It Takes Two
Nghi
Summary: (AU) Kagome hates Kikyo. Kikyo hates Kagome. Both love Inuyasha. And Inuyasha is just in love with the strange head executive. A fiction proving that sometimes it takes more than guts to win someone- it takes a team. And maybe several botched up plans.
A/N: Yikes. Over 2,000 words! I guess it somewhat makes up for the one-month delay of Chapter 3. -___-;; Sorry. Couldn't find time or inspiration to start off the fiction the right way. Hope you like this chapter, though!
Disclaimer: Welllll... I DO own this lovely scarf around my neck. So... youcan'thavemyscarfbutyoucanhavethisdingydisclaimer. All right! I got a great deal!
Chapter 3: The Quest
-
Why?
Why? Why was the only thing angrily echoing throughout my head as I dragged the red felt-tip pen across the paper. For every time my thought wandered to the gluttonous mass behind me, I would edit one word. For every time I would begin to steam up, I would slash at a phrase, and for every time I begin to even think about Yura's backstabbing act, I would angrily scribble an editing phrase at the margin. Die, paper, die.
The 'why' question flitted into my mind again, because I just couldn't understand it. It wasn't my fault! Granted, it was me who had done the evil act of throwing the throbbing coffee pot, but it was not out of spite at Kaede! If I had not been provoked by she-Devil, I would not have committed such a heinous act. It all made sense because it did make sense! Of course, there was always the other choice, the smaller, more miniscule choice that Angel Kikyo had to offer: not have gotten into a scuffle at all. That I should have just turned away and stayed out of harm's reach. That I should have just shut up. That I should have just lost quietly. And to absorb whatever the girl had said. To follow the 'sticks and stones' rule. To remain elusive. Enigmatic. To be the mature one.
Like I said, it was all she-Devil's fault, provoking and egging me in such a way that I had no choice to ignore her.
No comments on my superb reasoning skills.
-
Yura glanced out of the window overlooking the cubicles. It seemed decent enough, with everyone busy at hand, working nonstop on reports, watching the news, and such for Naraku's Beans Co. Her hands twiddled with a piece of yarn as her red (contact) eyes flickered nervously over at the slightly larger cubicle. "Oh, relax," Inuyasha called from behind her. "You've already given out the choice that if they fight any more, they're going to be housing together. Don't get your pantyhose all in a knot."
"Oh, shut up," she bit out, glaring at his lax smile. "Your aunt is in the hospital, being treated for major burns and a glass pot smashed over her friggin' head. This isn't World War Pro Three-"
"It's World Wrestling Three," he interrupted.
"I don't care what it's called. But the point is that this isn't where anything goes, you know. This is an office, where stocks are being watched over. This is supposed to be a humdrum job, not where catfights break out in the middle of the break room." She finished.
Inuyasha blinked at her once. "And your point...?"
Yura's eye began to twitch. "The point is, dear Inuyasha," she began, frustration beginning to break through her voice. "That with Kaede knocked out cold, we're going to be doomed for the next three to five weeks. There is abso-fuckin'-lutely no one in this entire floor that is capable of maintaining this position well enough for your aunt to return and resume her work."
"Hey, what-"
She cut him off with a contempt snort. "Excuse me, but remember when she gave you lead position over the mailroom? The mailroom? You turned the entire thing into a some sort of Irish nightclub. Don't even get me started on this whole 'I-Can-Take-Care-Of-The-Floor' business route. Because it isn't working on me."
Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms sulkily. "Feh... bitch."
Yura chose to ignore that added comment (Because she knew that if she caved, he would have been strangled to death with her piece of string.). Instead, she paced back and forth across the carpeted floor, her forehead creased with worry. "What to do, what to do, what to do.... Ah! I can't do this!" she broke out with an aggravated cry. "I'm a failure! I. Can't. Do. This! It's too hard- I need direction! I need Ms. Kaede to lead my life in order again! My life has been ruined to shambles! I knew it! I'm so incompetent when it comes to work! How will Ms. Kaede ever have trust in me again?"
