Author's note: I know I'm horrible when it comes to updates. And its excruciatingly painful to wait for updates (I know so, I have the patience the span of a fly). Although I have no idea if flies have any patience at all. All in all, I just wanted to say here's the next chapter of Mind Games. Thank you for waiting, and please drop a review. It makes me happy.

Mind Games

001: The Prince

The western winds blew across the grandeur palace as the silver haired prince looked across the royal garden. Flowers of different hues greeted him, and so did Miroku who was waiting for him to get on his flight to another business affair. The sun peeked out from the cotton-candy like clouds over the sky, signaling it was noon. Inuyasha knew it was night time for Kagome. Ever since he saved her from drowning two years ago, the side effects of the spell enabled Inuyasha to hear whatever she hears. However, he can filter what Kagome hears on the other side. It would be better for her anyway, since countless meetings with prime ministers and businessmen were as interesting as watching paint dry. But it was his responsibility as the crowned prince of Japan to oversee the nation. Ten years ago his father, the current king of Japan, wanted to revive the monarchy and mix it with western influences to strengthen the nation. His father's plan was fail proof and it proved itself right. Since then, Japan has risen to the top economically and politically.

"Hurry up or else we'll miss our flight." Miroku peeked into the room again and mouthed to his best friend.

"Gosh Sango, it would be best if we took a taxi instead. Walking in heels is the last thing I wanted to do in the snow." He heard Kagome's voice and stifled a slight chuckle. With a slight wave of his hand, Inuyasha sent his attendant away. He glanced at his watch, ten minutes to spare until he had to meet with the representative from the American branch of Taisho Enterprise.

"I thought you completely given up on men." Inuyasha saw the flashing green button on his fax machine and pressed the start button. The machine started to spew out charts at once.

"Oh god, I do not need you in my head right now." Kagome stuttered, he knew she wasn't dressed warmly. He was dead winter in America, New York City to exact. And from what he heard before, Sango and Kagome were probably heading to one of Ayame's before Christmas parties. "Unless you're revealing anything information about yourself, I'm not talking to you."

It was upsetting that she doesn't remember him though. Not even a bit, although the two spent a week together in secrecy when he was stuck on a business trip in the Bahamas. She was on vacation with her friends to celebrate her graduation from college. He could still remember how her caramel colored eyes sparkled when Frank Sinatra came on, the smell of her hair and the scent of her perfume. When the cruise ship anchored itself on the paradise-like island, the two of them snuck out each night just to spend time with one another. It was until they had to say goodbye that he revealed himself to her. She of course, was dumbfounded and refused to believe so until he showed her his coat of arms. Inuyasha chuckled once again, shaking his head from the memories.

The corner of his lips curled inward involuntarily. "Like I said, ladies like their men mysterious. By your reaction towards me, I think I'm doing quite a good job. Do I entice you?" His voice echoed in the study. The sound of paper printing from the fax machine answered him back.

"If you're trying to woo me, you're doing a horrible job." Kagome replied with a sigh followed by a scream.

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha anxiously responded. "Kagome?" He repeated her name once again.

"I'm okay, my heels don't work well with sleet." He could hear her take deep breathe with Sango trying to comfort her. "We're heading to Ayame's place for a pre-Christmas party. Father forced me to go, hoping I would find a nice rich man who would bring him more money."

Inuyasha pitied her and cursed himself for putting her in this situation. He heard how she argued with her parents countless times concerning her seeing a psychiatrist about hearing a voice in her head. However, he had no choice. When the ship headed back towards New York City, one of the turbines got stuck and the ship started to sink. Disregarding the crew's frantic screams to get out, he rushed to Kagome's cabin. Luck wasn't on his side when he realized her room was on the other side of the ship, where the turbine was located. Her room was submerged under water by the time he got there. After he swam the both of them to shore, Inuyasha laid her down on the sand. When he placed his ear, hoping to hear the sound of a heartbeat-he was met with silence. Dejected, it was until a frail woman approached him with a pink potion in hand that she was able to live. Although she spoke broken English, he got the gist of what the potion did. The potion would wipe out all of Kagome's memories of him, but he would be able to enter her mind. It was like giving up a part of him for her to live.

