A/N: GAH! Science fair has been taking up a lot of my time lately and also the huge amounts of homework! Anyways, on with the fic! Please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Kagome and Inuyasha would be together already! *Sighs* ONE DAY! But until that day, I'll just have to settle for writing stories on FF.net
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Chapter 8: Old Grudges Die Hard
Lunch that day went well, Inuyasha and Kagome talked and got to know each other better, they had a new found understanding of one another and where they both came from, it was the beginning of a growing friendship. After their break both walked back to the company talking about the little things in life.
Inuyasha hesitated for a moment, he didn't know if he should really dig further into her life, after all she had told him all about her father leaving her and all, should he really press the issue?
Curiosity brought out the worst of him. "So…your mother raised you up alone?" He asked in a small voice.
"Actually my mother and my grandfather, and uncle Shiro. He's not really a member of my family; he's my mother's friend. I remember all those parent teacher conferences after my dad left, my mother and uncle Shiro would always be the ones to attend. He's kind of like, a second father to me, you know? If it wasn't for him, I don't think my mother would have gotten past that chapter of her life so easily, she would still be devastated, but that's a long time ago, I don't want to bring up the past anymore then we already did." Kagome stopped and looked at the ground, her left hand raised to play with the strap of her purse hanging on her left arm.
"I'm sorry, I…guess I was just curious. But then again curiosity killed the cat ne?"
Kagome chuckled. "I would say in this case curiosity killed the dog demon…but you know what they say Inuyasha."
"What?"
She cocked her head to the side and smiled up at him. "Satisfaction brought it back."
Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, for the first time he noticed how beautiful her blue gray eyes were, especially when the sun hit them just right, they would sparkle in the sunshine. "Have you heard about the business dinner tonight? I believe Sesshoumaru told the whole company a few days ago. Anyways I don't have a date, and I I'm guessing you don't have one either so I thought maybe..." Inuyasha trailed off.
"Are you asking me out on a date Inuyasha?" Kagome asked raising her eyebrow slightly, a smirk growing on her face.
"Well…if you don't want to consider it a date we could-"
"It's a date then." Kagome said before walking ahead leaving a stunned Hanyou behind.
Inuyasha stood still like his feet were glued to the ground, a smile slowly made its way across his face before he ran after the Kagome.
Walking into the building and down the halls Kagome passed many secretaries and workers who stared after her as she quickly made her way towards her office.
"Kagome wait up!" Inuyasha called after her. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.
"What took you so long?" She asked then leaned in closer to him. "I thought Hanyou's are faster then humans?" She smirked.
"Feh!" Was the only response she got. "I might just reconsider taking you out tonight you know!"
"Fine then, I'll just stay home and watch TV with Ben and Jerry, while you enjoy yourself at the oh so entertaining business dinner." Kagome said sarcasm weaved carefully through her words.
"Who?" Inuyasha asked, his jealousy getting the best of him so he couldn't think properly. He was slightly perturbed that she mentioned other men's names in his presence…not only other men but also two other men!
"The ice cream brand Inuyasha, the ice cream!" She shook her head and laughed at his silliness, honestly! Everyone's heard of Ben and Jerry's! "Wait a minute…you were jealous weren't you?" an impish smirk grew on her face.
"I was not! For all I care you can do whatever you want tonight!"
A dull silence hung in the air between the boss and his employee
'Yep…any minute now' Kagome thought as she stood there, her fingers strumming to an invisible tune on her thigh.
"I'll pick you up at 8:00 be ready!" Inuyasha said quickly before leaving a trail of dust in his wake.
Kagome grinned and stepped into her office, things were starting to look up, after all who can really say no to such a good-looking guy? Stubborn yes, arrogant yes, but Inuyasha was still sweet when he wanted to be.
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"How may I help you Mr?"
"Kouga, Ookami" The young wolf youkai replied quite calmly.
