I don't own these characters.
12: Tragic
Kikyo's head snapped to the side as her elder sister's hand impacted her cheek. The middle child was more surprised than injured, but she could only wonder what she had done to earn that slap. The last time Midoriko hit her in anger was when she got engaged to Naraku. What could she have done that was on that level of offense and stupidity?
"Sister," Kikyo said in her usual voice. It was just about all she could muster because she was so shocked. She managed to keep tears in, knowing she was at a point where she would have to steel herself. Something happened and she was about to be an island, like before. Well, she would have to do better than before. Before, with Midoriko's judgment over her head, she doubled-down on her commitment to Naraku, let those emotions, the resentment and anger toward her sister, rule her. Never again. She made foolish decisions then. She could not afford that now.
"What is wrong with you?" Midoriko growled. "Go sit over there right now." She pointed to the empty chair across from the one she had occupied.
Kikyo did not argue and went to sit down at the table as if she was an obedient puppy. She stared at the table, mind consumed by what it was she had done to warrant the slap. Kaede started at the middle sister while the eldest sat down. Midoriko looked back from each younger sister with a furious expression on her face.
The middle sister took a moment, licked her lips, and then spoke. "Um… Sister, what did I do?"
"Don't try to play innocent. It's much too late for that," Midoriko stated, tone severe.
"What did I do?" Kikyo asked once again because she really did not know what she had done to upset her elder sister.
Midoriko only scowled. She was not sure what she wanted to say yet. She focused on Kikyo now, which Kaede was happy about. The preteen did not want to sit there and have both of her sisters angry with her, not that any of it was her fault. She was just caught in the middle as far as she was concerned.
"Sister," Kikyo said a third time.
"How could you do this? Do you know the example you're setting for your little sister?" Midoriko demanded, motioning to Kaede.
"Don't drag me into this," Kaede muttered. She wished she could vanish into the wind, but escaping would not help. No matter what, this would end badly. She needed a time machine, needed to go back to save them all.
"What did I do?" Kikyo inquired once again, her tone now deliberate. Why could her sister not just tell her what she had done wrong so she could correct the problem?
"You're having an affair with Sesshomaru," Midoriko answered through gritted teeth.
Kikyo's eyes went wide briefly while Kaede blew out a breath and looked at the ground. How Midoriko came to the right conclusion on the matter, neither of her younger sisters would ever figure out. All Kaede knew was that she had not said anything and Kikyo damn sure was not flaunting what she was doing. Kaede wished she had not kept bringing Sesshomaru up the other night.
Kaede could not believe when Midoriko had called her to ask her if that was what her problem was, which eventually turned into if Kikyo was having an affair with Sesshomaru. The preteen had not known what to do or what to say by that time. She had panicked, stammering through a lie she never did finish, and that was all the eldest needed in confirmation she had come to the right conclusion. She had suspected something was going on between Kikyo and Sesshomaru, but she had always convinced herself Kikyo would never do such a thing. It would seem she had been wrong.
"Will you deny it?" Midoriko asked Kikyo, eyes daring Kikyo to do such a thing.
"We both know I will not deny the truth," Kikyo answered, sitting up straight. She refused to be ashamed of this, even though she felt her sister's outrage was justified. She had destroyed her own honor for a man, just like before. She would even understand if Midoriko thought she was a fool, but she was not ashamed.
"I feel as if I don't know what you might do anymore," Midoriko huffed, leaning forward as if the fury radiating from her might somehow reach out to strangle Kikyo for her.
"Miko," Kikyo said, emotions crushing her throat. It was a nickname that she had used since before she could remember. Her parents used to claim that was her first word and she did not doubt that. While she was not ashamed, worry bubbled in her stomach. There was no way for this to go right for her and she could not prepare herself for what she knew was to come. She could not steel herself for it, no matter how much she tried.
"Don't call me that and try to soften me up. How could you do this?" Midoriko demanded.
