InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Untitled ❯ Untitled 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Kagome tossed her keys into the small bowl on the table next to her apartment door. After she locked the door she threw herself on the couch, sighing. Work had been a major bore seeing as how she did nothing all day but run copies and write down messages. A co-worker would have helped her get her tasks done quicker, and would have helped pass the time, but she was off on several 'secret meetings' with a man from the next floor up. Through a network of rumors Kagome was able to gather that the man was already married with his second baby on the way. What the couple did was their own business but she couldn't help but find it a little distasteful.

Glancing over at the coffee table she rolled her eyes at the unopened bills from yesterday knowing full well she didn't have sufficient funds to pay all of them. Kagome was already on thin ice with her landlord seeing as how she had only been giving him half payments for the past three months so she could keep her water and electricity. It wouldn't help her campaign if she didn't have a place for her water and electricity to run to though. Her brown eyes roved over her small living room noticing, again, the lack of pictures on the once white walls now tan with previous tenant's cigarettes and age. A small table in the corner held her equally small television and vcr that once showed her the news, soaps, and movies but that had to be turned off when she couldn't afford it after her mother stopped giving her financial aid to support her after she was hired at Onigumo Enterprises. The only other two pieces of furniture in the living room were the couch and the coffee table that were both hand-me-downs.

The kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom weren't that much better or bigger. The kitchen connected to the living room and held only a few pots, pans, and dishes in the cabinets that were already about to fall down from neglected care. It also housed the microwave, stove, and the small mini fridge since she couldn't afford a bigger one. The bathroom was the worst part of the place. The tiles in the shower were missing in places and the linoleum tiles on the floor were coming up in the corners and around the edges. The porcelain sink was also chipped on one of its corners and could only hold her toothbrush cup, toothpaste, and a makeup compact. Towels, hair dryer, and other necessities were placed in a basket between the sink and toilet. The bedroom had seen better days. It had the same color walls as the living room but the carpet was in bad shape. Her bed covered the hole in the carpet and in other spots it was stained. With what, she didn't dare to find out. Other than the bed, the dresser and nightstand were the other types of furniture in the room that she brought with her from her mother's house. Lacking space she decided to let her little brother, Souta, keep her desk and bookshelf.

Heaving another sigh, which seemed to be all she was able to do successfully as of late, Kagome pushed herself off the couch to start some dinner. Opening the cabinet that had all her foodstuffs, she jumped back in alarm as one of the hinges finally gave way, leaving the door to swing precariously by its top remaining hinge. Not having the necessary tools to take the cabinet door down, she spent the next few minutes trying to take it down with a butter knife. After several failed attempts at getting the screw to rotate and nearly stripping it, Kagome finally succeeded in removing the offending piece of wood. Placing everything down on the counter she moved off to her bedroom, too exhausted mentally and physically to worry about making some semblance of a dinner.

Not taking the time that morning to make up her bed, the raven-haired girl straightened the blankets as best she could. After changing into her pajamas, she threw her work clothes into the laundry bag by her dresser to wash later at the end of the week. Crawling in bed, she lied flat on her back, staring at the crack that started to snake its way across the ceiling. Slanting her eyes, Kagome rolled over to switch off the light and pulled the blankets closer to her chin as she drifted off into a fitful slumber.

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Inuyasha growled low in the back of his throat as he sent death glares at the clock that just so happened to show the time he didn't want. He was ready to be out of the building, either at home or outside, and out of the restricting clothes he was required to wear. Fisting his hands, he resigned himself back to the paperwork his father's secretary had pleasantly dropped onto his desk about an hour ago. Before he could flip to the next page there was a clipped knock on the door. Not bothering to wait for a response to come in, the intruder, in the form of his father, let himself in. Striding gracefully up to his youngest son's desk, the older man peered over it to gaze at the paperwork that he had left in his son's capable hands. Confused golden eyes lifted to meet Inuyasha's apprehensive gaze.

"Are you not finished?"

"Not exactly."

