On the cobblestone path of a faraway mansion, there was a flash of fire. Its glinted off of an obsidian set of scales now standing there. The dragon's green eyes flashed red with a flare of their youki. An invisible barrier briefly appeared before opening just enough to allow the visitor through.
The dragon quietly walked down the path and toward the mansion a few yards away. It stood three stories tall, the dusk sunlight glinting off of the proud black marble. Accents of jade-colored bricks lined the roofing. There were also tall pillars of zoisite lined the path with designs of dragons carved into them.
An unsettling amount of youki seeped out of the main doors as the visitor finally approached. A young kuma hanyou stood by the door with a dull expression on their face. Upon seeing the visitor, they spoke tonelessly.
"Ryuunosuke-sama is waiting for you." They bowed slightly at the waist. "I am to escort you to his office."
"Very well, lead the way." The dragon smirked, sending a shiver down his escort's spine.
Despite his show of arrogance, the dragon spy was actually quite anxious. It was time to inform his lord that time was short and their plans would have to move sooner than intended. How he dreaded the conversation to come. The Southern Lord was not a patient dragon and his recent failure had already tested that patience. Any more slights and he would be disposed of.
Withholding a shiver, the dragon stopped behind his escort at a tall, wooden door. The kuma hanyou bowed and opened the door. Steeling himself, the spy slowly walked in, startling when the door slammed shut.
"What do you have for me, Sora," the lord's soothing timbre voice echoed.
Sora, the spy, swallowed thickly. Moving into a respectful bow, he relayed the information he gathered. "The ookami seem to have picked up on our plans, my lord. We will have to push our timetable up."
The daiyoukai across the room leveled a cold gaze on the lesser dragon. Despite his failures, the spy was one of the most valuable people he had. He stopped typing and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why did you come all this way to tell me that?"
The spy blinked. "It- My lord, today is my regular report. You required they be done in person to avoid tempering."
"Ah, right." He'd forgotten the necessity of face-to-face with these things. The Southern Lord sighed. "If that is all, leave. I have work to finish."
Ryuunosuke massaged the bridge of his nose in irritation as the spy swiftly bowed and left. Honestly, dealing with so many inferior beings was giving him a headache. All he wanted was a little revenge. Was it really so much to ask for competent underlings?
Sighing he stood removed his stylus from the side of his laptop and signed the document. Soon, he would be much closer to the inu's heir than ever before. The Southern Lord smirked to himself. Nothing would stop him from playing his little game.
Oh, how he looked forward to the result.
~oOo~
Kagome yawned and stretched as she sat up. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the young miko-youkai glanced around to ensure everyone was in place. Sesshomaru was missing. Frowning for a moment, she expanded her aura a bit. She could sense him down the hall in his private chambers, likely preparing for the day. If she remembered right, he had a meeting with the owner of a minor corporation later in the morning.
Sighing, the midnight haired woman finally stood. Cutting her gaze to the clock told her it was five seventeen. Moving swiftly through her morning routine had her dressed and ready by six. Shippō and Sōta were already waking and would be ready soon. Her tail swayed contently as she descended the stairs and walked to the kitchen. Maya, their head chef, was working to ensure everything was clean and glamours were up. It wouldn't do for their guests to find youkai and strange meat in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Maya." The buta youkai turned and smiled at the Lady of the House.
"Ohayō, Kagome-sama." A lower level ookami raced by and placed three plates in Maya's hands. With a quick thank you, the chef gave them to Kagome. "Here is your breakfast along with Shippō-sama's and Sōta-sama's."
"Arigatō, Maya-san."
Smiling, the young lady walked back to the den where her brother and kit were finally dressed for the day. Kagome set their plates by the unused fireplace and called them over for breakfast. As they ate, Sesshomaru came in to join them with his own plate.
"Ohayo, Alpha-sama," they chorused.
The inu lord hummed his acknowledgment and settle next to his heir. They continued to eat quietly until Kagome's phone interrupted the peace. She almost complained until she saw who it was.
"Ohayo, Haru-chan."
"Hey, Kagome." She could hear the smile in the younger ookami's voice. "I talked to dad about it and he agreed! We'll be moving in this weekend."
"That's great. Since Souta has soccer practice in the morning, Shippo and I will come over to help. That alright?"
"Yeah, that's fine." There was a mischievous tone in her cousin's voice as she continued. "Since you're coming over, wanna have some fun with it?"
Kagome and her kit shared a wicked grin. Their influence on Haruhi was already strong if she was the one to suggest a prank. As she shared her idea, the two grinned wider. They were going to have so much fun.
~oOo~
The next few days at school passed without incident. Although Kagome was technically a part of the Host Club, she wouldn't start until the following Monday. There was still paperwork to fill out, after all.
Finally, Friday came around and the two cousins grew more excited as the day passed on. They were going to have a sleepover that night since Ryouji was out on a night shift. It would keep Haruhi from getting lonely. It would also make it easier for her to help the others set everything up at the Western Palace.
However, as they walked through the halls, Kagome could sense something following them throughout the week. Her cousin hadn't quite picked up on it and assumed her closeness was a result of excitement rather than protectiveness.
