Disclaimer: not mine, never will be
Chapter 1- Interview
Kagome's heels clacked down the cold hallway, earning her curious glances and disdainful glares. She tightly clutched her briefcase and looked straight ahead, trying to seem as if she belonged and had a purpose, instead being sorely out of place and having no idea where she was going. The last place she should have been was on her way to a job interview at the largest company in Japan.
Due to her previous excursions to the past, Kagome had missed out on the most important years
of her academic life. Her high school grades were nearly non-existent and her attendance was erratic due to her frequent unexplainable "illnesses". A part of her was missing, still left in the past, but she refused to let it drag her down. She was here now, and going to make the best of it, even if it had taken her two years to accept that she wasn't going back.
With her record, Kagome didn't bother applying for college. She had sat down with her mother and scraped up a semi-decent resume and a plan to get a career. She'd start from the top and work her way down until she was considered good for the job. She never lingered on negative thoughts long, and she wasn't going to start now. And that was how she ended up sitting in a large office building, surrounded by several, much more qualified candidates for the job, and seriously regretting her decision.
Kagome shrunk further into her cushioned seat, self-consciously smoothing her hair and fixing her skirt. Her bravery in facing Naraku did nothing for her now. The others in the room had proper references to sooth their nerves, and she caught furtive, pitying looks from a few of them. Despite the act of confidence given by most of them, all eyes were trained on the door separating them and the interviewer. Shuffling was heard, the door opened, and a professional looking woman dismissed her latest victim. Kagome looked up, nervously waiting for the name of the next interviewee.
The woman looked down and read a name off her clipboard. "Higurashi. Higurashi, Kagome."
Kagome stood up and walked over, painfully aware of the people staring at her. The door closed behind her, blocking her from view, but the feeling of dread remained.
The woman wasted no time getting down to business. "Where is your resume?" she demanded. Kagome fumbled with her briefcase and at last presented a single piece of paper, cringing when the woman scanned it with disapproving eyes. Before she could say anything and turn Kagome away, the phone beeped. The interviewer glanced down at the screen with fearful eyes and immediately picked up.
After a short command from the other side of the line, and a hurried reply on hers, she looked back up at Kagome with an incredulous expression and none of the poise she had a moment ago.
"Y-you're hired," she stammered. With that, she stumbled to the door to inform everyone that interviews were over for the day, leaving an equally shocked Kagome in her wake. She sank into her chair, dizzy with relief and a week's worth of anxiety.
Kagome didn't know how long she just sat alone in that room. She heard the door open, and looked back. Instead of the interviewer, a different woman stopped beside her.
"Come with me. Your new boss wishes to see you." She laid a hand on Kagome's shoulder, gently guiding her up. She led her dazed charge down endless corridors until they arrived at a set of enormous double doors.
"He's right inside." Giving Kagome a reassuring smile, she left down the way they came.
Kagome braced herself before pushing open the doors and meeting the man who would hire a complete stranger at a glance. The room looked empty. Her heart beat faster as she took in the little details. The wall was stark white with a familiar pattern of red hexagons she hadn't seen since the well closed. She held her breath as she examined the room, taking notice of a familiar antique sword hanging on the wall over a portrait of a young girl Kagome easily recognized.
The chair that was originally facing away from her slowly turned around. Sitting in it was someone she never thought she'd see again.
"Sesshoumaru," she breathed. In an instant, all her pain and longing for the past vanished, replaced by numb shock and the faint sparkle of hope.
a/n- A new story :) This will have actual chapters and not just snippets, which might get longer as I get used to writing more. This one is 745 words and it was written for the Live Journal community iyfic contest and their prompt, Week #249- Missing Out. So how did I do?