InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Secret Lovers ❯ Rebuttal ( Chapter 14 )
[ 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: 05.21.2012 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.2K | Visits: 305 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.21.2012 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.2K | Visits: 305 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 14: Rebuttal
A/N: Hello dear readers of mine, here comes the next chapter. I know it’s been a while since the last update, and I apologize for the lack of updates (once again).
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'
Kagura Jiyuu felt like a new woman. She had never been one to give up and wallow in self pity, but speaking with her sister had definitely been the kick to the backside she had needed to get herself back together. Realizing that her feelings for Sesshoumaru actually ran deeper than she had expected had also made her decide to make her move. She might have been burnt by love in the past, but she was sure things would be different with Sesshoumaru
‘Other than last Saturday, Sesshoumaru has been much more understanding towards me than Kouga ever was. At least he understands why my career is so important to me.’ The young woman tried dispelling all her doubts. But even as she struggled to do so, she could not help but think about the way Sesshoumaru had coldly decided to break things off between them. ‘It was his anger speaking at the time. I know he will come to understand why I did what I did, and he will forgive me. Besides he did say that he was falling for me…’ She thought back to the wonderful times they had spent during their dinner date, and on the rooftop of the Shikon Magazine headquarters the night of the party a few weeks ago.
Relief spreading through her, Kagura walked towards her office. She entertained the idea of instead going to Sesshoumaru’s work area, but decided against it. The next time she saw him, she wanted to have all her arguments lined up perfectly in her head. She therefore would need some time to collect her thoughts.
“Kagura!” A male voice asked behind the young journalist. She rolled her eyes in annoyance when she realized who had just called her over.
As much as she did not want to talk to him of all people right now, she still whirled around to face him. “Kouga, what do you want?”
His blue gaze scanned their surroundings, and he was glad to see that they were alone except for a forlorn looking Shippou who was seated behind his desk in the entryway. Kouga was fairly sure the red haired youngster was too far away to make out their words. He would have preferred speaking to his ex-girlfriend in the privacy of her own office, or his, but he knew she would never agree to that. What he needed to address was however too important for him to pass up on the opportunity to speak to Kagura alone that had just been handed to him.
“I need to ask you something…”
“I’m not going to double your budget so you can go to that stupid soccer tournament up north. There, this conversation is done!” She quickly dismissed the other man as she was sure he was about to reiterate his request to increase his sports’ column budget. She suspected that instead of reporting on the yearly minor sporting event, Kouga intended to spend some fun time by himself before he and Ayame were to have their child; this was the main reason why she had denied his request. The other one was that the soccer tournament was just not a big enough or popular enough event to warrant sending a reporter up north for so many weeks.
“No, it’s got nothing to do with it…” Kouga quickly dispelled her idea. “I wanted to talk about something a little more personal.” He took a deep calming breath, and while staring straight in her confused crimson eyes, he finally spoke. “I know about the two of you.”
“What?” Kagura was genuinely confused, and the last thing she wanted was to try to solve Kouga’s riddles when she had Sesshoumaru to deal with.
“You and Sesshoumaru. I know what’s going on between the two of you. I saw you together the other day.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” The lie easily rolled off her tongue. Kagura did not see why she would have to explain her complicated relationship with their mutual co-worker to him.
The other man sighed; he had not expected things to be this hard. “Look, Kagura. I know things didn’t end between us on the best of terms, but I still care about you, and I want the best for you. I still worry about you… and the thought of you with that ice block…” He reigned in his anger as best as he could. He really did not understand what Kagura could see in Sesshoumaru, and he was convinced the other man would only cause her heartache. ‘She’s suffered enough because of me, and the least I can do now is make sure she’s alright.’
Kagura was infuriated by Kouga’s words. “Have I not told you before that you had no right to meddle in my life? Whatever I may or not be doing with Sesshoumaru is none of your business.” Then before she could realize what she was saying, she ended up revealing more than she had anticipated. “Even if I was dating him, and you found out, what were you planning on doing with the information? Are you going to tattle tale to Naraku to see what that bastard might decide to do?”
A look of pain came over his eyes. “I know I’ve treated you badly in the past, but do you seriously think I would do that? I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore, which is why I am concerned about you and Sesshoumaru. I don’t want you to make a mistake that might cost you.”
‘If only you knew that in the past months he’s been making me feel better about myself that you have in the years we were together…’ “Don’t bother. I know full well what I am getting myself into, don’t forget, I am a grown woman. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”
Kouga was not a man who could be deterred this easily. When Kagura tried to walk away, he simply took a hold of her arm, preventing her from leaving. She angled her head to the side and gave her former boyfriend a fierce gaze, which prompted him to let go of her.
“Look, Kagura. I know I’m the last guy who you want to talk to about your love life, but I do care about you, and I just have a bad feeling about Sesshoumaru. He’s so cold and…”
“You know nothing about him!” Kagura regretted losing her temper, and quickly added. “Or about me for that matter, so stay away from me and my private life.”
“Okay fine. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Kouga sighed unhappily before stomping away. He had wanted to protect Kagura as he genuinely still cared for her, but since she seemed determined not to listen to him, he did not know what to do at this point. The one thing he was sure of was that contrary to what Kagura might believe he would never tell Naraku about her relationship with the other co-editor.
‘Whether Kagura likes it or not, I’ll keep a close eye on her relationship with the iceberg…’
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sesshoumaru Tashio had had one hell of a weekend. On Saturday he had argued with his lover, which had been followed with his failure to move things forward in his investigation at the Edo University campus. When it came to his Sunday, much of it was a blur. He recalled spending long hours working his frustration at the gym; physical exertion had always helped him clear his mind, and that was what he really needed at the moment. He would have liked to get roaring drunk, but he had never been able to abide of weaknesses such as alcohol and drugs; he had therefore opted for a healthier approach to blank out his mind. The rest of the time he had spent struggling not to think about how things had turned out with Kagura. Unfortunately for him real life in the form of the beginning of the work week was here, and he had no choice but to face her.
The Shikon Magazine co-editor had decided for now to push his lover to the back of his mind and focus on the lead he had obtained at the party for his article, and he knew just who he had to approach to go forward. He headed towards Shippou’s desk, his mind full of questions. However before he made it, he came upon a sight which annoyed him.
He might have tried to keep his thoughts off of Kagura, but as much as he tried not to think about it, he had been haunted by the pair of mournful crimson eyes he had left behind on Saturday night. Now the fact of seeing her, eyes blazing, all traces of hurt gone, and with Kouga putting his hands on her angered him beyond words. He wanted nothing but to march over to them and slap away the younger man’s hand. Only two things were preventing him from doing so: first, he did not want Kagura to see him out of control; second, before he had a chance to make a move, Kouga removed his hold from Kagura, prompted by a glare she sent him.
Sesshoumaru sighed. He would not let Kagura deter him from his goal once again. It may have taken him a minute, but he finally managed to get his eyes off of Kagura and her ex-boyfriend. He turned towards the intern station at the front of the office. He would focus on his task, and not give Kagura the satisfaction of seeing how much she could still affect him.
Seeing Shippou’s worried face helped clear his mind, and enabled him to focus on his goal.
“I am sure you can guess why I am here.” Sesshoumaru jumped right into the conversation without delay.