Kikyo was not sure where to begin to answer that question. Part of her even dared to think it was none of her big sister's business. She was an adult and she could do what she wanted to do. That would not fly and if she was not forthcoming, she might lose her big sister like she had when she married Naraku. She did not want to go through that again.
"Are you not ashamed of yourself?" Midoriko inquired and that got a quick response from Kikyo that no one expected.
"No," Kikyo replied.
Midoriko's frown managed to deepen, cutting through her jaw. "What do you mean 'no'? You are a married woman."
"I know I am." There was no way she could forget. Well, she seemed to forget about half of the time she was with her paramour. The other half, all she could think about was how her marriage prevented her from fully being with her lover.
"And yet you would do something so disgraceful?"
"It is not something that I can explain…" Kikyo trailed off. She would not have been able to stop herself from being with Sesshomaru if she tried. There was a pull between them. He understood her in ways she did not know possible.
"You will break the relationship off now."
"I will not," Kikyo said, holding her head up high. There was no way in Hell she was breaking up with Sesshomaru.
"What?" Midoriko inquired, her voice nearly rising because of her anger.
Kikyo looked her sister right in the eye and spoke deliberately to avoid any misunderstanding. "I will not break things off with Sessho."
"Sessho?" Midoriko echoed, drawing back and tensing. She could not believe that one actually left her younger sister's mouth. "You will not continue such depraved behavior. You will break things off with that demon now."
"I will not," Kikyo stated again.
"Does this mean you're going to get a divorce?" Kaede asked in a hopeful voice. She would rather not draw attention to herself, but she would feel so much better if first of all, Kikyo was away from Naraku and secondly, the affair would not seem so bad if she was going to get a divorce.
"Naraku would never agree to such a thing," Kikyo replied, speaking through her teeth and glancing away. She knew that because she had almost approached the subject several times since she started seeing Sesshomaru, mostly thinking aloud how much happier they both would be if they went their separate ways. Naraku made it clear he would never let her go. He enjoyed tormenting her and she knew that long before any of this.
"Then you're just going to go on with this?" Midoriko demanded, waving her hand and sneering.
"It is my desire," the middle sister answered. It was the best she could do and the closest she could come to happiness at the moment.
Midoriko's upper lip curled and she looked down her nose regarding Kikyo. "How can you desire this lecherous thing?"
"I feel… strongly for Sessshomaru," Kikyo answered in a guarded tone. Midoriko would not be pleased with that answer. She was certain Midoriko would live a much happier life if she never felt strongly for anyone ever again considering Naraku.
Kaede would have been happy to know that if the situation were differently. It would have been cool for her sister to be dating her best friend's brother and for them to be in love. It would be cool if someday they got married, so she and her best friend would be family. But, it was not so cool when they were having an affair and Kikyo was going to remain married to the bastard that she was tied to.
"You felt strongly for that hanyou scum, too. If this is what you wish to do, fine. Do not call me should your filthy husband find out about this. Do not call me when this all crumbles around you," Midoriko stated and she stood up to show that she was leaving.
"Sister, do not do this to me again," Kikyo pled.
"You never listen to me," Midoriko said.
"It was once," Kikyo argued. Midoriko saw the truth and she missed it. Was she to be punished for that for the rest of her life? Well, yes, if her husband had his way.
Midoriko scoffed. "And look at where that got you. You're married to a disgusting wretch on a good day. Now, you complicate that matter by going off to have an affair with a full demon. You seem to enjoy setting yourself up for horrible situations and never want to be talked out of them. Fine, enjoy the new tragedy that you've merrily set up for yourself."
"Sister," Kikyo protested.
"Kaede, will you come with me?" Midoriko inquired.
Kaede looked back and forth from each sister. She hated being in middle on the rare occasions they fought. She did not want to have to choose sides because that was impossible. But, this felt more permanent than the usual. If she left with Midoriko now, it meant she was on Midoriko's side. It meant she was forsaking Kikyo as well. It meant Kikyo would have no one, except Naraku. No one deserved that, least of all their sister.
"I'll see you at home later," Kaede replied.
