Chapter 6
Kagome sighed, rolling her eyes sideways with irritation. Yet another boring, meaningless party that Sesshoumaru had dragged her to, and she really wasn't looking forward to the coming evening. She couldn't understand how the bastard could deal with all these empty social events, when he wasn't really all that fond of humans. Sure, he could deal with them, it wasn't like he had any choice since there were far more humans than youkai, but she'd never understood this odd-seeming dichotomy in his personality. He complained about meaningless socializing, and yet he continuously dragged himself – and her, unfortunately – to every party, ball, or dinner that he was invited to.
It made no sense!
Nonetheless, here they were yet again, about to enter another overdone mansion for another wasted night of hobnobbing with the stuck-up, pretentious 'high-flyers' of the society scene here in Tokyo. She'd rather be back home in Auckland working late to get the monthly reports done for her boss than where she was any day. Heck, I'd rather be pretty much anywhere else but here. This is just torture.
The last two days had been oddly quiet, but that didn't comfort the little miko at all. Rather, it felt to her as though there was some darkness just over the horizon that was going to envelop her any moment. Every instinct she had was literally screaming at her that something very bad was rushing towards her like a freight train, and because of that, she was jumpy and edgy. She was actually surprised that Sesshoumaru hadn't mentioned her mood yet, but it was probably only a matter of time until he did. There was no way he'd continue to ignore a chance to needle her, so she forced herself to dig deep for the poise she'd gained so painfully, determined not to let him get to her.
She was pulled from her dark thoughts as a hand came up and grasped her elbow firmly, guiding her towards the doors thrown open to the night with blinding light pouring from the rooms behind them.
"You can let go now, Sesshoumaru," she intoned coolly. "I'm neither blind nor stupid – I can see where to go quite well, thank you very much."
The daiyoukai shot her an equally cool glance, though Kagome was slightly taken aback to see an odd light flash through his otherwise flat golden eyes. What was that all about...? a distant part of her wondered, though she didn't linger on the question.
"I am very well aware of that, Kagome," he responded evenly. "I'm also well-aware that if I didn't keep a chain on you, you'd ditch me as soon as possible and disappear. Since the point of all of this is to keep you with me, that would not suit my plans at all, my beloved wife," he added with a cynical twist of his lips as he glanced down at her.
She snorted. "Beloved wife?" she scoffed with an incredulous glance sideways at him. "Come off it, Sesshoumaru. The only thing you've ever loved in your life is Rin, and we both know that, so there's no need to act the part of the devoted and loving husband. I'm not impressed."
There was another odd flash in his eyes as she finished her statement, his enigmatic gaze causing her to frown slightly, suddenly even more uneasy. Okay, what... ? She wasn't able to get any further before he spoke again.
"And perhaps you don't know me as well as you think you do, sweetheart," he returned, still eyeing her. "How do you know whether my affections have ever been engaged, hm? Can you suddenly read minds?"
"Whatever," she said as they stepped forward, finally entering the vividly bright ballroom as she readied herself to face their hosts for the evening. She wasn't certain who was hosting this event, not having cared enough to ask Sesshoumaru, but she was about to find out.
Not that it mattered.
She found her mind wandering as Sesshoumaru took care of the meaningless pleasantries, and looked around the ballroom, wondering if Inuyasha had arrived yet. She knew he was planning to attend, since she and his brother were going to, but they'd come separately, of course, since her erstwhile husband wasn't best pleased that the two of them got along so well. He tried everything he could think of to keep them apart, but Kagome was having none of it. What she did with her life, and who she befriended, was none of his business.
As her gaze slid over the gathering with little interest, her eyes were suddenly caught by glittering black ones – eyes that didn't look away but blatantly returned her own look with an intensely weighing, though definitely mocking, expression. She shivered; there was something about that gaze that left her feeling extremely wary.
The male it belonged to was certainly not human. Very attractive physically, with dark hair that matched his eyes, perfectly arranged features, and an obviously fit body, nonetheless Kagome felt nothing but suspicious and rather unnerved at the interest he was displaying in her. She felt even more wary of him than she did of Sesshoumaru, and that said a lot about the person behind that look, because there were very, very few people that she distrusted more than the male she'd been married off to.
As Sesshoumaru guided her further into the room and away from their hosts for the evening, Kagome leaned a little closer to him and asked quietly, "The male with the dark hair and black eyes-" she tilted her head discreetly towards him as the daiyoukai inclined his head to listen to her, "-the one who's staring – who is he?"