“Hum…does it have something to do with the party Saturday night?” The young intern’s green gaze shifted away from the cold amber one of the older man. He might respect and appreciate Sesshoumaru, but he was still terrified by the other man.
“Suon. Get me in contact with him. He is the key to my investigation.”
Maybe because of his budding journalistic instinct, Shippou had anticipated Sesshoumaru’s request. He plucked a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, and slid it over the flat surface of his desk towards his boss. “That’s his cell phone number. I…” He trailed of.
He personally might not have close friends, but Sesshoumaru understood all too well the situation Shippou found himself in. From what he had gathered and observed at the party thrown by the Thunder Brothers, Sesshoumaru had a feeling that Suon was a good friend of Souten, the girl the young intern seemed to be enamored with, and was sure Shippou wanted to stay as far away as possible from Sesshoumaru’s investigation into Suon’s behavior so as not to alienate Souten.
“You have no need to explain. This Sesshoumaru did not want you involved anyways.” Shippou let out a deep sigh of relief upon hearing these words.
The silver haired man took the offered information; he did not care if Shippou did not want to be involved directly. In fact things worked out better for him that way as he had always liked working alone better. He nodded slightly towards the younger man, and walked away towards his desk; he had work to do.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000
Kagura Jiyuu was still rooted on the exact spot where Kouga had left her. The reason had nothing to do with her ex-boyfriend, but rather with the man who now held her heart. She was sure most Shikon employees who would walk by her in the hallway would find her behavior strange; especially if they had noticed her arguing with Kouga, but at the moment Kagura did not care. With her keen crimson eyes, she had observed from afar Sesshoumaru’s exchange with Shippou. She did not know what they had talked about, and surprisingly she did not care about that either. Ever since she had come to realize her feelings for her co-worker the day before, she could think of nothing else but talk to him so they could make up. She knew that she was strategically located as Sesshoumaru would have no choice but to walk past her to get to his office. He may have tried to avoid her, but at the moment he had no choice but to face her.
Sesshoumaru’s steps faltered; he thought about walking past her, but the image of her teary crimson eyes as he left her two night ago popped in his mind, and he found himself stopping in front of the younger woman.
“Sesshoumaru…can we talk?” Kagura held her breath after forming her request. She was not sure how he would respond, but could only hope that he would agree to at least talk to her so they could squash their misunderstanding. His cold eyes did not thaw one bit, so she quickly added. “Please, only for a bit.”
When she saw him nod slightly, she could not help but let out a sigh of relief. She turned around, and walked down the corridor, aiming straight for her office. One thing she knew was that he might not want to talk with her, but he at least would too enjoy some privacy.
Once she was safely in her private space, she thought about sitting behind her desk, but quickly pushed away the idea; there was enough lying between them for her to think about adding one more physical barrier.
“This Sesshoumaru is listening…” He crossed his arms over his chest, and stared straight at her. He felt a slight pinch in his heart when he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. It hurt him to know he was probably the reason behind her clear lack of sleep, and he wanted to make her feel better. A strand of hair had escaped her carefully crafted bun, and his hand was itching to take a hold of it, and tuck it behind her ear as he usually did.
‘What in the hell am I thinking about?!’ He thought angry with himself. It was bad enough that he had agreed to talk to Kagura, but reverting to his usual ways with her was a dangerous territory. He knew a slippery slope when he was faced with it, and the way she was nervously licking her lower lip made him want to kiss her, which of course was not a bright idea considering how things stood.
“I want to start out by saying I’m sorry.” Despite his closed off stance, Kagura took a step closer to him. “After thinking about it over the weekend, I’ve come to realize that I was wrong. I shouldn’t have tried to force things. I just thought that if you had had the chance to actually sit down and talk to Inuyasha, the two of you could work things out.”
‘Things had started out well too… when Inuyasha and Kagome first came in Sesshoumaru didn’t just storm out. He was even cordial albeit in a cold way. It gave me hope that things could improve between them.’ A soft sigh escaped her red lips. ‘Sesshoumaru deserves to have at least one close relationship…the only ‘friend’ he ever mentioned was this Jaken guy he keeps comparing to a toad.’ She thought about her lover’s former college roommate who he had not seen in many years. ‘I know I have a messed up family situation too, but at least I have Kanna…’
“Is this all you had to tell me?” He asked uncrossing his arms. On Saturday night she had briefly touched upon the reason behind her stunt, and even if he could follow her reasoning, he could not accept her choices.
“No. Of course not. Look, I know you’re angry at me, and you have every reason to be, but in my defense that’s what you do when dealing with someone you… care about, you get involved…and whatever I did was prompted by how I feel about you.”
He thought about commenting her statement, but she never gave him the chance as she started talking again.
“All I want is for you to forgive me. I miss you, and I just want us to get past this. I want us to be just like before.” If a little groveling is necessary for us to reconcile, then I’m willing to swallow my pride.’ She thought to herself. She may not like the fact of having to plead with him; especially after her bold parting statement on Saturday night when she had sworn not to run after him, but she knew she had been the one who had damaged their relationship, so she needed to atone for that.
“Sesshoumaru, you said once that you cared about me, and went as far as saying that you downright had feelings for me. For this reason alone, don’t you think we ought to try to make things work?”
Sesshoumaru’s reaction to her words was immediate. His eyes thinned to small golden slits as anger simmered through him. He was enraged that she had dared use his own feelings against him. It was true that he missed her, and wanted to make up with her. Forgiving and forgetting her involvement in Saturday night’s debacle would come a long way towards doing that. He was also aware that doing so might not be the great effort Kagura was imagining; especially considering that he wanted to forgive her.
‘She always manages to make me go against my instincts. I cannot believe I agreed to share dinner with him on Saturday evening just because she wanted me to…’ Sesshoumaru was getting annoyed by his own train of thought as it only emphasized his weakness when Kagura was concerned. 'This nonsense needs to stop. I have to be strong and stay focused on my original goals.'
“Yes.” He admitted. “It is true that this Sesshoumaru has feelings for you.” His words were able to finally bring a smile to her lips. Little did she know that her relief would be short lived…
‘However these feelings are no way as strong as the hatred I have for my so-called family... to think that I played host to Inuyasha simply because of Kagura. How could I have forgotten myself so easily because of this woman?’ At the present moment a part of him hated her for making him love her to the point that he would let his feelings weaken him, make him forsake a vow he had made to himself the day he had finally been able to escape his father’s house, and most importantly betray his mother’s memory.
He thought to himself before continuing aloud. “Did you honestly think that a few words of apology would be able to put everything to rights? That we could simply pretend nothing happened, and revert back to how things were?” He chuckled without humor. “This is not a transgression that can be just put aside. You intentionally got involved in something you have no idea about… Has it not occurred to you that in all those years there might be a reason why I have never tried to approach Inuyasha?!…” He briefly broke off overcome with his strong feelings of anger. Before he knew it, words he had not intended to speak were tumbling form his lips. “…Then again how could you understand that every time I see him the only thing I can think about is my mother’s car wrapped around a tree.”
Kagura felt like her heart just stopped. She opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her, and she could find nothing other to do but to close it back once again. She wanted to point out again that Inuyasha was innocent, but as much as she wanted to facilitate a ceasefire between the two brothers, right now Sesshoumaru’s feelings and the true anguish she could hear in his voice were the things foremost on her mind. Besides she intended to work on her couple, not make her lover even angrier towards her.