Standing erect, the older youkai seated himself on one of the two armchairs placed strategically in front of the desk occupied by his son. Leaning back, he crossed one leg over the other and placed his hands behind his head to support it.

"No rush. How much more do you have left?"

Giving the stack of papers on his desk a quick flip, Inuyasha gulped audibly and looked back to his father.

"Eight more."

Closing his eyes and sighing in exasperation, Taisho rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

"In an hour you have only managed to read two pages? What have you been occupying yourself with?"

Inuyasha sighed dramatically. "I'm just ready to go home."

The older youkai nodded in affirmation. "I know you are but we have a business to run. I won't be able to guide you or Sesshomaru for much longer and I want the two of you to be knowledgeable about our family business so that the two of you can work together to run it successfully."

Inuyasha glared at the stack of papers disdainfully. "Sesshomaru is better fitted for this job. In fact, he's already doing his part in helping out. Why can't he have it all to himself?"

"As strong as your brother is he needs help as well. As a family we must stick together because we are all each other has. In case this company faces a foe or your brother falls ill you must be there to support him and he must be there to support you."

The hanyou leaned back in his chair. "Keh. Sesshomaru support me? Yeah right."

Taisho stood up and moved towards the door. "You heard me Inuyasha."

As his father left his office he knew that his father's tone left no room for argument. Steeling himself, Inuyasha took the papers in hand and reread the first two pages along with the rest of the agreement. Something about letting a smaller company merge with their father's to help them gain economic support and stability.

"Aren't these things supposed to be...oh I don't know...longer?"

"That's just the introduction."

If it were any other person other than Inuyasha they would have startled at the sound of another voice. Inuyasha merely lifted his gaze to stare into the soft facial features that belonged to his mother. Letting a smile small grace his features he lifted himself from his seat and met his mother halfway.

Taking her only son into her arms Izayoi hugged him fiercely. Long, straight dark brown hair swept the floor in one of the rare moments that she left her hair down. Typically, it was up in an exquisite bun or braided tail. The petite woman stood back from her son and looked the length of his body and back up to his face.

"You get more handsome every day."

A light blush in embarrassment dusted across the bridge of Inuyasha's nose. "You say that every day."

Izayoi smiled. "It's true though. So, you have finished reading what your father sent you?"

Inuyasha walked back to his desk, his mother following. "Yeah. I just have to sign it."

Izayoi walked around her son's desk to his chair, eyes never leaving the top of his desk. Papers were stacked messily all over the oak top, pens and pencils were scattered about, and there was even papers sticking out of the drawers. Memos and old messages from months back were still existent. Brown eyes raked over the trash can and paper shredder which were both overflowing. Taking one slender digit, the woman gracefully swept over a spot on the desk that wasn't covered, and brought her finger back up to inspect it. Brushing the dust away she sighed wearily.

"Darling?"

Inuyasha's head never lifted nor did his eyes leave the papers he was signing. "Hm?"

"I really wish you would get a secretary."

The hanyou brought his eyes up to meet his mother's, confusion flashing across his features. "A wha...?

Izayoi, despite her age, swiftly sat down in one of the chairs before her son as if she was a school girl getting excited about the prom. "You know. A secretary. I know how you are about having people up under you and your need to have space but son, really, look at this mess you have. Your files aren't properly secured in a safe place, you don't return phone calls to important clients, you forget to sign papers, and most importantly, you forget half of the meetings you are supposed to go to."

Fixing the papers in his hand, Inuyasha's golden eyes never left his mother's, a bored expression pasted on his face. Lethargically he handed the signed composition to his mother. "Look mom. I don't need this thing you call a secretary."

Doe brown eyes followed her son's movements as he made his way over to the file cabinet stashed in the corner of his large office. "And why not?"

"Because. They'll be a complete pain, drive me up the wall, not to mention that they will be running around like a chicken with their head cut off for a few weeks until they get used to working here, and what's worse, I'll have to train them."

