After tasting life's nastiest medicine, I've returned with a new story. Hopefully, I'll continue on my other stories as well. Not that any of you care. Heheh...

Hokage Industries was hailed all over the world as one of the most successful businesses in the world. Employees were treated with respect, and customers were treated like gold. Hokage Industries was in fact a business that not only manufactured several different items, but it was most hailed for it's insurance company. Hokage had won many awards and had been owned by one family for five generations. However, lately, things were going downhill for Hokage Industries.

The latest president of the business, Tsunade, had fallen into a coma that, according to her doctors, had occurred because of her age and the stress of her job. Her son had died in a car wreck nineteen years before, and her grandson had to complete collage before he could even think of taking the job. Normally, the employees were allowed to vote on who should take over the company. That was not the case this time, for, surely, no one would have ever voted for the vice president to take over the company. The press had a field day over the newly appointed president of Hokage Industries, making up scandals and outrageous theories. The news papers and bloggers were all abuzz about phony reports saying that Danzo, the new president, had drugged the old woman, and that he was the one who sent her into a coma. Doctors, however, stated that there were no traces of any harmful chemicals in her bloodstream. That only lead to more conspiracy theories about the doctors being bribed to make that report. There were theories about how the man having affairs with her interns, while others accused Danzo of having seduced her, and that she requested in her will for him to take over the company.

This gave Hokage Industries' rivals, Akatsuki Inc., the perfect opportunity to flourish in their own business. For the longest time, they had been trying to get Tsunade's grandson, Naruto, to join them, saying he would be a valuable asset. Naruto, however, continually refused the offer every time. It had been his dream since he was very young to run Hokage Industries.

One of the board members of Akatsuki Inc., Uchiha Itachi, had been in charge of getting the young boy to join. The prospect had not even been considered easy, and he had failed every time. The CEO of Akatsuki Inc. had indeed been disappointed, but he had expected it to be difficult. However, now that Hokage Industries was being slowly destroyed from the inside out, the CEO, Pein, had little need for the young heir.

However, such knowledge about the scandals and turmoil were lost to the employees who were at the bottom of the food chain. Such as a young cleaning girl who was currently trying to fix the water fountain by the bathrooms on the third floor.

"I'm not a mechanic," she muttered miserably. "I haven't even been properly trained to do this sort of thing." Suddenly, something inside snapped and she was immediately sprayed by water. Coughing and sputtering, she desperately tried to cover up the leak with her hand. "I do not get payed enough to do this!"

"Then you should quit," said a cold voice behind her. The young woman turned to find herself staring straight at none other then Sai, Danzo's right hand man. Her chocolate brown hair was soaking wet, but that did not deter her from glaring at the young male behind her. The expression on his face was so devoid of emotion, she wasn't sure if he was amused by her situation or not.

"I would if I had a choice," she replied bitterly. "However, I can barely afford to live where I do now, and leaving my job would only make my situation worse." She wasn't even sure why she was even talking to the young man. Even though they were relatively the same age, he had somehow climbed to a position of power while she remained stuck in the slums.

"Well, I did hear that Akatsuki Inc. is hiring," he said in his usual monotone. "I hear they pay cleaning girls rather well." Okay, now he was making fun of her!

"Don't you have anything better to do then poke fun at me, Sai?"

"I wasn't trying to make fun of you, Megumi," he answered. "I'm trying to help you. Even I can see you've been miserable ever since Danzo took over the company."

"And the first company you suggest is Akatsuki Inc.," she replied sarcastically. She still had not removed her hand from the broken pipe. "What do you want in return for giving me such advice? Did you or Danzo want me to be your little spy or something? The answer is no way. I'm not going to get myself involved as something as stupid as business politics."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," said Sai. She could have misheard, but she thought for a second that his monotone voice was strained. "Then perhaps Taisho Corp. or Orochimaru's Laboratory? I heard you were interested in becoming a doctor."

Those two businesses were not necessarily rival businesses to Hokage Industries, but they did pose threats in their own ways. Taisho Corp. was owned by a young man named Sesshoumaru, with his younger half-brother, Inuyasha, as vice president. It had been passed down to them from their father. Orochimaru's Laboratory was out of the question. She had heard about the rumors about that place, and she didn't want to confirm any of them. She wasn't that desperate. Megumi had her own reasons for not wanting to work for Taisho Corp. It wasn't good to have a slight crush on your boss.

"No and no way!" she cried, forgetting the broken pipe and letting go. After more coughing and sputtering, she finally covered the pipe back up.