She fell to the floor in a heap with her head buried in her hands and her hair frazzled on ends. "I'm not skilled enough...." Sniff.
Inuyasha was one of those few businessmen who could never stand women crying. Fortunately, Yura had been a close friend of his for ages, so he knew about her dramatic outbursts from time to time and had grown quite used to them. So he ignored her, likewise with her ignoring his comment. "Idea!" he announced out of the blue. "I have a great idea!"
Knowingly, his friend stopped crying immediately and lifted her head, blinking at him with surprise. "What?" he challenged. "I'm too dumb for you? Fine. Get over it yourself."
"No, no, no!" Yura shook her head frantically, scrambling onto her feet and smoothing out her skirt. "OK- hit me with your ideas. I'm that desperate." Poor Inuyasha- Yura could never resist an insult.
"OK. You know how everyone on this floor is pretty much 'incompetent' to take over my aunt's position for a while, right?" he began, a bit resenting about the 'everyone' part. (Apparently, he believed he was 110% competent with the smarts to back it up.)
"Yes...."
He leaned forward, his clasped hands underneath his chin. "Well, I propose we go out into the city and find some people who are competent enough."
A moment of silence, preferably waiting for an approval. And then-
"WHAT?!?!"
Inuyasha clamped his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the shrilly scream. "What the hell is that? What kind of idea are you thinking?!?! Have you been injecting something into your systems again? We can't just go out and say 'Oh, you look business-smarts. You're hired for the next three to five weeks'!"
"And why not?" he demanded.
"Because one, not everyone is skilled in this area, you know! You need a degree in a university to apply for that job. And two- it's so..." Yura scrunched her nose. "Barbaric."
"Barbaric?" Inuyasha echoed incredulously.
"Yes. Barbaric." she nodded. "It's never going to work."
"OK, I said we were going to find competent people, not a hobo mooching off WacDonalds' garbage dump. And secondly- we're going to hold interviews. It's not that hard to comprehend, amigo."
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's a bad idea."
"It's a great idea."
"Mr. Ego-head, do you not comprendo the fact that these people might be lying to us? What if they stole one of the degrees off a university and forged a signature? Then they made off with the company money?"
"That's not reasonable- that's just plain stupid thinking."
"Hey, hey- this is the real world. If we can make fake money, we can certainly make fake certificates. You know, print them off one of those printable sites online."
"Yura, just think about what you said right there."
She promptly ignored him. "No! I absolutely refuse to take part in this unhealthy practice."
Inuyasha glared at her. "This isn't voodoo or some kind of cult. This is strictly finding a person to take over my aunt's job. And either we A) find a person, or B) lose our jobs within two days because the monkeys who are working for us are going to be swinging around the floor. Pick one."
His friend fidgeted uncomfortably. He knew it wasn't because she had to choose- it was because he was right for once. "Fine," she snapped irately. "Let's go do this thing and get this over with. I don't want to spend the next two weeks finding some person."
"Hold it."
"What now?" she asked exasperatedly, turning to face him. It was apparent that Yura was a bit sore after losing to him.
Inuyasha grinned... something that eerily resembled the Cheshire cat. "Who said anything about us hunting?"
-
Sometimes, I wonder if Ms. Kaede's nephew and her secretary put us up to this. It must have been some kind of conspiracy. I mean, not only were we stuck together for the next months- which far, far exceeded the time Kaede would be in the hospital-, but we're also forced to do the same projects. Which means that I've been demoted, and she-Devil's been promoted.
Father, Mother, I'm so sorry for shamming the family name....
Speaking of she-Devil, she was glaring at me. For the umpteenth time. I don't know what's really egging her toast, but I'm not doing anything wrong... except maybe I'm also holding the staring contest right back. The first one to blink would lose....
Oh, let me rewind and tell a bit of what's happening.
