InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Special delivery ❯ Good impressions ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10: Good impressions

 

A/N: This is a very long chapter, but I didn't know where to cut it. So I apologize in advance if I'm keeping anyone too late at night ^_^

 

Thank you for your ever present support; I can't believe the story already has 100 reviews, so once again thanks to my dear reviewers :

 

On Fanfic.net

 

Killersupergirl (Yep he was an ass, but the question as you pointed out is if he can make it up to our dear wind witch.)

 

Sychotic

Ngoc Chau

Sesshkagufan13

Babi Abe

Krad

FoxFire7

XelaKitsune (x2 & Congrats on leaving the 100threview!!!)

The freak locked in ur closet

Psycho-pyro-shrink

BlackMagicWhiteMagic

 

ALLheartsONfraya (Oh I'm glad you're still reading. Kagura and Kanna are growing on poor Sesshy despite his efforts, but can he resist?)

 

On MM.org

 

Sovereignty (He he he I like torturing Sesshy, and having him say diaper, it was just too funny!)

 

“Talking”

`Thoughts'

 

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

 

 

“My company has been hired to advertise a… diaper bag. It is a very important account even if the product may not seem this useful and attractive…” Sesshoumaru let out with a sigh.

 

“Are you kidding?” Kagura exclaimed whipping around to face Sesshoumaru. All signs of her previous doubts and hurt were gone, replaced by a bright smile. He was waiting for her to dissolve in laughter as Miroku and Inuyasha had when they has learned about his new contract. Unfortunately for Sesshoumaru, their commissioner, the “B-bags” Company wanted the best to work for them, which the dog demon of course considered to be himself.

 

“You've never had to take a baby out did you? After I had Kanna I was living out of a diaper bag. I mean you can't imagine the amount of things you need to carry with you once you have a kid: diapers, tons of diapers, bottles, formula, water, toys, a blanket, an extra set of clothes, a pacifier and much much more!” Kagura explained a small frown marring her face as she remembered how she had had a hard time stepping into her role of a mother at first.

 

“So what ideas did you have?” Kagura asked as she once more looked past Sesshoumaru's shoulder to rest her ruby gaze on his desk.

 

“Emphasizing the aesthetic advantages of the new collection of “B-bags” diaper bags.” The dog demon stated simply easily masking that what he had just said was a lie.

 

He was not going to admit to Kagura that he rather had been thinking about a campaign based on the practical advantages of the baby bag and how it could be useful to an active woman like her.

 

`She would never let me live it down if she knew she had inspired my idea' The dog demon tried justifying his secretiveness.

 

“Are you sure you truly are a genius of advertising?” Kagura could not help but tease him.

 

“Is there something wrong with the principle that women enjoy matching their bags to their outfits?” He asked dryly. Even if it was not his “true idea,” and that he himself had previously discarded the suggestion, it still slightly vexed him that Kagura could mock one of his suggestions.

 

“Yeah well that may be true for a purse, but a diaper bag…. Damn, maybe you'll really be needing my help, after all… Okay let's get to work then.” The wind sorceress said with a mocking grin.

 

Sesshoumaru killed a growl of annoyance he could start forming in his throat. The business part of him that had helped him reach the top of his profession knew that Kagura's hands on experience would beat any research material his secretary had compiled.

 

`Not that I would be able to trust any information this incompetent Mika has put together anyway.' The dog demon thought referring to his interim secretary.

 

A little voice kept bugging him that the reason he wanted to humor Kagura so much was not for his benefit, but rather because he quite enjoyed seeing the happy smile etched on the wind sorceress's lips.

 

“Fine, this Sesshoumaru allows you to assist him” He acknowledged, making sure not to ask Kagura for her help directly.

 

“Well since it's asked so nicely, this Kagura can't find it in herself to refuse…” She trailed off a smirk on her red lips.

 

`Maybe I will then be able to pay you back for all you've done after all Mr. Takahashi' the wind sorceress thought smugly.

 

“Okay, so let's get started!” she exclaimed once more eagerly with eyes sparkling in mischief.

 

 

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Sesshoumaru served himself another glass of wine and took a generous gulp before setting his glass aside, trading it for his sketching pad. Picking up a pencil he started making strokes on the white empty sheet. The two of them had tackled quite a bit of work, and the dog demon was satisfied with the ideas Kagura had given him.

 

The wind sorceress put down beside her feet the sample diaper bag Sesshoumaru had been given in order to accommodate himself with the product he was to advertise.

 

“You know with your previous idea you were basing yourself on the fact that what a young mother would care about would be her physical appearance and how she can match her diaper bag to her clothes, but I can assure you by experience that when you just had a baby your appearance is the least of your worries.” Kagura said as she too refilled her glass of wine. She settled herself more comfortably against the pillows of the couch as she sipped her red beverage.

 

“Seriously your appearance goes downhill for a while after you have a baby. After I had Kanna, I didn't have the time to take care of myself. Every complete meal or shower for that matter was a luxury, and I esteem myself lucky because Kanna was not a very fussy baby. Anyway after I resumed work, the thing I appreciated the most with my baby bag was the storage space. It was useful since I didn't have to use a purse and a backpack wherever I went” Kagura said draining the rest of her glass.

 

As her ruby gaze strayed towards the bottle of wine resting on the coffee table, the wind sorceress hesitated a second.

 

`And fuck it! When was the last time I drank and relaxed? I deserve a break and more wine if I want.' She thought as she reached over for the bottle. She could tell that she was already a little tipsy, but she decided to take one last glass...or two.

 

“You brought your daughter to work with you?!” Sesshoumaru could not help but ask. The dog demon was equally repulsed and astonished that Kagura could have brought Kanna along when she worked as an escort and went to see her client.

 

“Sometimes, not all the time. You've seen my boss and know how things would have turned out if I had made a habit of it” Kagura retorted surprised by the look of shock displayed in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

 

“What did your clients say?” He asked then. `Maybe I was wrong about Kagura. I figured she would put her daughter's well being over everything else.' The dog demon thought in disgust.

 

“That she's cute and often asked if she would serve them coffee. Abi would bitch about it, but whatever…” Kagura answered with a shrug drinking more wine.

 

“You were talking about the coffee shop.” Sesshoumaru acknowledged as relief spread over him. He was glad that Kagura had not harmed the young girl peacefully sleeping in his guest bedroom.

 

“Of course I was talking about my job as a waitress, what else could I be…” The wind sorceress trailed off as she finished the thoughts in her head. The idea that Sesshoumaru could believe she would bring her daughter along when she worked for Naraku enraged her so much, Kagura wanted to beat the dog demon.

 

“Don't be ridiculous! If you must know I have worked at the coffee shop for years, while I only started this whole “escorting” business a few months ago. It started when one of my father's girls ran away, and since Naraku was a girl short he figured `why not employ my useless daughter?' My first client was some weird human, he wanted me to call him the monk. When he rubbed my backside I think I gave him the most thorough beating he ever received in his life. I doubt that jerk touched any woman afterwards” Kagura said remembering with smugness how she had managed to get rid of Miroku. Her smile did fade when she remembered the way Naraku had in turn beat her for making him lose a client.

 

The wind sorceress then let out a small chuckle trying to mask her discomfort. `As much as I like Sesshoumaru I can't tell him the whole truth. Who knows how he might react if I confessed to him what I really used to be, what I truly used to do…' She thought sadly, the all too familiar bout of self loathing rising in her chest. The wind sorceress shook her head, trying to ease the painful images away. She did not wish to ruin the relaxing evening she had spent in Sesshoumaru's company.

 

`Miroku giving up on women? I wouldn't bet on it…' Sesshoumaru thought amused. He had easily found out who her client was based on the short description Kagura had given. Then as what Kagura had just said fully registered in him, he added aloud with a disgusted frown “Your father was really the one to get you involved in escorting...”

 

“Yeah” Kagura acknowledged.

 

“I am sure he did not help with your daughter either” Sesshoumaru remarked.

 

“Hells no. In any case I'd rather die than leave my daughter alone with that bastard for any reason.” Kagura let out feeling a rush of anger only thinking about it.

 

“Then what did you do when you had to work?” Sesshoumaru asked her before running with more force his pencil on the sketching pad nestled in his hands.

 

“My my Sesshoumaru is the wine making you so talkative?” Kagura asked on a mocking tone. The dog demon looked up from the sketch he was making to stare blankly at the woman sitting next to him. He idly wondered if he was prying too much.

 

“Anyway it's okay. It's not like I often have the occasion of discussing with an adult…” The wind sorceress said shrugging off Sesshoumaru's inquisitions. “Well there's a very kind old lady who lives right next door to Naraku's house. I've known her since I was a kid myself, her name's Kaede. She usually looked after Kanna when I had to go work at the coffee shop and always when I had to work… in the evenings.” The wind sorceress paused in her explanation to gulp down another glass of wine.

 

“Unfortunately Kaede hasn't been feeling well lately, so I had to bring Kanna with me the day you got me fired” Kagura explained with a small smile on her lips. In a strange sort of way she was more than grateful to Sesshoumaru for making her lose her job.

 

`Who knows what might have happened had he not intervened and helped me with Naraku' Kagura thought with a shiver of fright.

 

The dog demon could not help but be amazed by Kagura's strength. He could not imagine how she could have managed to handle her father while taking care of her daughter alone.

 

“What about Kanna's father. Did he not help you?” Sesshoumaru could not help but ask. Even if the question had been weighing on his mind for a long time, as soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them.

 

Sesshoumaru paused in his sketching as he stopped to wonder in astonishment `Kagura is right, why am I this interested in her? What possessed me to ask that?' But what surprised him the most was that he was looking forward to the wind sorceress's answer. `Knowing about the child's father might be helpful for the advertising campaign.' He lied to himself.

 

“He would have loved to help me, but unfortunately Shin is in college right now. He is too far away, so Kanna and I we couldn't really count on him. But things will be different soon. He's finally done with his studies, so he'll get a job and we'll leave the city.” Kagura explained a dreamy look of pleasure dancing in her eyes.

 

The wind sorceress realized how good it felt to be able to talk to someone. Every time she spoke to her friend, Yura and her narcissistic tendencies had a habit of switching the light of the conversation on her. And since Kagura had not dared to reveal to her the extent of what Naraku had made her go through, she could not confide in the hair demoness everything she needed to let out. The only person who she felt really paid attention to what she had to say even if that person did not even understand most of what Kagura said, was her daughter, but unfortunately she could not get feedback from Kanna. Not that Sesshoumaru gave her much feedback either…

 

“I met Shinichi when he had just finished his freshman year in college; I myself had just graduated from high school. He was spending the summer here with a friend of his. Shin would come to Abi's coffee shop every day and it was love at first sight… We spent the whole summer together; we had such a fantastic time together. Unfortunately life's circumstances have prevented us from seeing each other since that summer. Since Shin is not from around here, he never even got to see Kanna. He was already gone by the time she was born…” Kagura explained feeling the usual ache spreading through her as she realized how much of his daughter's life her boyfriend had already missed. The wind sorceress felt like pouring her heart out to Sesshoumaru made her feel better.

 

`As I thought she was so young when she had her daughter. On the other hand I cannot help but think that this Shinichi is dishonest. Had I had a child with a woman whether I lived in the city or not would never prevent me from seeing my woman and my child and help them out of the hell hole they were in' The dog demon thought with a frown, pursing his lips in disgust.

 

`Maybe Shinichi thought of Kagura more along the lines of a summer affair than anything.' The realization made the dog demon feel sorrow for the woman sitting next to him. And what hurt him the most was the fact that Kagura seemed oblivious to her “boyfriend's” disgusting behavior.

 

“Let's get back to work” Sesshoumaru ordered with a sigh. The two had advanced in the design of the campaign, but had taken a break to open a bottle of wine to the dog demon's suggestion. Seeing how Kagura had been stressed due to Kanna's illness, he wanted to make her relax.

 

“Hold it!” Kagura retorted before drowning the rest of her wine. “We've been talking about my life for who knows how long. I esteem it's only fair we get to talk about you a bit!”

 

“What do you wish to know?” Just as the question left his lips, the dog demon could not help a sense of dread from washing over him.

 

“Everything.” The wind sorceress answered with a smirk. “Now where to start?” As her eyes glided over the sketching pad in Sesshoumaru's hands she added “Why are you so into your work? I mean it's one thing to be a workaholic but you take it to the next level!”

 

“My father passed away three years ago and left me and my half brother his advertising agency. I merely wish to make Takahashi agency the best in its field” The dog demon answered with a shrug.

 

“Aww it's nice to see such filial respect and love. You're lucky, you know how I feel about my dad, and I never even knew my mother. Naraku never bothered telling me… Talking about mothers, where's yours?”

 

The dog demon could seriously not remember the last time he had actually seen his mother, but since he did not want to talk to her, her absence did not bother him one bit.

