Standard disclaimers apply.

A/N: Here's chapter 2, and it looks deeper into the complex network of relationships. On top of that, it also shows us Sesshoumaru's inability to deal with anything involving Kagome.

The Third Parties

Chapter 2: Hurt. Raw.


I heard the clumsy rumble of footsteps coming from the stairs behind me.

I ate faster, determined to leave for work before I allow my temper to take over and end up doing something I might regret.

"Good morning, everyone!"

I remained silent as the half-hearted chorus of "Good morning" echoed in return while struggling internally with the urge to stand up and leave the table.

"Mom, what's for breakfast?" Inuyasha asked almost too cheerily as he slung his blazer over the back of his chair and plopped onto his seat. "Damn, I'm absolutely starving…"

I noticed how Izayoi deliberately ignored the imbecile's question, taking a small sip of her morning coffee. Father did nothing either. All he did was push his reading glasses further up his nose bridge and continued to read the cultural section of the newspapers.

"That looks great! Can I have some of the stewed radish?" He asked, pretending to be oblivious to the atmosphere looming over the dining table. I resisted the urge to slam the plate of piping hot egg rolls right into his face.

His cheating, worthless, scum-face.

"Young Master Inuyasha, here's your breakfast," Our old domestic helper, Kaede, hurried out from the kitchen with a tray of freshly-prepared food. There was a bowl of fluffy scrambled egg donburi, stewed radish, miso-grilled mackerel and sesame dumplings by the side. "Please enjoy it."

Bowing courteously, Kaede turned to leave.

"Kaede, what's this? Don't you know I hate grilled mackerel?" Inuyasha made a face as he grumbled, stabbing at the slice of miso-grilled fish with his chopsticks randomly. Bits of the cooked fish fell over the edges of the porcelain plate to make a mess on the tray. He was a pain in the ass most of the time, but he was most probably being extremely crappy and childish this morning because he wasn't getting the attention he wanted.

I chose to ignore, and nodded my thanks as Izayoi courteously filled my cup up with chilled green tea, conveniently ignoring Inuyasha's annoying comments as well.

"But Young Master, I thought I heard you said you enjoyed the mackerel-"

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha continued his annoying rambling, picking on our old domestic helper just because he was so desperate for attention. "That was stewed, not grilled-"

"Kaede, please remove that tray."

Father spoke up abruptly, his eyes still glued to the article he was reading.

"Yes, sir." Kaede bowed and removed the tray, much to the absolute surprise of Inuyasha. Watching his irritating excuse for a face contort into a mask of surprise and indignity, I once again suppressed the urge to throw a punch in his direction. Thank goodness for Father; he could always save the day before it became violent.

There were so many things I could do to hurt him. I could easily make him regret he was born in the first place and regret having chosen to start a three-party relationship. I could forcefully take Kagome away, but that would most probably only make her hate me. I could easily ensure his failure at work and topple his so-called power base, leaving him with nothing.

But I also knew if I tried to destroy him, she would never ever forgive me.

She would only end up crying, and hurting herself further to protect him from me. She never knew, or seemed to care, that it would hurt me to see her like that.

"…but Father! I was only stating the truth-"

Father put the newspaper down abruptly, shocking Inuyasha into silence with his anger. "That's enough nonsense from you, Inuyasha. All I want you to do now is cease rambling, apologize to Kaede for your unappreciative behavior and call Kikyou immediately to apologize for last night."

"Oh, so that's the reason why you guys are all pissed off with me! Damn, you guys are overreacting. I'd think I had murdered someone with a chainsaw, seeing the grim looks on your faces. It's a fine Thursday morning for goodness' sake, stop making life any more difficult as it is for me-"

"Then where did you go last night?" Izayoi asked in a voice soft but firm nonetheless. It was usually this tone of voice she used that made Inuyasha realize the severity of the situation. "Why did you leave in such a hurry? You are my son, Inuyasha, but I believe Kikyou deserves an explanation from you. Everyone could tell how disappointed and upset she was, but still, she kept her smile on and kept all your guests well entertained. Your Father and I had to help make small talk to get the party going, even when the birthday boy was nowhere in sight."

"I…" Inuyasha stared around the table indignantly, but deliberately avoided my eyes. This was the extent of how terrible and distrustful our so-called brotherhood was; he knew I was fully aware of everything that was going on, but he also knew I would never spill the beans on him because of Kagome's involvement in the picture.

"I had to rush back to work. I had already explained things to Kikyou; it's you guys who are making a big hoo-hah out of nothing. There's so much to be done at work!"

Father's brows wrinkled as he looked at Inuyasha suspiciously. "I put you in charge of the regional branch in Hong Kong prior to my retirement because you were complaining about the workload in the Japan headquarters. Hasn't the shipment to Hong Kong been settled since last week? What was there that was so important; you had to leave your party halfway?"

Inuyasha gulped; his growing discomfort with the conversation was almost too obvious. I chose to hold my tongue, feigning disinterest in the conversation.

"Well, there were some unfinished issues with the export taxes…" He blabbered, visibly flustered.

"Were there, Sesshoumaru? You were overseeing the progress of the exportation from Japan, weren't you?" Father asked solemnly. He was obviously unhappy with Inuyasha's pathetic attempts at explaining himself.

All eyes turned in my direction as my name was mentioned. I hated it when I got such unwanted attention from people. The ball was now in my court, and Inuyasha was staring at me with eyes slightly widened, clearly anticipating the worst from me. He knew I was well-aware he had left the party for Kagome's place, not because of the export taxes issue or whatever he was trying to fool Father and Izayoi with.

Devil, or angel…?

My eyes met his, and I broke the connected gaze after giving him a small smirk.

"Maybe."

Inuyasha continued staring at me; I could feel his eyes boring holes into me. He must have been wondering the reasons behind me covering his ass up.

"What do you mean, Sesshoumaru?"

"I don't recall the exact details, Father, but I recall hearing of the issue from Myouga. So maybe there were some loose ends to be tied up." I continued, keeping my face nonchalant. My answer was not the best either, but I knew Father trusted me wholeheartedly when it came to anything work-related, or at least enough to believe all I say.

Inuyasha heaved a sigh of relief that went unnoticed by our parents, before turning back to Father and saying rather loudly, "See? Even he knows about it! Father, I was really busy with work, alright? You don't have to interrogate me like a common criminal!"

Liar, liar. Fucking ingrate.

"Inuyasha! Stop that ridiculous behavior. We were just unhappy with the way you handled the issue…don't you feel Kikyou deserved better?" Izayoi said.

"Mom, I have already explained things to Kikyou, and she understands everything. Rather, what I am confused about is why you and Father are overreacting for nothing when Kikyou is perfectly alright with it." Inuyasha said irritably, before standing up and kicking his chair back into place. Grabbing his blazer, he rolled his eyes and walked over to the genkan. "Whatever. You guys are impossible. I'm leaving for work."

The door slammed shut, and Father shook his head at Inuyasha's usual hot-headedness.

"Father, Aunt Izayoi, I will take my leave. Have a good day ahead." I stood up from my seat as well, walking towards the door. I just wanted to leave before I say anything which I might end up regretting.

Walking towards my latest Jaguar X351, I found Inuyasha leaning against it, much to my annoyance, apparently waiting for me.

"Get off my car."

He made a face, but did not budge. "It's only a car, Sesshoumaru. Don't get so worked up. Look, I just want to thank you, alright?"

"You're dirtying it. Get out of the way."

"What the fuck is your problem, ice-cube?" His short temper once again got better of him. Raising his hands in exasperation, he moved away from my car. However, that did not stop his mouth from continuing to utter nonsense. "You helped me back there, not that I was asking for it, and now you're acting as if I owe you ten million yen. You can't accept a fucking 'thank you'? Just what is your problem?"

"You." I answered curtly and opened the door to the driver's seat. "Just get out of my face."

"Oh, yeah? Shall I remind you who the person who keeps probing into my affairs is? What goes on between Kagome and I is purely between us. I love her, and it is mutual. Get it clear? It is really none of your business, asshole. We do not need extras running around, trying to get involved-"

I entered the car and slammed the door shut. He paused when I gave him a death glare, but regained his composure quickly. "So you should be the one getting out of my face, Sesshoumaru."

I remained silent.

"I know you're friends with Kagome, so on her account, I am not going to hold it against you-" He continued smugly, leaning against the side of my car once again.

"Fuck off." I said plainly in his face, and without warning, accelerated. From the rearview mirror, I could see him jump backwards and curse a barrage of obscenities directed at me, but could I care less?

No.

That disgusting imbecile.

How I hated his cringe-worthy statements.

But despite how irritating his tone was, Inuyasha did have a note-worthy point.

It was really none of my business when it came to what went on between the two of them. Who was I to care, or to get involved?

Yet I cared. I cared even when she begged me to leave her and Inuyasha alone.

It hurt so badly, especially when she knew of my feelings for her.

Driving along and listening to EXILE's 'yasashii hikari' playing on the car radio, I thought of the particularly bad incident which happened between us.

It took place two months ago, when they had a huge fight which ended in him threatening to break up with her. Inuyasha had to leave for a late-night movie with Kikyou though it was Kagome's birthday, and had lost his temper when Kagome asked repeatedly if he could stay with her for awhile longer.

Kagome had been absolutely devastated, begging Inuyasha not to leave, and crying that she would not mind being the third-party who had to be kept underground forever. That was the extent to which she liked him, not that I could blame her, for she had liked him ever since we were children.

She knew him way before Kikyou came into the picture, but what happened was, Kagome and Inuyasha never ever did make their feelings for each other known officially. I had always been the phantom hovering in the background, liking her secretly, and keeping Izayoi preoccupied with requests for food just so that he could sneak out to meet Kagome and go for puppy love dates at MacDonald's or MOS burger. They hardly even held hands, though they got along fantastically.

So they maintained this sort of unofficial status, until Inuyasha had to leave for Kyoto for his university education at Kyoto University. That was when he met Kikyou, who turned out to be the daughter of our father's prominent business associate. He definitely did like Kagome, but because there was never a spoken agreement or official relationship status between them, Inuyasha could have been said to be single when he got to know Kikyou.

They got together officially, much to the joy of Father and Izayoi, especially since Kikyou came from a prominent family as well. Kikyou was well…quite beautiful, smart and thoughtful, getting along well with all of us.

Kagome only found out about the relationship when she visited Inuyasha in Kyoto, after coming clean with her feelings for him.

Yet Inuyasha failed to do the right thing.

He was not decisive enough, a trait which I despised him for since childhood, and sure enough, inevitably started the vicious triangular relationship which proved to be the source of heartache for the most innocent third party. Kikyou was still blissfully oblivious, but Kagome knew. Naively, she believed that as long as he loved her, it was enough. I tried to make her see sense by all means possible – talking patiently to her, yelling at her, using scathing words to hurt her…but no, she still loved Inuyasha so unconditionally.

This made me recall the particularly bad incident that took place two months back.

She had called me up at 1am in the morning, crying uncontrollably about Inuyasha's threat to break up with her and how he had just left for Kikyou's place after slamming the door. In a fit of anger, he had lost his cool and shoved her aside, sending her crashing into the wardrobe. He had apparently told her he got sick of how 'clingy' she was, and how Kagome could 'never put herself in his shoes and think from his perspective'.

I saw red. I was furious beyond words, especially when I heard her cry so piteously.

I should have been happy to know he wanted to break up with her, but seeing her in such agony made me want to confront Inuyasha and force him to undo all the damage he had done to her. It was when I saw her bruised arm, the result of him shoving her aside against the wardrobe, that I completely lost my cool.

"Kagome, what did he do?" I asked, sitting down by her side on the couch as I watched her sob uncontrollably. Her face was a mask of sorrow and agony as she cried.

This was not the way her birthday should have been spent. Why did life have to be so unfair to her? Was it just because she was a third party in a relationship?

"He…he wanted to…" She cried harder, shaking her head in helplessness.

"Why would he say that?" I asked, grabbing her by both her arms. Instead of calming down, she gave a small cry of pain and doubled over.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" I tried to grab her arms to take a better look at whatever was causing her distress.

She shook her head through sobs. "Nothing, nothing! I'm okay…"

Her protests died and became helpless whimpers as I held her arm firmly and saw the angry-looking bruise that was beginning to form on her fair, soft skin.

"Did he do this?" I asked angrily, only to hear her sob harder. "I asked if he fucking did this to you! Answer me!"

"I…I was careless, it wasn't really his fault-"

That gave me the answer to my suspicions.

"I swear I'll kill him, Kagome. I'll fucking kill that imbecile." I said, standing up from my position on her couch, blind rage taking over every since fiber of my being. "I'll kill him…I'll destroy him."

"No! Sesshoumaru, please…no, please! Don't do this…I'm fine, really!" Her sobs were almost hysterical by then. "It was an accident! Just an accident!"

I gently pried her hand off my arm, stomping towards the door. I might have appeared to be extremely cool and composed, but the liquid fire running through my veins were fuelling the morbid thoughts running through my head. This might seem absurd now, but I had entertained the thought of running him over with my car, beating him to a pulp, or perhaps, set up a plot to bankrupt him and destroy his reputation at work.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome screamed, trying to hold me back. She knew I meant it when I said I'd destroy Inuyasha. She threw herself against my back, holding me tightly. "Please, don't. Please! I know you care for me…but, it was really just an accident! He didn't do it on purpose…"

"Let go, Kagome."

"No…" Her sobs were dying, and she moved to stand in front of me, keeping eye contact with me. There was an unreadable blank expression in the usually expressive eyes of hers, but before I could anything, she whispered.

"You are so mad at Inuyasha because you care for me, don't you? I know you're good to me, Sesshoumaru…but please, please don't go looking for Inuyasha…"

"He hurt you, Kagome. He literally hurt you. How can I not do anything about this?"

She placed a finger against my lips, silencing me. It was then when she started to unbutton her blouse, while I remained silent, too shocked to do anything. A tear rolled down her tear-stained cheeks. She threw her blouse aside, before giving me a sad smile and removing her pink cotton bra, leaving her standing topless in front of me.

"You want me, don't you?" She whispered, moving forward to hold me tightly around the waist. I could feel her soft, feminine breasts pressed tightly against my chest, and I closed my eyes at the pain I was feeling. "I know you want me. Then take me, Sesshoumaru…just promise me you wouldn't go looking for him."

It was everything I had dreamt of, yet nothing like how I would have liked it to be.

The pain was killing me.

I wanted to push her right down onto the couch and take her for all I was worth. But I knew better than to do that – it would only mean regret on her part, and most probably greater hurt on mine.

So all I did was remove my blazer and put it around her, before walking back into her living room. I turned the TV on and pretended to watch while she stood motionlessly behind me, crying silently.

As I reversed into my parking lot at my office, namely Taisho Electronics headquarters, I realized that even after two months, the pain was still as raw.

It hurt.


To be continued…