Unfortunately, when club hours rolled around, their pursuer got a little too close. Her head snapped around just in time to see a shadow move behind a far pillar. Sapphires narrowed in suspicion. She didn't like the maliciousness she felt from their pursuers aura. So soon. Haruhi wasn't even a part of the main house yet.
Even so, they weren't allowed to reveal themselves. Instead, when they reached the club, the miko excused herself to make a phone call. It rang for a moment before the other side of the line finally picked up.
"What's up?" The familiar playful tone almost made her smile if not for the circumstances.
She started explaining what she'd felt and how long. The voice immediately grew serious and listened closely to her. "I think they're after Haruhi."
The other side was quiet for a moment. "I'm too tied up right now. I'll send my betas to take care of it."
"Won't that-"
The person chuckled. "We've all learned to be discrete after five centuries, Kagome."
"I- sorry." She had the decency to blush in embarrassment.
"It's alright. Just know I'll be over in a couple of days to check on you guys." The call ended and Kagome sighed. At least they'd have time to get her uncle and cousin settled in.
When she finally returned to Haruhi, the miko smiled reassuringly at her questioning gaze. The midnight-haired girl in disguise plopped down on the couch next to her cousin. She didn't like the turn of events. Really, if this was before the two ookami officially joined them, she was almost afraid of what would happen after.
"Everything alright?" Blue met concerned brown with a smile.
"Yeah, just had to take care of something."
None but the miko noticed how her cousin stiffened. Haruhi knew that tone meant something was up. She frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Hey, don't be like that. It'll be fine."
Unbeknownst to them, Haruhi's customers were leaning in. All of them watched on, wide-eyed and eager, as the two cousins effortlessly held their audience's attention. Their hearts were beating fast and pink dusted all of their cheeks. They leaned in closer as the moe seemed to grow.
"But-"
"'But' nothing. Haru-chan," the brunette looked frightened into her cousin's eyes. Cupping the younger girl's cheek, Kagome smiled. "I wouldn't say that if I thought it was something to worry about."
Haruhi sighed and leaned on her cousin's shoulder, finally conceding. She knew Kagome was right. Besides, if it was worrisome, the miko would just tell her later. The ookami sighed and closed her eyes. She was just ready for the day to be over.
Suddenly, her clients all squealed, startling the two girls. They dove into an intense interrogation, asking Kagome if she was going to be a host and if she and Haruhi were in a relationship. Eventually, the questions blurred together and the young host grew more and more irritated with each word.
"That's enough, girls." Kagome held up her hand to silence the crowd. She knew she had to step in before Haruhi snapped. Yet another sign of the strain her and her father's bond was under. "We can't answer your questions if you're talking over one another."
"To answer the first question we heard: Yes, Kagome will be a host starting Monday. We don't have any romantic feelings for each other;" she cringed at that thought, "what we feel is purely platonic. We grew up together."
One girl in the back called out, "How?"
Haruhi and Kagome smiled and chorused, "We were neighbors."
Their audience went wild. Some of the girls fainted. Those who didn't faint were fanning their faces or hugging each other. The two cousins internally smirked at each other. Kagome was happy to see the amusement in her cousin's aura. At least she wasn't worried about the incident from earlier.
On the other side of the room, the twins smirked. While they were unnerved seeing Haruhi like that, it was interesting to know they weren't the only ones with such a close bond. Mori watched with slight interest as Hani smiled and hugged Usa-chan tighter. Kyoya made a note of the scene; despite the strangeness of it, her customers seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps we should have another pair to profit from. Next to the Shadow King, Tamaki gasped in fear as the color drained out of his face. His precious daughter was becoming like the devil twins!
"But, Taisho-san comes from a rich family," the same girl responded.
The blue-eyed girl sighed. "It wasn't always that way."
Haruhi's clients exploded with questions but all went unanswered as a thud against the door silenced the room. Sensing two familiar aura's outside, Haruhi went to stand only to fall back down when Kagome grabbed her arm. She looked questioningly at the midnight-haired girl who only shook her head in response. "Later," she mouthed. The brunette pouted but sat back down.
Shortly after, The door opened to reveal a man just older than the students. He had black hair around his head with a tuft of gray at the front. His stone gray eyes were bright as he "nervously" rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry if I startled anyone. I was looking for something and tripped over my own feet."
"Daijōbu, Ginta-san." Kyoya and the others watched with narrowed eyes as he locked gazes with the miko and nodded. There was clearly more to the man's "tripping" than what was said. "It's good to see you. I hope you find the one you're looking for."
The undercover wolf smiled and left.
Haruhi's guests started asking how Kagome knew the man and if they were friends. Of course, there were the outrageous questions as well. The miko-youkai danced around the answers with finesse, even redirecting the situation back to herself and Haruhi - much to the younger ookami's displeasure.
Kyoya's glasses glinted in interest at Taisho-san's reaction and made a note in his book to put aside for later. It seemed that information on the mysterious transfer was not so elusive after all. Perhaps with time, the mystery would unravel itself.
Author's Note: Finally finished it! Geez... School is really kicking my butt right now. This chapter has been sitting here for a few months and only now do I finish it. Homework hates me...
Anyway, please read and review. Tell me what you guys think.