Disclaimer: Do I really have to keep putting this here? * sigh * see Chapter 1
A/N: * gapes * I can't believe that I have over a100 reviews! That's an all time record for me! You guys are awesome!!!!! Anyway, as you have no doubt noticed, I'm back, so that means more updates…and the better news? I'm pretty much done writing the next chapter too, so I'll be able to update frequently! Yeah! To anyone who wants to know, I had an amazing time in BC but it's nice to be back with a computer in the vicinity ^__^ As for the story, this chapter is meant to help along Kagome and Inuyasha's romance, as well as an appearance by Fluffy to maybe help answer a few of the more confusing questions. Don't worry though, Miroku and Sango are the stars of the next chapter!
A big thanks to drake220, Kitsune Shippo, Drisowen, Lunar Kitty, AyumiH, CurlsofSerenity, Kawaii-Inu, hAdOwCat, Fuzzy Lil Bella-Chan, sailor-scribe, shadowandhawk, sashlea, Anime Gurl16, Lunatic Pandora1, HMPrune, wolfite, shadow, Tsuki Karasu, LSR-7, Hekiru Kamanachi, chinita, shadowspinner1, squeakyinuears, LittleHobbit13, Jadegoddess, shorty40, Dragon of Sesshomaru, NekoKaji, shatteredjade, ZoidsProfessorZP, Favian, FlamingToad and Crystal jade2 for your inspiring reviews and the time you've taken to read the story and respond. I never imagined that my story would have gotten so much attention when I first posted it ^__^ Thanks so much guys! Now onto the story…
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Chapter 7: A Long Overdue Visit~^~^~^~
"What's this for?"
"Ack! Don't touch that! It's very sensitive equipment!"
Kagome grabbed the machine out of clawed hands as quickly as she could, and put it gently and safely down on the counter.
"Can't you keep your hands to yourself for five minutes?" She demanded, exasperated at her patient's obvious lack of respect for other people's things. She bet that he used to be the kid who used to steal other kid's toy trucks and get away with it too. Just the kind of kid she used to avoid.
Inuyasha crossed his arms, leaned against the stainless table and tried to ignore the glare he was getting from the veterinarian. He had discovered over the last few hours since Miroku had unceremoniously dumped him off that being a veterinarian was boring. More than boring, in fact. Utterly, completely, mind-blowingly, tediously, boring.
"Well you didn't tell me not to touch it."
"I shouldn't have to tell you! You should be able to stay in the corner like a good little half-demon and be patient. And God knows you need a lesson or two in patience."
The half-demon merely growled—but whether it was in anger at being told off, or just plain sulking, Kagome couldn't quite tell. She had to admit though that if she were in his position, she would no doubt be going crazy from boredom. After all, she had restricted him to nine specific tiles in the farthest corner from all that was remotely costly in the room.
Sighing, Kagome put her treasured clipboard down and walked up to the hanyou, steeling herself for an outburst of some sort.
So what a surprise it was when she found herself gazing up into two eyes that neither conveyed pouting nor peevishness. Rather, a strange kind of sadness tinged that fiery gold, and Kagome had to stop herself from reaching out to him. How could the thick-headed idiot make her feel like…like this? It was enough to make her hit her head against a wall for hours on end until his image was slammed away into oblivion.
"Look, Inuyasha, I know you're bored and since I'm behind in this list, I won't be able to have a break any time soon. So if you're up to it, I need someone to take care of all my overnight patients in the backroom. What do you say?"
He shrugged, keeping his eyes trained on the tiles under his feet. "Feh."
Kagome clenched her hands into fists, trying hard to throttle him. " 'Feh' is not going to cut it! So unless you want to stand in that corner all day, I suggest you give me a clear yes or no answer."
The tone of her voice was enough to bring his chin up so he could look at the black-haired veterinarian that was making him feel so strange. She was staring at him, hands on hips, and trying to convey a message of stubbornness. An image he knew was not false in the least. His time in the corner had shown to him her ways with the world—specifically the animal world—and never before had he seen such a passion for being bull-headed. The hanyou suspected that she'd be able to keep a patient alive just by constantly badgering it to keep that heart beating for "just a few more minutes".
"Sure."
If there was something that could make this world just that much more promising, it was the bright smile that painted her lovely face—even if it was a smile of relief. She changes when she smiles, Inuyasha observed as she led him through the door and into the back rooms. Her eyes lost that edge to them—in fact, her whole face softened. The hanyou found himself straining to keep from running a finger down that suddenly open, warm face.
