AN: ( Important! Please read!! ) Hello everyone!
Yes, yes, it's been a while, and I'm sorry, but I'm sure you're probably tired of hearing that by now… as I've been saying it at the beginning of every chapter, but it's true, I am sorry! . I've been working on an original novel that I'm planning to publish, so honestly that's been sucking up most of my time. But no worries! Again, this story will be continued until finished! Promise.
Also, I'd like to say that I'm afraid this chapter is shorter than the others. I usually try and churn out twenty-or-so pages a chapter, but it's taking too long now that my time is spent on my original. But I promise that my chapters will never be shorter than fifteen.
I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed and who has been reviewing every time I post. You guys are amazing for sticking with me, and I want you to know that it's appreciated more than you think. I do it for you.
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Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Hentai Strumpet for reading this fic and leaving some nice reviews, and is an old reader of the original Pretty Kagome. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy, Hentai Strumpet.
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Chapter Seven: Acquired Resources.
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Sesshoumaru sighed as he watched Kikyou pace his office again, her thumbnail being nibbled down to a stub and her eyes wide and wild. The session had been going rather well for the first half. She'd been calm and cool and controlled, at least on the outside. But that was the problem: Kikyou was a master at disguising her true feelings. That's what made all the poor saps in her life fall hard for her tricks. She was just that damn good.
As it was, she'd tried to seduce Sesshoumaru once. She'd been drunk at the time, and back then no one had known just what lay beneath her well-kept, polite manor and sophisticated looks. Of course, he'd declined her advances, blaming the alcohol for her sultry disposition, and brushed off bringing it up to his younger brother. It hadn't been that big of a deal.
Or at least he thought.
…Not that he cared much for his brother. Being the favorite of the two, Inuyasha had had a much easer life, one that he never had to work hard for. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru had been cast out to find his own way in life, skipped over for the job of taking over his father's business and running in politics.
At first, Sesshoumaru had been furious, and it had led to many extreme battles between the two. Once, they'd gotten a hold of real swords, and Sesshoumaru had his arm sliced off. Of course, he'd easily had that problem fixed by simply paying a visit to his Youkai doctor and having a new arm attached. He flexed his arm muscles that weren't really his own. They always ached in a strange way.
…His arrogant bastard of a brother. Sesshoumaru had been distracted. Kagura had just given the news that he was to be a father, so of course Inuyasha had the upper hand.
Sesshoumaru ran through a breathing exercise, calming himself. It would do him no good to get worked up over something as silly as the past, or someone as pathetic as his younger brother.
Now he was calm. He'd accepted that Inuyasha would be the one to step into his father's shoes long ago. It was okay, because Sesshoumaru was on the way to building a rather successful empire for himself, without the help of his father. Which in itself was much better than Inuyasha's situation.
And, unlike his wily brother, Sesshoumaru didn't have the crazy woman troubles that bombarded Inuyasha over and over again.
Kikyou bit at her thumbnail as she sat down in her usual seat in his office and started to rock, back and forth, ever so slightly.
She drew him from his thoughts of the past and brought him back to the current issue on hand: Cleaning up his brother's mess. "Kikyou," he started, "you've been pacing my office for a good twenty minuets now. What are you thinking?"
She sent him a glare, letting him know his patronizing tone was not appreciated, before removing the nail from her mouth. "I think there's something questionable about the girl Inuyasha is courting."
"Oh? And why do you say that?"
"Have you met the girl?" She snarled, eyebrows drawn tightly together.
"I haven't, but I heard from Houshi that she's quite the lady."
Kikyou frowned and sat back onto the leather couch. "Not from what I found out."
Sesshoumaru paused, his pen frozen on the pad of paper, unable to continue. "Kikyou…" he murmured, "what have you done?"
"Nothing that anyone else wouldn't do! Nobody I asked knew about this girl, so I did a little searching myself."
"And?"
"And I found out a few things." Kikyou crossed her legs and patted down her pencil skirt across her thighs before she smiled.
There weren't many situations that made Sesshoumaru feel anxious, and although he concealed his chill behind his blank mask, he couldn't help thinking her smile said it all.
