InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Secret Lovers ❯ Exclusive ( Chapter 15 )
[ 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: 06.09.2012 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 326 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 06.09.2012 | Pages: 4 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 326 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 15: Exclusive
A/N: A faster update yay for me! We’ll have a major new character be introduced in this one, and I’m sure you can guess who it will be. We’ll also finally know who is the mastermind behind the Miko Powder. Happy reading!
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…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?’
“Are you speaking about that girl who was next to Kagome?” He asked referring to the beautiful woman with an eerie resemblance to his half brother’s girlfriend. There was a cold calculating look in her dark eyes that made him suspect there was something she was hiding from everyone.
‘Although that doesn’t necessarily make her a drug dealer.’
Sesshoumaru’s question stopped Suon’s babbling. “What?! Of course not. As if Kikyou the ice queen would ever get involved in something like this.”
The younger man gulped loudly when his impertinent retort was met with a sharp glare. Sesshoumaru might have physically let him go, but something told Suon that if he did not navigate the situation more carefully, he might find himself with a fist planted in his face, and a few missing teeth; if not worst. Something else occurred to him, and he could not help but display a sheepish smile on his lips.
“Then again it’s true that she also spent some time next to Kagome and Inuyasha during the party... Maybe you were actually referring to her, which would make your assumption correct...” Suon could see the annoyance in the other man’s eyes, and wasted no time finally explaining himself. “…what I’m trying to say is that the girl who makes the Miko Powder is called Abi Satoshi. She is Kagome’s vice president in the student association, and her mother is on the board of directors of the university.”
‘That explains how she was able to distribute the drug throughout campus without getting troubled by the school authorities…I wonder if her mother is in on it.’ Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He then and there realized that his article would take on a more political focus. Having students set up a drug operation on the Edo campus would be disastrous to the directors, trustees and other board members, but the fact that the one person at the helm of the enterprise was an associated student member and the daughter of one of their peers was simply unthinkable. He was aware that if he disclosed all the information he had uncovered, he would shake the very foundations of the power-that-be at the school; the journalist inside of him could not wait to see his words printed in his magazine. ‘With this story our circulation will grow, and we will leave Sengoku Today! behind in the dust. This should even be an all out special edition. Kagura will be so happy.’ He could not help but groan when he saw how his thoughts were directed towards his lover... once again. He quickly tried to change the topic.
“You said Abi manufactures the drug herself. How?”
This time around, it did not take the younger man much more encouragement to talk. “She’s a genius when it comes to sciences. Had it not been for Abi I never would have passed chemistry…”
Sesshoumaru did not care one bit about Suon’s educational background and studies, and wasted no time letting him know. “Get to the point.” He ordered, and the dark haired man once again complied quickly.
Yeah…sorry. I don’t know exactly what she puts in that freaking blue powder. She did tell me that bird blood was a key ingredient, but I’m not sure if she was messing with me or not.” Suon allowed himself a chuckle, which died a quick death when Sesshoumaru sent the young man another sharp glare. “I do know that she has her lab in her mother’s basement. Her old woman is a stickler for rules and good behavior, but is too busy with her own life to think about checking in on her daughter.”
“Get to the point.” Sesshoumaru pressed on even if he was interested in finding out how Mrs. Satoshi could not have realized her daughter was a drug manufacturer, and used her house as a base of operations.
With a disgusted frown Suon wiped the remnants of his earlier tears off of his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt before answering. “I told you all I know. It’s not like I am Abi’s confident or whatever. Whenever she’s ready, she just summons me and the other guys to her house, and hands us bags of the Miko Powder. At the end of each week we have to check in with her, and give her a report, and most importantly her share of our winnings. That’s it; I promise.”
“Good I want all of this information, and the name of the ‘other guys’ written down.” Sesshoumaru took out a notepad and pen out of his pockets. Unlike Kagura, he favored the use of these old fashioned mediums and his excellent memory when it came to making interviews, and did not carry a tape recorder. He threw the two items on Suon’s lap, and gave him his last directives “Don’t forget to sign your confession.”
“Are you sure this will get me off the hook with the cops?”
“I will do my best, but this Sesshoumaru cannot make miracles happen.” He replied, truly disgusted at seeing the younger man trying to get out of paying for his misdeeds.
“But…I can’t go to jail…”
“Write and sign.” Sesshoumaru cut him off. When he noticed that the younger man’s hand was shaking badly, he quickly added in the hopes of reassuring him enough to completely cooperate. “Work with me, and I will see what I can do with my contacts with the police department.”
Suon did not hesitate for one more minute. He had gone too far to back down, and had no choice but to put all his trust in Sesshoumaru. He removed the cap on the ball pen, opened the notepad to a blank page, and started jotting down everything he had just told the journalist.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000
Kagome Higurashi had known the Takahashi family for as long as she could remember. After losing both of his parents, her father had decided to move his wife and two young children back to Edo, and take over his family’s ancestral shrine. Because the mansion of the very wealthy Touga and Izayoi Tashio and the centuries old Higurashi shrine both encompassed large secluded grounds, the two families became each other’s only close neighbors. Taking over the responsibilities of the shrine was busy work, and Keiko and Ryu Higurashi did not have much time to socialize and go out about the town to meet new people and make friends. With the benefit of proximity, their friendly next door neighbors, the Tashios, had therefore become their closest friends.
This friendship had not trickled down to their children easily. When Kagome and Inuyasha had first met, it was hate at first sight. Since they were the same age, the two of them had done their entire schooling together, and over time dislike had turned into a deep friendship, and eventually even love. Inuyasha was not the only Tashio man with whom Kagome shared a strong bond. When her father passed away a few weeks after she had turned ten, Touga Tashio had stepped up to be there for Kagome, her younger brother Souta and her mother Keiko. She had always seen Touga as a father figure, and she knew that if she wanted to get some answers about the deep dark secrets of the Tashio family, she could go to him.
She was sure that he was the one person she could talk to about Sesshoumaru. As long as she had known the Tashio family, Kagome had only heard about the long lost elder son on very few occasions. The family only spoke about him in hushed tones, and she had always had the suspicion that there was a big scandal linked to the absence of the older Tashio son.
‘I never could have imagined there was a link to his mother’s death though…’ Kagome thought to herself as she rode the elevator up to Touga’s office. She did not know what exactly her boyfriend’s father did for a living, but was sure it had to be something very important as he worked on the top floor of a sleek downtown skyscraper, and was a very wealthy man.
When she stepped into the hallway leading to Touga’s office, she turned her thoughts away from the Tashio family.
“Hello dear. He’s expecting you, so go right in.” Hana, Touga’s secretary for the past thirty years, greeted Kagome warmly. She had been a friend, confident and even at some point lover to Touga ever since she had started working for him, and knew everything about the skeletons in the family’s closet. Her employer had not told her why he had her cancel all his appointments for the afternoon in favor of meeting with Kagome, but if there was one thing Hana knew was that she was paid and appreciated for her discretion. She therefore had no intention of asking any questions. If Touga wanted to let her know what was happening, she would wait for him to talk to her.
