Author's Notes: Sorry about the late update. Writer's block.
As You Wish
VIII. See No Evil, Hear No Evil
"What have you been up to since I left, Kagome?" Kouga asked as he guided the lady down the pier, blending in with the other couples around them. Although not holding hands, he had linked his arms with hers and was a grinning and beaming man. "I suppose you have a reason for being at a party like this?"
Kagome smiled a bit at his words. Oh do I ever have a reason… "Why don't you tell me first? I'm sure your story would be much more interesting."
Kouga shrugged and nearing the end of the pier, they stopped to just watch the dark waters over the railings. Kagome let go of his arm and looked down, hearing the waves crash against the pillars holding up the pier. She pondered how deep it was, but decided that it was definitely more than twenty feet by the looks of how far they were from shore. Turning her attention back to her ex, she smiled and waited for his story.
"Well, you know how I always visited my grandpa from my father's side of the family when I was small? Well, turns out the old man had a ridiculous amount of money saved in his bank that he had somehow forgotten. When he croaked, it went to my father. My father used the money to start a small business, and it prospered." Kouga smiled as he looked over at Kagome with his canines sticking out from his lips. Kagome had always loved that small cute aspect of him when they were going out.
Kagome blinked for a few moments before staring at the wolf demon, as if he was one of the world wonders. "Really…?" she managed to say eventually.
"Yup! We're rich now."
A bright smile appeared on the woman's face. "I'm so happy for you!" she cried, and hugged him instantly, cheerful that her friend had managed to achieve his dream of becoming rich. Not many people were that lucky; Exhibit A, Kagome. "You deserve it!"
"I suppose. Now, dad just wants me to find a wife before he dies and follows mom," Kouga said as he shrugged and looked out at the ocean. "He's getting old."
Kagome's delight was abruptly torn away when she heard that. Kouga's father had been so nice to her, and although the two hardly stayed together for two weeks, the man had understood and still treated her the same, even if she had broken his son's heart. The old man just had a charm that drew Kouga's friend to him, and he was dying soon?
"I'll have to see him again before he goes," Kagome whispered and smiled sadly at the wolf demon, looking down at the waves far below. "I missed him all these years anyway."
Kouga chuckled a bit. "Yea, he's missed you too. He asked me what happened to the girl who use to always come over and clean the fridge of oden."
This sent the couple into laughs as they remembered the old times. Kagome felt tired standing and jumped onto the railing, sitting on the wooden contraption while Kouga shot out a hand to steady her. This made Kagome laugh again as she recalled the one time Kouga and her had tried to jump the fence to his house, where she had got stuck on. Kouga had to hold her steady while she gathered her courage to jump down from the height.
Those seemed like the simple days.
Now she was stuck with an idiot.
This only sent her into a grimace.
~*~
A pair of golden eyes narrowed at the couple from behind a lamp fixed on the pier, his golden eyes flashing abnormally brightly in the night. Girls walking past were staring at him, wondering if the hunk without a shirt on was indeed Inuyasha.
"No, I'm his stunt double to deceive foolish women like you," he had snapped impatiently when a girl went up to him and actually asked.
She had sniffed disdainfully and muttered, "You aren't as hot as the real Inuyasha is anyway. You're not as sexy either." Then she and her group of friends had walked back towards the shore, throwing dirty looks at the 'stunt double.'
Inuyasha however, hardly gave a damn as he continued spying on the two, watching them stop at a spot and start talking happily…too happily. How come she never talked like that with him? Okay, so maybe she hated him, but she shouldn't let her emotions get in the way. That was just stupid of her.
He tried to hear what the two were talking about, but even with his hearing, the waves and random talking from other people was making it impossible. All he could do was watch as Kagome suddenly threw herself onto the wolf, hugging him as if he was her lifeline, or at least that was what it looked like to him.
A vein appeared on his forehead, as he growled. His slave shouldn't be flinging her body all over other men, unless she had his permission. And the only man she could actually fling herself at was him, so she shouldn't be such a flirt!
"Stupid wolf," Inuyasha snarled as he diverted his gaze to Kouga who was looking serious as he told Kagome something. Inuyasha could make out a pitying look from the girl and that immediately sent some waves throughout his body, seemingly coming from his heart. Okay, what the hell were these emotions?
"Jealous?" a voice asked smoothly, and this caused Inuyasha to twirl around and see a smug Miroku, making a grab for a passing girl's ass. She only giggled and playfully slapped his hand away, before walking away. This made Miroku sigh happily.
"Jealous? Me? Why would I be jealous?" Inuyasha scoffed, folding his arms across his chest stubbornly and turning a nose up.
"Because it seems some old love dies hard," Miroku mumbled, his attention being driven away by a girl with a big bust and a skimpy bikini walking by. After she was gone however, Miroku coughed and looked coolly at the hanyou with a raised eyebrow, which implied a lot. "Don't you think Kouga and Kagome still have some things?"
"Uhh…no."
Miroku sighed dramatically. "She may have said they had a relationship in high school, but by the way she blushes and smiles around him, wouldn't that indicate some hidden meaning?" Miroku motioned over to the couple down the pier, as Kouga had his hands on the girl's waist as she sat down on the railing. "See what I mean? She looks like she's still in love with him."
"Get real," Inuyasha retorted sharply, although he was staring like a hawk at the pair. "They're just friends."
"With benefits," Miroku added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and a smirk on his face. "Those are the best," he sighed again, winking at a passing group of girls who squealed and started blushing.
A little part of Inuyasha began believing Miroku as he watched Kagome giggle and kick her legs under her pink dress. Why was that stupid girl sitting on the railing in a dress? Miroku couldn't be correct, right? She couldn't like that…that…wimpy piece of wolf, right? "Keh, it still doesn't give me any reasons to be jealous."
"You like her."
It had been said so simply from Miroku, Inuyasha nearly sputtered indignantly. How could that pervert accuse him of liking that girl? She was not in the least pretty, and definitely couldn't compare to some of the girls he could get. And most of her, he would not be jealous if that wolf still liked someone like her. He might as well take her away, and he wouldn't even look back at her. Well, she could go off with the wolf after her two weeks with him anyway.
"I do not!"