'But…but she's human!' A little voice somewhere inside seemed to scream, but for the time being, Inuyasha decided to ignore it. Hell, he hadn't met a girl that interested him so in, well, quite a few years. In fact, now that he thought of it, he couldn't remember a time when his stomach twisted the way it did when she breached the personal space barrier he had erected.
"See each board here? It instructs you on what to feed the patients, and how much. The bins over there are all labelled and each one has a measuring cup, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to figure this out. A warning though, some of these dogs have gone through some lengthy surgery, and they may not be too happy with you sticking your hands into their cages, so just watch out. You're in luck though, all my cat patients have been sent home. They're usually a little more vicious."
Kagome watched Inuyasha nod slowly, as if he were absorbing each word as she said it. Confused by this sudden shift in mood, the veterinarian handed him another white lab coat hanging on the wall.
"Here, this is to keep your clothes clean. But I think you got lucky, because Kaede seems to have cleaned all their cages." Kagome pointed to the door, continuing to talk even though she suspected the hanyou was hardly listening. "I'll be in the exam room if you need me, and Kaede is usually at the front desk. Have fun."
Kagome waited a second, two seconds for a reaction—any reaction—from the suddenly subdued hanyou. But nothing seemed to happen, except that he began to put on his lab coat slowly, not even glancing in her direction.
Utterly confused, Kagome could only shrug it off as some strange mood swing he was going through. Her patient list was still booked solid though, and the waiting room had only begun to even out a bit. It was time to get back to work and get her mind onto more important things than hanyous with silver hair.
"Uh…I'll see you soon then."
But Inuyasha didn't respond to that either. Instead, he waited until she had left the room before he let out the pent up breath in his lungs. Without Kagome here, he found his mind cleared a little, and it became easier to concentrate. He was going to have to figure something out for that little problem before he was driven to complete distraction. Shaking his head, he quickly buttoned up the coat, and finally took a good long look at the room.
Dogs of all shapes and sizes were housed in cages that varied just as much as the animals did. Surprisingly, none of them were barking. They simply stared up at him with big eyes, as if anticipating a sudden outburst of rage.
"Stop looking so worried. I'm only here to feed you," Inuyasha explained. He knew how mortal animals felt around demons, especially the domesticated animals—the ones who had developed a different kind of intelligence than that of their companions running wild in the mountains. Demons had no need for these animals, and the animals knew it.
It was a rocky relationship to say the least.
Despite the demon blood that ran in his veins, Inuyasha could not help but pity them in their cages, cramped to such small spaces. Risk of injury or not, they deserved to have some time to stretch their legs.
He almost grinned as an idea popped into his head but caught the emotional spurt before it was too late. Kagome had never said anything about letting the poor dogs out of the cages, had she? No, he didn't think she had.
And that one mistake would be her downfall—and the dogs' gain.
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Well this just about topped her day. She had thought the psycho kitten had done it, or the hamster that went for a trip down the sink drain might have won. But neither of those incidents compared to this.
"Inuyasha, WHAT do you think you are DOING?!"
A guilty looking hanyou met Kagome's blatant glare amid the guilty looks of the seven dogs hanging off of him. Two had already slunk off into their cages, having seen the practically twitching vet enter long before the others.
"They needed something fun to do," Inuyasha mumbled, still clutching one end of a rubber hotdog that was firmly latched in the teeth of a six-month old puppy.
"Fun? FUN?! They're recovering from major surgery, you dolt! Their idea of fun should be sleeping and eating! NOT romping around on the floor!"
Inuyasha barely had time to blink before Kagome was on him, grabbing collars and dragging limp-eared, wide-eyed dogs back into the safety of their cages. The hanyou hung on protectively to the ones left around him, including the one busy chewing on a lock of his silver hair.
"Geez, you're so freaking uptight! They were just stretching their legs."
"Idiot, two of those dogs you're hanging on to are recovering from broken legs! If they stretch them any more they'll be back in that surgery room all over again!" Her voice was reaching pitches she didn't even know existed. But she didn't care. Her patients were in a dangerous situation, and the last thing she needed at the end of the day was nine angry owners dropping lawsuits onto her desk.
The vet's strength surprised even the half-demon as she tugged a lumbering German Shepherd into his cage, despite the fact that his claws dug deep into the floor. And then another surprise when she lifted a Border Collie clear off the floor and deposited him in his cage above the others, barely breaking a sweat. On and on it went, each dog either dragged or lifted back into its confines and Inuyasha watching in a mixture of awe and indignation at the fact a human female was showing him up.
Finally, all that was left was the little puppy clinging desperately to the hotdog, and desperately trying to work the "Bambi eyes" on her.