Whatever Kikyou had found out was going to turn out to be devastating for his brother's fiancé.
He made a mental note to himself to pay a visit to Kouga once Kikyou left his office as she sat across the room from him, humming an eerily, cheery tune.
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Inuyasha arrived home from the rather tiring meeting with Kouga, the newly drawn up contract for his new 'girlfriend' tucked safely under his arm, and headed straight for the front desk where Miroku sat with his feet propped up, looking perversely into one of the many television screens.
"Oi, Miroku." Inuyasha greeted out, slamming the contract onto the counter.
Miroku merely looked up, a small smile planted on his face. "Hello Inuyasha."
He growled. "What the hell are you watching that's got you all perverted looking?"
"Mmm?" Miroku asked, clearly distracted. "Oh, Sango's out cleaning the pool." His grin winded. "In a very lovely bathing suit, might I add."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're lucky she likes you, otherwise I would have kicked your ass a long time ago. Creep." He added on the end for good measure.
Miroku merely shook his head, his grin stuck in place. "Now, now, Inuyasha, Sango enjoys the fact that I watch her. You should see the way she reacts when she watches videos of herself, she-"
"Miroku, Gods!" Inuyasha shouted, plastering his ears down atop his head and jerking back from the counter as if he'd been burned. "Don't tell me this stuff about you two and your sex life! I don't fuckin' wanna hear it!"
"What would you like to hear then, Inuyasha?"
After waiting a few moments for his disapproving snarl to sink in, Inuyasha rolled his eyes in disgust and slammed the file down onto the marble counter top. "This is the contract the girl has to sign. Get her to do it immediately, if I have to act like some proper, pleasant, gentleman for one more second I'll rip someone's fuckin' head off."
"Mmm, yes," Miroku replied in an amused tone, "heaven forbid you don't cuss every time you open your mouth to speak."
"Shut up." He mumbled, turning away from the desk and towards the right curved stairway. "Get it done by noon. I'm sending Sango to take the girl shopping for some proper clothes."
"You didn't like the clothes Sango found for her?"
Inuyasha let out a ripping snarl from the bottom of the stairs. "You fuckin' know I didn't! And it'd better not have been your idea to dress her like that either, you asshole!"
Miroku shrugged. "There was nothing else that would fit. Sango and I thought those clothes would look nice on her."
"Well, we won't have to worry about the wench wearing those clothes anymore after today."
"Kagome."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at his friend. "What?"
"Her name is Kagome, Inuyasha. She might be more inclined to help you out if you call her by her name."
"Keh!" He barked, making his way up the stairs. "I'm the one paying her, I'll call her whatever the hell I want."
Miroku shook his head in defeat and gathered up the contract, then grabbed the suit he used as his lawyer persona in the hospital. It wouldn't do any good for Kagome to think he was merely the estate head guard at the moment. At least not until the contract was signed.
Inuyasha, meanwhile, headed straight for his room, where he promptly flopped down onto his giant bed and closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than just to go to sleep forever.
It wasn't going to happen.
What the hell had Miroku gotten him into? This went so much deeper than just pretending to fall in love with some strange girl, which he still wasn't so sure he could do. No, now it involved serious legal matters, like adoption, and even worse he was the one that was going to have to do the actual adopting.
"None of this is good." He moaned to himself, as he bit his lip, remembering the conversation he'd had with the girl about her younger brother.
"If I could… make just one small request…"
"What is it?"
"Well… I have a younger brother…" The girl let the words hang in the air, as if afraid to go on.
"And?" Inuyasha asked impatiently. What the hell else could she possibly want? She was getting paid more than she'd ever imagine she would be, her face was evident enough of that, and she was about lo live in first-class conditions for quite some time. How could that not be enough?
"And, well… I've been trying to save up the money to… adopt him." He face fell. "He's at Center City Orphanage. It's been a few years, but I promised him…"
"Promised him what?"
"That I'd get him out once I had the money to do so." Her eyes started to water.
Inuyasha had to fight the urge to blanch. What the fuck was it with women and their tears? He sighed and crossed his arms irritably. "I'm not seeing the problem here." He could tell her to stop her sniveling until she'd signed the contract. Then he could tell her to shut the hell up all he wanted.
