Disclaimer: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!

Beta Reader: Maya!

Behind the Curtain

By MissKatt

The Warning

The vice-president of Taisho Corp made a straight line towards the polished oak doors of his office. He did not spare a glance to his little half-brother as he fell into step next to him. He was not in the mood to listen to his ramblings nor his attempt to somewhat understand his own position and what they did at Taisho Corp. Inuyasha barely understood anything about the company and simply made his secretary do everything.

"Oi, Sessh!" He snapped, waving papers in his hand. "What is this about?"

His eyes fluttered with irritation. "Did you ask your secretary about it?"

"What? No. Why don't you just tell me now?" He asked, following him into the office.

"Because I do not have the patience to deal with your stupidity, half-breed," He responded, sipping his green tea from his thermos. "Ask her, for I am sure she paid attention to the meeting and was not on her phone, unlike someone."

His ears twitched. "Just tell me!" He snapped, slamming his fist on the table.

Amber eyes flickered to matching ones. "Temper, mutt, temper," he scolded, and then took in his appearance. "Would it honestly harm you to wear a tie once in a while?"

Inuyasha huffed and stood up straight while running his hands down the wrinkled white t-shirt under his suit jacket. "Why does it matter what I wear? It's not like it really matters, it just works.

"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "This 'work' is our family corporation. Our appearance is its appearance so I suggest you dress appropriately."

"Whatever," He sighed. The two basked in an uncomfortable silence until he broke it. "So, how was the meeting with the doctor?"

His hand tightened around his thermos before he set it down on his desk with a loud bang. "Sometimes I believe these doctors do not know what they are doing."

Inuyasha leaned against the side of the desk. "Is it getting worse?"

"No," he replied and leaned back against his chair. "But it isn't going away either."

"I see," Inuyasha really didn't know what to say in these kinds of situations. "Did they move her from that other room you were telling me about?"

Sesshoumaru nodded once. "Yes, but I'm not sure if it is much better. Rin needs to be resting, not running around with her roommate."

He shrugged. "She's still a kid."

"She is very ill."

"So? That just makes her a sick kid. What if she doesn't beat it? Do you really want her to live out her last days in a hospital bed?" Inuyasha loved his niece, had ever since his brother's wife brought her home as a baby, but he knew how cancer was on humans.

"She will make it." He growled and then turned his attention to his computer. "Now leave, I have work to do."

Inuyasha waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." He turned to leave but stopped as his father walked in.

"I am glad I caught the two of you together," Touga said with a pleased smile. "I have good news about the merger proposal!"

The hanyou son tilted his head. "Merger proposal," he asked and then looked down at the papers in his hands. He waved them a little as he spoke, "Is that what this is about?"

Touga frowned at him. "You really need to start paying attention in meetings, Inuyasha."

"Why is everyone telling me that?" He growled and then crossed his arms over his chest again. "I pay attention."

"If you did, then you would know that Kumo Industries and Taisho Corporations have been going under negotiations for a merging of the two." Sesshoumaru pointed out with a bitter tone.

"Wait, what? You want to merge with another company, pops?" He asked incredulously.

The company founder tsk'ed. "Not exactly, but Kumo Naraku has been sending me some pretty substantial offers. They are hard to say no to."

"I am against it," The elder son commented. "We are the superior company."

"Yes, but they are rising in the ranks. Soon, they may be our equal. Will it really be wise to have them as an opponent?" Touga asked.

"We fall if they do," He added, eyes narrowed.

The owner held up his hands. "I did not say it is official; only that I had good news, he has finally agreed to meet with us in person."

"Why is that a good thing?" Inuyasha asked.

"Because now I can read his body language and detect any lies he may be speaking. If this merger were to go through, I want to make sure he has no ulterior motives than to simply be the best company in Japan as a whole." He answered.

"Oh," the hanyou raised a brow. "So, where are you meeting him?"

"We," he corrected, "are meeting him at your mother's work."

His ears perked up at the mention of Shikon. "The strip club?" He grinned. "I haven't been there in a while."

Sesshoumaru's brow twitched slightly. "And whose idea was that?"

"Well, we suggested a public place and he was only available at night. As I was talking on the phone with him, your mother texted me and I immediately thought of Shikon; it just sounded like a good idea. Kumo agreed." He took in the displeased look of his eldest. "Is there an issue, Sesshoumaru?"

"Indeed," he agreed and leaned back in his chair. "I will not be accompanying you."

"Aww, why not, Sesshoumaru? Scared of a couple half-naked girls?" Inuyasha teased.

"Watch your tongue before I rip it out, half-breed," His amber eyes flashed dangerously. "It is a dirty place. The stench of arousal, sweat, alcohol, and drugs topped with the deafening music is enough to make me want to burn the place down."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You need to learn to enjoy yourself. You haven't had any fun since Rin was admitted to the hospital. Hell, you probably haven't even been with a girl since Kagura died."

The mentioning of his ex-wife, deceased wife, and sick daughter poked at his beast. "Watch yourself,

Inuyasha."

Touga let out a soft growl. "Enough, Sesshoumaru. He's right; you need to get out. Plus, as vice-president, you will need to be there for the negotiations. So I expect you to be there exactly thirty days from today at 9 pm sharp."

"Why thirty?" Inuyasha asked.

He gave a single shrug of his shoulder. "That was the only time he was available."

