disclaimer: Any of the Inu Yasha characters in this story do not belong to me.


Chapter 1: New Identity

Sesshomaru Tashio was the soon to be heir of Tashio Inc. and the richest bachelor of Japan. None of this mattered to him, ever since his mother's death a piece of him had died along with her. That broken piece had left him cold and emotionless to the world.

It was another average work day for him as he got up off his bed and headed for the bathroom. Once there, he looked at his reflection and smirked. Sesshomaru Tashio was proud of the fact that he did not have to shave; it meant one less problem to deal with in life. Not that he had much of a life. Sure he was the heir of Tashio Inc. but that meant nothing to him unless he was the one running the company. As an heir, he had everything going for him. Every women would submit to him either for money, sex, or fame. They were all the same. For once he would like to meet someone who did not care about his status; if only he wasn't so known throughout Japan. If he could get away from Tokyo, maybe then he could live a normal life but that was asking for a miracle to happen.

He took a quick shower and got dressed in his usual suit for work. 'Work…why does it sound so…dull?' he thought as he grabbed the key to his silver BMW. Just as he was opening the door to leave for work the phone rang. Groaning in annoyance he went and picked up the phone. "Sesshomaru speaking." There was a long silence on the other end of the line before his temper began wearing thin. "Father, I have no time for these games. State your business, so I can be off to work." Still holding the phone he waited till his father began pouting. "Sessho, you're no fun anymore. I'm your father and you speak to me as you would to a stranger." Sesshomaru mentally groaned as his father continued pouting. "Father, in that state you are a stranger to me. If that is all that you wish to discuss, then I'm hanging up to go to work." He was about to hang up before he heard his father's voice once again. "NO! Wait! Fine, I'll tell you why I called. You have been working for quite a bit and now the company is at its climax and is stable…so I decided to give you three months off."

Sesshomaru stood still before the phone as his father's announcement processed through his brain. "THREE MONTHS! What will I do in three months? What will I do in three months?!" His father laughed evilly, "What every bachelor does, have fun." Before Sesshomaru could answer, his father had hung up on him. All he could think of was how his father thought it was necessary to put him on leave for three months. In the end he resorted to thinking one word, 'BASTARD!' He threw his keys onto the nearest table and began taking his business tie off. With a hard yank his tie came off and he threw that as well. He walked into his room in which he preceded to take his business shirt off and exchange it for a wife beater. His dress pants were next to go as he gave it up for dark, blue jeans. Once he had his socks on he put on a pair of custom made Cinch Etnies.

What was he to do now? Sure his father had said 'Have fun." but fun..that's one thing he hadn't done since his teen years. Could he just walk out of his suite and have "fun?" 'I highly doubt that, Sess.' he thought to himself. Three months of free time…surely he could come up with something to do. Shaking his head, he got up off his bed and headed for his living room. After three minutes of searching, he finally found his keys. Taking only his wallet he walked out of his suite and headed for the elevator. On his way out of it, he encountered a tall, lean woman. She had dark brown hair tied up in a tight bun and her eyes were red. She looked him once over, quite eagerly, and gave him what she believed to be a seductive smile. This only made him mentally cringe inward. 'Kami, how I hate that look on any women.' he muttered before putting on n emotionless façade on and walked past her onto the clerk's desk.

Like most luxury apartments the lobby that housed the clerks was quite lavished in gold marble walls with black counter top that secretly held a computer for reserving rooms. The clerk was a young boy that went by the name of Hojo. He just graduated from high school a year ago. Hojo looked up from the computer as Sesshomaru approached him, "Morning Mr. Tashio, how may I help you today?" Sesshomaru in turn gave a slight nod in acknowledgement and began stating what he wanted done. "I will be out for at least three months. If anyone should call requesting my presence, inform them that I'm to be out of reach for a long span of time. Now, should my father call, make sure you tell him that his son has taken to heart what he had proposed. As for my bill, send it to my accountant, Sango, she will make sure they are taken care of. That is all." Hojo hastily took down what Sesshomaru said on a notepad, "Yes, Sir!" Sesshomaru turned and walked out of the building wishing he hadn't noticed the once-over look that the woman with red eyes was giving him.

He made his way to his BMW and got in. Taking a deep breath he turned the car on. Being careful, he backed the car out and was on his way to wherever his thoughts took him. Soon he found himself in the middle of Tokyo. His father's company was located here, in the middle of the most populated city in Japan. Mentally groaning he drove passed Tashio Inc. and headed towards the less wealthy parts of Tokyo. Once he had found a place to park that was safe for his BMW, he walked out onto the sidewalk. 'A bit of fresh air might do me well' he thought as he headed west. Not long after walking did he realize that he was walking towards Tokyo Mall. As a young boy he had long ditched his father's home school teachers to hang at the mall. He had loved the bookstore there. If he was asked where he got his education from he would say that he learned almost everything he knew from Lessen Bookstore.

Lessen Bookstore was a small bookstore. Like every bookstore it had each and every kind of book one could imagine. Though that made it smaller to walk around in, but it was comfortable. What Sesshomaru loved the most about the bookstore was the person that ran the shop. The old woman that ran the shop was called Kaede. He had met Kaede when he was a teenager. Kaede had long been his friend, she was old, yet her wisdom he had come to value far greater than that of his father's. He entered through the glass double doors. Just as it had been in his teen years the little bells still hung above the doors announcing his arrival. With quiet steps he approached the counter, where he waited for the one person that knew him better than his father. Not long after he approached the counter did he hear the sounds of feet shuffling about and a muffled, "Be there in a sec."

Three…two…one…Waiting was not one of Sesshomaru's best virtues and he had enough of waiting. He decided to turn and leave the store; after all he wasn't even sure that Kaede still worked there. It certainly had been years since he was in the store and saw her or heard her talking, 'More of scolding than talking really.' thought Sesshomaru. The exit was merely an arm's length away, he could easily walk out and she'd never know he was there, but he felt a presence behind him. "Do grace me with your presence, Sesshomaru. I have not seen thy in years." Sesshomaru turned to face the counter again and there stood Kaede in her red and white kimono of the old days. "Kaede, it is a pleasure seeing you once again. Yes…it has been quite a few years, has it not?" A smile graced his lips, a smile no one had seen, but his dear friend Kaede.

Kaede walked around the counter and stood before him. "If I didn't know better I'd be intimidated by our presence." Instantly she had him by the ears and squeezed it hard. "Ow, what's that for?!" "That, Sesshomaru, is for not coming to see me for a long time." Once Sesshomaru's ear was released he began to rub the pain away. "Sorry, I've not had time, with working for father and fighting off whores, it has been tiring." "I'm sure it's 'tiring' fighting all those 'women' from your bed." Kaede spoke with sarcasm. Not long after Kaede had spoken the bell chimed again signaling a customer. Kaede head back behind the counter and Sesshomaru decided to go. Waving at Kaede he left almost bumping into a female. "I'm sorry." He looked down at the apologizing young woman who was carrying several books. Before he could speak she moved towards the nearest book selves which consisted of romance novels. Kaede was next to him once again. "It would not do well for me to have you run over my customers, Sesshomaru. Now off with you, I'm sure you have work to do, but keep in mind to visit me more often." Sesshomaru nodded and left the store. 'If she only knew I had three months of no work.'

Sesshomaru looked at his silver Rolex watch and saw that it was only noon. Sighing he headed back towards his BMW. 'What to do next?' he thought. Considering the fact that he had told the clerk that he would be gone for three months he should at least find a new place to stay to avoid those who knew him. He got into his car and drove off to find a new apartment. Within twenty minutes he was parked in front of New Haven Apartment complex. It was the next best thing to his pent house. Opening the door to get out of his car a thought occurred to him. 'If I'm going to stay "hidden" then wouldn't it be best if I didn't look like The Sesshomaru?' Slowly he got back in to his car and turned the engine back on. "I need to find a new identity."


A/N: Please Review!