InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Waiting at a Coffee Shop ❯ Kagura's Helpful Assistance ( Chapter 4 )

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

Chapter: Kagura's Helpful Information

chapter by Bulmathebabe and StarbearerTM

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahash owns Inuyasha and Inuyasha the Final Act, I or Bulmathebabe don't.  We make no money for the writing of this fanfic.

Although Sesshoumaru had coaxed Rin a day ago to return to the job, she still felt wary. As if eyes were watching her from every corner. Mustering her dignity Rin picked up the pot of coffee and poured some into Sesshoumaru's favorite mug. He had asked for cream and sugar, and she was most insistent that she followed his instructions. On the way back to his office from the break room, she would have to pass a cube farm where many of the youkai sat. Her office was right next door to Sesshoumaru's thankfully, but he was often on the phone.

Sighing, Rin carried Sesshoumaru's cup of coffee in one hand and the stack of reports he had asked for in the other. She reached Sesshoumaru's office where his secretary sat and waited to be buzzed in.

 The secretary glanced up, an incredibly bored expression on her face. Her eyes scrutinized Rin in obvious disapproval. "Sesshoumaru-sama is on the phone. Can't you wait for a moment?"

 "He just wanted this report... and his coffee," Rin said, looking for a place to set them down.
Her senses screamed danger, as she caught sight of an unfamiliar face stepping out of the elevator. To her surprise it was the woman Kagura she had seen at the coffee shop. She sighed with relief then waited a bit more. However, she saw Ayame peering around the corner and tensed.

The secretary pointed at the small table next to the door. "He's on the phone with a very important client. He also has a meeting in ten minutes with Lady Kagura. I'm sure you can leave the items there. He'll get them in a moment. Don't you have a package or something to go pick up?" She sneered, turning back to her computer, muttering something about not know what was worse, humans or hanyous.

 "Fine," Rin mumbled, setting down the coffee and the binder. Exasperated she marched off. Kagura however noticed her, her eyes a bit wide. Not wanting to bother her Rin marched back towards the cube farm, realizing she had forgotten some documents on the copier.
She then headed down to the mailroom, realizing she needed to pick up the package. She'd get the documents on the way back.

"You're back I see," Ayame stated coldly, watching the flustered girl with a predatorily gleam in her green eyes. She flared her youki just a bit, just enough to where Rin would feel the tingle of it in the air as she watched both Hakudoshi and Byakuya approaching.

Rin felt trapped. Immediately her mind flickered back to an earlier time. Just what could she do against three youkai? Still she insisted on standing her ground. "I am back, but I don't see what issues you have
with me. I'm just doing my job."

"The problem is having a human among us," Hakudoshi said seriously. "Though how a human has lasted so long around here is a mystery to me."

Ayame laughed. "Didn't you know? I hear she's sleeping with the boss."

"We always have to bow and scrape to them on the outside. We work here so we don't have to. We're free to do what we want here don't you see that?" Byakuya adds. Both of their youki flare as well. Ayame's eyes widened slightly as she saw Kagura's bored expression turn to something else.

Rin lifted her hands instinctively shielding her face. "Leave me ALONE!" she yelled. Crimson energies seemed to flare from her body, slamming into Ayame. All she could do was try to shoulder her way out of this once she hit the wolf youkai with a blast of power.

Ayame leaped back with a yelp as the girls energy slammed into her. "What the hell was that?" She asked startled. Hakudoshi and Byakuya exchanged a look but stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Kagura walk up behind Rin.

Kagura put a comforting arm around Rin's shoulders, pushing her back slightly, her red eyes flashing. She pulls a fan from the pocket of her coat. "Do you know what this is?" she asked the three youkai.

"A fan?" said Hakudoshi with a snort.

"I have a feeling it's as significant as one of these," said Byakuya reaching into his coat for a paper crane.

Rin moved closer to Kagura, realizing the female youkai be somehow on her side. "Watch out he can really do some damage with that..." she warned Kagura.

"He thinks so," she muttered, opening the fan. Wind seems to swirl around the woman as her own youki flared. Instead of harming Rin, it wraps around her, protecting her. "Dance of Blades." she said softly and the wind goes from a breeze to hurricane force in a split second.

