InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Untitled ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: misfitstep 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.27.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 382 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.27.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 382 | Status: Work In Progress
A/N: I seem to be getting back into the swing of writing fics again. My writer’s block is slowing but surely disappearing and this will be the 2nd fic I’ve updated in a week. I appreciate the reviews I have gotten thus far and hope I can keep up the good work with this one. Still no title but I have had some suggestions from my readers. Soon I hope to get one for this story before it remains Untitled forever.
Foot tapping impatiently on the dark blue carpet of his office, Inuyasha glared at the paperwork in front of him with his honey golden orbs flashing dangerously. His desk was still cluttered after two weeks of not finding a secretary to keep him in order. Out of thirty applicants he only had three come in for interviews that he felt would live up to his parent’s standards and that could pacify him at the same time. It wasn’t an easy task to say the least.
The first girl was a blonde from the states. She had a degree in business but she also had a reputation of throwing herself at her bosses. Inuyasha had found this out the hard way when she had come in his office one morning three days after he hired her offering him coffee, which he didn’t care for in the first place, and herself. Normally it wouldn’t have bothered him that a girl threw herself at him with her skirt hiked up to mid-thigh, blouse held together by a couple of buttons but this girl had enough perfume to knock him on his ass and bad breath. After he had enough distance between them and some of his senses back did he fire her.
The next girl wasn’t much better. In fact, she didn’t even make it past the interview. The brunette was as dingy as hell and kept knocking her papers off her lap because she couldn’t stop gapping at him. Inuyasha would have found it sweet and cute that she was flustered around him but something about her irritated him to no end. Perhaps it was the constant stuttering and the red lipstick stuck on her teeth. Inuyasha tried to put her down gently but when she started crying and wailing, which had his fuzzy ears ducking for cover, did he lash at her and tell her to get the hell out.
The third girl, which seemed to have everything he and his parents were looking for, didn’t last a week. Apparently, she didn’t like him or his ways and she couldn’t take the workload given to her. Was it so hard to answer a couple phone calls, schedule meetings, and straighten up his desk? And was it so bad working with someone like him? The day she had took off she took everything with her, including the notes she had written concerning his meetings and phone calls. His father was not a happy camper when he had not arrived at the scheduled time for two very important meetings.
The half-demon was at a loss. Not only had he failed to hire someone but this meant his mother would tell his father and together they would hire someone for him. Inuyasha was better working on his own. There was no point in having someone under him, literally and figuratively, helping him out. Inuyasha snorted.
As if hiring some offending bimbo wasn’t enough, Inuyasha had not caught sight of the raven-haired girl that appeared every Monday so early in the morning. Oddly enough, the girl offered some sort of comfort and repetition in his otherwise dull life. The girl made him want to get to work early just so he could stare at her and try to figure out the different looks she was giving each of the buildings. Inuyasha hadn’t seen a girl look so forlorn and dejected before. The ones he saw were so full of life but they were also fake and changed themselves to suit the needs and feelings of others. This one looked real and didn’t put on a facade to please others. Call it a sixth sense.
Also, during the short two weeks, his girlfriend of two years, Kikyo Itou, came back from her modeling trip to Paris. Kikyo possessed the traits models required to work the runway and pose for pictures and from that she became the most popular female model in Japan. A flawless face, skinny body without an ounce of fat, and the right clothes had all the men, young and old, fawning over her. Inuyasha wasn’t that much of an exception. He liked her body but her facial features were hard, steely, and looked to belong to someone without a soul. Inuyasha shoved it aside as nothing more than what she had gotten from modeling.
During their relationship, Inuyasha had developed a few pet peeves that came from Kikyo. She rarely called him or answered his phone calls. Reasons as to why she never called or answered were that she was too busy, talking to someone of importance, or she was in the spa. Something along those lines. The woman was also pampered and spoiled. She always wanted him to take her to the most expensive restaurants and the most extravagant shows. When they were on these ‘dates from hell’ as he liked to call them, the demon could not get any conversation going with her. Any jokes he tried to crack were met with harsh eyes and criticisms. Trying to persuade her to spend the night at one of their houses to watch a movie was met with her catching a cab home. Also, Kikyo kept him on a tight leash when they were around clients and her agent. Many times he had been on the end of her wrath and angry whenever he had stepped one toe out of line. As of late, Inuyasha deemed it necessary to stay away from her when she was dealing with her people. Her feelings were mutual.
Kikyo also seemed to love the idea that her and Inuyasha had become one of Japan’s most famous couples. It wasn’t a farfetched idea. Wealthiest heir and most famous model.
Inuyasha was beginning to doubt his relationship with Kikyo but he was starting to develop feelings for her, whichever ones they may be. Kikyo seemed to be more attracted to him each day also, however, she was still a long way off from loving him or opening up to him. Being that Kikyo was usually off on a modeling gig and that their relationship was still developing he decided to give her more time.
Teeth grinding together Inuyasha broke his pen in his hand from sheer frustration. Throwing the pieces across the room might have been a bit foolish but anyone would have done it with the emotions that were running rampant through his body. Growling low in his throat he withdrew himself from his seat and stomped out of his large office to seek out his father somewhere in the recesses of Takahashi Corporation.