Despite the fact that Sesshoumaru was a bit surprised at the fact that she'd actually asked him a question, and without her usual bite, he glanced in the direction that his wife indicated, and immediately felt his hackles rise. He lifted his head and met the other male's gaze challengingly.
"His name is Muso. He is a... competitor of mine. But he has no honor, and I am almost positive he has his hands in the criminal element of our city."
Kagome had no problem believing that. "Yakuza?"
"I believe he at the very least has ties to the Ryu Yakuza – if he isn't the head of it, that is," he responded a little absently, still busy engaged in a visual form of warfare with the other male. "Stay away from him, Kagome," he warned after a moment when Muso finally looked away, his voice for once serious, without any snide undertones. "He's dangerous. There have been... several odd disappearances of those that have become involved too closely with the hanyou."
She merely nodded, not about to argue the point when her own instincts were screaming at her so strongly. "I'll do my best, though I'm sure at some point, with the way he was watching, that he'll attempt to speak to me."
Sesshoumaru felt a surge of possessiveness and anger go through him at that remark, knowing it was true – and knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop just that from happening. After all, this was a social event, and socializing was sort of expected.
"Unfortunately, you are correct," he murmured, brows turning down with irritation. "Just remember to take everything he says with two grains of salt, and avoid him as much as possible."
"I don't need you to tell me that," she harrumphed. "As far as I'm concerned, anyone that my instincts scream is worse than you is definitely someone I don't want to know."
The gloves were back off, apparently; Sesshoumaru bowed his head mockingly at her as he allowed her to pull her arm away from him. "I'm surprised that there is anyone in this world that you think is worse than this one," he stated cynically.
"Yes, well," Kagome retorted wryly, "don't get all excited, since I'm just as surprised." She inclined her head coolly as her eyes swept the gathering again, finally catching sight of an amused Inuyasha watching her and his brother. She started forward, pleased that she wouldn't have to stand around and be entirely bored all night while Sesshoumaru rubbed elbows with every woman in the place.
The daiyoukai scowled as he caught sight of where his wife was headed, but before he could follow he was surrounded by a group of those same twittering women and a few business acquaintances, leaving him unable to do anything about her choice in companions for the time being. That didn't mean the matter was forgotten; as soon as they arrived home he would once more warn his brother to back off.
Maybe this time he'd have to use force, since he'd already warned the whelp once.
That thought didn't bother him at all – he'd been longing to get his hands around his sibling's neck for years, but hadn't had a good enough excuse to hand his daughter for doing so.
This time he did.
~oOo~
"What did you say to the bastard to put that look on his face?"
Kagome chuckled as she came to a stop in front of Inuyasha, thanking him silently with a smile for the glass of wine he handed her. She took a small sip, and then said, "I didn't put that look on his face this time, it was some guy he called Muso who was staring at me quite-" she frowned, "-blatantly. There's something about that guy I don't like," she trailed off slowly.
"There ain't many people I trust less than the icy prick," Inuyasha began, now also frowning, "but Muso's one of them. I didn't expect to see him at something like this – he rarely ever bothers accepting the invitations he gets. I don't like it – he's up to something. You said he was staring at you?"
"As soon as we walked in the doors, actually," she answered, taking another small drink of her wine. "He was quite blatant, and he stared at me for several minutes – until I pointed him out to Sesshoumaru, and he started glaring at the guy. Then he locked gazes with your brother for a while, before finally looking away when someone spoke to him."
Inuyasha scowled. "I hate to say it, but Muso's a much bigger bastard than Sesshoumaru. He's dangerous. Be very wary of anything he says or does, okay? And watch your back."
Eyeing the silver-haired hanyou assessingly, Kagome nodded thoughtfully. "Do you know anything specific, or is it just guesses? Sesshoumaru seems to believe he's yakuza, and while I could definitely see that, is it actually true, or just supposition?"
"Oh, it's true, though of course there's no evidence. He's been accused a few times, but – no surprise - every time he's investigated the person doing the accusing suddenly disappears, and the police are left with no choice but to drop the investigation. You know how that goes."
"Hmm. Lovely. I'm surprised that Sesshoumaru hasn't made him 'disappear', if you know what I mean," Kagome replied.
