A/N: Thanks for all the support from everyone! Wow...I'm so glad that you all love this story as much as I do!
...So, yeah...well, just so you guys know, I had a problem lately with someone assuming that I had stolen this (very generic) story idea from Jazz the Wolf Demon's "Breaking the Rules," though I'd never read her story before. So....if you are ever wondering...Yes, this is my own story, and I would never dream of stealing anyone else's ideas. That's counter-productive to what I want to accomplish as a writer. It's just an unfortunate coincidence that some of our key phrases and basic character ideas are somewhat similar (though are plotlines are very different after the first chapter). Check out her stuff sometime, though. She's a really great writer, and was very sweet about the whole mess!
Well, enough of that! Onto the good stuff....and, as always, don't forget to review!
"A Match Made in Heaven"CHAPTER 4: The Slip
Fridays were becoming a plague. He didn't know about the rest of the inhabitants of his office building, but he would have paid a good part of his paycheck, had he been able to forfeit Fridays as a free day. The feeling that always hung around you, when you sat at your desk trying to focus on letters and figures. It was enough to drive someone mad. So close to the weekend, but yet so far. The bright blue of an afternoon sky in early February would taunt him from the other side of the window.
Inuyasha only contented himself with remembering that once the day was over, he could take a much-needed weekend of rest. He would have plenty to keep his mind occupied....such as his new mystery pen pal. He was ignoring the stench of close-together bodies that the morning elevator ride brought, as a small flicker of a sigh drifted into his features.
She had sounded so down the last time she had wrote him. Over the past few weeks, they had been corresponding nightly, their letters mostly focusing on quirky anecdotes about their days at work, stories about their family and friends. But Inuyasha was looking forward to finding out about her personal life. They had told each other little so far. Perhaps soon he would find out what ailed her.
He had noticed, indirectly through her last letter, that she had come across as more detached then usual. It was normal for the woman to have an air of seriousness and wistfulness to her words, but this time was different then the others. There had been a twinge of hopelessness, confusion. Why was it? He had racked his brain for possible situations, but seeing as how he knew little about her except that she was born in winter and worked in the medical field somewhere in the lower East side of town, he was at a loss. He wanted her to lose that sadness- for her to let herself go, be open, happy and humorous.
More people shuffled onto the elevator. Inuyasha backed closer to the wall. Now, really, this was becoming ridiculous. He cursed under his breath. Only so many bodies could fit into one compartment and still have room enough for the oxygen. He glared, hoping that maybe he could get more personal space this way. But, nobody was paying attention to his discontented face.
And then he saw her. That girl... She was primly wedged between two roly-poly men in cheap suits, her dark hair cascading in waves down her back, her body shaped nicely in her sharp, pin-striped skirt and jacket. His eyes burned into her back, as if willing her to turn around.
It was impossible for them to avoid each other, it seemed. They always arrived and left around the same time. They always used the same door to get to the parking garage. Some days they even parked right next to each other. He wondered why he had never noticed her before. Maybe the fact that she had ran headlong into him at the garage, inducing him to spit insults at her, had made him notice her faster....
They hadn't exchanged words since, though. If they were walking through the lobby at the same time, Kagome would conveniently have to veer off towards the women's restrooms. If they spotted each other in the elevator, he would automatically pretend that she didn't exist. But, now, she couldn't see him, and his mind was racing around in a kind of muddled confusion.
She was so infuriatingly.....different. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around her. No woman had ever treated him the way she had- with such contempt and guile. Though it wasn't exactly reassuring to his ego, it definitely was refreshing. All the women in his offices, in his line of work, never said anything below super-polite, below diplomatic. She was the fire-eyed, uncouth tomboy next to them.
His eyes softened slightly, as he pored them over her body once more. Yes, she might have also been a knockout, without that temper. She was curvy in all the right places, sweet-lipped, with thick lashes and beautiful gray eyes.
She just wasn't as demure as say, his mystery woman that was waiting with a new letter for him to reply to.
The fourteenth floor arrived in no time, as Inuyasha wallowed in his thoughts. The doors slid open, and a couple people in the front began to shuffle for an exit. He realized quickly that he would have to pass by the girl in order to get to his floor. His brain tugged at him for a moment, willing him to actually let her notice him this time. After all, it might be nice to pester her just a little.
