Author Note: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY! I know, I became that author. But summer is here and I can finally get back to the fun stuff in life! To make up for this I recently drew fanart for this story of all your favorite characters in work mode (sorry Kikyou you didn't make the cut) and posted it on my devianart page. You can find the link on my profile under Fanart, and it's called The Workforce!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or affiliated with Inuyasha, however this particular story is M-I-N-E! :)

Episode 10

"Inuyasha what did you do?!" I screamed as I quickly knelt to see if the child was hurt. There were no outward injuries that I could see except slight bruising, but that didn't mean something hadn't been damaged internally. "We need to call an ambulance right now!"

"Already on it, Kagome," Inuyasha called as he dashed back toward the truck to grab his cell.

I leaned over the child and started stroking his bushy read hair, crooning encouraging words and hoping that he would wake up soon. I then grabbed my wallet out of my back pocket to see if I could find my handkerchief to wipe the tears that had formed on his lashes.

"Hey Kagome! We got a problem! I'm not picking up any service—"

Suddenly the little boy jumped up and grabbed the wallet out of my hands, then quickly transformed into a bright pink balloon-thing and started floating away.

"Ha! Humans are so easy to fool! Thanks for the cash suckers!" the little boy continued to laugh as he floated higher and higher.

I quickly looked behind me to see a very pissed off hanyou glaring at the child in the sky.

"I thought somethin was fishy about this! Ok runt, you wanna play hard-ball, well let's play!" Cracking his knuckles, Inuyasha leapt into the sky.

"Waaah! Humans can't jump that high!" the little boy panicked.

"Look again runt! I ain't exactly human!" Inuyahsa called, taking off his hat to reveal two very perfect, very hanyou dog ears. As Inuyasha streaked toward the boy at lightning speed, the kid tried desperately to float faster, but to no avail. A very strong fist connected with the balloon-thing, which popped, and down went the child. I quickly rushed to the boy and caught him, but he began struggling the instant I had my arms around him.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" he squirmed.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you!" I crooned, trying to calm the boy down.

"You might not, but I sure as hell will!" Inuyasha grunted, while landing in a crouch next to me. As he straightened, he leveled a firm glare at the boy and growled. "Hand over the wallet kid, or things'l get real ugly, real quick!"

"WAAAAH!" the boy screamed as he threw his arms around me and cried. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just wanted some money to get something to eat, that's all!"

My heart went out to the poor child, and on closer inspection, he was quite a skinny little thing, too. I lightly wrapped my arms around him and spoke softly, "Shhh, you're ok now. Everything will be fine. Right Inuyasha?" I said firmly, glaring at the hanyou.

He gave me a sour face, but crossed his arms and sighed. "We're taking him with us aren't we?"

"Of course! I'm sure Ms. Kaede won't mind feeding an extra mouth tonight," I mumbled as I held the boy close. "What's your name sweetheart?"

The boy looked at me with suspicious eyes but answered, "Shippo. Are you really gonna feed me?"

"Yep! We're gonna take good care of you, I promise! Oh, but where are your parents?"

The little boy looked away and Inuyasha answered, "You don't got any do ya? I don't smell anything on ya cept the woods."

Shippo growled at the hanyou but said nothing.

"Don't worry, Ms. Kaede is very kind and she loves children, and I will look after you too," I smiled kindly at the boy, who blushed and looked away. "Come on, Inuyasha. Let's go talk to Kaede."

XXX

I sighed and leaned back in my high leather-back chair. It really had been a long day, and it was nowhere near over. I glanced at the clock on my desk and noted that Ms. Higurashi would be arriving shortly. She hadn't even appeared yet, and I was already thinking of coffee breaks. It seemed to be the only thing I enjoyed about working in the office. I glanced down at my paperwork and made a face. It was the exact same stuff I had to deal with everyday, and I really didn't feel like dealing with it. The door opened and I looked up to see a very exhausted-looking Kagome walk through and collapse at the desk in her stack corner. She moaned and slowly began picking up papers one at a time to sort and file when ready.

"Ms. Higurashi, you look a bit more taxed than usual," I said casually, as I propped my chin in my hand and studied her.