"Well Mr. Ookami, may I ask what it is that you need?" Sesshoumaru glanced at the youkai without much enthusiasm, he was tired and wasn't quite in the mood for business but then again it was his job, and he had no choice in the matter.
"I have a business proposition to make Mr. Tai I believe?"
"Yes Sesshoumaru, Tai."
Kouga took this into consideration before speaking again. "Well Mr. Tai, I have just recently opened a major technology corporation here in Tokyo, and what my company needs is publicity, and in order to have such publicity, this is where you come in."
"You would like us to design you ads right? Or would you like websites? Banners perhaps?" Sesshoumaru asked more interested now then he was a few minutes ago.
"Well, anything you can come up with, I need it soon though."
"Very well Ookami-san I will talk to my special designs manager and have her meet with you, I'm sure you will find her designs more then satisfactory. Please see my secretary Rin, she's the one that spoke to your earlier, she'll give you some forms; it will be best if you fill them out." Sesshoumaru asked carefully before typing a few things down on his computer.
"Well alright, we'll talk again later Tai-san, I look forward to doing business with you, I'll also be coming in tomorrow for that meeting with your specialist. Until next time then." And with that he walked out of the office.
Sesshoumaru quickly pressed his message machine and called for his secretary. "Rin, Mr. Ookami will be out in a moment have him fill out the papers, I would also like you to notify me when Kagome comes back clear?"
"Crystal Sesshoumaru-sama."
The Inuyoukai's cool demeanor faltered quickly. Sesshoumaru frowned as his fingers reached up to massage his temple. He felt a massive headache begin to form. He didn't think it was because of last night, after all he didn't drink that much and the fact that he was a full blood youkai made hangovers nearly impossible. Whatever the reason a Tylenol or two sounded good right about now.
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"Naraku, you don't do it, please reconsider." The elegant woman pleaded to her lover. She sat on a couch in the far corner of the massive living room of a mansion wearing nothing but a red velvet robe.
"Do you know how long I've wanted that company? Kikyou, Kikyou, Kikyou, my ever so naïve love, you obviously can't comprehend how important this is to me…I need revenge love…and it starts with the owners of one of the most renowned companies in all of Japan…The Shikon. After all we can't have all that work you did of actually getting together with Inuyasha, breaking his dear heart for nothing now can we?" Naraku walked over to the black leather couch where Kikyou was situated and sat down next to her. His black long hair and icy eyes made him look more intimidating than ever. His hand reached out and placed itself on her naked thigh brushing against it in a languid motion.
Kikyou stopped and took in a breath of air. No matter how much she wanted to destroy him, she couldn't. She looked at his slim physique, clad in nothing more then a pair of loose fitted khakis, how was it that she got herself into this? How is it she ended up falling in love with the hanyou she was to destroy?
At a very young age Kikyou was left at a shrine to be trained to become a miko. Her mother was once a miko thus she wanted to pass the inheritance onto her young daughter. And soon under the training of Keade her powers were not put to waste. Even in modern times like this evil youkai still lurked, but demons such as Naraku were the most dangerous. For he is not only clever, but also manipulating…after all…if not for his talents she would have never been caught up in his tangled web.
She never knew how powerful seduction could be before she met him. She had lost all she had worked hard for just to follow him. After purifying many threats to human kind to balance out the power of humans and youkai he was her next mission…and unbeknownst to her at that time…he would be her last. The world is so blind; to think that humans and youkai all get along so well with each other, if not for miko's such as her balance in the world would be lost. For there are still a few Youkai out seeking the destruction of human kind, and she had killed off many…but the biggest threat still remained…and she was incapable of killing him.
His clawed hand reached up and wiped away a single tear from the corner of her eye, he smirked and leaned in closer to her his other hand wrapped possessively around her waist. "You don't need to worry, I don't plan on killing all of the Taiyoukai family…just the brothers, I guess the younger generation will just have to pay for the old generations mistakes, don't you think love?"