Inuyasha chuckled heavily. "Oh, believe me – he's just looking for any excuse to do so. Muso's powerful and murderous, but he's still no match for the bastard physically. But he's a spider hanyou, and he does what spiders do best – sneak. In fact," his voice turned contemplative, "there were some odd things that happened with Sesshoumaru a few years ago that I suspected the spider had a hand in, but I couldn't prove it, and my ass of a brother would never speak of the circumstances, so I just filed it away and forgot about it."
"Odd things?" the miko asked. "Isn't everything he does odd?"
A laugh answered her. "Okay, you've got a point, but I mean really odd. You know how controlled Sesshoumaru is. But that year... well, it was totally strange. It was like he was... barely holding onto himself. I don't know how many times he came close to killing anyone who agitated him in any way." A dark look crossed Inuyasha's face. "I may not like the bastard I'm stuck with as a brother, but if what I suspect was done to him really was, then I have to give him some respect for his strength in not going off and destroying half of Tokyo, because anyone else would have lost themselves to their youkai blood and kami help whoever or whatever was caught in their way."
Curious now and somewhat concerned, as well, Kagome opened her mouth to ask Inuyasha to explain what he was talking about when a smooth, yet somehow oily voice spoke up from behind her, and she instantly tensed and turned, knowing exactly who it was even before she laid eyes on him.
"Well, well... if it isn't the hanyou Inuyasha. I'm surprised to see you here, since you don't bother to attend these functions very often," the dark-eyed male said, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, wondering how he'd react to the barely hidden taunt. Hanyou? Didn't Sesshoumaru say you're a hanyou, too? she wondered, actually a little insulted on Inuyasha's behalf.
The inuhanyou, however, merely smiled, a jagged parody of a polite expression that sad oddly on his handsome face. "And if it isn't the hanyou Muso," he returned coolly. "I'm also surprised to see you at this... function, since you don't tend to bother with them, either. So what was the draw this time, I wonder?" he finished cynically, glancing rather obviously at a fascinated yet repulsed Kagome.
A flash of anger went through Muso's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came and he was once more blandly calm. "You've caught me out, I admit. Who wouldn't want to meet the woman that Sesshoumaru went so crazy over, hmm? Since, of course, I didn't get the chance before." He finally met Kagome's slightly narrow eyes with a knowing smile. "I must say, I can certainly understand his reaction – you are very beautiful," he bowed mockingly.
"Please," she scoffed after a moment, not amused. "Sesshoumaru's never gone 'crazy' over a woman in his entire life. The only thing that affects him that way is blood... or business. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was a shark, not an inu."
The male she so far knew only as Muso chuckled, and even though she hadn't meant it to be funny, she had to admit that it really was, since it described her 'husband' to a 'T'.
"It seems there are a few problems in paradise," he said blatantly, not at all seeming to be bothered by saying such things in so open a manner – and in mixed company. "How... interesting..."
But before Kagome could say anything to rebuff his rude and rather forward statement, Inuyasha did.
"Keh. And if there is, it's none of your business, Muso," he shot back at the other male with an edge to his voice none could possibly miss. "Whatever trouble your planning on indulging yourself in won't do you any good, so you can just go back to wherever you came from and continue avoiding these parties – no one here is going to miss your presence at all."
A sleek, dark brow tilting arrogantly into his bangs, Muso smirked at Inuyasha. "I would think they'd prefer to see the last of you, mutt," he returned mildly, then dismissed him with a look. "You may run along now – you aren't needed here, I assure you."
Now it was Kagome's turn to interrupt before Inuyasha could get a word in edgewise. "Actually," she began coldly, taking her friend's arm, "Neither of us are needed here, so we'll both just be going." That said, she turned and led a quietly snickering inuhanyou away, not paying a whit of attention to the anger she could feel pouring from the aura of the male she'd just so publicly snubbed.
Across the room, her husband was watching, and would have been much more amused by his little wife's move – if she hadn't been wrapped around his half-brother's arm when she'd made it. Still, to see Muso's normally unbreakable cool front cracked like that in front of an entire ballroom of people was quite fulfilling, he had to admit.
I wonder what she said to him?
A satisfied air surrounded him as he silently watched Muso slip out of the ballroom - though it was tinged with a definite feeling of wariness because he was pretty sure the bastard was up to something again, and he really didn't need that kind of complication on top of what he was already dealing with in trying to tame his little, runaway wife. Maybe he should just kill him already and finally get it over with...
~oOo~
"Sesshoumaru," Kikyou pouted, grasping his arm and clinging tightly to it, "why are you ignoring me?"