**********
Kagome hummed happily to herself as she sorted and filed numerous documents. Now she knew why people were so happy to work here. The atmosphere as well as the people were very nice. For two weeks now she had worked under Taisho’s wing as well as with his secretary.
His secretary, Natsumi, was a plump middle-aged woman who was always smiling and singing merrily while she worked. Her dark hair was short, above her shoulders, which today, she wore in a neat bun. How she got it in a bun with such short hair Kagome could only wonder. Natsumi was constantly on little tangents concerning her youngest daughter who recently had a baby. She wasn’t too thrilled with her daughter being such a young mother but gradually she learned to embrace it. Natsumi seemed to have a knack for noticing when Kagome was having trouble also.
The raven-haired girl had not had a chance to answer the phones yet, seeing as how Taisho wanted her to get used to filing documents first so that she wouldn’t get overwhelmed filing, taking calls, scheduling his meetings, and running errands. Kagome knew she would be able to handle it with time, experience, and help from Natsumi.
On her lunch break Kagome had a chance to ponder where she was going to work after Taisho trained her on how to work in his company. She doubted that with him having a secretary already that she would be working alongside him. It would be a great opportunity though. Flipping the two week old newspaper to the advertising pages her brown eyes raked over the ad that was placed looking for potential secretaries. Once she had the job she had run back to Onigumo Enterprises and enveloped everyone in a hug. Sai was excited for her and promised her a congratulatory dinner once things were settled down.
Thinking back to the day she had walked in she remembered Taisho had asked his wife if she knew anything about the ad, which it looked like she did, but obviously Izayoi didn’t need a secretary either. Perhaps they had a son or daughter? Without her tv or any popular business magazines to help her out, Kagome could only guess that they had children. And why wouldn’t they? The couple looked absolutely amazing together. Surely they would have had children together since they showed such loved towards one another.
Sighing softly to herself, Kagome could only hope that one day she would have kids of her own. With the way things were now, kids were not on the list of top priorities. Of course she would need a boyfriend first but with the ways things were looking she didn’t have the time for one of those either. Working five days a week for twelve hour shifts and doing odd things around her apartment didn’t leave her much time for herself, let alone a boyfriend. Also, what guy in his right mind would want a girl like her? Snorting un-lady like she glanced at herself in front of the mirror that Natsumi had put up behind the door. Seeing the little girl in womens’ clothes stare back at her, she swiftly turned around to get back to work.
Shutting the file cabinet before her, Kagome turned to look at Natsumi. She had made the mistake of calling the woman by her last name when she first met her but it was out of respect and was expected from someone with her heritage. The older woman merely explained that calling her by her last name may have been respectful but it made her feel older than she felt. Whatever worked for her.
“Natsumi?” Kagome questioned softly.
“Yes, dear?” She replied back from where she hovered over the computer.
“Do you know where I am going to be working after I get trained?”
Stopping her typing, Natsumi stared thoughtfully at the wall before her. “Well, no. Taisho hasn’t mentioned anything. It will be sad when you leave this floor. You are such a wonderful young girl to work with. Well-mannered and respectful. You don’t see that a lot these days.”
Kagome smiled kindly at the older woman. That’s another thing. She never told the woman ‘thank you’ because Natsumi didn’t like to be sentimental and mushy. Kagome figured she could understand where she was coming from. Herself, on the other hand, loved watching chic flicks, reading poetry, and going on dates, which were becoming more scarce.
“Kagome? Can you come to my office for a minute?” Taisho called from his door, smile gracing his features.
“Yes, sir.” Kagome dropped what she was doing and walked into Taisho’s office.
Taisho had already seated himself at his desk by the time she walked in. Every time Kagome walked in the office she was overwhelmed and awed by the sheer size and beauty of the room. What was surprising to her was that Izayoi had personally decorated it.
The carpet was white Berber, certainly not something Kagome would have thought to be in a corporation such as this. To the right of the room was a small seating area. A large tan L-shaped couch occupied two of the walls with chestnut end tables at each end. Metallic gold rod lamps were placed on each table with small knick knacks representing Japanese culture around them. Another smaller tan sofa was opposite of the other with a large round black ottoman separating them.
On the other side of the room was a massive chestnut wall unit complete with tv, pictures, and other small items decorating it and a built in fire place that ran off electricity. It also housed his encyclopedias and other books of importance. Before the unit were a pair of camel back chairs with blue-gold fabric and small coffee table. His desk and chair were the only other pieces of furniture in the room. The desk matched the rest of the wooden furniture and his leather chair matched the leather from the ottoman. Unlike the other offices she had visited, Taisho’s had curtains draping from the ceiling. Burnt golds and elegant reds blocked the rays of the sun if he so wished it. Also, adorning all of the walls were delicately made tapestries, each completed with a different scene from feudal times. They were her favorite things in the room.
