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Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, I'm just a fan who likes to mess with him.
Author's note: This is the new and improved Breaking the Pattern, after much editing this story is nearly unrecognizable however the idea was still inspired by Kiara's Falling For the First Time, though takes the idea in an entirely different direction she still deserves credit. Without further ado…
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Breaking the Pattern
Chapter 1 Dull Assignment
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Amid the frivolity she didn't let her bored state show, smiling her too bright-and completely fake-trademark smile at everyone who approached her, laughing when appropriate and kindly answering any questions, offering compliments when they were wanted; she was the perfect diplomat, the perfect teenager, the perfect heiress, the perfect liar. This was the routine she had become accustom to, smile, laugh, compliment, talk, smile, laugh, compliment, talk. How repetitive her life had become, how false, she cursed the man that had started the worst of her problems and the thing he was after, it was with her always, an ever present reminder of her burden, her duty and the price of her powers.
Cutting off the babbling nobleman before her with a smile Kagome excused herself, leaving the masses of finely dressed snobs in favor of the solitude of the women's washroom. A fully furnished restroom, complete with vanity mirrors, a full stock of makeup that would make Paris Hilton jealous, coffee table loaded with magazines and books, and several overstuffed, rather frilly couches and chairs, was yet another testament to how stiflingly boring her life had become. At least the place was deserted, not a single person trying to 'powder their nose' was to be seen.
Throwing herself into the nearest chair in as unlady-like fashion as possible, she sighed heavily proceeding to put her feet up on the spotless table top. When she glanced in the mirror she hardly recognized herself. She hated makeup, yet there it was plastered over her face like a mask, she hated high heels, yet strapped to her feet and currently scuffing up the table were powder pink mini-silts, she hadn't always hated pink but she did now, she hated the stupid pink dress that matched perfectly with the stupid pink shoes. She hated being trapped and restrained a bird in a cage but that was her name, her duty, and she had accepted that fate, however grudgingly.
Most of all though, she hated the rich, those snobs who used money to buy their lives, and still had extra to use as kindling. She hated wealthy people she really did, but she supposed that made her a hypocrite, being as she was one of the richest people in Japan. 'Yeah,' she thought at the irony, 'being the richest seventeen year old in Japan really sucks; Higarashi Kagome ladies and gentleman the unwilling angel.' Kagome was completely aware of the absurdity of the thought, there were people in need suffering from the lack of what she had such an abundance of, so she never complained, not out loud, not to anyone, and that was the lock that kept Kagome in her cage, that lock that was of her own creation: isolation.
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"Hah, beat ya again you baka wolf!" The silver-haired inu hanyou gloated, as he pinned his unfortunate sparring partner to the mat.
"Not a chance mutt-face," his opponent argued, punching him square in the gut, causing the hanyou to pause as the breath was knocked out of him, the momentarily stillness allowing an opportunity at which the wolf youkai was able to return to his feet. The dark-haired youkai glared down triumphantly at the hanyou, that is, until his legs were pulled out from under him and a fist connected to his jaw.
And so the fight continued in a fray of claws, limbs, fangs and trash talk, but mostly trash talk. The two were so busy trying to beat the crap out of the other neither noticed their stone faced 'boss' enter the training room, his toad-like assistant trailing behind.
"Enough." The newcomer ordered calmly as the two sparring charged at one another yet again claws bared and eyes focused. When neither so much as paused in their assault, he raised his voice ever so slightly, though not giving up his icy calm tone. "Inuyasha, Kouga, enough." The latter halted, fighting against his forward momentum as he recognized the man's authority, but Inuyasha didn't so much as hesitate in his attack, bringing a hard fist to the stationary wolf's nose.
Said youkai dropped, spitting blood out as his nose gushed red down his chin, and growling at the hanyou who was now doing a rather childish victory dance, yelling something about being the still undefeated champion.
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes at his younger half-brother's antics, and deciding to just get to the point, Sesshomaru let his next words get the inu hanyou's attention like no amount of lecturing and orders ever would. "Inuyasha I have a new assignment for you." As he knew it would this statement stopped Inuyasha in his tracks, as the hanyou turned to him, thinly veiled anticipation in his golden eyes. The inu no tashio smiled inwardly, his outer facade remained stony; this was why he would entrust Inuyasha with this particular assignment.
"What is it this time Sesshy, a bank, a collector, some old lady?" Sesshomaru knew the young half-demon was reverting to his favorite game, let's-see-how-far-I-can-piss-off-Sesshomaru-before-he-snaps, but his next plea was genuine, "Come on gimme a challenge already I haven't had a good brawl in ages." Inuyasha threw a significant glance at Kouga, who was resetting his nose, to emphasize his point.
"Very well, come." Was his only reply and he turned expecting his younger brother to follow. Shrugging at Kouga, who returned the gesture and stood to indicate it was the hanyou's call, Inuyasha went to receive his next assignment, though just to spite his brother the hanyou took his sweet time about it.
"Jaken, clean up this mess." Ordered the taisho, as he retreated the room, Inuyasha and Kouga behind him.
"Of course Sesshomaru-sama." The small green imp standing in his shadow hastened nervously to obey. The youkai bowed repeatedly and began mopping up the flecks and pools of blood spread across the training mat.
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When the two arrived in Seshomaru's office, Kouga having been dismissed to clean himself up, Inuyasha fell lazily into the chair opposite Sesshomaru's. "So Sesshy, what's my next target, another museum? That last job was a joke nothing but cameras and foot work." he complained putting up his bare and always filthy feet on the tidy office desk.