Sesshoumaru could tell that Kagura was shocked by his harsh words, but he could not help the way he felt. As much as he wanted to reconcile with his lover, he was not about to just sweep under the rug her stunt of two nights ago.
“Sesshoumaru…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you felt that way.” She had thought that he merely disliked Inuyasha, and saw him as responsible for the dissolution of his parents’ marriage, but she had never imagined that seeing his younger half brother could conjure up thoughts of his mother’s death to Sesshoumaru’s mind. She now saw that his emotions ran deeper than plain anger. She may not understand, and might hate the way he felt, but she also knew that as the way things stood she could not change his mind; especially if he decided to cut himself off emotionally from her.
“No, but if you had asked, you would have understood. Maybe now you will heed my words when I ask you not to get involved.”
His statement was met by complete tense silence. At this point Kagura could not find anything else to add to her apology that could make Sesshoumaru change his mind. She was also too stunned by his revelations to manage to put her mind up to rights.
“I have an investigation to lead.” When he noticed her opening her mouth to protest, he quickly spoke again. “Do not trouble yourself, I know my way out.” Without bothering to offer any kind words, he strode out of her office.
‘I can’t believe this conversation actually happened. This is not how I had anticipated things to turn out. Sesshoumaru looked so angry and so hurt.’ The woman left behind could not repress the shudder that went through her as she thought back to the cold eyes he had laid on her.
“If you think pushing me away is going to work, well you have another thing coming Sesshoumaru.” She did not know how exactly she was going to get him to allow her past his defenses once again, but she intended to do just that. ‘After all I already managed to worm my way into his bed and his heart, how hard could it be to get to him again?’
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Kagura was not the only one shocked by the conversation that had just taken place. On the other side of her door, Sesshoumaru had decided to take a small pause to collect himself. He had never intended to let Kagura know of his deep dark secret about his true feelings towards his brother.
‘That damn witch somehow always manages to get to me.’ He thought angrily. The co-editor had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he almost noticed too late that he was not the only one standing in the corridor.
“Oh sorry…I didn’t notice you were here too…you know us pregnant women tend to get lost in our thoughts, and are quite forgetful.” Ayame forced out with nervous laughter. Before Sesshoumaru could even offer a response, she had slipped away and walked towards her own working station. Not that the older man cared one bit, he had more pressing matters on his mind.
‘Instead of thinking about Kagura and her effect of me, I should be working.’
He fished out both his cell phone and the folded piece of paper Shippou had given him, and quickly dialed the phone number.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000
Sesshoumaru Tashio had not expected things to be this easy. All he had done was to tell Suon that he wished to buy some Miko Powder, and the young man had readily and more than eagerly agreed to meet him in front of a dive bar not too far from the Edo campus. The journalist looked down at his watch, and at exactly noon, Suon strolled towards the entrance of the bar where Sesshoumaru was waiting for him.
“I had to leave class early, but I made it right on time!” The college student’s broad smile disappeared when he saw the older man. “Oh hell!”
Before Suon had the chance to run away, Sesshoumaru grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and slammed his back against the rust colored brick wall.
“Are you a cop? Is that why you’ve been following me?” Suon whimpered, fear clear in his voice.
Sesshoumaru tightened his hold on the squirming younger man. He was not usually a violent man, but he was in sore need to relieve some of the frustration he had bottled up during the past few days.
“I am a journalist, not a police officer.”
“Then why are you stalking me?” Suon tried hard to break the strong hold of the bigger man.
“Stop trying to get away, and I will unhand you.” As soon as Sesshoumaru spoke the words, all the fight went out of Suon. He had never been a fighter, and had no intention of trying to resist a taller and stronger man; after all her had never been a fool.
“Okay fine, I’ll listen to you.” Suon said, but then as something else occurred to him, he quickly added. “You know you don’t have to choke me; I’ll give you a good price on the Miko Powder.” ‘Why was I so scared of that guy? He probably heard about the magic blue powder and wanted some for his own. That would explain why he was at the party on Saturday, and why he called me up today.’ All of a sudden the young man felt much more relaxed. He had after all in the past few weeks gotten used to being manhandled by some over eager clients.
“As if this Sesshoumaru would be interested in this disgusting drug for my personal use...” he snarled. He had seen firsthand the effects of the Miko Powder on Suon’s two customers on Saturday evening, and as much as he wished he could forget about Kagura, and clear his mind from her, he would never resort to being reduced to a skinny quivering shell of himself. “I told you I was a journalist. I am investigating on the origins of this drug, and you will help me identify who is the head of operations.”
Suon looked straight into the cold golden eyes of the man who was choking him. He knew that he could try to break the hold on his neck, or attempt to lie himself out of the situation; which was his first instinct, but was also more than aware that Sesshoumaru had no intentions of letting him go.
‘Maybe I could toy with his heart strings enough for him to reduce the strength of his chokehold, then I can make my getaway.’ The young man was trying hard to come up with a plan of escape.
“You know, I’m not one of these rich kids. My parents are dirt poor, and I got into Edo through a scholarship… I just needed a quick way to make some cash to help out my parents. I’m not a hard criminal like you might think…”
Sesshoumaru had himself struggled financially after cutting ties with his father. It was only thanks to the little money his mother had left behind that he had been able to afford tuition at Edo. For his living expenses he had relied on part time jobs and sharing his apartment.
“Do you think you are the only college student who has ever encountered financial difficulties? Has the idea of getting an honest job not occurred to you?” Sesshoumaru was not sure why exactly he was talking to the young drug dealer, but before he could help himself, he was questioning the other man and his motives.
“I know that…but there was no harm done. It’s not like I killed anyone.” Even to his own ears Suon’s protests sounded meek.
Sesshoumaru smacked the younger man’s head back against the wall. “People were hurt. Manten almost died.” He was annoyed at seeing how lightly Suon was taking the whole situation, and had to restrain himself from planting his fist in the middle of the dark haired man’s face.
“Ouch! That hurt, did you really have to do that?” Suon’s answer was met with a sharp glare. “What? I didn’t sell anything to Manten, and I try to keep my clients in check. You may not believe me, but I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I just needed some quick cash, and she assured me no one would ever get harmed or get in trouble.”
The older man could tell Suon’s resolve was wavering. After all not only had he not dared profess his innocence, but more importantly he had finally referred to the woman who had gotten him involved in the drug trade.
‘Suon just needs a little push, and he will tell me whatever I wish to hear.’
Since brawn had not seemed to work, Sesshoumaru decided to use a different technique. He suddenly let go of Suon, and the young man unexpectedly found himself slipping down against the wall. He rubbed his sore neck furiously, and did not even attempt to sit up from his slumped position; something told him that even if Sesshoumaru had released him, the journalist had no intention of letting him go.
“Suon, I have every intention of breaking this story, and revealing every aspect of the Miko Powder production and trade. If you help me in my investigation, I can help you in turn. I do have a few friends at the police department, and if you help me out, I can guarantee you it will work in your favor in the long run.”
“The police?!” Suon whimpered. He knew what he had done was illegal, but he had never expected for the authorities to be involved.