He would smell the nervousness pouring out of her, fidgeting with the cuff of her – no, Kikyou's – dress shirt. "I mean, I'll… do all this… agree to all this, but I need you to help me get him out."
She hadn't met his gaze yet, but she seemed to grow stronger as she spoke of her brother, and her head lifted, stormy eyes looking straight into his amber ones. "They beat kids at Center City Orphanage. I had been beaten for not finishing chores on time, or talking back, and it's nothing too horrible, I don't want you to think Souta is in danger of dying, but still…" She inhaled deeply and stood, taking a few steps towards him, her courage building. "I think I might need a lawyer to get him away from there."
Ah. He understood where she was going with this. Tilting his head to the side, Inuyasha weighed his options. He could tell her to go shove herself and then face a future of marrying the one girl he'd never, ever want to, or agree and spend at least another three years a free bachelor.
That settled it.
"It just so happens, I have a very… obedient lawyer."
Inuyasha uttered a frustrated growl, rolling onto his stomach in another futile attempt to fall asleep for some thoughtless hours of rest, but alas, fate worked against him.
His cell phone rang – the one Sango had express-delivered from DoCoMo, as his old one was still currently floating in the large pond out back – and Inuyasha grabbed one of the fluffy pillows off his bed and crushed it to his face, yelling as loud as he could into it, stifling the noise.
Then he grabbed the phone from his pocket and flipped it open without looking at the caller ID.
"What." He bit out.
"That is no way to greet me, son." Inoku grunted from the other side of the line.
Inuyasha sighed. Just what he needed. Another lecture. "Hello father."
"That's more like it." His tone stayed gruff, but lessened in volume.
"Still in the States?"
"Yes, and the politicians are still as vulgar as they are back home. We'll be back next Monday."
Inuyasha signed before taking on a bored, sarcastic tone. "What is the occasion for your lovely call?"
His father harrumphed. "No need to be satiric, son, I'm merely reminding you of the contributor party this weekend. You'll need to attend for me, of course."
"Yeah, yeah, I know all about it."
His father paused, and Inuyasha grew suspicious.
"Any other reason you called?"
It was what his father had obviously been waiting for. "Actually, I've met a few very fine ladies over here, all well-bread and increasingly beautiful. I was thinking I might fly them back to you, and you could take them to-"
"No way!" Inuyasha barked into the phone, interrupting.
"What?"
He could hear the frown in his fathers' voice on the other end. Inuyasha gulped before uttering the words that would either break him or free him. "You… you don't have to worry about finding me a fiancé, father. I… have it under control."
He could imagine his father raising his eyebrow in question. "Under control." Inoku replied, a statement rather than a question. "You have it under control?" Ah. There was the question.
Inuyasha didn't hesitate. "Yeah, under control."
There was a long, drawn out silence. "What exactly does that mean? You've found a mate?"
He hesitated over the next word. "…Possibly."
"Possibly?" His father's voice tensed up. "Have you or haven't you?" He grit out through the phone, starting to get annoyed, which wasn't good. Inuyasha hurried to fill in the blanks.
"Well, I met someone… the night of the party."
"At the party last week?"
"After the party last week."
Silence. "So she didn't attend the ball? Where did you get this girl of yours? What, did you rent her off some sleazy website?"
Inuyasha bit back a cough, spooked by how close the questions was to being truth, then rolled onto his stomach again, resting his cheek on the cool comforter of his bed, resting the phone under his other ear. "Nothing like that, I ran into her after the party. She was in some trouble and I helped her out." He shrugged, as if his father could see him. "That's about it."
"That's it?" Snarled his father. "What's her name? Where is she from? Is she youkai? Hanyou? Human?"
He groaned. "Human. She's human."
Inoku snorted. "I'm not sure I like that-"
"Like what, dear? You've something against humans?"
Inuyasha let out a yelp at the same moment his father had, both genuinely surprised. His mother merely laughed.
"Three-way-calling is the best invention." She declared.
Inuyasha couldn't help but grin. "Mom!" He was going to say more, but his father interrupted, his voice now slightly nervous.
