An alternate fanwork by Wolfye Productions.
Thank you once again for all those who took their time to review my story. I really appreciate hearing if people enjoy my writings, and it does push me to try to come up with something good to keep you on your toes.
This particular chapter is basically filler material, giving you some insight on what their estate is like, and also some background information.
I don't own any of the characters that you're familiar with, but the ones you don't know are mine (wahaha...). Thanks for reading!
Part 03:
Kagome pulled her luxury sedan up to the front gates of Sesshoumaru's extensive property, her jaw agape at the sheer size of it. Sesshoumaru watched her, slightly amused at her reaction, idly wondering if she was going to start drooling if she didn't shut her mouth soon.
"You actually live here?" she asked, her voice full of wonder and awe, as her eyes attempted to take in everything. Of course, they were merely at the front of the property, and he knew that despite what she could see now, it wasn't really even a fraction of his entire estate.
"Yes," he simply replied.
Next to the large wrought iron gates was a large kiosk, and an armed guard stepped forth from within the structure. The guard walked the short distance to the car and bent down to look inside. He immediately bowed his head in deference upon seeing Sesshoumaru.
"Good morning, Sir," the man said.
Sesshoumaru simply inclined his head slightly, not bothering to reply back. The guard stood back up and motioned to someone inside the kiosk. The gates immediately opened, and Kagome drove through and into the estate grounds.
They travelled at a moderate pace down the long driveway, Kagome continuously glancing left and right at the spectacular scenery passing them by. Frequently she would express her appreciation as she looked around, and his chest puffed up proudly at each of her comments. His angel approved.
It truly was a beautiful sight to behold, he had to admit. On either side of the incredibly long driveway stood identical rows of stately sakura trees, the pink and white blossoms in full bloom above them. Flanking their opposite sides were finely manicured lawns, stretching as far as the eye could see. The vivid greens were randomly interspersed with gently sloping hills, small and large volcanic boulders, and small tributaries that ran off a much larger creek located in the middle of the property. Well-cared-for roads branched out from the main one, seemingly going nowhere across the huge expanse of land.
The main driveway stretched for approximately half of a mile from the front gates when it finally reached the base of a much larger slope than the others scattered across the estate grounds, and the road turned up to gently climb the front of it.
"You guys sure make a lot acting," Kagome said softly, glancing over at him, her eyes wide.
Sesshoumaru chuckled at her statement; obviously, she'd never read any business periodicals. "Actually," he said, "InuYasha and I do not make anything through acting."
Disbelief and confusion clouded her vision and creased her brow. "You're kidding," she breathed, "Then how..." Her voice faded, but her question was clear.
Sesshoumaru turned his attention back to the road ahead. They were almost to the main house.
"Our father owned several large and highly profitable investment firms, located both here in Japan and abroad. I now own them, and InuYasha holds stock in all of them," he explained, noticing with his acute peripheral vision that her eyes widened even further, if that was at all possible. Apparently it was.
"Several?" she asked.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "As of this moment, I own a total of twenty-six firms located in over fifteen different countries. My company is currently in the process of acquiring another."
He turned his head back to her, studying her pristine features as she concentrated on both the road and his words. A slight frown tugged at her lips, and he could almost hear the question echoing through her mind.
"InuYasha personally funds the television show with his own money," he quietly explained. "We do not divide the show's profits amongst ourselves."
Kagome slowed the car to a gentle stop right before the crest of the hill. He stared at her; obviously she hadn't been aware of any of this, despite the fact that he and his brother were constantly on the cover of various magazines on a quarterly basis. He, himself, was considered to be THE most eligible bachelor in Japan by Beauty Magazine, and as many of his loyal fans loved to protest, the entire world. InuYasha used to be second until he got engaged to Kikyou just this past year. Perhaps his angel didn't like to read magazines, or watch CNN, which would readily explain why she was ignorant of their social status.
"So, why don't you?" she asked, looking at him with a strange look on her face, perhaps disbelieving his words. He knew she was aware of how successful and profitable the show was, so she was probably wondering why they would decline so much money.
"We have no need for it," he stated simply.
Kagome blinked. "Oh," she said, her lush mouth forming the shape of a small "o". Hungered eyes traversed the ridged surface of her lips, a sudden yearning to taste them passing absently through his mind. He noticed a small blush tinting her cheeks and he suddenly realized with a start that he had been staring again. He quickly pulled himself back together mentally, silently cursing himself for the unacceptable lack of control.
With a strength he didn't know he possessed at that moment, he tore his eyes away from her pink-tinged face and focused back on the road outside the window, willing himself to relax. After a few moments, he heard her clear her throat softly, followed by the rustling sound of her clothes. The car soon resumed its path up the hill.
The next few moments in the car was met with a not uncomfortable silence. Sesshoumaru willed himself to not think of anything, especially the vivacious young women seated next to him in the driver's seat. It would not do for him, the wealthiest man in Japan, to be undone by a mere female in front of his servants, no matter who she was.
Her startled gasp brought him sharply out of his train of thoughts. He turned back to her only to find her eyes wide once more, staring awe struck out the front window. Following the path of her gaze, he realized that they had at last reached the main house.