The younger woman waved and smiled warmly in return, and stepped right up to the massive oak doors opening up to Touga’s office. Even if Hana has assured her she could go in, Kagome still felt the need to knock on the door.
“Enter!” The muffled voice of her father figure invited her.
Kagome did as told, and even if she was troubled by Kagura’s earlier reluctant admission, she could not help but smile at seeing Touga. The man who would soon turn 60 years old was still as good-looking as ever. She always liked to think that her Inuyasha would look as handsome and dignified as his father when he grew older; one of her dreams was to be able to see her love grow old by her side.
“Hi Touga.” She forced herself to focus on the issues at hand instead of thinking about her future with Inuyasha.
“A hello to you too. It’s always a pleasure to see you my dear…although let me start out by saying that please forgive Inuyasha for whatever he did. He loves you, but doesn’t always know how to express himself properly.” Touga was sure that his son’s big mouth was at the heart of the reason Kagome had decided to come see him. He had seen Kagome and Inuyasha grow side by side, and it had always been his fondest wish to see them united. During the years his son had dated Kikyou, who he believed shared an eerie resemblance to Kagome, his heart had hated to see the latter suffer from Inuyasha’s neglect.
‘Everything is now finally as it should be. Kagome and Inuyasha are finally together, and I will do all that I can to make sure they stay that way.’ The older man rounded his desk to sit on one of the two armchairs which faced his massive desk. With a small hand gesture he invited the young woman to come sit next to him, and a benevolent smile spread on his lips when she accepted his invitation.
Touga had always known that Inuyasha and Kagome were meant for each other, the same way in which he and Izayoi belonged together. Both he and his wife were very fond of the two Higurashi children; especially Kagome, who they saw as the daughter they never had. Izayoi had suffered serious complications when her son was born, and was told by doctors she would never be able to have another child. The two Tashios might have been pained by this news, but over the years their two fatherless neighbors became an easy extension of their family, so they never felt a lack for not having given birth to the large brood they had dreamed of. Even if Kagome had helped temper Inuyasha’s ways, as his parents had always hoped she would, the young man still had a tendency to act like a spoiled child. His son’s rash ways, he was sure would one day land him in trouble when it came to his girlfriend.
‘Good thing I will be here to help them pick up the pieces…’ Touga thought to himself.
“Well, you can be reassured. Everything’s fine between me and Inuyasha; never better actually...”
Her chocolate colored orbs did not miss the sigh of relief which escaped Touga’s lips. She was surprised by his reaction, and made a mental note to ask him about it later on, but for now she had a more important issue to deal with.
“Well then if my son isn’t the reason for your visit, then what is?” Touga asked.
“Well not exactly…you’re son is concerned. At least one of them is.” Kagome suddenly felt uncomfortable as she wasn’t sure how to approach the situation. “I’ve come to talk to you about…Sesshoumaru.”
As soon as she spoke his name, all the color drained from Touga’s face. It was the first time in a long time that someone had dared speak this name to his face.
“What about him…did Inuyasha…” The older man started, but was not able to finish; the thought of his youngest son suddenly becoming curious, and deciding to ask questions about his older brother had always tormented him, and been at the root of many sleepless nights.
“We’ve met him…I don’t know if you’re aware, but he’s a journalist, and he was doing a story on campus… Not that this is why I’m here. The thing is that Sesshoumaru’s girlfriend and I have been trying to smooth things over between them. We were pretty close to engineering a reconciliation between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, but things came to a halt.”
“Girlfriend.” Touga echoed. As far as he knew, his son did not have a significant other. Before he could push it down, a feeling of longing came over him. He truly wished he was still a part of his oldest son’s life. Then as he forced his mind out of his regrets, he focused his attention to something else Kagome had said. “Reconciliation?!”
She was surprised by the shock she could see written all over his face as she had anticipated he would be glad to see his two sons finally getting along, but did not let it put her down. “Yes. We actually had dinner together last Saturday night…the evening started well, but Sesshoumaru ended up storming out. I feel like he truly wants to make up with his family, but is letting something from his past hold him back. From what Kagura, that’s his girlfriend, told me, he somehow blames Inuyasha for what happened to his mother…I was hoping you could help me get to the bottom of this.” She was not about to let him know that she had been told to drop the matter as she didn’t want to put ideas in his head.
Touga Tashio’s mind was racing. He stood up, and started pacing his office; he was in sore need of some sort of distraction.
“Kagome, you’ve really taken me unawares. This is the last thing I had expected to come up in our conversation today.” Touga let out a deep sigh. He had tried very hard to shield his loved ones from his ugly past; especially his ‘children’. Inuyasha had of course heard part of the tale, but not clear details. As much as his parents would have wanted not to let him know about their past, they had had to come clean on Touga’s infidelity, and hasty marriage to Izayoi when a young Inuyasha had managed to count back to the exact time when he had been conceived. It did not take a genius to figure out that his conception had been made when his father was married to another woman. Even if Inuyasha had never shown signs that this had bothered him, both Touga and Izayoi worried.
“I’m sorry, but I figured it would be best to come to you directly.”
Touga stopped his pacing, and bore his golden eyes straight in the ones of the younger woman.
‘What good is it to keep hiding things? I should just come clean and admit my shame.’ He thought sadly as he took back his seat. He turned towards Kagome, and took a hold of her hands. “Kagome, you know I care for you as I would a daughter, correct?”
“Yes, I know.” She agreed easily enough even if her heart started hammering in her chest. The look of despair in the usually kind and warm golden eyes of Touga scared her, and almost made her regret her decision to confront him.
“What I am about to reveal to you will surely change the way you perceive me, but please do not be too harsh on your judgment of my actions. I was young, stupid and very much in love.”
“Touga I…” She started to form a protest, but he interrupted her.
“Please don’t interrupt me otherwise I feel like I will never be able to tell my story.” His words had the desired effect and Kagome quickly shut her mouth.
He took a deep breath, and started talking, taking as few breaks as possible. “I married young. I was barely out of college when my father sprang the responsibilities of the company on me. Unlike me, my father married late, and had me when he was already well into his fifties. By the time I came of age, he was a sickly old man, who wanted to see his son ascend to the ‘throne’ before he passed away. I don’t know if he was afraid that I would follow into his footsteps and marry later in life, but another thing he wanted was to see me settled in a nice domestic life. I was in my mid twenties when he presented me with a gift: a beautiful bride.” Touga briefly interrupted himself to let out a small humorless chuckle. “Ayaka was the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, and at my young age, stupid fool that I was, I believed that it was the only thing that mattered. Therefore when my father told me he had arranged with her family for us to be united, I did not even think about refusing. Soon enough we were married.”
Kagome might not have ever heard of Ayaka, but she was willing to bet she was Sesshoumaru’s mother. When Touga took a break, she thought about pressing him along, but decided against it; the old man looked so lost in his own thoughts, and the look of hurt in his eyes pained her in turn.
