A/N: I think I'm mad. I haven't even really gotten into the main plot in my other story and yet here I am, starting another one, officially declaring my doom. Before you know it, or even I know it, I'll be starting numerous fics and never continue with them. (cowering from the tomatoes and eggs thrown at me) +__+
Disclaimer: I take no part in Inuyasha's creation, although I did come up with my own plot. :D
Chapter 1
"My, my, aren't we under-staffed here?" Totosai licked his thumb and flipped over the page. "So many jobs still left undone. How can we meet this year's goal if not enough workers are out there getting the tasks completed?"
Putting down the book, he tilted his head and thought for a moment. After a short pause, he opened the left drawer of his desk and took out another book. Skimming through it, he quickly decided on a name. Setting the book aside, he tapped the iron desk with his tiny golden hammer, creating a tinkly bell-like resonance.
"Sire, you called?" A tall dark man appeared out of thin air before Totosai. He bowed to the old man in respect.
"Yes, Ox. Would you kindly fetch apprentice Shippo for me?"
"As you wish, sire." With that said, Ox disappeared as mysteriously as he had appeared a few seconds before.
Totosai leaned back into his soft green chair and closed his eyes, waiting for the person he wished to see to arrive.
Tap tap! There was a timid knock on the wooden door.
"Come in!"
A reddish brown-haired young boy came in, seemingly scared and nervous. He asked in a quiet voice, "Did you wish to see me, Master Totosai?"
"Ah, yes. Apprentice Shippo, right?" Totosai sat up and carefully looked the boy over, scrutinizing every single detail.
The older man's silent inspection apparently made the young boy very uncomfortable, as he fidgeted and turned his gaze towards the floor. "Yes, I am apprentice Shippo, third year, of Love Triangle Academy, sire."
"As I understand from your record," Totosai pointed to the black hard-covered book that he had taken out before, "You're two years older than everyone else in your class as you're the only one who failed the previous two graduation exams, am I correct?"
The boy reddened all the way to the tip of his ears. He replied with an ashamed look and regret in his voice, "Yes, sire."
Totosai stroked his beard. "The next graduation exam won't occur until next year, which is 15 months away." He leaned forward, elbows on the desk. "Tell you what, Shippo, how about I offer you a special chance to amend for your failure? If you can complete the assignment that I've set for you, I'll grant you the diploma. What do you think of it?"
"Really sire?" Shippo looked up with bright hopeful eyes. "I couldn't ask for anything more. Please grant me the chance, sire, and I swear on my honour as an apprentice of the Love Triangle Academy that I will complete the assignment at all cost!"
"Now, now, lad, don't get too excited." Totosai smiled. "You should hear what the task is first."
"I'm sorry, sire." He quickly apologized.
"That's okay, no need to apologize." Totosai took out a sheet of paper from a yellow file folder to his right and handed it to Shippo. "Instead of having you writing an exam like the stand procedure, I've decided to give you a practical test. Your job is to match up these two people on the sheet, helping them fall in love with one another."
"But that's the job of a licensed cupid!" Shippo's eyes widened with shock as he stared at Totosai. He stuttered, "How…how can I possibly….that's not…apprentices are not allowed to do that!" He finally exclaimed.
"I know. That's why I've told you that I'm offering you a special chance. Considering that you've had two more years of experience in being a cupid apprentice than everyone else, you should be able to take on a job like this. If you succeed, you'll get your diploma and become a licensed cupid straight away without the one-year follow up training program. Plus, even if you fail the job, you'll just be going back to the academy and waiting to take next year's exam. There's nothing to lose here, is there?"
"I…I suppose not." Shippo said, still dazed by the special offer and privilege that he'd been given.
"So, are we both agreed that you'll take this job then?"
"Yes, Master Totosai. I'll do my best." Shippo promised, face flushed with excitement from being given such a challenge.
"Very well then, you may proceed with your task as soon as you're ready."
Noting that he had been dismissed, Shippo bowed to Totosai and left the room, hands clutching the piece of paper that outlined his job along with a brief profile of the two persons that he was supposed to match up.
x x x
"Master Totosai, why did you…?" Ox began.
"Why did I give the child an upper mid-level difficulty matchmaking task?" Totosai cut him off.
"Yes." Ox gave him a questioning look.
"Well, you do know that we're short-staffed due to the number of cases that has increased right?" Seeing that Ox nodded his head, Totosai continued. "In order to meet the increasing workload, I need to find a way to have more cases completed. The kid Shippo is only the first step, or experiment if you please, in solving the problem. You see, it can't hurt us to let him work on a time consuming B+, or upper mid-level difficulty assignment, can it? If he fails, then we'll just let a licensed cupid take over and send him back to the academy. However, if he succeeds, not only will he be able to prove that he's capable of doing a cupid's job but also that we'll be able to add another member to our workforce. Are you with me so far?"
Again, Ox nodded his head.
"As a direct result of his success, I'll be able to fully overrule any objections to the changing from written to practical exams for the academy next year, because I'll be able to use him as an example, showing that if a kid at Shippo's level can complete a cupid's job, then there should definitely be no problem for others to do a C+ to C- level cupid assignment as their practical exams, which will lessen a bit of the workload for us while they take care of the C level cases. I'll also be able to cut out the one-year cupid-in-training process that follows their graduation, allowing more fresh cupids to pour into the workforce and thereby increasing our job completion efficiency." Totosai concluded, feeling proud of his ingenious plan.
"But sire, what are you going to do to solve our problem if the kid fails?" Ox posed a question.
Totosai gave him an odd look. "Why, we move on to plan B!"
"Which might be…?"
