InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Special delivery ❯ Arrangement ( Chapter 48 )

Chapter 48: Arrangement

 

 

A/N: Two very special dates this late March. `Special delivery' turned a year old last week on the 19th. Crazy, no? I can't believe you guys are still reading. :P Thanks for the ever faithful support! And to those who are concerned, no worries, I have no intention of dropping the story any time soon. I will see it to the end!

 

Also I'm turning a year older on the 27th. Depending on how I feel after my excess birthday celebration we'll see about future updates lol. No seriously, Spring break is soon, and if I manage to finish my homework early I should be able to do some writing.

 

Thanks for taking the time to leave little old me a review:

 

Sychotic

Little25victor

FoxFire7

BlackMagicWhiteMagic

Iz-Insane

Hellina-Bertinelli

ArtemisdelaLune

 

Sesskagufan13 (I couldn't bear to make Kanna suffer more. Darker things are going to take part in the story… quite soon.)

 

Kagura's number one fan (Aw thanks. And I love you for reading/reviewing. We'll see how the reunion between these two will go.)

 

Again thank you to Dogsfang for the PM.

 

 

On MediaMiner.org

 

Zetsuii (Kanna is a crafty little girl. Sesshy taking the initiative may not be what you expected ku ku ku!)

 

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

 

 

“Talking”

`Thoughts'

 

 

“Well that was a graceful exit…” The wind sorceress remarked dryly, her crimson eyes fixed on the hold Sesshoumaru had on her arm.

 

“My apologies.” He said immediately releasing her.

 

“No worries.” She smiled up at him. There suddenly was a heavy silence between them. Now that it was only the two of them and Kanna, Kagura suddenly became aware that it was Sesshoumaru, her former lover and close friend she was with.

 

Her first instinct was to flee. A smile on her lip she extended her arms to take Kanna.

 

“It is quite chilly for a summer night.” The dog demon remarked as he started walking in the direction of the parking lot, where he had let his car. She groaned at the way he blatantly ignored her.

 

“You don't have to drive us back home; it would be a hassle for you. It's not too late for us to grab a bus.” Kagura said. She walked behind him, trying to keep up with him.

 

He turned around to face her, once more ignoring her attempt to snatch Kanna away from his arms.

 

`I have had enough waiting for Kagura to make up her damn mind about us. Now it is time for me to make things move along.' He thought to himself, staring right at the wind sorceress before tightening his hold on Kanna.

 

“It isn't a hassle. I want to drive you home.” The way he stated it, his deep amber eyes looking at her pointedly made shivers run through her. For some reason she knew that something was going to happen this evening. She was just not sure if it was going to be something she would like or not.

 

Kagura could tell that she did not have any other choice but to follow Sesshoumaru, and had she been honest with herself, she wanted to. After all Kanna had not been the only one who had missed the dog demon. Not to mention that she was exhausted and that taking the bus at this hour would have been an ordeal. Deciding to give into her exhaustion, and to ignore her hesitations, she silently followed her former lover.

 

The two demons then walked in silence all the way to his car.

 

“I have to admit I am surprised to see you kept her car seat in your car.” Kagura could not help but remark as she saw the dog demon do the familiar act of strapping Kanna safely in the backseat of his vehicle.

 

“I never got around to removing it.” He said. He silently hoped that the wind sorceress would not be able to see through him, and realize that the real reason behind his decision was that he had always expected to have Kagura and Kanna back in his life quite quickly.

 

Sesshoumaru and Kagura settled inside the luxury car, and he quickly started it. After she gave him her new address, and much needed directions to get there, a heavy silence settled between them. Kagura missed the fact that before the two of them would be able to have a comfortable conversation while he drove home.

 

`Or rather I would be talking and he'd listen.' She mused to herself, a chuckle escaping her lips.

 

“Do you find something amusing?” He asked his golden eyes rolling to the side to observe her.

 

“Not really.” She cleared her throat, feeling heat creep inside her fair cheeks, which was mostly due to her being in his close presence. After the brief interruption they remained silent again.