As she stood in front of his desk she watched him as he busily typed away at his laptop. Brows knitted together in what seemed intense concentration she couldn’t help but to be amused by the elder man in front of her. Taisho’s smile lit up his face, golden eyes twinkling with mirth. Kagome had never seen someone so at ease with working at a company, let alone owning one. His smooth voice prompted her from her thoughts.
“Please sit down.” Taisho told her as he shut his laptop to keep him from being distracted. “I have called you in here to tell you of the amazing progress you are making.”
Kagome blushed and smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’m aware that you have probably figured out that I am going to have you working in another part of the building. This task will require...” Scratching his chin thoughtfully he tried to come up with the right words. “Patience and a lot of hard work.”
The younger girl watched as the older youkai sighed miserably. She was a bit puzzled by what he wanted her to do but she didn’t think that he would put her somewhere that bad. Watching him rub his face with his hands Kagome was beginning to take back her thoughts. “I could do it.”
“No doubt that you could.”
Tilting her head in confusion, she cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind my asking, what kind of job is it?”
Before Taisho could answer her the doors flew open and hit the walls with a loud bang. Jumping in her chair Kagome turned to face the intruder and was met with hard eyes that were not as kind as the pair that belonged to the elder man in the room.
*********
With each step that brought Inuyasha closer to his father’s office made him more anxious which in turn, made him angry. His father wasn’t hard on him by no means, but he would also not accept Inuyasha’s failure to hire a secretary. He tried, that’s what counted to him.
Thinking back to the blue-black-haired girl he wished he was in her shoes. She was a nobody. She probably did what she pleased except for what was required of her from her job, family, and friends. She wasn’t restricted by the media or the building he was walking through. Why someone would want what he had was beyond him. To him, there was nothing wrong with the simple life. Even if you were poor, you could make the most of it. As long as you had someone you loved by your side it didn’t matter. You could face the world together. That’s what Inuyasha thought anyway.
Brushing past Natsumi and her incessant pleas at trying to get him to stop he bolted through his father’s doors. Opening them with a little more force than necessary the whole floor jumped when the doors met the walls.
Inuyasha did not expect him to have company, a female at that. As he was walking through the door the girl in the chair turned around after jumping about a foot in the air. When his eyes met her brown ones the air in his lungs left him in a rush. His progress to his father was halted.
“Quit gawking, Inuyasha. Honestly, its as though I raised you without any manners.” Came Taisho’s harsh demand.
Ears twitching madly atop his head, Inuyasha swiftly raised his head to see his father. “Huh?”
Rising out of his seat, Taisho moved around his desk to stand beside Kagome who had already stood up. “I wish you wouldn’t jump all over every pretty, young girl you meet.”
Confusion swam through Inuyasha’s eyes. “Jump on them?”
“You know how you are with them.” Turning to Kagome he pointed towards Inuyasha. “His mother likes to call him a playboy.” Ignoring his son’s stuttering he continued. “This is my youngest son, Inuyasha. He is also your task.”
Kagome choked on lack of air, gaping like a fish. “You want me to work with him?”
Taisho glared at his son. “See? You’ve already made her dislike working with you and she hasn’t even known you for one minute.”
Inuyasha stalked up to his father, shooting daggers. “What do you mean work with me? I don’t need her!”
“You’re mother was the one that asked you to hire a secretary, was she not? I allowed you to continue on your wild goose chase of finding someone appropriate enough to work for this company and you did not succeed with this simple task. Your mother told me that after two weeks I would be the one to find someone for you. Kagome here is the perfect candidate. She’s nice, hardworking, and gets her work done.”
“I don’t care if she’s the Queen of England. She’s not working with me!”
Taisho smiled coyly. “Oh, yes she is.”
Kagome stood there like a bump on a log as her fate at Takahashi Corporation was sealed.
**********
How did she get into messes like this? Did she go out with a sign strapped to her body demanding it? Did someone hate her up there? Kagome reasoned that her new job was more towards bad karma or luck. Getting hired at Takahashi Corporation was too good to be true if you had to work with someone who was considered an ass amongst the employees. That’s what was going around the rumor mill after she had walked out of Taisho’s office that day he told her to work with his son. She didn’t like to be the one in the rumors but what could she do?
Sighing softly the raven-haired girl tuned out the sounds coming from her new boss’ office. Inuyasha, was it? For three days he hadn’t said a word to her, whenever it was that she saw him. Usually when she arrived at work he was already in his office, doing what it was that he was doing, and after work, she was the first to leave. Today, it sounded as though he were remodeling his office instead of doing paperwork.
Gritting her teeth and resolutely setting her fingers against the cool keys of her keyboard, Kagome set to work typing up a fund-raiser Taisho had asked her to do. Thinking quickly that this job paid a whole lot more than Onigumo Enterprises, Kagome worked harder trying to tune out her ignorant boss behind his closed doors and thinking about what she could afford when she got her first paycheck.
