Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I had writer's block and was really busy, but thank you all so much for your reviews! I'm glad I got mostly positive response. Thanks!
Review Responses:
Addam: Thank you for your review! Adding you guys in the story was no problem, besides, it's a way to thank you! And yes, Jurneyo did tell me that he isn't stalking me. Thanks for your other reviews too, you're right, whoever that reviewer was should wait until the solution!
Inugurl617: Thanks for your review! Since I got two opinions on how Shizuki's and Sesshoumaru's relationship should be, I'll improvise!
Mel: Thank you for your review! Sorry for the cliffy! I couldn't stop myself!
Luckykittykagome: Thank you very much for your review! I enjoyed reading every single word! I am glad to know why exactly you like my story; it's helped me greatly with the planning of future chapters! Thanks again!
Jurneyo: Thanks for your review. Like I said to Addam, it's just a thank you for all that you've done. Lol, I'm glad you like your job! And you're right I did have writer's block, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Izayoi: Thank you for both of your reviews! I enjoyed reading them! Lol, I can't believe Kagome said yes too…hmmmm got to change that later on. Thanks again!
Jason: Thank you for your review and your compliment! And yes I've read Jurneyo's profile and it is funny!
Bridget: Thank you for your review! I love the movie too and also the guy is very very cute! I especially love his hair! You're the first person I've heard who also thinks the guy is hot! My cousins and sister think he's so-so. Have you seen any other Korean dramas? Thanks again!
As I've said before, this is ABSOLUTLEY an Inu/Kag fic. And if you're going to insult me, then try and make your review a little easier to read with correct spelling. Besides, if you are going to quit reading, why did you stick with me until chapter 14 after Kagome got engaged to Kouga? Anyways, you should wait until the resolution before flaming my fic.
Siyuri: Thank you for your all of your reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Tristen: Thank you very much for your review! It made me feel a lot better and you motivated me to update! Thanks again!
Sunrider22: Thank you for your review! I am now always looking forward to reading your reviews! Thank you also for telling me what you think about Sesshoumaru's and Shizuki's relation. I think I'll compromise. It's alright that you don't put me in any alert lists or anything, I completely understand! I'm just happy that you review! Thank you once again!
That's it for the reviews!
Also, I have created a mailing list to whoever wants to know when I update or have new stories who don't have an account with Copy and paste this address and sign up. A link is also in my profile. On with the story!
This chapter is dedicated to Mel, thanks for being a great friend!
Chapter 15
"I-I love you Kouga." Ayame whispered, but Kouga had heard it well enough.
His blue eyes examined her emerald ones, they were filled with honesty and one feeling that made him guilty, love. At first, he had thought it a joke. They were after all the best of friends, and they often played jokes on each other, but this was serious. Kouga finally stuttered out a few words.
"L-look Ayame. I love you too, but in a brother and sister kind of way. I'm honored to have your love, but we can't be together. I love Kagome and nothing's going to change that." His large, rough hands reached over and engulfed her delicate hands. Her emerald eyes were shining and her rosy lips were bit down with her front teeth. It was clear that she was going to cry. Both knew it.
"No, I can't cry in front of Kouga, it'll make things worse." She thought. Taking a deep breath in, she closed her eye lids to try and suppress the tears that were practically begging to be let go. She forced a smile and shook her head. Standing up, she stood in front of Kouga.
"Look, I understand." Her voice quivered. "K-Kouga, I just hope that this won't ruin our friendship and our job together."
She watched him stand up and step closer to her. He took her in his arms and whispered, "It's okay, and we'll always be friends. I'm sorry."
Ayame stepped away from the embrace and walked to the door. She twisted the knob and opened the front door. With one last glance, she stepped out and closed the door gently, walking into the night. With all of her remaining energy, she ran to her car and managed to drive home, back to her apartment.
With a twist of her key, she unlocked the door. The red head tossed her purse and coat on the couch and walked to her room. She collapsed on her queen sized bed with a forest green comforter. Suddenly, all those tears that she had desperately held in at Kouga's house plunged back into her eyes. Right there and then, she let out all of her feelings, like a dam had burst, all the love that would never be returned and the sorrow and fear of being alone for the rest of her life flowed out in a stream. She then thought about the next day when she would arrive at the radio station job that she worked with Kouga. How would Kouga react? What would happen? Eventually, exhaustion took her to a deep sleep.
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Sango groggily opened her eyes. Sitting up and rubbing out all the gunk out of her eyes, she squinted at the alarm clock. 8:40 the clock read in bright red numbers. She stretched out then froze, 8:40??!! Her eyes widened, she was an hour late for work!
She cursed as she ran from room to room getting ready. This was the third time this week. The last two times was because she had overslept from pulling a night shift at another job, exterminating demons that were causing trouble and this time, it was also because of oversleeping. But last night was different; she was on a date with Miroku.
"Miroku's going to die tonight for taking me on a date on a weekday of all days." She grumbled as she slipped on her shoes and headed out the door.
