Elegant Nightmares
I have nothing to do with Inuyasha, the anime nor the manga.
It was the same room, the same chair and desk, the same windows and storm clouds blocking the moon... everything was the same. It was the same long feeling of déjà vu her mind was swimming through. She tried to latch onto anything that could help her remember why this scene looked so familiar. She would have to act fast, her body had that same tension locking up her muscles; something would be coming. Her feet moved quickly, her hands running through different documents her eyes hadn't seen but knew they weren't of importance.
"What is this?"
She jumped, turning to face the witness of her crimes. Her back parallel to the wall he forced her to. Her small voice stuttered, begging for him to keep his tongue silent, she would pay him if needed. He was a good man, he said he would. The tension hadn't left her shoulder blades nor did she expect it to, it was all so familiar...
When he didn't step aside she tried to walk around him, the pain coursed through her spine and scull when he pushed her back against the stone roughly.
"I shall keep my word if you keep yours,"
His mouth continued moving, forming different words, but she couldn't hear them. They were being blocked by some sort of beeping sound, the most familiar thing of all. Fear still ran through her being, déjà vu still on the tip of her tongue, but it would have to wait...
--------
The world of reality. That was a funny way of putting it, she thought. Who was to say the air she breathed at this very second wasn't lost within a world of imagination? Perhaps the dream she had every night occurred because it was the reality. No one would ever know if it was true or false, why should she should she be any different?
Or maybe it was the fact that she was different. Her real life was so boring that in her subconscious she wanted to feel more important. Not having her paper-pushing job was a start.
"Higurashi,"
She couldn't help but sigh, her face giving away her agitated mood. She was being summoned by the great lord. Her memory of getting the position as his secretary escaped her but after she was called for the second time she thought it wise to go.
Her boss' name was Inutaisho, or better known as The Great Dog Demon Of The West. What a mouthful…
He could be, at times, one of the most feared demons, and at others an old, gentle soul. But most of all he was an annoying youngster who demanded he get his way. Having been around the dramatic changes for some time she could guess which of the three he was acting out in front of her, the very last.
He was silent for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts before he spoke. "... My eldest son has been working under me for years now and I believe it is time for my youngest to start," he paused, annoying his secretary more. She wondered what this all had to do with her...
"I fear that I've postponed his assistants' position far too long and have no one to fill the spot." The picture was starting to become clear; the demon in front of her wasn't as worried as he was trying to sound, he already had the problem solved and was working on the next knot in his rope.
"Higurashi, will you please do me a favor and help my son? I ask you knowing-"
'That I have no other choice?' she thought bitterly.
"That you are the right and only person I can trust."
The room was silent, save for the soft ticking of the clock hanging on the wall of his office. She broke into the best smile she could muster and accepted the job offer unwillingly. She disliked Inutaisho but his sons, whom she met on occasions, she detested them even more. Now she would be working under one of them, the youngest, Inuyasha.
--------------
It had been the same dream again last night. It was the same room, the same old chair and desk... the same windows with storm clouds blocking the moon... it was all the same just as it was every other night. Like a movie, the script never changed, and the partly-formed plot was still hanging in the air when her alarm clock jarred her out of sleep (or reality). Like a movie she had seen one to many times, her mind started to take in different settings. Similar items including the candle stick she didn't notice before, helping her read through the documents, the way the door wasn't closed all the way, perhaps making it easy for the man to spot her from the dull light spilling into the corridor, and the fact that she could only see the man's lips, forming words on a grin.
She couldn't deny herself or her curiosity. She wanted to know more, more of what was to come. Her mind drifted farther than where her body sat, unknowingly ignoring her new employer.
"Higurashi!"
She blinked, looked up and saw Inuyasha, the half demon, son of Inutaisho and step brother to Sesshoumaru who was a full demon, standing over her desk. She heard they both had little to no respect for each other and blamed their father for most of their troubles. She blinked again, waiting to hear what the fuss was about, apathetically.
"I've been calling you for five minutes."
'Now you have my attention,' she thought, but knew she could get away with only so much. Instead she formed a small smile and apologized for her short-comings, claiming to have a lot on her mind lately.
She saw he was thrown off by her smile and he quickly tried to hide it. "Its fine, just don't let it happen again." He waved for her to follow him to his office. It would be a long day...
------------
She didn't know how it began or when it would end but somehow it continued. One day of favors turned into her requirements and duties and soon all three males had her as their secretary.
When she started working for all the dog demons, her co-workers claimed she was simply amazing. She responded bluntly, saying she didn't have to be so amazing if they actually started to do and/or finish their jobs. No one bothered her on the subject again and started to complete their own duties just as they were hired for.
Even though her co-workers started to complete their work she didn't lose her three bosses. She worked longer hours and somehow found herself with a better paycheck – though because of the longer hours she couldn't spend. Her mood stayed sour but it had always been anyway so there was no use in blaming the dogs.
She sighed, packing up paper to bring home and slipping on her jacket. After all, work was never done. She just wanted to go home and dream.
-----
Dreams were suppose to be different, or so she thought and was told. When she was child many different dreams and nightmares filled her brain as she slept. So why were her thoughts so fixed on this idea, this plot, this unfinished script? She didn't know but it didn't stop her thoughts moving back to it all.
The same room was lit by the same flickering candle she held. The old chair and desk reflected the light and shadows as she flipped through the documents. The storm clouds blocked the moon's glow from entering the same windows she always saw. It was still the same, nothing had changed, and somehow it brought her comfort.
The dream continued to flow, moving in order. From the searching through papers to the man catching her and forcing her back to the cold, stone wall. His lips were in that same grin as he took her offer and her shoulders were still stiff, aching as he pushed her back to the wall roughly.
"I shall keep my word if you keep yours,"
His mouth continued moving, shocking her when the familiar beeping sound of her alarm clock didn't overpower his words.
"I don't want money nor do I need it." Her comfort had left her long before, replaced with fear and anxiety. His hands rested on her forearms and she realized that his body was standing to close – had he always been this close?
"I want you."
He was closing the space between them, her fear rising to higher levels when the scene stopped. His lips were mere inches from her own and ringing filled her ears.
------
She had slept in, a friend and co-worker had called informing her of a meeting Inutaisho had changed the time to. So now she was late and more of a sour mood. That dream continued, had the man masked in shadows thought to rape her?
When she walked over to her desk and threw her coat and bag into the chair was when she saw it.
It was a red rose... why was a red rose sitting on her desk?
She didn't need to guess who it was from and with that thought she wanted to trash the flower. But the poor thing did nothing but bloom and spread its roots before being ripped out of the ground; she couldn't take her anger out on it. If he asked about the flower and why she kept it she would simply tell him the truth, the flower shop he bought it from killed it and she was trying to save it.
"Higurashi, you're late."
As if on cue Inuyasha walked over to her desk, tapping a file in his hands.
"You missed the meeting."
She looked at him for a moment before continuing to take out documents from her bag, mumbling morning greetings. Inuyasha smiled, returning them.
"Did you see the flower I got you?" he questioned.
"Yes," she answered, sitting down, barely controlling her annoyance. "I'm going to try to save it after the flower shop you bought it from started its early demise."
She didn't catch his expression after that for he walked away but she assumed he got her point.
----
For reasons unknown her alarm clock hadn't gone off in the morning and because of it she stayed later that night. Gathering information from emails and calls from Inutaisho plus his sons to understand what she had missed that morning and what it was they all wanted her to do by the end of the week.
The office was empty save for the janitor and herself, the silence allowed her hands to finish her set goals and her mind to drift off to her dream. The man's voice echoing in her head…
----
She wouldn't go in tomorrow. She didn't bother setting her clock or picking out clothes the night before, she didn't bother planning her morning breakfast or afternoon lunch. She wouldn't step not one foot in the work place, she was finally taking a day off.
She grinned evilly, her mind wondering what her co-workers and bosses would do when she called out sick. Perhaps do their share of work for once; that would be shocking. Funny to see – if she only she could be a fly on the wall. They all would must likely be like chickens with their heads cut off.
She sighed in relaxation, letting her body flop on the bed and her mind go completely blank. She couldn't remember the last time her mind was free to anything, free to do nothing.
---
There was only the color black. Why was there only darkness when she had closed her eyes the night before? There had been no candle, no clouds, no stone walls, no man, nothing! How come the dream she grow to know so well hadn't invaded her empty mind? Was it because her brain was empty? Did she need a million and one things on her mind for the dream to materialize?
She didn't know what the cause had been nor if she was please the dream had stopped. 'It was too early for all this thinking,' she thought as she sipped her coffee. She was finally able to enjoy the taste, not having someone over her shoulder.
She grinned, remembering the strain in Inuyasha's voice when she called out, claiming to have a fever. He wouldn't know what to do with himself. Neither would his father and half brother, all the important documents were in her computer under locked files. Just the way they had told her to do. No one knew the files passwords but her. She could barely control her laugher as her phone rung; she wouldn't answer it at all today. Her excuses were ready, either she was sleeping or at the doctor's office. They would just have to get through the one day as hopeless, headless chickens.
---
Her one day of bliss may have backfired when she returned but it was still worth it. Nothing would have made her take it back.
"Higurashi, call you get me the K.I.K.O. file?" Inutaisho asked, his childish smirk playing on his lips.
"Of course." Her smile was artificial.
"Thanks; just email it to me when you get a chance."