Her small fridge was barely holding up. Twice already she had to kick it to keep it running. Maybe seeing those guys in the movies kick machinery to get it to work was paying off. Last week another one of her cabinet doors made its descent upon the kitchen counter due to the late night tap dancing of her neighbor’s kids upstairs. Ever since they moved in she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. Background noise her ass. Another resident had decided to stay which was in the form of a cockroach. Kagome shivered thinking back to when she was trying to take a relaxing shower only to find that a cockroach had fallen from the shower head and into her hair. Neighbors be damned as she yelled and cursed enough to go hoarse and make sailors blush.
“Excuse me! Are you not competent enough to work here?”
Kagome broke out of her thoughts and daze to meet the stunning yet solid features of the petite woman in front of her.
“Yes?”
“Kikyo. I’m here to speak with Inuyasha.”
Fumbling around stupidly for the intercom hidden under massive piles of proposals, Kagome finally managed to hit the button.
“What the hell do you want?!” Inuyasha’s voice roared before she could even speak up.
Without the speaker on the intercom both women could hear glass shatter. Looking back at Kikyo with a scared glance that she could receive back from the older girl she found nothing. This Kikyo woman still stared down at her as if she were an insignificant little bug that needed to be squashed.
Licking her lips that were suddenly lack of moisture, Kagome spoke softly. “Kikyo is here to see you.”
“Let her in.”
Without waiting for the young girl, Kikyo strode up to the double doors and let herself in.
Releasing the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, Kagome lied the top half of her body across her desk, ignoring the cracking of the papers under her weight. What a woman like that would want with a man like that was none of her business but, was she stupid? Kagome guessed the leggy brunette wanted nothing more than Inuyasha’s money if they were indeed, dating. He could have all the money in the world and she wouldn’t lay a hand on him or his assets.
Closing her eyes and thinking of many different ways she could torture him and his fuzzy appendages, she didn’t hear the person creep up on her until they dropped a pile of books on her desk. Flying backwards in her seat the chair caught the wall behind her.
“Taisho! You scared me.” Kagome held her hand over her heart to keep it from beating out of her chest.
“I thought you were slacking off on me, Kagome.” For once Taisho’s face held no smile.
“No, no. I was just trying to relax.”
“Something happen then?”
While Kagome was forming an answer in her mind, she didn’t miss the delicate movements of his nose.
“Tell me. Is there a woman in there with him? With straight brown hair and dead looking eyes.”
Kagome nodded dumbly.
“I should have known. Give these to Inuyasha when he is finished.” Taisho turned to walk back towards the elevators. “Oh, and Kagome?”
“Yes?” She questioned softly.
“Feel free to do what you please when it comes to keeping him in order. And I mean, anything.”
Before he turned back from her, the elder man smiled mischievously at her and winked. Kagome sat there perplexed even when Inuyasha and Kikyo came out moments later. Hurriedly, she stood up to address him before he could exit the office.
“Excuse me. Takahashi? Your father dropped these by.”
Without turning to look back at her, Inuyasha waved his hand dismissively while his other was draped behind Kikyo. “Put it on my desk, Cleo.”
“Its Kagome.”
Not bothering to answer her, if he had in fact heard her, Inuyasha walked with Kikyo to the elevators. Kagome watched as the woman removed Inuyasha’s hand from her person with two delicate fingers as if she were going to be infected with some disease. She also watched Inuyasha’s facial expression turn sour, if not hurt, at his girlfriend’s actions towards him.
Kagome would have laughed if it were any other day. Confusion swam through her. How long had they been dating? Thinking, Kagome could only come up with a few weeks or months seeing as how Kikyo didn’t want to be touched by him in public.
Picking up the phone, Kagome called her most trusted friend. Anything she needed or wanted to know would definitely be answered.
“Hello?” The voice questioned politely.
“Sango. Its me.”
“Kagome? When did you get a phone? Where are you calling me from?” With each question Sango’s voice got more urgent.
“I don’t have a phone. I’m using the company’s phone that I work at.”
“Onigumo Enterprises?” Sango questioned.
“No. I got another job.” Kagome answered sheepishly.
“And you didn’t tell me?” The once polite voice asked sarcastically.
“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I need to ask you a question.” Kagome turned serious.
“Shoot.”
“You know about Inuyasha Takahashi, don’t you?”
“Well, duh. He’s only one of the most wealthiest heirs in Japan.”
“I need to know who he is dating.” She brushed off Sango’s input.
“You don’t know?” Sango asked surprised.
“Well, is her name Kikyo?”
“Yeah. They’ve been together for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“Why are you asking me that? You’re not falling for him are you? Trying to sabotage their relationship? Kagome, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Sango! That’s not it. She came in here today and she was acting like she was allergic to him.”
“Oh, you don’t say. Well, Kikyo is one of those high fashion models. Real snobby and stuck up if you ask me. Anyway, I want to say they’ve been together for over two years now.”
“Oh. Thanks Sango. I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
“Ok. You better treat me to dinner when you get some of your stuff paid off seeing as how you didn’t tell me of your new job.” Kagome could hear the smile in Sango’s voice.
“Ok. I promise. Bye.”
“Bye.”