"Shit!" cursed Byakuya as he struggled to block the attack. Blades slashed against him as he dove for cover. Hakudoshi erected a shield just in time, but Ayame isn't so lucky.
Ayame felt the blades slicing the air and flared her youki to try to block some of the attack. She felt one of the blades glance off her arm and yelled, leaping under a desk.

Kagura laughed as she closed the fan. Both the wind and the blades dissipated as if they had never been there at all. "That is what you get for messing with her. Next time you won't be so lucky. I suggest you crawl away before Sesshoumaru figures out what happened. I hear he's a poison youkai..."

"Let's get the hell out of here," Byakuya whispered. Hakudoshi nodded and they ran out of the room, leaving Ayame hiding under the desk.

"Thank you..." Rin whispered looking at Kagura.

Kagura nodded at the girl in front of her. "Not bad for a hanyou huh? If only that bitch of a secretary could see me now. I heard what she said earlier. She is almost as bad as they are." She noticed Ayame had crawled out from under the desk, her eyes wide at the information Kagura had revealed. Kagura flicked the fan lightly and Ayame went running.

"I'd say you really showed them who was boss," whispered Rin.

Her heart pounded as she looked at Kagura. "Can I um... show you out?" she asked quietly. "Or are you
going to see Sesshoumaru now?"

Kagura regarded the girl quietly. She seemed terrified. There was something else about her. It was slight but just enough to make Kagura wonder, she could see a faint trace of Sesshomaru's youki around the girl, mingled with her aura. That only happened when a human spent a lot of time around a youkai. More than just a few hours a day. She wondered for a moment if Ayame's claim had any merit but disregarded it. Even if that were the case, there was much more to the story. She filed this information away for later. "I actually have my meeting with him in just a few minutes. I may just go harass the secretary a bit more," she laughed. "Will you be alright? They didn't harm you did they?"

"I... they've been on me nonstop since I took this job. You remember how nervous I was when I last served you in the coffee shop, don't you?" she whispered on the verge of tears.

“I do. But if you don’t tell Sesshoumaru sama about this, it’d be a mistake,” Kagura cautioned.

Then she got an idea. "I could take you to see Sesshoumaru-sama myself..."

"If it would make you more comfortable, there wouldn't be any harm in that," Kagura agreed. She looked at the slight damage to the office with a sigh. "Sesshoumaru will not be happy about this."

"It's my fault, but they deserved it. Wish I had power like yours," Rin said, feeling comfortable around Kagura. "Right this way..."

Smiling more bravely with Kagura backing her up Rin led the woman wearing the purple white and striped skirt with the matching blazer towards the lobby. They approached the desk where Rin glared defiantly at the secretary.

"It isn't your fault at all," Kagura said as they approached the secretary. She gave the older woman smile, a mocking one. "You haven't died yet? I'm sure Sesshomaru-sama only keeps you around because he pities you."

The secretary growled at her, pressing a button that will alert Sesshoumaru that his client has arrived.
"I'm not sure which one of YOU I despise more. You or Inuyasha," she sneered back.

Kagura grinned at this and tossed her hair back confidently. She had actually run into Inuyasha earlier that day, and he'd mentioned stopping to see his brother when the topic had come up. "Be careful saying his name out loud like that. He may just make an appearance,” she said in a tone full of foreboding. The woman glared murderously at her now.

Rin picked up Sesshoumaru's coffee, which was still warm, along with the file he requested. Feeling more steady on her feet, she waited for the answer from the intercom. "What is it?" asked Sesshoumaru's stern voice.

"Kagura has arrived, Sesshomaru-sama. The girl is here with your coffee as well." the Secretary stated.

Kagura leaned close to Rin, "We must have gotten under her skin. You're just 'the girl' now."

"Uh oh," whispered Rin. She smiled a bit nervously at Kagura, feeling more and more as if she liked the hanyou. They had a great deal in common.

Rin strode up to the oak paneled double doors and opened one of them. She motioned Kagura to follow her into the large executive office. Bookcases line the back wall from floor to ceiling. A bank of windows takes up another wall opposite a wall adorned with a huge wall length painting. In front of the bookcase Sesshoumaru's desk dominated most of the room, massive mahogany carved with ornate
Chinese dragons and other scenes. Sitting in a high backed leather chair, he stood up.
His double-breasted suit was immaculate, dark maroon in color. On one lapel, he wore a pin with the hexagon symbol of his company, the flower sheathed inside. His long silver hair was bound up in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Nodding to Kagura and Rin he said, "Have a seat."

Kagura bowed slightly before taking her seat. She removed a fan from her pocket, though this one was only a decorative paper fan, the type you could buy at a store. She flicked it open and fanned herself, watching in amusement as Sesshomaru's eyes widened for just a moment. It was slight but she caught it. "Relax Sesshomaru-sama. I did not come here to attack you. I don't wish to be the next tai-youkai." she joked.

Rin immediately carried the coffee to her boss, handing it to him. "Sesshoumaru-sama, here's your coffee and the report you wanted."

"Thank you Rin," he said accepting it from her. However, he pointed to the seat next to his desk, indicating Rin should sit down in it. She does, sitting on his side of the desk.

Kagura watched the interaction with interest. 'There is something going on here.' she thinks to herself. She meets Sesshomaru's gaze with her brilliant red eyes and arches an eyebrow. "Your secretary hates me Sesshomaru-sama," she said, straightforward and to the point. She'd never feared him and she was one of the few people he came across that would speak to him bluntly.

"So what brings you here today, Kagura san?" he asked, inclining his head. Rin watched as he picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip. Her eyes rivet to his neck muscles moving.

Automatically she picked up the pad of paper and pencil he pushed towards her with his left hand, stiffly. She was one of the few who knew it was artificial, the best prosthetic money could buy.  He nodded in approval as she began to take notes.

Kagura sighed dramatically. "Never one for small talk are you?" She opens her attaché and removes a folder from inside. "Thought I would stop by with some of Naraku's latest endeavors. You might find them of interest," she stated, placing the folder in front of him.  Silently Rin continued to drag her pencil over the legal pad meticulously.

Rin watched as Sesshoumaru reached out a hand and lay it on top of the folder. "You expect that this should be of some use to me? Would Naraku fail to notice that I have an inside track on his whereabouts?"

"I'm sure she has the best of intentions, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin said quickly. Sesshoumaru’s gold eyes flickered back to her.

Kagura regarded Sesshoumaru for a moment, as if he's lost his mind. "I am you inside track Sesshoumaru, or didn't you realize this. Your contact at the company has been me. Before you ask why, you know I have been a friend of the family for years. I owe your family everything."

Rin whispered, "You can believe her Sesshoumaru sama. It made sense, does it not?"

Steepling his fingers together Sesshoumaru levels his gaze at her. He then said, "I trust your reasons are your own. You put yourself at considerable risk providing me with this information, yet you continue to pass it along. Impressive."

"Naraku is a bastard and he should be brought down. He allows me to work there because I am good at what I do." She made a face. "I will just have to continue to be better than everyone else and I will be useful to him." She looked at Rin thoughtfully for a moment. "She has an ability to read people,"
Kagura stated, "Almost like a miko. She would tell you if I was lying."

"Is she, Rin?" asked Sesshoumaru as he leaned over to whisper in Rin's ear. She relaxed a bit, feeling his youki wash over her like a reassuring blanket. Fortunately, it would erase any trace of what she'd just gone through. However, his nostrils twitched smelling Kagura's wind on her. Not surprising but he smelled others though they were difficult to recognize at this point.

"She is telling the truth, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin said quickly. Satisfied, Sesshoumaru turned his golden gaze to Kagura again.

Kagura saw the expression on Sesshomaru's face and realized he knew she was up to something. She didn't miss the way his nose twitched. It was slight but it was there. "Your office space might be a little damaged." She said quietly. She smiled slightly. "I may have lost my temper."

 Sesshoumaru looked at Kagura, then at Rin. His nostrils flare as he senses Ayame's youki along with two others on her. "Rin, explain why I smell the youki of others on you?"

"Sesshoumaru sama..." she trailed off, her heart pounding.

"Rin, tell me," Sesshoumaru insisted. Nervously Rin fidgeted in her chair. She swallowed hard as the full weight of his eyes focused on her intently.   More of his yoki reached out, making her shiver.

Kagura snapped the paper fan shut loudly, distracting Sesshoumaru for just a moment. "A wolf youkai and two others thought it would be amusing to toy with her. Some idiot pulled a paper crane out at me and threw the Dance of Blades at them. No harm done, unfortunately. There may have been mention of some rather vulgar things Rin has supposedly done to win your favor,"   She said the last part as diplomatically as possible.

Rin froze as Sesshoumaru's eyes suddenly blazed red. Energy surged around him, knocking the papers off the desk. His hair stood on end, fluttering with static electricy in the crimson light.  His teeth grew sharper. Although Rin backed away, his hand reached for her arm, fingers locking around the limb. Still his grip was far from rough.  He half snarled, "What is that?"

Kagura blinked at Sesshoumaru, trying to suppress her own shudder at his show of power. "What is what? Dance of Blades? A wind attack. No major damage done. You should calm down. You are scaring her,” She stated avoiding having to repeat just what Sesshoumaru wanted her to, he'd heard her, but she didn't need him losing it. She had nowhere near the amount of power to defend herself if he did.

"Sesshoumaru sama... I just remembered I have to pick up a package," Rin stammered as she drops the pad of paper.

Suddenly Sesshoumaru's power dissipated, his eyes reverting to normal. “That can wait, Rin.”

"Excuse me, you're obviously... busy... Sesshoumaru sama..." Rin said as he released her.  Somehow the fear in her eyes tormented him. Anyone but her he welcomed such fear.  To have her terrified was unacceptable.  

"Rin, where are you going?" Sesshoumaru asked. "Come back here, there is no reason for you to leave..."

"Let her go Sesshoumaru. Let her deal with this on her own. She was attacked you know. You flaring your power like that startled her more than she wants to tell you." Kagura explained calmly. She felt for the girl, she really did.

Sesshoumaru watched in concern and shock as Rin bolted out of the door. He rose up to follow, but then Kagura's words resonated with sense. He inhales sharply, calming himself down as the door slammed shut. Then he looked at Kagura with as neutral a glare as he can muster.

Kagura leveled him with a glare of her own. "If you are upset with me then fine. Next time am I to stand back and let them attack her? You know damn well that I had to do an offensive move. My youki isn't strong enough to take the full brunt of theirs, as much as it kills me to say that."
Sesshoumaru then said, "I owe you an apology it seems."

"You owe Rin one. And you owe your staff a good lecture on tolerance and not spreading lies. I will be in touch."
"I will anticipate your next communication," Sesshoumaru said, lowering his head in a bow. It seemed as if he was greatly troubled by upsetting Rin, his expression turned into one of inward brooding.

Kagura bowed her head as well. “I recommend giving her a couple hours of reflection. Perhaps let her spend some time at the coffee shop she seems so fond of working at. If you go after her now, you might cause more harm. Best of luck Sesshoumaru-sama," she stated, before breezing, quite literally out of the room, her exit ruffling the papers on Sesshomaru's desk.

Sesshoumaru watched her leave, putting a hand to his chin. He hated the thought of Rin being afraid of him. Angry with himself for losing his own temper he growled. At least that boy Kohaku would make certain that Rin was safe. Yet it was his job to protect what was his.

Darkly Sesshoumaru glared at the wall. He picked up the file that Kagura handed him and placed it carefully in a drawer in his desk. Sipping his coffee, he took a swig, missing Rin's aura already. He had grown accustomed to her these last few days. Somehow, he had to convince her to return. Was she at the coffee shop? He glanced at his watch realizing she wouldn't be there for another few hours.

The sound of the intercom buzzing echoed through the office.

"What is it?" Sesshoumaru snaps as he depressed the button. He reached down when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. One of Rin's gold earrings has fallen on the floor so he bent over to pick it up.

"Your idiot of a brother is threatening to sit on my desk if I don't let him in your office Sesshoumaru-sama. He claims that it is urgent," his secretary stated, her tone frazzled.

"Send the stray in," Sesshoumaru sighed, realizing his day had just gotten worse. Before Inuyasha entered, Sesshoumaru out of impulse slid the hoop earring into his left ear so that part of Rin was with him.  Besides which, he’d have an excuse for her to come back if he kept it.

The intercom clicked off and a moment later, the door opened. Inuyasha sauntered in the door, looking irate. "Oi! Stray huh? What the hell? You really gonna let that old hag call me an idiot? Whatever happened to customer service?" Inuyasha griped as he moves over to one of the chairs and plopped right down, propping his feet up on the desk.

Sesshoumaru sighed and drained the rest of his coffee. "Before you assault me with your smelly feet, remember whose desk you're putting them on. What is so vital that you have to ruin an already wretched day?"

"Smelly feet?" Inuyasha growled. He starts to stand. "You know what? What the hell do I care if someone is trying to embezzle funds from your stupid company anyway? It's not like your rich enough," He snapped, knowing that it will get Sesshomaru's attention.

 "What was that you just said?" asked Sesshoumaru. He pointed to the seat across from him. "Sit down and tell me. I could give a damn less about where you put your feet as long as you tell me everything you know!"

Inuyasha noticed the change in Sesshomaru's demeanor right away, catching on to the fact that Sesshoumaru was NOT in a good mood. He takes the seat Sesshoumaru had indicated and glances around the office. "No one's listening in right?" he asked seriously, his ears twitching nervously though the rest of him seemed calm.

"Not a soul," said Sesshoumaru, his own ears back a bit. Rin's gold hoop earring gleamed in the left one.

Inuyasha nodded and made a face at the earring in Sesshomaru's ear. "I'm not even gonna," ask he muttered, taking a notepad from his pocket and gathering his thoughts.
Sesshoumaru smirked a bit at his brother's comment. Let him wonder what it was all about. "So, what brings you here today? More than just a brotherly visit?"

Inuyasha scoffed at the suggestion. "Keh. Yeah right." He flipped through the pages and found the right one before meeting Sesshomaru's eyes. "I talked to Miroku last night. Sango got called on a job to track down an employee at Soounga Corp... Guy named Ginta. Seems like he was on the run for embezzling funds..." he started.

"Soounga Corp?" Sesshoumaru grumbled, making a face.  It was a sore point with him because Father never entrusted that company to either of them.

Inuyasha nodded. "Dad's livid. Guy's lucky he's lettin' human courts handle this one. As tai-youkai, you know he could order the guy's execution. This Ginta guy is a wolf youkai. He has an accomplice here at Tenseiga Corp. you know. Have you noticed anything missing? That's one thing I couldn't check was your reports." Inuyasha stated. He could have checked the reports if he'd wanted to, and Sesshoumaru probably knew this. Inuyasha had connections that could hack any mainframe he needed information from. He'd stopped short of that out of respect.

"As a matter of fact..." Sesshoumaru said as he opened the file Rin fetched for him. She'd been tracking it down all morning, and the discrepancy she'd noticed was invaluable. He passed the report to Inuyasha. "It would explain this."

Inuyasha glanced over it briefly. Most of the report meant nothing to him, but the numbers towards the bottom appeared different. There were transactions going to what looked like a business account. At first glance, someone would not notice anything, unless they looked at the timestamps. None of the transactions took place at normal hours. That and Sesshoumaru had probably caught on to the fact that it wasn't a business he usually worked with. Inuyasha was sure it was a fake, just a bank account leaching money.

"My assistant discovered that," mumbled Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha glanced up at his brother again. "I'm not surprised. Rin's pretty smart. I just spoke with Koga. He said Ayame has been pulling some odd hours lately. She's been pretty distant lately as well. I don't think Koga is involved though. He seemed pretty shaken about Ginta."

Sesshoumaru frowned, realizing that this made a good deal of sense. "I see. It seems that I have a great deal of house cleaning to do."