"You probably should have turned the water off before you tried to fix it," said Sai, stabbing her where it hurt. She glared at him sharply.

"Go away, Sai," she snarled. She heard him snicker as he left. Megumi let out a sigh before reaching for her cart. She carefully pulled out a radio, all the janitors and the cleaning girls had one. She was lucky she hadn't lost hers yet, being the forgetful ditz that she was.

"Hey, Konohamaru?" she said into the radio.

"Yeah?" came the slightly muffled reply.

"I need you to turn off the water for the third floor," she said. "I accidentally broke a pipe."

"Shock! All right I'm on it!" Megumi let out a growl. Yes, she was a total klutz. It was amazing that Danzo hadn't decided to fire her already. She had injured herself more times than she bothered to count, she had gotten several other employees hurt, and several other things that she should have been fired for. Danzo probably figured that she would get tired with working for a company that had been taken over so brutally.

"All right, Megumi," said a voice on the radio. "The water's off, you can remove your hand from the pipe." She let out a sigh as she did so. Nothing but a few drops of water came out.

"Thanks," she said before realizing what he had said. "HEY!!!"

"Taisho-sama will see you in a moment. Please, until then, Takahashi-san make yourself comfortable," said Rin, Sesshoumaru's secretary. She had a sweet young face and it made Megumi wonder why she hadn't heard any sort of scandals about Sesshoumaru and his secretary. Then she quickly remembered who it was she was thinking about. There wasn't anyone brave enough to even suggest such a scandal, let alone try to publish it in the papers or magazines without worrying about their head being lopped off. She doubted his half-brother was that brave!

She tried to picture the two of them together and quickly suppressed the urge to giggle. It was a cute sight to think about. It didn't even look scandalous to her, even if she did idolize Sesshoumaru a bit. Then panic set back into her chest. She was about to be interviewed for a job by the Sesshoumaru she currently idolized. For one, she couldn't believe she actually took Sai's advice in the first place, but he had been right though. She had been miserable there at Hokage Industries. So at the same time she was nervous, she was silently praying that she got this job.

"Takahashi-san?" said Rin quietly startling Megumi out of her thoughts. "Taisho-sama will see you now." For a moment, she couldn't move and felt as though she were glued to the seat. When she finally found her body, she stood up and approached the two mahogany doors and waited. Rin hit the button for them to open automatically.

Right then time seemed to freeze, or at least slow down to such an unbearable pace so that it was almost excruciating to watch. Her dull gray eyes fell on his topaz eyes. His silver hair was neatly tied in a braid and ran down his back gloriously. His white tux was almost blinding, and his tie was red with white flowers at the bottom. In one word, he could only be described as gorgeous.

There were, however, other words that came to mind as well as her gaze was fixedly locked with his, cold, calculating stare.

"Come in before the door shuts on you," he stated in a harsh voice that made chills run up and down her spine. She was looking at the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Ice Prince. She had watched him on TV when he gave press conferences, but never had his voice given her such an electrifying feeling. It was, quite frankly, terrifying. Without another word, Megumi took her first two steps into the room when the toe of her shoe got caught up in the rug. She let out a cry as she landed face first on the floor. She had the fortune of missing the twitch of annoyance on Sesshoumaru's face.

'What a lovely first impression! You're hired!' she thought irritably as she felt her whole body turn red. She quickly stood back up and scrambled to straighten herself out.

Sesshoumaru was not impressed, and certainly didn't appreciate the flashes of her underwear she kept accidentally throwing at him. He shut his eyes as he let out a small, irritated sigh. Normally, this was Inuyasha's job, to oversee the hiring of new employees. However, his half-brother and his newly-wed bride were currently on their honeymoon in Hawaii, so the job was left to him.

"So, you want a part-time job as a cleaning girl, is that right?" he asked as soon as she was done fiddling.

"U-uh, y-yes," she stuttered. She had really expected him to shove her back out the door. She noticed the slight blush on his cheeks. It was very, very, very, very slight, but it was still there. She wondered what could make him blush when she realized that she must have accidentally flashed him as she had been straightening out her skirt. She turned so red that she was sure her head was going to explode.

"Tell me why you want to work for this company," he said, tactfully ignoring the way her face was red as a tomato.

"I-I heard you were in need of help in my particular area of expertise," she said honestly, "and my current employer is not... um... supplying me with the proper provisions for me to perform my job to the best of my abilities." ​'Yeah, like respect.'

"I see," he replied. They had both managed to compose themselves again, although Megumi was still a little pink. "Are there any other reasons?"