"Of course I don't have anything against humans, woman. Human women are the best kind to have." He paused. "I'm just not sure if a human would be safe in the hands of our son."
"Oh, dear, you worry too much." She cooed. "Our son takes after you. I'd love to see him marry a human. Youkai women are so… demanding."
Inuyasha couldn't help but think of Sesshoumaru's mom. He grinned. Demanding was an understatement.
Inoku merely huffed. "So, when do we meet this mystery woman?" He asked, turning his attention back to his son in hopes of avoiding the conversation of youkai women all together.
Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, but his mother beat him to it.
"Why, as soon as we get back, at dinner. After all, if this is the woman our Inuyasha has chosen, we must know everything about her right away."
Inuyasha's heart skipped a terrifying beat, absolutely dreading the moment his parents would make it home. He cleared his throat, hoping his voice wouldn't give him away. "Of course, mother." He ensured. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I need to see to Miroku."
"Oh?" His father questioned. "Did something happen to him?"
"Not yet." He replied, and itched to hang up the phone. If his father had been on the other end he wouldn't have hesitated.
"Don't be too hard on him, Inuyasha. He is your best friend after all." His mother berated, a light tone to her voice.
He resisted the urge to mutter a 'best friend my ass' and instead agreed. "Don't worry, mom, I won't kill him, I promise."
"Sango would mutilate you, dear."
Inuyasha nodded his head vigorously, even though his parents couldn't see. "Yes, she would. I'm leaving now. By mom! …Father."
"I love you, son." His mom called out before he pushed the end button, and let out a frustrated growl, then rolled over onto his stomach and tried again to fall asleep.
He was unsuccessful.
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"You promised
me! Akane!! Akane!!"
Souta felt the sharp sting of a rather hard slap on the side of his cheek. But it didn't do anything. He just continued to shout out her name. Akane. The girl who had taken him in off the streets, the girl who had healed him enough, fed him enough, clothed him enough. The girl he had come to trust in such a short amount of time.
The girl who had reminded him so much of an older sister.
"Akane…" He wailed. It hurt. It hurt so much he couldn't think straight. As soon as he had realized where they were headed, Souta had put up a fight for his life. And they'd practically beaten the shit out of him for it.
Akane had just sat up front, tuning out his cries and avoiding his gaze.
"What did I do, Akane?!" He
cried, panic welling up in his chest, trying to get through to her,
trying to get some sort of reaction. "Whatever it is, I'm sorry,
it won't happen again!" The men still held him down,
smacking him across the face. "I'll get a job, Akane! I get a
job and I can stay, right? Right?!" She didn't answer,
just continued to stare out the window. "Akane!!"
"Shut up, up you little prick!" The headmistress seethed in his face. He could barely make out her enthralled expression through his anguished tears.
Slowly, Souta let out a feeble moan and rolled over onto his side. A sharp pain from his almost-healed injuries shot up his entire right side, and he couldn't tell if it was that or the fear making him horribly nauseous. He felt the bile rise in his throat and struggled desperately not to choke as it came oozing from his lips.
"Oh, for fucks sake!" She cried, throwing her arms in into the air and motioning for someone to bring her a wet cloth. "You're a mess." She paused, breathed in deeply as she wiped up the puke from his mouth, in an unusually tender manor, and smiled. "I'm glad you decided to come back."
Her voice was like a horrible boom in his head. It gave him a throbbing headache. Slowly, trying to move away from her strangely gentle touch, the pain in his arm becoming too intense, he rolled again onto his back.
To his relief, she moved away from him, and spoke to someone in the room again.
"Well, what's wrong with him? The druggie said nothing was broken."
Whoever else was in the room was a man, and he chuckled a creepy chuckle. "For a druggie she has pretty good sense. His arm's dislocated, not broken." Souta could hear him move closer. "You might want to get him to a hospital, though. I've no way of checking for internal injuries.
"You know I can't do that." The headmistress snarled. "You're one of my best customers, Doctor. You know very well what they'll do at the hospital once they check him over."
The doctor hesitated. "Well, I could pop his arm back into place. He'll probably pass out, it's a painful process."