She didn't know much about why he supposedly hated the Taiyoukai family so much, all she knew was that before becoming the horrible hanyou he was today, he was once known as Onigumo and that his grudge is held as far back as to Inuyasha's grandfather. But whether he is Onigumo or Naraku, one thing is for sure…he wanted the Taiyoukai brothers dead…that meant he wanted Inuyasha dead.
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Inuyasha smiled at the woman sitting beside him, she looked stunning in the simple black dress she wore, for the first time since they met he couldn't help but start to like her for her.
"Inuyasha is something the matter you've been staring at me all evening, do I have something stuck in my teeth?" Kagome asked suspiciously.
"Feh woman! Sheesh…I was just thinking…haven't you seen someone contemplating before?" He said trying to cover up his mistake of letting her catch him, yep…he was guilty…guilty of staring.
"Contemplate? You like to contemplate at this time? So tell me Inuyasha, have you been enlightened? When you are please don't hesitate to share the meaning of life oh great guru." She smiled teasingly.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango called out to her friend as she approached the table with no other then Miroku in tow.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at seeing Miroku come with Sango. "Do I really want to know?" He asked.
Miroku smirked "Lovely Sango has decided to bear my child."
Sango felt her left eye twitch, she has only been at the party for two minutes…she wanted to enjoy a day off…talk to Kagome…but no…the perverted man had to ruin it all…funny how his last name was Houshi…monk? Him? The day Miroku becomes a monk would be the day she agrees to bear his child…and that was quite unlikely.
Inuyasha raised his eyebrows in an amused manner…he could already see the headlines.
*Breaking News: Shikon worker in a coma due to ticking off his co-worker. Sources say he falsely announced that she agreed to bear his child. Apparently his co-worker didn't take it too well.
"Houshi-sama." Sango grounded out. "Just because your car broke down and I gave you a ride…does not mean that I agreed to bear your child…and unless you don't want to walk home tonight…I suggest you behave." She put heavy emphasis on the word walk and "behave".
"Why Sango dear, How can you suggest such a thing…though I am wounded, I take it you mean me no harm. It's okay I'll be here for you when you're finally ready to reveal how much you are in love with me…but until then…I believe I see some champagne with my name on it." He said before walking away. Yep…he saw the pretty businesswomen on the other side of the room…run businesswomen run!
"And I believe I see a tombstone with his name on it." Sango muttered but stopped when she heard two people laughing from the table.
"What are you two laughing at!?" She asked as realization dawned on her…oh yes…Miroku and herself had both been putting on a show for her two friends.
"Nothing…nothing." Kagome gasped as she tried to take in some oxygen. "Just thought you two would make a cute couple that's all."
Sango looked at her friend with a plain expression on her face "Run that by me again?" Sango did not look amused.
Sango + non amused expression = danger
"Um…I meant…look at the cute couple over there!" Kagome pointed to two random people but then realized she had just pointed at her boss Sesshoumaru and her friend Rin who were sitting on a table opposite of theirs, in the background you can hear Inuyasha bursting in laughter.
"And what are you laughing at Inuyasha?" Sango turned around and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm sure my date Kagome here would love to dance wouldn't you Kagome. Oh you would why let's go dance!" He quickly pulled Kagome from her seat and directed her towards the dance floor.
The two danced to the beat of the music both couldn't help but feel a sense of de ja vu.
"By the way…you're a…very…nice…date." Inuyasha said not regretting even opening his mouth. 'Gah! Corny! She's going to think I'm extremely corny now! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!' he mentally berated himself.
"Uh…um…right back at you." 'Great Kagome…just great.' Have you ever had that feeling where you just get tongue-tied and don't know what to say? And in the end wind up making a big fool of yourself? Well that's exactly the situation Inuyasha and Kagome were in…surprisingly enough they weren't doing so badly!
"Okay…Kagome…uh…I just want to say…that…you look really nice today." Whew…he said it…and surprisingly enough it wasn't that bad either!
Kagome blushed lightly. "Thank you."
