Edited: 7/12/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.


Dashed Hopes

Chapter Eleven: Perfect


Kagome's eyes met and held Inuyasha's as Naraku nuzzled her neck again, sending shivers down her spine. Two years ago, that same action would have seemed romantic and exciting, but now it had begun to disgust her. At that very moment, to Kagome's very great surprise, she would have given absolutely anything to be out of Naraku's and into Inuyasha's—because at the moment, anyone else's embrace would offer the safety and comfort she desperately needed at that moment.

As their eye contact broke the spell holding Inuyasha in place, he took an angry step forward. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, eyes narrowed on Naraku.

The other man finally glanced up from Kagome, his dark eyes glinting over her shoulder. "Who are you?" he asked, a smirk shaping his lips.

"I'm Kagome's friend," Inuyasha answered without hesitation, a declaration that almost startled Kagome enough to make her smile despite her current distressing position.

Immediately, Naraku's smirk was replaced with a scowl. "Kagome doesn't need friend," he snapped. "She has me." One of his arms held her tighter against him while with the other, he raised his hand and grabbed her chin. Naraku forcefully jerked her face over her shoulder and brought his lips down on hers. Hard. With every passing second, Kagome could feel her lips bruise with the unwanted contact. Finally, Naraku let her go and began to walk backwards with a sinister smile towards the back door of the restaurant. "I'll be watching Kagome," he warned her threateningly. "I'll be waiting for you and your gift."

And then Naraku was gone.

As soon as he was out of sight, Inuyasha strode forward to Kagome's side, his hands fisted tightly at his sides. Forgetting all their arguments, Kagome threw herself into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face in his shirt. Still, he saw the hurt and fear written all over her face. Swallowing hard, the woman ran over the entire scene in her mind; it had only taken three or four minutes, but it had felt like a lifetime. Suddenly, tears pricked her eyes, and she buried her face deeper into her friend's chest, fighting to smother her sobs.

For the past several years, Naraku had been Kagome's whole world—other than Souta and Shippou, of course. Up until that point, all she'd really wanted was to find a way to fix things with him. To stay by Naraku's side forever in a loving relationship had seemed like happiness to her, but now it was starting to really dawn on her the many obstacles in the way of that dream. Not only was she beginning to realize just how sick Naraku had been, how unlike it was to convince him to seek anger management and stop taking his frustration out on Kagome, but she was also aware that she had other options. Knowing what life was like with Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and even Sesshoumaru, Kagome could see an entirely different life available to her.

There were so many different kinds of love a person could experience, and Kagome was only just now thinking that maybe—possibly—what she felt with Naraku was not love. With Souta and Shippou, she felt loved; with Naraku, it was something different.

Kagome felt a strong arm wrap around her lower back and a hand start to pat the back of her crying head. Their close contact had ignited a blush in Inuyasha's cheeks, and he had to fight hard against his rising frustration in order to not throw questions at Kagome. He wanted to know everything that had just happened between her and Naraku, but it would only make her feel worse. It didn't help the situation that crying women terrified the businessman.

Realizing their compromising position, Kagome disentangled their limbs and pushed away, returning immediately to the ladies' room. Opening his mouth but finding nothing to say, Inuyasha watched the door close behind her and leaned against the wall to wait. It only took Kagome to splash some cold water on her face and fix her hair and makeup. With one last look at herself in the mirror, disgusted with the confusion and fear she saw lingering in her own eyes, Kagome went back out into the hallway.

Silently, Inuyasha guided her back to the table, his eyes searching the restaurant alertly.

Souta grinned when they came into view; he had one hand laid on his full stomach, feeling content after the large, expensive meal he'd just eaten. "What took you so long?"

"I fell in," Kagome mumbled weakly, taking her seat. Shippou immediately bounced into her lap, and all three children giggled at Kagome's joke.

Over Kagome's head, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's eyes met. The elder Youkai man recognized the anger radiating off his younger half-brother, but he thought it prudent to not ask about what had just happened while in front of the children, no matter how piqued his curiosity was. Inuyasha shook his head slowly, trying to indicate that he'd explain later.