She made a snorting noise. "Do whatever you have to to get him good again for business. I've already lost a lot of money over his little stunt."
Souta blinked the tears back from his eyes, realizing who it was that was in the room with them.
Oh Gods. It was him. The man the headmistress had first sold his body too. The same memory came to him, the horror that had seeped into him when he realized exactly what it was that was going on the first time he'd been sold off.
"Comm'ere, kid. Lemmie take off your shirt. I gotta check and see if you're healthy."
A strange feeling of pure horror settled over Souta as the shirt was lifted from his upper body and the man touched his chest in a way that made him suddenly feel nauseous. "Wh- what are you doing?" His voice cracked.
"Just be quiet. Be quiet and it will be easier."
"But-"
"I'm a doctor, kid. You can trust doctors."
Souta started to struggle, panicking. It couldn't happen again. This is why he had run away. This is why he had left Rin behind and ran in the first place-
Oh Gods. Where was Rin? What had happened to her?
Souta tried to sit up, but let out a strangled cry as the same pain shot up his arm.
The Doctor's hand was on his chest, trying to push him back down, and Souta had to hold back from vomiting again. The doctor ignored Souta's obvious discomfort.
"This is going to cost you." The Doctor said, seeming oblivious to the way Souta's body shuttered at his touch.
The headmistress raised her eyebrow. "How much?" She asked, a cold tone in her voice.
"Not money." He answered. "I want them both at the same time. This boy and the younger girl from before. What was her name?"
"Rin."
"Yes." He said. "I liked her a lot."
The Headmistress didn't answer for a few seconds, contemplating. "Fine." She finally answered. "If you fix him up so that he can be useful again you can have them both at the same time. But I don't want you pulling any of your freaky masochistic shit on the girl. She's brand new."
Souta saw the Doctor grin at the memory.
Tears welled up in his eyes, knowing exactly what Rin had gone through.
"Yes, of course." The Doctor replied. "But I can with this one, yes?"
The Headmistress snorted. "Do what you will with him, as long as there's no permanent damage. He needs to be taught a lesson anyway, trying to escape like that." She leaned in close to Souta's face. "Did you really think you were going to get away with it, you piece of shit?" She breathed on him. "I hope the good doctor here punishes you well."
Souta shook from head to toe, the tears spilling over his lashes.
"Well, let's fix him up." The Doctor said, and he grabbed hold of Souta's shoulder, pushing with one hand and pulling with the other. There was a sound snap, and Souta's anguished scream could be heard through the entire building.
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Kagome
sighed, signing the last of the contract papers Miroku Houshi had
strewn about in front of her. There was a lot of legal matters here,
but she figured it was due to the fact of the sheer amount of money
she was being paid. She'd tried to read through it in the
beginning, like commonsense commanded, but most of the words and
sentences, to her embarrassment, were too complicated to truly
understand, and while Miroku had his easygoing smile plastered on his
face the whole time, he was strangely unspecific and imprecise when
it came to explaining details of the contract to her. Finally, she'd
just given up, knowing that she wouldn't be screwing this
particular job up. Her luck had finally changed.
She couldn't help but smile uneasily to herself as she thought of her employer, Inuyasha Kobun, and the current situation she was in. Other than his initial outburst, he seemed like a nice guy, but she couldn't help but get the impression that he was holding some part of himself back. Like there was a lot more of his personality raging under a carefully constructed shell, like he was controlling his emotions very carefully.
And of course, there was the fact that he had a mouth like a sailor.
But she supposed she was thinking too much into it. He hadn't been rude or mean to her after he realized she wasn't… Kikyou, that was the name he'd called her, and he was paying her enough to have a decent life afterwards, if she managed her money right. Plus, she was getting her brother out of the orphanage, and he'd be able to come and stay with her in the most amazing house ever.
The thought of finally seeing her little brother again after so many years sent a thrill through her. She was finally able to make good on her promise, and she just hopped that he wasn't going to be too upset with her for leaving him there.
The few beatings she'd gotten while in the orphanage herself were minor, and admonished for things like not finishing chores or talking back. But no matter how minor the abuse was, abuse was abuse, and once Souta was with her again, he would never have to worry about anyone hitting him again.