“She may have been beautiful, but Ayaka was cold. Very cold. Our marriage was not a meeting of minds or spirits. We had nothing in common, and could barely sustain a conversation… Our bedroom was the only place where we could meet and even then...” Touga took a brief pause, allowing himself to think back about the lack of passion in his first marriage bed. “Thankfully for both of us, she became pregnant only a few months into our union. However as soon as she had Sesshoumaru, she made it very clear to me that now that she had fulfilled her duty of providing me with an heir, she had no interest in being a true wife to me anymore. She focused on our son, and her social life while I lost myself in my own occupations. After the loss of both of my parents, I buried myself in work, and fought hard to make our group number one in the country.” He was not about to go into details about the many meaningless affairs he had had after his wife had kicked him out of their bed. Touga never liked dwelling on that dark decade of his life, and decided to focus on something more positive; the best thing to have ever happened to him: Izayoi.
“About twelve years into our senseless marriage, I met Izayoi. She worked for a company we had purchased, and the second we laid eyes on each other we fell in love. I am not proud of what we did, but we did have an affair while I was married to Ayaka. I decided to make things more official… let’s say for lack of a better word when I found out Izayoi was going to have my child.” He briefly thought back to the day she had announced him her news, and how tears of both joy and despair had streamed down their faces. They both knew what they were doing was wrong, but as much as they had tried staying as far away from each other as they could, they had never been able to; they had therefore decided to just embrace their sin.
“How…how did Ayaka pass away?”
Kagome's question put a stop to his fond recollection. "After I announced to her that I was leaving her, Ayaka announced to me she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt like a real bastard… I was torn between these two women who needed me, and in the end a choice had to be made…" He let out a sigh before telling the end of his story. "Not long after our divorce was finalized, Ayaka was killed in a car accident. Izayoi and I had wasted no time getting married, and at that time Inuyasha was just a few weeks old."
The young woman felt bile rise in her throat. She had guessed that adultery might have been involved somewhere in the story, but she could have never anticipated something like this. As much as she hated Touga’s actions, she could not help but feel sorry for the old man. She had grown up seeing how much he and Izayoi loved and needed one another, and was convinced that making this choice might have been torture to him.
“Touga, I am so sorry my questions made you go through this all over again.” Kagome apologized. ‘Inuyasha and Kagura were right, I should have left things along.’ She thought sadly.
“No no. This was necessary. One must always face one’s shortcomings and past as dark as it may be.” He forced a smile to crack his lips.
“Yes…I guess.” She agreed. Even if she had just thought about leaving things alone, she could not help but ask. “I don’t understand why Sesshoumaru blames Inuyasha.”
“Neither do I… I am the only one to blame. Not my Inuyasha, that is for sure.” Touga mused aloud. ‘Maybe it is time I finally remind Sesshoumaru of that.’
Kagome let out a deep sigh. “I am so sorry for wasting your time, and poking around in something I shouldn’t have.”
The old man wondered if his revelations had somehow tainted the way in which Kagome saw him. He was personally ashamed of what he had done, and liked to think that if he had been as old and wise as he was now, he would have done things so differently.
“I’m supposed to go to the movies with Inuyasha, so I should head out now.” The defeated young woman said. She took to her feet, and soon enough Touga did the same.
“Kagome I…” He started but was unable to finish.
She smiled brightly at him, and in an unexpected move launched herself in his arms to give him a long hug. It may have taken him a few seconds, but once he got over his shock, he quickly responded to her embrace. She may have been shocked by what she had just found out, and disappointed by what Touga might have done in the past, but she knew he was human, and had made mistakes he should not be punished for forever.
‘Besides he is still the same man who has been like a father to me for most of my life.’ She thought to herself before adding aloud. “I can’t wait for dinner on Friday. Mom said she’ll bake her coconut cake…oh and please don’t let Inuyasha talk Izayoi into making fried ramen…again.” She referred to the family dinner they had planned to host at the Tashio mansion. Her mother and younger brother along with Inuyasha, Touga and Izayoi had had a tradition of sharing dinners at least one a month, and the revelations her father figure had just made to her were not going to change that in any way.
“I’ll try, but I don’t make any promises.” Touga chuckled at hearing her words. Everyone knew that as the dinner approached Inuyasha would lobby his mother to make his favorite dish, and no matter how many people complained, Izayoi would in the end give in to her only son’s wish.
She returned his smile, and after one last wave walked away from his office. ‘I guess this was a painful waste of time after all. Maybe everyone was right, and for once in my life I should leave things as they stand; even if it breaks my heart.’ For the first time in her life the ever determined Kagome was completely clueless about what she should do next, and how she should proceed. Even if she was not one to give up when set upon a task, she felt truly defeated. ‘For now I’ll take a step back, and regroup before thinking about what to do next.’
Little did Kagome know that she had engineered a chain of events, which would have consequences, she, or none of the people involved could have ever anticipated.
Touga’s sharp golden eyes watched Kagome disappear behind the thick door of his office. As much as he was uncomfortable with the idea, over the years the thought had crossed his mind that Inuyasha might one day try to reconnect with his long lost half sibling. Touga had not spoken with his eldest child in almost twenty years, and was therefore unsure on how Sesshoumaru’s thought process functioned. He had anticipated that he would not welcome Inuyasha with opened arms, but he never could have imagined he would hold him responsible for the death of his mother.
‘Maybe it is not too late to right some of my wrongs.’ The old man mused as he headed for the alcove hidden behind the large painting which adorned the back wall of his office. He pushed away the picture, and quickly punched in his secret combination. No one, not even Hana his closest and most trusted collaborator knew the contents of his secret office safe. He only kept items he would not want anyone, and especially not Izayoi to come upon. As soon as the safe opened, he picked up the thick envelope at the bottom of the pile, and after retrieving what he was looking for, carefully closed his secret spot, and placed the painting back as perfectly as it was before. Only someone who had previous knowledge of the hidden safe could have guessed what was behind the large landscape painting.
For the past 16 years Touga Tashio had a private investigation company follow any major movements in the life of his wayward son.
‘Even though it seems it might be time to change firms.’ He reflected on the fact that his inspectors had not informed him that his always lonesome son had finally settled down with a woman. ‘Kagura, Kagome said her name was…’ Touga was glad that Sesshoumaru finally had someone to share his life with. A grin spread on his lips when he thought that he might become a grandfather after all. ‘Even if I might never be able to hold my grandchild.’ He dispelled his negative thoughts, and decided to focus on something he could actually do something about.
“Maybe the time has come to re-introduce myself to Sesshoumaru.”
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000
Kagura Jiyuu let out a sigh of pure satisfaction as she finally sent out the email she knew Naraku had been waiting for. She had had to force herself to banish her distracting thoughts about Sesshoumaru out of her head, but finally managed to finish her task. She closed the advertising report document she had just sent over to her boss, and finally took the time to think about the sticky situation she was in. Ever since Kagome had left her office, she had poured herself into the task Naraku had given her, and it was only now that she allowed herself to think about Sesshoumaru.
“This is exactly why I didn't want to fall in love.” She complained to no one in particular. “I never should have gotten involved with Sesshoumaru; it was bound to end badly…I should have thought about the situation more carefully before jumping into it head first.” She may regret how things had come about, but she knew this was exactly the kind of woman she was. When an idea stuck in her head, she would go after it in the bullheaded way which had made her a great journalist. A perfect example of that was how when the ink on her university diploma had barely dried before she had decided to move away to a city she had never stepped foot in only to find out about the father she had never heard about.