Inuyasha smiled down at her she looked even more beautiful when she blushed. "You're welcome." He whispered as he instinctively drew her closer.
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"Well this meeting has been quite interesting Naraku, and Kikyou…it's a surprise to see you again, but I believe I have to meet up with my brother and our co workers, please excuse us." Sesshoumaru said before leading Rin away.
"Sesshoumaru wait…give Inuyasha my good wishes." Kikyou called out after him.
Sesshoumaru nodded before disappearing through the crowd with his date. Sesshoumaru didn't like Kikyou, though most of his grudge came from the fact that she had broken his brother's heart, most of it was because of the mysterious aura she always had around her. But it didn't matter, he wasn't too fond of making enemies, especially not in the business world, though his conscience had nagging suspicions about the hanyou Kikyou was with…Naraku…for some odd reason there was something wrong about the overly pleasant hanyou, Sesshoumaru had a feeling he didn't want to find out.
Naraku glared at Kikyou and brought his champagne cup to his lips taking a sip of the bitter sweet liquid.
Kikyou looked away, fearful that Naraku might decide to harm her or even worse someone innocent. He had the tendency to do so on slight whims.
"Well we've made out appearance for tonight, I believe it's time to be heading home love." His icy cool voice sent chills down her spine.
Before walking away with the wicked Hanyou Kikyou chanced a look at the dance floor only to see a silvered hair hanyou dancing with a young woman in his arms. Fate was cruel…why did he have to be here tonight?
Inuyasha looked up to the place his brother had been mere minutes ago only to find something he wished to never see again…Kikyou, their gaze me for a moment and Inuyasha did something out of pure suddenness and rashness, he let go of Kagome. His arms fell limply to his sides as he stared at her, his emotions ran haywire and he could no longer think correctly…but that one emotion he had felt so long ago…love…it was gone.
"Let's go!" Naraku hissed as he tugged at Kikyou's arms. Obediently she followed him, but her mind still lingered on the couple still standing there in the middle of the dance floor.
"Inuyasha what's wrong?" Kagome looked slightly hurt as he let go of her like he had just been burnt.
"I…nothing…never mind…it's nothing don't worry about." He said quickly before running off to only god knows where. He needed to think…about Kagome…about Kikyou…and most of all…about what he thought of them.
Kagome stared after the Hanyou, a look of shock on her face. How dare he, come onto her and lead her on like that! She knew when she saw him gazing at a woman who surprisingly mirrored her own looks, that something was amiss. He had not only led her on, but also lied to her…and to top it all off…her date had just ran off…now she was left alone probably ending up catching a ride with a her good but still dangerous best friend. Maybe it was too early to judge him as a sweet person?
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The silver car stopped as Inuyasha jumped out and walked to the lookout point opening up to the whole city. The wind blew his silver tresses away from his face revealing an expression of turmoil. Things weren't going right at all. He couldn't depict the emotions he felt when he saw Kikyou, especially when she was with someone else. Did he still love her? And then there was Kagome…why had he begun to come on to her all of a sudden? Where did these new found feelings of attraction come from?
Kagome is a nice sweet girl, she's had a tough past, and he felt ashamed of himself when he compared his past to hers, having your father walk out on you isn't exactly a happy moment in your life you'd like to remember forever. He smiled though as he thought of her, such a simple girl like her could make him feel so…good.
Then it dawned on him…maybe he did like Kagome…and Kikyou what about her? Though he still cared for her he really couldn't come to say those three meaningful words to her anymore. Somehow…the hatred inside him has diminished…and when he was dancing with Kagome…nothing seemed to matter. Finally making up his mind he decided to speak to Kagome more often. For she is his key to completely forgetting about Kikyou. There was only one itsy bitsy problem…Kagome may be furious with him after tonight.
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Well? What do you think? I couldn't resist…I really wanted to write some action stuff…and drama…and killing…you know all the good stuff!
Now I wonder why Naraku hates the Inuyoukai family so much? We shall find out next time!
Comments? Suggestions?
