Disclaimer: Inuyasha is sooo not mine.
Chapter 21
Over the next several days, Yuki tried getting in contact with Kagome, but he was never able to get her on the phone. She would call him back and leave messages, but he could never get a chance to talk to her. A few times while he was out and about with his mother, Yuki saw Kagome out with a tall, white-haired man. He tried to see which Morikawa male it was; Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru. But he was never given an satisfactory answer; he never saw the other man's face, although from the way he dressed, it could have been either one.
However, the last time he had seen her with the mysterious pale man, he and his mother were having lunch at her favorite French restaurant. After Kagome and her companion had finished eating, the man scooped her up into his arms and held her tenderly against him. She smiled sweetly up at him before he took her by the hand and led her away.
Only the gentle touch of his mother's hand on his stopped him from going over there to raise hell. "Be patient, my love," she whispered. "That man won't take her from you."
"He's trying! Can't you see? He wants her for himself!"
"She loves you, Yuki. You shouldn't worry so." Clasping his hand in hers, Rini chuckled. She raised his hand to her cheek and brushed it against her face.
Yuki's cheeks reddened. "Mom!" he murmured, embarrassed. "What are you doing?"
Rini grinned. "I've missed you, you naughty boy. I have so many years of your life to catch up on. Surely you won't begrudge an old woman time to reconnect with her son." She let go of his hand and patted his arm.
He rolled his eyes. "Mother, you're not old. Far from it. Now don't call yourself old anymore. I don't like it."
"Well, I don't like seeing you mope around all day." She eyed his plate disparagingly. "And you really need to eat more, darling. I'll not have you wasting away before your wedding night. A woman needs something to hold onto while in the throes of ecstasy," she told him placidly as she speared some salad with her fork and ate it delicately.
His face grew redder. "Oh my god, mom, do you mind?"
"No, not a bit. If there's one thing I've learned in life, its that a man with meat on his bones is a hell of a lot sexier than a man who's only bones. I mean, look at your father. There isn't a sexier man alive, I tell you. He's an animal in bed too, when it comes to that."
"Stop that!" Yuki was so horrified that he had to bring his hands up to cover his flaming face. "Please! No more! I can't take anymore!"
Laughter burbled out of Rini's throat. "But angel, don't you see? Wouldn't you love to have your wife talk about you that way?"
Green eyes peered tentatively out through the gaps between his long, slender fingers. "Well, of course I would, but..."
"But what? Oh, don't act so modest, Yuki. Modesty doesn't become you, darling."
"Huh? I can be modest!" he announced rebelliously.
Firmly, his mother shook her head. "You don't have an ounce of modesty in your entire body, Yuki. You're far too brazen for your own good." She lay her fork down and eyed him shrewdly. "Eat! Or I'll call that sweet young woman and tell her to find another man with a fuller figure." Her eyes drifted across the room, then widened suddenly. "Ooh, like him! My, my, isn't he a sexy beast?"
Yuki, with a forkful of grilled chicken half way to his mouth and grumbling discontentedly, paused and looked up to see who his mother was gawking at. "Huh? Who?"
"Doesn't he have just the loveliest black hair you've ever seen? And just look at those arms, oh, my..." She took a swig of her mineral water without looking away.
He saw, from across the room, exactly whom his mother was eyeing. It was Kouga. He and his buddies, who were looking out of place as usual, were getting up from their table.
Rini sighed. "Now he's eye candy, no doubt about it. You know what? I should go over there and have a chat with him. He and Kagome would make an adorable pair, don't you think?"
The grilled chicken went into Yuki's mouth without further delay. "No, I don't think so," he muttered around his food.
"Now, that's much better." She sat back in her chair and fanned herself lightly with her hand. "Oh, my goodness, that young man was certainly quite attractive." Rini smiled a little to herself, her brown eyes turning thoughtful. "You know, your father was built like that once upon a time. He had these arms I would have killed to keep around me all the time. His embraces were like... like a warm, wonderful blanket surrounding me. That young man," she said, nodding in the direction Kouga had gone, "is very like Ryu, physically. No doubt he has a young woman. A man like that usually does. Whoever she is, she's a very lucky girl."
With a sigh, she raised her hand, signalling their waiter. When he appeared, Rini motioned for him to lean down and she whispered in his ear. The man nodded in understanding and took himself off, leaving Yuki frowning at his back. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously.
She shook her head and continued eating her salad.