Her grungy car pulled up at the department store entrance. Parking it, she ran as fast as she could in her high heels. She was gasping for breath by the time she arrived in the employees only room. In front of her, sat her manager.
"Oh great." Sango said under her breath. Let's just say that this wasn't the nicest person around.
"Sango! Please sit." Her superior said. Sango nodded and sat down, and couldn't help but feel intimidated. Her manager leaned forwards and just said two words, "You're fired." With that, she stood and walked out the door as if nothing had happened.
Sango buried her head in her hands and thought about the situation. She lost yet another job. Her exterminating job didn't pay enough, well, no pay since she refused to get paid for a job that ran in her family. The rent was due in a couple of days and what was she going to do? The twenty-six year old woman sighed and slowly walked back to her car. Job hunting time.
As she was about to unlock the car, she heard her name being called. Her forehead scrunched up in recognition of the voice, Kikyo?
Dressed in a professional and undoubtedly an expensive suit, Kikyo walked up to Sango and said a friendly hello, after that, she got straight to the point.
"So, I heard you were fired Sango." She said
Sango nodded, not knowing what to say.
"Now that you're jobless, do you think you want to work with me at my boutique?" Sango looked up in surprise and a smile was forming.
"Really Kikyo? You really want me to work with you?"
Kikyo smiled, "Of course! We go back all the way from high school, and I'm not willing to let a friend hang."
Sango grasped Kikyo's hand and jumped up and down, repeating thank yous.
"Come tomorrow dressed like this and we'll get you started. We'll also negotiate your pay." Kikyo said as she glanced at her expensive gold watch. "I have to get going Sango, I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded good-bye and left.
Sango pumped her fist in the air. "Yes!" Tonight, she was going to invite Miroku and Kagome to go out and celebrate. She definitely forgave Miroku and forgot about the threat she made that morning. Starting up her engine, she headed back to her shared apartment.
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Kagome pushed the doors to Shizuki's firm, Suzumi Corp, enjoying the warm heat. It turned out yesterday; she had found out that Shizuki and Sesshoumaru were not real brothers, but foster brothers. Sesshoumaru had been adopted in the family at age 16. Shizuki's mother, a famous film maker, bought the business and split it among her sons. It was a brilliant idea because the two young sons were one of the best businessmen in the world and made a very comfortable living. That really explained their very different looks, last names, and their different race, Seshoumaru was full demon while Shizuki was human.
Kagome cheerily greeted the receptionist and took the elevator to the fiftieth floor. The three planned for Kagome to meet them at the office and all of them would drive up to the building, a soon to be hotel and restaurant. Rin would also be present, but would meet them all at the building, since she still had to help with the American interns.
The doors opened to reveal the hustle and bustle of the office that she saw yesterday. From the elevator, she walked to Shizuki's office. Kagome opened the door to find Shizuki already putting on his jacket.
"Morning In- err Shizuki."
She sighed; she still couldn't forget Inuyasha whenever she saw Shizuki no matter how hard she tried.
He gave her a grin and repeated the greeting as they walked to Sesshoumaru's office so they could leave.
They knocked, Sesshoumaru wasn't the kind of guy who would let you just enter. He opened the door and glanced at Kagome.
"Good, you're wearing a thick coat. The place we're going to is really cold because of the higher altitude." (Remember, it's winter still) He also was wearing a jacket, despite his demon blood.
The trio walked into Sesshoumaru's white Range Rover. The car would be perfect for the icy roads and thick snow that had fallen last night. Besides, the building was in the mountains. Sesshoumaru started the engine and then the heater. A blast of heat warmed Kagome quickly and made her cheeks flush red from the sudden warmth, stinging her. The winter wind was bitter and all three was glad for the shelter of the car. Sesshoumaru backed out and started the two hour road trip.
As the road trip progressed, Kagome suddenly realized that Rin wasn't wearing a think coat this morning and that she would have to face the stinging wind in the mountains. Reaching for her cell phone, she flipped it open, only to find that she had no service. She grumbled about her stupid service and how she would have to change it when she had the time to.
Shizuki looked back, his ears hearing the mumbles from the twenty-six year old. Kagome felt eyes on her and blushed as she saw Shizuki looking at her with a smirk.
That smirk, it was Inuyasha's trademark! Oh, how it looked identical to her Inuyasha. Her eyes lowered as she felt tears rising. Kagome concentrated on her white coat and soon the tears dissipated. She was glad that Shizuki wasn't looking.
The silence hung around them like a thick fog for a few more minutes until Kagome couldn't stand it anymore.
"Shizuki? Want to play the favorites game?" Kagome asked, breaking the deafening silence, knowing that Sesshoumaru would not want to participate while he was concentrating on the drive.
"Sure, there's nothing else to do." Shizuki answered/
"Okay, I'll go first. What's your favorite color?" Kagome asked
"Red. What's yours?" Shizuki asked.
Kagome's breath hitched, maybe playing this game was a bad idea after all. It brought back all the memories that she had with Inuyasha.
"I-I have two, green and blue. W-what's your favorite animal?" She hesitated, as she asked that question. If he answered like Inuyasha, it just had to be him. Her hopes flew sky high.
Shizuki thought for a moment and then said, "I like dogs, they're loyal and friendly." He chuckled, "No offense to you of course Sess."
"None taken." Sesshoumaru said.
Her hope deflated like a balloon. Inuyasha's favorite was a human, of course, she never found out a particular one, as he had mentioned. Dogs were okay in Inuyasha's book of course, he was, after all half dog demon. Surprisingly, after this thought, Kagome didn't feel tears rising to her eyes. She found herself relaxed and was bale to detect a hint of sadness, but she didn't feel like she was going to cry.
"Hmm, I guess I like dogs too, and I'm a cat person." Kagome responded. A yawn found its way out of Kagome's mouth and she found herself to be a little tired. Shizuki noticed this and gently told her to stop playing and take a nap. She nodded and her eyes slowly closed.
Shizuki looked in the rear view mirror to see Kagome's innocent face; he gave a gentle smile and then continued to look out the window at the scenery.
Kagome was soon to be awakened by Shizuki's gentle shaking.
"Kagome, we're here." Her eyes soon opened and looked out. "Come on out, and have a look for yourself."
Kagome stepped out of the car and stretched as she took in her surroundings. They were parked in the parking lot and there was a forest of evergreens to the south and the resort was facing south. It was a pretty big building with five levels and many windows to show how many rooms there were. Kagome glanced at her watch to see that Rin was expected to arrive in half an hour.
"Kagome! Let's go inside before we freeze to death!" Shizuki shouted near the big building. Kagome abruptly noticed the chilly air and ran inside. The two brothers gave her a tour of the building and showed her where they needed her expertise of decoration.
It turned out that the pair had a couple rooms for the workers to stay in, in case they had to work late or just wanted to stay the night. Kagome was surprised that she and Rin had their own room! The two rooms were identical and lavishly furnished. They each had big beds with pillows and comforters. They both had TV's, a large bathroom with shower and a big tub. The floors of the bathroom were marble and very luxurious. The closets were larger than any hotel Kagome had ever been to and no hotel she had been to had their own computer in their room. The plush cream carpet felt soft under her socked feet. She could definitely get used to this. She just had to go home and pack some things to bring up here.
"Like it?" She turned to find Shizuki leaning on her door, smirking at her large eyes.
"There's that smirk again." She thought. She smiled and nodded,
"It doesn't look like a hotel; it's more like an apartment!" Kagome said as she sat on her bed.
"Well, this is the most expensive room we have here, so be glad you're staying here for free and you get paid!" he joked.
From outside, Kagome heard a familiar car honk.
"Come on, Shizuki! Rin's here!" She said as she put her coat and boots on. The pair walked down to greet Rin.
Kagome had been right; Rin was wearing an inappropriate jacket for the winter weather. Sesshoumaru came in behind Shizuki and Kagome.
"Brrr, it's cold out here. Let's go inside." Rin said, as she wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. The rest nodded, but Sesshoumaru stepped in front of her and took off his coat and placed it on her shoulders. The broad shoulders and the length swallowed up Rin, but at least she was warm.
Rin grinned up at him, "Thank you!" He nodded, though; Shizuki didn't miss the slight coloring on Sesshoumaru's flawless face.
"But what about you?" Rin asked. Sesshoumaru shook his head and responded.
"I don't get cold." Rin shrugged and smiled at him again.
The four walked into the hotel, glad to know that the hotel's heaters were working properly.
"Rin, wait till you look at your room! It's like an apartment!" Kagome said grinning. "Ours are decorated, courtesy of Shizuki and Sesshoumaru, but the other guest rooms are plain, no beds yet, so we have to work on that." Rin decided that she couldn't wait to see their rooms, so both girls ran towards the elevator and headed up to the top floor. The two men shrugged and followed them in a separate elevator since the girls went ahead.
"So, Sesshoumaru, you like Rin?" Shizuki smirked, teasing his older brother. Again, a little color showed up on Sesshoumaru's slightly tan face.
"It is no concern of yours brother." Sesshoumaru said stoically, hiding his emotions.
"Oh come on, you know you have a thing for her." Shizuki said, trying to pry.
But Shizuki never did get an answer since this was the floor and the doors opened. Shrieks of joy could be heard from down the hall from the girls.
Sesshoumaru sighed; he was safe from his brother, for the moment.
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Yay!!! Eleven whole pages! It's an apology for the late update! I think this is my longest chapter yet! Hmmm, I was going to say something but I forgot! ::sweat drops:: Anyways, don't forget to join my notify list if you want me to email you when I update! It's for people who don't have author alerts but you're welcome to join if you do have an FF account too! Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!
Reviews are always welcome; I want to know what you think!
Animemistress419