He shoved forward, muttering "excuse me" roughly, and out of habit. Purposefully, he jarred her shoulder just a little, bumped her hip noticeably. He felt like snickering, as she made a small noise of indignation. As he exited the elevator, he turned to face her. He was intent on sticking his tongue out at her to up the stakes- really, he was...
But for some reason, all that came out was a devious smile and a wink.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
He had winked at her? Kagome watched him leave through the crack of the closing doors, the expression of quick anger now dissolving into confusion. Their plans to ignore each other seemed to have turned into some kind of game. Maybe she would have to find out why he had suddenly acted so....infuriatingly weird.
She came into the MatchMake offices, like always, a half an hour after Sango the early riser had arrived. Sango was already busy on the phone, using her best sweet-yet-forceful tone to get the editor of the classified section of the paper to allow her more room for an ad. Kagome entered her friend's office, her eyes falling on a new stack of applications that had been sent in. Looked as if there would be enough work to keep her busy, not that she had had a problem with lack of things to work on.
Kagome picked up the new set of applications, and moved out into the main room, where two of the other women that worked with them were settling down to their respective computers. "Here you go, guys- ten more!" With a proud smile, she doled out half to each, and they set to work.
"Kagome!" Sango was calling her from her office, obviously having finished her phone call.
"So, did they give you a larger space?"
"Yes, but only after twenty minutes of begging..."
"You and your feminine wiles..." Kagome winked at Sango.
"Yes, yes, I do what I must." She had swiveled around to face her computer, obviously stuck with a new thought. "I have something to show you."
Kagome raised an eyebrow, leaning on the edge of the desk. "What is it?"
Within a few seconds, Sango had clicked open something, and was sitting back in her chair to admire it. "Come look." Kagome, dumfounded, stepped over to the other side of the desk to look at whatever it was.
It was an image of a woman with long, dark hair, and a saddened smile on her face. Wintry white skin, and soulful eyes. Sango laid her finger on the computer screen. "You know that woman that we ended up matching with our mystery guy? Well, this is her. I just find it really odd...she looks a lot like you."
Kagome gulped. "Well, I don't know...she doesn't look that much like me..." Sango was right, she looked almost exactly like Kagome...it was very odd.
She could hear to incredulity in Sango's voice as she replied. "What are you talking about? Besides the fact that she's a few years older, you two could be twins!"
Kagome studied the picture in front of her, with a tiny bit of regret sprouting in her heart. Why was part of her saying the she wished it were true- that she and this woman were twins? Because then she could speak to the mystery client on her own...and then have one of the only sensible bachelors in town. She tried to ignore the new feeling of envy, as she stepped away from the computer screen.
"I've got some work to do..."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Inuyasha rolled open the file drawer, thumbing quickly through the manila folders until he reach the one marked with an "S" and he deposited the finished spread sheet. His work was finally done. As soon as he packed up, he could leave and go relax at home. He slid the drawer door shut, and rolled back in his chair. He would check his email first. The woman had probably written him back.
His spirits lifting just a bit higher, he began to click through his folders to find the inbox. This is what he had waited for all day- to hear from her again. He pulled open the inbox, and saw, with a slight shock of disappointment, that there was no new letter. That was odd. She had always responded to him within hours. She was probably busy with work, and would write to him that night.
Inuyasha sighed, turning off his computer, clicking his tongue at himself. He was really becoming attached to her, wasn't he?
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Kagome rubbed her eyes furiously, trying desperately to rid them of the dry blurriness. She glanced at the clock, noticing that it was almost ten o'clock already. And she was still at her office, hunched over her computer. The day had brought so many new applicants, bringing new complications in organization, and plenty of phone calls to be made, e-mails to be sent.
She sat back in her desk chair, her limbs feeling drained. She should know better than to push herself this much on a Friday. She could finish this all up on Monday. If she could wait, then the clients could wait as well. Besides, she needed a hot meal and sleep more than anything.
Before she shut down her computer, she moved her mouse to make one last check to her e-mail inbox, making sure she had responded to all the most important messages. Rolling her eyes tiredly over the letters. A name caught her eyes immediately, and she swooped in to read the mail.