Sesshoumaru quietly smiled in satisfaction; he had been hoping she'd like it. His eyes traced over the finely-detailed lines of his ancestral house. Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly a "house" per se, but that was how he viewed it. In truth, the large building was classified as an extremely large mansion, its living area measured at more than twenty-thousand square feet and four stories high, complete with a bottom cellar located in the bowels of the ancient home.
In front of the house stood a large fountain, partially shaded from the coming midday sun by a few more sakura trees. Wrapping the circumference of the fountain, resting beneath the overhanging boughs of pink and white petals, sat a stone bench atop a soft bed of green, which stretched outwards from the circular fountain to the large paved driveway that surrounded it.
The fountain itself was constructed of the purest white marble, the millions of tiny crystals embedded in the rock catching the rays of the day's shifting sun, creating a shimmering illusion through the trees to the passing car. The actual figure was that of an enormous dog, standing stately atop a cliff's peak, elongated snout poised to the heavens above as if caught in the act of howling. But instead of sound, only a stream of water poured from the mighty throat, arching up and into the larger basin below it. Huge masses of fur surrounding the thick neck, legs and tail fanned out from the enormous frame like giant flames.
Sesshoumaru glanced over at the fountain as they passed. He had spent a great many hours reading by that fountain as a young boy. The figure was actually a three-dimensional representation of their family crest, and it was as old as the family estate itself.
The house had been erected sometime during the fifteenth century, when his ancestors carved out their existence during the days of the samurai, mercilessly raising their status to that of a daimyou. Its outer walls still reflected the original design, with it's curving roofs, sweeping porches and dark wooden posts. But it was not always so large. Through the centuries, countless generations of Inukai's both rebuilt and renovated various sections of the home, especially during the savage feudal era, where once the entire estate had burned down due to war with a rival clan of the East. Now, the structure stood restored, untarnished and expanded upon, a giant compared to the original structure he had seen in various paintings kept in his family's archive. Once, this house had been meager, composed of less than one-thousand square feet. Now, it stood on the family grounds resembling a miniature replica of the great palace of Nagoya.
It had been his own father, Kanemaru Inukai, who had offered the final expansion of the ancestral home to its present size. With the booming economy and his hard-earned businesses, he had leveraged his finances to renovate the ailing structure, restoring it to its former glory, and in the process added on another ten-thousand square feet.
The car finally pulled up to the front of the house, and two of his servants rushed down the front steps to greet them, holding the doors open on either side of the car. He turned to Kagome, whose slack jaw was hanging open slightly. She must not be used to this, he reasoned.
"Kagome," he said, vying for her attention away from his house and servants. He was acknowledged when her head turned to face him, her doey eyes holding a light of fascination in them. He cleared his throat; no need for his mind to go wandering yet again that day.
"Would you care for a tour of my estate?" he asked gently.
Much to his chagrin, the fates intervened. The loud blaring of a cell phone went off, startling the both of them. Kagome gave him a weak smile as she pulled the offending object from her jacket pocket and flipped it open.
"Hello?"
Sesshoumaru sighed, patiently waiting for her to finish her conversation with whomever it was on the other line. Her sudden gasp brought his eyes back to her, as she frantically pulled her sleeve up and looked at the tiny watch on her wrist. She tossed out a few more meaningless words and hung up.
"Uh, Sesshoumaru?" she started, looking a bit sheepishly at him.
He simply nodded to her, silently commanding her to continue.
"I have an appointment with my mom that I totally forgot about this afternoon. Is it okay if I take a raincheck?"
Sesshoumaru tried not to show his disappointment. Yet again, the angel evades his efforts. Instead, he simply nodded again.
"That will be fine," he said, then remembered a forgotten detail of this morning. "When shall I have someone come for you tomorrow evening?"
Kagome stared back at him with a blank look on her face. Apparently she had forgotten.
"The benefit tomorrow," he reminded, hoping to jog her memory.
Remembrance flooded her eyes, and her lips curled into a dazzling smile as she no doubt attempted to hide her momentary lapse of absentmindedness. He knew that she would often relapse; it was just one of the many things about her that he admired, although it did prove quite irritating at times.
"Oh yeah, huh?" she said, absently rubbing the back of her head, a slight blush of embarrassment crowning the tips of her cheeks. She just looked even more divine, he thought, watching the entire process. "Well, I can be ready by seven."
Sesshoumaru nodded his acceptance of her answer, and without another word, he exited the car. Nodding quickly to the two servants, he made his way to the top of the steps, pausing only once to watch her car make the roundabout and disappear beneath the crest. He sighed, thinking about everything that he had yet to do for the benefit the next night. This was going to be a long day.
A/N:
Okay, I know this sucks being so short and all. I wanted to make this chapter a lot longer and more in-depth, but then I had to go and have a brainfart this weekend. Too many things are happening in my personal life, so I thought that I would at least put this up for the time being. I may add to it, then again, maybe I'll just make the addition the next chapter.
Kane tribute, warrior; the doubly-accomplished, golden; man, the eastern sky; beautiful.
Maru doesn't really mean anything; it's just a common male suffix.
Inukai I simply took the word Inuyoukai and shortened it. The reason I did this was to symbolize the legacy of their family name, despite the observation in the story is that there are no actual youkais, and that the guys are just normal humans, albeit with strange physical traits. I wanted to keep some semblance of the anime tied into my story. Besides, I just thought it sounded cute::meep: