"Good morning, gorgeous," a suave voice said.
Sango didn't bother to look up – she already knew who it was. Miroku Ohkawa had been interning at the company for almost a year, but he hadn't planned to sign on (as far as she knew). Chances were she was wrong – which wouldn't be unusual. Secretary or no, she knew very little about what went on behind office doors.
He had greeted her that way every morning since he first started his internship. It was often quite amusing to remember his first day. At least, for Kagome, who was also interning. Her internship would most definitely lead to a job at their small business, Sango knew.
He entered the main hall of Kudo co. looking oddly confident for a first day intern. His hair was tied back in a dashing-but-unprofessional ponytail at the base of his neck; Sango wondered mildly as she stood how he managed to sneak it in. His eyes were a curious grey-blue behind glasses that did nothing to make him look scholarly. He was every bit a rogue. Two tiny gold earrings glittered in his right ear, though his left ear had only one – again, she wondered how he'd managed them.
She knew little about what an intern should look like, having only landed this job a few months back, but he would be the fourth intern she greeted, and the three before him had looked both anxious and eager at the same time. They were noticeable as interns only by the fact that they wore the new security passes, not the old ones that every other middle-aged man who worked there had.
Sango stood up, straightening her blue shirt and dark hair quickly, and holding out her hand. But before she could open her mouth to rattle off the usual 'hello, welcome to Kudo co., work hard!' speech, he grabbed her hand, bowed, and kissed it. This was wholly unexpected, but her blush only got deeper when he said:
"Good morning, gorgeous."
Most of her dignity had been stripped away by the blush filling her cheeks, but she gathered what little was left and snatched her hand away.
"Sir! That was absolutely unnecessary and unprofessional," she snapped, turning around to go to her desk. Unbeknownst to her, his eyes followed her rear until she spun around again with a huff and sat down. At that time, he put on an almost convincing apologetic look. Almost.
Another woman came up from behind him and moved quickly to Sango's desk, but not before stopping to chastise the man.
"Miroku-kun! This isn't University – we're here to work!" she spun around and looked at Sango almost imploringly. Her eyes were almost the same blue as his, and their hair color matched as well. The secretary wondered mildly if they were related.
"I'm so sorry, Miss. He's really a decent man, he just needs to adjust. If you can believe it, he graduated at the top of our class."
Well. Sango couldn't say much to that. Or rather, she could have, but not to this girl who was looking at her as if she was worried that the young secretary would report Miroku to the police. So she smiled as best she could, and held out her hand once more.
"I hope he adjusts quickly," she said, feeling a little awkward. The girl beamed at her, however, and shook her hand enthusiastically.
"Don't worry, he will! I'm Kagome Higurashi, by the way. That's Miroku Ohkawa. Again, I'm so sorry about him."
"But she is gorgeous," Miroku piped up in his defense. Kagome whirled around and poked him in the chest.
"You just don't get it. You can't go around doing that all the time. Like I told you, this isn't University anymore! You need to learn to behave."
"Him? Not likely," a voice said from not too far away. All three of them turned to look at the source of the voice. A tall man, whose long hair had gone white prematurely, had amber eyes locked on Kagome.
"Narita-san…" Sango started, but Kagome's face had broken into an even bigger smile as she rushed over to place an affectionate kiss on the security guard's cheek. One arm hooked around her waist and he looked down at her.
"Why are you here?" he asked. Miroku looked at them.
"Inuyasha…You didn't know?"
"Of course not!" Inuyasha snapped. Kagome looked up at him happily.
"We're interning here. Surprise!"
The young man sighed and shook his head. Sango, who had been watching all this with mild curiosity, finally spoke up.
"Narita-san, you know these people?"
"Obviously," he sighed. Kagome finished for him.
"I'm his fiancée and Miroku-kun here is my cousin!"
Sango looked at them, feeling a little shocked. She dimly registered Kagome rattling off what had happened to Inuyasha. Narita-san…was to be married to this girl? She was a total opposite of his gruff, often cranky, persona. It was almost unbelievable. But there was a gentleness to the way his arm rested around her waist, and he listened intently to her, whether he cared what she said or not – as she had moved on to what someone named Souta (presumably a sibling) was doing in school.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Miroku said, interrupting her thoughts. She nodded, and made a little noise of confirmation. She turned to look at him, and smiled a little. He smiled as well, and she thought that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
"Oy. Michiba-san."