It was from Kikyo. The woman that had looked like her...the woman Kagome had wished she could be. Why had she contacted Kagome directly? Was she unhappy with the company?
Her eyebrows drew down low over her eyes as she read the words:
Dear Ms. Higurashi,
I have been a client of your services for a few weeks now, and have been corresponding with a wonderful man over that period. I thank you so much for introducing me to him, as he has been nothing but generous and sweet. That is why I cannot break the news to him.
As I specified in my application, I was in between relationships. Now, I know I can't turn away from my old life. My boyfriend, Onigumo, and I have reconciled our differences, and are now trying to make a life together. He wants me back, and I realize the error of my ways. I can no longer continue writing to the match you made for me- I do not want to lead him on, and he deserves someone who can give him their heart. I am not that person. I would be grateful if you contact him, and let him know of the news.
My sincerest apologies,
Kikyo Matsumori
Kagome felt her jaw go slack, and she felt her eyes were deceiving her. Their perfect match- it had been an instant hit. They had both been intelligent, enjoyed each other. It was the couple she had been rooting for. This man, this mystery man....now she would have to be the one to break the news to him. She, who had found him so fascinating, would be the one to break his heart, and to really convince him how useless dating services were.
She silently cursed Kikyo, though she knew that the circumstances were probably far more complicated than she knew. Unwillingly, Kagome had found herself very attached to a client. And now...she wouldn't be remotely connected to him anymore.
Her forehead creased in thought. She couldn't have believed that she had a chance with him, could she? It was her job to match and to administrate, not to fall in love. But, deep inside, something about him had caused her to entertain the idea. Of a dashing, handsome, masked man. A secret love that only he and her would know. It was crazy, she knew...but the lonely part of her wanted it to be true. To live vicariously through Kikyo. To read his sweet and honest letters, and wish that he was writing to her instead.
How would she tell him? Could she wait the weekend, spare him the news until Monday? Or should she let him and her dreams free now?
Kagome chastised herself as she buried her head in her hands. Come on, Kagome. Get yourself together. You had foolish hopes. This is your business. Write to the man and tell him you're sorry. After all, it wasn't as if she could e-mail him, and say "I'm sorry the girl you were interested in dumped you. You don't know me, but want to get some coffee together?"
She reluctantly pulled up a blank message, and found his address in their database. Her hands hovered hesitantly over the keyboard, twitching, not knowing what to type. To say it cold and professionally? Light and apologetic? She'd never really had to write a letter like this. The younger workers had usually taken those jobs. She had considered this her own special project, though, and she would have to be the one to end it.
Kagome began to type steadily. "Dear client....I am sorry to inform you...." And then she stopped. And erased it swiftly. She paused again.
A new thought had swum into her brain. She gulped deeply, a strange sense of fearful adrenaline and excitement running through her veins. It was dangerous, it was against the rules...it was against her own morals. But she couldn't turn away from the idea.
She looked like Kikyo. She was successful and smart like Kikyo. And they both were anonymous. Kagome could write to him.
And he would not know the difference.
She chewed on her lip nervously, torn between her ideals and her emotions. A battle that she hadn't had to fight in years. And the rational part of her was slowly losing, fading away in the bright shine of an imaginary future with an unnamed man.
I can't get anymore attached to him... her mind screamed. I'll only write to him to spare his feelings, to let him down easily, she convinced herself.
She told herself she would write to him once, and then break it off. After all, that was the only way............
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
A/N: Yeesh. Kagome's getting into some dangerous territory, the crazy woman. Well, stick around to see how Inuyasha reacts....to a non-Kikyo letter. Also...what happens when he and Kagome have their first REAL conversation? Not exactly rainbows and bunnies, I can tell you....but nothing in a Takahashi series ever is!
On a sadder note, Inuyasha the anime ended today in Japan on episode 167. I mourn its loss... : (
P.S. ; P oh yeah, and as a result of a review....i KNOW Inuyasha may continue in anime form....I just don't know when or how...Boy, do I hate ambiguity...
P.P.S. Oh, and did I make it clear that Kagome has absolutely no idea who the man she is talking to is? A review I got made me think maybe I didn't make that clear enough.....so, if I didn't make it clear, let me know, so I can fix it!
REVIEW please!