The group gathered their things and headed home, and thankfully, no one else noticed that Kagome didn't say a thing the rest of the evening.

The next day, the end of the weekend, Kagome went into a room with Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Sesshoumaru and explained what happened in a very still voice. Although shocked, they all agreed that there wasn't anything they could do about it at the moment. After some discussion, they decided that someone needed to be with Kagome at all times.

Kagome second week passed without incident, although each day found her more distracted and distant.

None of her coworkers noticed, however, since the annual corporate party was imminent. Everyone was too busy gossiping and bustling about. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, although concerned, were too occupied with closing business deal and organizing the party to say anything to her. Inuyasha, especially, was having a difficult time of it—it was his year to choose a theme, and he had yet to do so.

Worse yet, everyone thought they had the best idea and insisted on telling Inuyasha about it.

"Comment est-ce que une boeum francaise?" Nazuna, the waitress from the nearby diner, asked as she laid the food she was delivering onto Inuyasha's desk.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, dumbfounded.

Nazuna rolled her eyes and smacked her gum. "I asked, roughly, 'How about a French party?'."

"Nazuna, we're Japanese, not French," Inuyasha pointed out snappishly, gripping his sandwich too tight; its innards started to spill out all over the plate.

The brunette shrugged. "Whatever. I thought it was a good idea." She then waltzed out the door, still chewing her gum without a car in the world.

Later that day, Ayame wandered into his office. "Animals?" the redhead suggested. She was wearing a somewhat hideous sweater with a wolf emblazoned across the chest. Ever since Inuyasha had run into her when she took Kagome out to lunch—and then to the hospital—it was as though they were friend; the businessman had to keep reminding her that she was his employee. Ayame didn't seem to care.

"No," Inuyasha countered simply, pointing at the door.

"Fine, whatever," the redhead grumbled with a huff, stomping out of his office.

When it was almost time to go, Inuyasha found himself sharing the elevator with a young man he only vaguely remembered seeing before.

"How about the power of love?" the employee (it was actually Hojo) recommended dreamily. He was thinking of a certain girl whose name began with a "K-" and ended with an "-agome."

"How about no," the boss growled, storming from the elevator as soon as the doors opened, even though it wasn't his stop.

Inuyasha sighed dramatically as soon as he found himself alone for the first time that day; it was Friday, the party was in two days, and no one had supplied him with a good enough idea for him to steal. Sesshoumaru had, naturally, taken over all the difficult tasks, and the food, drinks, and decorations were already bought and in place. All that was left was for Inuyasha to choose a theme so that everyone could go out and pick their costumes.

He was really cutting it close.

To Inuyasha's incredible surprise and slight irritation, Kagome tracked him down.

"I'm not even going to ask why you're hiding in a cubicle on the thirty-ninth floor instead of at your desk," she muttered, handing him a file.

"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha began, thoughtfully, not even taking the file from her so instead she kept holding it out to the point when it became awkward, and she finally retracted her hand. "What do you think the theme for the party should be?" The fact that he was asking her for her opinion proved just how defeated he really was.

It took her a minute, but finally Kagome suggested, "How about the Feudal Era?"

"Perfect."


On the day of the parting, Inuyasha stood off by himself in the corner surveying the crowd. He was thinking about his earlier phone conversation with his best friend.

("Miroku," Inuyasha had started with a hint of warning in his voice.

"Don't worry, for the moment I have the whole fiancée thing under control!" Miroku exclaimed immediately, cutting off the other man before he could continue. He sounded very obviously proud of himself. "I'll be coming to the party, and Kaharu will stay home."

"Good; I don't want Sango moping around. There's only so much alcohol can do."

Miroku rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone line, glad his friend couldn't see him. "Yes, sir.")

So far, everything was going as planned. People were eating, drinking, dancing, and laughing. It was actually a great party until Sesshoumaru walked over to stand at his half-brother's side. The elder Youkai was wearing a white silk outfit with old-fashioned battle armor on top, something a feudal lord ancestor of theirs had worn in the past. For the party, Inuyasha had dyed his hair silver and was wearing gold contacts. For the first time in their lives, the half-brothers looked like they could be full-blooded siblings. He was dressed all in red, the eye-catching outfit demanding the attention of everyone in the room.

