"He doesn't have any qualifications, Kagome." Sesshomaru was tired, and he didn't like arguing with his mate, it took more out of him then arguing with others. He looked up across his desk at the woman that he had chosen to bear his pups and stand at his side all those years ago, and was still taken by surprise at the resolve in her eyes. She had never lost her inner fire.
"He just got out of high school, Sesshomaru. All I'm saying is that you should give him an internship, it'll help with his college work, and he's a good worker. He would be an asset to the company." Kagome moved further into her husband's office and sat down in one of the chairs across from his desk.
"You're sure he's going into business school?" How she knew it, he didn't even want to contemplate. He'd already been forced to watch from a distance as the boy made passes on his mate. Okay, so she hadn't been his mate when she had been in high school, but it was hard for his inner beast to differentiate. It only knew that Kagome was his and it wasn't going to share her.
"Yes, because he is expected to take over his family business. But letting him work here to get the experience wouldn't hurt, Sesshomaru." Kagome leaned forward slowly. "Come on, please? He's one of my best friends," she tried, sticking out her lower lip slightly. Okay, so technically, he wasn't her best friend anymore, but he had been when she'd been in school.
Hojo had been so nice to her all through middle school and high school while she was going back and forth to the feudal era. He had offered her products to help with her illnesses, even if her illnesses had not been real. It was the thought that counted. And now that he was going to business school, how could it hurt for him to be able to have experience working at a law firm?
"Except that we don't know if he can be trusted. What kind of work would he do here, Kagome? He obviously can't be an associate or a paralegal." Not to mention the fact that Taisho Inc. was basically a demon-based business. Those who worked here were demons, half-demons, or humans with strong spiritual power, like Kagome.
Taisho Inc. worked to keep demons hidden from the humans in the modern world. They represented demons in court and they handled all legal affairs, even down to identification methods. After all, fake identifications were needed for demons that did not age accordingly with humans. They aided in relocation methods so that demons didn't raise human awareness and set them up within this country and others.
Where was there room for a human with no spiritual powers who did not know about the existence of demons? Sesshomaru didn't see the point in it. He also didn't like the boy, harboring ridiculous notions about his mate, it made his inner beast growl with defiance.
"I think that we can trust him, Sesshy… I mean, really, he's very admirable, and loyal, and clever, and-"
"Kagome." Sesshomaru's voice was almost a low guttural growl. He didn't like listening to his mate go on about other men like that.
"Oh, right, sorry. But it doesn't have to be anything big. He could be like… a runner. Someone's personal assistant or something, you know, take messages, fetch coffee. Either way, it'd look good that he had some kind of internship in an international company." Especially a law firm like Taisho Inc., there was law students from all over Japan wanting jobs here. She knew that Sesshomaru was picky about who he hired, but she did have some pull.
Sesshomaru sighed, massaging his temple lightly and shook his head. "Fine, I'll have a letter sent to him." He couldn't believe that he was giving in to Kagome's wish.
Kagome just grinned, getting to her feet. "No need! I'll have one written up and I'll deliver it myself!" she exclaimed. She wanted to see the look on Hojo's face when he found out. She darted around the desk and leaned in to kiss Sesshomaru's cheek. "Thanks, love," she exclaimed before moving from the office.
Sesshomaru watched in surprise as his mate practically danced her way out of his office and shook his head slightly. What had he gotten himself into? He reached over, hitting the button on the intercom. "Ship- ah – sorry Shiori." He cringed as he caught himself calling his new assistant by his deceased son's name. "Shiori, could you please get a hold of InuYasha, the school day should be letting out, I need to speak to him."
He needed someone he could trust to watch over Kagome and that mortal.
Kagome was practically singing to herself as she parked her car and grabbed the sealed letter from the passenger side seat with the logo and seal from Taisho Inc. on it. She limited herself to humming, stepping up onto the curb before something leapt down from a tree, causing her to cry out in surprise until she realized that the attacker wasn't really an attacker at all.
"InuYasha!" she exclaimed. "You scared the hell out of me! It is entirely inappropriate for you to be leaping out of trees at people!" She raised her hand and brushed her hair back, shaking her head slightly. This was one of the worst parts about the charms which hid her demonic features: her senses were greatly dulled in this state, and she wondered how the heck she'd coped as a human before.