Sango turned to look up at Inuyasha (who still had an arm around Kagome's waist). He was standing right beside her desk now, looking down at her.
"If he bothers you again, tell me. I enjoy beating the shit out of him."
Miroku looked hurt, and put a hand over his heart.
"Why, Inuyasha, I'm offended. How could you think so little of me?…"
Their conversation trailed off as all three of them walked through the metal doors, and the next (and final) intern stepped into the main hall.
"Miroku-kun!"
Kagome's cheerful voice shook her from her reverie as the young woman bounced up beside her cousin.
"Good morning, you two! You look a little tired, Sango-chan, are you all right?"
Sango nodded, giving herself a mental shake as she assured the young woman that she was, indeed, a little sleepy but once her coffee kicked in she would be fine. Once that was settled, Kagome turned to Miroku.
"Today's our last day, Miroku-kun. Are you nervous?"
On the last day on internship, the names of those staying on would be announced, and as well, job performance evaluations were handed out to all interns. Miroku shook his head.
"Why should I be? I've got the most beautiful girl in the world cheering me on."
"Who is it this time, Ohkawa-san?" the secretary asked, going back to her work. She'd learned very quickly that Miroku was quite the flirt, and that if he was talking about beautiful women it was never the same one twice.
"You."
Sango looked up at him sharply, not expecting the look of seriousness on his face. She felt the heat rush to her face, and knew that she was blushing. Quickly, she looked down, hoping to hide it.
"That's r-ridiculous," she said, cursing the tremor that crept into her voice. Why was Kagome leaving her to be tortured? Miroku chucked.
"Not really," he said. "You are gorgeous, and, of course, you do want me to stay, don't you?"
"I…ah…" Sango's voice had obviously gone the way of her luck as neither seemed to be working in her favor that morning. She did want Miroku to stay, but she couldn't say it without looking like she was falling for him. Which she wasn't. And saying no would be just cruel. So she couldn't say yes, couldn't say no, and to not answer would give him more ammunition. Where was Kagome? Hadn't she been there just a moment ago? She glanced around to find the young woman, only to see her waving from the metal doors as she cheerily slipped inside.
'Traitor,' Sango thought mulishly. Two blue-grey eyes were suddenly looking straight at her, and she found that Miroku had leaned in almost nose-to-nose to get her attention. He was looking at her with an air of catlike curiosity, obviously waiting for an answer. She gasped.
"Well…"
The crisp ring of the telephone cut through the air like a lighting bolt. Sango jumped a little and put a hand over her heart. Saved.
"I…have to get that," she said quietly, fumbling for the earpiece she was supposed to be wearing. By the time she had it in, and had greeted the caller with the standard obscenely cheerful greeting, Miroku was past the metal doors. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her luck had returned just in time.
As she hung up, though, she couldn't help wondering if Miroku had thought that she would say no. She didn't want him to get that impression – but she had a feeling that might have happened. Though it could also have been guilt.
Since most of the executives were busy with the performance reports, Sango was kept busy for the rest of the day, placating clients who seemed to think the world would end if they didn't talk to someone that instant. In fact, she left late that night, long after everyone had gone home – or rather, almost everyone.
She locked the doors and turned around to head to the parking lot, only to come face-to-face with Inuyasha. Giving a little cry of surprise, she stumbled back, giving her purse a defensive swing. He rolled his eyes.
"That was really pathetic, Michiba-san."
She gave a sigh of relief, and braced her hands on her knees.
"Narita-san, you scared me!"
He didn't respond. Sango straightened, and began walking towards the parking lot. Inuyasha followed her.
"Why are you still here?" she asked.
"You were."
She looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't thought he cared about anyone aside from Kagome. They had seen a lot of each other since the other girl's internship has started – she and Sango had been fast friends – but they were still quite formal.
He gave a little shrug, looking out into the sporadically lit parking lot.
"Kagome would be upset if something happened to you."