The daiyoukai looked down at the woman trying to entice him into her bed with jaded cynicism. She was just like every other female at this party – except his own wife, of course – who would do just about anything to get down his pants. And dip into his bank accounts, all while trying to entice – or trap – him into marrying them so they could get their greedy fingers even deeper into his money, and gloat about their supposed 'conquest' of the so-far unconquerable male they all lusted over.
And yet the one woman I want on my arm is the one woman who doesn't want to be there, and who'd do just about anything to get away from me entirely, he chuckled inwardly almost wearily. With a barely audible sigh, he detached his arm from the female trying to monopolize his attention and stepped back, tired of being crowded by opportunistic women.
"I am not ignoring you, Kikyou," he replied blandly, "otherwise I would not now be speaking to you. However, I am not in the mood for flirty females trying to climb inside my skin with me. Have you perhaps forgotten that I am a married male?" he asked, with a rather sarcastic glance in his wife's direction.
Kikyou scowled. "I could ask you the same question," she sniped. "You've been married to the wench for over five years, and yet you're only just seeming to notice that fact now."
He smiled with a bored tilt to his lips that his companion didn't miss. "We've been estranged, living in separate countries and leading our own lives. That was then and this is now, and now we are no longer separated, we are living together again. Since that is the case, I no longer have any need for other females."
"Really, Sesshoumaru," she laughed, her voice brittle, "who are you trying to fool? It's more than obvious that Kagome doesn't want to be here. Whatever you're scheming, it's clear she wants no part of it or of you. In fact, it seems to me that she's not so worried about being faithful - she certainly looks to be... enjoying Inuyasha's company a great deal more than she does your own. So why should you remain faithful to something she isn't? Besides, if you just divorced the little strumpet and got it over with, you wouldn't be considered 'unfaithful', would you?" Then she rolled her eyes. "And besides – it's not as if you were overly worried about cheating on her when you first married her, now were you?" she pointed out snidely, not above reminding him of the first year of his so-called marriage, when he pretty much slept with anyone he wanted despite having a new wife.
Lips thinning dangerously, Sesshoumaru snapped a look filled with warning at the woman, who inhaled in surprise and stepped back, suddenly wary. "That was then, and things are not the same now as they were at that time. You can stop hoping to one day con your way into a wedding ring from me - I am married to Kagome, and understand one thing – there will be no divorce. Ever. Are we clear?"
Dismayed, the petulant woman watched with angry eyes as the gorgeous daiyoukai inclined his head rather mockingly at her and turned away, slowly making his way towards where Kagome had led Inuyasha after snubbing Muso. She burned with jealousy and hatred towards her cousin, and wanted nothing more than to see the bitch humiliated as she ran back to her little bolthole in Auckland permanently.
Her eyes narrowed and her face twisted very unattractively, had she but known it, Kikyou watched Kagome laugh lightly at something that Inuyasha said and seethed impotently.
Why does she get everything I deserve? The Higurashi money... and Sesshoumaru, too? It's not right! One of these days, Kagome, I'll figure out how to make you pay for taking everything I wanted from me, she thought spitefully. One of these days...
~oOo~
Grinning delightedly at the crooked smile decorating Inuyasha's face, Kagome batted her eyelashes at him, causing him to break out into low chuckles as he enjoyed her antics. He still couldn't believe that his icicle of a brother had not only found this woman, but then married her – even considering that it had supposedly been a business decision. She was just so alive and playful and sweet – as unlike his ass of a brother as anyone was likely to get.
But he could definitely see the fascination, and he certainly had no problem believing that the bastard wanted more from his wife than a fake marriage. But what, exactly? So he wants her in his bed – that's no surprise – but is that all he's after? Or is there something more? Always suspicious of Sesshoumaru, he couldn't help but wonder. And then he grinned inwardly. Not that it seems to matter, because Kagome's just as determined to get away from him as he is that she won't.
He came back to his current surroundings as the young woman snickered, then tilted her head discreetly and said, "Did you see that?" she whispered, knowing he'd hear her even over the buzz of conversation around them. "Kikyou just basically got verbally slapped, and by Sesshoumaru no less. Wonder what he said to her to put that sour expression on her face?"
Inuyasha laughed aloud. "I don't know, but I can guess, and it probably had something to do with you, because that glare she's wearing is pointed right at your heart like she'd like to rip it out. Whatever it was, I'm sure she deserved it."