The girl yawned and mumbled, "I was up all night taking care of our newest resident. The poor kid kept getting under my friend's skin, so I was busy trying to keep them from fighting."

"I see," I said simply. I glanced at her attire and groaned inwardly at the messy t-shirt and hole-ridden jeans. "Ms. Higurashi, I believe I would like to go out for some air, and I wish for you to accompany me."

That woke her up. She quickly whirled around and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me. "What for?"

"Shopping. I could use the break and…you need the clothes."

The girl stiffened and answered, "I don't have the luxury to buy clothes. Goodwill is enough for me." And with that, she turned back around.

I growled and said, "I will buy them."

Once again, she whirled around, "Oh no you won't! The last thing I need is to owe you!"

I got up quickly and leaned over the woman sitting at her desk. My eyes bored into hers and I spoke softly, "You will owe me nothing. Now, you will go shopping with me and I will hear no more arguing from you. Do I make myself clear?"

The girl glared at me and grumbled, "Transparently."

XXX

When I was in middle school, I used to love to go shopping with friends, but when the accident happened, the simple pleasure of shopping was stopped abruptly. Now, all my funds go toward saving for an apartment, and acquiring custody of Sota. The few friends I had stopped asking me to go out when I kept turning them down. The only one who really talked to me anymore was Inuyasha, and he was always around. I can truthfully say that it has been forever since I set foot in a department store. For some reason, I started feeling a bit nervous. I glanced at my silent companion and studied his appearance. He had gone with the 'incognito' route instead of taking a ton of bodyguards. A simple Kitsune charm helped change his appearance to look more human. His hair had turned black, his ears were perfectly round, and his markings were all but gone. Add that to his simple white-buttoned down over jeans and a dark brown jacket and he was practically a whole new person. I had to admit though, he still looked pretty good.

For hours the businessman dragged me around, forcing me to try on a ton of outfits. Most were chosen with good taste, but he refused to even look at the price tags, which kind of ticked me off, but I was grateful nonetheless. Eventually though, he had me trying on some pretty ridiculous outfits. I knew he was using me as entertainment, but I decided to let it slide this time and join him in his good mood.

As he was flipping through clothes hung on one of the floor racks, he held up a bright pink dress with golden flowers that looked entirely too revealing.

"Hmm, why don't you try this on next?" he teased, arching a brow at me in challenge.

"No way buster! I am not a fan of showing skin."

"That's too bad, because I am quite the fan of it. I might enjoy coming to work more if my assistant dressed in this manner."

"Funny," I mock glared at him and he placed the dress back on the rack.

"I think that is enough for today. The hour is growing late and there are other matters I need to take care of."

I wasn't buying it. The man did not want to go back to work, but it was probably not a good idea to encourage procrastination. As he was paying for my clothes, I couldn't help but notice the wistful looks the clerks behind the counter were giving him. It was quite irritating. While walking back to the office, I casually asked, "So, how much was it?"

He arched one finely shaped eyebrow and answered, "You do not want to know."

I groaned but didn't say anything. After all, how many girls could say that Sesshomaru Taisho had bought them clothes?

"Kikyou will definitely be jealous," I remarked offhandedly.

"Your sister?" Sesshomaru looked at me curiously.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"It was on your file. You have a little brother too if I am not mistaken."

"His name's Sota and he's probably the most well-behaved boy in Tokyo. The only thing I have to discipline him for is playing videogames too much," I said, thinking of my adorable little brother.

"It sounds like you are in charge of the family," he said more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah, Kikyou might be my twin, but she isn't very good at taking charge. She's working as a priestess right now."

"Hmm, I can tell you have a good family," he said with a strange expression.

"What about you?" I asked curiously, "What is your family like."

His eyes turned cold and he looked away. "My mother lives her own life, and my…brother and I do not speak."

"Oh," I said awkwardly, "I'm sorry."

"There is no need for you to apologize," he said stiffly. The silence that followed the conversation was unbearably awkward, but there was nothing really to say. When we finally reached the office, Sesshomaru stopped and turned to me, "I will take you back to Totosai. I would like to have a visit with him."

Another Author Note: Updates will continue to be sporadic but hopefully more frequent. Don't worry I refuse to give up on this story! I actually have the whole thing pretty much planned out. I just have to write it T_T