Part 3: "Lust for Life: The Yearn™"
Fake it 'til you make it. That had been the words Kagura had decided to live by while she figured out what she was supposed to do. To her surprise she had been doing quite well as Rin did not require a lot of upkeep. All she had to do was get the girl ready in the morning, give her breakfast made by Jaken then drop her off at school. While she attended her private academy Kagura had all day to do as she pleased. Then she picked up Rin, took her to her after school programs, helped her with homework, distracted her with teaching her a few dance moves, fed her dinner, then bath time, story time and bed. Rin was a disciplined child. Most evenings after dinner Kagura would place the child in front of a movie or give her one of her favorite books and she could then have her evening for herself. Kagura would then take a long luxuriating bath, raid whatever tasty treats she could find in the fridge without getting caught by Jaken the buzzkill, then enjoy the big flat screen TV before slipping into her comfy bed. This nanny gig was the easiest job ever. Plus it came with some nice perks.
As soon as she had moved in Kagura had requested the use of the car Jaken usually used to run errands in. It was a beautiful dark silver SUV, and Kagura found it too sad that a tiny kappa was asked to drive such a luxury vehicle. He could barely see above the steering wheel. A few days after she had moved in she had waited for Sesshoumaru to come home and had asked him if she could use the car, he has been completely uninterested. She had taken his indifference to mean he agreed with her, so at the first opportunity she had swiped the keys from the toad with no intentions to give them back. Now she had full use of the car. Life was good.
On Sundays she was off as Sesshoumaru spent the day with Rin doing whatever these two did. On her first day off she had asked both of her half-siblings to come help her move the last of their things out of the apartment and sort all of their stuff that she had put in storage before her move to Sesshoumaru's place. She intended to give back their apartment before the next rent was due. None of the Onigumo siblings was sentimental, so the work had been done quickly and efficiently. What needed to be thrown out had been dealt with and the few mementos of their mom put in the storage space. They had enjoyed a nice dinner afterwards, her treat; with the safety of her upcoming paycheck she could well afford it. Kagura had expected the twins to use that opportunity to grill her about her new job, her new employer and her new life, but they had not asked her anything. Hakudoushi had just quipped that he was sure she was going to get fired while Kanna had simply remained her usual non-emotional self. She had continued on eating her bland soup, but to Kagura's delight she had wished her sister good luck.
"However do not sleep with your employer." Kanna warned not even bothering to look up from her bowl.
Hakudoushi spat out the mouthful of rice he had been about to swallow and Kagura gasped in shock. The only time she and the twins had talked about sex was when she had given them the talk about the birds and the bees years ago.
"Why would you even say that?!" Kagura asked in shock. Sure Sesshoumaru was hot, but the icy personality was a major turn off.
"I am merely giving you advice, but do as you please."
"That's disgusting. Why would you talk about Kagura having sex? Just gross." Hakudoushi drank deeply from his water. At that moment he really hated his twin for making him think about the fact that his elder sister had a private life.
And that was the end of their conversation. That was more emotion than Kanna usually showed. To this day Kagura did not know how her cold emotionless void youkai sister managed to teach physics to a class of high schoolers, she did have a suspicion, which she had never voiced, that she kept them distracted with her mirror.
It had now been a month since Kagura had started being Rin's nanny. Her first paycheck had cleared. It had helped to pay off a chunk of her debt… at least for a few days. She had splurged on a beautiful red leather purse she had had her eyes on for a while, some matching shoes and a leather jacket to die for. She had worn her new accessories paired up with the tightest pair of jeans the very next day, and she had turned some heads. She was the hottest lady at the school pick up line. Some of the moms gave her nasty looks, and she guessed that at the first occasion they would complain to Sesshoumaru, not that she imagined he would care. Talking about her employer, as Kagura had expected, he was a workaholic and she saw little of him. Not that she minded. His absence made it easier for her to enjoy his beautiful home. Jaken could grumble and cuss all he wanted, but she had grown quite adept at just ignoring him.
On that particular evening, Kagura was sprawled on the couch in the living room watching a baseball game and enjoying a nice glass of brandy she had swiped from the bar in Sesshoumaru's study. The zesty taste was just delicious. A quick online search had revealed that particular alcohol was worth a small fortune a glass. Suddenly she felt a chill creep up her spine, she turned around and almost spit out the sip she had just taken from her drink, which would have been a damn shame. She gulped without finesse, feeling more of the burn that the delicious citrus undertones.
"Good evening. You're home early."
Sesshoumaru stared back at her in silence.
"Well, I figured you wanted me to make myself at home, so I did." She rose the glass and took another sip. He had already caught her so she might as well enjoy the rest of her drink. She reached over to lower the volume of the television. "How was your day? Did you help a ruling dictator embezzle money from their developing nation?" She had done some research about Sesshoumaru and saw that he was some well-known hotshot accountant, not that she knew such a thing was even possible. The only accountant she knew was the website she used to file her taxes. Most interestingly she had found out that he had quite a list of colorful clients. That even more than inherited family money explained his lifestyle.