 

The wind sorceress wondered if she should mention the argument they had before they parted ways. She had not forgotten about Sesshoumaru's past deception, but with time had come to realize that she could not stay mad at him forever. After all she too was keeping secrets from him…

 

`However if I want to get back with him, I'll have to come clean at some point.' She thought to herself. `Not that I want to. I have no idea how he'd react. For now I think it would be best to keep silent. “Let sleeping dogs lie” as they say.' She thought chuckling lightly. She was amazed to have found something to remotely laugh about in the complicated situation she was in with the dog demon. Thinking about the old adage then made Kagura's mind wander back to the times she had actually seen Sesshoumaru sleep.

 

`He always looks so peaceful when he sleeps. Far away from his cold closed off face during the day.' She sighed. Her heart clenched as she thought about the long hours she had spent watching him sleep over the months they had spent together. She did long for what usually happened `before' he drifted into sleep as well. `Who could blame me? Sesshoumaru is an amazing lover.' She blushed slightly at where her thoughts had taken her.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru silently observed his former girlfriend. He knew her well enough to know that something was weighing on her mind, and was sure it had to do with their relationship.

 

`We may have not parted on the best terms, but it seems Kagura does not wish to speak of it. Fine by me. I would rather we not argue tonight.' He knew that postponing their much needed talk would not accomplish much, except give him a reprieve for the night.

 

Deciding to put away her thoughts of Sesshoumaru, Kagura looked back at her daughter and warmth spread through her when she realized that the little girl had quickly fallen asleep.

 

`Guess coming up with grand schemes exhausted her…' The wind sorceress almost groaned at remembering her daughter's deceit.

 

“You seem so thoughtful.” Sesshoumaru said soothingly.

 

“Ugh I have a reason to be. My daughter is turning into a delinquent.” The wind sorceress remarked dryly. She regretted suddenly taking out her frustration on the dog demon, but no one else was here to take the brunt of it.

 

“Kanna is not that bad. You have no reason to overreact.” He told her. His words suddenly reminded him of the one he had told her weeks back when Kanna had stolen Shippou's drawing.

 

“You think so? Well as you well know tonight was not the first time Kanna has acted out. And she's been really out of control as of late…” The wind sorceress sighed dejectedly. Despite everything that had happened between them, it was so much easier to speak to Sesshoumaru freely than to Mrs. Higurashi.

 

“What did she do?” He asked furrowing his brows even as he drove carefully towards a part of town he almost never visited. He had a hard time imagining Kanna as behaving `out of control.'

 

“Among other things her powers started manifesting and she decided to use them to spy on you.” She explained plainly.

 

Her sudden revelation made him press his foot on the brake too strongly by accident, making the occupants of the vehicle jolt forward. Luckily they were all unharmed.

 

“Come again?” He breathed out truly surprised. His golden eyes then instinctively rose to look up at the sleeping innocent looking little girl through the rearview mirror. He had a hard time imagining her using her powers to do mischief.

 

“Yeah you heard me right.” Kagura chuckled humorlessly.

 

“How? She is so young.” He was amazed that Kanna's powers had already appeared.

 

`This was not an element I had factored in. Kanna is a precocious child; I should have anticipated something like this happening.' He thought to himself. On the one hand he was proud that the little girl was developing ahead of `schedule,' but on the other hand he was worried. He knew how developing powers could mean trouble to young demons, not to mention that Kanna seemed to favor using her powers for disappointing reasons.

 

“Well she has an amazing mother, so it's not really surprising she developed her powers early.” Kagura tried a joke to lighten the mood.

 

“So she does.” He agreed offering his former lover a small smile. His words caused a small blush to appear on her cheeks. “So what are you going to do with Kanna?”

 

“I'm not sure. She uses her mirror to look at other people, but from what I've been told, I shouldn't take it away from her since she bounded her powers with it or whatever.”

 

“Who told you that?” He asked making a mental note to visit a few websites to read about void demons and the development of their powers.

 

“Well some void demoness I met… but anyway I checked the facts in some of Matsu Higurashi's old books on demons and stuff, and she was right.” Kagura said remembering Sakura. “You don't need to worry about that for sure. It will work out.”

 

“I see. In any case if I can be of assistance, you know how to reach me.” He said even as he wondered about the best way to get Kanna some help. He knew remembering from his own youth how confusing and hard it could be for a young demon to adapt to the new possibilities having powers provided.