"Um... no, not really," she replied.

"Hm. What were your expectations for your current job and to what extent were they met?" he started.

Megumi held back the urge to sigh from relief. After that first blunder, she wasn't sure how well she would have been able to continue, but thankfully, he had managed to smooth it out and ignore it. For that she was grateful, but she didn't put down her guard down just yet. She answered his questions in her usual business like manner. She had done this many times so she knew what to expect.

"Do you ever plan to get a second job?" he asked suddenly. She was working part-time, so certainly her situation would call for such a thing since she wasn't going to school.

"Um, no, not really, but I'm sure I would take it if the opportunity presented itself," she said honestly, then she realized her mistake. Why would they hire someone who had the potential of having such a busy schedule?

'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'

"That's good," he said, catching her off guard.

"Excuse me?"

"The position you are applying for doesn't offer enough money or hours for anyone who lives on her own," he replied. "You did say you lived in your own apartment?"

"Uh... yes," she said.

"Yes, so I suggest you either keep your current job or find a second one," he said. "I'll need you to stay and speak to my secretary. She will fill you in on the details."

"Do you mean... I've got the job?" she asked almost dumbfounded.

He raised his eyebrow before answering. "Yes," he said. Though, he had a feeling he was going to regret doing just that.

"Oh, thank you, Taisho-sama," she said with a bow.

"When you speak to me, you will address me as Sesshoumaru-sama, but to others, you will call me Taisho-sama, understood?" he said.

"Uh, yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said.

"Good, you may go," he replied with a wave of his hand as he returned to his paperwork. Megumi had to resist the urge to skip out of his office. Her idol, Taisho Sesshoumaru, had hired her as... a cleaning girl. Well, the job wasn't going to be pleasant—that much was certain—but the fact that she was under the employ of one of her idols was enough to cheer her up.

"Well, Takahashi-san," said Rin once she was out of the office and the doors were shut once again. "Let me go ahead and give you the papers you need to fill out. There are some papers you need to bring in as well. When do you think you can start on your training?"

"As soon as tomorrow, if that's okay," said Megumi. She had the next day off, so she was pretty much free for that whole day.

"Perfect, fill these out, and here's a list of what you need to bring me," said Rin. Megumi sighed as a pile of papers were shoved into her hands. At least she wouldn't be bored tonight. She looked up at Rin's smiling face, only to feel jealousy grip her heart. With a word of polite thanks, she took off with her arms filled with stuff. She had almost wished that she had Rin's job, but immediately realized how utterly ridiculous that idea was.

How would she get any work done if she was so distracted?

With a long winded sigh, she stepped into the elevator for a ride seventy-eight stories down. She quietly leaned against the railing as people got on and off simultaneously, until, finally, they reached the bottom. Even as she carefully stepped out of the elevator so as to not trip over anything, she bumped into someone, causing her to drop and spread her papers all over the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said as she hurriedly gathered her papers. She didn't see the young man bend over to help her out. Once they were all gathered, he shoved his stack into her face, forcing her to look up at him.

"Be careful next time, hm," he grunted. He had long blond hair pulled back into a high ponytail while his bangs covered up his left eye. His almond-shaped eyes were piercingly blue. Megumi felt herself blush at his words.

"Yes, I'm sorry," she apologized timidly. He knelt down beside her to get a better look at her, ignoring how passer-by's were staring at them sitting in the middle of the hallway. He then looked down at the papers in his hand.

"You gonna start workin' here, hm?" he asked.

"Um, yes," she replied, "but I'm just a cleaning girl." He looked back up at her.

"Deidara," he stated.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Deidara," he tried again.

"I'm Megumi, Takahashi Megumi," she replied, her already red cheeks turning darker. Suddenly, Deidara stood up as did she. He was still staring at the papers in his hands when he pulled out a pen and wrote something on the top left hand corner before shoving the papers into her arms again.

"Call me tonight," he whispered as he passed by her. Speechless, Megumi simply froze where she stood. She had certainly not expected that after her interview with Sesshoumaru. As soon as she had turned around, he, as in Deidara, was no where to be found. She looked down at the papers he had shoved at her and sure enough, he had left her his phone number. Unable to think clearly, her legs automatically moved on their own and led her back to the safety of the bus stop. As soon as she set down on the bent, she relaxed and tried to sort out what had just occurred.

Carefully, she peered down at the papers in her hands, and sure enough, there were two phone numbers scribbled at the top of the page. One number had a "c" written next to it meaning cell phone.