“Yes.” Sesshoumaru smirked to himself. He knew he had finally managed to get to the cowardly youth. “If you agree to help, I am sure they will be lenient, and you will end up with a shorter prison sentence…unless you prove to be the ringleader.”
“Prison?!” This time around the terrified young man felt tears roll down his cheeks. “Please you’ve got to help me…you’ve got to tell them I’m not in charge…please… I can’t go to jail! She’s the one who planned everything, I had nothing to do with it.”
“Who is she?” Sesshoumaru leaned forward, hoping to intimidate the younger man further.
“I…if I tell you, I’ll lose everything. She’ll make sure I lose my scholarship and I won’t ever be able to graduate college.”
“I can assure you that your scholarship will not be much use to you when you rot in jail for the rest of your life.” Sesshoumaru had noticed that fear seemed to be a good motivator to Suon, and intended to make full use of it from now on.
“Oh God!” Suon raised a shaky hand to his red blotchy face, and wiped some snot from his runny nose. “You can’t let me go to jail…I’ll never survive there.”
“Then talk!” Sesshoumaru’s upper lip curled in disgust as he looked down at the pitiful state of the younger man.
“She’s the one who manufactures the drug in her own lab. She then gives the little packages to me and the other guys to sell to our various clients, and we give her a cut of our sales.”
“Who is she?”
This time around it did not take Suon long to give the journalist the information he needed. “You saw her at the party…she was the dark haired girl with the short skirt…she’s a member of the Associated Student.”
To his own surprise, Sesshoumaru felt his heart clench. He had not expected things to turn out this way. He had a feeling he knew who Suon was talking about, and he also knew he was not going to like the way things were going to progress from now on. At this point the irony of the situation had not been lost on him, and only one thought rung through his mind. ‘When will I ever be able to finally sever ties with Inuyasha and his infernal girlfriend?’
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
As much as she had tried, Kagura Jiyuu had not been able to get Sesshoumaru’s words out of her mind. She hated the fact that they had not made any progress, and hated even more the way he felt about his brother. While she recognized she could work on number one, she was unsure how to proceed when it came to number two. She was sitting behind her desk, the latest circulation numbers of Shikon Magazine in front of her, but she was too preoccupied by her thoughts to even look at them.
Her troubled thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. She was sure that her father had come to bug her again, but as much as she did not want to talk to Naraku, she found herself inviting him in; he was her boss after all.
“Come in!”
To Kagura’s surprise, it was not Naraku but none other than Kagome whose head popped inside the door’s opening.
“Hi! I hope I’m not interrupting you. Shippou said it would be okay for me to come in.” The college student walked in, and wasted no time diving right into why she had come in for an impromptu visit. “I know we’re not friends, but I was worried about you. I just hate how things ended up on Saturday night, and I just wanted to see how you were doing…” She had said everything in one breath, hoping to get her message across as quickly as possible in case Kagura decided to rightfully throw her out of her office space.
“I am doing fine, and you don’t need to worry about me…” Kagura started, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by the ever empathetic Kagome.
“You don’t have to hide you true feelings. The other night completely backfired on us, and I just feel terrible that it affected your relationship with Sesshoumaru. He shouldn’t have blamed you for what happened, I am the one who pushed for this family reunion…Sesshoumaru shouldn’t have gone off on you.” Kagome had spent the better part of Saturday night and Sunday feeling guilty about how things had turned, and no matter how many times Inuyasha had told her to leave things well alone, she knew she would never be able to do so.
“You know, I thought about it, and maybe if we hadn’t just surprised Sesshoumaru with the dinner he might have been more okay with it. I mean we kind of sprung things on him when he least expected it. Next time we could just work on him a bit, and get him and Inuyasha ready before we actually make them face each other.” Even if she had not been invited to do so, Kagome sat down on one of the chairs facing Kagura’s desk.
“Kagome, there won’t be a next time.”
“I know Saturday evening was upsetting, but if we actually hadn’t caught him unawares, maybe things would have gone on better…”
“Kagome, it wasn’t the surprise dinner that set him off. I’m sorry, but Sesshoumaru will never make up with Inuyasha…” Kagura thought back to his earlier revelations. “It’s complicated, and not easy to explain, but let’s just say that he was more affected by what happened to his mother than I had anticipated.”
“What does his mother have to do with it?” The confused younger woman asked.
“She passed away in strange circumstances when he was young, and he can’t disassociate that with his brother.” Kagura reluctantly admitted. She did not want to say too much about Sesshoumaru’s demons. “Look you’re a sweet girl, and Inuyasha seems like a nice guy too, but right now this whole family reunion is not going to work. Sesshoumaru just isn’t ready for that. I’m sorry, but I have work to do now…”
‘Strange circumstances?! Does Kagura mean murder or suicide?’ Kagome suddenly felt sick and horrified. ‘How could Inuyasha have anything to do with it?’
The Shikon Magazine co-editor purposely took a hold of one of the stats sheet Shippou had hand delivered to her over two hours ago. She had not had a chance to look at them yet, but now they proved to be the perfect excuse to dismiss Kagome. The sincerity in the younger woman’s dark eyes, and the clear eagerness to attempt to make things work between the two brothers she displayed were heart wrenching.
‘I’m sorry Kagome. As much as I would love for Sesshoumaru to get along with his brother, right now what I have to work on is getting him to forgive me so we can be together again…maybe later…’
“Yes of course, I understand. I’m sorry for disturbing you.” Kagome stood up then backed away from the desk. “I guess I’ll see you around.” With an awkward wave, she left the room, and carefully closed the door behind her.
Kagura frowned at the other woman’s easy retreat, but decided not to dwell on it too much; she had enough to contend with her relationship with Sesshoumaru.
Kagome Higurashi knew she should do as her boyfriend as asked, and leave things alone. After all her interfering had had some devastating consequences already, but as much as she wished she could, she knew she would not be able to give up. She had after all always been an optimistic meddler who was sure she could make things work.
The young woman dashed out of the offices of Shikon Magazine, only sparing one quick nod to Shippou. As soon as she found herself out of the building, she fished her phone out of her purse. She had the feeling that she was being kept in the dark, and she wanted to find out what exactly had happened between Sesshoumaru’s parents and what had befallen the late Mrs. Tashio. Since Inuyasha did not want to tell her anything, and considering that Kagura, her latest ally, had suddenly abandoned her, she found herself with only one option. She knew it was time for her to face the man she had admired and seen as a father figure for so long: Touga Tashio.
Using her speed dial option, she dialed a number she knew all too well.
“Hi Kagome what a surprise.” A deep friendly voice said from the other side of the phone.
“Hi Touga, could I see you…right now?”
“What’s wrong, did something happen?” His voice took on a worried tone. He heard her let out a deep sigh, and took a quick decision. “I had a lunch meeting, but it was cancelled, so if you’d like, you can meet me at the office for a quick meal.” The lie rolled off his tongue easily. He cared for the young woman as if she was his own daughter, and considering that she rarely asked for help, he knew something serious was happening, and no business meeting could keep him away from fixing an issue for her.
“Okay. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Kagome said already on her way to her car.
“Great, see you then.”
To be continued…
A/N: Okay, so I lied, I didn’t quite reveal who exactly is the lady in charge of the Miko Powder drug ring, but I am pretty sure you can guess who it is :p I’ll try my best not to make you wait another month before the next update. The chapter will have more new characters appear, and will be named Exclusive.