 

`Had father not been there to guide me I have no idea how I would have managed to get a handle on my powers. Kanna is at a crucial time in her life. It is an important stage for every demon, and I should make sure she has the appropriate help. It will be a hard thing considering the rarity of void demons, but it is not impossible. However I will have to find a way for Kagura to accept my help without her seeing it as charity, or me trying to buy her off…'

 

“Yeah. Thanks for your constant support. Anyway I don't feel like boring you with that… I'll have to ground her or something… I'll find a way to make things work as always… By the way I heard about the agency and you ditching b-bags despite all the work we put into that damn campaign...” She risked sending him a warm smile. She felt a little embarrassed for talking to him as if they were back together.

 

`Ugh I'm such an idiot. I run away from the guy because I blame him for trying to solve all my problems, yet the first thing I do when I see him is dump all my worries on him...” She thought exasperated with herself. `I'm so damn weak...Maybe Hana was right, and I should stop focusing on that. I miss Sesshoumaru and I love spending time with him, and so does Kanna. I'm my own woman now. I don't see how he could influence my life anymore, so there's no risk. Maybe it's time to try to mend things between us, if it's not too late…'

 

“Did you?” He questioned. He was glad to see she had kept herself updated on the going on in his life as well. Though he was upset Inuyasha had not told him that she had asked after him. Had he known she had wanted to see him, he would have made his move sooner. “Yamashita is a truly annoying woman, and despite the money it may cost the agency, I still think getting rid of her was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

 

She immediately wondered if him getting rid of the older demoness had something to do with her `relationship' with Sousuke Yamashita, but did not dare ask. She already had a lot going on in her mind due to the situation with Kanna, and did not wish to spoil the rest of her time with the dog demon. After all they had almost reached her new apartment, and she knew they would soon part ways again. The only thing she did not know was if they would get to see each other again soon.

 

A silent pause settled between the two of them, which he suddenly decided to break when he noticed they had almost reached their destination. For once in his life he regretted not encountering any traffic. He would have enjoyed spending more time in Kagura's presence. It was one thing to get daily updates from Inuyasha, but hearing things first hand from Kagura was totally different.

 

“You know about what has been going on in my life, but what about yours?” He asked her, pretending not to know anything. He knew that it would be better for him if she was not to know about his arrangement with his little brother.

 

“Well I was awarded a scholarship, so I just enrolled at the local college. I started taking classes a few days ago, and I'm pretty excited about it. I had to reduce my workload because of it, but so far all's been great.” She said smiling brightly. Showing him how independent she was becoming was something she took pride in.

 

“You are taking classes?” He raised an eyebrow in mock shock.

 

“Don't act so surprised, I know Inuyasha and Kagome fill you in on my whereabouts. Otherwise your brother's sudden fascination with my life is kind of creepy.” Laughter escaped her throat after she spoke.

 

“So I've been found.” Sesshoumaru remarked a tight smile on his lips. He was suddenly afraid of Kagura's reaction. He had never intended for her to have found out about his `surveillance system'.

 

“So it was true?!” She gasped in real shock. “I was just kidding when I said that. I didn't really think you would…” She trailed off. She was amazed that her light joke had actually had some truth behind it. She had thought that Kagome and Inuyasha's involvement in her life had been due to their friendship, but she now started rethinking that.

 

`Kagome might be doing things for me because of our friendship, but Inuyasha… I should have guessed Sesshoumaru was somehow behind his brother's sudden readiness to be of assistance to me.' She thought a small frown appearing on her brows. Despite her vexation, a small smile could not help but appear on her lips.

 

`How could I stupidly fall for this one?” He wondered surprised to have played into her hands so easily. `Now I certainly am going to have to apologize to the witch…'

 

“I'm probably going to beat myself for saying that, but in a weird and kind of twisted way… I don't really mind. It's kind of nice to see you still care.” She surprised even herself by saying that.

 

“Of course I do care about you, how can you doubt it?” His statement caused a warm feeling to run through her and red to appear on her cheeks. She almost groaned at feeling herself blush again. She was a grown woman, yet simple words by Sesshoumaru made her react like a schoolgirl.