'I wonder what he wants,' she wondered innocently. Quickly tucking them away into her bag, she decided not to dwell on it until she got home. She hopped onto the bus that would take her to the apartment complex she lived in and decided not to let it get to her.

She had yet to gather the courage to go ahead and call. She merely stared at the papers on the table with the two phone numbers. It wasn't that she was afraid to call; she was just unsure of which number to try first. She had already filled out the papers Rin had given her, and Megumi was glad that Deidara had written down his numbers on an unimportant sheet. Otherwise, she would have to explain why there were phone numbers on them.

"All right, I'll just try the cell phone number," she muttered to herself as she picked up the phone. She quickly dialed the number, her breath hitching in her throat as she nervously waited for the phone to ring.

"Hello?" she heard on the other end.

"Hello? Is Deidara there?" she asked.

"This is he," he replied. "Is this Megumi?"

"Um, yes, it is?"

"Is this your cell phone?"

"Um, no, this is my home phone. I don't have a cell phone," she replied.

"Oh," he said. There was a moment of awkward silence as Megumi stared at the clock on the wall. Three thirty, it read. Today was one of her off days.

"Are you free tonight?" he asked, his voice startling her out of her daze.

"Um, yes," she replied awkwardly.

"Then, how about I take you to dinner, hm?" he asked. Megumi felt her jaw drop. Not in all of her wildest dreams did she ever think something like this would be happening to her. He was very good-looking and certainly had enough women tailing him where ever he went. Certainly, he didn't find her attractive. She was a walking stick with hair. She wore an A-cup for Pete sake!

"Uh, okay," she said. It wasn't like she was going to say no. For one, when she last saw him, he was wearing an Italian suit, obviously rich, and two, drop dead gorgeous, and three, she didn't know how to say no.

"All right, how about seven o'clock?" he asked.

"That sounds good," she breathed.

"Okay, where do you live?" Wait, he was going to pick her up too?

"That's okay. I'll meet you somewhere," she said.

"Where do you live, hm?" he asked again as if he hadn't heard her. She couldn't believe this. She hesitantly gave him the street and apartment number.

"Hmph, seven o'clock, got it?" he said.

"Y-Yeah," she said when he hung up. She held the phone to her ear as she attempted to process what had just occurred.

"I'm going on a date?" she asked herself aloud. Finally finding herself, she pressed the end button, but before she could even put the phone down, it began to ring. Hesitantly, she pressed the talk button and answered.

"Hello, this is Megumi," she said.

"Takahashi Megumi-san?" said a voice on the line. "Hello, I'm Hoshigaki Kisame from Akatsuki Inc."

'Huh?'

"We got a fax about an hour ago. It was your resume, and we were wondering if you could come in for an interview," he said in a very serious, business-like voice.

'Huh?'

"It'll only take a few minutes," he said. "How about at four-thirty?"

'Huh?!'

"Just give your name at the front desk, and the lady there will direct you from there," he said. "I'll see you then." With that said, he hung up.

"HUH?!!!" she cried out. She pressed the end button and grit her teeth. She knew who exactly had sent the fax, and she wasn't about to let him get away with it!

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Megumi stormed through the building of Hokage Industries like a hurricane. Anyone who was in her way quickly stepped to the side to let her pass. No one was about to stop her. She passed cubicle after cubicle until she found what she was looking for, a door with a sign that said "Do Not Disturb" written on it. She didn't heed the sign as she shoved the door open and slamming it against the wall. She almost thought she heard a comical crack in the wall, but paid it no mind. Sure enough, there they were, Danzo and his little pet, Sai.

"The sign says 'do not disturb,' Megumi," said Danzo menacingly.

"You!" she hissed, pointing at Sai. "You sent that fax, didn't you?!"

"I have no idea what you mean," said Sai.

"You faxed my resume over to Akatsuki Inc., didn't you?!" she shrieked.

"Oh, that," he drawled. "Um, I might have. I don't remember."

"Don't play dumb!" she cried.

"You really shouldn't raise your voice like that," said Danzo, his voice low but strong. "I want you to work for Akatsuki Inc. as my little spy, unless, that is, you want your new employee, Sesshoumaru, to know about your younger brother's trip to prison, and how you bailed him out with Tsunade's help."

"You're blackmailing me?" she cried. "That's illegal!"

"Well, we'll pay you triple your current salary," said Danzo. "So, not only will you be working two jobs, you'll be getting paid several times the amount you would normally make. You could even pay off your debt and get a nice apartment. Unlike the dump you live in now."