Converting /tmp/php0X22MW to /dev/stdout
A/N: Hello dear readers of mine, here comes the next chapter. I know it’s been a while since the last update, and I apologize for the lack of updates (once again).
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'
Kagura Jiyuu felt like a new woman. She had never been one to give up and wallow in self pity, but speaking with her sister had definitely been the kick to the backside she had needed to get herself back together. Realizing that her feelings for Sesshoumaru actually ran deeper than she had expected had also made her decide to make her move. She might have been burnt by love in the past, but she was sure things would be different with Sesshoumaru
‘Other than last Saturday, Sesshoumaru has been much more understanding towards me than Kouga ever was. At least he understands why my career is so important to me.’ The young woman tried dispelling all her doubts. But even as she struggled to do so, she could not help but think about the way Sesshoumaru had coldly decided to break things off between them. ‘It was his anger speaking at the time. I know he will come to understand why I did what I did, and he will forgive me. Besides he did say that he was falling for me…’ She thought back to the wonderful times they had spent during their dinner date, and on the rooftop of the Shikon Magazine headquarters the night of the party a few weeks ago.
Relief spreading through her, Kagura walked towards her office. She entertained the idea of instead going to Sesshoumaru’s work area, but decided against it. The next time she saw him, she wanted to have all her arguments lined up perfectly in her head. She therefore would need some time to collect her thoughts.
“Kagura!” A male voice asked behind the young journalist. She rolled her eyes in annoyance when she realized who had just called her over.
As much as she did not want to talk to him of all people right now, she still whirled around to face him. “Kouga, what do you want?”
His blue gaze scanned their surroundings, and he was glad to see that they were alone except for a forlorn looking Shippou who was seated behind his desk in the entryway. Kouga was fairly sure the red haired youngster was too far away to make out their words. He would have preferred speaking to his ex-girlfriend in the privacy of her own office, or his, but he knew she would never agree to that. What he needed to address was however too important for him to pass up on the opportunity to speak to Kagura alone that had just been handed to him.
“I need to ask you something…”
“I’m not going to double your budget so you can go to that stupid soccer tournament up north. There, this conversation is done!” She quickly dismissed the other man as she was sure he was about to reiterate his request to increase his sports’ column budget. She suspected that instead of reporting on the yearly minor sporting event, Kouga intended to spend some fun time by himself before he and Ayame were to have their child; this was the main reason why she had denied his request. The other one was that the soccer tournament was just not a big enough or popular enough event to warrant sending a reporter up north for so many weeks.
“No, it’s got nothing to do with it…” Kouga quickly dispelled her idea. “I wanted to talk about something a little more personal.” He took a deep calming breath, and while staring straight in her confused crimson eyes, he finally spoke. “I know about the two of you.”
“What?” Kagura was genuinely confused, and the last thing she wanted was to try to solve Kouga’s riddles when she had Sesshoumaru to deal with.
“You and Sesshoumaru. I know what’s going on between the two of you. I saw you together the other day.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” The lie easily rolled off her tongue. Kagura did not see why she would have to explain her complicated relationship with their mutual co-worker to him.
The other man sighed; he had not expected things to be this hard. “Look, Kagura. I know things didn’t end between us on the best of terms, but I still care about you, and I want the best for you. I still worry about you… and the thought of you with that ice block…” He reigned in his anger as best as he could. He really did not understand what Kagura could see in Sesshoumaru, and he was convinced the other man would only cause her heartache. ‘She’s suffered enough because of me, and the least I can do now is make sure she’s alright.’
Kagura was infuriated by Kouga’s words. “Have I not told you before that you had no right to meddle in my life? Whatever I may or not be doing with Sesshoumaru is none of your business.” Then before she could realize what she was saying, she ended up revealing more than she had anticipated. “Even if I was dating him, and you found out, what were you planning on doing with the information? Are you going to tattle tale to Naraku to see what that bastard might decide to do?”
A look of pain came over his eyes. “I know I’ve treated you badly in the past, but do you seriously think I would do that? I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore, which is why I am concerned about you and Sesshoumaru. I don’t want you to make a mistake that might cost you.”
‘If only you knew that in the past months he’s been making me feel better about myself that you have in the years we were together…’ “Don’t bother. I know full well what I am getting myself into, don’t forget, I am a grown woman. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”
Kouga was not a man who could be deterred this easily. When Kagura tried to walk away, he simply took a hold of her arm, preventing her from leaving. She angled her head to the side and gave her former boyfriend a fierce gaze, which prompted him to let go of her.
“Look, Kagura. I know I’m the last guy who you want to talk to about your love life, but I do care about you, and I just have a bad feeling about Sesshoumaru. He’s so cold and…”
“You know nothing about him!” Kagura regretted losing her temper, and quickly added. “Or about me for that matter, so stay away from me and my private life.”
“Okay fine. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Kouga sighed unhappily before stomping away. He had wanted to protect Kagura as he genuinely still cared for her, but since she seemed determined not to listen to him, he did not know what to do at this point. The one thing he was sure of was that contrary to what Kagura might believe he would never tell Naraku about her relationship with the other co-editor.
‘Whether Kagura likes it or not, I’ll keep a close eye on her relationship with the iceberg…’
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sesshoumaru Tashio had had one hell of a weekend. On Saturday he had argued with his lover, which had been followed with his failure to move things forward in his investigation at the Edo University campus. When it came to his Sunday, much of it was a blur. He recalled spending long hours working his frustration at the gym; physical exertion had always helped him clear his mind, and that was what he really needed at the moment. He would have liked to get roaring drunk, but he had never been able to abide of weaknesses such as alcohol and drugs; he had therefore opted for a healthier approach to blank out his mind. The rest of the time he had spent struggling not to think about how things had turned out with Kagura. Unfortunately for him real life in the form of the beginning of the work week was here, and he had no choice but to face her.
The Shikon Magazine co-editor had decided for now to push his lover to the back of his mind and focus on the lead he had obtained at the party for his article, and he knew just who he had to approach to go forward. He headed towards Shippou’s desk, his mind full of questions. However before he made it, he came upon a sight which annoyed him.
He might have tried to keep his thoughts off of Kagura, but as much as he tried not to think about it, he had been haunted by the pair of mournful crimson eyes he had left behind on Saturday night. Now the fact of seeing her, eyes blazing, all traces of hurt gone, and with Kouga putting his hands on her angered him beyond words. He wanted nothing but to march over to them and slap away the younger man’s hand. Only two things were preventing him from doing so: first, he did not want Kagura to see him out of control; second, before he had a chance to make a move, Kouga removed his hold from Kagura, prompted by a glare she sent him.
Sesshoumaru sighed. He would not let Kagura deter him from his goal once again. It may have taken him a minute, but he finally managed to get his eyes off of Kagura and her ex-boyfriend. He turned towards the intern station at the front of the office. He would focus on his task, and not give Kagura the satisfaction of seeing how much she could still affect him.
Seeing Shippou’s worried face helped clear his mind, and enabled him to focus on his goal.
“I am sure you can guess why I am here.” Sesshoumaru jumped right into the conversation without delay.
“Hum…does it have something to do with the party Saturday night?” The young intern’s green gaze shifted away from the cold amber one of the older man. He might respect and appreciate Sesshoumaru, but he was still terrified by the other man.