"There's such a thing as being in denial. Who wouldn't like Kagome? There were many admirers in college," Miroku replied without hesitation, saying his words effortlessly, as if he was born to tell Inuyasha these words. "Trust me, something draws men to her. Kouga doesn't look any different. I heard he's looking for a wife as well."
"Do I look like I really give a damn?" Inuyasha snapped in irritation, still narrowing his eyes dangerously at Kagome, who by now was joined by Kouga on the railing. A strange, new tick had started in the hanyou's eyes.
"In fact, you do look like you give a damn," Miroku said as he turned around to gaze back at the walkway, making sure a certain long-haired female friend of his wasn't catching up on his scent. She was dangerous when she was mad…but that made her irresistibly sexy as well. "Admit it. You're jealous. You like her. You want her."
"Say whatever you want, you perverted bastard, but I am not jealous. I don't like her, and why would I want a woman like her? She doesn't have any curves whatsoever." He huffed crossly and twisted around, walking back to the shore. "And just to prove to you that I'm not jealous or whatever shit you want to spew out of your mouth, I'll leave her alone to get molested."
Miroku chuckled amusedly. "She has more chance of being molested by you than by Kouga." The comment got Miroku a dark glare, courtesy of the hanyou, as Inuyasha walked back in a carefree manner, his hands supporting the back of his head.
The other man watched the hanyou with a blank expression on his face, before Inuyasha disappeared into the crowd. Once he was gone, Miroku chuckled even louder as he grinned widely. It certainly looked like his plans to get Inuyasha and Kagome together were going along great. The hanyou was appropriately jealous, just the way he had heard the girls say when he had been standing outside their door, eavesdropping.
"Now with just a few more 'accidents,' those two can get together like the happy, obstinate couple they should be."
~*~
He reclined back upon the sunbathing chair, even if there wasn't any sun out at night. He had put his sunglasses over his eyes so that others wouldn't have to see his deadly gaze pinpointed at a couple walking back from the pier. The pineapple smoothie was being sucked up like it was going up a vacuum, and one clawed hand was tapping impatiently against the metal of the sunbathing chair.
But was he jealous? Oh no, of course not. He was just annoyed that the girl was flirting with someone she shouldn't be flirting with. Why shouldn't she be flirting with that wimpy wolf? Simple; that wolf was not good news.
Miroku was wrong. It did not bother a bit that her childhood sweetheart had returned, or that she seemed to still have feelings for him. Inuyasha didn't even care that they had linked arms and she was laughing happily, as he could tell even from that distance. Inuyasha never got jealous; people got jealous of Inuyasha, but he just never got jealous of anyone else…especially not some strange wolf idiot.
He slammed his empty glass of pineapple smoothie down on the glass stand next to him, and yelled, "Hey butler, I want a damn strawberry smoothie now!" He snorted as he watched the butler scramble to give him his smoothie, while Kagome and Kouga left the pier and was walking towards him, or at least in his direction.
Inuyasha wondered if she even saw him, but by the looks of their talking and laughing, she could have been blind and deaf to a sudden bomb hitting the pier and blowing it to smithereens. This got him annoyed, just because she was his slave and should be tending to his needs, and not some wolf's.
"Hey bitch," he shot out when she was near enough to hear him, and several women around him had turned around with appalled looks on their faces, wondering if he was talking to them. However, Inuyasha was only glaring at Kagome, who looked surprised a bit before turning her head to look at Inuyasha.
Her happy smile was instantly off as she lifted a dull eyebrow and replied, "What do you want," in a flat voice. This only infuriated him more.
He picked up the glass of strawberry smoothie and poured it into the sand, reminding himself that this was almost awfully like the other time when he had done the same with the lemonade. The reaction from her however, was only the same, dry stare. "It seems my smoothie has been dropped. I want more…specifically delivered by you.'
This caused some hint of anger to appear in her sapphire eyes as a frown graced her face. "Excuse me, but that's what butlers are for. I might be…in your service…" she hissed, before continuing, "but it doesn't give you the right to exploit me in any unfair manner. And haven't we been through this? You dropped it, so why don't you get it yourself. This could get old and ugly again."
Kouga was watching this exchange with an interested look on his face, although his wasn't the only one as several other people were gazing as well. Sango had stomped over at just the right time, having failed to find the pervert (yet), and was watching the argument blandly. Here we go again.
"Slaves are used to take advantage of…not waste. And we have been through it, so you might as well give up and get me that smoothie." He didn't know why, but now he noticed that every time he argued with her, it would send an adrenaline rush through his body. Was that normal?
There was a collective gasp from a few in the crowd at the word, 'slave', and Kagome went red. "You were the one who told me to say you were my friend. Hypocrite!"
"I didn't say I couldn't say you were my…slave." A smirk was on his face. "Anyway, you should stop flirting with every guy you meet anyway."
"What are you talking about?" Kagome squealed in a high voice, the red in her face only getting brighter. "I'm not flirting with anybody!"
Inuyasha shot a deadpan glare over at Kouga, who sent it back when he realized it was directed at him. So this hanyou was the bastard Kagome had been talking about that was mean to her? Anybody mean to Kagome wasn't a friend in his book.
Kagome let out an exasperated sigh when she saw where he was getting at. She had noticed the crowd they were attracting anyway, and just didn't feel like arguing with the idiot. She might as well just give him his damn smoothie and go along her way, avoiding Inuyasha like the plague.
Stomping over to a butler, she grabbed a cup of smoothie and went over to Inuyasha with a huge glower. Slamming the cup down on the glass table, she was about to turn around and go on with Kouga, before the infuriating hanyou's voice reached her ears again. "You forgot the umbrella, dear. I don't drink smoothies without a little umbrella."
All she could do to keep her temper in check was take in a deep breath, walk over to the butler again, grab one of those cheap umbrellas, and then stomp over and plop it in the smoothie. There was a grin on Inuyasha's face as he took the cup and smirked nastily over at her, without even a 'thank you' as he put his sunglasses over his eyes again and sipped the juice.
Kagome could feel her hands curl themselves into a fist as she went back over to Kouga, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the mansion. She said loudly, just enough so that Inuyasha could hear, "Let's dance!"