Midoriko focused her gaze on the preteen as if trying to judge if she was actually with Kikyo on the matter. Kaede's chocolate eyes did not seem to be against her, but they appeared concerned for Kikyo. She thought Kaede had cause to worry. Their sister was doing it again, making a poor decision and standing by it as if she were some kind of fool. Kikyo was an intelligent creature, so why did she make such obvious mistakes? Well, like before, she would leave Kikyo to see the error of her ways since the middle sister did not like to listen to reason.
"Fine," Midoriko answered and she walked off.
"She took this pretty hard," Kaede said for lack of a better thing. She had expected everything that happened, but it took a bit to get used to Midoriko's temper. She wished Midoriko was not so quick to slap Kikyo, not that Kikyo seemed to care. She had not even touched the already-bruising cheek to check on it.
"How did you find out?" Kikyo inquired, eyes staring off into nothing.
"I don't know how Midoriko figured it out, but I found out through Rin," Kaede replied.
Kikyo tilted her head slightly. "Rin?"
"She saw you lying in his bed the other day. We found your sketchbook in the apartment, too," the twelve-year-old explained.
"Oh…" Kikyo's eyes fell down at the table. She now felt thoroughly ashamed of herself despite her claim of the contrary. She did not want her little sister to know she had broken her vows or that she was sleeping with Sesshomaru. That was too much for a twelve-year-old to have to deal with.
"You know, I don't agree with what you're doing."
"I didn't think you did." Now, her cheek burned, as she thought how low she had to have fallen in her baby sister's eyes. Kaede's opinion of her mattered. She was an example for Kaede and she should do her best. Her parents would expect no less. How many people would she disappoint in this life? With her parents, in the afterlife.
Kaede took a deep breath. "But, if you do feel strongly for Sesshomaru, I can understand it. I mean, I know Naraku sucks and he doesn't make you happy. I mean, I've seen him trying to purposely hurt you. He talks to you so mean and he undercuts everything you like or try to do. If Sesshomaru does make you happy and treats you right, then you should be with him. I mean, only a stupid person would stay with a person who makes them miserable when a person that makes them happy is right there, so I can understand why you're doing this. It's just you didn't do this the right way." She sounded wiser than her twelve years would suggest.
With a nod, Kikyo gave a small smile. "I know. I would gladly get a divorce if Naraku would agree to it. I wouldn't have stayed with him this long if things were so simple."
Kaede gripped her pants at her thighs and glared at the table for a moment. "So, what are you going to do? Go on like you have?"
Kikyo sighed. "Until a better option presents itself, I suppose so."
"What if Naraku finds out?" Kaede asked.
"I haven't thought that out yet," Kikyo confessed.
Kikyo never did consider what might happen if Naraku found out about what she was doing. He did not seem too interested in her lately, except for when he was telling her about the move he had planned. There was something else on his mind and she was not sure what it was. She might want to watch him, though. He schemed with the best of them, after all.
-8-8-8-8-
Naraku marched through the hallway at his work, barely acknowledging anyone he went by. He craved vengeance against Sesshomaru more than anything else and it took over much of his thought. But, in the back of his mind, he noted a change in Kikyo's behavior. She had gone from passive aggressive to outwardly defiant, especially when he brought up the move. The last time he moved her out of the city, she had not objected as much. It was clear she did not want to do it, but she had not said as much. So, what brought on the change in her? He would find out after he got things going with his revenge on Sesshomaru.
He went into the dog demon's office when Sesshomaru had gone away. He was not sure how long the nobleman was going to be out, but he did not require that much time to set up what he wanted to do. He went over to the computer and smirked when he noticed Sesshomaru had left the machine on.
"He makes it so easy," Naraku commented to the air as he pulled out a portable hard drive from his pocket. He hooked it up to Sesshomaru's computer, uploaded some software, and was done in less than a minute with what he wanted to do.
The half-demon left the office with a wicked smirk on his face. It was about time for that mutt to learn his place. It would be amazing to watch that dog go down in flames. All he had to do was wait and watch. And now, it was time for him to learn what was going on with his dear little wife and why she had suddenly changed so much.