"Inuyasha, he has to go back to his cage now," Kagome implored using a softer tone than she had before. Seeing Inuyasha so desperate to let the dogs have some fun had melted a little bit of her heart. But there was no way she was about to admit to that. So that left her with playing a hard-hearted veterinarian a little longer.
The hanyou looked at the vet towering over him, then down at the little pup. It didn't take long before he gave into the burning into the back of his skull that no doubt originated from Kagome's narrowed eyes.
"Fine. But I just wanted to give them something to do besides sitting in those damn cages you seem intent on shutting them up in."
The puppy dropped the hotdog as Kagome scooped him up and put him back where he belonged. She ignored the wide brown eyes, but even after seeing hundreds of dogs with that look, she still felt the urge to coddle him senseless.
Kagome liked to call that urge the "Veterinarian Syndrome", or the need to shelter and help all animals in need. And—as she gazed down at a rather sulky hanyou—she realized that was exactly what had kicked in when she had seen the dog-demon on that couch and blood oozing from his shoulder.
'Maybe there's a treatment for it, or something,' Kagome thought, locking the cage doors securely to make sure the dogs didn't take any more opportunities at freedom. 'God knows I need it.'
"Those cages are meant to protect them from hurting themselves even more," She tried to explain but lost all scolding instincts at the strangely pouting image of his face. With a sigh, she let go of the lecture she had planned and opted for a different route. "Look, Inuyasha, I'm sorry I got so angry. It's just that if any of these dogs got hurt here, I'd get blamed. And I don't need any more problems in my life right now."
There was something in that sensitively spoken statement that caught his attention and held it. The hanyou was beginning to realize that the veterinarian he had reacted to so strongly that first night was still human underneath her hard, sarcastic exterior.
"What time is it?" Inuyasha asked, deciding a change of subject was needed. He began taking off the coat nonchalantly as if he did it everyday.
"Well that's why I came to get you in the first place. It's dinnertime."
Kagome waited for a burst of excitement—after all demon-blooded creatures were known for their voracious appetites. But when nothing came out, she arched a brow. "Aren't you hungry?"
If there was ever a perfect picture of an uneasy and embarrassed hanyou, Kagome suspected it would look a lot like the image of Inuyasha she was observing now. She half-expected him drag his toe along the floor and say "Aw shucks".
"Yeah."
"Then what's your problem? My last patient just went home, Kaede left already, and the clinic's shut down. All I need to do is grab my stuff, and we can go. Shouldn't you be rejoicing at the idea of food?"
"You mean I'm coming with you?"
"Of course, idiot. What else would I do with you?"
His gaze that took in the entire room suddenly clued her in, and Kagome felt as though a light bulb had been switched on in her numbed brain. She nearly laughed out loud, but caught herself to keep from making this situation even more embarrassing for the hanyou. There would be plenty of other times to get him back for being such a jerk—times when she wasn't dead on her feet.
"You thought I was going to leave you here?" The vet asked, apparently a little too incredulously when his perturbed face turned into a scowl.
"Hey, it's not that stupid of a question!" Inuyasha shot back. "After all, I was labelled an 'overnight patient'."
Kagome rolled her eyes as she gestured for him to follow. They emerged in a quiet, darkened lobby lit only by the streetlamps outside. "Here's an important life lesson for you: when Miroku says something, don't listen to him."
Inuyasha smirked at that comment, even though he was still feeling rather embarrassed by the whole damn thing. Of course she wouldn't have left him here! She seemed too nice for that. And besides, he wouldn't have agreed to staying in the clinic anyway.
"Think of it this way, you're my first overnight patient who will spend his night eating pizza and sleeping on my pullout couch. Sound good?"
She noticed his ears perked up at the mention of pizza, and she smiled to herself. Demon blood or no, all men were happy with three things in their life: food, couch, and television in sight.
"Feh. I guess I can deal with that." Inuyasha shrugged, trying to appear as off-handed as he could about it. He thought it was a good cover for the strange lightness that buoyed his heart.
Kagome smiled—a weary smile, but a smile none-the-less. "Alright then. Now help me with my stuff, and we'll go pick up the pizzas I already ordered."
Even as box after box was piled into his arms, Inuyasha couldn't but help feeling happier than he had since the first assassin had run into him in that dark alleyway. The promise of safety, some company, and pizza was enough to warm anyone's heart, even that of a normally indignant hanyou.
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"What do you mean he's gone? How hard is it to dispose of a half-blooded human?"