This caused Inuyasha to stop sipping on his smoothie for a single second, before the loud slurping began again. This prompted Sango to roll her eyes and turn around, her eyes instantly zeroing in on a certain Miroku-look-a-like trying to sneak into the mansion. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. She had caught the little worm…now all she had to do was trap him.
But really, to be truthful, this was the most interesting high-class party she had ever attended. At this one, it was actually eventful. Perhaps it was because of Kagome? It would remain unknown…
~*~
"Keep the people entertained for fifteen minutes. We need to have a little talk about my money problems."
"What the hell? I thought you already took your fucking two hundred and fifty thousand dollars three years ago."
"Let's just say, I spent it all. It's time to renew our contract."
"I already fucking paid you the amount to keep your damn mouth shut. I'm not paying anymore…especially only after three years."
"Then wouldn't it be an interesting topic if every single news company in Tokyo suddenly found out the truth…? I mean, that would be just horrible."
"…You bastard. What does it take to keep your mouth shut for once."
"Another two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
"I'm starting to think I never did it."
"Oh trust me, you did."
~*~
"Kikyou?" she said out loud as she spied a familiar face in the crowd. Jumping up and down to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her, Kagome saw the customary cold expression on the woman's face as she turned around, hearing her name, and spotted Kagome.
She walked over, Kagome seeing that she was still in her business suit and holding an armful of papers. She looked slightly tired, but more annoyed if possible.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned, putting down her cup of water and leaving Kouga for a moment as the man was talking to another woman. "Were you invited?"
Kikyou sighed slightly as she shifted the papers to her other arm. "The fool forgot to sign important papers before he left. I reminded him almost every five minutes on the intercom, but he still forgot. So I came to get his signature." She looked down at her bundle of papers and sighed again. "If he wasn't so hot-headed, I could be doing something else right now that's more productive than trying to find him in a swarm of famous stars and wannabes."
Kagome nodded slightly as she listened to the older woman's words. "That's definitely Inuyasha to leave important papers unsigned. But how did you get in here without an invite?"
A cold, icy, and definitely scary glare was thrown her way. "It's easy to manipulate people," Kikyou whispered as she continued on her way, her high-heels clicking in a rhythm against the dance floor.
Kagome grimaced a bit. With that type of cold glare, no wonder the attendant didn't stand a chance at denying the woman entrance. She actually felt kind of bad for Kikyou for having a boss like Inuyasha. Kikyou must do a lot of chasing him around to get him to sign things he always forgot to sign, and frankly, that would take up more time than what Kagome would prefer. Thank god she could just go home and live the normal, non-celebrity life after a while more.
"Hey…Kagome? Do you know what the roses are for?" a confused voice drifted to her ears, and she turned around to see Kouga holding up a long-stem rose and gazing at it almost naively. "The butlers just started handing them out to men out of nowhere."
Kagome looked around and indeed, many of the men were holding identical long-stemmed roses and scratching their heads. She was about to shrug before a voice boomed around the mansion from the speakers built into the walls.
"Hey everybody! First off, Mr. Kitao would like to thank you all for coming to his beach party. Are ya'll having fun? Yea! Anyway, let's play a game, alright? All the men in the mansion and beach should have been handed a long-stemmed rose from one of the many butlers. Yea?" the announcer stated, before continuing in his happy voice. "Alright men, we're going to give you five minutes to find your lady, or the woman of your fancy, and give her the rose! Isn't that a nice way to say you care? Yea! So, on the count of three, are you ready?"
Kagome laughed slightly. This was actually pretty stupid, but at least it sounded fun, or at least the announcer made it sound nice.
"One."
Kagome looked around seeing many of the men already ambling around, trying to find their woman.
"Two."
She saw Kouga smiling at her and she smiled back. Would he give it to her? Would that indicate he still had a slight crush on her…after all these years?
"Three!"
"You know I would have only given it to you out of all these females here," Kouga said and handed Kagome the rose, his smile turning into a smirk. "I know you don't have any more romantic interest in me, but hereby, if you take this rose, you're accepting my proclamation that I will court you…again."
"Don't you dare take it."
Kagome whirled her head around to see Inuyasha glaring darkly at them, a few girls flocking around him and his rose, fluttering their long eyelashes at the oblivious hanyou. Kagome's soft smile instantly hardened as she whispered challengingly, "Give me one good reason why not."
Inuyasha scoffed. "Because I said so."
She mimicked the scoff. "Too bad that isn't good enough." Turning around to face Kouga who was still waiting for her to accept the rose, she extended her hands out and took the flower, smiling at him. "I won't guarantee you'll get me though."
"But I'll try anyway," Kouga answered, smirking smugly over at the hanyou.
Kagome could have been unaware of the signals between the males, but Inuyasha understood the challenge clearly. In youkai terms, it was a matter of which male could court the female and get her in the end. Although he didn't technically like Kagome, Inuyasha wasn't about to say no to a challenge from some wimpy wolf like that. He sent a glare right back at Kouga, accepting it.
"Hey! There you are, you idiot. I've been trying to find you!" a disgruntled Kikyou snapped as she pushed some of the crowding girls away from her boss and stopped right in front of Inuyasha's face. A displeased frown was evident on her expressions as she glared menacingly at the hanyou. "You left the papers unsigned! I told you to sign it before you left. How many times do I have to chase you to get your signature when it would be much simpler for you to just sign it at the office and let me have some time off!" she lectured, shoving a finger here and a finger up there. "I should just resign sometime."
Inuyasha was looking past her however, at Kagome who was sending him a glare, holding the rose to her chest. Really, did that girl want that piece of ugly wolf to court her? Well, at least he isn't setting one paw into Inuyasha's mansion or he'll have the guards shoot him like target practice.
When he finally realized Kikyou in front of him though, Inuyasha smirked and shoved the rose in her free hand. "For you, dearest Kikyou." He could see the dirty glower sent his way from Kagome's direction, and immediately felt conceited again.
However, Kikyou only sighed in irritation and threw the rose over her shoulders, where the bunch of girls almost ran to pick it up, screaming that Inuyasha had thrown it their way. Kikyou didn't spare a glance back at the battle for the rose as she shoved the bundle of papers up to Inuyasha's face with a pen in her other hand. "Sign," she shot out smoothly, her eyes shining with an apathetic gleam.