Megumi felt all her pent up energy die as she stared disbelieving at the two men in front of her. She felt her anger disappear as fear gripped her heart. Tsunade had promised that information would never get out to anyone. Megumi had been friends with Tsunade's intern, Sakura, and it was Sakura who had convinced Tsunade into helping Megumi get her younger brother out of prison. Such information reaching Sesshoumaru would in fact mean her termination.

"All right," she said through gritted teeth, "you win. What do you want?"

"Just do your best on the interview, and get the job, no matter what it is," said Danzo. "Oh, and do your best not to give yourself away. I know how much of clumsy little girl you are, so please, be careful." Suddenly, two large security men came up from behind her and grabbed her by the arms. Danzo smiled maliciously

"Please escort this lovely young lady to the exit, but be nice, she's just a little lost is all," he said in an overly sweet tone that made her sick to her stomach. She was thankful that they didn't rough-house her though. She didn't need bruises for the interview she was unwillingly going to. As soon as she was out of the building, she hopped onto the next bus to Akatsuki Inc.

"How did they get they're hands on that information?" she asked herself quietly. Of course, it wasn't like she was surprised. Everyone believed that Danzo had some funny friends underground, assisting him in getting dirt on anyone he wanted.

Upon entering the Akatsuki building, Megumi felt her heart sink into her stomach. She wasn't here to be a spy. She tried to tell herself as she slipped her bag over her shoulder. The young teenager at the desk was examining her nails with her feet propped up on her desk as she spoke into her headset.

"So I told him—no, I'm talking about Ryo," she said into the headset, obviously talking to one of her friends. She was blond with a bust that made Megumi green with envy, but she just stood there, waiting for the teenager to notice her. "Yeah, I told him that we could only play if it meant that I was on top. Yeah, and he got all mad and jumped me. He—can I help you?"

'Ugh, finally!' "Um, I'm here for an interview with Hoshigaki Kisame?" said Megumi.

"Yes, third floor down the hall to the left fifth door on your right," she said quickly before going back to her conversation. Megumi quietly muttered her thanks before hurrying off towards the elevator, but not before running into something solid... and warm. Before she could fall from the impact, an arm wrapped itself around her waist and keeping her from losing her balance completely.

"Are you all right?" asked a gentle baritone voice. However, there was no emotion in it, like Sai's voice.

"Yes, thank you for—" the words nearly died in her throat as she found the face of the person who she had run into and catch her. His black hair perfectly framed his handsome face and his black eyes burned into her dull gray ones relentlessly. "—for catching me," she finished.

"You're welcome," he replied politely as he released her. She moved out of his way and bowed.

"I apologize for running into you like that," she muttered. He didn't respond out loud. He merely nodded his head to her as he passed. She didn't see it. With one last glance at his retreating back, she stepped into the elevator. As the girl at the front had instructed, she found Hoshigaki Kisame's office.

"Excuse me? I'm Takahashi Megumi," she said as she stepped into the room.

"Ah, yes, come in," said Kisame as he stood up from his chair. He was extremely tall and his hand practically covered her arm as they shook hands. He grinned at her with a very toothy smile and a look that appeared as though he were going to eat her, and was she seeing things or was that a blue tint to his skin?

"Please sit down," he said as he sat back down. She followed suit, nervously clutching her bag. "So, you're currently employed at Taisho Corp. is that correct?"

"Um, yes..." she said.

"All right, did you want to work here as a secondary job or a primary job?"

"Um, primary," she responded. "The job I have there currently doesn't have enough hours and pay and I need that."

"All right, well, let me go ahead and ask you a series of questions before I make a decision," he said. Megumi visually relaxed. She knew how to handle the usual questions, and answered them with the usual ease.

"Well, Takahashi-san, I believe that's it," he said as he straightened out the papers he had filled out while speaking with her. "Let me go speak with Pein-sama, and I'll be right back, all right?" She nodded, and he opened the door to reveal the same man she had run into earlier.

"Ah, Itachi-san," said Kisame. "Meet Takahashi-san. As soon as I speak with Pein-sama, she will be your new secretary."

"WHAT?!"

Well, this was supposed to be a battle between Itachi and Sesshoumaru, but I needed a third party. I thought about Sasuke for awhile, but my sister and I agreed no, so Deidara got the part... and he's so out of character... ah well *dodges rotten fruit thrown by Deidara fans*. I will have a poll on my profile about who should "win" so-to-speak, and "none of the above" is indeed an option, but also remember that this is to see which has the most fans, so be sure to get your friends who are also fans of both Inuyasha and Naruto in on it. Please review... Anyone want to be my beta?