"I can take care of myself," she retorted, bristling. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You expect me to believe that after your little demonstration? Keh."
She made an immature face at him, digging her keys out of her purse. Occupied with finding the elusive little bugger, she didn't see the gesture that the young man made at her. Lucky for him.
"Well," she said, finally rooting the keys from their hiding spot and sticking them into the lock, "this is my car. I'm safe. You can tell Kagome that."
"Good. She's annoying when she worried," Inuyasha said, and Sango laughed. She'd have to remember to tell Kagome he said that. It was such fun to watch him flounder.
They said their goodbyes, and she drove off. Her apartment wasn't far, but unfortunately not so close that she could walk either – and biking in business clothes was just stupid. She checked her mail when she got in, flipping through it on the elevator ride up to the 4th floor. Mostly junk, but a couple of bills. Oh, and a routine letter from her brother – Kohaku – who was currently studying to be a marine biologist. He was coming home for thanksgiving, it seemed, and bringing a new girlfriend. Rin. Cute name, probably a cute girl. Then again…anyone was better than the last one he had brought home. She had been creepily quiet.
Sango slipped out of her shoes, still reading Kohaku's letter as she locked the door behind her and turned on the lights. When she was done, she quickly highlighted the lines about coming home and tacked that page to the fridge. She'd forget otherwise.
Dinner was a far-from-healthy box of instant curry and rice, eaten while browsing the newspaper. She fell into bed not long after that, feeling exhausted after running around all day. When she woke the next morning, however, she felt strangely unsettled. Something wasn't quite right, and she wasn't sure what it was.
She went through the motions of showering, eating, and dressing for work with mechanical precision that was more muscle memory that anything. Her mind was buzzing through anything and everything that could possibly be wrong. Family injured? Nope. Was she injured? Nope. Had Kagome and Inuyasha had a fight? Probably, but that wasn't it.
The drive to work was longer than she remembered, even for Tokyo. She must have hit every red light out there. Her clothes didn't feel right against her skin, and despite the fact that she had showered only that morning, her hair felt grungy. Her shoes fit oddly, not pinching anywhere, but not settling as she would like them to. Had she forgotten anything at home? Her cell phone, maybe? Her purse? Nope.
Sango flashed her pass at the security guard on duty, noting mildly that she had gotten here before Inuyasha for once. What the hell was wrong? It was driving her nuts. She got her coffee, and sat down to begin checking her voicemail. Twenty minutes later, she had moved on to organizing client lunches when she heard it.
"Good morning, gorgeous."
And just like that, everything snapped into place.
Miroku leaned against her desk, smiling that roguish smile that he used when he wanted a favor (like coffee from the café down the street instead of the break room). She looked up at him, surprised. Had that really been the problem? It had to be a coincidence. There was no way that knowing he was still there would fix the way her clothes felt, take away the nagging wrongness that had plagued her all morning. It couldn't be him.
"Miss me?" he said wickedly. Inuyasha came up behind him and snacked him upside the head.
"Of course not. Who would?"
The young man sighed.
"I'm so underappreciated."
"Then why are you back here?" the security guard snapped. A slim hand rested on his arm, and Kagome's bright smile entered Sango's vision.
"Good morning, Sango-chan!"
"Hello, Kagome-chan," she replied, smiling back. Kagome twined her arm around Inuyasha's.
"As you can see, we both made it!"
"Yep! You'll see me every single morning," Miroku chimed in. Inuyasha groaned.
"Don't scare her!"
Kagome gave a little laugh, and tugged on Inuyasha's arm. The two of them entered the metal doors as they waved to Sango. She waved back, not quite noticing that Miroku had followed until he was near the doors as well.
"Ohkawa-san," she called, before she could stop herself. Who was she trying to kid? It was him, whether she liked it or not. And frustratingly enough, she did like it. He stopped, and turned around. She flushed, looking down and wondering why she had called out. Stupid, stupid Freudian slips.
"I-I'm glad you're staying," Sango said quietly into her desk. Miroku still heard, and he smiled softly at her.
"So am I."
Well, I had a lot of fun writing that.
Disclaimer: Me? Own Inuyasha? Yea, right. I wish...