The hanyou sighed and grabbed the pen, messily signing the papers over and over again as Kikyou marched him through them like a military captain. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kagome say something to Kouga before separating from him, going off in some different direction. Should he follow her?
He took one step away before Kikyou side-stepped to block his view.
"Damnit, you still have a few more papers! Hurry! Hop to it!" she snapped, flipping over another paper and pointing angrily at the spot where Inuyasha needed to sign. Inuyasha frowned even more as he almost scrawled his signature, trying to rush through the papers as soon as possible. He couldn't resist narrowing onto his prey…he had to corner Kagome.
"Done!?" he all but yelled as he inked in his signature on the last page. He was about to shove the pen back into Kikyou's hands before she put a hand up to his face, taking out another bundle of papers from underneath the first.
"Nope, you still have another pile. So get to it!"
Inuyasha growled as he started scrawling his name all over the paper again, watching as Kagome looked around, as if lost as to where to go. He gazed at her as she started walking down a corridor that led to the bedrooms. Where was that girl going?
~*~
She blinked as she made her way down the deserted corridor. So the butler had told her to make a right turn at the third door to get to the nearest empty bathroom, but was this part of the mansion supposed to be off limits? It was because the lights were much dimmer and the hallways just seemed so much quieter. Perhaps she had turned at the wrong intersection.
"Ah damnit," she muttered quietly and was about to turn around and start walking back the way she had came, but voices stopped her in her footsteps.
Frowning, she looked back up the corridor and could see light coming from a door opened slightly. Muffled voices could be heard coming from it, and she blinked even more owlishly. Who would be talking in a room this deep in the mansion…? she thought as she took silent steps towards the room, her senses alert to any disturbance. However, she felt as if they were dulled, although she ignored it. Perhaps she was just sleepy.
As she got closer, the voices could be heard more distinctly and sharply.
"And how long will this money last before you try to open your mouth again?"
"Perhaps another three years? I wouldn't know, now would I?"
She frowned, her heart thumping as she heard those words and put her eyes to the crack in the doorway. She could see nothing from that angle, but didn't dare push open the door to see more. So all she could do was listen intently to the conversation.
"So you sure no one will know we're here?"
"I put a charm over this area of the mansion. No youkai will be able to sense or smell us. All of our senses are useless here."
"Good. Wouldn't want anyone to know about your little secret, right?"
There was a jeer in the person's voice as it hissed, "Unless someone told."
"Now why would I do that? I'm getting paid rather handsomely, aren't I?"
Kagome could distinctly pick out the difference between the two voices now. One seemed rather rough and violent, while the other was simply smooth and concealed danger. She didn't like where their talk was getting to…especially with 'secret' 'money' and 'wouldn't want anyone to know' in the same sentence. This came purely out of those cliché movies. But then again, she was at a party where it was all about the actors and actresses…
"Because really, you poisoned her."
"How would I know that liquid in the fucking medicine container wasn't medicine? I don't even fucking know why poison was in there."
"Fact remains, you killed her cleanly. If I hadn't been there to hear the final words, it would have been a spotless murder. It looked innocent too."
Kagome had heard quite enough. She wasn't sure who the two in there was, or who one of them had killed, but staying around any longer could result in another woman getting murdered. Frankly, she felt a little young to die, and perhaps the two were just rehearsing some script for a new movie?
Yea, right.
Moving away from the door, she held her breath out of reflex and began sneaking up the corridor again, hoping she didn't have a momentary clumsy attack and trip over nothing. She breathed when she reached the end of the corridor, turning her head around to see the thin streak of light a good distance away now. If her luck held, she would make a clean getaway.
Luck was being mean.
Crashing into something when she wasn't looking in front of her, a cry instantly escaped from her mouth as she felt strong hands grab her arms. Squealing and feeling as if her heart would burst from terror, she shut her eyes tight and shot out, "Don't kill me, please!!"
"What the hell? I wouldn't kill you, wench. That's no fun."
She opened her eyes, and saw amused golden eyes. She realized it was Inuyasha and relaxed slightly in his hold, before snapping her head back worryingly at the door, seeing the streak of light growing bigger, indicating that someone was opening the door. Her heart seemed to start beating itself out of her chest as she shook Inuyasha's hold from her and grabbed his hand, her eyes wide as she began to pull him back towards the main ballroom.
"Yea yea, whatever, kill me another day. Let's go!" she shrieked almost hysterically, seeing a pair of dark eyes poke out of the doorway and narrow at her instantly, the beady gaze chilling her to the core of her being. He saw her. This wasn't good.
"Calm down, stupid," Inuyasha shot as she dragged him down the corridor, her grip somehow amazingly tight. "By the way you're holding my hand, it would seem like you actually have something for me."
She could hear the teasing tone in the hanyou's voice, but frankly, she didn't give a damn. Shooting a dark glare over at him, she could still hear her heart thumping wildly, not settling, as they made their way towards the light again. It was pretty quick and only took a few minutes at her pace, as they arrived at the ballroom, where everyone was dancing. Her breathing was ragged---desperate---as she looked around for a glass of…anything.
Seeing a butler wander around with a single glass of something, she grabbed it as he walked by and downed it, ignoring how gross he tasted. Inuyasha had opened his mouth, but closed it as he watched her silently. When she had finished, she moved the glass away from her lips and continued trying to calm her nerves.
"Are you okay, girl?"
Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, a bit amused because she had detected something akin to concern. However, the question was if she was okay or not? Hell no, she wasn't okay. She had just heard some people talking about how one of them had killed someone! That was not okay!
"Yes…I'm okay…" Way to lie! Was she scared or something? Was she scared that the evil man with evil eyes would come for her if she told Inuyasha?
Inuyasha however, looked absolutely delighted as he pointed at the empty glass in her hands, a twinkling in his eyes.
"Well I certainly hope so. You just downed a straight shot of vodka after all."
Author's Notes: Well yup, there you go. This is the insane chapter written by a girl having drunk three cans of pepsi in four hours, trying to kill her writer's block and writer a decent chapter. As you can tell, pepsi does strange things to the mind...especially at 4am. At this hour, I'm even scared of the noises my toilet makes. Don't ask. Anyway, you can also tell, the real conflict in this story is surfacing…this is going to be fun for me. ^__^
As You Wish
VIII. See No Evil, Hear No Evil
"What have you been up to since I left, Kagome?" Kouga asked as he guided the lady down the pier, blending in with the other couples around them. Although not holding hands, he had linked his arms with hers and was a grinning and beaming man. "I suppose you have a reason for being at a party like this?"