‘Then again the situation could have been worse; Naraku could have found out about our relationship. Knowing that bastard he probably would have fired me for leading his star editor astray.’ She tried cheering herself up. ‘I just hope that bastard of Kouga will keep his word and keep his mouth shut…Who am I kidding?! I’m more worried about Sesshoumaru not forgiving me.’
Someone throwing opened the door to her office thrust her out of her thoughts. For a brief second she hoped it would be Sesshoumaru, but was soon disappointed to see two crimson eyes belonging to a face surrounded with long dark locks, all too resembling her own features, appear in the opening.
“Finally got your report on my email. I’ll take a look at it tomorrow.” Her father simply announced as he invited himself in.
Kagura gritted her teeth to prevent herself from voicing her anger. She had worked relentlessly through the afternoon on the extremely important report Naraku had asked her to produce, so hearing him say he was in no hurry to read it now that it was completed annoyed her to no end.
“Did you come all the way here just to tell me that?!” She asked, not even bothering to mask her annoyance.
Naraku sat on one of the chairs facing Kagura’s desk, and made himself comfortable by crossing his legs. “Have you seen Sesshoumaru? He’s been making himself scarce around here on account of that so called article he’s working on about that drug.”
“How would I know where he is? I’m not his boss, you are.”
Naraku’s mocking smile slid off his lips upon hearing her retort. If there was one thing he hated it was to be demeaned and mocked; especially by his oldest daughter. However the one thing he hated most of all was to let Kagura know just how much she was able to get under his skin. ‘Just like her bitch of a mother used to do all the time.’ His first marriage was not something he cared to think about, so he wasted no time moving on to something else.
“You are still co-editor of this magazine, and unless you wish to be relieved of your functions, you will do your duty; including keeping tabs on all the damn journalists on my payroll!” The crimson eyes of the woman sitting across from him thinned in pure anger, but she did not speak a word back to him. The smile was back on his face; he loved putting her back in her place.
“Since our dear friend Sesshoumaru does not seem in the mood to grace us with his presence, I guess you can take care of this.” He threw on her desk the folder he had been carrying with him. His unexpected gesture startled Kagura, and irritated her as well as it messed up the organization she had painstakingly put together on her work area. Ever since she had started sleeping with Sesshoumaru, she had become much less messy both at work and in her condo, and hated seeing her efforts go to waste because of her father’s careless actions.
After sending Naraku a sharp glare, she pushed away the folder he had thrown her way, and slowly picked up the papers scattered all over her desk. She worked as slowly as possible as she knew it would annoy her boss. Only once she had set everything to right did she take the folder and open it. It contained a couple pictures of a passably handsome young man with a smug smile on his lips along with a few words about the man.
“What’s this?” She asked as she kept browsing through the documents.
“A friend of mine wants us to publish a portrait of his son. He’s trying to launch his political career…”
“Since when do we do this kind of on-demand crap?” She interrupted Naraku. To emphasize her point, she closed the folder, and threw it back over her desk towards Naraku.
“Since a leading member of the prime minister’s cabinet asked for a favor.” He retorted. “My dear daughter, you should know that you don’t get to my position in life without taking advantage of chances such as these. Having such a powerful man in my debt is an opportunity I simply can’t pass up.”
Even if he was not saying it outright, she knew exactly what was said behind his words: if she one day hoped to become his successor, she would have to start playing these kinds of games. ‘Is that why he wanted to give the assignment to Sesshoumaru? Because he truly sees him as the one who will take over Shikon Magazine, and wants him involved in his political crap?’
She did her best to mask her true feelings, and forced a smile on her lips. “Just a portrait piece? None of that political endorsing that Sengoku is so fond of?”
“Yes, of course. Unlike our competitors, I do not want my magazine to dabble in politics too much. It would not do to alienate some of our readers.”
“Okay then. I’ll take care of it.” Even as she spoke the words, she hoped she would not come to regret them.
Even if Naraku had initially hoped to put Sesshoumaru at the helm of this little project, but decided that the present state of affairs was not too bad either. He may not always understand his daughter or her choices, nor did her care to be able to decipher her inner workings, but one thing Naraku knew for sure was that Kagura was a damn good journalist. Her being female, and an attractive one, might also be another advantage. ‘If he ends up liking her then I am sure I can expect a much more generous contribution from him and his father.’ “I will have him contact you when he’s ready for this interview.”
“Sure.” Kagura whispered, not at all reassured by the eager grin on her father’s thin lips.
“That’s my little girl.” His parting words of praise made her skin crawl, and at that present moment she really hated herself for giving in this easily.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000
Sesshoumaru was sitting at his kitchen table, pouring over the notes he had compiled from both his investigation and Suon’s testimony. After their meeting at the dive bar, he had taken his ‘star witness’ to see his acquaintance detective Yaruba a bright man whose sharp eagle-like features hid a great heart and a brilliant mind. Had Sesshoumaru been a more social person, he had no doubt the two of them could have been great friends. After many failed attempts Shinji Yaruba had finally learned to stop trying to invite Sesshoumaru out; they now kept any of their involvement to a strictly professional level.
The young man took a quick swallow of his bitter hot coffee. He needed to focus on his article. He had to finish it tonight to give enough time to the printers to get the special edition of Shikon Magazine out. He had not even taken the time to get Naraku or Kagura’s approval on this one, nor did he care to. He was aware that this special edition would be a great opportunity for Shikon and time was of the essence; he after all only had one day at best before the police raided Abi Satoshi’s house to gather all their evidence. He knew that after such a bust the story would be all over the news, and Shikon therefore had to print out all the material he had acquired not to lose their exclusive.
‘Besides as co-editor I have the authority to have this special edition published. Had I not been pressed for time, I would have been able to talk with either Kagura or Naraku.’ He tried reasoning the reason for his silence, and forced himself to get back to his task. ‘Although things would go faster if Kagura was able to help me out on this one.’ He thought to himself then. The truth was that it was not her journalistic abilities which he needed at the moment, but the woman herself. He hated the way they had parted ways that morning, and the memory of what he had told her was still too fresh in his mind, and managed to plague him. His head might be in crafting his article, but his heart wanted nothing more but to drive over to Kagura’s condo to give her a chance to talk to him.
The journalist was taken by surprise by the loud ring of his doorbell. He put down his little notebook where Suon had written his confession, and took to his feet. As he walked down his corridor, as much as he hated it, he could not suppress the little part of him that wished to see the beloved crimson eyes of Kagura on the other side of his front door. He knew she was a proud woman, as proud as he was, and had no doubt she would not easily forget the harsh way in which he flung her words back in her face that morning. ‘Nor will she come apologizing and groveling at my feet…again.’ He may wish that Kagura was his late night visitor, but he doubted she would.
Curious to see who could come in knocking on his door at this time of the night, he did not waste time throwing the white painted wooden opened.
“Hello son, long time no see.”
To be continued…
A/N: See, I am finally making things move along. Next time the confrontation so many have been waiting for. Wonder how things will turn out for our dear Sesshoumaru. All I’ll reveal is that the chapter will be named Letter to the editor.