"If they can last that long working with you." Izayoi added softly under her breath.

Furry triangles swiveled backwards. "Did you say something, mom?"

The petite woman stood gracefully, smoothing over imaginary wrinkles in her skirt. "I didn't say anything. It will be for your best interest if you have someone to help you around up here. I will talk to your father about it."

Inuyasha dropped what he was looking at back in the file cabinet and raced to beat his mother to the door. Standing in front of it he pleaded with her. "If you talk to dad then he will hire a secretary. Knowing him, he'll probably hire some old man or woman just to spite me. Please, don't tell him I need one."

Tapping her chin with her finger, Izayoi smiled kindly. "You're father will hire someone that will get the job done. He won't hire someone that caters to your playboy ways."

Inuyasha reared back in surprise. "Play...boy ways? What are you saying, mom?"

Izayoi strode out of the door and down the hall, calling back over her shoulder. "I've known you since you were a baby Inu."

"Wait a second!"

Izayoi stopped short of the elevator to glance back at her son.

"At least let me look for one first before you tell dad. Come on, mom."

Sighing more to herself, Izayoi nodded her head. "I'm going to give you two chances to find the right person. Use your time wisely and make a smart decision in choosing one. If I see that he...excuse me, she, is not capable of handling this position and you are just using her to model for you then I will tell your father and the two of us will pick one for you."

Inuyasha sighed dejectedly. "Yes, ma'am."

Before the elevator doors shut in her face Izayoi added an afterthought. "Don't make me regret my decision, Inuyasha."

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Kagome Higurashi slouched down in her office chair, sighing tiredly. The past two weeks had been pure hell. Without notice, a secretary, office manager, and one of the lawyers had quit working for Onigumo Enterprises. With such a short staff already, the loss of two of the members had been a hard blow to take on the floor she worked on. The lawyer wasn't that much of a loss and could be easily replaced by someone just as good or better. That was what had been circulating in the rumor mill as of late.

Too tired and broke to eat, the raven-haired girl decided to sleep on her lunch break with what was left of her thirty minute reprieve. Also during the short time period, Kagome's landlord had decided to rent out the top floor of her apartment building to some strange people. What she could make out of it so far was that it was a woman with three kids and a man that was perhaps her boyfriend. The couple just loved bickering back and forth throughout the night, not caring who heard or who woke up from it and the children would then wake up crying. Praying each night, the young woman soon hoped that it would soon turn into background noise and she would be able to get a more restful nights sleep.

Drifting off into oblivion, Kagome was jarred awake by a painful prodding in her shoulder. "Hm?"

"Kagome! Did you see?"

Groaning, Kagome lifted her head to stare into the newspaper being held by one of her co-workers. "And what am I looking for, Sai?"

Grinning like the cat that ate the canary, Sai brought the paper down on the desk with a thunderous bang and pointed her index finger at the small ad placed neatly in the center. "Takahashi Corporation is hiring a secretary! You should fill out an application!"

Deciding to stay impassive, Kagome nonchalantly swept the newspaper away and cast her eyes on her coffee mug full of pens. "I've already filled out an application for them."

"Yeah, like six months ago or something. Honestly, I think you should fill out another one. This might be your chance."

Swirling her index finger around her desk, creating imaginary lines and pictures, Kagome sighed. "I don't know if I want to get my hopes up again."

Sai popped Kagome on the head gently. "Wake up in there. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. There's no telling how long it will be before there is another ad like this one again. Do you want to live your life asking yourself 'what if?"

Moping slightly, the younger girl looked at the ad again. Glancing up at Sai, she sighed melodramatically. "I'll send my resume over there right now."

Sai jumped up and down excitedly. "That's the spirit. I have to get back to work now. Let me know how everything goes."

Kagome watched as Sai dashed down the hall back to her workstation. Turning back towards her desk she raked her eyes back over the ad, not believing what she was seeing. It wasn't often that Takahashi Corporation sent out ads looking for new workers. They didn't have a high rate of people quitting because they treated their workers as equals. She heard from other people that the work environment was so different from other offices and no one really wanted to leave work to go home. Plus, since everyone liked to work there, the corporation was very successful.

Pulling her laptop to her person, Kagome set about updating her resume to ad Onigumo Enterprises to her list of past/present job experiences. Perhaps this experience will be more in her favor but then again, Onigumo Enterprises was Takahashi Corporation's biggest rival. They might not let outsiders in so easily. Deciding to approach this situation positively, Kagome resolutely began updating her resume. Once she was finished she printed her results. Glancing at the clock she only had five more minutes of her lunch break.

"Go ahead and go."

Jumping in her chair Kagome spun around to face mischievous, sparkling brown eyes. "Sai! Don't do that. I can't go. I only have five more minutes before I go back to work."

"What's a few minutes? This is your future we are talking about. I'll cover for you."

"We are already short staffed though." Kagome spun back around to get back to work on filing paperwork.

"Kagome. The rest of us can handle the next thirty minutes without you. I've already talked to them and they want you to go."

Surprised, the raven-haired girl looked back to Sai. "You told them?"

"I wasn't the only one. You have been in here telling a couple others about how you wanted to work there since you graduated college. Not to mention that you have a picture of the building in your top drawer."

Blushing a bit at having her picture mentioned, which brought up thoughts of how she was not loyal to Onigumo Enterprises, Kagome sighed. "Sai..."

"Save it Kagome. You're just scared. That's understandable. But, you need to get out there. You're not making a lot of money here and you're not able to pay all your bills. You don't even have a cell phone. Come on. Don't let this slip through your fingers."

Standing up, Kagome placed her resume in her leather bag she received as a Christmas present and walked towards the elevator. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"That a girl! Good luck!"

----------

Standing shakily on her feet, Kagome stared up in awe of the massive building before her. So deep in her thoughts she hadn't realized she was before the sliding doors of Takahashi Corporation until someone had bumped into her. Taking a few deep breaths, she straightened herself and walked into the building. Glancing around at the marble pillars holding the stairs to the right of her and the detailed paintings adorning the walls, Kagome couldn't help but to be amazed. Walking towards the elevators, heels clicking softly on the floor, she felt slightly overwhelmed.

Before Kagome had a chance to press the button for the elevator, the doors slid open, and a large man walked out swiftly, nearly knocking her over. Waiting for her butt to kiss the floor, she never felt herself fall. What she did feel though was the strong hand gripping her shoulder to steady her. Chocolate brown eyes opened cautiously to stare into pools of gold.

"Hi there."

Shakily, she replied back. "How do you do?"

With a throaty chuckle, the man smiled wistfully at her. "Sorry about running into you. I'm late for a meeting with another company."

"Oh. That's fine. No harm done."

Releasing his hold on her, the man stared at her, confusion marring his features. "I haven't seen you around before. Do you work here?"

"Oh, no. I was here to turn in my resume for the ad in the paper."

"Ad?"

"Yes. It said Takahashi Corporation was looking for a secretary."

Feigning surprise, the man laughed softly. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Might I ask what your name is young lady?"

Kagome stared perplexed at the man but smiled politely. "Kagome Higurashi."

"Well, that's certainly not a name you hear every day."

"Would it be too much trouble to ask of your name?" Kagome asked sheepishly.

"Taisho Takahashi."

Kagome felt the blood rush from her face to pool in her feet. "Tai...sho? The Taisho Takahashi?"

The elder man laughed. "The one and only. You've never heard of me?"

"Well, yes...I have but. Its just that I've never seen a picture of you or heard what you've looked like."

Gesturing with his hand towards a bench, he gently led Kagome over to it. After she sat down did he allow himself to follow suit. "Is that so? How come?"

Kagome stared down at the floor with shame, fingering the soft leather of her bag. "Things are complicated right now for me. I don't get out much either. Either at home or at work."

"Ah. I see. Aren't you a little young to be working?"