All of their employees were crowding the ball room, having fun dressed in kimonos and peasant's clothes, ones probably passed down by their ancestors. Thankfully, even though Inuyasha had taken his sweet time picking a theme, it looks as if people were able to find costumes quickly and without difficulty. Spirits ran high as everyone let loose, enjoying the food and alcohol.

On the other side of the room, Sango and Miroku finally arrived. Miroku was wearing black and purple monk's robes, accessorized by a long, gold staff; he'd inherited the outfit from his father, who had received it from his father before him, and so on through the centuries. Meanwhile, Sango was in a skintight black pantsuit with bright pink, floral patterned armor. Her long hair was pulled away from her face, and she highlighted her eyes with vibrant magenta eye shadow. At her side was a katana that Inuyasha had no doubt was actually real, and from her purse, Kirara—her new kitten—was peeking out.

Seemingly back on good terms, Sango and Miroku walked side-by-side to Inuyasha.

While the three best friends began to chat, in a room off to the side of the Inutaisho Company's lobby, where the party was being held, Kagome cracked open a door to peer through. She studied all the party-goers and felt self-conscious, her bad mood hanging like a cloud over her head. It had seemed like a good, fun idea at first, but now all Kagome could think about was how distant she'd been to everyone lately. Did anyone even want to talk to her?

Coaching her breathing to a steady, calming rate, Kagome opened the door fully and tried to creep in unnoticed. Unfortunately, Hojo was standing right next to where she entered.

"Hey, Kagome!" he greeted very loudly, slurring his words together in a drunken haste.

Quite a few people around the room turned to greet their friendly colleague, everyone happy to find out she'd joined them. Most, if not all of them, were pleasantly surprised to find her dressed attractively in shrine maiden's robes. The red and white priestess uniform accentuated her slim waist and set off her dark hair and pale complexion nicely. All around her, slightly tipsy young men nudged each other and openly admired Kagome.

Immediately, Kagome blushed and excused herself from the group of coworkers who had circled around her at her arrival. Thankfully, Sango was nearby, getting herself a cup of punch. It would later become obvious that the punch was spiked and partially responsible for how drunk many of the employees were becoming.

"Hey, Kagome," Sango greeted her new friend warmly. The only hint that she'd been drinking was a slight tint to her cheeks. "You look really pretty as a priestess."

"Thanks. You look great!" Kagome complimented. "A demon slayer, right?"

"Right," Sango admitted. "Legend says my family is descended from demon slayers."

"Welcome, Lady Kagome," Miroku said grandly with a sweeping bow, interrupting the two women.

Laughing, Kagome dropped into a deep bow, her problems momentarily shoved to the side. "Good evening, Miroku! You look very dashing."

Suddenly, the room went hushed when the crackle of a microphone was heard from the front stage.

"Excuse me," said an emotionless drawl. Everyone looked to Sesshoumaru. Now that attention had been gained, his job was done, and Inuyasha took over. He grabbed the microphone from his half-brother's hand, ignoring the elder Youkai's look of disgust.

"It's time for my favorite part of the night!" Inuyasha announced with a boyish smirk. "Gifts!"

"Gifts?" echoed Ayame from somewhere in the room; she wasn't the only confused one. Employees around the room looked at one another, quirking their eyebrows and frowning in befuddled ways.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, silently suggesting that everyone should always know exactly what he was talking about without explanation. "Of course gifts! My secretary went shopping for each of you yesterday. Isn't that right, Ms. Shashu?"

"Yeah, and my feet are still killing me!" Kagome called out from where she stood with Miroku and Sango. The audience erupted into laughter.

With a wide grin, Inuyasha tore a sheet off a giant mound of presents on top of the stage. The theory was that giving gifts to the employees would keep morale high. It would work, because, well, who doesn't like free stuff? Everyone launched themselves towards the pile.