Kagome smiled a bit at his words. Oh do I ever have a reason… "Why don't you tell me first? I'm sure your story would be much more interesting."
Kouga shrugged and nearing the end of the pier, they stopped to just watch the dark waters over the railings. Kagome let go of his arm and looked down, hearing the waves crash against the pillars holding up the pier. She pondered how deep it was, but decided that it was definitely more than twenty feet by the looks of how far they were from shore. Turning her attention back to her ex, she smiled and waited for his story.
"Well, you know how I always visited my grandpa from my father's side of the family when I was small? Well, turns out the old man had a ridiculous amount of money saved in his bank that he had somehow forgotten. When he croaked, it went to my father. My father used the money to start a small business, and it prospered." Kouga smiled as he looked over at Kagome with his canines sticking out from his lips. Kagome had always loved that small cute aspect of him when they were going out.
Kagome blinked for a few moments before staring at the wolf demon, as if he was one of the world wonders. "Really…?" she managed to say eventually.
"Yup! We're rich now."
A bright smile appeared on the woman's face. "I'm so happy for you!" she cried, and hugged him instantly, cheerful that her friend had managed to achieve his dream of becoming rich. Not many people were that lucky; Exhibit A, Kagome. "You deserve it!"
"I suppose. Now, dad just wants me to find a wife before he dies and follows mom," Kouga said as he shrugged and looked out at the ocean. "He's getting old."
Kagome's delight was abruptly torn away when she heard that. Kouga's father had been so nice to her, and although the two hardly stayed together for two weeks, the man had understood and still treated her the same, even if she had broken his son's heart. The old man just had a charm that drew Kouga's friend to him, and he was dying soon?
"I'll have to see him again before he goes," Kagome whispered and smiled sadly at the wolf demon, looking down at the waves far below. "I missed him all these years anyway."
Kouga chuckled a bit. "Yea, he's missed you too. He asked me what happened to the girl who use to always come over and clean the fridge of oden."
This sent the couple into laughs as they remembered the old times. Kagome felt tired standing and jumped onto the railing, sitting on the wooden contraption while Kouga shot out a hand to steady her. This made Kagome laugh again as she recalled the one time Kouga and her had tried to jump the fence to his house, where she had got stuck on. Kouga had to hold her steady while she gathered her courage to jump down from the height.
Those seemed like the simple days.
Now she was stuck with an idiot.
This only sent her into a grimace.
~*~
A pair of golden eyes narrowed at the couple from behind a lamp fixed on the pier, his golden eyes flashing abnormally brightly in the night. Girls walking past were staring at him, wondering if the hunk without a shirt on was indeed Inuyasha.
"No, I'm his stunt double to deceive foolish women like you," he had snapped impatiently when a girl went up to him and actually asked.
She had sniffed disdainfully and muttered, "You aren't as hot as the real Inuyasha is anyway. You're not as sexy either." Then she and her group of friends had walked back towards the shore, throwing dirty looks at the 'stunt double.'
Inuyasha however, hardly gave a damn as he continued spying on the two, watching them stop at a spot and start talking happily…too happily. How come she never talked like that with him? Okay, so maybe she hated him, but she shouldn't let her emotions get in the way. That was just stupid of her.
He tried to hear what the two were talking about, but even with his hearing, the waves and random talking from other people was making it impossible. All he could do was watch as Kagome suddenly threw herself onto the wolf, hugging him as if he was her lifeline, or at least that was what it looked like to him.
A vein appeared on his forehead, as he growled. His slave shouldn't be flinging her body all over other men, unless she had his permission. And the only man she could actually fling herself at was him, so she shouldn't be such a flirt!
"Stupid wolf," Inuyasha snarled as he diverted his gaze to Kouga who was looking serious as he told Kagome something. Inuyasha could make out a pitying look from the girl and that immediately sent some waves throughout his body, seemingly coming from his heart. Okay, what the hell were these emotions?
"Jealous?" a voice asked smoothly, and this caused Inuyasha to twirl around and see a smug Miroku, making a grab for a passing girl's ass. She only giggled and playfully slapped his hand away, before walking away. This made Miroku sigh happily.
"Jealous? Me? Why would I be jealous?" Inuyasha scoffed, folding his arms across his chest stubbornly and turning a nose up.
"Because it seems some old love dies hard," Miroku mumbled, his attention being driven away by a girl with a big bust and a skimpy bikini walking by. After she was gone however, Miroku coughed and looked coolly at the hanyou with a raised eyebrow, which implied a lot. "Don't you think Kouga and Kagome still have some things?"
"Uhh…no."
Miroku sighed dramatically. "She may have said they had a relationship in high school, but by the way she blushes and smiles around him, wouldn't that indicate some hidden meaning?" Miroku motioned over to the couple down the pier, as Kouga had his hands on the girl's waist as she sat down on the railing. "See what I mean? She looks like she's still in love with him."
"Get real," Inuyasha retorted sharply, although he was staring like a hawk at the pair. "They're just friends."
"With benefits," Miroku added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and a smirk on his face. "Those are the best," he sighed again, winking at a passing group of girls who squealed and started blushing.
A little part of Inuyasha began believing Miroku as he watched Kagome giggle and kick her legs under her pink dress. Why was that stupid girl sitting on the railing in a dress? Miroku couldn't be correct, right? She couldn't like that…that…wimpy piece of wolf, right? "Keh, it still doesn't give me any reasons to be jealous."
"You like her."
It had been said so simply from Miroku, Inuyasha nearly sputtered indignantly. How could that pervert accuse him of liking that girl? She was not in the least pretty, and definitely couldn't compare to some of the girls he could get. And most of her, he would not be jealous if that wolf still liked someone like her. He might as well take her away, and he wouldn't even look back at her. Well, she could go off with the wolf after her two weeks with him anyway.
"I do not!"