That thought put a smile on Kagome's face, one she hadn't realized she's adorned until Miroku cleared his throat.
She'd forgotten that he was there, and her cheeks tinted red with embarrassment.
"Tell me," Miroku spoke, obviously amused, "is it the large amounts of cash Inuyasha will be handing over, or the fact that you'll be pretending to be engaged to…" he held up the current Cosmo issue, "the country's hottest, single male… that has you all atingle?"
Kagome rolled her eyes and grabbed for the magazine. "No way does it really say that about him." She demanded shyly, still a little unused to talking openly with her boss's lawyer. But she found that it actually did say such things about him, and with the picture on the front, she could see why.
"Uh… when was this taken?" She asked, slightly dizzy for a second. He looked so perfect, sitting there, his shirt half-off his chest, his hair just the perfect amount of wet, biting at his bottom lip as if he wanted desperately to screw whomever dared to look at him.
Miroku's smile widened, knowingly. "About six months ago. Surprising, isn't it?"
She didn't answer, they both knew the question.
"This, Miss Kagome, is what our beloved hanyou is famous for, other than his political father, of course." He leaned over and swiped the papers that she'd just signed, staking them neatly before folding his hands over them.
"For taking pictures?"
"For being sexy."
"Sexy." She felt confused.
"You don't find the picture sexy?"
She studied his face on the glossy paper for a few moments, trying to find the best, most truthful reply. "It's not that it's not sexy," she finally said, "it's more like I know he doesn't really look like… that."
"Like perfect?" He supplied the right word.
"Exactly. It's a bit over-the-top, isn't it?"
"Extremely."
Kagome glanced up at Miroku over the pages of the magazine and caught his gaze. "Won't his fans be angry?"
"Whatever for?"
"That he's… well, engaged."
Miroku shrugged. "It's quite certain a lot of them will be. It would even be fair to say that you'll both be getting quite a bit of hate mail after the official announcement is made public."
"And it won't ruin his career?"
His smile faded a bit, turned sad in a way, more genuine. "No, Kagome. If anything it will make his career even more stable. Especially after you and he are through. His fan base will be that much stronger."
Kagome sat quiet for a while, thinking of what it all meant, of how she fit into the big scheme of things. The way it all panned out, all the deceiving, all the lying, the tricking… Inuyasha Kobun was going as far as fibbing straight-faced to his parents, all because he desperately wanted a few more months of solitude…
It didn't pan out. Why was Inuyasha Kobun trying so hard to keep himself out of a relationship? It wasn't as if there was a shortage of women, and he certainly had his pick of the pack.
So why was he trying so hard?
Frowning, she looked up at Miroku. "Who is Kikyou?" His face drained of color, and his eyes went wide.
"Who?" He coughed into his hand.
"Kikyou." She repeated. "Inuyasha thought I was Kikyou. And he was furious in the garden. Who is Kikyou?"
Miroku seemed reluctant to answer. "Kikyou…." he hesitated, "Is someone who didn't work out with Inuyasha." She shrugged her question off. "She's no one of concern, not to worry."
But Kagome couldn't help but worry. Miroku's face was grave, and she had a feeling Kikyou wasn't just someone from Inuyasha's partying lifestyle. She bit at her lip a little, looking down into Inuyasha Kobun's heated, heart-thumping, every-girl's-fantasy eyes, gazing, no, glaring up at her from the glossy page. His eyes blazed, but they also hid himself. They weren't the same people, this magazine idol and her boss.
Neither spoke for a while, Kagome lost in her thoughts. Finally, Miroku sighed and stood from the kitchen table, smiling gently down at her. "Come on, I'm taking this up to Inuyasha." He scooped up the contract and tucked it safely under his arm. "He'll want to see you as well, I imagine."
"Oh?" She said, and stood up to follow him out. "What for?"
She saw the corners of Miroku's mouth lift slightly. "There's a small dinner party at one of Mr. Kobun's contributors. With the Kobun's in the states, Inuyasha will have to fill in, and you'll be going with him."
Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. "A party?"