Of course, Yura was one who could never let things down easily. And she decided to pour salt by the pound on top of my fresh wound... by saying we were to search for someone to take Kaede's place. And then she sent us off with forms to go and pass around the city. That was it. End. Finite. The literal instructions from her mouth were, "Search the city to find a person who can hold this floor for the next few weeks." Then she dumped tens upon hundreds of forms that had little checking boxes. Some were very common and normal checkboxes, like "Person must have a bachelor's degree in economics" or "Person must be skilled typist". Others were not so smart. Take these examples:
"Person must wear old-fashioned kimono clothes at all times."
"Person must have a chewing habit on pencils."
"Person must be skilled in croquet."
And my personal favorite: "Person must resemble prune." With added wrinkles and pounds, too."
The forms were fine, although she-Devil was groaning about the entire thing (How hard is it to check boxes?). But what irritated me was how Yura was making us off to the city. The city! She expects us to walk around the flea-infested place, interrogating people about a job and interests! She expects me to trek in three-inch pumps and weave my way in and out of the people, asking random men and women if they would be willing to take over head executive.
This was past the point of punishment- this was cruel. Not only do I have the pleasure of sweating inside my snug blouse, but I have to trek with her throughout the city, where probably four different forms of the flu are flying around... in the middle of late spring. This was bound to make a great story when I have grandchildren later on in life.
OK. Fast forward to present time, where she and I were trying to stare each other down. Feel the electricity, baby.
"Um... excuse me?"
We both dropped the match temporarily, since another month would have been hell if Yura ever caught us in a staring contest in an interview. I acknowledged the woman in front of me again, even if I knew it wasn't meant to be- she wouldn't be the next head executive. I know, I sound very prejudiced, but wouldn't you if the girl had on a Playboy tank top?
'Nuff said.
-
Kikyo suppressed a groan, barely listening to the Grunge Girl... she had overheard them interrogating the pastry man for the job and soon came bounding over, happy to apply. The interrogation quickly turned sour when G.G. (Grunge Girl) veered off-topic... all within three minutes of the interview. Even Kagome, who had the amazing ability to feign interest in God-knows-what subjects, couldn't hold back the yawn that escaped her mouth.
"... And then the pelican came swooping down and ate the fish, and I saw that it had a rare species of feathers, so I quickly branded my shotgun and took aim for the rare pelican. The thing is, these things can fly-"
"OK, that's wonderful," Kikyo stepped in. The story had absolutely nothing to do with executive, and the nonsense had to cease immediately. "Unfortunately, you claim you do not know how to play croquet, correct?"
G.G. nodded.
"Then you don't qualify. I'm terribly sorry, ma'am," she apologized tersely before brushing past G.G.. Kagome stayed behind a bit, a look of sympathy crossing her face and directed at the crestfallen girl before reluctantly following Kikyo.
"That wasn't very nice," Kagome chided, struggling to keep up with Kikyo's long strides.
"Oh, it isn't?"
"Yes. You have a decent head on your shoulders- you should apologize for what you said."
Kikyo stopped walking and turned to her partner. "Excuse me?"
"I said, you should go back and apologize."
"Why would I want to do that?"
Kagome gritted her teeth. "People have feelings, too, and you were really mean back there."
"So I suppose I should've kept my mouth shut and listen to her rants then," Kikyo replied evenly, her eyes narrowing. This girl was a complete pushover, and she was trying to insert some of her morals into other people. The nerve....
"Maybe we should have. It might make the girl feel better," Kagome shot back, her chin jutting out stubbornly.
"We have things to do. We have places to go. I am not going to stand in one place and listen to the girl's bumbling talk when I could have found that executive by now and finished this."
"Oh, oh, I get it- we're just going to blow off everyone who talks about things other than Kaede's position. At this rate, we'll probably find someone at the end of the year."
"Don't approach subjects you have no say in."
Kagome lifted a pointed finger at her editor. "I can't-"
"Uh.... Are you two busy? Because I could... kinda... come back later."
-End Chapter 3