Story: At First Sight
Rating: T
Summary: Ever believed in love at first sight? Kagome didn't. Until she met her mother's new boyfriend...and fell in love with his son.
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own any of these characters...I'm just having some fun with them ^-^
xXxXx
Chapter Two: Threat
"So, Kagome, I hear you are entering Shikon High School next week as a first year?" InuTaisho remarked casually, taking a bite of his salad. One of the maids came around the table to refill his glass of wine before shuffling back off to the kitchen. Kagome swallowed her mouthful of rice.
"Yes," she replied, keeping her eyes on her plate.
"She's just being shy. She was so excited when she got her acceptance letter!" Mrs. Higurashi giggled, nudging her daughter with her shoulder. Kagome managed a smile, hoping it didn't come off as a grimace. She hadn't eaten much, but the food in her stomach didn't seem to be settling well. She knew if she looked at him she would probably have to run to the bathroom and empty out the contents of her stomach.
"Well, at least you will know one person," InuTaisho grinned, clapping his hand on his son's shoulder. "InuYasha is starting his second year at Shikon."
Of course he is, Kagome thought dryly, wondering how this could get any worse. "My friend Sango is attending as well. We've been best friends since elementary school."
"They're practically inseparable," her mother commented with a smile. The rest of the family continued to chat with the Takahashi's, but Kagome could only sulk. Well, sulk without appearing to be sulking. She didn't want to ruin this evening for her mother. When she had seen InuYasha come down those stairs, she thought she might faint on the spot. His eyes had flashed with recognition, but he hadn't said anything.
"InuYasha, these are the Higurashi's," his father had informed his son nonchalantly, indicating each member in turn. "My girlfriend, Ayumi, and her father. Her son, Souta, and her daughter, Kagome."
When his eyes landed on her, she felt the familiar rush of heat to her cheeks and managed to stutter out a hello, eyes trained on the tiled floor below her feet. InuYasha had nodded over at her, slipping his hands into the pockets of his lose fitting jeans. Apparently he had decided not to dress up for the occasion, as the rest of them had. Yet, somehow, he still looked better then anyone in the room.
"Shall we head into the dining room?" InuTaisho asked, placing an arm around his girlfriend's waist. Everyone followed him in, except Kagome, who stood as if rooted to the spot. Her mother looked over her shoulder and frowned slightly.
"Kagome? What's wrong dear?"
Snapping out of it, Kagome quickly pretended to be removing her jacket, placing it on a hook next to the front door. "Oh, nothing Mom. I was just going to use the restroom before dinner."
InuTaisho indicated a hallway to her left. "Two doors down on your right," he told her. Kagome smiled her thanks and hurried down the hallway and into the restroom, shutting the door behind her. Sinking down onto the toilet seat, she held her face in her hands. She didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or excited that she was meeting this boy again...this boy who had occupied her thoughts since the previous day. He obviously remembered her, but what did he think of her? That she was an awkward klutz? Weird? Unattractive?
Oh come on Kagome, she snorted, standing up to look at her reflection in the mirror. So what if he thinks those things? He could become your stepbrother one day. Aren't they supposed to feel like that?
She desperately wanted to splash some water over her heated face, but didn't want to smear her makeup. She was grateful she had put so much effort into her appearance. Maybe InuYasha wouldn't think about the girl he met yesterday but only see the girl seated across from him at dinner. Either way, it was difficult to tell what he was thinking.
"Sweetie, will you pass the chicken?" her mother's voice snapped Kagome out of her reverie. She hastily handed her mother the platter of chicken, careful not to spill any.
The rest of the night carried on smoothly, and after dessert everyone headed into the spacious living room to relax on the plush sofa's and armchairs. Souta looked around in awe, practically diving into a suede recliner by the massive television on the wall. Mrs. Higurashi and InuTaisho settled onto a leather sofa, while Gramps decided on the matching leather armchair beside it. InuYasha flopped onto the couch across from his father, leaving Kagome with the option to join him or stay standing. Deciding not to look like an idiot by standing beside the coffee table, she slowly sat next to him on the couch, folding her hands in her lap nervously.
"Your home is just so lovely Taisho," Mrs. Higurashi commented, using the nickname she had given him. "I would love to have a grand tour sometime."
Her boyfriend chuckled. "Well, how about tonight?" He looked around the room. "As long as everyone else is alright with that."
"Sounds great!" Kagome practically shouted, standing back up as if the couch was made of hot coals. Noticing the quizzical stares directed at her, she smiled sheepishly. "I mean, I've never been in a home this big before. I would love to see the rest of it."
Souta was hopping up and down, saying, "Let's go! Let's go!"
"I'll wait here," Gramps told them sleepily, his eyes already drooping. "I get very tired after a large meal."
InuTaisho looked down at his son, who was still sitting on the couch reading a car magazine he'd grabbed off the coffee table. "InuYasha? Care to join us?"
His son shrugged. "Well I think I know my own house but sure, why not." He stood and brushed past Kagome, following his father out of the living room. Kagome felt her arm tingling slightly from where he had grazed it, but she decided to ignore it and try to get through the rest of the night.
They started with the first floor, and InuTaisho showed them the second living room (the family room), his impressive office, and a kitchen any professional chef would kill for. Of course they had already seen the dining room and the living room Gramps was snoozing in, so everyone made their way up the stairs. Kagome thought they were so interested, the way they curved around up to the second story. She clutched the black iron railing and made sure not to trip on any steps, since InuYasha was right behind her. The last thing she needed was to go tumbling backwards into him.
The second floor had several bedrooms, mostly guest rooms. InuTaisho didn't show them his bedroom or InuYasha's, but everyone loved the music room and the entertainment room. Especially Souta, who said he could already see himself spending several weekends seated in front of the flat screen TV playing video games and watching movies. InuTaisho laughed at this, ruffling his hair and saying he was welcome anytime. Looking over at Kagome, he said she was welcome whenever she wanted as well. She could only smile warily.
As Mrs. Higurashi, InuTaisho and Souta headed back downstairs, Kagome was just about to step down to follow them when a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her aside.
"Hey!" she said, looking over to see InuYasha watching her intently, his hand curled around her tiny wrist. She gulped, wishing her heart hadn't started to pound so vigorously. He could probably hear it. "W-What are you doing?"
"Come on," he said, pulling her with him down the hallway, back into the music room and closing the door.
"What are you doing?" Kagome asked again, but louder this time, wishing her hands weren't so shaky. He turned to face her and released her wrist from his grasp. It tingled from his touch, just as her arm had earlier. She scolded herself for wanting him to hold it again.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," he said, frowning. Kagome felt her chest tighten. Oh no. He probably wanted to talk about what happened yesterday.
"Look, I didn't mean to spill my ice cream on your girlfriend, okay?" she told him fiercely, knowing she sounded more confident then she felt. "It was an accident. I'll pay for her shirt if you don't want to."
"What are you talking about?" he asked, genuinely looking confused. Kagome blinked at him.
"Isn't that what you want to discuss? What happened at the park yesterday?"
He shook his head, his expression softening. "No, that has nothing to do with this. I don't even care about her shirt, I just wanted her to stop complaining." He had the same annoyed look he'd had yesterday, and Kagome found it strangely adorable. "This is something else entirely."
"Okay. What is it? And why'd you drag me in here?" she responded, bewildered. "My mom and your dad are going to wonder where we are."
"That's what I want to talk about," he said, frowning again. "Our parents."
Our parents. Kagome didn't like the way he said it, like it was a disgusting word. She waited, bracing herself for what he was about to say.
"My mother died when I was seven. It's always been my father and me, and sometimes Sesshomaru but he moved out early on. We had different mothers, so her death didn't really impact him." He touched one of the keys on the keyboard beside him, a low and depressing note. "Dad has always dated women here and there, but then he met your mother. And things have been...different."
Kagome chewed on her lower lip, listening to him. Where was he going with this?
"Dad is always at work, but when he was home we would usually hang out. Go places. But ever since he met your mother, he's hardly home at all. He never has any time for me. I don't like their relationship, and I want you to help me end it."
Kagome gaped at him, her mind reeling. She could tell by his stony expression that he was serious. But she didn't know whether to believe it. "You're joking, right?" she managed to say, laughing nervously. "I mean, surely you've seen how happy your father is. Why would you want to take that away from him? From my mother?"
He frowned, crossing his arms and leaning against the closed door. "I just think my father should be focusing on other things besides some relationship that will probably end soon anyways. I mean, sure he's happy, but he can find another woman once I graduate. It's not that hard. Women throw themselves at him all the time because he's the famous InuTaisho Takahashi." He said the name contritely, his lip curling as he went on. "He's never actually decided to date any of them like this before though. He's been on more first dates then even I can count, but it's never been serious. I don't know what's so different about your mother, but -"
"Hold on just a minute," Kagome retorted, holding up a hand to silence him. He broke off mid-sentence, staring at her. Her eyes were blazing, and she felt very, very annoyed. And angry. "My mother is the kindest woman I've ever known. I can see already how happy she makes your father, and he makes her happier than she's been in years. I won't help you take that away from them. And she is not only after him for his money. Say anything insulting and I'll -"
"You'll what?" InuYasha replied gruffly, grabbing her by the arms and switching them around, so that her back was to the door and he was mere inches from her face. Kagome's heart sped up, if that was possible. Her palms were sweaty and her mouth felt uncomfortably dry.
"You don't have to help me," InuYasha whispered venomously, his hands tightening on her arms. Kagome winced. "But just know that if you get in my way, I won't hesitate to make your life at Shikon a little...unpleasant." He finally released his grip on her, pulling away.
Kagome was breathing hard, not wanting to believe his words. Was he...threatening her? Who was this guy? She looked up at him, trying to muster a deathly glare. He only chuckled, twisting the doorknob to open the door behind her. She had to step aside for him to open it. She wanted to say something witty or clever to him before he left, but her words seemed to be caught in the back of her throat. With a wink, he exited the room and headed back downstairs.
Kagome stood in silent shock, not ready to go down and face her mother yet. How could he say those things? Want to tear away his father's happiness? He was so heartless. Cold. Kagome wished her heart would slow down it's quick tempo, and that the knot in her stomach would release. She wanted to go chug a glass of water to quench her dry throat, not liking the way her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
She hated this situation, hated the fact she would have to pretend like everything was fine and that she thought InuYasha was a great guy. She hated him for making her have to lie to mother when she got downstairs. She hated him for wanting to crush her mother's happiness.
But most of all, she hated him for still making her feel this way. For still making her love him.
xXxXx
Eventually, Kagome was able to make her way back downstairs and find her family putting their coats on and getting ready to leave. When her mother spotted her she said, "There you are dear! We were just about to come upstairs and look for you."
Kagome blushed, embarrassed by how long she had been up there. "Sorry. I got...sidetracked...by all the beautiful instruments in the music room." She fumbled with the buttons on her jacket after she slipped it over her shoulders with shaking hands. "InuYasha was such a gracious host, telling me all about each one." She shot him a nasty look, although no one besides him seemed to catch the sarcasm in her tone.
InuYasha grinned. "We had a good time. Kagome knows quite a bit about music. I was impressed."
Kagome suppressed the urge to pull on that long hair of his. Hard. Her mother beamed. "I didn't know you knew anything about music Kagome."
Her daughter gave a forced laugh. "Yeah, remember Eri's mom teaches music at the college? She always talks to me about it when I'm over there. I've learned a lot from her." Nice save. Her mother nodded, seeming to accept her response.
InuTaisho leaned down and kissed Mrs. Higurashi on the cheek, causing her to blush. "Thank you for coming. It was such a pleasure to meet your family," he told her, squeezing her hand.
"The pleasure was all ours," she replied, looking like a school girl who had fallen in love for the first time. "Next time you will have to come visit us though."
"I count on it."
Everyone said their goodbyes and stepped out into the warm night air. It was dark now, and Kagome thought all of the lights that were lit around the Takahashi's property looked gorgeous. As she started down the steps towards the car she felt a hand on her shoulder that caused her to flinch. Turning her head slowly, she saw InuYasha grinning at her, and hated how good he looked and how straight and perfect his teeth were.
"It was nice chatting with you Kagome," he said, sounding casual. His father was standing right beside him, waving at her mother. "I'll see you in school next week."
Kagome gritted her teeth together, but bit back the answer she really wanted to give him. Instead, she said sweetly, "I look forward to it. Good night."
Hurrying to the car without rushing too much, she yanked open the door and collapsed next to Souta. He looked over at her curiously. "What's up with you?"
Kagome buckled herself in and leaned her head against the back of the seat, closing her eyes. "Just tired," she mumbled. It wasn't entirely a lie. She was tired. She wanted her mind to stop reeling after her conversation with InuYasha. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible, yet also know what it was like to be held in his arms. She had to stop thinking about him though. For one, he was a jerk who wanted to break up her mother and his father. For two, he had a girlfriend.
She needed to get him out of her head. It wouldn't help going to the same school as him though. Luckily he was one year ahead of her so they wouldn't have any classes together. But she would probably still see him in the hallway and at lunch. Hopefully he would keep to himself and leave her alone.
After getting home and changing into her pajamas, Kagome flopped onto her bed and curled up under her comforter. She hoped that sleep would come to her soon so she wouldn't be stuck with her thoughts anymore. She'd had enough of InuYasha Takahashi for one day.
Thankfully, she slipped into a peaceful sleep for most of the night, until he invaded her dreams, causing her to sit up in bed and moan to herself before trying to get back to sleep.
xXxXx
"So, truthfully, what did you think of InuTaisho?" Mrs. Higurashi asked the next morning at breakfast as she poured Souta a glass of orange juice. He gulped it down before continuing on his eggs and hash browns. Kagome pushed her eggs around her plate absently.
"He seems wonderful Mom," she said, smiling up at her mother. "Very sweet. I can tell how much he likes you."
This caused Mrs. Higurashi to blush, and she turned back to stove to flip the eggs. "Well I like him very much too. I was so relieved last night went well. You never know when your dating after so long and each of you have children. Sometimes things don't go as well as you would like them to. But everyone got along so well. Especially you and InuYasha," she remarked with a smile over at her daughter, whose eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Yeah," she replied, suddenly putting a huge forkful of eggs into her mouth. "He's great."
"And how about that entertainment room?!" Souta burst out, not bothering to hide his excitement. "It was awesome! My friends would be so jealous. He had all the latest games too!"
Mrs. Higurashi giggled. "His son probably plays those, not him." She slid the remaining eggs onto a plate.
Kagome stood up and carried her plate to the sink, rinsing it off. "I'm meeting Sango today to finish up our summer homework," she said, subtly changing the subject. "I'll probably get home late."
"That's fine dear, just make sure to call when you're on your way home," her mother replied, taking a sip of tea.
"I will."
Being with Sango would be a nice distraction from her thoughts. Plus, her friend always had good advice about boys. She would surely remember InuYasha from the park. Problem was, Kagome didn't know if she should mention their conversation in the music room. She didn't know what Sango would think of that.
Making sure she had her books and cell phone with her, Kagome hurried into town to meet her best friend at their favorite café. Sango was seated at a table near the window, so Kagome waved at her as she came in. She ordered a mocha and sat down in the seat across from Sango.
"So," Sango immediately said, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on them. "How'd it go?"
"How'd what go?" Kagome replied lamely, knowing full well what Sango was referring to.
"Last night!"
Kagome took out her notebook and pencil and placed them in front of her, flipping to the appropriate page. "Oh, that. It went fine."
"Um, details please Higurashi."
"What's there to know? InuTaisho is great, he really adores my mom. His house is huge though, like a mansion. I found out he owns the Takahashi Corporation and has two sons - "
"The Takahashi Corporation?!" Sango nearly spit out her coffee. She gawked at Kagome's laid back attitude about the whole situation. "As in, one of the leading corporations in all of Japan?!"
"Yeah, that one," Kagome told her, accepting the mocha the barista brought over to her. "I couldn't believe it at first either. I mean, imagine if they really did get married. We would be living in a mansion, probably having a limo drive us around Tokyo." InuYasha's words suddenly flew into her mind, causing her to set down her mocha, not wanting to drink it at the moment. If he really did intend to break them up, marriage was a far off possibility.
"You're so lucky," Sango commented enviously, eyes shining. "I wish my parents weren't boring school teachers."
"I love your parents," Kagome told her friend. "And Kohaku."
"Speaking of brothers, he has two sons? What were they like? Cute? Either of them our age?" she grinned, looking hopeful. Kagome sighed, dreading this part of their conversation.
"Well, his oldest son Sesshomaru works for his company, and I guess he is usually tied up with work. He couldn't make it last night. And his youngest son..." Kagome trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say.
Sango grinned mischievously at her friends silence. "He was that cute huh? Cuter than the guy you were drooling over in the park the other day?"
Kagome felt her cheeks getting pink, and she took a deep breath. "Actually, it was the same guy. From the park."
Sango was quiet for a moment, her eyes wide in surprise. And then suddenly she burst out laughing, causing several customers in the café to glance over at their table. When she finally calmed down, she wiped a stray tear from her eye and said, "That must have been pretty awkward."
"You have no idea," Kagome mumbled, finally taking a sip of her mocha.
"What's he like? I mean, I know he's gorgeous but is he nice? Did he give you a hard time about what happened?"
"Not really," Kagome admitted, realizing he hadn't even brought it up. He was too busy scheming on how to break up their parents. "He was...okay. Not really my type. Plus he has a girlfriend. Although he's going to the same school as us. He's a second year."
"Really?" Sango looked even more surprised. "Wow, so you'll get to see him everyday huh?"
"I guess."
Sango leaned back in her chair, homework and studying completely forgotten. "I feel like your life just got so much more exciting than mine. I need to meet a guy or win the lottery or something!"
"Sango," Kagome said, raising an eyebrow. Her friend smiled innocently. Just then, Kagome felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. Strange, she thought as she pulled it out.
"Maybe it's him," Sango commented, winking. Kagome knew who she was referring to.
"Sango, there's no way he even knows my -"
But it was him. Kagome stared down in shock and frustration at the text message he had sent her.
Hey, got your number from my dad who got it from your mom. You know who this is. Meet me in the park at noon (you know which one). Want to discuss operation break-up. Be there or your first day of high school might get a little messy ;) see ya soon. IT
"So? Who is it?" Sango asked, cocking her head to one side at Kagome's expression. Kagome flipped her phone shut and struggled to keep her composure.
"No one important. Just another self-absorbed guy trying to ask me on a date."
Yeah, right. Damn him, Kagome thought as Sango shrugged and picked up her pencil. He can't just threaten me and get away with it. Just wait, InuYasha. Two can play at this game.