“Suon. Get me in contact with him. He is the key to my investigation.”
Maybe because of his budding journalistic instinct, Shippou had anticipated Sesshoumaru’s request. He plucked a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, and slid it over the flat surface of his desk towards his boss. “That’s his cell phone number. I…” He trailed of.
He personally might not have close friends, but Sesshoumaru understood all too well the situation Shippou found himself in. From what he had gathered and observed at the party thrown by the Thunder Brothers, Sesshoumaru had a feeling that Suon was a good friend of Souten, the girl the young intern seemed to be enamored with, and was sure Shippou wanted to stay as far away as possible from Sesshoumaru’s investigation into Suon’s behavior so as not to alienate Souten.
“You have no need to explain. This Sesshoumaru did not want you involved anyways.” Shippou let out a deep sigh of relief upon hearing these words.
The silver haired man took the offered information; he did not care if Shippou did not want to be involved directly. In fact things worked out better for him that way as he had always liked working alone better. He nodded slightly towards the younger man, and walked away towards his desk; he had work to do.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000
Kagura Jiyuu was still rooted on the exact spot where Kouga had left her. The reason had nothing to do with her ex-boyfriend, but rather with the man who now held her heart. She was sure most Shikon employees who would walk by her in the hallway would find her behavior strange; especially if they had noticed her arguing with Kouga, but at the moment Kagura did not care. With her keen crimson eyes, she had observed from afar Sesshoumaru’s exchange with Shippou. She did not know what they had talked about, and surprisingly she did not care about that either. Ever since she had come to realize her feelings for her co-worker the day before, she could think of nothing else but talk to him so they could make up. She knew that she was strategically located as Sesshoumaru would have no choice but to walk past her to get to his office. He may have tried to avoid her, but at the moment he had no choice but to face her.
Sesshoumaru’s steps faltered; he thought about walking past her, but the image of her teary crimson eyes as he left her two night ago popped in his mind, and he found himself stopping in front of the younger woman.
“Sesshoumaru…can we talk?” Kagura held her breath after forming her request. She was not sure how he would respond, but could only hope that he would agree to at least talk to her so they could squash their misunderstanding. His cold eyes did not thaw one bit, so she quickly added. “Please, only for a bit.”
When she saw him nod slightly, she could not help but let out a sigh of relief. She turned around, and walked down the corridor, aiming straight for her office. One thing she knew was that he might not want to talk with her, but he at least would too enjoy some privacy.
Once she was safely in her private space, she thought about sitting behind her desk, but quickly pushed away the idea; there was enough lying between them for her to think about adding one more physical barrier.
“This Sesshoumaru is listening…” He crossed his arms over his chest, and stared straight at her. He felt a slight pinch in his heart when he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. It hurt him to know he was probably the reason behind her clear lack of sleep, and he wanted to make her feel better. A strand of hair had escaped her carefully crafted bun, and his hand was itching to take a hold of it, and tuck it behind her ear as he usually did.
‘What in the hell am I thinking about?!’ He thought angry with himself. It was bad enough that he had agreed to talk to Kagura, but reverting to his usual ways with her was a dangerous territory. He knew a slippery slope when he was faced with it, and the way she was nervously licking her lower lip made him want to kiss her, which of course was not a bright idea considering how things stood.
“I want to start out by saying I’m sorry.” Despite his closed off stance, Kagura took a step closer to him. “After thinking about it over the weekend, I’ve come to realize that I was wrong. I shouldn’t have tried to force things. I just thought that if you had had the chance to actually sit down and talk to Inuyasha, the two of you could work things out.”
‘Things had started out well too… when Inuyasha and Kagome first came in Sesshoumaru didn’t just storm out. He was even cordial albeit in a cold way. It gave me hope that things could improve between them.’ A soft sigh escaped her red lips. ‘Sesshoumaru deserves to have at least one close relationship…the only ‘friend’ he ever mentioned was this Jaken guy he keeps comparing to a toad.’ She thought about her lover’s former college roommate who he had not seen in many years. ‘I know I have a messed up family situation too, but at least I have Kanna…’
“Is this all you had to tell me?” He asked uncrossing his arms. On Saturday night she had briefly touched upon the reason behind her stunt, and even if he could follow her reasoning, he could not accept her choices.
“No. Of course not. Look, I know you’re angry at me, and you have every reason to be, but in my defense that’s what you do when dealing with someone you… care about, you get involved…and whatever I did was prompted by how I feel about you.”
He thought about commenting her statement, but she never gave him the chance as she started talking again.
“All I want is for you to forgive me. I miss you, and I just want us to get past this. I want us to be just like before.” If a little groveling is necessary for us to reconcile, then I’m willing to swallow my pride.’ She thought to herself. She may not like the fact of having to plead with him; especially after her bold parting statement on Saturday night when she had sworn not to run after him, but she knew she had been the one who had damaged their relationship, so she needed to atone for that.
“Sesshoumaru, you said once that you cared about me, and went as far as saying that you downright had feelings for me. For this reason alone, don’t you think we ought to try to make things work?”
Sesshoumaru’s reaction to her words was immediate. His eyes thinned to small golden slits as anger simmered through him. He was enraged that she had dared use his own feelings against him. It was true that he missed her, and wanted to make up with her. Forgiving and forgetting her involvement in Saturday night’s debacle would come a long way towards doing that. He was also aware that doing so might not be the great effort Kagura was imagining; especially considering that he wanted to forgive her.
‘She always manages to make me go against my instincts. I cannot believe I agreed to share dinner with him on Saturday evening just because she wanted me to…’ Sesshoumaru was getting annoyed by his own train of thought as it only emphasized his weakness when Kagura was concerned. 'This nonsense needs to stop. I have to be strong and stay focused on my original goals.'
“Yes.” He admitted. “It is true that this Sesshoumaru has feelings for you.” His words were able to finally bring a smile to her lips. Little did she know that her relief would be short lived…
‘However these feelings are no way as strong as the hatred I have for my so-called family... to think that I played host to Inuyasha simply because of Kagura. How could I have forgotten myself so easily because of this woman?’ At the present moment a part of him hated her for making him love her to the point that he would let his feelings weaken him, make him forsake a vow he had made to himself the day he had finally been able to escape his father’s house, and most importantly betray his mother’s memory.
He thought to himself before continuing aloud. “Did you honestly think that a few words of apology would be able to put everything to rights? That we could simply pretend nothing happened, and revert back to how things were?” He chuckled without humor. “This is not a transgression that can be just put aside. You intentionally got involved in something you have no idea about… Has it not occurred to you that in all those years there might be a reason why I have never tried to approach Inuyasha?!…” He briefly broke off overcome with his strong feelings of anger. Before he knew it, words he had not intended to speak were tumbling form his lips. “…Then again how could you understand that every time I see him the only thing I can think about is my mother’s car wrapped around a tree.”
Kagura felt like her heart just stopped. She opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her, and she could find nothing other to do but to close it back once again. She wanted to point out again that Inuyasha was innocent, but as much as she wanted to facilitate a ceasefire between the two brothers, right now Sesshoumaru’s feelings and the true anguish she could hear in his voice were the things foremost on her mind. Besides she intended to work on her couple, not make her lover even angrier towards her.