*~~~BTC~~~*

Kagome groaned as she came to. She glanced over at her alarm clock as it screamed at her to wake up and begin to get ready for the day. She turned it off and sat up with much reluctance and stretched her arms above her. She winced as she felt her body protest loudly. She stood from her bed and almost fell to the floor when her knees buckled.

She couldn't believe how sore she was.

She eyed the bag on her desk and pursed her lips together when she realized she didn't count what she made last night. She had been way too tired at the end of the night to even care about the amount of money she had made. She just wanted to get home and pass out.

She pulled out her chair and sat down before unzipping her bag. She pulled out all the money she found, including the crumpled up dollars in the deep corners of her bag. She silently counted out the money and frowned at the amount. Two hundred and forty-eight dollars. That wasn't even close to what Bankotsu said they would make.

She folded the money and put it in the bottom drawer of her desk before standing on shaky legs and going over to her closet. She dressed in a pair of black slacks with a short sleeve white shirt and went to her bathroom to apply a small amount of makeup. She then grabbed her school bag and train pass. She was slightly thankful for not attending a private college. Not only did it save her money, but it also gave her free rein to wear what she wanted.

As she entered the kitchen, she saw Kikyou pouring herself a cup of coffee to start her day. "I don't know about you, but I'm sore." She mused, rummaging through the cupboards for a breakfast bar.

The older miko nodded. "Yeah, I am. I took a hot bath this morning and it helped some. What did you make last night?"

"Two hundred and forty-eight dollars," She frowned and grabbed her thermos. She poured in her green tea and thanked her sister for making it for her. "You?"

"You're welcome," she commented. "I left with four hundred and twenty."

Kagome nearly sputtered out her tea. "What? How?! Why did I do so poorly?"

She shrugged. "I got used to it. I think you still are. You need to get over what we are doing and just focus on making money. Don't let your brain mess with you."

She nodded mutely. "Yeah, I guess. Oh, I'm going to be home late. I have to go to Koi Springs because I got that apartment."

Kikyou would have been happy for her sister if not for the circumstances. "Do you really think it's a good idea to move that far away? Now you are almost forty-five minutes away from Shikon and Souta."

"I know," She sighed. "I tried to get out of it. They said there was no way because they took out the money already and that it was on my credit."

"That's not true, Kagome. Usually, if you pay the rent twice, you can break your lease," she replied.

"Do you have twenty-six hundred dollars I could borrow?" Kagome asked with forced humor

"Well, work every night and you should have it soon." Kikyou moved past her sister and patted her shoulder before walking towards the door. "Have a good day at class!" She called as she left.

The middle Higurashi checked the time and sighed before leaving the house as well to head to college. She had about five more weeks until winter break and then she could really focus on working both of her jobs. She would work at her cafe job during the day and at Shikon at night. She just hoped she wouldn't completely exhaust herself.

As she stood on the train, she frowned as she realized she was going to be a few minutes late to class. Apparently the trains had fallen slightly behind today.

'Of course,' She thought with a sigh and shook her head. She looked up as someone grabbed the handle next to her and blinked twice as she realized who it was. "T-Taijiya!"

The brown haired girl turned towards her with a glare. "Don't call me that in public." She snapped in a hushed voice.

She flushed. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking," She apologized. "But, I don't really know you're real name."

Chocolate brown eyes looked away from her. "It's Kigo Sango."

"Nice to meet you, Kigo-san. I'm Higurashi Kagome!" She introduced with a smile and gave the best bow she could without toppling over with the train moving.

"Mhm," Sango replied.

Kagome's smile faltered at her nonchalant response. "Erm, so, I haven't ever seen you on this train before and I take it every morning. Are you going anywhere special that might take you this way?"

"I'm meeting someone downtown."

"Oh, how nice. What are you guys going to do? I'm headed to class myself. So, how long have you been there?" She asked, trying not to expose what they did to everyone around them. "Was it really hard at first? Were girls mean to you? How long did it take you to learn moves? Did you have help? Did someone teach you? How often do you work? What brought you there?"

Her hands tightened into fists. "Listen, Higurashi," Sango began, turning towards her with steel eyes. "I do not make friends with my co-workers, so this little small talk is not going to get you anywhere. If you have questions, ask someone else."

Kagome blinked at the rude brush off and frowned. "Why not?" She asked anyway, despite what she said. "I'm not trying to get anywhere with you. I'm just trying to talk to you and get to know you."

"I don't make friends with the people we work with because all they will do is stab you in the back. Even your sister will, just watch and see. If you were smart, you would stick to yourself and look out for you and you alone."

Her cold tone made her believe that she was probably speaking from experience. "I see. Well, I'm sorry you think that Kigo-san, but my sister would never do that to me."

Sango snorted. "Just do yourself a favor and don't tell people, especially your sister, what you make."

The miko was going to say something else but shut her mouth as Sango walked briskly away from her. She watched her move to the doors and step out at her exit. She watched her through the windows as the train began to move. Sapphire eyes widened slightly when she saw her fellow dancer embrace their eagerly awaiting DJ.

A/N: I know Sango seems mean, but I promise that she will come around (: Also, updates will be sporadic. As I mentioned in my other fanfic, The Sword Smith's Secret, I started summer school for college once again so I will be swamped 'till August. I just can't find a lot of time to write with work AND school every day. -_- Kill me now! XD

Edited on: 3/4/16