When she told her parents of a voice that plagued her thoughts, her parents thought their daughter was going crazy. He hated how her father thought he couldn't marry her off to his business partner anymore since he feared Kagome would impair their relationship. He hated how he had to keep quiet when she cried alone on her birthday when her cousin 'accidentally' spilled a drink on her. He hated the distance between them, and how he has to keep himself hidden.

"Well, if you plan to 'woo' him with your knowledge of business, I'll be right here. Literally." Once again, speaking to the air Inuyasha gathered the stack of papers left by the fax machine and headed towards the door. He stopped in front of a framed mirror, and fixed his tie. He knew Armani was a good choice, the sleek black tuxedo was tailored to his stature. After buckling the silver cuff links on his sleeve, Inuyasha took another glance at his watch.

"So you're a businessman?" There was curiosity in her voice.

"Yes. I work under my father." Inuyasha grinned, anticipating her response. "Although I mostly deal with public relations and make decisions for the company."

"Really? That's the first time you told me something about yourself." He heard a smile in Kagome's voice.

"False. I told you I was tall, dark and handsome. So this is the second time I described myself to you." Inuyasha mentally switched off the conversation before leaving the palace.

Kagome cursed at Mother Nature for dumping two feet of ice smacked right in the middle of Midtown. She hated the snow, and worse yet she hated dressing up and having to walk across Midtown in her favorite Oscar de la Renta gown. She could hear Christmas music blasting from the stores along Fifth Avenue. Tiny snowflakes speckled across her black dress as she smiled at I's response. Kagome turned her head ninety degrees to meet her best friend who had to lift up her dress two inches from keeping it from dragging along the pavement.

"Still talking to him?" Sango grinned, sticking her tongue out to catch a snowflake. The small crystals melted the second it touched the surface of her tongue.

"Oh no, that was hours ago. I just found out he's a businessman." Kagome couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

"I still don't understand why you keep talking to him. You could be happily in a relationship right now with a nice guy if you went to the neurologist your father asked you to see." Sango sighed, shaking her head. She knew Kagome hadn't had a boyfriend since the break up in high school with Hojo. The bastard cheated on her with Yura, and since then Kagome decided to concentrate on her studies instead of pursuing a relationship. It was until graduation that the three of them decided to vacation that Kagome met the handsome guy who swept her off her feet. But, it was tragic that Kagome had amnesia right after the sinking accident. Sango would give anything for the guy to come back into her best friend's life. It pained her to see her best friend alone while she was with Miroku, and Ayame with Kouga. Too mad Miroku was oversees on a business trip. After he was offered a job by the Japanese monarchy in one of their businesses after graduation, they both knew it was either a long distance relationship or to break up. "Do you seriously not remember the guy we met at the Bahamas?" Sango asked for the umpteenth time. "I told you to show us his face when you told us about him." Sango clicked her tongue.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." Kagome halted in front of a Victorian styled house carved out of marble. Columns greeted them as A-list guests ascended up the marble stairs. The manor seemed out of place, especially since it was slapped right in between two of New York City's biggest busiest streets. The line seemed infinite as Kagome and Sango both knew there were people that weren't on the list waiting to get in. People who want to make it in the business world would sell their soul to the devil to attend one of Ayame's parties. Her father, a business tycoon invites all of his associates over for big holidays.

Sango dug through her clutch as she touched the screen of her latest iPhone, searching for Ayame's number in her contacts list. Seconds later, she was met with her best friend's voice and jazz music on the other side. "Ayame, can you get us in? We're two damsels in designer dresses and are about to contract the influenza if we stay out here any longer."