Kagome picked her way through the crowd to find four packages, ones she had carefully set off to the side for easy finding later. It took ages to weave her way back to the food table, but she finally got within reach of Sango and Miroku. With a pleases smile, the secretary handed them each a wrapped box. "Here you go!"

Sango turned wide eyes on her. "We're not employees! We still get presents?"

"Of course you do! You're friends with the boss as well as his extremely generous secretary." Kagome motioned for them to open up the boxes.

Sango pulled out her gift first. It was a mask used in the feudal era to keep poison from entering a person's lungs. "Wow," she breathed excitedly, immediately trying it on. It completed her outfit perfectly.

Kagome laughed, delighted. "I knew you'd like it! I passed by it in the window of an antiques shop. The story is that it's an actual mask that was once used by a young female assassin during the Era of Warring States. I saw your collection of weapons when I was staying with you, so I bought this for you."

Happy, Sango smiled back at her friend. However, since she was wearing the mask, no one could see the smile. Belatedly realizing this, the brunette bobbed her head in a rapid, excited nod.

As Miroku opened his box, he asked, "Now what could you have possibly gotten for me?" He pulled out a purple glove that matched his monk robes perfectly. Putting it on, he studied it carefully. The cloth wrapped around his entire arm almost up to his elbow with extra cloth that laid over the palm and back of his hand, held to his middle finger by a gold ring.

There was a crinkle of paper as Kagome reached into the box that Miroku had set down. She retrieved a set of white prayer beads that he'd overlooked and handed them to Miroku, draping them around the gloved hand. "There you go!" she announced triumphantly. "I got these at the same place as I got Sango's mask. Apparently a young monk owned these; the glove was specially designed to hide a scar he had on the palm of his hand."

"Thanks, Kagome," Miroku told her sincerely.

"Hey, I'm just happy you guys like them. Hang on; it's my bosses' turns next," Kagome said, grabbing the remaining two boxes and leaving her friends to track down Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. The two gifts were very long, thin boxes, so she tucked one under each arm and started to navigate he way through the crowd, passing other employees as they showed one another nice things Kagome had picked out in mass quantities: fancy pens, silken handkerchiefs, and pocket watches, just to name a few.

"Mr. Youkai," Kagome greeted her elder boss with a nod. "Your gift."

Sesshoumaru took the box carefully, unwrapping the package with slow, deliberate motions. He pulled out a katana— a very expensive, well-crafted katana.

"Tensaiga. It belonged to a great worrier; it's called the Sword of Healing," Kagome explained with a smile.

"Healing?" Sesshoumaru asked pulling the blade out of its mahogany sheath to reveal metal shined to perfection. "Why would someone want a sword of healing, not one for destruction?"

Kagome frowned at his obvious I'd-rather-kill-than-save attitude. "The worrier used the sword to protect his loved ones, not to kill his enemies."

Sesshoumaru nodded to show his acceptance and slid the katana into the belt of his costume's armor.

Inuyasha saw this as his turn, and he eagerly ripped into his box. Inside was another katana with the same sleek mahogany sheath, but an old, damaged hilt. When he pulled the blade out, he saw how it was heavily chipped. "…What?"

Patiently, Kagome's smile grew. "I always loved the Tetsusaiga; it has personality. It is the Tensaiga's twin, and the warrior's brother wielded it. Tetsusaiga spent more time hacking down enemies than protecting anyone, and that's why it looks like it has seen better days. These were in an antique dealer's private collection. I read about them back at the shrine, where I grew up, and I knew the current owner was here in Tokyo somewhere."

The longer Inuyasha held his sword, the more he liked it, despite its obvious age and abuse.

"Oh!" Kagome said suddenly, grabbing Inuyasha's seemingly empty box and digging through it. "One more thing. I felt bad that Sesshoumaru got a better looking sword, so I grabbed this!" She triumphantly held up a necklace with maroon beads and fangs adorning it.

Inuyasha took it hesitantly and put it on. He felt like he shouldn't be happy to see it, but he had no real reason to feel that way. "Do you have a story for this thing, too?" he asked.