Sesshoumaru could tell that Kagura was shocked by his harsh words, but he could not help the way he felt. As much as he wanted to reconcile with his lover, he was not about to just sweep under the rug her stunt of two nights ago.
“Sesshoumaru…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you felt that way.” She had thought that he merely disliked Inuyasha, and saw him as responsible for the dissolution of his parents’ marriage, but she had never imagined that seeing his younger half brother could conjure up thoughts of his mother’s death to Sesshoumaru’s mind. She now saw that his emotions ran deeper than plain anger. She may not understand, and might hate the way he felt, but she also knew that as the way things stood she could not change his mind; especially if he decided to cut himself off emotionally from her.
“No, but if you had asked, you would have understood. Maybe now you will heed my words when I ask you not to get involved.”
His statement was met by complete tense silence. At this point Kagura could not find anything else to add to her apology that could make Sesshoumaru change his mind. She was also too stunned by his revelations to manage to put her mind up to rights.
“I have an investigation to lead.” When he noticed her opening her mouth to protest, he quickly spoke again. “Do not trouble yourself, I know my way out.” Without bothering to offer any kind words, he strode out of her office.
‘I can’t believe this conversation actually happened. This is not how I had anticipated things to turn out. Sesshoumaru looked so angry and so hurt.’ The woman left behind could not repress the shudder that went through her as she thought back to the cold eyes he had laid on her.
“If you think pushing me away is going to work, well you have another thing coming Sesshoumaru.” She did not know how exactly she was going to get him to allow her past his defenses once again, but she intended to do just that. ‘After all I already managed to worm my way into his bed and his heart, how hard could it be to get to him again?’
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Kagura was not the only one shocked by the conversation that had just taken place. On the other side of her door, Sesshoumaru had decided to take a small pause to collect himself. He had never intended to let Kagura know of his deep dark secret about his true feelings towards his brother.
‘That damn witch somehow always manages to get to me.’ He thought angrily. The co-editor had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he almost noticed too late that he was not the only one standing in the corridor.
“Oh sorry…I didn’t notice you were here too…you know us pregnant women tend to get lost in our thoughts, and are quite forgetful.” Ayame forced out with nervous laughter. Before Sesshoumaru could even offer a response, she had slipped away and walked towards her own working station. Not that the older man cared one bit, he had more pressing matters on his mind.
‘Instead of thinking about Kagura and her effect of me, I should be working.’
He fished out both his cell phone and the folded piece of paper Shippou had given him, and quickly dialed the phone number.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000
Sesshoumaru Tashio had not expected things to be this easy. All he had done was to tell Suon that he wished to buy some Miko Powder, and the young man had readily and more than eagerly agreed to meet him in front of a dive bar not too far from the Edo campus. The journalist looked down at his watch, and at exactly noon, Suon strolled towards the entrance of the bar where Sesshoumaru was waiting for him.
“I had to leave class early, but I made it right on time!” The college student’s broad smile disappeared when he saw the older man. “Oh hell!”
Before Suon had the chance to run away, Sesshoumaru grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and slammed his back against the rust colored brick wall.
“Are you a cop? Is that why you’ve been following me?” Suon whimpered, fear clear in his voice.
Sesshoumaru tightened his hold on the squirming younger man. He was not usually a violent man, but he was in sore need to relieve some of the frustration he had bottled up during the past few days.
“I am a journalist, not a police officer.”
“Then why are you stalking me?” Suon tried hard to break the strong hold of the bigger man.
“Stop trying to get away, and I will unhand you.” As soon as Sesshoumaru spoke the words, all the fight went out of Suon. He had never been a fighter, and had no intention of trying to resist a taller and stronger man; after all her had never been a fool.
“Okay fine, I’ll listen to you.” Suon said, but then as something else occurred to him, he quickly added. “You know you don’t have to choke me; I’ll give you a good price on the Miko Powder.” ‘Why was I so scared of that guy? He probably heard about the magic blue powder and wanted some for his own. That would explain why he was at the party on Saturday, and why he called me up today.’ All of a sudden the young man felt much more relaxed. He had after all in the past few weeks gotten used to being manhandled by some over eager clients.
“As if this Sesshoumaru would be interested in this disgusting drug for my personal use...” he snarled. He had seen firsthand the effects of the Miko Powder on Suon’s two customers on Saturday evening, and as much as he wished he could forget about Kagura, and clear his mind from her, he would never resort to being reduced to a skinny quivering shell of himself. “I told you I was a journalist. I am investigating on the origins of this drug, and you will help me identify who is the head of operations.”
Suon looked straight into the cold golden eyes of the man who was choking him. He knew that he could try to break the hold on his neck, or attempt to lie himself out of the situation; which was his first instinct, but was also more than aware that Sesshoumaru had no intentions of letting him go.
‘Maybe I could toy with his heart strings enough for him to reduce the strength of his chokehold, then I can make my getaway.’ The young man was trying hard to come up with a plan of escape.
“You know, I’m not one of these rich kids. My parents are dirt poor, and I got into Edo through a scholarship… I just needed a quick way to make some cash to help out my parents. I’m not a hard criminal like you might think…”
Sesshoumaru had himself struggled financially after cutting ties with his father. It was only thanks to the little money his mother had left behind that he had been able to afford tuition at Edo. For his living expenses he had relied on part time jobs and sharing his apartment.
“Do you think you are the only college student who has ever encountered financial difficulties? Has the idea of getting an honest job not occurred to you?” Sesshoumaru was not sure why exactly he was talking to the young drug dealer, but before he could help himself, he was questioning the other man and his motives.
“I know that…but there was no harm done. It’s not like I killed anyone.” Even to his own ears Suon’s protests sounded meek.
Sesshoumaru smacked the younger man’s head back against the wall. “People were hurt. Manten almost died.” He was annoyed at seeing how lightly Suon was taking the whole situation, and had to restrain himself from planting his fist in the middle of the dark haired man’s face.
“Ouch! That hurt, did you really have to do that?” Suon’s answer was met with a sharp glare. “What? I didn’t sell anything to Manten, and I try to keep my clients in check. You may not believe me, but I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I just needed some quick cash, and she assured me no one would ever get harmed or get in trouble.”
The older man could tell Suon’s resolve was wavering. After all not only had he not dared profess his innocence, but more importantly he had finally referred to the woman who had gotten him involved in the drug trade.
‘Suon just needs a little push, and he will tell me whatever I wish to hear.’
Since brawn had not seemed to work, Sesshoumaru decided to use a different technique. He suddenly let go of Suon, and the young man unexpectedly found himself slipping down against the wall. He rubbed his sore neck furiously, and did not even attempt to sit up from his slumped position; something told him that even if Sesshoumaru had released him, the journalist had no intention of letting him go.
“Suon, I have every intention of breaking this story, and revealing every aspect of the Miko Powder production and trade. If you help me in my investigation, I can help you in turn. I do have a few friends at the police department, and if you help me out, I can guarantee you it will work in your favor in the long run.”
“The police?!” Suon whimpered. He knew what he had done was illegal, but he had never expected for the authorities to be involved.
“Yes.” Sesshoumaru smirked to himself. He knew he had finally managed to get to the cowardly youth. “If you agree to help, I am sure they will be lenient, and you will end up with a shorter prison sentence…unless you prove to be the ringleader.”