"There's such a thing as being in denial. Who wouldn't like Kagome? There were many admirers in college," Miroku replied without hesitation, saying his words effortlessly, as if he was born to tell Inuyasha these words. "Trust me, something draws men to her. Kouga doesn't look any different. I heard he's looking for a wife as well."
"Do I look like I really give a damn?" Inuyasha snapped in irritation, still narrowing his eyes dangerously at Kagome, who by now was joined by Kouga on the railing. A strange, new tick had started in the hanyou's eyes.
"In fact, you do look like you give a damn," Miroku said as he turned around to gaze back at the walkway, making sure a certain long-haired female friend of his wasn't catching up on his scent. She was dangerous when she was mad…but that made her irresistibly sexy as well. "Admit it. You're jealous. You like her. You want her."
"Say whatever you want, you perverted bastard, but I am not jealous. I don't like her, and why would I want a woman like her? She doesn't have any curves whatsoever." He huffed crossly and twisted around, walking back to the shore. "And just to prove to you that I'm not jealous or whatever shit you want to spew out of your mouth, I'll leave her alone to get molested."
Miroku chuckled amusedly. "She has more chance of being molested by you than by Kouga." The comment got Miroku a dark glare, courtesy of the hanyou, as Inuyasha walked back in a carefree manner, his hands supporting the back of his head.
The other man watched the hanyou with a blank expression on his face, before Inuyasha disappeared into the crowd. Once he was gone, Miroku chuckled even louder as he grinned widely. It certainly looked like his plans to get Inuyasha and Kagome together were going along great. The hanyou was appropriately jealous, just the way he had heard the girls say when he had been standing outside their door, eavesdropping.
"Now with just a few more 'accidents,' those two can get together like the happy, obstinate couple they should be."
~*~
He reclined back upon the sunbathing chair, even if there wasn't any sun out at night. He had put his sunglasses over his eyes so that others wouldn't have to see his deadly gaze pinpointed at a couple walking back from the pier. The pineapple smoothie was being sucked up like it was going up a vacuum, and one clawed hand was tapping impatiently against the metal of the sunbathing chair.
But was he jealous? Oh no, of course not. He was just annoyed that the girl was flirting with someone she shouldn't be flirting with. Why shouldn't she be flirting with that wimpy wolf? Simple; that wolf was not good news.
Miroku was wrong. It did not bother a bit that her childhood sweetheart had returned, or that she seemed to still have feelings for him. Inuyasha didn't even care that they had linked arms and she was laughing happily, as he could tell even from that distance. Inuyasha never got jealous; people got jealous of Inuyasha, but he just never got jealous of anyone else…especially not some strange wolf idiot.
He slammed his empty glass of pineapple smoothie down on the glass stand next to him, and yelled, "Hey butler, I want a damn strawberry smoothie now!" He snorted as he watched the butler scramble to give him his smoothie, while Kagome and Kouga left the pier and was walking towards him, or at least in his direction.
Inuyasha wondered if she even saw him, but by the looks of their talking and laughing, she could have been blind and deaf to a sudden bomb hitting the pier and blowing it to smithereens. This got him annoyed, just because she was his slave and should be tending to his needs, and not some wolf's.
"Hey bitch," he shot out when she was near enough to hear him, and several women around him had turned around with appalled looks on their faces, wondering if he was talking to them. However, Inuyasha was only glaring at Kagome, who looked surprised a bit before turning her head to look at Inuyasha.
Her happy smile was instantly off as she lifted a dull eyebrow and replied, "What do you want," in a flat voice. This only infuriated him more.
He picked up the glass of strawberry smoothie and poured it into the sand, reminding himself that this was almost awfully like the other time when he had done the same with the lemonade. The reaction from her however, was only the same, dry stare. "It seems my smoothie has been dropped. I want more…specifically delivered by you.'
This caused some hint of anger to appear in her sapphire eyes as a frown graced her face. "Excuse me, but that's what butlers are for. I might be…in your service…" she hissed, before continuing, "but it doesn't give you the right to exploit me in any unfair manner. And haven't we been through this? You dropped it, so why don't you get it yourself. This could get old and ugly again."
Kouga was watching this exchange with an interested look on his face, although his wasn't the only one as several other people were gazing as well. Sango had stomped over at just the right time, having failed to find the pervert (yet), and was watching the argument blandly. Here we go again.
"Slaves are used to take advantage of…not waste. And we have been through it, so you might as well give up and get me that smoothie." He didn't know why, but now he noticed that every time he argued with her, it would send an adrenaline rush through his body. Was that normal?
There was a collective gasp from a few in the crowd at the word, 'slave', and Kagome went red. "You were the one who told me to say you were my friend. Hypocrite!"
"I didn't say I couldn't say you were my…slave." A smirk was on his face. "Anyway, you should stop flirting with every guy you meet anyway."
"What are you talking about?" Kagome squealed in a high voice, the red in her face only getting brighter. "I'm not flirting with anybody!"
Inuyasha shot a deadpan glare over at Kouga, who sent it back when he realized it was directed at him. So this hanyou was the bastard Kagome had been talking about that was mean to her? Anybody mean to Kagome wasn't a friend in his book.
Kagome let out an exasperated sigh when she saw where he was getting at. She had noticed the crowd they were attracting anyway, and just didn't feel like arguing with the idiot. She might as well just give him his damn smoothie and go along her way, avoiding Inuyasha like the plague.
Stomping over to a butler, she grabbed a cup of smoothie and went over to Inuyasha with a huge glower. Slamming the cup down on the glass table, she was about to turn around and go on with Kouga, before the infuriating hanyou's voice reached her ears again. "You forgot the umbrella, dear. I don't drink smoothies without a little umbrella."
All she could do to keep her temper in check was take in a deep breath, walk over to the butler again, grab one of those cheap umbrellas, and then stomp over and plop it in the smoothie. There was a grin on Inuyasha's face as he took the cup and smirked nastily over at her, without even a 'thank you' as he put his sunglasses over his eyes again and sipped the juice.
Kagome could feel her hands curl themselves into a fist as she went back over to Kouga, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the mansion. She said loudly, just enough so that Inuyasha could hear, "Let's dance!"