A/N: A faster update yay for me! We’ll have a major new character be introduced in this one, and I’m sure you can guess who it will be. We’ll also finally know who is the mastermind behind the Miko Powder. Happy reading!
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…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?’
“Are you speaking about that girl who was next to Kagome?” He asked referring to the beautiful woman with an eerie resemblance to his half brother’s girlfriend. There was a cold calculating look in her dark eyes that made him suspect there was something she was hiding from everyone.
‘Although that doesn’t necessarily make her a drug dealer.’
Sesshoumaru’s question stopped Suon’s babbling. “What?! Of course not. As if Kikyou the ice queen would ever get involved in something like this.”
The younger man gulped loudly when his impertinent retort was met with a sharp glare. Sesshoumaru might have physically let him go, but something told Suon that if he did not navigate the situation more carefully, he might find himself with a fist planted in his face, and a few missing teeth; if not worst. Something else occurred to him, and he could not help but display a sheepish smile on his lips.
“Then again it’s true that she also spent some time next to Kagome and Inuyasha during the party... Maybe you were actually referring to her, which would make your assumption correct...” Suon could see the annoyance in the other man’s eyes, and wasted no time finally explaining himself. “…what I’m trying to say is that the girl who makes the Miko Powder is called Abi Satoshi. She is Kagome’s vice president in the student association, and her mother is on the board of directors of the university.”
‘That explains how she was able to distribute the drug throughout campus without getting troubled by the school authorities…I wonder if her mother is in on it.’ Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He then and there realized that his article would take on a more political focus. Having students set up a drug operation on the Edo campus would be disastrous to the directors, trustees and other board members, but the fact that the one person at the helm of the enterprise was an associated student member and the daughter of one of their peers was simply unthinkable. He was aware that if he disclosed all the information he had uncovered, he would shake the very foundations of the power-that-be at the school; the journalist inside of him could not wait to see his words printed in his magazine. ‘With this story our circulation will grow, and we will leave Sengoku Today! behind in the dust. This should even be an all out special edition. Kagura will be so happy.’ He could not help but groan when he saw how his thoughts were directed towards his lover... once again. He quickly tried to change the topic.
“You said Abi manufactures the drug herself. How?”
This time around, it did not take the younger man much more encouragement to talk. “She’s a genius when it comes to sciences. Had it not been for Abi I never would have passed chemistry…”
Sesshoumaru did not care one bit about Suon’s educational background and studies, and wasted no time letting him know. “Get to the point.” He ordered, and the dark haired man once again complied quickly.
Yeah…sorry. I don’t know exactly what she puts in that freaking blue powder. She did tell me that bird blood was a key ingredient, but I’m not sure if she was messing with me or not.” Suon allowed himself a chuckle, which died a quick death when Sesshoumaru sent the young man another sharp glare. “I do know that she has her lab in her mother’s basement. Her old woman is a stickler for rules and good behavior, but is too busy with her own life to think about checking in on her daughter.”
“Get to the point.” Sesshoumaru pressed on even if he was interested in finding out how Mrs. Satoshi could not have realized her daughter was a drug manufacturer, and used her house as a base of operations.
With a disgusted frown Suon wiped the remnants of his earlier tears off of his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt before answering. “I told you all I know. It’s not like I am Abi’s confident or whatever. Whenever she’s ready, she just summons me and the other guys to her house, and hands us bags of the Miko Powder. At the end of each week we have to check in with her, and give her a report, and most importantly her share of our winnings. That’s it; I promise.”
“Good I want all of this information, and the name of the ‘other guys’ written down.” Sesshoumaru took out a notepad and pen out of his pockets. Unlike Kagura, he favored the use of these old fashioned mediums and his excellent memory when it came to making interviews, and did not carry a tape recorder. He threw the two items on Suon’s lap, and gave him his last directives “Don’t forget to sign your confession.”
“Are you sure this will get me off the hook with the cops?”
“I will do my best, but this Sesshoumaru cannot make miracles happen.” He replied, truly disgusted at seeing the younger man trying to get out of paying for his misdeeds.
“But…I can’t go to jail…”
“Write and sign.” Sesshoumaru cut him off. When he noticed that the younger man’s hand was shaking badly, he quickly added in the hopes of reassuring him enough to completely cooperate. “Work with me, and I will see what I can do with my contacts with the police department.”
Suon did not hesitate for one more minute. He had gone too far to back down, and had no choice but to put all his trust in Sesshoumaru. He removed the cap on the ball pen, opened the notepad to a blank page, and started jotting down everything he had just told the journalist.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000
Kagome Higurashi had known the Takahashi family for as long as she could remember. After losing both of his parents, her father had decided to move his wife and two young children back to Edo, and take over his family’s ancestral shrine. Because the mansion of the very wealthy Touga and Izayoi Tashio and the centuries old Higurashi shrine both encompassed large secluded grounds, the two families became each other’s only close neighbors. Taking over the responsibilities of the shrine was busy work, and Keiko and Ryu Higurashi did not have much time to socialize and go out about the town to meet new people and make friends. With the benefit of proximity, their friendly next door neighbors, the Tashios, had therefore become their closest friends.
This friendship had not trickled down to their children easily. When Kagome and Inuyasha had first met, it was hate at first sight. Since they were the same age, the two of them had done their entire schooling together, and over time dislike had turned into a deep friendship, and eventually even love. Inuyasha was not the only Tashio man with whom Kagome shared a strong bond. When her father passed away a few weeks after she had turned ten, Touga Tashio had stepped up to be there for Kagome, her younger brother Souta and her mother Keiko. She had always seen Touga as a father figure, and she knew that if she wanted to get some answers about the deep dark secrets of the Tashio family, she could go to him.
She was sure that he was the one person she could talk to about Sesshoumaru. As long as she had known the Tashio family, Kagome had only heard about the long lost elder son on very few occasions. The family only spoke about him in hushed tones, and she had always had the suspicion that there was a big scandal linked to the absence of the older Tashio son.
‘I never could have imagined there was a link to his mother’s death though…’ Kagome thought to herself as she rode the elevator up to Touga’s office. She did not know what exactly her boyfriend’s father did for a living, but was sure it had to be something very important as he worked on the top floor of a sleek downtown skyscraper, and was a very wealthy man.
When she stepped into the hallway leading to Touga’s office, she turned her thoughts away from the Tashio family.
“Hello dear. He’s expecting you, so go right in.” Hana, Touga’s secretary for the past thirty years, greeted Kagome warmly. She had been a friend, confident and even at some point lover to Touga ever since she had started working for him, and knew everything about the skeletons in the family’s closet. Her employer had not told her why he had her cancel all his appointments for the afternoon in favor of meeting with Kagome, but if there was one thing Hana knew was that she was paid and appreciated for her discretion. She therefore had no intention of asking any questions. If Touga wanted to let her know what was happening, she would wait for him to talk to her.
The younger woman waved and smiled warmly in return, and stepped right up to the massive oak doors opening up to Touga’s office. Even if Hana has assured her she could go in, Kagome still felt the need to knock on the door.