“Prison?!” This time around the terrified young man felt tears roll down his cheeks. “Please you’ve got to help me…you’ve got to tell them I’m not in charge…please… I can’t go to jail! She’s the one who planned everything, I had nothing to do with it.”
“Who is she?” Sesshoumaru leaned forward, hoping to intimidate the younger man further.
“I…if I tell you, I’ll lose everything. She’ll make sure I lose my scholarship and I won’t ever be able to graduate college.”
“I can assure you that your scholarship will not be much use to you when you rot in jail for the rest of your life.” Sesshoumaru had noticed that fear seemed to be a good motivator to Suon, and intended to make full use of it from now on.
“Oh God!” Suon raised a shaky hand to his red blotchy face, and wiped some snot from his runny nose. “You can’t let me go to jail…I’ll never survive there.”
“Then talk!” Sesshoumaru’s upper lip curled in disgust as he looked down at the pitiful state of the younger man.
“She’s the one who manufactures the drug in her own lab. She then gives the little packages to me and the other guys to sell to our various clients, and we give her a cut of our sales.”
“Who is she?”
This time around it did not take Suon long to give the journalist the information he needed. “You saw her at the party…she was the dark haired girl with the short skirt…she’s a member of the Associated Student.”
To his own surprise, Sesshoumaru felt his heart clench. He had not expected things to turn out this way. He had a feeling he knew who Suon was talking about, and he also knew he was not going to like the way things were going to progress from now on. At this point the irony of the situation had not been lost on him, and only one thought rung through his mind. ‘When will I ever be able to finally sever ties with Inuyasha and his infernal girlfriend?’
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
As much as she had tried, Kagura Jiyuu had not been able to get Sesshoumaru’s words out of her mind. She hated the fact that they had not made any progress, and hated even more the way he felt about his brother. While she recognized she could work on number one, she was unsure how to proceed when it came to number two. She was sitting behind her desk, the latest circulation numbers of Shikon Magazine in front of her, but she was too preoccupied by her thoughts to even look at them.
Her troubled thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. She was sure that her father had come to bug her again, but as much as she did not want to talk to Naraku, she found herself inviting him in; he was her boss after all.
“Come in!”
To Kagura’s surprise, it was not Naraku but none other than Kagome whose head popped inside the door’s opening.
“Hi! I hope I’m not interrupting you. Shippou said it would be okay for me to come in.” The college student walked in, and wasted no time diving right into why she had come in for an impromptu visit. “I know we’re not friends, but I was worried about you. I just hate how things ended up on Saturday night, and I just wanted to see how you were doing…” She had said everything in one breath, hoping to get her message across as quickly as possible in case Kagura decided to rightfully throw her out of her office space.
“I am doing fine, and you don’t need to worry about me…” Kagura started, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by the ever empathetic Kagome.
“You don’t have to hide you true feelings. The other night completely backfired on us, and I just feel terrible that it affected your relationship with Sesshoumaru. He shouldn’t have blamed you for what happened, I am the one who pushed for this family reunion…Sesshoumaru shouldn’t have gone off on you.” Kagome had spent the better part of Saturday night and Sunday feeling guilty about how things had turned, and no matter how many times Inuyasha had told her to leave things well alone, she knew she would never be able to do so.
“You know, I thought about it, and maybe if we hadn’t just surprised Sesshoumaru with the dinner he might have been more okay with it. I mean we kind of sprung things on him when he least expected it. Next time we could just work on him a bit, and get him and Inuyasha ready before we actually make them face each other.” Even if she had not been invited to do so, Kagome sat down on one of the chairs facing Kagura’s desk.
“Kagome, there won’t be a next time.”
“I know Saturday evening was upsetting, but if we actually hadn’t caught him unawares, maybe things would have gone on better…”
“Kagome, it wasn’t the surprise dinner that set him off. I’m sorry, but Sesshoumaru will never make up with Inuyasha…” Kagura thought back to his earlier revelations. “It’s complicated, and not easy to explain, but let’s just say that he was more affected by what happened to his mother than I had anticipated.”
“What does his mother have to do with it?” The confused younger woman asked.
“She passed away in strange circumstances when he was young, and he can’t disassociate that with his brother.” Kagura reluctantly admitted. She did not want to say too much about Sesshoumaru’s demons. “Look you’re a sweet girl, and Inuyasha seems like a nice guy too, but right now this whole family reunion is not going to work. Sesshoumaru just isn’t ready for that. I’m sorry, but I have work to do now…”
‘Strange circumstances?! Does Kagura mean murder or suicide?’ Kagome suddenly felt sick and horrified. ‘How could Inuyasha have anything to do with it?’
The Shikon Magazine co-editor purposely took a hold of one of the stats sheet Shippou had hand delivered to her over two hours ago. She had not had a chance to look at them yet, but now they proved to be the perfect excuse to dismiss Kagome. The sincerity in the younger woman’s dark eyes, and the clear eagerness to attempt to make things work between the two brothers she displayed were heart wrenching.
‘I’m sorry Kagome. As much as I would love for Sesshoumaru to get along with his brother, right now what I have to work on is getting him to forgive me so we can be together again…maybe later…’
“Yes of course, I understand. I’m sorry for disturbing you.” Kagome stood up then backed away from the desk. “I guess I’ll see you around.” With an awkward wave, she left the room, and carefully closed the door behind her.
Kagura frowned at the other woman’s easy retreat, but decided not to dwell on it too much; she had enough to contend with her relationship with Sesshoumaru.
Kagome Higurashi knew she should do as her boyfriend as asked, and leave things alone. After all her interfering had had some devastating consequences already, but as much as she wished she could, she knew she would not be able to give up. She had after all always been an optimistic meddler who was sure she could make things work.
The young woman dashed out of the offices of Shikon Magazine, only sparing one quick nod to Shippou. As soon as she found herself out of the building, she fished her phone out of her purse. She had the feeling that she was being kept in the dark, and she wanted to find out what exactly had happened between Sesshoumaru’s parents and what had befallen the late Mrs. Tashio. Since Inuyasha did not want to tell her anything, and considering that Kagura, her latest ally, had suddenly abandoned her, she found herself with only one option. She knew it was time for her to face the man she had admired and seen as a father figure for so long: Touga Tashio.
Using her speed dial option, she dialed a number she knew all too well.
“Hi Kagome what a surprise.” A deep friendly voice said from the other side of the phone.
“Hi Touga, could I see you…right now?”
“What’s wrong, did something happen?” His voice took on a worried tone. He heard her let out a deep sigh, and took a quick decision. “I had a lunch meeting, but it was cancelled, so if you’d like, you can meet me at the office for a quick meal.” The lie rolled off his tongue easily. He cared for the young woman as if she was his own daughter, and considering that she rarely asked for help, he knew something serious was happening, and no business meeting could keep him away from fixing an issue for her.
“Okay. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Kagome said already on her way to her car.
“Great, see you then.”
To be continued…
A/N: Okay, so I lied, I didn’t quite reveal who exactly is the lady in charge of the Miko Powder drug ring, but I am pretty sure you can guess who it is :p I’ll try my best not to make you wait another month before the next update. The chapter will have more new characters appear, and will be named Exclusive.
Converting /tmp/php0X22MW to /dev/stdout