"There's no probably about it – she definitely deserved it," Kagome giggled – and then she sighed, her smile becoming cooler and forced. "Yes, Sesshoumaru?"
Not surprised that his ass of a brother had searched them out, Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at him for a second and then turned back to Kagome and waited for whatever he was going to say.
Sesshoumaru shot a look at his brother but didn't say anything to him, instead addressing Kagome as he stepped forward and joined them. "May I ask what it was you said to Muso that upset him so much?" he asked, meeting her gaze with nothing combative hiding in his eyes, surprising her.
"I didn't really say that much to him – but when he tried to dismiss Inuyasha so rudely by intimating that he wasn't needed there any longer in an effort to get me alone, I replied that neither of us were, and then we turned and left," she answered slowly, her head tilted questioningly. "Why?"
"Hn. Because now you have made an enemy of the hanyou, and I will need to take measures to protect you from him," he replied, looking over her head out the window as he considered Muso's likely response to being snubbed and humiliated so publicly.
"Seriously, Sesshoumaru," Kagome began dubiously, "aren't you being a little ridiculous here?"
"Much as I hate agreeing with the bastard about anything, he's right to be concerned," Inuyasha said seriously. "Muso's a megalomaniac, and you've definitely put yourself on his shit list, Kagome."
Still looking disbelieving, she started to say something when Sesshoumaru spoke up. "Remember what I told you of his ties to the yakuza. He's like any other murderous criminal – he doesn't deal well with anything or anyone that doesn't fall perfectly into line with his desires. That is why he hates this one so much – because he has never been able to defeat me on any battlefield we have ever met on. I cannot stress it enough – he's dangerous, and you need to be on your guard against him at all times."
"Hm," she finally said, looking at both brothers, who were oddly united over their dislike of the dark hanyou. "Well, if he tries anything, then I'll just have to purify him a bit and see how he likes it."
A quirked brow met that statement. "You have gained control of your reiki?" he asked, a little surprised. After all, she'd never bothered training it before, refusing to be pushed into taking up the mantle of a true miko when she was younger.
Kagome smiled a little bitterly, looking pointedly at him. "After what you and the rest of Tokyo society put me through, and the little threats and tortures that the youkai half of the high-flyers threw at me, I decided that it was a matter of self-preservation. Don't worry, Sesshoumaru – I'm quite proficient and comfortable with my power now. I'm not the same helpless little twit I was before."
The daiyoukai's lips turned down for a moment but then straightened again. "That is good to know, my dear. However, I believe I am ready to leave, so you must excuse yourself," he stated blandly with an ironic little half-bow in his brother's direction. "It's not as if you won't see him at home, true?"
Inuyasha grinned impudently at his irritated brother. "Very true. Go on, Kagome – don't keep the ice-prick waiting. I believe I've seen enough this evening, as well. I'll see you back at that hell-hole he calls a home in a little while."
A little surprised, Kagome nonetheless followed Sesshoumaru from the ballroom at Inuyasha's urging, although she couldn't help but to wonder why he wanted to leave the party so early. As far as she was aware, this was most definitely a first for him.
As the silence lengthened, however, she became unwillingly concerned. Was something wrong?
"Sesshoumaru?"
He glanced at her as they waited for the valet to retrieve their car. "Yes?"
"Are... you okay?"
"Careful, Kagome, you almost sounded like a caring, concerned wife there for a moment," he finally replied, his voice heavy with irony. And then he sighed, the ambiguity of that sound coming from him halting the irritable response she was about to throw back at him, leaving her staring at him with increasing concern. "I simply have much on my mind. I will be fine."
Not sure she quite believed him, nonetheless she went along with his denial, letting the subject drop as the car pulled up in front of them and the valet got out. But within the silence of her own mind, she couldn't help but to wonder...
I've never heard him sound like that, or look that way, either. He looked... so tired for a minute there...
Could something really be wrong with him?
Uncertain, suddenly Kagome found herself reevaluating his possible reasons for his seemingly insane demands of her lately.
~oOo~
A/N: Well, hopefully I'm back, though no guarantees. Needless to say, this last year has been one of the hardest I've ever been through, and with the life I've had, that's saying a hell of a lot. Several serious injuries, including head injuries, have affected my health, memory, and even my muse, leaving me almost unable to write. In fact, I've only started writing again in the last six weeks or so, and it's slow going. But I'm trying, and I hope that my writing skills haven't totally deserted me and that everyone enjoys this chapter.
Amber