Naraku suspected it would be much harder for him to find out what was going on with Kikyo than it was to get his revenge on Sesshomaru. After all, everyone knew Kikyo did not like him enough to talk to him about her. He could not even pretend he was trying to do something nice for her because they would only grow suspicious of him. He could not follow her, as she would sense his presence as soon as he was close enough to notice her. He was not sure how to approach the situation. He would think on it, though.
"I could hire someone to look into her," he considered. Of course, he did not have the money for that at the moment. There had to be a way.
-8-8-8-8-
Sesshomaru returned to his office and immediately smelled Naraku had been there. He frowned and followed the scent trail to try to develop an idea of what the hanyou asshole was doing in his office. He noted the scent lingered by his desk, strongest on the computer, and then went back to the outside. It seemed Naraku just wanted him to kill him, the full demon thought.
"What did he do on my computer?" Sesshomaru figured it had to be some kind of set up. Naraku put something on his computer to frame him somehow. But, what and how?
The platinum-haired male checked everything on his computer and things seemed to be fine. Maybe Naraku was not smart enough to put anything on his computer. He searched through his desk to be sure the walking-dead hanyou had not stolen anything. When he was certain everything in his office was still in order, he went in search for the man that seemed to want to die.
Sesshomaru found Naraku in his office on the phone. The half-breed ignored the furious demon at his door, which was not a wise decision. Sesshomaru threw out his hand and his energy whip went straight through the phone like lava through cardboard. Naraku turned to full demon now that he had no other distractions. He glared at Sesshomaru and growled.
"Is there something that I can do for you?" Naraku inquired in an impatient tone.
"You were in my office," Sesshomaru stated.
"I was," the half-demon confirmed.
"For what?" the golden-eyed male snarled. He doubted Naraku had any idea how badly he wanted to the hanyou to not be breathing anymore. It would solve both private and business issues for him if the damned crimson-eyed annoyance would just die.
"I thought I might have left some notes in there from when we worked together," Naraku lied smoothly.
Sesshomaru's gaze narrowed. He could practically smell the lie there. "From so long ago?" Did Naraku take him for a fool?
Naraku shrugged. "I thought it was worth the look."
Sesshomaru took a low breath and cracked his knuckles on one hand. "And why would you think something so foolish?"
"I had already looked in the obvious places," Naraku answered.
"Listen careful, fool. You might think I won't destroy you for whatever reasons, but you're quite wrong. Stay out of my office and do not touch anything of mine ever again, lest we clash. So, unless you're as stupid as you look, you'll leave my office alone," Sesshomaru informed the hanyou. If the idiot decided to not heed this warning, Sesshomaru would waste no time cutting the fool down.
Naraku frowned at the threat. He really wanted to put that blasted dog in his place, but he supposed it was all in due time. He watched Sesshomaru exit the room as if he was the ending of a hurricane. Oh, yes, he was going to put that dog right where he belonged.
"There will be justice, dog. And it will be glorious." Naraku could not wait for it, wished it was about to happen now. Not only would he take Sesshomaru down, but he would use it to help him build his home and his training room for Kikyo.
Sesshomaru went back to his office and checked it again. He knew that irksome half-breed lied to him, but he could not guess why the hanyou had been in his office. Nothing looked out of place and nothing appeared to be missing. He frowned as he could not figure it out.
"I doubt he was looking for something that might prove I've been with Kikyo," Sesshomaru murmured.
The nobleman was doubtful Naraku had a clue he even knew Kikyo. The hanyou seemed too stupid to figure that out on his own and he had not left any evidence at the apartment. Kikyo did not have anything of his, except messages on her phone and they never exchanged any messages that might make someone think something was going on between them. So, he did not know what Naraku might have been going in his office.
-*-(New day)-*-
Kikyo sat at home, on the sofa, feeling lost, as she had been for several days. She had been trying her best to get into contact with her big sister, but as expected, Midoriko was not taking her calls. She knew better than to leave a voice message. Midoriko would only delete those. It seemed she was cut off again and she could not really do anything about it. With a sigh, she tossed her phone to the opposite end of the sofa.
"What am I going to do?" Kikyo ran her hand through her hair.
Before when she had angered her elder sister with her actions, she had been able to call her aunt and pled her case to her aunt, but she could not do that now. It was not like she could tell her aunt she was having an affair. The woman would surely side with Midoriko as soon as she found out. Kikyo was on her own with her current issues and she doubted she was going to get through to her big sister, no matter how hard she tried.
She was tempted to call Kaede and find out their sister's emotional temperature. She held off, not wanting to involve Kaede in this mess any more than she already had. She hated she put Kaede in the situation, hated that Kaede's opinion of her lowered. She rubbed her forehead.
"How did I let things come to this?" Kikyo did not have the answers, thinking about how good she felt when she was with Sesshomaru and how nothing mattered at the time. That was how things came to this. She had been too careless, though, if Kaede had figured out it all out.
Kaede had tried to plead with Midoriko, going so far as to say the older woman was acting childish. The eldest did not seem to like that much and told Kaede that if she wanted to side with Kikyo, she might as well go live with her, too. Kaede backed up off of the argument after that one. She was neutral from then on out.
The sisters were not the only ones busy with a crisis and issues. Naraku spent his time digging to find out if what the reason was behind his wife's new attitude. He considered she might have gone out and gotten a job, which he would personally make sure did not last if that was the case, but he could not find any evidence for that. Well, he thought the easiest thing to do to figure out what was going on was to get a copy of her cell phone records. It was the only thing he could think of to link her to anything.
It was not hard to get what he needed and he looked through the records. He decided to call the numbers from a payphone to see if they would lead to anything. A few of the numbers supported the theory she was looking for a job, but she was not employed. They were hospitals, clinics, and things such as that. He got to Midoriko's number and she had not picked up, but he heard her voicemail message.
He frowned as he listened to her voicemail. He hated her and the sound of her voice ignited a flame in him that burned with loathing. He could not wait to see her face when he finally broke her little sister. That would be the sweetest revenge against her. He bet she had something to do with Kikyo acting so strangely.
The next number changed his opinion, though. It was a frequently used number and when he dialed, he once again got the voicemail. He recognized that voice. It was the low voice of the biggest bastard that he had ever met. Why was Kikyo calling that mongrel?
"Kikyo, what the hell is going on? Are you conspiring against me?" He scratched his cheek. He did not think Kikyo would do something like that. She was not that devious, but what other reason might Kikyo have to contact Sesshomaru?
He dared consider the impossible. Could his little innocent maiden actually be cheating on him with that mutt? Well, why else would she call him at least once a day? It was either cheating or plotting against Naraku. Sesshomaru might have even put Kikyo up to it. Oh, that mutt! It was one thing to try to make an ass out of him at work, but to have touched his property or turned his property against him was another thing altogether. Now, he would have to do worse to the mongrel regardless of what he did with Kikyo and he was also going to have to do something about Kikyo.
But, before he did not anything about his possibly adulterous wife, he would deal with the demon who ruined her. He would make Sesshomaru's life a living hell somehow, both his home and business life. He would show that mutt to not mess with him.
-8-8-8-8-
Sesshomaru had a problem of his own, so he was not thinking about Naraku anymore. In the back of his mind, he realized he had not heard from Kikyo in a while, but that something at work too precedent over that for the moment. It seemed that something happened at work that the boss wanted to talk to him about as soon as possible, which meant the was staying after hours. He could not figure out what new issues that crazy old man might have, but he figured he would find out when he met up with him.
"Still no manners, I see," Totosai commented as Sesshomaru entered his office without knocking, as usual.
"You're holding me up. Tell me why I'm here," Sesshomaru commanded.
"You just want me to be blunt with you?" the bug-eyed old man inquired, leaning back in his desk chair.
"If it is the most efficient way to inform me why you're wasting my time," the dog demon answered.
"Okay, a worm was found in our computer systems. It was transferring money to an overseas account," Totosai said. "We managed to catch it and trace it before too much got away. You won't believe who we traced it to."
Sesshomaru did not respond. He did not see any reason to do so. He did not think the old coot was done yet. He also did not play guessing games, so he would wait for Totosai to stop playing around and tell him what the problem was.
"We traced it back to you, imagine that," Totosai said.
"Back to me?" Sesshomaru echoed, face pulling to the side as he reared back slightly.
"Weird, eh? Right back to your computer, your work computer." Totosai twiddled his fingers.
"And you think I did it?" Sesshomaru did not sound upset, even though internally, he plotted the death of whoever tried to frame him.
With a chuckle, Totosai held up his hands. "Whoa, you're getting ahead of the game, Sesshomaru. I didn't say all of that. I said we traced it back to your computer. Now, I've known you pretty much all of your life, so I know you wouldn't do anything like that. That's why I'm not going to bother with accusing you."
Sesshomaru's expression did not change. He did not utter a thanks. The whole thing was a waste of his time if he was not being accused of anything and Totosai had not informed him why the thing was traced back to his computer.
"Then what are you doing?" Sesshomaru inquired.
"I guess warning you as well as letting you know what's going on. I figure someone set you up, but considering how everyone here hates you, it could be just about anyone," Totosai commented, throwing his hands up in the air as if the whole situation was pointless.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind."
"Yeah. Oh, one more thing, Sesshomaru."
"What?" the dog demon asked.
"This thing might get around, so don't be surprised if that daddy of yours finds out."
Sesshomaru growled very low, but did not say anything as he turned to leave the office. He did not care if his father found out about him doing something he had not done. His main concern was finding out who had set him up and then making that person pay dearly.
The dog demon had a good idea who would pull such an underhanded stunt instead of facing him directly. After all, most other idiots around the office just ignored him if they disliked him, but only one grimy moron seemed to go out of his way to be irksome. Also, he had a few confrontations with people in his office and, yes, they were foolish and bothersome, but at least they were brave enough to face him.
He would deal with that bastard the second he could. At the moment, he wanted to go home and forget all about things. He considered calling Kikyo because he had not heard from her in the past few days. She had better be safe or he was not going to hesitate in decapitating a certain hanyou when he saw him in the morning. As he headed home, his phone went off. He looked at the number, hoping it was Kikyo, but it was not. It was his home number. He answered, thinking Rin might be calling him.
"Yes," Sesshomaru answered the call.
"Come home," a deep voice commanded the dog demon.
"Yes, Father," Sesshomaru said and he disconnected the call while turning the car around. He guessed it was time to get a lecture on the embezzling issue, even though he had not done it. He could not figure out why his father liked to waste time the way he did.
-8-8-8-8-
Sesshomaru marched into his family's mansion and went right to the lounge where his father was with his stepmother, Izayoi. He stood before them and eyed them for a moment to understand how much time he was going to have to waste with them. There was something wrong with their gazes in his opinion. He had a feeling he was in for something he would not be able to defend himself from, which was new.
"Have a seat, Sesshomaru," his father commanded, motioning to the arm chair across from them.
"I'd rather stand," the younger demon replied.
"Have it your way, as you seem to be doing lately. Do you have any idea why you're here?" his father inquired.
"Enlighten me," Sesshomaru answered. He knew better than to guess why he was summoned. It was a parental trick to see if he had done something they did not know about and he thought he was being busted on. It still worked on Rin, but he and Inuyasha were very hip to it. Of course, Inuyasha fell for it well into his teens.
"All right. Does the name Kikyo mean anything to you?" his father asked.
Sesshomaru went rigid. He really had not been expecting that question, but it would explain the look on their eyes. Well, it would explain the look if they knew enough about Kikyo and his relationship with her. He was now glad he had not guessed.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: the word seems to be spreading, what is Sesshomaru about to go through?