 

Noticing Sesshoumaru's conspicuous silence, Kagura frowned and said “You don't get to pass up any question. Fine is she at least still alive?”

 

“Yes. Enough with your questioning, let us get back to work” Sesshoumaru ordered.

 

“Yep as I just said, you're a workaholic. Fine, let me see what notes you've taken so far.” Kagura exclaimed as in a quick move she snatched the sketch pad away from Sesshoumaru's hands. As soon as her eyes rested on the page he had been working on, she felt her heart flutter. While she had been talking earlier and drinking her wine, Sesshoumaru had been sketching her.

 

Kagura smiled as she stared at the accurate reproduction of her. She could not help a small blush from dusting her cheeks as she noticed that on Sesshoumaru's sketch, she looked seductive and sensual. He had drawn her with a mocking glint in her eyes and a seductive smirk on her lips. On the pristine sheet of paper, with a few clever strokes of his pencil the dog demon had shown Kagura as he saw her: a sensual temptress sitting on his couch, observing him from over the rim of her wine glass with mocking eyes.

 

`If he managed to make that is so little time, I wonder what he's really capable of doing when given a proper amount of time.' The wind sorceress thought impressed.

 

Eager to see more of the dog demon's great work she quickly flipped through his sketch book. The wind sorceress was shocked to see the great number of sketches depicting her and Kanna Sesshoumaru had drawn.

 

The dog demon looked at Kagura with annoyance on his face, even if in truth he was feeling trepidation inside. He cursed under his breath as he regretted not taking the time to polish up his sketches.

 

“These are…” Kagura trailed off her crimson gaze fixed on a sketch of her and Kanna playing on the carpet of Sesshoumaru's living room. She remembered the scenes as the evening before they had had to rush Kanna to the hospital. Kagura had no idea Sesshoumaru had been paying attention to Kanna and her, let alone sketching them.

 

“Nothing” He supplied snatching the sketch pad away from the wind sorceress's hands.

 

“No! They're beautiful I love them. Would you mind giving some of them to me? I'll put them in a frame I'm sure Kanna will love them too.” Kagura said looking at his clawed hands in awe. She had a hard time believing the rough and strong looking appendages could create such delicate and beautiful works of art.

 

Sesshoumaru had heard his share of compliments since he had started making art. Be it during his school years when he worked under renowned professors or when he very rarely exhibited his work, but the sincere compliment Kagura had given him, had moved him more than any other.

 

“Maybe you're actually good at what you do.” The wind sorceress added with a soft smile.

 

The dog demon scoffed “Do not let these get to your head. This Sesshoumaru merely was in need of the model of a mother and child for the advertising campaign. Your presence at the time was convenient” The dog demon said trying to revert to his cold self.

 

As Kagura was about to utter a sharp retort, she heard her cell phone ring. She went to her purse and found her phone easily. It only took her a few seconds to read the text message she had just received.

 

To the dog demon's annoyance Kagura suddenly let out an uncharacteristically high pitched squeal. She rushed towards Sesshoumaru and flinging the phone in his face she explained herself “Shin is coming back in two days!”

 

Exhaling in pure happiness Kagura then pressed a warm and smacking kiss on Sesshoumaru's cheek before walking away from him.

 

“He's finally coming back! There's so much I have to take care of and I have so little time to get ready” Kagura muttered. “Do you mind if I go to bed, seems like I'll have a long day tomorrow and I want to be rested.” The wind sorceress told her host, already halfway to the guest bedroom.

 

“Do as you wish” Sesshoumaru spat out harsher than he had intended as a retort.

 

Despite himself the dog demon could not help but feel a surge of jealousy at the way Kagura had so quickly and easily gone from praising him, to jumping up and down at receiving a simple text from Shinichi.

 

As the dog demon looked down to a sketch he had made of the grateful smile Kagura had given him at the hospital after he had given her hope back, he gently laid his hand over his cheek where the warm feel of Kagura's lips lingered.

 

`Why am I reacting this way? I should be happy, I will get rid of the witch and I will be able to resume my life as usual without any interruptions'

 

Despite what he wanted to believe, the dog demon knew how much his own thoughts had rung false. Another thing Sesshoumaru was well aware of was how empty his life would seem to him after the departure of Kagura and Kanna.

 

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

A/N: Just as they were getting closer, Kagura's love is coming back and Sesshy's not so happy about it. What will happen next? Find out in Preparations.