Kagome shook her head. "Not that I could find. All that I know is that it belonged to an old priestess." She hesitated, biting her lip. The celebratory atmosphere felt great, and she felt a million times lighter than she had all week. The good mood made her want to share something about herself, a little piece of her past. "I loved growing up on a shrine; it meant that I got to learned a ton of legends and see all kinds of artifacts."

It was at that time that Sango and Miroku joined them. Sesshoumaru excused himself while the friends started to talk happily, managing to ignore everyone around them getting plastered.

Elsewhere in the city, a man named Juuroumaru sighed as he studied an entire wall of television screens. On each screen was footage from a different camera placed somewhere in Tokyo. One that drew his attention was what looked like a wild party on the ground floor of a large office building downtown. What caught his eyes was that right in the middle of it all was a gorgeous woman dressed in priestess robes; a woman who looked exactly like the one in the photo sitting on his desk.

Kagome Higurashi: the woman he'd been ordered to locate. A week earlier, Naraku had demanded that Juuroumaru hack into security systems all over the city and track down his girlfriend.

After double-checking the photograph to confirm that it really was Kagome, he picked up the phone and dialed Kagura, his sister. "I found her," he reported as soon as she picked up the phone, immediately rattling off the details of the missing woman's location.

"That's… wonderful news," Kagura responded sarcastically with a despondent sigh, disgusted with the fact that Naraku had dragged her brother into the mess in addition to herself and Kanna. "I'll report it to Naraku. He'll want to know where Kagome is."

Juuroumaru ran a hand through his dyed purple hair, a remnant of his delinquent past. His jail time from when he was a teenager was what Naraku had blackmailed him with in order to get him to do his dirty work in the first place; Juuroumaru's boss had no idea that his employee was an ex-juvenile delinquent, since those records had been sealed when he'd reached adulthood. Unfortunately, if his boss found out, he'd probably lose his job. "Good luck with that. Please, be careful Kagura."

Now that his part was done he could go back to doing his actual job. Teaching a computers class at a junior high school.


On her end of the line, Kagura glared at her cell phone, the very idea of dialing Naraku's number turning her stomach. As soon as she'd hung up with her brother, she'd gone on the internet to research the building he'd spotted Kagome at. The official website listed the owners of the company and even had an employee database with names available to search. Juuroumaru would hopefully be free to go back to his life; and so far, fortunately, Kanna had been kept at arm's length from the mess. That left Kagura, the only one of the siblings full enmeshed in Naraku's pathetic, illegal, illicit little world.

"I'm quitting as soon as this is over, Naraku!" she growled, finally punching in the numbers on her keypad. Once everything was over, for good or for bad, Kagura was going to find a real job—one that had nothing to do with murder, drugs, or thievery.

"What is it?" Naraku asked without as much as a 'hello' when he answered her call.

"Juuroumaru located Kagome. She was at an office party for the Inutaisho Company in downtown Tokyo."

"She has a job?" Naraku clarified with a dark chuckle. "At least we know she is doing alright for herself on her own; it leaves me with room to worry about other things. You will track her until I'm ready to make my move."

"Yes, sir," his lackey responded snidely.

"What else can you tell me?"

"I… It's owned by Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru Youkai. There was one Kagome listed in the employee database: Kagome Shashu. I think that might be her alias."

"You're so useful," Kagura's boss responded before promptly hanging up, much to her irritation. What she didn't know was that even now, Naraku was planning on how to dispose of her after the dust hd settled, after he had Kagome back in his possession. She knew too much.


"Mom?" a little boy whispered as he pushed open the bedroom door.

"Yes, Shippou?" Kagome answered groggily.

"I had a nightmare; can I sleep in here?" Shippou asked with a whimper.

Kagome smiled and nodded drowsily, lifting up the sheets. The boy crawled in next to her and curled up next to her chest, radiating warmth. "Thank you," he whispered as he drifted back to sleep, feeling safe in his mother's embrace.

Kagome fell asleep that night with a smile on her face having decided that that was definitely one type of love—a love a parent had for her child. She could figure the rest out in the morning.

Next Chapter: The Getaway