Miroku nodded. "A very important one. Scared?"
She gulped down her 'yes', because she was defiantly scared, but determination came over her, and she set her jaw. "No."
"Good," was his simple reply.
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.o0o0o0o0o.
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Kitari sat leaning leisurely against the bar of the Carmel Café, a high-classed place lost in a sea of high-classed society. He took a sophisticated sip of his chocolate milk before he placed it back down onto the counter, people watching.
What was it about people that made them dress and act like they were cut from cardboard? So stiff and arrogant. It took all his effort not to mock them. His breed of youkai were tricksters by nature, and it was hard to keep his cool under his current conditions. He watched as a tall, quite stunning female dressed in all white walked a sultry walk in front of him, heading towards the ladies room. She gave him a coy smile, and he offered one in return, no more that that.
It worked. Her eyes stayed fixed on his just a second longer than normal, her gaze sizzling. Kitari turned back to the bar, still smiling, although this time all to himself. The woman's look meant he'd done right in choosing his form. She obviously thought he was a hottie.
He took another sip of his chocolate milk and snickered. Hottie.
Adults were weird.
But it meant that he would be able to seduce his target, no problem.
Ugh, he'd just reminded himself he was here to go over his target, not to flirt with grownups.
Kitari ran a finger through his reddish-brown hair and flipped open the manila envelope, pulling out the word document and pictures. Sighing, he read over the information Kouga had sent him. Kagome Higurashi, brown hair, brown eyes, five-three, average.
Boo, this would be no fun at all. She sounded boring, and from what he'd heard, the guy she was marrying was a jerk.
He tapped the toe of his shoe, annoyed, wishing the job wasn't just for surveillance. He'd been hoping for some action. For adventure and a couple of fights here and there. Not for tagging behind the son of a rich Youkai bastard and his human girlfriend.
Skipping over her background information for now, Kitari slipped the pictures of the girl out form under the word document to study her features.
In the picture, Higurashi had stepped out into the sunlight in an ugly pink hoodie and dirt-grey string pants. Her hair was pulled up into a simple ponytail and she wore no makeup, her lips pulled into a small frown, her brows drawn together. Kouga had been right. Her eyes and hair were brown, and really, she was nothing special.
That was the thing that instantly bothered Kitari. Why was the Kobun son dating a girl so... low-class? Inuyasha usually dated the famous, the beautiful and the wealthy. Higurashi wasn't any of those, and she definitely wasn't from the same neighborhood Inuyasha was. No one who came from around here would be caught dead wearing that outfit. It was just so... Blah. He shook his head and slowly pulled the second picture from behind the first.
This picture was different. Inuyasha Kobun's security guard was standing beside the girl, and she had turned to look at him, and smiled.
And she was utterly stunning.
"Jesus..." Kitari swore, leaning in to study her face up-close. That must be it. The girl had no style, but damn, was her smile perfect. But could that really be it? Inuyasha Kobun just wasn't the type to be so... non-shallow.
He jumped suddenly, his pocket vibrating. Cursing at himself for getting distracted, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell, flipping it open and placing it against his ear. "It's Kitari."
"Have you made contact?"
"Christ, give me a little time, will ya? I've been reading up on the girl and I'll start surveillance tomorrow. I need to figure a way to get the girl alone. And even then, It'll take a bit for her to trust me."
The voice on the other end grew angry, and Kitari swore he heard a pencil snap in the background. Kouga did have a bit of a strong grip.
"Do it faster. Inuyasha's rep will go down with the human girl, and if that happens…"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Kitari rolled his eyes. "It'll be done in a week."
"Make it three days."
He pulled the phone away from his ear, the loud buzz informing him that Kouga had hung up. He glared down at the small screen, as if Kouga himself could see him. "Yeah, goodbye to you too." He replied, snorting and pocketing his phone again.
No more time to play around, it seemed. It was time to get down to business.
He'd have Kagome Higurashi crazy for him in three days. At least, he would if he didn't want to be dead.
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.o0o0o0o0o.
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AN:
Oh man, craziness!
More Inuyasha/Kagome scenes in the next chapter, I PROMISE!!