The man shrugged, trying to hide his trembling hands in his pockets. "All we know is that Ms. Taijiya made her attempt last night, failed, and disappeared. Now your brother is missing from the apartment. The only person left is that owner and what appears to be an injured cat."
Sesshomaru kept his eyes on the vista through the window, refusing to turn around and acknowledge the man's presence with his eyes. His hands were clenched on his front, and it was all he could do from breaking a finger or two.
"Try to track him down, and get the Taijiya Corporation on line one. I need to have a talk with her father."
He could hear the man's footsteps stumble quickly out of the room, and finally let out the frustrated sigh that he had pent up for so long. The youkai brought his sharp claws into his line of view, examining the gleaming tips that would easily slice through clothing and skin. What was Inuyasha doing right to escape perhaps one of the most reputable fighters in Japan?
Or more correctly, where was he—the mighty business tycoon of the entire Japanese hotel industry—going wrong?
No, it couldn't possibly be his fault! That Taijiya woman's reputation must have padded, stuffed with various stories that excluded the real heroes. It happened all the time in this world, and the true warriors were forgotten amidst media-frenzied stories on a dog that saved a drowning child.
The winter light frosted his silver hair, making it appear as though it had iced over, but he took no notice of the weather outside as he strode to his desk.
A thick white envelope lay where he had left it, the contents spilled out across the desktop, marring the usual neat and perfectionist quality that was attributed to his office. The seal of his father was printed at the top of certain papers, a seal he had not seen in decades.
Not that they were overdue letters from father to son. Oh no, they were the last will and testament of the great Inutaisho, the founder of Rising Sun Hotels, a small business that had eventually dominated not only Tokyo, but the entire country of Japan with far-flung resorts found on all islands, and in all locations. He had also established a minor cruise line that journeyed to the Philippines and occasionally India, boasting some of the top names in the world on their visitor's list.
He had also been the father of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, although that aspect was forgotten more often than not.
Inutaisho had left his youkai son in charge of the hotels in Tokyo while he and that half-breed of another son had worked on the cruise line, and the other hotels that were too far out of reach to deal with by phone.
And now the great man, the true tycoon of the hotel industry, had finally passed away at the good old age of two hundred and two, and had left a long and complicated will dividing his estates and businesses among his children and his peers.
It didn't matter that the house on the coast was being given to a historical society, or that half of his library was going to the library in the downtown core. Sesshomaru was not offended when Inuyasha inherited his father's antique sword collection, or that his father wished to be buried next to his second, human wife.
What had started the rage was the statement declaring Sesshomaru and Inuyasha equal partners in Rising Sun Hotels, something that the youkai had a hard time grasping. His half-breed brother had never worked a day of his life for the family business nor had he ever donated a minute of his time to even suggesting helping out.
The business had been entirely Sesshomaru's, and that was the way they had both wanted it.
But now Inutaisho's will declared that both must sign the contract within two month's time of hearing the proposition, or they would lose all inheritance and position within his company.
Of course, Sesshomaru had taken the time to read the small print—proving he was much more intelligent than his brother—for he found out if one was incapable of entering the agreement, then the other inherited the entire business.
Well, his mind had been made up then and there.
But so far he had been unable to obtain the legal death certificate, which would erase Inuyasha from claiming the one thing Sesshomaru had held in high regard all his life. The bloody hanyou didn't deserve half of what his father had left him, but the youkai would have been happy giving him anything.
Anything except Rising Sun Hotels.
A red light flashed suddenly on the telephone, among the bright white sheets of paper, and Sesshomaru realized he had not yet made up his mind about what to do with the Taijiya woman.
If there was one thing he had learned, it was to keep distance between youkai and the youkai hunters. Since he had breached that lesson, there was no way in hell he was going to make another mistake by killing off the daughter of the most reputable hunter there was.
Yet he knew she could still be an asset. She seemed as though she was someone who needed to finish what they had started, and—if Sesshomaru was right—she would be back before long.
And when she came back, he would be ready, for he had a feeling that she would be able lead them to Inuyasha's friend, and then lead onwards to the troublesome hanyou himself. After all, he had caught a glimpse of the inside of Mr. Houshi's apartment due to well developed cameras, and noticed the demon cat—which usually accompanied Ms. Taijiya—curled on the couch, with no huntress in sight.
Oh yes, she would be back.
The light flashed impatiently, and Sesshomaru leaned over to grasp the cold receiver in his hand.
"Mr. Taijiya? We need to discuss your daughter's assignment…"
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Chapter 8 is just around the corner!By the way, if you have any questions, comments, or just feel like writing an email, feel free to drop by at: sail_the_seas@hotmail.com