"Oh but there's more," Inuyasha grinned, showing his fangs. "Sango caught Ginta this morning and is dragging his mangy ass back here as we speak. He claims that a guy named Onigumo put him up to it. You know whose alias that is? Anything ringing a bell?"

Sesshoumaru felt his head pounding. What he wouldn't give for Rin to give his shoulders a slight rub. She'd offered that in the past, but after his loss of control he doubted she'd come close to him. He frowned at the mention of the name Onigumo, then considered the report Kagura gave him. He pulls it out of the drawer and leafs through it.

"Naraku perhaps?" he asked, putting the report away.

"You win the prize Sessh," Inuyasha said, more enthusiastically than he needs to, just because he knows it annoys Sesshoumaru. "It's one of Naraku's aliases, though I promise you the courts will throw that out. There's no concrete proof, and I swear Naraku has half the city on his payroll in one way or another."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes at this. He snorted, "The nerve of that low life trash presuming to pull one over on me. I suppose that your bounty hunter friend is partly to thank for this information?"
Inuyasha nodded, curbing the desire to annoy Sesshoumaru some more. After all, Sesshoumaru seemed a little pale. Inuyasha wondered for a minute if there was something more than this bothering him but shrugged it off. "Yeah. Sango called me saying the guy started pleading for his life right away. He wasn't sure if she was hired by dad or law enforcement. She let him sweat for a while."

"I'm surrounded by incompetentant fools," Sesshoumaru sighed, rubbing his face in his hands. He kept thinking of Rin's scared face, berating himself repeatedly.
Inuyasha stared at Sesshoumaru for a long minute. "You're not gonna freak out on me are you?" he muttered.

"Why do you ask," Sesshoumaru mumbled. "I've lost my control once as it is. I am not going to make that mistake twice."

"Lost your control once? Aren't you the one who always barked at me about losing control?" Inuyasha asked surprised. "You seem easier to rattle than normal is all?"

"I have not slept well these past few days, if it is any of your business," Sesshoumaru grudgingly admitted. The smell of that woman Rin had been driving him mad, pushing thoughts of mating into his mind. While his beast urged him to take what seemed the logical route, reason pushed that aside. She was human.

"Rin wouldn't have anything to do with that at all would it?" Inuyasha asked shaking his head. "It's not my business. I just want the heads up if there's gonna be a giant youkai dog terrorizing Tokyo anytime soon."

"Rin is none of your concern," said Sesshoumaru flatly. "She functions adequately as my assistant."

"Assistant. Right," Inuyasha said, leveling Sesshoumaru with a look. He felt somewhat sympathetic towards Sesshoumaru in that aspect. He could smell Rin's scent on Sesshoumaru, as much as he was certain Sesshoumaru was able to smell Kagome's on him. Sesshoumaru was probably driving himself crazy trying to do the honorable thing with Rin. Unlike Kagome and himself, who shared a certain level of comfort, Rin seemed more skittish. She was probably having a hard time adjusting, as much as she liked Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose as well. "So, is your business finished here?"

Inuyasha shook his head with a chuckle. "Almost. I just hope that the weather is nice and sunny in the world you live in Sessh. Cause obviously it ain't the same place the rest of us live in." He pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to Sesshoumaru.

"What the hell is this?" Sesshoumaru asked, snatching it up. His nerves were worn to shreds, and Inuyasha was the cherry on top of the blasted sundae of a day from hell.

"Koga's contact information. As leader of the Wolf Youkai clan as well as Ayame's mate, he's agreed to cooperate. Dad will be speaking to him as well in trying to get all this sorted out. I recommend you call dad as well," Inuyasha said, getting to his feet.

"Fine. Just get lost if you’re done here," said Sesshoumaru. He had no desire to even fire off a verbal parting shot as he normally did.

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as he walked towards the door. "Take a shower Sessh. You almost smell like a human," he stated, walking out the door quickly before his brother could get up.

"So do you, brother," Sesshoumaru quipped.

"Damn right but I ain't in denial," Inuyasha laughed back, knocking the secretary's penholder off her desk on the way out of the office. A moment later, he was gone.

“Go to that river in Africa and jump in it,” Sesshoumaru mumbled, hating the fact he only thought of a good zinger after the fact.
***