Her smile dropped as soon has his back was turned.
She huffed in annoyance, typing and clicking away to get the file and send it to the great lord before he came back. Her eyes landed on the red rose sitting in its modest black vase, having caught sight of it in her peripheral vision. 'It may need water soon...'
"Higurashi," Inuyasha smiled, waving a hand full of documents. "How are you feeling today?"
She hesitated but soon changed her expression to her practiced smile, "I'm feeling much better, thank you."
He nodded and walked away, leaving her to her work and puzzled mind. Why had his voice startled her for a second? …And why had her eyes refused to look away for the red petals?
"Maybe I really am getting sick after all." She mumbled, sending the file to Inutaisho with a click of her mouse.
----
Hmm, the dream again; the story would never be fully told, would it? It hadn't even ended at the spot on the day she slept in, instead continuing to do so when he told her to keep her word.
Frustration was clear on her face and through her body langue. She just wanted to know what she had been doing in that dream to become so frighten when getting caught. Not to mention the man how had caught her. What was he in all this, who was he? Why was he such an important character in the story's line?
She flopped down in her chair, letting her bags and coat fall where they pleased as she turned on the computer on her work desk.
"Bad night?" Inuyasha asked.
"Kind of,"
---
Great, it was going to rain. The storm clouds she could see through the windows in Inutaisho's office screamed a bad storm was heading her way. On a day she hadn't brought an umbrella too.
Everyone was already gone, safe in their home's while she stayed longer to finish up her work for the meeting in the morning. She shouldn't have stayed. If there was one thing she hated more than her job it was storms.
There was a loud crashing and the building trembled beneath her feet, causing her to drop all her papers and the lights to shut off. The storm had started already and it was strong enough to knock out the power. Another thing that had fear crawling up her spine.
She tried to swallow it down, ignore the panic she felt was making her sick. She took a deep breath, tried to relax her nerves and moved around the dark office floor in search of a flashlight. She couldn't help her shot burst of flinches whenever lightening struck somewhere outside and shook the building some more. 'At least I wont have to see it for a few,' she thought, grabbing hold of a flashlight near the fire extinguisher. She flicked it on, pointing it to her way back to Inutaisho's office where she had dropped the files.
"I hate this job," she growled, bending down to pick up the papers. "Great, there all out of order."
Now she had to take more time away from getting home just to organize them; not that she really wanted to walk in the storm. Her ill feelings toward the weather fought with her hatred for her job, it was a stale mate in the end.
She held the flashlight between her teeth to have the light focused on the pages as she reread them to find there order, declaring to number the next file she printed out. She flipped through page after page realizing some had nothing to do with the S.A.N. file she was looking for; she decided they were of little importance.
The lightening filled the office with its blue glow, scaring her more and causing her to drop the flashlight. She looked out the window, seeing the moon that had been seen earlier was now hidden behind the dark storm clouds. When the building trembled again she moved back to the documents and retrieved the flashlight from the floor, trying to place them back quicker so she could at least move from the windowed office.
"What is this?"
She jumped, turning to face the witness of her mistake. Her back parallel to the wall he forced her to. Her small voice stuttered because of the flashing lightening, begging for him to keep his tongue silent about her obvious fear of storms. He was a good man, he said he would. The tension hadn't left her shoulder blades nor did she expect it to as the storm continued to grow stronger and stronger.
'Why was this familiar?' she managed to wonder.
When he didn't step aside she tried to walk around him to continue putting the pages in order. The pain coursed through her spine and scull when he pushed her back against the stone roughly. Had the office walls always been made of stone? She couldn't recall it being so.
"I shall keep my word but you must do something for me in return."
"What?" Could he be serious; was this some sort of black mail?
She couldn't even see his face, having dropped the light when he startled her. How was this man, why had his voice sent shivers down her spine like a nightmare - ?
"…My dream…" She said on a breath.
"I only started to work here because I heard you did," Her comfort in having another person in the office with her had left her long before, replaced with fear and anxiety. His hands rested on her forearms, ignoring her attempts at trying to push him away, and she realized that his body was standing to close – too close, just like her dream. She knew what would most likely happen next but she preferred to believe she had not lost her mind.
"I want you."
He was closing the space between them, her fear rising to higher levels as another loud crashing sound filled the night sky.
"I've wanted you for so long, please…"
She put a freed hand over her mouth to block him off and glared into the darkness. What the heck was he begging for?
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
The man let her arm drop but she could tell he didn't move away. It was as if he was waiting for something.
"Well?" she asked, lowering her hand some.
"At the moment, perhaps, a future lover," He said, "But over all, your boss."
She was in shock, "What?" Had Inuyasha been the man in her dreams all along, could it be true?
She had let her guard down and he took full advantage. His lips were forceful when they slammed onto hers. He held her arms away so she couldn't push him and stood close to her body, preventing her legs from lashing out at him.
If her dream had ever continued she was sure this is what would have happened. The strangest thing of all was her body was responding. It didn't want to attack but will him to continue. Her body was betraying her after a few short touches that it had missed from the long work hours. She couldn't remember the last time she spent time with the opposite sex. No; with anyone other than from the work place. She had lost all her connections with friends from college and because of her naturally foul personality it was hard to make new ones.
She cringed, the lightening lit up the office and she could see his golden eyes regarding hers. What did her brown orbs tell him; did they give away more than her body?
He pulled away slowly; she could hear the smirk on his lips as he spoke. "Did you like it?"
"You're an asshole."
---
He had explained everything to her, how his feelings were toward her and when they started. She listened, not wholeheartedly, but she did have her ears open. She was surprised to hear he went to the same college as her; she had never seen him there.
"I had always liked you, but because you were older than me and we didn't have the same classes it was hard to see you – much less talk to you."
The lights had flickered back on and the flashlight was no longer needed. The storm still raged outside the building and forced her to stay longer, perhaps even stay the night if it didn't let up.
"When you graduated and left me behind I heard father mention that you had applied to be his secretary – I was eavesdropping." He admitted when she looked at him doubtfully.
"He was going to hire you, I could see it already. More importantly I was excited; I would be able to see you again." he smiled at the memory. "Than next thing I knew I, too, graduated and soon I was working over you." He looked at her, his liquid gold eyes telling her it was all the truth.
It was silent amongst them, he was finished and it was her turn to say something. The rain hitting the windows in Inutaisho's office could be heard faintly behind the closed door. Then she spoke,
"You're still an asshole. You shouldn't force yourself onto a woman, makes you look desperate or like a rapist – more so because we are the only ones in the office and you are my boss. Not to mention it was your father's office." She said bluntly, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter from her bag.
"…I didn't know you smoked, you never smelled like it."
"I don't, they belong to Sue." She pointed to the desk he was sitting at, "She asked me to buy her a pack at lunch and I never got a chance to give it to her." She placed one between her moist lips and flicked the lighter to ignite it, breathing in the nicotine and coughing a little before downing it again.
"So why start now?" he asked, "They will only give you cancer."
"I'm going to die one way or another, right. What is the difference between one stick of tobacco and a random car hitting me as I walk home? I choose the first, the most likely drunk driver choose the latter." She mummer, watching the smoke float up to the ceiling.
It was silent again; his turn to speak was what the silence told them both. "…You're weird."
"Who's the weird one, the one you claim to be weird or the one that likes the one that was claimed to have been weird?"
"Are you ever going to go out with me?" he asked, tired of the new topics and wanting an answer.
She looked at him with half lidded eyes, the cigarette still held between her lips. Her indifferent look hadn't changed, very little every made it so he hadn't lost hope.
She tapped the ashes off and smashed out the cigarette in a throw away coffee cup and sighed, letting the silence fill his mind for some more time.
"I don't like to mix my business life with my personal, never have and I don't think I ever will." She stretched her arms above her head and turned to face him in her chair. "But as it is now, I don't have much of a personal life so there is really nothing to get mixed up with."
He still didn't know what to think, "Is that a round about way to say yes?"
"You're still an asshole and will most likely always be an asshole."
"So it was a yes," a sly smile graced his lips as he walked over to her, leaning over her sitting body. "I knew you were feeling it."
"I was wrong, you managed to upgrade to a bastard."
He kissed her lips again, this time deeper and with more rough power. It was short but it left them both breathless.
"What was that about a dream?" he asked in between breaths as he held the roots of her hair. "You said something like that earlier."
"I've been having this odd dream for a while now, but now I see it was meant to be déjà vu."
"Was it this beautiful?" he laughed.
"No," it amazed him that her expression hardly changed, save for the heavy eyes and pink cheeks. "It was a nightmare."
She didn't know if she could return his feelings, or if love was even mixed in the strange affection he felt for her. They were complete opposites but maybe the saying was true, maybe opposites do attract.
'Ah, that was a crony thought…'
It was suppose to be a one shot but after I was yelled at for even thinking the idea I'll like you, the readers, pick! Review and tell me what you think.
I don't know whether to write 'To Be Continued...' or 'The End'
Also you might have noticed I didn't write Kagome's name at all in the whole story, either referring to the woman as 'She' or 'Her'. That was suppose to be like that, I thought it made the story flow nicely. The only time I wrote it was when one of her three bosses called on her and that was only her last name. (And number two) Just in case someone was confused, the story doesn't take place all in the same day or even a week, more like a few months.
Thanks about it, thanks for reading!
CR
P.S.
It's not beta'd so if you see anything that I should or must fix please let me know.