“Enter!” The muffled voice of her father figure invited her.
Kagome did as told, and even if she was troubled by Kagura’s earlier reluctant admission, she could not help but smile at seeing Touga. The man who would soon turn 60 years old was still as good-looking as ever. She always liked to think that her Inuyasha would look as handsome and dignified as his father when he grew older; one of her dreams was to be able to see her love grow old by her side.
“Hi Touga.” She forced herself to focus on the issues at hand instead of thinking about her future with Inuyasha.
“A hello to you too. It’s always a pleasure to see you my dear…although let me start out by saying that please forgive Inuyasha for whatever he did. He loves you, but doesn’t always know how to express himself properly.” Touga was sure that his son’s big mouth was at the heart of the reason Kagome had decided to come see him. He had seen Kagome and Inuyasha grow side by side, and it had always been his fondest wish to see them united. During the years his son had dated Kikyou, who he believed shared an eerie resemblance to Kagome, his heart had hated to see the latter suffer from Inuyasha’s neglect.
‘Everything is now finally as it should be. Kagome and Inuyasha are finally together, and I will do all that I can to make sure they stay that way.’ The older man rounded his desk to sit on one of the two armchairs which faced his massive desk. With a small hand gesture he invited the young woman to come sit next to him, and a benevolent smile spread on his lips when she accepted his invitation.
Touga had always known that Inuyasha and Kagome were meant for each other, the same way in which he and Izayoi belonged together. Both he and his wife were very fond of the two Higurashi children; especially Kagome, who they saw as the daughter they never had. Izayoi had suffered serious complications when her son was born, and was told by doctors she would never be able to have another child. The two Tashios might have been pained by this news, but over the years their two fatherless neighbors became an easy extension of their family, so they never felt a lack for not having given birth to the large brood they had dreamed of. Even if Kagome had helped temper Inuyasha’s ways, as his parents had always hoped she would, the young man still had a tendency to act like a spoiled child. His son’s rash ways, he was sure would one day land him in trouble when it came to his girlfriend.
‘Good thing I will be here to help them pick up the pieces…’ Touga thought to himself.
“Well, you can be reassured. Everything’s fine between me and Inuyasha; never better actually...”
Her chocolate colored orbs did not miss the sigh of relief which escaped Touga’s lips. She was surprised by his reaction, and made a mental note to ask him about it later on, but for now she had a more important issue to deal with.
“Well then if my son isn’t the reason for your visit, then what is?” Touga asked.
“Well not exactly…you’re son is concerned. At least one of them is.” Kagome suddenly felt uncomfortable as she wasn’t sure how to approach the situation. “I’ve come to talk to you about…Sesshoumaru.”
As soon as she spoke his name, all the color drained from Touga’s face. It was the first time in a long time that someone had dared speak this name to his face.
“What about him…did Inuyasha…” The older man started, but was not able to finish; the thought of his youngest son suddenly becoming curious, and deciding to ask questions about his older brother had always tormented him, and been at the root of many sleepless nights.
“We’ve met him…I don’t know if you’re aware, but he’s a journalist, and he was doing a story on campus… Not that this is why I’m here. The thing is that Sesshoumaru’s girlfriend and I have been trying to smooth things over between them. We were pretty close to engineering a reconciliation between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, but things came to a halt.”
“Girlfriend.” Touga echoed. As far as he knew, his son did not have a significant other. Before he could push it down, a feeling of longing came over him. He truly wished he was still a part of his oldest son’s life. Then as he forced his mind out of his regrets, he focused his attention to something else Kagome had said. “Reconciliation?!”
She was surprised by the shock she could see written all over his face as she had anticipated he would be glad to see his two sons finally getting along, but did not let it put her down. “Yes. We actually had dinner together last Saturday night…the evening started well, but Sesshoumaru ended up storming out. I feel like he truly wants to make up with his family, but is letting something from his past hold him back. From what Kagura, that’s his girlfriend, told me, he somehow blames Inuyasha for what happened to his mother…I was hoping you could help me get to the bottom of this.” She was not about to let him know that she had been told to drop the matter as she didn’t want to put ideas in his head.
Touga Tashio’s mind was racing. He stood up, and started pacing his office; he was in sore need of some sort of distraction.
“Kagome, you’ve really taken me unawares. This is the last thing I had expected to come up in our conversation today.” Touga let out a deep sigh. He had tried very hard to shield his loved ones from his ugly past; especially his ‘children’. Inuyasha had of course heard part of the tale, but not clear details. As much as his parents would have wanted not to let him know about their past, they had had to come clean on Touga’s infidelity, and hasty marriage to Izayoi when a young Inuyasha had managed to count back to the exact time when he had been conceived. It did not take a genius to figure out that his conception had been made when his father was married to another woman. Even if Inuyasha had never shown signs that this had bothered him, both Touga and Izayoi worried.
“I’m sorry, but I figured it would be best to come to you directly.”
Touga stopped his pacing, and bore his golden eyes straight in the ones of the younger woman.
‘What good is it to keep hiding things? I should just come clean and admit my shame.’ He thought sadly as he took back his seat. He turned towards Kagome, and took a hold of her hands. “Kagome, you know I care for you as I would a daughter, correct?”
“Yes, I know.” She agreed easily enough even if her heart started hammering in her chest. The look of despair in the usually kind and warm golden eyes of Touga scared her, and almost made her regret her decision to confront him.
“What I am about to reveal to you will surely change the way you perceive me, but please do not be too harsh on your judgment of my actions. I was young, stupid and very much in love.”
“Touga I…” She started to form a protest, but he interrupted her.
“Please don’t interrupt me otherwise I feel like I will never be able to tell my story.” His words had the desired effect and Kagome quickly shut her mouth.
He took a deep breath, and started talking, taking as few breaks as possible. “I married young. I was barely out of college when my father sprang the responsibilities of the company on me. Unlike me, my father married late, and had me when he was already well into his fifties. By the time I came of age, he was a sickly old man, who wanted to see his son ascend to the ‘throne’ before he passed away. I don’t know if he was afraid that I would follow into his footsteps and marry later in life, but another thing he wanted was to see me settled in a nice domestic life. I was in my mid twenties when he presented me with a gift: a beautiful bride.” Touga briefly interrupted himself to let out a small humorless chuckle. “Ayaka was the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, and at my young age, stupid fool that I was, I believed that it was the only thing that mattered. Therefore when my father told me he had arranged with her family for us to be united, I did not even think about refusing. Soon enough we were married.”
Kagome might not have ever heard of Ayaka, but she was willing to bet she was Sesshoumaru’s mother. When Touga took a break, she thought about pressing him along, but decided against it; the old man looked so lost in his own thoughts, and the look of hurt in his eyes pained her in turn.