This caused Inuyasha to stop sipping on his smoothie for a single second, before the loud slurping began again. This prompted Sango to roll her eyes and turn around, her eyes instantly zeroing in on a certain Miroku-look-a-like trying to sneak into the mansion. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. She had caught the little worm…now all she had to do was trap him.
But really, to be truthful, this was the most interesting high-class party she had ever attended. At this one, it was actually eventful. Perhaps it was because of Kagome? It would remain unknown…
~*~
"Keep the people entertained for fifteen minutes. We need to have a little talk about my money problems."
"What the hell? I thought you already took your fucking two hundred and fifty thousand dollars three years ago."
"Let's just say, I spent it all. It's time to renew our contract."
"I already fucking paid you the amount to keep your damn mouth shut. I'm not paying anymore…especially only after three years."
"Then wouldn't it be an interesting topic if every single news company in Tokyo suddenly found out the truth…? I mean, that would be just horrible."
"…You bastard. What does it take to keep your mouth shut for once."
"Another two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
"I'm starting to think I never did it."
"Oh trust me, you did."
~*~
"Kikyou?" she said out loud as she spied a familiar face in the crowd. Jumping up and down to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her, Kagome saw the customary cold expression on the woman's face as she turned around, hearing her name, and spotted Kagome.
She walked over, Kagome seeing that she was still in her business suit and holding an armful of papers. She looked slightly tired, but more annoyed if possible.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned, putting down her cup of water and leaving Kouga for a moment as the man was talking to another woman. "Were you invited?"
Kikyou sighed slightly as she shifted the papers to her other arm. "The fool forgot to sign important papers before he left. I reminded him almost every five minutes on the intercom, but he still forgot. So I came to get his signature." She looked down at her bundle of papers and sighed again. "If he wasn't so hot-headed, I could be doing something else right now that's more productive than trying to find him in a swarm of famous stars and wannabes."
Kagome nodded slightly as she listened to the older woman's words. "That's definitely Inuyasha to leave important papers unsigned. But how did you get in here without an invite?"
A cold, icy, and definitely scary glare was thrown her way. "It's easy to manipulate people," Kikyou whispered as she continued on her way, her high-heels clicking in a rhythm against the dance floor.
Kagome grimaced a bit. With that type of cold glare, no wonder the attendant didn't stand a chance at denying the woman entrance. She actually felt kind of bad for Kikyou for having a boss like Inuyasha. Kikyou must do a lot of chasing him around to get him to sign things he always forgot to sign, and frankly, that would take up more time than what Kagome would prefer. Thank god she could just go home and live the normal, non-celebrity life after a while more.
"Hey…Kagome? Do you know what the roses are for?" a confused voice drifted to her ears, and she turned around to see Kouga holding up a long-stem rose and gazing at it almost naively. "The butlers just started handing them out to men out of nowhere."
Kagome looked around and indeed, many of the men were holding identical long-stemmed roses and scratching their heads. She was about to shrug before a voice boomed around the mansion from the speakers built into the walls.
"Hey everybody! First off, Mr. Kitao would like to thank you all for coming to his beach party. Are ya'll having fun? Yea! Anyway, let's play a game, alright? All the men in the mansion and beach should have been handed a long-stemmed rose from one of the many butlers. Yea?" the announcer stated, before continuing in his happy voice. "Alright men, we're going to give you five minutes to find your lady, or the woman of your fancy, and give her the rose! Isn't that a nice way to say you care? Yea! So, on the count of three, are you ready?"
Kagome laughed slightly. This was actually pretty stupid, but at least it sounded fun, or at least the announcer made it sound nice.
"One."
Kagome looked around seeing many of the men already ambling around, trying to find their woman.
"Two."
She saw Kouga smiling at her and she smiled back. Would he give it to her? Would that indicate he still had a slight crush on her…after all these years?
"Three!"
"You know I would have only given it to you out of all these females here," Kouga said and handed Kagome the rose, his smile turning into a smirk. "I know you don't have any more romantic interest in me, but hereby, if you take this rose, you're accepting my proclamation that I will court you…again."
"Don't you dare take it."
Kagome whirled her head around to see Inuyasha glaring darkly at them, a few girls flocking around him and his rose, fluttering their long eyelashes at the oblivious hanyou. Kagome's soft smile instantly hardened as she whispered challengingly, "Give me one good reason why not."
Inuyasha scoffed. "Because I said so."
She mimicked the scoff. "Too bad that isn't good enough." Turning around to face Kouga who was still waiting for her to accept the rose, she extended her hands out and took the flower, smiling at him. "I won't guarantee you'll get me though."
"But I'll try anyway," Kouga answered, smirking smugly over at the hanyou.
Kagome could have been unaware of the signals between the males, but Inuyasha understood the challenge clearly. In youkai terms, it was a matter of which male could court the female and get her in the end. Although he didn't technically like Kagome, Inuyasha wasn't about to say no to a challenge from some wimpy wolf like that. He sent a glare right back at Kouga, accepting it.
"Hey! There you are, you idiot. I've been trying to find you!" a disgruntled Kikyou snapped as she pushed some of the crowding girls away from her boss and stopped right in front of Inuyasha's face. A displeased frown was evident on her expressions as she glared menacingly at the hanyou. "You left the papers unsigned! I told you to sign it before you left. How many times do I have to chase you to get your signature when it would be much simpler for you to just sign it at the office and let me have some time off!" she lectured, shoving a finger here and a finger up there. "I should just resign sometime."
Inuyasha was looking past her however, at Kagome who was sending him a glare, holding the rose to her chest. Really, did that girl want that piece of ugly wolf to court her? Well, at least he isn't setting one paw into Inuyasha's mansion or he'll have the guards shoot him like target practice.
When he finally realized Kikyou in front of him though, Inuyasha smirked and shoved the rose in her free hand. "For you, dearest Kikyou." He could see the dirty glower sent his way from Kagome's direction, and immediately felt conceited again.
However, Kikyou only sighed in irritation and threw the rose over her shoulders, where the bunch of girls almost ran to pick it up, screaming that Inuyasha had thrown it their way. Kikyou didn't spare a glance back at the battle for the rose as she shoved the bundle of papers up to Inuyasha's face with a pen in her other hand. "Sign," she shot out smoothly, her eyes shining with an apathetic gleam.
