Disclaimer: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!
Behind the Curtain
By MissKatt
The Search
The Taisho heir snapped up into a sitting position as he was pulled from his sleep. He ran a hand down his face before running it back up into his silky hair as he tried to calm his racing heart. He glanced at the red digital numbers on his alarm clock: 3:52am. He let out a soft sigh; it had only been 42 minutes since he last fell asleep.
He had fallen asleep three times that night.
Each time he was woken up by the same dream.
Perhaps calling it a dream was incorrect. After all, it wasn't a dream. It did happen. Kagome's horror stricken face when he told her how he felt was etched in his brain, her demand for him to leave her alone still pinching his chest. Her retreated form as she ran away made his legs twitch in need to chase after her.
With a sigh, he flopped back down against his sheets and stared up at his ceiling. He still could not understand what had gone wrong. He had confessed his feelings and apologized to her. At the time, it seemed that she had forgiven him. Hell, they even had made-up sex! Didn't they? What else would that have been? After seeing how she ran away, he felt like it was more like a one-night stand.
But, it couldn't have been.
There were too many emotions flowing between them during their coupling. It was intimate. She had cried to him as she expressed her fear, and he had held her to reassure her. He had nuzzled her skin and gripped her tighter as he silently conveyed his own apology to her once again. Even though he expressed no words during that time, he knew she understood. He really thought they were on the same level…until he had said those words.
"I love you."
He winced as her negative reaction resurfaced to his mind. Why had he said that? Why did he have to blurt that out when he wasn't even sure that was what he felt for the human? He closed his eyes tightly. No, he knew it was true. He didn't know how, but he had fallen for his loud-mouthed, clumsy secretary. He denied it at first, saying it was too soon and that they didn't know that much about each other, but the thought of her not in his life made his stomach churn.
He wanted her in his life. If not as his girlfriend, then at least as his secretary.
Sesshoumaru opened his amber eyes once again and turned then towards his nightstand. He grabbed his iPhone and propped himself up on one elbow as he unlocked his phone and went to his messages. He had tried to respect her demand, but he couldn't. Not when he realized she belonged in his life. He quickly found the old conversation in his inbox and began typing.
'We need to talk about tonight.'
He waited a few moments, watching the blue bar at the top of the message screen as it began to deliver his text. His brow furrowed as it stopped before sending completely, a small exclamation point popping up next to the message he had just tried to send. Had she blocked him?
Shaking his head, he closed out of the messages and went to his contacts to call her, screw the fact that it was four in the morning. He pressed the phone to his ear and listened as it rang twice before an automated message came up.
"The number you are trying to reach has been changed or disconnected. Please hang up and try your call again."
He tried two more times, but was met with the same message. What was going on? He sighed and dropped his phone back onto the polished wood with a loud bang. He flopped back against his pillows and turned on his side as he went over this new information. For now, there was nothing he could do about it, but he definitely start finding answers to his questions tomorrow.
*~~~BTC~~~*
Triangle ears twitched as the Sephiroth theme from Final Fantasy VII filled his quiet room. He blindly reached out for his phone and found it on the nightstand after a few attempts. He swiped his thumb over the green bar on his phone and growled into the speaker. "What the fuck do you want, ice-prick?"
"I need to speak to your woman." Came his brother's response.
"Why the hell do you need to talk to Kikyou?" He asked and pulled his phone away from his face so he could see the time. "It's seven in the morning Sessh! On a Sunday! She's sleeping! Leave us alone!"
Kikyou rolled over to face her love when she heard who it was and what they wanted. "Inuyasha? I'm awake. I'll talk to him." She said, holding her hand out for his phone. She pressed a kiss to his cheek when he grumbled and handed her the device. She pressed the phone to her ear. "Yes? Sesshoumaru-san?"
He cut straight to the point. "Kikyou-san, have you heard from your sister?"
She blinked. "Um, not since yesterday at the hospital, why? Have you?" She asked, her tone hopeful. Inuyasha told her that he had taken his truck to go visit her, but no one knew what happened since then. Well, Inuyasha did and he wasn't too happy with it.
"I saw her last night, but she was acting strangely. I attempted to call her, but her phone has been disconnected. I was wondering if perhaps she changed her number and gave it to you?"
She shook her head. "No, she hasn't been in contact with me," She said and then pursed her lips together. "However, yesterday at the hospital she told me that she was going away for a while."
"Going away?" He echoed and she could practically hear the tension in his body. "Did she say where she was going?"
"No, she didn't say. I would try contacting her friend Sango, she might know more than me." She suggested, looking at Inuyasha as he rolled towards her with a concerned expression.
"Do you have her number?"
"I don't have hers, but I do have the DJ's number. He usually has all the girls' numbers. Give me a moment and I'll get ahold of him. I'll text her number to you from my phone when I get it from him." She replied.
"Thank you." He said before ending the call.
Kikyou locked her boyfriend's phone before handing it back to him. "It seems they made up, but I guess she started acting weird afterwards." She explained to the hanyou.
He snorted. "Oh, I know they made up. My truck has the scent to prove it."
She rolled her eyes. "He seems really concerned about her, Yasha. Maybe I should be more worried about what she told me yesterday. After all, she did say she didn't have a choice, remember me telling you that?"
He hummed. "Yeah, but, Kagome is Kagome. I can't imagine anyone making her do anything she doesn't want to do. Maybe she means it figuratively? Like she feels like this is something she needs to do for her, you know?"
She pursed her lips together. "Yeah, maybe," She agreed. "Still, I'm going to get Sango's number from Miroku so he can ask her."
He nodded before burying his face back in his plush pillows. "I'm goin' back to sleep."
She gave a soft laugh before grabbing her phone and texting her DJ.
*~~~BTC~~~*
Sesshoumaru gripped his phone tightly in his hand as he sat at a table at Arrow. He was not looking forward to waiting. He wanted to find her immediately. He took a deep breath and forced himself to release the device before he shattered it. He put it down on the table and picked up his steaming cup of green tea. He glanced up when he heard the shuffle of feet near his table. Gold pools focused in on the short bald man standing before him.
"Ah, Taisho-san, I apologize for the wait! I am Myouga, my employee told me you wished to speak with me?" He asked after bowing politely. He looked over the taiyoukai's appearance; from his slacks to the white collared shirt hiding under the black pea coat and then to the markings on his face. With the white hair and golden eyes, he looked so much like his father.
"Yes, have you spoken to Higurashi Kagome?" He asked, once again getting straight to the point.
His beady eyes blinked twice. "Ah, no, not since yesterday. She called us to inform us that she was quitting." He frowned as he released a sad sigh. "Kaede and I are heart broken. Kagome's been with us since she was seventeen; she's practically family."
"I see," He replied. "Did she say why she was quitting?"
"She said something about going away for school. She knows that is the only reason we would let her go. She's so smart, so it didn't really surprise us that she was going away to further her education." Myouga stated proudly, as if she was a precious granddaughter.
"School, you said," He echoed, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Did she say what school, exactly?"
The flea-youkai's face fell a little as he tried to recall their conversation. "You know, I don't think she did…" He mused with a shrug. "Must have slipped her mind." He commented before looking at the inuyoukai carefully. "Tell me, Taisho-san, why all these questions about Kagome? Is she in trouble?"
'I hope not.'
"Not at all, I was simply wondering if she had told you the good news of her transfer to her school." It was lie, of course, and he was almost certain that what she told the owners of Arrow was also a lie. Still, he would assist in the lie until he found out the truth. He didn't want her loved ones to begin panicking for no reason.
Myouga grinned and held out his small hand to Sesshoumaru. "I want to thank you, Taisho-san, for you and your father helping out our Kagome. She was so excited to work for you and I have no doubt that her new school accepted her with your name on her application. Don't get me wrong, as I said before, she's extremely intelligent, but the Taisho name goes far in this world."
Not knowing exactly how to reply, he simply shook his hand and gave a stiff nod. Hearing his phone vibrate on the table, he released the café owner's hand and reached for it. Seeing the unlisted number, he assumed it was Kikyou. "Excuse me, but I must be leaving." He stated as he stood from his chair.
"Of course. Have a great day, Taisho-san!" Myouga called as the taiyoukai exited the café.
*~~~BTC~~~*
Sango smiled at her love as she slid into his car. "Ready to go see our baby?" She asked, smiling at him.
Miroku grinned at her. "More than ready! He better be as well-equipped as his old man! He has to be a woman pleaser just like me!"
She scowled at him half-heartedly. "We don't even know the gender yet. It's too soon!" She laughed when he pouted and then checked her phone as it began to ring. She blinked as the same unlisted number called her for the third time. Just who was this calling her? She usually didn't answer phone calls from numbers she didn't know. She went to silence it again, when Miroku leaned over her shoulder to look at her phone. "Weird, this number keeps calling me and I don't know who it is."
Miroku hummed before perking up. "Oh! It's probably Sesshoumaru!"
She blinked owlishly at him. "Sesshoumaru? Kagome's Sesshoumaru!? Why would he be calling me?"
"Because Miko called me and asked for your number to give to him. Apparently he wants to ask you something about Kagome." He replied as he drove them to the doctors.
She stared at him for a moment before smacking him along the back of his head. "Why didn't you say that sooner?!" She snapped at him before quickly answering the phone. "H-hello?"
"Is this Sango-san?" Came the familiar baritone voice.
"Y-yes! Sesshoumaru-san, I'm so sorry, if I knew it was you calling, I would have answered a few hours ago!" She said, apologizing to him before he could say anything else.
"It is understandable," He replied. "Have you heard from Kagome?"
She blinked at the sudden question. "Um, I talked to her last night, but I didn't see much after she talked to you. She actually grabbed all her things and left right afterwards." She stated before her face darkened. "Did you do something else to upset her?"
There was a slight pause before his answer came through the receiver. "Perhaps, but it was not my intention. I honestly thought she would be happy." Before she could ask for him to elaborate, he pressed on. "I tried to contact her today, but her phone seems to be disconnected."
"Yeah, that's generally what happens when you leave the country." She said with a hint of sarcasm.
Another pause. "Leave the country?"
Sango lifted a brow. "Well, yeah, she took that position you guys offered her in China. Didn't you know?"
"What position? You said we offered it to her?"
"She said Touga offered her a position in your company branch in China." She replied slowly. Why did he sound so confused? Didn't he know? Or did his dad offer it to Kagome without telling him? If so, why? She bit down on her lip when he remained quiet on the other end. "S-Sesshoumaru-san?"
"I see," Came his short response. "Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions."
She pulled her phone from her ear and stared down at it after he hung up on her. She looked back up at Miroku as he gazed at her with questioning eyes. "I don't know what just happened…" She admitted, but tucked her phone away when she realized they had pulled up to the hospital. She put a smile on her face and stepped out of the car. "Well, anyways, let's go see our baby!"
*~~~BTC~~~*
This time a loud crack was heard as he gripped his iPhone too tightly with his youkai strength. It took every ounce of his willpower to not hurl his phone onto the cement outside Kagome's apartment. He could not believe what Sango had told him. They didn't even have a sister branch in China. What exactly was Kagome doing lying to everyone? What was she hiding?
He tucked the broken phone into his coat pocket and made his way up the stairs to his former secretary's apartment. Even though her phone was out of service and her friend had said she left the country, he still decided to check her apartment just in case she was there. He made his way to her door and softly knocked. When it remained silent, he knocked a little louder, furrowing his brow when it a faint echo sounded back.
The Taisho heir briefly glanced down each side of the hall before using his youkai strength to twist the knob and push open the door. He tried to casually swing it open in case anyone was watching and stepped into her entry way. He froze when he saw that her apartment was completely empty.
He inhaled deeply and felt various scents attack his nose as he stepped further into the barren room. Suddenly his back went rigid as a certain scent buried its way deep into his nose, the offending scent making him growl in hatred. The hair on the back on his neck stood on end as many scenarios of why Naraku was in her apartment attacked his brain.
He bawled his hands tightly into fists. If Naraku had any role in why Kagome was missing, he would be sure to find out.
And if he had hurt her in anyway, he would kill him.
*~~~BTC~~~*
Kagome tried to shield her body as she was violently pushed against the hard fridge in Naraku's kitchen. Magnets and papers clattered to the ground from the polished surface as her body slumped against it. Still, she refused to fall, not willing to submit to her 'owner'. She locked her knees in place, ignoring the shooting pain down her back, and turned towards the hanyou as he advanced on her again.
"Tell me, Tama, are you stupid? Did that Taisho dog fuck the intelligence out of you? You directly went against my orders!" He snarled, crimson eyes burning with fury.
"Technically, I didn't disobey you." She retorted lightly, eyes meeting his with indifference.
"Didn't disobey me?" Naraku echoed incredulously. "What did I say?! I told you to stay away from him and yet you reek of him and sex!"
"I quote you verbatim: 'You will not go and see the Taisho family. If I see you that you're anywhere near their homes or business you will be punished'. I didn't 'go and see him' nor did I go to his house or work. He came to me. Pretty sure you didn't mention it was against the rules for him to come to see to me or for me to have sex with him." She replied coolly, her cerulean eyes hard with defiance. "Maybe you should have been more specific."
He growled and lurched at her, smirking when she flinched and drew her head back against the fridge. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her roughly towards him, relishing in the way she yelped in pain. "Is that so, little miko? Well, I'll be specific about your punishment then." He pushed hard on her head until it bent oddly, forcing her down on her knees to relieve the pressure. "If you want to act like a little whore, then I will make you one."
Kagome's eyes widened when he used his free hand to unbutton his pants and push them down. W-was he really expecting her to do what she thought he was? She paled and felt her throat tighten at the idea of it, bile rising to her esophagus uncomfortably in disgust. She put her hands on the one holding her hair and tried to fight against him, her body moving as much as it could while her head was restrained.
"Did you put up this much resistance with him?" He smirked cruelly, forcing her head closer to his engorged flesh. "This is your punishment for going against me, Tama. You will do it."
"No!" She shouted when the soft yet firm skin poked at her cheek. "I won't!"
"You don't have a choice. You spread your legs for the dog and now you will open your mouth for me, whether you like it or not!" He growled and used his free hand to grab her jaw tightly until it popped open. Once the orifice was open, he drew her face in and jerked his hips forward to fill her small mouth.
All at once she felt him hit the back of her throat. She gagged from the pressure and the disgust. Tears sprang to her eyes as he forced her head to move in rhythm to his hips. She tried clawing at his legs and groin, but she could do little as the hand gripping her hair remained along with the one with the hold on her jaw. She continued to gag harshly, the bile climbing higher and higher as her stomach lurched.
Kagome couldn't take it anymore. Summoning all her strength and willpower, she chomped her jaw shut, biting down hard on the unwanted appendage. She heard him let out a painful scream before she felt an excruciating force slam into the right side of her face. She hit the floor hard and her vision blurred until it went black.
A/N: o_o;; Idk where that last bit came from…XD It just kind of flowed from my fingertips.