“She may have been beautiful, but Ayaka was cold. Very cold. Our marriage was not a meeting of minds or spirits. We had nothing in common, and could barely sustain a conversation… Our bedroom was the only place where we could meet and even then...” Touga took a brief pause, allowing himself to think back about the lack of passion in his first marriage bed. “Thankfully for both of us, she became pregnant only a few months into our union. However as soon as she had Sesshoumaru, she made it very clear to me that now that she had fulfilled her duty of providing me with an heir, she had no interest in being a true wife to me anymore. She focused on our son, and her social life while I lost myself in my own occupations. After the loss of both of my parents, I buried myself in work, and fought hard to make our group number one in the country.” He was not about to go into details about the many meaningless affairs he had had after his wife had kicked him out of their bed. Touga never liked dwelling on that dark decade of his life, and decided to focus on something more positive; the best thing to have ever happened to him: Izayoi.
“About twelve years into our senseless marriage, I met Izayoi. She worked for a company we had purchased, and the second we laid eyes on each other we fell in love. I am not proud of what we did, but we did have an affair while I was married to Ayaka. I decided to make things more official… let’s say for lack of a better word when I found out Izayoi was going to have my child.” He briefly thought back to the day she had announced him her news, and how tears of both joy and despair had streamed down their faces. They both knew what they were doing was wrong, but as much as they had tried staying as far away from each other as they could, they had never been able to; they had therefore decided to just embrace their sin.
“How…how did Ayaka pass away?”
Kagome's question put a stop to his fond recollection. "After I announced to her that I was leaving her, Ayaka announced to me she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt like a real bastard… I was torn between these two women who needed me, and in the end a choice had to be made…" He let out a sigh before telling the end of his story. "Not long after our divorce was finalized, Ayaka was killed in a car accident. Izayoi and I had wasted no time getting married, and at that time Inuyasha was just a few weeks old."
The young woman felt bile rise in her throat. She had guessed that adultery might have been involved somewhere in the story, but she could have never anticipated something like this. As much as she hated Touga’s actions, she could not help but feel sorry for the old man. She had grown up seeing how much he and Izayoi loved and needed one another, and was convinced that making this choice might have been torture to him.
“Touga, I am so sorry my questions made you go through this all over again.” Kagome apologized. ‘Inuyasha and Kagura were right, I should have left things along.’ She thought sadly.
“No no. This was necessary. One must always face one’s shortcomings and past as dark as it may be.” He forced a smile to crack his lips.
“Yes…I guess.” She agreed. Even if she had just thought about leaving things alone, she could not help but ask. “I don’t understand why Sesshoumaru blames Inuyasha.”
“Neither do I… I am the only one to blame. Not my Inuyasha, that is for sure.” Touga mused aloud. ‘Maybe it is time I finally remind Sesshoumaru of that.’
Kagome let out a deep sigh. “I am so sorry for wasting your time, and poking around in something I shouldn’t have.”
The old man wondered if his revelations had somehow tainted the way in which Kagome saw him. He was personally ashamed of what he had done, and liked to think that if he had been as old and wise as he was now, he would have done things so differently.
“I’m supposed to go to the movies with Inuyasha, so I should head out now.” The defeated young woman said. She took to her feet, and soon enough Touga did the same.
“Kagome I…” He started but was unable to finish.
She smiled brightly at him, and in an unexpected move launched herself in his arms to give him a long hug. It may have taken him a few seconds, but once he got over his shock, he quickly responded to her embrace. She may have been shocked by what she had just found out, and disappointed by what Touga might have done in the past, but she knew he was human, and had made mistakes he should not be punished for forever.
‘Besides he is still the same man who has been like a father to me for most of my life.’ She thought to herself before adding aloud. “I can’t wait for dinner on Friday. Mom said she’ll bake her coconut cake…oh and please don’t let Inuyasha talk Izayoi into making fried ramen…again.” She referred to the family dinner they had planned to host at the Tashio mansion. Her mother and younger brother along with Inuyasha, Touga and Izayoi had had a tradition of sharing dinners at least one a month, and the revelations her father figure had just made to her were not going to change that in any way.
“I’ll try, but I don’t make any promises.” Touga chuckled at hearing her words. Everyone knew that as the dinner approached Inuyasha would lobby his mother to make his favorite dish, and no matter how many people complained, Izayoi would in the end give in to her only son’s wish.
She returned his smile, and after one last wave walked away from his office. ‘I guess this was a painful waste of time after all. Maybe everyone was right, and for once in my life I should leave things as they stand; even if it breaks my heart.’ For the first time in her life the ever determined Kagome was completely clueless about what she should do next, and how she should proceed. Even if she was not one to give up when set upon a task, she felt truly defeated. ‘For now I’ll take a step back, and regroup before thinking about what to do next.’
Little did Kagome know that she had engineered a chain of events, which would have consequences, she, or none of the people involved could have ever anticipated.
Touga’s sharp golden eyes watched Kagome disappear behind the thick door of his office. As much as he was uncomfortable with the idea, over the years the thought had crossed his mind that Inuyasha might one day try to reconnect with his long lost half sibling. Touga had not spoken with his eldest child in almost twenty years, and was therefore unsure on how Sesshoumaru’s thought process functioned. He had anticipated that he would not welcome Inuyasha with opened arms, but he never could have imagined he would hold him responsible for the death of his mother.
‘Maybe it is not too late to right some of my wrongs.’ The old man mused as he headed for the alcove hidden behind the large painting which adorned the back wall of his office. He pushed away the picture, and quickly punched in his secret combination. No one, not even Hana his closest and most trusted collaborator knew the contents of his secret office safe. He only kept items he would not want anyone, and especially not Izayoi to come upon. As soon as the safe opened, he picked up the thick envelope at the bottom of the pile, and after retrieving what he was looking for, carefully closed his secret spot, and placed the painting back as perfectly as it was before. Only someone who had previous knowledge of the hidden safe could have guessed what was behind the large landscape painting.
For the past 16 years Touga Tashio had a private investigation company follow any major movements in the life of his wayward son.
‘Even though it seems it might be time to change firms.’ He reflected on the fact that his inspectors had not informed him that his always lonesome son had finally settled down with a woman. ‘Kagura, Kagome said her name was…’ Touga was glad that Sesshoumaru finally had someone to share his life with. A grin spread on his lips when he thought that he might become a grandfather after all. ‘Even if I might never be able to hold my grandchild.’ He dispelled his negative thoughts, and decided to focus on something he could actually do something about.
“Maybe the time has come to re-introduce myself to Sesshoumaru.”
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000
Kagura Jiyuu let out a sigh of pure satisfaction as she finally sent out the email she knew Naraku had been waiting for. She had had to force herself to banish her distracting thoughts about Sesshoumaru out of her head, but finally managed to finish her task. She closed the advertising report document she had just sent over to her boss, and finally took the time to think about the sticky situation she was in. Ever since Kagome had left her office, she had poured herself into the task Naraku had given her, and it was only now that she allowed herself to think about Sesshoumaru.
“This is exactly why I didn't want to fall in love.” She complained to no one in particular. “I never should have gotten involved with Sesshoumaru; it was bound to end badly…I should have thought about the situation more carefully before jumping into it head first.” She may regret how things had come about, but she knew this was exactly the kind of woman she was. When an idea stuck in her head, she would go after it in the bullheaded way which had made her a great journalist. A perfect example of that was how when the ink on her university diploma had barely dried before she had decided to move away to a city she had never stepped foot in only to find out about the father she had never heard about.
