InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Phoenix ❯ Mixed Emotions ( Chapter 3 )

AN: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha. I do not make any money doing this.

Kagome's past has pushed her to succeed in her later adult life. Living in a world that still showed discrimination, she still refuses to let that incident shape how she sees people. Wanting to help those around her, she ends up hiring a certain hanyou as her assistant.

Chapter Three - Mixed Emotions

Working for Kagome had been so much better than the judging eyes of the café, he could tell she had put a lot of thought into the people she hired since not one had treated him as if he carried an infectious disease. They offered to hold doors open and invited him to get coffee in their group. In the short amount of time, he felt like he belonged. He even found his work best friend; a somewhat perverted human named Miroku.

There was one demon however, though he didn't seem to dislike Inuyasha due to his heritage, he did make it a point to openly flirt with Kagome in front of him. Inuyasha couldn't describe exactly what he was feeling as he had never felt like this before, but it was a weird mixture of jealousy and protectiveness.

For his boss? Yeah. For his boss. Nothing more than just his boss. He chanted this mantra mentally on more than one occasion. He had to admit, she was very pretty, but it was amplified because of the kindness that she radiated at all times. It was no wonder all of her employees were so loyal and acted more like a group of friends than a traditional work place. Everyone called her by her first name, not Miss Higurashi.

Well, he assumed she was single since he scoped out her ring finger. Not that he was interested in her or anything, I mean he was her employee.

It made sense why she hadn't flaunted the term 'CEO' looking back, she didn't act like a traditional CEO. She worked hard, wrote some of her own commentaries. Inuyasha was impressed. Her writing was eloquent and professional while also calling out the blatant discrimination people faced on a daily basis.

While she fought for equal rights for everyone, he noticed she gave the issue of racism the most attention.

Damn it, could she stop being so perfect?

It didn't help when he was glued to her side as she taught him the job. He was surprised at first when she hadn't sent him to shadow another assistant, but it made him respect her more.

He had quietly placed a cup of coffee down next to her. She seemed to be in some sort of trance, and that bothered him. Her eyes showed such pain. What could have possibly happened to her?

"Everything okay?" Inuyasha asked knowing he was interrupting her thoughts.

She didn't reply right away, instead those sad eyes just looked up at him.

"Just wondering what could have been," she replied honestly. As the weeks had passed, she had to admit she enjoyed Inuyasha as a friend and an assistant. While he was slowly opening up to her, she had no problems with sharing her life with him.

"Ex-boyfriend?" he questioned, trying not to sound too eager. He had noticed the flowers sent to her desk a week ago and had to fight the urge to look at the card.

"No. Haven't actually had a boyfriend for a long time," she admitted.

"How long has it been?"

"'Bout ten years," she replied without hesitance while staring at him in the eye. He noticed how the painful expression grew at the admission.

"That is a long time," he smiled internally.

"What about you, Mr. Privacy? Girlfriend? You don't talk about the child you've adopted much."

"Uh, no girlfriend. Kinda hard dating when you're someone like me," he emphasized by motioning at himself. "Shippo's good. He's going to be eight soon, actually. You wanna come to his birthday party?"

"I'd love to," she smiled. "I've always wanted a kid."

"Maybe you'll have one someday," he offered as comfort.

"Maybe," she whispered as the depressed expression came back full force.

"When are you coming home to visit?" Mitsuko asked in a gentle voice.

"I can't, Mama. There's this event happening this weekend, and I have to impress some investors," Kagome smiled as she tucked her phone between her ear and shoulder so she could keep signing her name and placing the papers in the 'approved' pile.

She almost enjoyed Inuyasha more than her beloved friend Shiori. Most of the things Inuyasha had approved for her were perfect, he knew just how to pick the right stories for many different topics. It helped out tremendously when the video branch was in full force, delivering a new script or idea once a week. He had even checked with their resource and legal department so she didn't have to. It made things easier for her, letting Kagome pursue other avenues she was interested in.

"I know you'll come when you can," her mother assured over the phone. "Did you like the flowers?"

"Yes, Mama. They were gorgeous, but I would trade all the flowers just to have my little one running around," Kagome admitted.

"I know, Kagome. But look at what you've accomplished. I really thought you would go back to being mute and needing to be carried out of bed. I wasn't looking forward to force feeding you, but instead you defied all expectations. I am proud of you, my phoenix."

"Thank you, Mama."

Inuyasha didn't mean to eaves drop, he was about to open her door but when he heard her talking to someone, he froze. The white furry appendages twitched as he listened to both sides of the conversations.

He was happy the flowers were sent by her mom, but what was the occasion? And what little one was Kagome talking about? She had said she lived by herself before.