"I'm afraid you cupids out there will have to work at least 80 hours a week then." Totosai stated mournfully. "What a shame."
Ox cursed silently in his mind. If the future well-being of the cupids depended on whether if a kid who failed his previous exam could complete a B+ task, then he and his fellow cupids probably didn't have a very bright future. Oh, how he hated and hated and hated this world and the increasing human population!
"Sire."
"Yes?"
"Is there by any chance a plan C?"
Totosai grinned evilly. "Do you really want to know?"
Ox groaned. "No, never mind what I've just asked. I'd rather not find out."
x x x
She couldn't believe this! First day of her new life in high school and she overslept! Kagome mentally berated herself as she hurried down the escalator, worming and pushing her way through the morning crowd at the subway station.
It really sucked to need to commute to school, especially when she missed the subway train that she was supposed to take. Now she had to wait for the one that would come at 7:20 and cross her fingers and hope that she would make it on time to attend the opening ceremony. It simply wouldn't do to start off a new school year with bad impressions for the teachers.
She waited by the yellow line and glanced at the clock. The train should be arriving soon… Ah! There it came!
Instead of waiting for the passengers to get off first, she rushed into the subway car, or rather, was pushed along into it by the eager crowd that gathered behind her. The car was soon filled with people, who, like her, had to commute to school or work.
Kagome tried to adjust herself into a more comfortable position but couldn't, as she soon realized that the car was jam-packed with people and she was deadly stuck somewhere in between them. She sighed inwardly and again cursed herself for her tardiness. If only she had not turned off that stupid alarm clock subconsciously, then she would've been able to take the seven o'clock train and wouldn't have to put up with this "human jam." Really, she swore that she would move to the Arctic or the South Pole someday just to escape from this overwhelming crowd in the city.
The girl standing beside her was trembling. Kagome couldn't help but notice it because they were standing so closely together. She saw that her knuckles had turned white from grabbing her purse too tightly and there were tears in her eyes. Kagome frowned. Although summer hadn't really started, it couldn't be "that" cold even with the AC on in the car. Plus, all this excess human body heat should be enough to make a person sweat, not shiver.
Could she be by any chance claustrophobic? Was she going to throw a seizure? Kagome glanced at the girl worriedly and was about to ask her whether if she was feeling ill when she noticed an unwanted hand that had found its way into the girl's skirt.
"You PERVERT!" She yelled as loudly as she could while grabbing hold of the wrist of that hand and wrenched it away from where it should never have been in the first place.
That hand belonged to a bespectacled, bald, middle-aged man in a cheap suit.
Heads turned their way and murmur began to spread among the crowd.
"What…what the hell are you doing?" The man sounded bewildered as he tried to free his hand from Kagome's grasp.
"What the hell am I doing? Might I ask you what the hell were YOU doing to her?" Kagome asked sternly. She turned to the girl beside her. "He was the one who harassed you, wasn't he?"
Throwing a glance at the man, the girl timidly nodded her head.
"You are lying! I didn't do anything to you!" The man turned red as people began pointing at him. He tried vigorously to free his hand away. "No! These kids are lying! Believe me! I've been set up!"
"Sir, I think it's best that you get off quietly at the next stop and report to the station office." A young man told him.
As soon as the subway train came to a stop, Kagome pulled the man off the train, along with the girl and the young man following behind. They headed towards the office.
Suddenly, the man pushed against Kagome very hard, catching her off guard and making her fall into the young man behind her. He fled as fast as his legs could carry him, pushing his way through the rushing crowd, ignoring the curses as he elbowed others aside. Just as he saw the exit not far ahead and thought that he had reached safety, somebody tackled him from behind.
He dropped heavily to the ground and was pinned against it by no other than Kagome, whose face was flushed from the chase and from the anger that was caused by this shameless man.
"Nobody outruns me" was all he heard before the station officials came to his side and led him to the office.
"Thank you, thank you so much." The girl held Kagome's hands and shook them in gratitude. "I really don't know how to thank you enough for what you've done for me."
Kagome smiled. "There's no need to thank me. This is what any normal person with justice on his or her mind would do. Just remember that if this sort of thing ever happens to you again, or happens to someone around you, speak up! Remaining silent would only make the situation worse."
"Yes, I'll remember that. If this happens again, I'll be brave just like you were." The girl's eyes shone with resolution.
"I bet you will." Kagome's smile widened.
x x x
Inuyasha looked towards where the commotion had been and saw a bald man wearing a cheap suit and glasses being led towards the office by two station officials.
He shrugged.
"None of my business," he muttered as he headed towards the stairs.
x x x
"No! My train! School! The ceremony! I'm running late~~~~~" Abruptly recalling that she was "supposedly" to be on her way to high school, Kagome ran all the way back down the station to catch the next departing sub after bidding the girl a hasty goodbye.
"Hold on! Wait!! Don't leave me!!!" She called and ran along the platform as the subway train closed its doors and departed with a loud puff of the engines, as if it was tossing its head and laughing at her.
"No, no, no, no, no! This… can't… be… happening………." Kagome sagged down onto the floor as she watched the subway train disappear into the tunnel. She held her head and groaned. "I am SO dead."
x x x
"Hmm… let's see…" Shippo took out his job description file and looked at it as he walked out of the bookstore of the Cupid's Community. On it were profiles of two people along with a photograph of each person. Printed beneath the photographs were:
Matches: Inuyasha, age 17 & Kagome, age 16
A/N: Please! Stop! No more tomatoes, eggs, or wine bottles. Arrrggghhh!!! Not the knives too! (sobbing) I know this is a weird fic, but heck, I'm writing it anyways. (fleeing)