He dropped his briefcase on the side table before answering. "No, I merely helped set up a shell company, so a billionaire could evade paying millions in taxes."
If he thought to shock her, he was wrong. "I hope you got a nice bonus in the process." She quipped.
His upper lip curled on the side to reveal a fang. Was that a smile?! That would be a first. To break the weird atmosphere, she offered him food.
"I kept you a plate if you want. I made dinner, I've decided that to preserve Rin's well being I should take over food duties from Jaken." She reluctantly sipped the last of her drink and turned the TV off. "Go clean up and I'll heat up your plate."
"Alright."
She had expected him to refuse. He usually did not eat at home, but who could blame him? She'd rather eat out too if the alternative was nasty bland food made by Jaken. His food tasted like he had never encountered a spice in his life. After a month of being subjected to that, she had had enough and had chased him out of the kitchen. Seeing how Rin had stuffed her face at dinner had made Kagura all happy. She was sure the little girl would thrive under this new regimen. Something told the kaze youkai her employer would too.
As Sesshoumaru went to change from his designer suit to something more comfortable, Kagura rushed to the kitchen to get his dinner ready. She was glad to see the sulking kappa was not around. Ever since she had kicked him out of the kitchen Jaken had gone to hide in his room.
In a matter of minutes Kagura had served Sesshoumaru's dinner. Considering how cold and formal his dining room looked, she and Rin ate all their meals in the kitchen, so that's where she set up her employer's meal. She had taken it upon herself to crack open a bottle of wine and pour him a glass. Of course, she had to serve herself a generous glass as well. He soon joined her in the kitchen and sat in front of his bowl of noodles. She watched him eat in silence and gently sipped her wine. The silence wasn't uncomfortable or heavy, it was actually quite a nice respite. She spent most of her days with Rin and the girl was quite a chatterbox. It was cute, but still exhausting.
"Jaken will no longer cook for Rin." Sesshoumaru commented as he slurped the last of his noodles. How he managed to make such an action look so sexy and dignified was beyond her knowledge. She took her mind long enough out of the gutter to register what he said.
"Your fridge and pantry are empty of any good stuff." She remarked topping up her wine and his. The bottle was already opened, it would be a shame not to polish it off.
In response he pointed a clawed finger towards a drawer under the kitchen cabinet. She opened it and smiled when she saw it contained a checkbook. She brought it over. He quickly wrote her a check and handed it to her. She almost snickered when she saw the amount. It would be enough to keep Rin fed well for two months and also pay Kagura's monthly installment on her credit card.
"That should be enough for this month. From now on I'll keep you a plate for dinner." She folded the check and put it in her pocket.
"Do as you wish." He stared at her for a long time then finished the last of his wine before standing up and leaving. Guess she was being dismissed. Not that she minded, she had enjoyed their little alone time and his silent companionship. Most of all she was glad her plan had worked. She knew one skill she had mattered was cooking. One did not raise two growing youkai without learning how to keep their bellies full. After a long reflection she had figured that her delicious food would be a good way to get closer to Sesshoumaru, and as expected her plan had gone on without a hitch. Actually it went better than planned, she chuckled to herself reaching into her pocket to touch the generous check her employer had given her.
Kagura wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was starting to like the kid. Rin had such a joy for life that it was somehow rubbing on her nanny. Maybe the girl wouldn't be just a meal ticket and a way to get a taste of the good life. Not that Kagura did not do the latter. On top of the money, car and beautiful living quarters, she was even finally able to do something that she loved: dancing. Sure, showing Rin some moves wasn't the same as the elite dancing of her youth, but gliding and twirling on the beautiful parquet of the little girl's playroom was just delightful. Kagura could tell the little girl loved it too. She was putting much dedication in being able to learn the basics steps. She had not quite achieved grace and composure, but she tried hard and that meant a lot to her nanny. Kagura decided she'd have to ask Sesshoumaru to sign up his ward for classes. Rin would have such fun. Kagura and Sesshoumaru had shared more dinners in mostly silent companionship these last couple weeks and those little one-on-ones were the chance for her to keep him updated about all that was going on in Rin's life. He might be cold and mostly emotionless, but it did not mean he did not care. He had a sharp memory and remembered all the days that she had a test, a school report due, or a doctor's visit and was sure to ask Kagura to tell him about it.
"I think Rin should take some ballet lessons, it would be good for her."
Sesshoumaru took a bite of his steak before answering. "Find options of suiting dance schools."
Kagura decided then that she would find the very best school for Rin. She casually wondered then if Madame Pascale's studio was still opened. After she had failed to go to Paris she had decided to cut all ties with her former dance teacher. She had terminated her dance career and looking back would have hurt too much. She did not have time for such emotional entanglements when she had two grieving kids to raise. She had another kid under her care and decided to focus on her instead.