 

“What are you studying?” He asked trying to stir the conversation on safer grounds than his feelings for the wind sorceress. “Architecture?” He ventured a guess. After all even if he had known about her going back to school, courtesy of Inuyasha, his brother had not told him what Kagura's major was.

 

“Nah. I'm planning to major in interior design. Although I am taking architecture as a minor for my own enjoyment. How did you know?” She asked in pleased surprise.

 

“I guessed based on your previous interest.” He flashed her a brief smile before adding under his breath “She truly has changed...”

 

`Yep and that's thanks to you.' She thought to herself. She knew he had not intended for her to hear his latest words, so decided not to comment on them; however there was something else she wanted to know about.

 

“I've been wondering about something Sesshoumaru. I didn't have the best grades in high school, so I'm still surprised I was accepted in that school... so I've been wondering did you...”

 

“I did not intervene in you getting accepted to the school of your choice.” He interrupted her fumbling. 'Although I did entertain the possibility in case things did not go as she wanted. However if I had gotten involved, and she had come to know, Kagura would never have forgiven me.' He added to himself. `I am not even sure she is over the fact that I had Shinichi give up his parental rights on Kanna.'

 

“I was surprised to see that you know Suikotsu pretty well… What I'd like to know next is if it's because of that, that I was a recipient of one of his scholarships…” She decided to ask next. After all she wanted to make any possible doubt out of the way as soon as possible.

 

“Kagura” He sighed once more wondering why she had not more faith in herself. “You have no need of my intervention to be successful.” He reassured her gently, his words causing a pleasurable tingling to course through her. He knew then and there that she may have had enough time to forgive him for interfering with her life in the past, but she had not forgotten one bit.

 

“I know that. That's not what I meant… I just wanted to know…” She trailed off. Then mistaking the light of disappointment in his eyes due to his own thoughts, for him being vexed that she had doubts about the two of them she quickly added.

 

“You know it's thanks to you that I gained enough confidence to try to make it on my own, and go after what I wanted. You are my inspiration.” The words were barely out of her mouth that to her disappointment she noticed that the dog demon had just parked his car in front of her new apartment building.

 

“I do not know if I deserve such an honor, but your word please me.” He said truly feeling grateful.

 

Although she did not say anything, Kagura smiled pleased of herself. She had a feeling not many people could claim to have once obtained the dog demon's gratitude and appreciation.

 

After turning off his car, he briefly averted his eyes from the windshield in front of him, to the woman by his side.

 

“There is an opened pizzeria over there. Why not stop by? Is it safe to assume you still enjoy pepperoni pizza with anchovies? You must be hungry since you apparently missed dinner due to Kanna's antics.” He said despite the fact that the façade of the said restaurant did not seem as clean and attractive as it could be. His sudden observation prompted him to look around where he had just parked.

 

Despite the dim lighting courtesy of the feeble street light above his car, he could still see around them well enough. `Kagura's neighborhood does not seem as safe as Inuyasha had described it. Then again why do I trust the imbecile?' He thought worriedly. In any case the way he saw it, both Kagura and Kanna should be living with him in the upscale neighborhood where his penthouse was located.

 

“Of course I still love it. It's the best, and only decent way to eat a pizza.” She said glad to see he remembered her preferences. “But I'm not really hungry right now... besides Kanna is sleeping. I'd rather put her to bed….” Her heart clenched when she noticed disappointment appearing in his eyes. He may have been skilful at hiding his feelings, but not from her, never from her. It probably also had to do with the fact that she also was disappointed she would not be able to spend more time in his presence.

 

“You are right; Kanna's well being should always come first. In any case you are still looking quite pale, so be sure to eat and rest.” He gently reminded her, already dreading their upcoming separation.

 

“You so quickly reverted into your nurse suit. Reminds of when we went to your beach house.” She chuckled, her crimson eyes lit in glee.

 

“We had fun.” He said wistfully.

 

“Yeah we sure did.” Kagura sighed, the fond memories replaying in her head. Only thinking about it made her long for the times the two of them had happily spent together. “You know I think we could just postpone this dinner thing to some other night.”

 

“Do you want to?” He asked, hoping they would not be eating at the pizzeria he had pointed to earlier.

 

“Yeah. I'm sure Kanna would too. Maybe I could go over to your place and cook dinner for old time's sake…” She said hopefully. A smile spread on his lips at her words. After all he had initially thought he would have to work hard to get Kagura back in his life, but now it seemed to him she was as willing as he was to resume their relationship.

 

“When would you like to come over?” He asked doing his best to mask his eagerness. He was quite shocked to see how only the idea of Kagura and Kanna being back by his side, if only for an evening, filled him with so much joy.

 

“Well I think we should wait a week or two at least.” When she noticed he had furrowed his brows in confusion, she quickly added. “Well it wouldn't do if we sent the message to Kanna that all she has to do to get what she wants is try to manipulate us.”

 

“I agree. So let us say Wednesday in two weeks? At five?” He proposed already trying to think of a way to get home early. His heavy workload would have to be pushed out of the way for him to be able to spend time with his two favorite demoness. `I'll have to ask her to reschedule a few meetings, but everything should be just fine.' He thought conjuring his overloaded agenda to mind.

 

“No good. I get off school at 5:00 on Wednesdays, and then I start work at the restaurant at 6:30. How about Saturday? Once I'm done with my work at the shrine I'm free for the rest of the day. I usually take Kanna out for an ice cream treat, but I'm sure she'd like seeing you better.” `I know I would.' Kagura said hoping this would work. After all unless it was during the weekend she feared she would be too busy to see the dog demon.

 

“Saturday will not work for me. I have a previous engagement at the same time.” He said. He had not thought about the fact that Kagura was attending school and working two jobs, which would make it harder for them to meet when he had proposed they see each other. `Kagura should be careful not to over exert herself.' He thought to himself, his protective instincts for her surfacing once again.

 

Kagura wondered if his `previous engagement' was the beautiful woman she had seen him with in Kanna's mirror, but did not dare ask. “Oh I see. Well I wouldn't want to keep you away from your date.” She tried and failed to pull off a warm smile. Even despite the darkness of his car and the night around them, he could tell she was disappointed.

 

`Is it me or does she sound jealous?' He thought a grin appearing on his lips. “Well my `date' is my six years old mentee…” He enjoyed seeing a frown leaving her face to be replaced by a mask of confusion.

 

“You do mentorship? Since when?” She asked.

 

“Do not sound this surprised. She is an orphan from the orphanage where Inuyasha adopted Shippou.” He supplied.

 

“An orphan? Do you plan on… adopting her?... I'm sorry I shouldn't ask; it's none of my business.” She said suddenly feeling embarrassed.

 

`Actually if I have my way it would be.' He thought to himself disappointed that he had not thought of how Kagura and Kanna would react to his recent involvement in Rin's life.

 

“Actually I am sure Rin would not mind having some company during our Saturday outings. “We were supposed to go see the latest animated movie that is out in theaters before having dinner. This Sesshoumaru could certainly use a distraction from the emptiness of the script.”

 

“Oh come on some movies that are aimed for children can be interesting to adults as well.” She chuckled when he sighed dejectedly. “Well I guess Kanna would enjoy going to a theater to see a movie for the first time, and I could save you from boredom.” She said crimson yes gleaming. “Then my offer to cook dinner would still stand, but knowing the usual emptiness of your fridge I'd first have to go grocery shopping….”

 

“This would indeed be recommended.” He agreed. Ever since Kagura had left his apartment he had reverted to feeding off of take out and fast food, a far cry from her home made dishes he had gotten used to, and sorely missed. “It is a date then.”

 

“Yeah… I guess.” She said forcing a small smile. His use of the word `date' made her feel like he expected more to come out of their `play date.' Although what shocked her the most, was that she did too.

 

Deciding not to dwell on her thoughts on their relationship, Kagura stepped out of the car then reached for the back door and freed her daughter from her car seat.

 

“Mommy?” The little girl murmured sleepily.

 

“Shh go back to sleep baby.” Kagura said pressing a kiss to her forehead. She then placed her small downy head on her shoulder before fishing for her keys inside her purse.

 

“Let me walk you up to your apartment.” Sesshoumaru sent a worried glance around, not feeling trusty of her new neighborhood. The least he could do was make sure Kanna and Kagura made it safely to their apartment since he could not bring them home with him.

 

“No that's fine. I'll see you Saturday in two weeks. She smiled up at him just as she redistributed Kanna's weight on her hip.

 

“Fine we will do that.” He smiled down at the wind sorceress before suddenly reaching down to hook his clawed finger under her chin to raise it. He then quickly bent to press a tender kiss to her unsuspecting red painted lips. She may have been surprised, but she did not push him away. “Goodnight Kagura.” Without another word he settled back inside his car then drove off quickly.

 

Eyes opened wide in surprise and a deep blush dusting her cheeks, she watched him leave. She smiled happily, tightened her hold on her daughter and ran up the stairs to her apartment. The night had been more eventful than she had thought it could have been.

 

`But everything seems to finally be getting back in its place.' She thought her heart feeling as light as it could as she pressed a finger to her lips, still feeling warm and tingly due to Sesshoumaru's kiss.

 

 

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Naraku's deep red eyes scanned the view of the dark city below him. He was once again seated at his favorite table at the Yuki tower, where he had met with Sesshoumaru several weeks ago. He was this night keeping a close eye on one of his girls who was entertaining a faithful client of his. The man was fat, old, sweaty and had a rancid breath, not to mention his habit of being rough on the girls. All these contributed in making him one of the most hated patrons to the eyes of his employees. Being assigned to him for the night was a horrible punishment.

 

`Which is exactly what the bitch deserves…' Naraku thought before picking up his glass of brandy and taking a large gulp of it. He then locked his gaze on Lana, an employee of his, who had tried running away from him, but failed miserably.

 

`Ever since Kagura left all the girls believe they can get free and run away as well. How wrong they are. I simply need to remind them who is in charge.' He smiled observing Lana trying to fake being interested in the old man when all she wanted was to run away from him and his powerful grabby hands as fast as she could.

 

Averting his eyes towards the entrance of the bar, Naraku's smile grew when he noticed the person he was to meet walk in.

 

“Hello my dear angel.” He greeted the woman as she silently walked over to his table and sat down in front of him, teeth gritted.

 

“I am not here to exchange niceties with you.” She hissed feeling sick to her stomach; only being in his presence revolted her, bring memories of the darkest time of her life.

 

“Tst tst my dear it seems you are losing yourself. I still have the power to ruin your life, so you better be nice to me.” He reminded her just as he bent over the table and quickly seized her wrist. “And you better answer when I ask you a question. Am I understood?” He added as he twisted her limb painfully.

 

“Yes Naraku.” She whimpered in pain. He released her wrist and with a wince she looked down at the quickly forming purple bruise on her fair skin.

 

“Of course you will find an excuse for this little incident. It wouldn't do for `you know who' to find out what just happened between us… “He told her faking a concerned tone.

 

“Yes of course.” She dutifully answered, repressing the urge to massage and soothe her painful limb.

 

“In a way it makes me nostalgic for the good old times.” He causally observed. His eyes rived on her injury. “Now then I am sure you did not make the mistake to come empty handed, did you?” He extended his hand to receive his usual payment.

 

“Here you go.” She whispered just as using her unharmed hand she fished for a ward of bills inside her designer clutch bag. In a small show of defiance, instead of placing the money in his hand, she deposited it on the table in front of him.

 

“I believe we are done here, so I will be on my way.” She quickly stood up and walked towards the door. She had to go home speedily lest they noticed she had left the house.

 

`Soon Naraku soon I swear to get rid of you for good. You made me suffer enough, and I'll make sure you don't make her suffer any more than you already have.' She thought crimson eyes flashing as she walked away from her tormentor.

 

“Another easy prey.” Naraku muttered to himself as he counted the bills she had just brought for him. After pocketing them he drained the rest of his glass, and noticed with a satisfied smile that Lana had also disappeared with her client, probably to the hotel room the old man always reserved not far away.

 

`Ah another productive night.' The dark hanyou thought happily as he marched out of the bar of the Yuki tower.

 

 

To be continued…

 

 

A/N: See how nice I can be? I placed a kiss to commemorate the one year anniversary of Special Delivery. Could there be a reunion in the future for our fave demon couple? We'll see next time in New faces.