InuYasha just grinned slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well I couldn't help it, Kagome. You're just so easy to startle, and it's been a while since I was able to do something like that." He laughed good-heartedly as he walked up to her. "Sesshomaru told me that I should come with you to see one of your old friends."
Kagome sighed, shaking her head as she started down the street. "Typical Sesshomaru, I swear, he gets so jealous all the time! I mean, goodness, remember how long it took him to get comfortable with me hanging out with you by myself?" She shook her head slightly before looking back at her oldest friend. Sometimes, it still took some getting used to seeing him in modern day clothes.
In her head, she would always picture him in his red haori and walking around barefoot with a sword strapped to his side. But now, while he kept the red look usually, he was wearing a red button-down shirt and black pants. His hair was cut shorter now, as that was just the current fashion for men, otherwise, he could have been the old InuYasha on the night of the full moon.
InuYasha shrugged as he walked beside of Kagome, tucking his hands into his pockets as he walked. "He just worries about you, you know. And I think now that you're able to make contact with some of your old friends, he's just worried about how that might affect your relationship to him."
Kagome supposed that could be true. Before now, all Kagome had was Sesshomaru and her immediate family: InuYasha and the children. Now she was able to branch out a bit more and reconnect with old friends. "He shouldn't worry so much. He knows I love him. I just want my friends here to have some of the benefits that I have."
By this time, they were standing in front of the door of Hojo's family and she raised her hand, knocking on the door and waiting for a moment or two before the door was opened by none-other-than Hojo himself. Kagome grinned, practically forgetting about InuYasha's presence for the moment.
"Hey, Hojo!" she exclaimed brilliantly, her entire face lighting up. "How have you been since graduation?"
"Oh, Kagome, hello. I've been doing alright? How about you?" he asked before shaking his head slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, won't you and your friend come in?" he asked, stepping aside to allow her access, smiling brightly back at her.
"Oh yes, of course." Kagome stepped into the house and when Hojo had closed the door she gestured to InuYasha. "Hojo, this is my very best friend InuYasha. He's also my brother-in-law," she stated, laughing easily, though she saw the surprise on his face. "Yeah, I actually got married, wild isn't it?"
"I-yes, it is. So soon after graduation, though I must say, Kagome, you look great." Hojo gestured towards the room behind them and they entered into the living room at this point. "So what brings you here?"
"Well, actually, I managed to convince my husband that… you would be great for an internship at his company, since I know you plan on going to college for business, right?" she asked, smiling at him before holding out the letter.
Hojo paused to look at the logo, his eyes widening. "Taisho Incorporated? You must be joking! This company has the most sought-after internships among college students in all of Japan!" he exclaimed, looking up at Kagome. "You married the CEO?"
"The owner, actually. It's a family business, been passed down for generations, I think." Kagome smiled slightly. She figured it was best not to overwhelm him with too much information right off the bat. "So what do you think? Will you accept it? I mean, it isn't anything grand at the moment, but hey, everyone's got to start somewhere!"
"Yeah, you should just kind of be glad that he didn't stick you down in the mail room," InuYasha interjected with a laugh. "My brother's kind of sadistic like that." He held out his hand for Hojo, vaguely remembering seeing his face back when he'd used to come and fetch Kagome to go back to the feudal era, of course, he didn't know why Sesshomaru was so jealous other than the fact that this Hojo was a male, but sometimes, that was enough.
"I-yes, thank you so much, Kagome! How can I ever repay you for this?" Hojo asked, looking over at Kagome before he began to fully open the letter.
"Just think of it as me paying you back for all the extra help that you gave me in middle school and high school when I was out of school," Kagome said, grinning slightly.
Hojo looked up at Kagome then. "You didn't owe me anything for that, Kagome. I'll think of some way to pay you back, but for now, I think I'd better run to the shop to tell my parents! I… I'm sorry for being rude, but perhaps we can have dinner sometime? I'd like to meet your husband and thank him personally."
Kagome nodded slightly, waving off his apology. "Oh think nothing of it, and I will definitely talk to him about it." With that, she grabbed InuYasha's sleeve and tugged him back towards the door.
"It was nice meeting you, InuYasha. And thanks again, Kagome!" Hojo exclaimed on their way out. But Kagome was in far too pleasant of a mood not to wave back at him which caused him to smile. And there was one down, now she had paid Hojo back for being so very kind to her when she'd missed all that school back in the beginning.
Next on her list were three giggling girls who would soon be going off to college as well. Now, what could she do for them…