had never been able to abide of weaknesses.
Leaving some distance between Suon and himself, he followed the younger man once again, waiting for him to lead him right to the mysterious woman who was the brains behind the operation. One of his eyebrows shot up in suspicion when he saw Suon head towards none other than Shippou and his young friend Souten.
‘She could be the ‘she’ Suon referred to after all they seem to be close, and she is related to Hiten, the leader of the Thunder Brothers…’
To the surprise, and relief, of the Shikon Magazine co-editor, after exchanging just a few words with Shippou and Souten, Suon walked away. Sesshoumaru would have hated to find out that the girl Shippou was obviously enamored with was a cold hearted criminal.
‘I guess the kid has grown on me.’ He pushed away a dancing couple, and followed his lead. He had no time to dwell on his annoyance about his recent change of feelings towards the young intern.
The direction in which his prey was heading next caused Sesshoumaru’s previous annoyance to explode in full blown anger, for just a few meters from him stood someone with hair almost as silver as his own…
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“I heard that you were going to volunteer for another term as president of the Associated Student Council.”
Kagome forced a smiled on her lips. She would not give Kikyou the satisfaction of knowing she was affecting her. “Yes, I hope to get re-elected. There are a lot of projects I hope to accomplish before I leave the council.”
“You’ve always been such a dedicated woman… just keep in mind to devote some time to yourself and your loved ones.” Kikyou took a sip of her soft drink as she sent a glance in the direction of Inuyasha.
The young silver haired man could not repress a sigh. ‘Geez why won’t these two get along? Kikyou and I haven’t been together since high school…I don’t understand why Kagome is always so upset when she’s around...I mean I’m still friends with Kikyou. Then again when we were dating, Kikyou hated that Kagome was my best friend.’
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to keep your good advice in mind.” Kagome said on a sweet syrupy voice even as she was boiling inside. ‘What makes her think I need her advice?!’
“Good.” Kikyou smiled back. “I hear the preparations for the school festival are well under way.” She said referring to the annual event, which took place to celebrate the anniversary of their university.
“Speaking about that, I see Abi over there, and I should probably go talk to her about the latest idea I’ve had for the festival.” Since Kikyou had just provided her with the perfect excuse to slip away, Kagome had no intention of wasting it. She raised her hand, and frantically waved in the direction of her vice president, calling her over. She did not know if she had done it on purpose, but Abi did not respond to her silent request, and kept her gaze focused on the crowd of dancers across from her.
‘Ugh she’s too busy checking Hiten out to pay attention to me. I guess my warning was not followed.’ The young woman reflected as she followed the gaze of her second in command.
An intervention by Kikyou thrust Kagome out of her thoughts.
“You intend to do council business at a party?”
Kagome simply hated what she perceived to be the condescending tone on which Kikyou just questioned her.
“Well you know what they say…no rest for the…hard workers.” Kagome said weakly. As much as she hated it, Kikyou had always been able to get her tongue tied. She had been in love with Inuyasha forever, but for a long time she had been persuaded she would never be able to get her best friend to think of her as a woman because of Kikyou’s influence.
‘People always say we look alike, but it never seemed like it to me…she’s so regal and so cold…and I’m me.’ She forced her insecurities down. She was with Inuyasha now, and she knew he loved her. ‘I really need to stop giving her so much power over me. They’re through.’ As cowardly as it might be, at the present moment there was nothing Kagome wanted more than to be as far away from her boyfriend’s ex. Since she had failed to flag Abi to have her come over, she feared she would have to either suffer Kikyou’s presence for longer, or simply turn back and leave with her tail between her legs; something she would hate. As she was about to give into her second option, an unexpected
‘Thank you God! I may have just cashed in all the prayers I have done at the shrine over the years, but it was well worth it. I don’t know how long I could have stood to pretend to chit chat with Kikyou…’ She thought before speaking out loud.“Hey Sesshoumaru over here!”
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Sesshoumaru was getting as close to Suon as he dared without the young man noticing when he saw the most unexpected sight from the corner of his eye: Inuyasha and Kagome standing close by with a beautiful young woman with the coldest dark eyes he had ever seen.
‘Could she be the one Suon is going to report to?’ He wondered when the drug dealer pushed through the throng of dancers to go towards Inuyasha and his little group. ‘Wouldn’t it be just my luck that she is an acquaintance of Inuyasha…this evening keeps on getting better and better.’ His bitter thoughts were interrupted by none other than a female voice he was starting to know all too well shouting loudly in his direction.
“Hey Sesshoumaru over here!”
Rather than the silver haired man, it was Suon who turned his head towards Kagome upon hearing her words. His dark gaze followed where she was waiving, and his head then snapped back. He gasped when he saw Sesshoumaru standing so close to him.
‘I’ve seen that old guy before…behind us when we were walking to the party…then upstairs outside of the room…then now. Is he following me?! Damn it is he with the police! I need to get out of here.’ Suon felt his heart beat faster, and sweat bead in his palms and at his forehead. He had barely thought the words that he was forcefully pushing himself through the crowd, and bolting towards the door.
‘Damn he’s getting away!’ Sesshoumaru thought, but before he had the chance to follow after his quarry, he felt a hand wrap around his arm.
The journalist lowered his golden eyes and wished that with just a gaze, he could burn holes through the small pale limb curled around his bicep. However as much as he wished, he of course could not.
“Hey! Are you okay? After what happened at Kagura’s place we just…”
“Take your hand off me now!” He spoke with pure anger. This was his second time in one evening getting angry, and speaking coldly to a woman.
Kagome was so taken aback with Sesshoumaru’s furiousness that she instantly let go.
“I’m sorry…I just…”
Seeing moisture gather in her eyes brought Sesshoumaru back to his previous confrontation of the evening, and his lover’s own tears. Only thinking about his co-worker and their quarrel caused a stabbing pain to resonate through his heart. He had hoped that focusing on his investigation would have allowed him to forget all about Kagura, but in that moment all he could think about was her, and all his thoughts were so negative.
‘What am even I doing here?’ He realized then and there that he had been running around and away trying to evade the problem even though it was still there burning a hole in his chest. ‘I had hoped to get to the bottom of this Miko Powder business, but it seems everything keeps bringing me back to Kagura.’
This evening had proved not to be quite what he had expected at all. Nothing was going as planned. Sesshoumaru had had enough; all he wanted at the moment was to go home. ‘Shippou is clearly acquainted with Suon, and should be able to get me the information I require whenever I am ready to use it. I’ve done enough for today.’
For the second time that day, Sesshoumaru simply walked away from a situation he did not want to face. He had enough on his mind worrying about the dissolution of his agreement with Kagura to worry about his brother.
“Should we just let him go?...” A truly worried Kagome whispered to her boyfriend. Her voice was still strained due to the high volume of emotions running through her.
“We’ve already tried that, and it obviously didn’t work.” Inuyasha looked sadly at Kagome. He knew she had truly hoped that this evening would mark a new beginning for him and his half brother, but had only resulted in widening the gap between not only the two of them, but also Sesshoumaru and his lover. ‘I’m sure she must be blaming herself…’ He sighed deeply. “Come on, I’ll take you home. There’s nothing more we can do over here.”
“Okay.” Kagome might have just agreed to a retreat, but she had no intention to give up. ‘What I broke, I intend to fix, and that is a promise.’
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Kagura balanced the gift she was holding with her left hand, and with her right one rung the bell twice. After her fight and ensuing break up with Sesshoumaru, the young journalist was in sore need of some companionship, and a kind ear to listen to her.
In a matter of seconds the white door was thrown opened. She looked down, and despite the sadness still wringing her heart, a smile found itself on her lips.
“Aunt Kagura!” Hakudoushi shouted happily. His mother had not told him they expected a visit from their aunt, so he was delighted by the surprise.
“Hey you! You know you shouldn’t open the door. I could have been a stranger.” The simple sight of her nephew was enough to finally broaden the smile on her lips.
“You’re not a stranger, you’re aunt Kagu!” Hakudoushi pointed out, then as he noticed the plate she was carrying, he quickly added “Is that for me?”
Kagura walked inside her sister’s house, and safely shepherded her nephew back inside. The idea of resisting did not cross his mind since his eyes were stuck on the little present she had brought him. She noticed his interest, and let out a chuckle before lowering the treat to his eye gaze. “Share with your brother. I made these for you.”
“Chocolate chip cookies. Yeah my favorite!” Hakudoushi practically wrestled away the dish out of his aunt’s hands before running away towards his bedroom. He hoped he would be able to wolf down as many cookies as possible before his mother intercepted him, and either forced him to share with his brother or worse, have him wait until after lunch to eat some of the sweet treats. However before he had a chance to make it to the stairs, Kanna walked out of the kitchen, where she had been putting together lunch for her sons, and headed towards the entryway.
“What’s this I hear about cookies?” The mother-to-be managed to figure out the whole situation by looking inside her son’s guilty eyes. Hakudoushi thought about fleeing, but his mother snatched up the plate before he ever had a chance to make up his mind. She was holding the hand of her youngest son who was staring avidly at the plate as well.
“Aw mom! Can I have a little bit? Aunt Kagura made them just for me.”
“Actually it was for both you and Akago…” Kagura quickly interjected.
Kanna looked at her big sister, and saw the purple bags under her crimson eyes. Kagura visiting unannounced was surprising, but seeing the other woman actually bake something was downright shocking to her sister.
“Guess what boys, I’ll let you have dessert before your meal.” Kanna handed back the plate to her oldest son. “Haku, go pour a glass of milk for both you and your brother, but don’t mess up my kitchen, I just cleaned it.” The words had barely left her mouth that both of her sons were scampering towards the kitchen. They were both afraid their mother would change her mind. Ever since she had become pregnant, the usually even tempered Kanna had on occasions showed some very unexpected strong emotional outbursts, which had prompted her husband to claim her mood swings could only be due to her expecting a girl. This in turn had caused for Yukiyo to spend a very uncomfortable night on the couch.
The white haired younger woman waited until her boys were out of earshot to walk towards the living room. She did not need to look back to know that Kagura was following closely behind her. The two of them settled next to each other on the couch, and Kanna wasted no time digging in.
“So what brings you here? It has to be something serious for you to have baked.”
Kagura bristled at her sister’s tone. She knew firsthand that cooking and baking were not her forte, but hated being reminded of that.
“I couldn’t sleep and was in need of a little distraction. Besides is it so bad to want to bring my dear nephews a little gift?”
Kanna cocked an eyebrow in skepticism upon hearing her sister’s statement.
“Oh alright…” Kagura sighed. “I may have come here with an ulterior motive.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Kanna’s interest was picked.
“Sesshoumaru and I… have gotten into an argument, and he left me.” Simply speaking the words aloud made Kagura feel the pain of seeing her lover walking away from her all over again.
“What?!” Kanna was unable to keep in her shock. ‘I thought he was the one for her! The two of them looked so good together…’ “What happened?”
“I may have tried to force him to reconcile with his estranged brother…”The young woman knew all too well what her sister was going to tell her; namely that she had been wrong to trick Sesshoumaru. In hindsight she still thought that her intentions were good, but she regretted the way she had gone about it. ‘Deceiving him was definitely not the way to go about it…’
“That was not the best idea…” Kanna pointed out the obvious. She could just imagine how she would feel if Yukiyo tried to get her to forge a relationship with Naraku.
“Well there was more to it than just a family matter…his brother is actually a very good lead for an article Sesshoumaru is working on. I was really trying to help him out with his work as well as his family.” Kagura could not help but spit out the excuse she had used to reason her actions.
Both of Kanna’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She had just found her sister’s statement very interesting. “Since when do you put Sesshoumaru’s professional and personal well being over everything? To think that when he had first come in at Shikon Magazine you had done all your best to get him fired. When did your position change?” She could not help but point out the obvious once again.
Kagura was taken aback by her sister’s simple question. “I don’t know…” She honestly admitted. ‘I have come to care for Sesshoumaru a lot…I was even willing to help him out with his article without expecting any credit on it.’ She thought to herself, shock rolling through her. “I didn’t realize he had come to be so important to me…to be honest I thought that whatever this thing between us is…it involved just sex, and I figured things would fizzle out eventually…” ‘But they haven’t...it’s actually been the complete opposite.’ She remembered all too well how she had cried herself to sleep in the wee hours of the morning only after she had finally managed to exhaust herself.
“And now you’ve fallen in love with him.” Kanna finished for her the thought she did not dare form aloud or even in her head.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” The older of the two Jiyuu sisters scoffed. The mere thought of her falling in love with anybody, let alone Sesshoumaru was ludicrous to her. Her relationship with Kouga had cured her of such notions, or so she had thought. Even if she tried to deny it, simply thinking about her co-worker and how he had left her without looking back, caused her heart to throb, almost painfully, and tears to appear in her eyes.
“No… I can’t be…” However now that she was confronted with the facts, she couldn’t deny it anymore. They had not even been apart for an hour, and she was already missing him; not only his kisses and his tender love making, but most of all his companionship. Other than her sister, Sesshoumaru had become the one closest to her, the only person she had dared reveal her deepest darkest secret to. The two of them had spent hours talking to each other about their past and their aspirations. ‘I miss him so much. It’s barely been a day, but I want him to see again.’
It was impossible for her to deny what was in her heart. “Oh my God! I am in love with that jerk!” Kagura sprung to her feet.
“Good,” Kanna grinned, laying her hand on her rounded stomach. “Questions is, what are you going to do about it?”
To be continued…
A/N: I am pretty sure you’ve figured out who is the brain behind the whole Miko Powder organization. Just in case her identity will be revealed in the next chapter. We’ll also have another confrontation between our two lovers, and see how Kagura’s recent realization will change things for them. The chapter will be named Rebuttal. I’ll try to have the next one up as soon as possible.
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