Despite his nonchalance Sesshomaru knew that his brother was itching for a fight, and he said as much "Obviously your little display downstairs with Kouga proved that, drawing blood." They might always be at each other's throats but they only fought for blood when both of them majorly needed to blow off some steam. "Perhaps this with keep you occupied."
Inuyasha watched as Sesshomaru withdrew a thick file from amongst the piles covering his orderly desk with ease, sliding it towards Inuyasha's upraised feet. The younger of the two raised an eyebrow at its density, only receiving a nod from his older brother to indicate he should open it, so he did.
Within the sturdy manila cover was enough background information to publish an in depth biography on a single teenage girl. He looked at the profile picture, she was pretty, sure, but what did she have to do with his assignment? "What's this?" He might be thief and occasionally an assassin but killing teenage girls wasn't really his style, he preferred taking out drug lords and wayward demons.
Sesshomaru almost chuckled at his brother's 'what the fuck' expression, almost. "She is guarding your target, get close to her to obtain said target, specifics are in the file." It was a clear dismissal. Inuyasha rose in a deliberately slow manner, flipping through the file as he went, stopping as he read the name of his target's supposed guardian.
"You've got to be kidding me; you want me to steal from her!" Sighing inwardly Sesshomaru raised his stony gaze to the hanyou, he had known this was coming, but he had also hoped his usually daft brother would have made it out of the office before he noticed who he was targeting.
"You said you wished for a challenge, this Sesshomaru has provided such." It was as close to a joke as the Inu no Tashio would speak, but Inuyasha saw that his brother was serious as always.
Knowing that was the only answer he would get, Inuyasha turned and trudged through the office door, grumbling as he went. The name printed neatly in the file burned in his mind. The single richest girl in Japan: HIGARASHI KAGOME. 'This might be interesting,' he thought as he looked again at the pictures of the young woman; in every one of them her dark hair was held tightly at the back of her head her posture rigid and controlled, the smile on her face was identical in every one and her eyes held depths of secrets to be unlocked, 'yes this could fun.'
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"Isn't this fun?" Whispered a familiarly sarcastic voice in her ear. Taken off guard Kagome nearly fell off her plushy chair. "A bit out of it huh?" The voice was obviously suppressing a giggle.
Glaring up at the girl who had dared interrupt her escape from the torture of the aristocrats outside the door Kagome hissed, "Sango don't do that." She stood up trying to straighten out the wrinkles from her lavish dress and rub the sleep from her eyes- not that she would ever sleep at a such an important social event of course, at least important to some, she herself had no idea what this gathering was for in the first place.
Sango hid a smile and, eyeing the hem of Kagome's dress, "Forgetting something Kags?" Blinking in confusion Kagome followed her friend's gaze and caught sight of what had Sango's eyes glinting teasingly; her bare toes were peeking out from underneath the pink skirt the powder-pink slits abandoned and viciously kicked under the coffee table, in Kagome's opinion the evil things were lucky she didn't take a katana to them, she momentarily entertained the thought of trying to purify them, but figured that spiritual powers would do little damage to inanimate objects, no matter how evil and feet-killing. Recalling protocol she blushed and grabbed for them. "Feet hurting?" Another glare. "Hey don't give me that look no wonder your feet hurt those things look like death traps."
"What do you want Sango?" She deadpanned embarrassed at having been found ditching the political chit-chat.
Unaffected by her friend's less-than-welcoming greeting she plopped down on the sofa opposite the chair Kagome had been occupying. "Same thing as you; escaping the finely dressed robots. Besides I'm only here because of you anyway, like I'm gonna torture myself without you." Reaching down to her calve high boots Sango unbuckled a subtle clasp hidden in the leather and withdrew a miniature set of. "Cards?" she offered holding the deck out to Kagome.
Smiling, for real this time, Kagome reseated herself across Sango on an overstuffed loveseat, replacing her feet on the table and chucking aside the mini-slits yet again. She took the deck and expertly began shuffling, "You are so on."
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In the shadier part of the Tokyo district a well-known and disrespected businessman sat in his office two subordinates facing his desk, another standing silently in the corner with a mirror in hand, its image reflecting two young women playing cards. "So the dogs are after my prize." Shadows played across the room casting a sinister light onto the businessman, not he needed help in the sinister department as it was.
"It appears that way, yes." Said the tallest one, his dark hair tied back loosely behind his slightly pointed ears.
"Inuyasha has been put on her case." Said the shorter albino boy, relishing the thought of the youngest dog prince chasing his own tail, figuratively thinking off course. Though if they planed according perhaps not so figurative after all.
The boss man spun around in his chair, plucking an eight by eleven picture from the inner pocket of his bamboo lined jacket, he rose to his feet drifting out from behind his desk and across the room as if floating on air. Deliberately he raised the picture level with the wall and with a flash of fleshy green pinned it there with the piece of tentacle connected to his finger. It broke off easily leaving the image of a seventeen year old girl hanging from his office wall. "I suppose that means we'll have to speed up our plans." His smile sent shivers of discomfort down the spines of his servants. "Hakudoshi, I think it's time to send our friend another invitation." The word came out like oil on his tongue.
"My lord," said the dark haired one, "Now that the House of the West is targeting her, she is bound to be more cautious and Inuyasha is not known for his stealth, this could interfere with your plans."
A sickening smile plastering his face the baboon pelted man caressed the photograph on his wall, feral hunger glinting in his eyes as he's thumb traced down the line of the image's jaw, "Kukukuku well that just won't do, will it my Kikyou?"
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