"I'm twenty-two."

"College graduate?"

"In business."

Nodding his head, Taisho smiled at the young woman. "Do you have your resume on you?"

After Kagome fished her resume out of her bag she allowed herself to remember the features of the man in front of her. Waist length silver hair kept up in a high ponytail, expressive golden eyes that swept over her resume expertly, and jagged purple stripes adorning each cheek. The man was a good two heads taller then her and probably a hundred pounds heavier. With the way he was built she doubted that he was fat and flabby but more fit and muscular.

"Excuse me, Takahashi-sama?"

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Well, back near the elevator. You didn't seem to know that there was an ad out for your company."

"Rightly so. I think I might have an idea though."

Staring back up into the eyes of the girl in front of him he couldn't help but notice her crestfallen expression. "Something the matter?"

"You're not looking for someone to hire then, are you?"

Looking sad himself, Taisho shook his head grimly. "Not really, no."

"Oh, I see."

"Taisho! You're going to be late for your meeting. What on Earth are you doing?"

Kagome could only stare slack jawed at the woman rushing towards them. She was very petite looking, dressed professionally in her white button-up blouse and black pencil skirt. Her brown hair was done up in a messy bun but made her look even more beautiful. Her cheeks were slightly pink as if she had spent a long time trying to find him and that contrasted greatly to her pale skin. Taisho stood gracefully and greeted the woman.

"Dear, I would like you to meet someone. This is Kagome Higurashi. Kagome, this is my wife, Izayoi."

The blue-black-haired girl stood hurriedly and bowed respectively. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Izayoi waved her off kindly. "There's no need for that sweetie. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Kagome just told me the most interesting tidbit of information."

"Really? What about?"

Taisho rocked back on his heels, his eyes sparkling. "There was an ad placed in the paper about Takahashi Corporation hiring a secretary. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Oh, Taisho. I promised not to interfere yet."

"You can at least tell me."

Biting her lip in worry, Izayoi glanced at Kagome before she took up her husband's arm and led him a few feet away, excusing them. "I spoke with Inuyasha today about hiring himself a secretary. Our son's office is a disaster area."

"You don't have to tell me that. I met with him this morning. It bothers me that he doesn't call clients back and that he's always forgetting meetings."

"Yes. That's why I told him that I would speak with you about hiring him someone to keep him in order. As I was walking out he pleaded with me that I should let him try his hand first before I interfered and spoke to you about it. I told him that I was going to let him try twice and if they failed then I would appoint one for him."

"I think we may have found one for him though."

Izayoi stared back at the young woman currently examining a painting on the wall. "Kagome?"

Taisho's face lit up and he grinned. "I think she would be perfect. Here's her resume."

As Izayoi read over the girl's resume she could hear her husband telling her what it said. "You memorized it?"

"She's a good girl. Seems to me she has a good head on her shoulders."

Izayoi looked skeptical. "But do you think she can put up with Inuyasha? She'd probably fall head over heels in love with him or he would try to seduce her."

Taisho looked at the girl himself while she remained interested in the painting. "I don't know. She seems different from other young women I've met."

The petite woman glared up at her husband, a fire dancing in her eyes. "What young women?"

Taisho brought his hands up in a neutral gesture. "Just the ones that he's brought over here or the girls that have tried to date Sesshomaru. They are always in it for the money and fame."

"And you think Kagome doesn't want any of that?"

"Doesn't seem that way."

Izayoi sighed. "I hope you're right. I did tell Inuyasha that he needed to find himself a secretary first though. What do you plan to tell her?"

"I'll have her work with me for the next few weeks until Inuyasha has failed in his task to find a secretary. It shouldn't be that long though. The boy has no idea what to look for."

"Taisho." Izayoi gently reprimanded.

Taisho smiled lovingly at his wife before he called the young businesswoman to his side.




A/N: That's it for chapter 2. I hope you like it. Didn't think I would get it done and posted tonight though with being busy with work and school. Any hoot, please review!