‘Then again the situation could have been worse; Naraku could have found out about our relationship. Knowing that bastard he probably would have fired me for leading his star editor astray.’ She tried cheering herself up. ‘I just hope that bastard of Kouga will keep his word and keep his mouth shut…Who am I kidding?! I’m more worried about Sesshoumaru not forgiving me.’
Someone throwing opened the door to her office thrust her out of her thoughts. For a brief second she hoped it would be Sesshoumaru, but was soon disappointed to see two crimson eyes belonging to a face surrounded with long dark locks, all too resembling her own features, appear in the opening.
“Finally got your report on my email. I’ll take a look at it tomorrow.” Her father simply announced as he invited himself in.
Kagura gritted her teeth to prevent herself from voicing her anger. She had worked relentlessly through the afternoon on the extremely important report Naraku had asked her to produce, so hearing him say he was in no hurry to read it now that it was completed annoyed her to no end.
“Did you come all the way here just to tell me that?!” She asked, not even bothering to mask her annoyance.
Naraku sat on one of the chairs facing Kagura’s desk, and made himself comfortable by crossing his legs. “Have you seen Sesshoumaru? He’s been making himself scarce around here on account of that so called article he’s working on about that drug.”
“How would I know where he is? I’m not his boss, you are.”
Naraku’s mocking smile slid off his lips upon hearing her retort. If there was one thing he hated it was to be demeaned and mocked; especially by his oldest daughter. However the one thing he hated most of all was to let Kagura know just how much she was able to get under his skin. ‘Just like her bitch of a mother used to do all the time.’ His first marriage was not something he cared to think about, so he wasted no time moving on to something else.
“You are still co-editor of this magazine, and unless you wish to be relieved of your functions, you will do your duty; including keeping tabs on all the damn journalists on my payroll!” The crimson eyes of the woman sitting across from him thinned in pure anger, but she did not speak a word back to him. The smile was back on his face; he loved putting her back in her place.
“Since our dear friend Sesshoumaru does not seem in the mood to grace us with his presence, I guess you can take care of this.” He threw on her desk the folder he had been carrying with him. His unexpected gesture startled Kagura, and irritated her as well as it messed up the organization she had painstakingly put together on her work area. Ever since she had started sleeping with Sesshoumaru, she had become much less messy both at work and in her condo, and hated seeing her efforts go to waste because of her father’s careless actions.
After sending Naraku a sharp glare, she pushed away the folder he had thrown her way, and slowly picked up the papers scattered all over her desk. She worked as slowly as possible as she knew it would annoy her boss. Only once she had set everything to right did she take the folder and open it. It contained a couple pictures of a passably handsome young man with a smug smile on his lips along with a few words about the man.
“What’s this?” She asked as she kept browsing through the documents.
“A friend of mine wants us to publish a portrait of his son. He’s trying to launch his political career…”
“Since when do we do this kind of on-demand crap?” She interrupted Naraku. To emphasize her point, she closed the folder, and threw it back over her desk towards Naraku.
“Since a leading member of the prime minister’s cabinet asked for a favor.” He retorted. “My dear daughter, you should know that you don’t get to my position in life without taking advantage of chances such as these. Having such a powerful man in my debt is an opportunity I simply can’t pass up.”
Even if he was not saying it outright, she knew exactly what was said behind his words: if she one day hoped to become his successor, she would have to start playing these kinds of games. ‘Is that why he wanted to give the assignment to Sesshoumaru? Because he truly sees him as the one who will take over Shikon Magazine, and wants him involved in his political crap?’
She did her best to mask her true feelings, and forced a smile on her lips. “Just a portrait piece? None of that political endorsing that Sengoku is so fond of?”
“Yes, of course. Unlike our competitors, I do not want my magazine to dabble in politics too much. It would not do to alienate some of our readers.”
“Okay then. I’ll take care of it.” Even as she spoke the words, she hoped she would not come to regret them.
Even if Naraku had initially hoped to put Sesshoumaru at the helm of this little project, but decided that the present state of affairs was not too bad either. He may not always understand his daughter or her choices, nor did her care to be able to decipher her inner workings, but one thing Naraku knew for sure was that Kagura was a damn good journalist. Her being female, and an attractive one, might also be another advantage. ‘If he ends up liking her then I am sure I can expect a much more generous contribution from him and his father.’ “I will have him contact you when he’s ready for this interview.”
“Sure.” Kagura whispered, not at all reassured by the eager grin on her father’s thin lips.
“That’s my little girl.” His parting words of praise made her skin crawl, and at that present moment she really hated herself for giving in this easily.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000
Sesshoumaru was sitting at his kitchen table, pouring over the notes he had compiled from both his investigation and Suon’s testimony. After their meeting at the dive bar, he had taken his ‘star witness’ to see his acquaintance detective Yaruba a bright man whose sharp eagle-like features hid a great heart and a brilliant mind. Had Sesshoumaru been a more social person, he had no doubt the two of them could have been great friends. After many failed attempts Shinji Yaruba had finally learned to stop trying to invite Sesshoumaru out; they now kept any of their involvement to a strictly professional level.
The young man took a quick swallow of his bitter hot coffee. He needed to focus on his article. He had to finish it tonight to give enough time to the printers to get the special edition of Shikon Magazine out. He had not even taken the time to get Naraku or Kagura’s approval on this one, nor did he care to. He was aware that this special edition would be a great opportunity for Shikon and time was of the essence; he after all only had one day at best before the police raided Abi Satoshi’s house to gather all their evidence. He knew that after such a bust the story would be all over the news, and Shikon therefore had to print out all the material he had acquired not to lose their exclusive.
‘Besides as co-editor I have the authority to have this special edition published. Had I not been pressed for time, I would have been able to talk with either Kagura or Naraku.’ He tried reasoning the reason for his silence, and forced himself to get back to his task. ‘Although things would go faster if Kagura was able to help me out on this one.’ He thought to himself then. The truth was that it was not her journalistic abilities which he needed at the moment, but the woman herself. He hated the way they had parted ways that morning, and the memory of what he had told her was still too fresh in his mind, and managed to plague him. His head might be in crafting his article, but his heart wanted nothing more but to drive over to Kagura’s condo to give her a chance to talk to him.
The journalist was taken by surprise by the loud ring of his doorbell. He put down his little notebook where Suon had written his confession, and took to his feet. As he walked down his corridor, as much as he hated it, he could not suppress the little part of him that wished to see the beloved crimson eyes of Kagura on the other side of his front door. He knew she was a proud woman, as proud as he was, and had no doubt she would not easily forget the harsh way in which he flung her words back in her face that morning. ‘Nor will she come apologizing and groveling at my feet…again.’ He may wish that Kagura was his late night visitor, but he doubted she would.
Curious to see who could come in knocking on his door at this time of the night, he did not waste time throwing the white painted wooden opened.
“Hello son, long time no see.”
To be continued…
A/N: See, I am finally making things move along. Next time the confrontation so many have been waiting for. Wonder how things will turn out for our dear Sesshoumaru. All I’ll reveal is that the chapter will be named Letter to the editor.