The wind sorceress almost smirked, she quite enjoyed how Sesshoumaru trusted her judgment on all things Rin-related. The two of them were sitting down having dinner together. Kagura had grown tired of keeping him company while he ate in silence and had instead decided to hold off on having dinner until he came home so that they could eat together. Ever since then he did come home earlier. After dinner he locked himself in his office to finish up on work while she relaxed in front of the TV. All in all they had set up a nice little routine.
"Rin told me that her biological mother's birthday is coming up. She'd like to honor her memory by having a picnic in the park." From what she had gathered, Rin had wanted to honor her mom that way for years, but Jaken had never helped her as he claimed she shouldn't bother Sesshoumaru with such nonsense. Kagura had felt a pinch in her heart when she remembered how crestfallen her usually bubbly Rin was upon telling her about it. Kagura and her own siblings yearly went to their mom's graveside on her birthday. They made sure to cook all her favorite food and even bake a cake. One of the few days the three of them spent together. It had been part of their healing process and she felt that Rin needed that too. Kagura had not quite figured out how Rin had come to be in Sesshoumaru's care, but she figured the little girl must have a tragic past.
"You may take her."
Just because Sesshoumaru had come home with a beautiful Bordeaux wine that paired wonderfully with the steak she had told him the previous evening she would be making for dinner did not mean she would let him off the hook.
"I don't see why I should suffer alone by spending an entire afternoon sitting on the grass and playing with Rin..." Realizing how harsh her words sounded she attempted to cajole him. "I mean… I'm sure Rin would like it if you joined too."
"I have work to do."
She could have argued more, but the wine had made her mellow. Whatever, if the ice block did not want to support Rin, she would make sure the little girl had fun.
"Oh no, Miss Kagura look!"
After what felt like hours traipsing around the park while Rin sought a spot where she wanted them to set up their picnic the kid had to find a dead bird under the tree she had chosen. Had Kagura been superstitious she would have thought it to be a bad omen. They had finally ended up in a secluded part of the park within a nice clearing surrounded by tall balding trees and bordered by a river. She would be damned before the kid decided to choose another spot. She slipped her hand in her purse and fished out her fan. With a gentle gesture, she reanimated the corpse. For once her necromancy powers were coming in handy.
"It was just taking a nap. Look now its flying away." One more twirl of her fan and the zombie bird was flying well away from them.
"Bye-bye bird, sorry we disturbed your nap." Rin waved enthusiastically. Kagura envied her innocence. How did the child not notice that the bird was half decomposed and flying without flapping its wings?
"Why don't you set up the blanket and food?" Kagura was eager to distract the kid so she could let the damn bird fall back behind the bush somewhere and rest in peace. A part of her was already regretting setting up this outing. She could have just dropped Rin at dance class and gone to the mall. Damn her and her conscience.
"Rin wants to go pick up flowers to decorate our blanket first." She enthusiastically pointed towards a patch of flowers growing on the banks of the river that was running through the park. It was only a few feet away.
"Okay, but be careful not to slip." The wind sorceress rolled out their blanket and in a matter of minutes had their food set up. She flicked her fan to pluck some dangling autumn leaves from the tree and place them in a little basket shape, it would make a fitting display for Rin's flower arrangement. She was quite happy with her work.
"Alright, come and eat." Kagura called out.
A terrifying splash sound was the answer she got. Dread seizing her heart, she turned around and as she feared saw none other than Rin's orange coat quickly sinking under the water. Without a thought, she rushed to the river and jumped after the little girl. Cold seized her, shocking her entire system. She felt herself being immediately pulled towards the bottom of the waterways, but she kicked her legs, hoping not to sink any deeper. Her panic rose. Where was Rin? The water was murky. She could barely see anything. Suddenly she saw an orange shape. Instinctively Kagura raised her fan and directed her powers towards the mass. A tornado suddenly manifested itself and to her relief she felt the weight getting lifted out of the water. In a last ditch effort she pushed her arm forward and hoped the wind propelled the child safely to the solid earth. Kagura could barely move. The cute leather jacket and jeans she had worn to protect herself against the fall chill now constricted her movement. Her body felt so heavy. She then realized that she was sinking deeper. She panicked. She tried to paddle, but instead of moving upwards she was sinking deeper. She could not breathe. Her lungs were on fire. Her chest felt tight as if her heart was being squeezed. She tried to force her legs to move, but despite her efforts she kept sinking deeper. The water was fighting against her and she suddenly could not raise her arm to use her fan anymore. Still her panic rose. Her lungs were screaming for air. No. This was not how things were supposed to end. She was only now getting a taste of the lifestyle she had wanted for so long. She wanted to keep on living. She still wanted to experience so much more. Then everything went dark.
A/N: Don't hate me, I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow as we continue with Kagura week. The theme will be Avarice.