After making sure the phone was secure in its cradle, did Kagome sort out her desk. Looking out the window, she glanced over the Tokyo skyline as the sun made its descent to the Earth. Going back to her desk, Kagome stuffed a few papers in her bag that she could work on tonight to get a jump start in the morning on other things. Hopefully, soon, she would be able to make way with Inuyasha and his stubborn attitude.
Foot tapping impatiently on the dark blue carpet of his office, Inuyasha glared at the paperwork in front of him with his honey golden orbs flashing dangerously. His desk was still cluttered after two weeks of not finding a secretary to keep him in order. Out of thirty applicants he only had three come in for interviews that he felt would live up to his parent’s standards and that could pacify him at the same time. It wasn’t an easy task to say the least.
The first girl was a blonde from the states. She had a degree in business but she also had a reputation of throwing herself at her bosses. Inuyasha had found this out the hard way when she had come in his office one morning three days after he hired her offering him coffee, which he didn’t care for in the first place, and herself. Normally it wouldn’t have bothered him that a girl threw herself at him with her skirt hiked up to mid-thigh, blouse held together by a couple of buttons but this girl had enough perfume to knock him on his ass and bad breath. After he had enough distance between them and some of his senses back did he fire her.
The next girl wasn’t much better. In fact, she didn’t even make it past the interview. The brunette was as dingy as hell and kept knocking her papers off her lap because she couldn’t stop gapping at him. Inuyasha would have found it sweet and cute that she was flustered around him but something about her irritated him to no end. Perhaps it was the constant stuttering and the red lipstick stuck on her teeth. Inuyasha tried to put her down gently but when she started crying and wailing, which had his fuzzy ears ducking for cover, did he lash at her and tell her to get the hell out.
The third girl, which seemed to have everything he and his parents were looking for, didn’t last a week. Apparently, she didn’t like him or his ways and she couldn’t take the workload given to her. Was it so hard to answer a couple phone calls, schedule meetings, and straighten up his desk? And was it so bad working with someone like him? The day she had took off she took everything with her, including the notes she had written concerning his meetings and phone calls. His father was not a happy camper when he had not arrived at the scheduled time for two very important meetings.
The half-demon was at a loss. Not only had he failed to hire someone but this meant his mother would tell his father and together they would hire someone for him. Inuyasha was better working on his own. There was no point in having someone under him, literally and figuratively, helping him out. Inuyasha snorted.
As if hiring some offending bimbo wasn’t enough, Inuyasha had not caught sight of the raven-haired girl that appeared every Monday so early in the morning. Oddly enough, the girl offered some sort of comfort and repetition in his otherwise dull life. The girl made him want to get to work early just so he could stare at her and try to figure out the different looks she was giving each of the buildings. Inuyasha hadn’t seen a girl look so forlorn and dejected before. The ones he saw were so full of life but they were also fake and changed themselves to suit the needs and feelings of others. This one looked real and didn’t put on a facade to please others. Call it a sixth sense.
Also, during the short two weeks, his girlfriend of two years, Kikyo Itou, came back from her modeling trip to Paris. Kikyo possessed the traits models required to work the runway and pose for pictures and from that she became the most popular female model in Japan. A flawless face, skinny body without an ounce of fat, and the right clothes had all the men, young and old, fawning over her. Inuyasha wasn’t that much of an exception. He liked her body but her facial features were hard, steely, and looked to belong to someone without a soul. Inuyasha shoved it aside as nothing more than what she had gotten from modeling.
During their relationship, Inuyasha had developed a few pet peeves that came from Kikyo. She rarely called him or answered his phone calls. Reasons as to why she never called or answered were that she was too busy, talking to someone of importance, or she was in the spa. Something along those lines. The woman was also pampered and spoiled. She always wanted him to take her to the most expensive restaurants and the most extravagant shows. When they were on these ‘dates from hell’ as he liked to call them, the demon could not get any conversation going with her. Any jokes he tried to crack were met with harsh eyes and criticisms. Trying to persuade her to spend the night at one of their houses to watch a movie was met with her catching a cab home. Also, Kikyo kept him on a tight leash when they were around clients and her agent. Many times he had been on the end of her wrath and angry whenever he had stepped one toe out of line. As of late, Inuyasha deemed it necessary to stay away from her when she was dealing with her people. Her feelings were mutual.
Kikyo also seemed to love the idea that her and Inuyasha had become one of Japan’s most famous couples. It wasn’t a farfetched idea. Wealthiest heir and most famous model.
Inuyasha was beginning to doubt his relationship with Kikyo but he was starting to develop feelings for her, whichever ones they may be. Kikyo seemed to be more attracted to him each day also, however, she was still a long way off from loving him or opening up to him. Being that Kikyo was usually off on a modeling gig and that their relationship was still developing he decided to give her more time.
Teeth grinding together Inuyasha broke his pen in his hand from sheer frustration. Throwing the pieces across the room might have been a bit foolish but anyone would have done it with the emotions that were running rampant through his body. Growling low in his throat he withdrew himself from his seat and stomped out of his large office to seek out his father somewhere in the recesses of Takahashi Corporation.
