One Ranch Two Brothers: Chapter 10 by BelleDayNight
"What will you be having my dear?" Kouga asked Kagome while looking deep into her eyes with an expression of adoration. He had released her hand to open the menu, but he had yet to read it.
Kagome moved her hand under the table and squeezed his thigh, making sure that both Inuyasha and Kagura knew what she was doing. She batted her eyelashes in exaggeration and leaned over towards his ear and stage whispered her request. "You."
Kouga's eyes grew wide and he dropped the menu to put his arm around Kagome's shoulder and pull her against his side. He grinned back at the waiter, Frederick. "Kagome and I will be having the house special." He kissed Kagome's cheek. "Though Kagome is the most special thing in the house, so I suppose we'll have to settle for the lobster."
Inuyasha began to cough viciously. Kagura was trying to smile, but her teeth looked as if they were about to shatter with the pressure she held them together. "I seem to be choking on the corny factor," Inuyasha gasped, having finally collected himself after pounding his fist against his chest.
He never bothered to open his menu before he looked up at the waiter. "I want the shrimp. Make sure that each one is exactly 7 centimeters long and is sautéed evenly on all sides. And instead of the scallops that go with the meal, I would prefer five mussels and one codfish."
The waiter blinked as he accepted the menu that Inuyasha thrust at his stomach with a forced smile. "Sir, I'm afraid that is not one of the dinner combinations offered at this restaurant."
"Make it happen, or I'll make your life a living hell," Inuyasha threatened, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Frederick in such a way that it caused shivers of apprehension to dance along his spine. Inuyasha finally turned to Kagura and took her hand in his own, stretching across the table to reach it. "What will you be having my beautiful star?"
Kouga snorted, earning a glare from Inuyasha. "I just want a salad," Kagura answered in a bored tone. She narrowed her eyes at Inuyasha in disgust. "I think you ordered enough meat for all of us."
A giggle escaped Kagome's lips and she removed her hand from Kouga's thigh to cover her mouth. "Would any of you like to order drinks?" Frederick asked, trying not to drown in the deep tension.
"Water," Kouga and Kagome answered in unison, smiling at one another for unexpectedly choosing the same beverage.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Still can't drink grown up drinks can you Kags?"
Kouga put his arm across the back of Kagome's chair casually. "Perhaps neither of us want to impair our memory." He leaned over to affectionately nuzzle Kagome's cheek. "I know I would not want to lose memory of a single precious moment of time spent with Kagome." Kagome bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Kouga was laying it on pretty thick!
Inuyasha reached up and roughly jerked the waiter towards him by the collar. "Give me the hardest liquor you have." He then released him from his grasp and crossed his arms once more, sending Kouga the most venomous glare he could muster.
"And you ma'am?" Frederick asked Kagura, gingerly rubbing his neck.
Kagura looked over at Inuyasha, and began to click her nails against the table top. "Give me a bottle of your most expensive foreign white wine."
"You haven't changed much," Kouga commented, directing the statement to Kagura. She turned her crimson glare to him. "You're still just looking for the man with the deepest pockets."
Kagura's lips curled into a facsimile of a grin. "And you're still searching for an empty headed little doll so that she'll look pretty to you but won't ever question your lack of talent and brains."
Kouga's jaw clenched and Inuyasha adopted a smug look. "Aw Kouga, did you hear that?" Kagome asked sweetly with a bright smile. "Kagura agrees that I'm pretty."
"At least she got one thing right in her ignorant statement," Kouga answered, feeling much better because of Kagome's support. Kouga's brows came together for a moment before he reached inside the inner pocket of his dinner jacket. He looked at the number before leaning over to whisper in Kagome's ear, "It's Miroku. Don't lose any ground. Remember this is a battle at all fronts."
"Help," came the troubled voice of Miroku from the other end of the telephone.
"I was under the impression that most people asked for help. Why are you demanding my assistance?" Kouga answered, leaning against the corner in the hallway while keeping a watchful eye on Kagome and their respective exes.
"I still haven't figured out what to do for dinner. Maybe I should go ahead and order the Chinese food. But then she's going to think I'm a liar and she already has a huge unjust grudge against me. But if she sees the mess I made of dinner then she'll think I'm a complete idiot." Miroku paused, seeming to take a big breath in a vain attempt to calm himself.
Kouga couldn't help but laugh at his normally suave younger brother sounding so exacerbated about a woman. "I think you are a little too concerned about all of this."
"Look, I know you are certainly not the expert when it comes to dealing with women. But you are the expert at holding grudges against people that don't deserve them because of one bad experience. So," Miroku trailed off.
A growl was the only answer Kouga could give for a moment. Miroku gave a nervous laugh at the other end of the phone, breaking Kouga out of his angry trance. "I do not hold grudges for no reason," he bit out sharply.
"Yes you do, but that's hardly the point," Miroku argued. "Crud!" He shouted. A great deal of commotion was picked up over the line, causing Kouga to hold it slightly away from his ear. "She's here, and she doesn't look happy either."
"You're the expert when it comes to women, so I'll let you figure it out on your own," Kouga answered before hanging up and striding back to the table. He sat down and it was obvious that his conversation upset him. He took a large drink from the water that had arrived during his absence. He placed his trust in Kagome that she wouldn't betray him and allow anything to happen to his water.
"What's wrong Kouga dear?" Kagura trying to look sincere. Kagome reached for Kouga's hand and it was the only thing that kept him from strangling the arrogant woman from his past when she spoke her next comment. "Did someone else point out your failings as a human being?"
"At least we know he's human," Inuyasha muttered, casting Kagura a peeved look. During Kouga's absence she continued to tap her fingernails across the table top and his patience, already short, was non-existent.
"Excuse me?" Kagura demanded, her voice rising sharply.
"Kagome, why don't you and I dance? Remember when I taught you how to waltz at Sinclair's party last fall?" Inuyasha asked, turning on his charm and trying to gain Kagome's attention. He did not like the idea of her being with someone else. She should have been miserable to have him out of her life.
"How about we don't dance?" Kagome offered.
The waiter reappeared with their food and placed it before the four diners. Inuyasha forgot about Kagome for a second while he inspected his food and making certain it was up to par. It seemed acceptable.
"Who was that?" Kagome asked Kouga, doing her best to ignore her unwanted dinner companions.
"My brother," Kouga answered. He tried to lighten his own sour mood. "He was having woman troubles and wanted my advice."
Kagome bit her tongue from responding to the obvious of that statement. It seemed Kagura had no such qualms.
"Why? Did that perverted walking STD want advice how to be a complete idiot when it comes to women?" Kagura demanded cruelly as she stabbed her lettuce with her fork a little more forcefully than necessary.
Kouga stood up from his seat, pushing his chair back. He offered his hand towards Kagome. "I'm tired of such irksome company. Shall we dance and resurrect the night?"
Inuyasha and Kagura watched as Kouga and Kagome walked towards the dance area of the restaurant, in front of the small band on stage. The violinist began to play a beautiful love ballad after receiving a discrete signal from part of the restaurant's staff. "This is not going how I had anticipated," Inuyasha commented.
Kagura said nothing and continued to eat, lost in her own dark and jealous thoughts.
"Maybe I should fire you. I haven't even found out anything about my brother. You are obviously hampering my research." Inuyasha informed the woman he now regretted having asked to join him in his scheme. It probably would have been better to have asked Kikyou. At least she wouldn't have her own ulterior motive. If Kagura kept picking at Kouga then Kagome would stick closer to him than ever.
That would certainly not bode well for his future plans.
oooooOOOOOooooo
Miroku looked down at the phone in his hand in horror as the dial tone was his only answer. He couldn't believe his jerk of a brother hung up on him in his moment of need. After all he had done for him that was a completely ungrateful way to show his appreciation. Why if it wasn't for him the stupid, stubborn fool would never have met Kagome, whom he was obviously meant for.
So lost in his own internal musing about his brother Miroku had inadvertently forgotten about the woman striding towards his front door with a not-so-happy expression on her face.
The forceful pounding on the door broke him out of the trance and he hurried to answer the door. He tried to be casual and hide his nervousness. He had never experienced gitters with any other girl. Well, as long as he didn't consider that first older woman when he was teenager, but that was a different story and not likely to put him in a favorable light.
"Sango, my day has improved ten fold since you showed up just now," Miroku smiled as he held open the door for his dinner guest. The angry expression slid off Sango's face as she inspected him. Her foul mood about having to wait half an hour at a cattle crossing followed by then having to change a flat tire on the trip out to his ranch dissipated.
"What happened to you?" Sango couldn't help but notice the burnt look his clothes held and his hair was a mess. It had fallen out of its customary ponytail and several strands were framing his smoke smudged face. She sniffed discreetly and could smell something akin to charcoal.
Miroku smiled somewhat self-consciously as he brushed his hair out of his face, only to remember that he was covered in the evidence of his cooking disaster. He looked over his shoulder towards the kitchen. "I was cooking dinner and…things didn't quite go as planned."
"I see," Sango answered, "Shall we go look at the results?"
"We can order Chinese," Miroku offered, shutting the door behind Sango and taking her shawl from her shoulders and draping it over a hook on the coat rack behind the door. She was dressed beautifully, but he had learned if he was to complement her on appearances it would only serve to put her on guard. He was pleased when she allowed him to lead her by the arm to the kitchen. If he knew looking like a pathetic male would make things this much easier to touch her he would have tried this approach ages ago.
Sango's jaw dropped at the sight that greeted her in the kitchen. She wasn't a very proficient cook herself, but this was absolutely horrible. The place looked like a disaster struck and what she assumed was the steak looked like a dried out piece of beef jerky. Cautiously she poked the meat with her finger and frowned at Miroku.
"Like I said, we can order Chinese," Miroku offered.
Sango's dark eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I thought you said you could cook."
"Apparently I was mistaken," Miroku answered matter-of-factly crossing his arms over his chest starting to grow annoyed with her reaction. He wasn't incompetent. She didn't have to look at him as if he were.
"Well you shouldn't lie so much," Sango retorted, growing defensive. "If you couldn't cook you shouldn't have said that you could."
"I was nervous!"
"You? Nervous? Ha!" Sango shouted, arms flying to her hips.
"As hard as it may be for your biased mind to comprehend I don't have limitless amounts of self-esteem. All you have ever done is insult me. I have never done one thing to earn such…such…a foul impression." Miroku began to grow angry.
Sango blinked in surprise. In the entire long while she had known Miroku never had she heard him raise his voice, not once! Before she could apologize for having brought on his temper, the back door to the kitchen burst open.
The white haired foreman stood in the kitchen and looked from one person to the other. He raised a brow as he noticed the burnt remains of dinner but chose not to comment on that. "I need to speak with Kouga."
"He's out with Kagome," Miroku answered, curious about the slightly panicked look on Sesshoumaru's face. It wasn't panicked exactly, but he was almost certain he caught a flash of uncertainty in those golden eyes.
"That's right, I remember," Sesshoumaru slumped to sit in a chair at the dinner table. He placed his elbows on the table and then rested his head in his raised palms.
"Is something wrong?" Sango asked as she pulled the chair out from beside Sesshoumaru.
"Who are you?" Sesshoumaru asked. He looked back at Miroku and the burnt food and made the connection. "Nevermind."
"I can call him, he should still be at the restaurant," Miroku offered, bringing Sesshoumaru a bottle of water. He looked like he could use something to calm him down and he was afraid something with caffeine would just cause more trouble. The man had a peculiar digestive system.
"No," Sesshoumaru took the bottle of water and then rose. "No, I'll just- I'll take care of it myself."
oooooOOOOOooooo
"Why do you think he's so determined to get you alone with him?" Kouga asked Kagome after they had danced their fifth dance. "I thought their purpose would be to hurt us and nothing more than that, something superficial."
"They don't seem to like one another very much," Kagome agreed.
Kouga laughed bitterly. "Kagura is only with him because he paid her."
Kagome's eyes widened in shock. "You don't mean that," Kagome gasped. "You're making it sound like she's some sort of prostitute."
"Did I make it sound that way?" Kouga asked, looking genuinely apologetic. He smiled down at the woman in his arms before dipping her deep towards the ground until her long hair brushed the marble tiled floor. "That would be giving her too much credit."
Kagome laughed in spite of herself. The Kouga of this night out was so totally different from the one she had come to know. It was as if he had opened up and was considering her his friend and confidant. She actually enjoyed being with him when he was not busy making her life miserable.
"I suppose that was a bit harsh of me," Kouga frowned. "I can't help it. I just hate her, I really truly do. I have never hated another human being as much as I hate her. I don't think its possible."
"The only way one can hate someone so utterly and completely is to have loved them greatly before," Kagome commented quietly, havinging similar feelings regarding Inuyasha come to mind.
"That's not love," Kouga argued. The two danced together quietly, watching Inuyasha and Kagura arguing at the table. "A lover's spat do you think?"
This time Kagome was the one to scoff. "More like Inuyasha is regretting his choice of women to make me jealous and insecure about. He should have chosen Kikyou if that was his goal." She paused as she processed her thoughts. "He would have chosen her if his intention was simply to hurt me."
"Coincidence then?" Kouga thought aloud skeptically as he twirled Kagome.
"I wonder if this has to do with Sesshoumaru."
It took a moment for Kouga to remember exactly who 'Sesshoumaru' was. It then clicked that it was the real name of his brilliant foreman. The man who saved his ranch had always been a mystery. Perhaps it was time to reveal some of the secrets. "Why would you think that?"
"Because Sesshoumaru has purposely dropped off the face of the earth. No one knew what happened to him those years ago. Actually, if it was public knowledge that he was still around he would have access to the majority of their father's inheritance. Most of the money has been frozen and only Sesshoumaru has the password to unlock it. However, the assets that were not frozen are where Inuyasha gets most all his money." The wheels in Kagome's head were processing quickly.
"I thought dog-face was an actor or something."
"That would hardly provide the amount of money he needs for his lifestyle. He never was one to understand limits," Kagome confided. "I bet his share of the inheritance is running out."
"So, he's hunting down his brother and trying to use jealousy to get the answer out of us?" Kouga stopped dancing and began to slowly walk back towards their dinner table to pick back up his jacket. He had enough of this place and those people. It was time to head home.
"Half-brother and I wouldn't put it past him." Kagome tugged on Kouga's arm to keep him from getting to the table just yet. "Hurting us would only serve as a bonus."
"He's going to be disappointed to see that we're the winners of this little game." Kouga's eye had a mischievous twinkle in it that promised more adventure for the night yet to come.