Kagome still held the same champagne glass Ayame poured her an hour and a half ago. The live jazz ensemble continued to play its fifth piece as guests in crisp tuxedos and elegant gowns mingled. Kagome prayed that men would stop coming up to her asking her about her father and how the family business was going. She was tired of using the word 'fine' and 'good' over and over again. The only reason why she agreed to come was partially because of her father, and because Sango said Miroku was coming back for a business trip here. She could see the frequent exchange of business cards wherever she turned. Ladies her age were sent here by their fathers to mingle with emerging businessmen from prestigious families, hoping the two would hit it off. Kagome on the other hand had no interest in men who were so caught up in the business world, especially the man who was practically dropping every girl's panty by the entrance. Whoever the man was, he must have a crap ton of money and merit to have Kikyo, her pompous yet single cousin swoon over him.

Curiosity got the best of her as she stepped over towards the entrance to see what the commotion was all about. She could see men enviously staring at the man as girls were enthralled by his presence. The crowed moved with him as he stepped towards the chocolate fountain. Kagome caught a glimpsed of the man and headed the opposite direction as she realized she was captured by his appearance. Clearing her throat, she reminded herself that beauty was only skin deep. His personality was probably rotten, with that much attention focused on him wherever he went.

Although she tore her eyes away from him, her mind was glued to him. His silver hair was perfectly groomed, the jet black tuxedo extenuated his broad shoulders, and worse yet his eyes had to meet hers the split second when she caught a glimpse of him. Those golden orbs glowed in her mind as she looked back at the throng of people again.

"He's probably a pompous jerk, a perfect match for Kikyo," Kagome whipped her head back at the direction of the orchestra.

"Who's the pompous jerk that matches the pretentiousness of your cousin?" I's voice startled her.

Kagome thanked her lucky stars that he was awake at this time. From the two years she's known him, she realized the guy was probably on the other side of the world if the time she woke up was when he was getting ready for dinner. She didn't have anyone to talk to at the party, she didn't have any interest in the political or business world after all. And everyone here lived and breathed politics and business. Suddenly, he sight of Kikyo heading towards her made her go into full fledged panic mode. Trying to make it through the throng of people, Kagome cursed under her breath as her cousin caught up to her.

"Funny seeing you here!" A feminine voice caught Kagome's attention as she spun her heals around. The last person she wanted to see if hell broke loose was standing right in front her with the silver haired guy by her side.

"Speak of the devil." Kagome whispered under her breath and cracked a smile, hoping it wouldn't turn into a sneer. "Hello to you too, Kikyo"

Inuyasha took a deep breath as the horrific situation unfolded before his eyes. All he wanted to do was get a tad closer to Kagome, just to steal glances at her. Instead, he was met with her cousin, one of his underlings for his company. He first heard of her from Kagome a year ago when she made her cry. Kagome explained to him how since they were children the adults plopped Kikyo on a golden pedestal and continued to crank her up higher as time went on. He felt Kikyo's nails dig deeper into his arm as she dragged him closer and closer to Kagome. He could hear Kagome curse over and over again as they made their way over. He wanted to take her by the hands and get her out of this mess. He knew how much she hated talking to her cousin. As his steps increased, the distance between them grew shorter.

He was now standing right in front of her.

Inuyasha took a deep breath as he looked at her. The A-line dress extenuated her figure, where as the sweet heart neckline added a touch of elegance. No wonder men kept coming up to her the whole time he was here. She was even more beautiful up close.

"I don't think you two have met, this is Prince Inuyasha Taisho-CEO of Taisho Enterprises. Father asked me to personally escort him during his stay here." Kikyo beamed, joyfully soaking up all the attention that was on her and Inuyasha.

Author's note: As you can see, the romancing starts right away in this story. Also, this is a pretty fast paced fanfic as well. So I anticipate this story to be around 10 to 15 chapters, not long at all. I had the urge to make Kagome mute and combine this story with another story idea I had. But that will have to wait. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please drop a review, it definitely encourages me to write knowing that you take pleasure in reading my work.