The hanyou sighed and grabbed the pen, messily signing the papers over and over again as Kikyou marched him through them like a military captain. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kagome say something to Kouga before separating from him, going off in some different direction. Should he follow her?
He took one step away before Kikyou side-stepped to block his view.
"Damnit, you still have a few more papers! Hurry! Hop to it!" she snapped, flipping over another paper and pointing angrily at the spot where Inuyasha needed to sign. Inuyasha frowned even more as he almost scrawled his signature, trying to rush through the papers as soon as possible. He couldn't resist narrowing onto his prey…he had to corner Kagome.
"Done!?" he all but yelled as he inked in his signature on the last page. He was about to shove the pen back into Kikyou's hands before she put a hand up to his face, taking out another bundle of papers from underneath the first.
"Nope, you still have another pile. So get to it!"
Inuyasha growled as he started scrawling his name all over the paper again, watching as Kagome looked around, as if lost as to where to go. He gazed at her as she started walking down a corridor that led to the bedrooms. Where was that girl going?
~*~
She blinked as she made her way down the deserted corridor. So the butler had told her to make a right turn at the third door to get to the nearest empty bathroom, but was this part of the mansion supposed to be off limits? It was because the lights were much dimmer and the hallways just seemed so much quieter. Perhaps she had turned at the wrong intersection.
"Ah damnit," she muttered quietly and was about to turn around and start walking back the way she had came, but voices stopped her in her footsteps.
Frowning, she looked back up the corridor and could see light coming from a door opened slightly. Muffled voices could be heard coming from it, and she blinked even more owlishly. Who would be talking in a room this deep in the mansion…? she thought as she took silent steps towards the room, her senses alert to any disturbance. However, she felt as if they were dulled, although she ignored it. Perhaps she was just sleepy.
As she got closer, the voices could be heard more distinctly and sharply.
"And how long will this money last before you try to open your mouth again?"
"Perhaps another three years? I wouldn't know, now would I?"
She frowned, her heart thumping as she heard those words and put her eyes to the crack in the doorway. She could see nothing from that angle, but didn't dare push open the door to see more. So all she could do was listen intently to the conversation.
"So you sure no one will know we're here?"
"I put a charm over this area of the mansion. No youkai will be able to sense or smell us. All of our senses are useless here."
"Good. Wouldn't want anyone to know about your little secret, right?"
There was a jeer in the person's voice as it hissed, "Unless someone told."
"Now why would I do that? I'm getting paid rather handsomely, aren't I?"
Kagome could distinctly pick out the difference between the two voices now. One seemed rather rough and violent, while the other was simply smooth and concealed danger. She didn't like where their talk was getting to…especially with 'secret' 'money' and 'wouldn't want anyone to know' in the same sentence. This came purely out of those cliché movies. But then again, she was at a party where it was all about the actors and actresses…
"Because really, you poisoned her."
"How would I know that liquid in the fucking medicine container wasn't medicine? I don't even fucking know why poison was in there."
"Fact remains, you killed her cleanly. If I hadn't been there to hear the final words, it would have been a spotless murder. It looked innocent too."
Kagome had heard quite enough. She wasn't sure who the two in there was, or who one of them had killed, but staying around any longer could result in another woman getting murdered. Frankly, she felt a little young to die, and perhaps the two were just rehearsing some script for a new movie?
Yea, right.
Moving away from the door, she held her breath out of reflex and began sneaking up the corridor again, hoping she didn't have a momentary clumsy attack and trip over nothing. She breathed when she reached the end of the corridor, turning her head around to see the thin streak of light a good distance away now. If her luck held, she would make a clean getaway.
Luck was being mean.
Crashing into something when she wasn't looking in front of her, a cry instantly escaped from her mouth as she felt strong hands grab her arms. Squealing and feeling as if her heart would burst from terror, she shut her eyes tight and shot out, "Don't kill me, please!!"
"What the hell? I wouldn't kill you, wench. That's no fun."
She opened her eyes, and saw amused golden eyes. She realized it was Inuyasha and relaxed slightly in his hold, before snapping her head back worryingly at the door, seeing the streak of light growing bigger, indicating that someone was opening the door. Her heart seemed to start beating itself out of her chest as she shook Inuyasha's hold from her and grabbed his hand, her eyes wide as she began to pull him back towards the main ballroom.
"Yea yea, whatever, kill me another day. Let's go!" she shrieked almost hysterically, seeing a pair of dark eyes poke out of the doorway and narrow at her instantly, the beady gaze chilling her to the core of her being. He saw her. This wasn't good.
"Calm down, stupid," Inuyasha shot as she dragged him down the corridor, her grip somehow amazingly tight. "By the way you're holding my hand, it would seem like you actually have something for me."
She could hear the teasing tone in the hanyou's voice, but frankly, she didn't give a damn. Shooting a dark glare over at him, she could still hear her heart thumping wildly, not settling, as they made their way towards the light again. It was pretty quick and only took a few minutes at her pace, as they arrived at the ballroom, where everyone was dancing. Her breathing was ragged---desperate---as she looked around for a glass of…anything.
Seeing a butler wander around with a single glass of something, she grabbed it as he walked by and downed it, ignoring how gross he tasted. Inuyasha had opened his mouth, but closed it as he watched her silently. When she had finished, she moved the glass away from her lips and continued trying to calm her nerves.
"Are you okay, girl?"
Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, a bit amused because she had detected something akin to concern. However, the question was if she was okay or not? Hell no, she wasn't okay. She had just heard some people talking about how one of them had killed someone! That was not okay!
"Yes…I'm okay…" Way to lie! Was she scared or something? Was she scared that the evil man with evil eyes would come for her if she told Inuyasha?
Inuyasha however, looked absolutely delighted as he pointed at the empty glass in her hands, a twinkling in his eyes.
"Well I certainly hope so. You just downed a straight shot of vodka after all."
Author's Notes: Well yup, there you go. This is the insane chapter written by a girl having drunk three cans of pepsi in four hours, trying to kill her writer's block and writer a decent chapter. As you can tell, pepsi does strange things to the mind...especially at 4am. At this hour, I'm even scared of the noises my toilet makes. Don't ask. Anyway, you can also tell, the real conflict in this story is surfacing…this is going to be fun for me. ^__^