**********
Kagome hummed happily to herself as she sorted and filed numerous documents. Now she knew why people were so happy to work here. The atmosphere as well as the people were very nice. For two weeks now she had worked under Taisho’s wing as well as with his secretary.
His secretary, Natsumi, was a plump middle-aged woman who was always smiling and singing merrily while she worked. Her dark hair was short, above her shoulders, which today, she wore in a neat bun. How she got it in a bun with such short hair Kagome could only wonder. Natsumi was constantly on little tangents concerning her youngest daughter who recently had a baby. She wasn’t too thrilled with her daughter being such a young mother but gradually she learned to embrace it. Natsumi seemed to have a knack for noticing when Kagome was having trouble also.
The raven-haired girl had not had a chance to answer the phones yet, seeing as how Taisho wanted her to get used to filing documents first so that she wouldn’t get overwhelmed filing, taking calls, scheduling his meetings, and running errands. Kagome knew she would be able to handle it with time, experience, and help from Natsumi.
On her lunch break Kagome had a chance to ponder where she was going to work after Taisho trained her on how to work in his company. She doubted that with him having a secretary already that she would be working alongside him. It would be a great opportunity though. Flipping the two week old newspaper to the advertising pages her brown eyes raked over the ad that was placed looking for potential secretaries. Once she had the job she had run back to Onigumo Enterprises and enveloped everyone in a hug. Sai was excited for her and promised her a congratulatory dinner once things were settled down.
Thinking back to the day she had walked in she remembered Taisho had asked his wife if she knew anything about the ad, which it looked like she did, but obviously Izayoi didn’t need a secretary either. Perhaps they had a son or daughter? Without her tv or any popular business magazines to help her out, Kagome could only guess that they had children. And why wouldn’t they? The couple looked absolutely amazing together. Surely they would have had children together since they showed such loved towards one another.
Sighing softly to herself, Kagome could only hope that one day she would have kids of her own. With the way things were now, kids were not on the list of top priorities. Of course she would need a boyfriend first but with the ways things were looking she didn’t have the time for one of those either. Working five days a week for twelve hour shifts and doing odd things around her apartment didn’t leave her much time for herself, let alone a boyfriend. Also, what guy in his right mind would want a girl like her? Snorting un-lady like she glanced at herself in front of the mirror that Natsumi had put up behind the door. Seeing the little girl in womens’ clothes stare back at her, she swiftly turned around to get back to work.
Shutting the file cabinet before her, Kagome turned to look at Natsumi. She had made the mistake of calling the woman by her last name when she first met her but it was out of respect and was expected from someone with her heritage. The older woman merely explained that calling her by her last name may have been respectful but it made her feel older than she felt. Whatever worked for her.
“Natsumi?” Kagome questioned softly.
“Yes, dear?” She replied back from where she hovered over the computer.
“Do you know where I am going to be working after I get trained?”
Stopping her typing, Natsumi stared thoughtfully at the wall before her. “Well, no. Taisho hasn’t mentioned anything. It will be sad when you leave this floor. You are such a wonderful young girl to work with. Well-mannered and respectful. You don’t see that a lot these days.”
Kagome smiled kindly at the older woman. That’s another thing. She never told the woman ‘thank you’ because Natsumi didn’t like to be sentimental and mushy. Kagome figured she could understand where she was coming from. Herself, on the other hand, loved watching chic flicks, reading poetry, and going on dates, which were becoming more scarce.
“Kagome? Can you come to my office for a minute?” Taisho called from his door, smile gracing his features.
“Yes, sir.” Kagome dropped what she was doing and walked into Taisho’s office.
Taisho had already seated himself at his desk by the time she walked in. Every time Kagome walked in the office she was overwhelmed and awed by the sheer size and beauty of the room. What was surprising to her was that Izayoi had personally decorated it.
The carpet was white Berber, certainly not something Kagome would have thought to be in a corporation such as this. To the right of the room was a small seating area. A large tan L-shaped couch occupied two of the walls with chestnut end tables at each end. Metallic gold rod lamps were placed on each table with small knick knacks representing Japanese culture around them. Another smaller tan sofa was opposite of the other with a large round black ottoman separating them.
On the other side of the room was a massive chestnut wall unit complete with tv, pictures, and other small items decorating it and a built in fire place that ran off electricity. It also housed his encyclopedias and other books of importance. Before the unit were a pair of camel back chairs with blue-gold fabric and small coffee table. His desk and chair were the only other pieces of furniture in the room. The desk matched the rest of the wooden furniture and his leather chair matched the leather from the ottoman. Unlike the other offices she had visited, Taisho’s had curtains draping from the ceiling. Burnt golds and elegant reds blocked the rays of the sun if he so wished it. Also, adorning all of the walls were delicately made tapestries, each completed with a different scene from feudal times. They were her favorite things in the room.
As she stood in front of his desk she watched him as he busily typed away at his laptop. Brows knitted together in what seemed intense concentration she couldn’t help but to be amused by the elder man in front of her. Taisho’s smile lit up his face, golden eyes twinkling with mirth. Kagome had never seen someone so at ease with working at a company, let alone owning one. His smooth voice prompted her from her thoughts.
“Please sit down.” Taisho told her as he shut his laptop to keep him from being distracted. “I have called you in here to tell you of the amazing progress you are making.”
Kagome blushed and smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’m aware that you have probably figured out that I am going to have you working in another part of the building. This task will require...” Scratching his chin thoughtfully he tried to come up with the right words. “Patience and a lot of hard work.”
The younger girl watched as the older youkai sighed miserably. She was a bit puzzled by what he wanted her to do but she didn’t think that he would put her somewhere that bad. Watching him rub his face with his hands Kagome was beginning to take back her thoughts. “I could do it.”
“No doubt that you could.”
Tilting her head in confusion, she cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind my asking, what kind of job is it?”
Before Taisho could answer her the doors flew open and hit the walls with a loud bang. Jumping in her chair Kagome turned to face the intruder and was met with hard eyes that were not as kind as the pair that belonged to the elder man in the room.
*********
With each step that brought Inuyasha closer to his father’s office made him more anxious which in turn, made him angry. His father wasn’t hard on him by no means, but he would also not accept Inuyasha’s failure to hire a secretary. He tried, that’s what counted to him.
Thinking back to the blue-black-haired girl he wished he was in her shoes. She was a nobody. She probably did what she pleased except for what was required of her from her job, family, and friends. She wasn’t restricted by the media or the building he was walking through. Why someone would want what he had was beyond him. To him, there was nothing wrong with the simple life. Even if you were poor, you could make the most of it. As long as you had someone you loved by your side it didn’t matter. You could face the world together. That’s what Inuyasha thought anyway.
Brushing past Natsumi and her incessant pleas at trying to get him to stop he bolted through his father’s doors. Opening them with a little more force than necessary the whole floor jumped when the doors met the walls.
Inuyasha did not expect him to have company, a female at that. As he was walking through the door the girl in the chair turned around after jumping about a foot in the air. When his eyes met her brown ones the air in his lungs left him in a rush. His progress to his father was halted.
“Quit gawking, Inuyasha. Honestly, its as though I raised you without any manners.” Came Taisho’s harsh demand.
Ears twitching madly atop his head, Inuyasha swiftly raised his head to see his father. “Huh?”
Rising out of his seat, Taisho moved around his desk to stand beside Kagome who had already stood up. “I wish you wouldn’t jump all over every pretty, young girl you meet.”
Confusion swam through Inuyasha’s eyes. “Jump on them?”
“You know how you are with them.” Turning to Kagome he pointed towards Inuyasha. “His mother likes to call him a playboy.” Ignoring his son’s stuttering he continued. “This is my youngest son, Inuyasha. He is also your task.”
Kagome choked on lack of air, gaping like a fish. “You want me to work with him?”
Taisho glared at his son. “See? You’ve already made her dislike working with you and she hasn’t even known you for one minute.”
Inuyasha stalked up to his father, shooting daggers. “What do you mean work with me? I don’t need her!”
“You’re mother was the one that asked you to hire a secretary, was she not? I allowed you to continue on your wild goose chase of finding someone appropriate enough to work for this company and you did not succeed with this simple task. Your mother told me that after two weeks I would be the one to find someone for you. Kagome here is the perfect candidate. She’s nice, hardworking, and gets her work done.”
“I don’t care if she’s the Queen of England. She’s not working with me!”
Taisho smiled coyly. “Oh, yes she is.”
Kagome stood there like a bump on a log as her fate at Takahashi Corporation was sealed.
**********
How did she get into messes like this? Did she go out with a sign strapped to her body demanding it? Did someone hate her up there? Kagome reasoned that her new job was more towards bad karma or luck. Getting hired at Takahashi Corporation was too good to be true if you had to work with someone who was considered an ass amongst the employees. That’s what was going around the rumor mill after she had walked out of Taisho’s office that day he told her to work with his son. She didn’t like to be the one in the rumors but what could she do?
Sighing softly the raven-haired girl tuned out the sounds coming from her new boss’ office. Inuyasha, was it? For three days he hadn’t said a word to her, whenever it was that she saw him. Usually when she arrived at work he was already in his office, doing what it was that he was doing, and after work, she was the first to leave. Today, it sounded as though he were remodeling his office instead of doing paperwork.
Gritting her teeth and resolutely setting her fingers against the cool keys of her keyboard, Kagome set to work typing up a fund-raiser Taisho had asked her to do. Thinking quickly that this job paid a whole lot more than Onigumo Enterprises, Kagome worked harder trying to tune out her ignorant boss behind his closed doors and thinking about what she could afford when she got her first paycheck.
Her small fridge was barely holding up. Twice already she had to kick it to keep it running. Maybe seeing those guys in the movies kick machinery to get it to work was paying off. Last week another one of her cabinet doors made its descent upon the kitchen counter due to the late night tap dancing of her neighbor’s kids upstairs. Ever since they moved in she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. Background noise her ass. Another resident had decided to stay which was in the form of a cockroach. Kagome shivered thinking back to when she was trying to take a relaxing shower only to find that a cockroach had fallen from the shower head and into her hair. Neighbors be damned as she yelled and cursed enough to go hoarse and make sailors blush.
“Excuse me! Are you not competent enough to work here?”
Kagome broke out of her thoughts and daze to meet the stunning yet solid features of the petite woman in front of her.
“Yes?”
“Kikyo. I’m here to speak with Inuyasha.”
Fumbling around stupidly for the intercom hidden under massive piles of proposals, Kagome finally managed to hit the button.
“What the hell do you want?!” Inuyasha’s voice roared before she could even speak up.
Without the speaker on the intercom both women could hear glass shatter. Looking back at Kikyo with a scared glance that she could receive back from the older girl she found nothing. This Kikyo woman still stared down at her as if she were an insignificant little bug that needed to be squashed.
Licking her lips that were suddenly lack of moisture, Kagome spoke softly. “Kikyo is here to see you.”
“Let her in.”
Without waiting for the young girl, Kikyo strode up to the double doors and let herself in.
Releasing the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, Kagome lied the top half of her body across her desk, ignoring the cracking of the papers under her weight. What a woman like that would want with a man like that was none of her business but, was she stupid? Kagome guessed the leggy brunette wanted nothing more than Inuyasha’s money if they were indeed, dating. He could have all the money in the world and she wouldn’t lay a hand on him or his assets.
Closing her eyes and thinking of many different ways she could torture him and his fuzzy appendages, she didn’t hear the person creep up on her until they dropped a pile of books on her desk. Flying backwards in her seat the chair caught the wall behind her.
“Taisho! You scared me.” Kagome held her hand over her heart to keep it from beating out of her chest.
“I thought you were slacking off on me, Kagome.” For once Taisho’s face held no smile.
“No, no. I was just trying to relax.”
“Something happen then?”
While Kagome was forming an answer in her mind, she didn’t miss the delicate movements of his nose.
“Tell me. Is there a woman in there with him? With straight brown hair and dead looking eyes.”
Kagome nodded dumbly.
“I should have known. Give these to Inuyasha when he is finished.” Taisho turned to walk back towards the elevators. “Oh, and Kagome?”
“Yes?” She questioned softly.
“Feel free to do what you please when it comes to keeping him in order. And I mean, anything.”
Before he turned back from her, the elder man smiled mischievously at her and winked. Kagome sat there perplexed even when Inuyasha and Kikyo came out moments later. Hurriedly, she stood up to address him before he could exit the office.
“Excuse me. Takahashi? Your father dropped these by.”
Without turning to look back at her, Inuyasha waved his hand dismissively while his other was draped behind Kikyo. “Put it on my desk, Cleo.”
“Its Kagome.”
Not bothering to answer her, if he had in fact heard her, Inuyasha walked with Kikyo to the elevators. Kagome watched as the woman removed Inuyasha’s hand from her person with two delicate fingers as if she were going to be infected with some disease. She also watched Inuyasha’s facial expression turn sour, if not hurt, at his girlfriend’s actions towards him.
Kagome would have laughed if it were any other day. Confusion swam through her. How long had they been dating? Thinking, Kagome could only come up with a few weeks or months seeing as how Kikyo didn’t want to be touched by him in public.
Picking up the phone, Kagome called her most trusted friend. Anything she needed or wanted to know would definitely be answered.
“Hello?” The voice questioned politely.
“Sango. Its me.”
“Kagome? When did you get a phone? Where are you calling me from?” With each question Sango’s voice got more urgent.
“I don’t have a phone. I’m using the company’s phone that I work at.”
“Onigumo Enterprises?” Sango questioned.
“No. I got another job.” Kagome answered sheepishly.
“And you didn’t tell me?” The once polite voice asked sarcastically.
“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I need to ask you a question.” Kagome turned serious.
“Shoot.”
“You know about Inuyasha Takahashi, don’t you?”
“Well, duh. He’s only one of the most wealthiest heirs in Japan.”
“I need to know who he is dating.” She brushed off Sango’s input.
“You don’t know?” Sango asked surprised.
“Well, is her name Kikyo?”
“Yeah. They’ve been together for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“Why are you asking me that? You’re not falling for him are you? Trying to sabotage their relationship? Kagome, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Sango! That’s not it. She came in here today and she was acting like she was allergic to him.”
“Oh, you don’t say. Well, Kikyo is one of those high fashion models. Real snobby and stuck up if you ask me. Anyway, I want to say they’ve been together for over two years now.”
“Oh. Thanks Sango. I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
“Ok. You better treat me to dinner when you get some of your stuff paid off seeing as how you didn’t tell me of your new job.” Kagome could hear the smile in Sango’s voice.
“Ok. I promise. Bye.”
“Bye.”
After making sure the phone was secure in its cradle, did Kagome sort out her desk. Looking out the window, she glanced over the Tokyo skyline as the sun made its descent to the Earth. Going back to her desk, Kagome stuffed a few papers in her bag that she could work on tonight to get a jump start in the morning on other things. Hopefully, soon, she would be able to make way with Inuyasha and his stubborn attitude.