A few minutes later, the waiter returned with two plates; one was a plate of fried oysters and the other was a large slab of cheesecake heavily drizzled with cherries and cherry sauce. Yuki's eyes glowed with interest, but he still retained his suspicious facade. Those were two of his favorite foods. "What's this?" he asked as disinterestedly as possible.
The waiter laid the two plates before him, then bowed before leaving. Yuki turned to his mother. "Alright, spill it. What's this about?"
Rini smiled. "You need to put on weight, darling, so eat up."
"Are you kidding? I can't eat all that!"
His mother's smile seemed to be stuck on her face, for it didn't budge. "Try," she commanded quietly.
So, pushing the grilled chicken away, he set the fried oysters in front of him and began eating. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head with joy. He loved fried oysters.
By the time he'd gotten to the cheesecake, his mother smiled with relief and patted him on the head. "Good boy. Now I want you to start eating like this more often, okay?"
"But I'll get fat," he mumbled, trying very careful not to spill his mouthful of cherry and cheesecake on himself.
"Not if you do it in moderation, darling. Besides, Akira wants you to start working out, doesn't he? I want you to put on some more weight, Yuki. Give Kagome something to hold on to."
"Mother! For pity's sake...!"
"What? I'm only looking out for my little boy!" she cried defensively.
By the time he'd finished half of the cheesecake, he laid his fork down. "Ugh..." he moaned softly, shutting his eyes. "I ate too much."
Rini gave a ladylike snort and raised her hand for the waiter again, who brought the check. "Nonsense. You ate just enough." She paid with her credit card and when they were ready to go, she stood and helped her son to his feet. Handing him his cane, she slid his arm through hers and led him out of the restaurant.
"Mom, I'm not totally crippled, you know," he murmured as she held his car door open for him.
She studied him for a moment then went to hug him, draping her arms around his middle and pressed her face against his chest. "I know, darling," she told him, her voice trembling slightly. "But I've missed you so much... and I can't bear to see my baby like this! I can't stand seeing you in pain and having to need a cane to move around! It hurts me so much, Yuki. You could have died in that car crash and I never would have... gotten to hold you again... my baby." Her shoulders shook with her sobs.
"Mom," he whispered, dropping a kiss on her shining golden head, "I'm so sorry. I was a fool to have left you the way I did." He held her close and buried his face against her hair. "But I didn't die, mom. I'm still here." He laughed softly when he felt her pinch him. "Ouch. Yep, still alive."
"That's not funny, Yuki," she said reproachfully, moving away from him. She dug in her purse for a kleenex and wiped her eyes with it. "I was very distraught when your brother told me about your accident."
"I can imagine, mom."
"Can you? I was so angry, Yuki. I thought to myself how unfair fate was to take you from us twice in one lifetime. I don't think I could have handled it if you had been killed." Rini tilted her head up, the tears streaming down her cheeks. She reached up and touched the scar that ran down the side of his face, her fingers tracing a path alongside it. "My beautiful little boy," she whispered brokenly.
He smiled down at her. "Mom..."
Her eyes narrowed. She dropped her hand to poke him in the chest. "Now you go out and get that girl! I want grandbabies, damn it! Get in the car!"
"Huh?" Her sudden switch in moods hit him like a load of bricks. Would he ever get used to it?
Rini marched around to the passenger side of the car. "We're going shopping!" she cried, getting in.
"No way! You'll make me walk around for hours!" he wailed, refusing to get in the car.
She glared up at him from her seat. "Not clothes shopping, Yuki. Rings! You need to buy an engagement ring!"
That brought him into the car with one swift movement. "But mom, I don't know her ring size, or what kind of ring she would like, or what kind of stone--"
Rini flapped her hand dismissively. "Details, details! Stop making excuses, darling. Now, on to Ginza!"
"Where in Ginza?" Yuki asked as he started his car's engine, wincing slightly. He knew he should have stayed at home in bed today. His leg was aching.
"Hmm. The Wako department store, I think. Yes, let's go there."
As they drove away from the parking lot, Yuki looked askance at his mother. He had forgotten how forceful his mother could be, but it was comforting to know that she was behind him all the way. There was no way he could fail snagging Kagome with his fierce mother by his side.
oooooooooooooooooo
"Should I invite Yamadera to the next party?" inquired Sesshoumaru thoughtfully of Kouga as he leaned back in his expensive executive leather swivel chair. He was staring up at the ceiling, a small frown on his face.
Kouga stopped typing and looked up from his laptop. He was sitting in an armchair across in front of Sesshoumaru's massive marble desk. "Only if you want to, but why would you?"
Sesshoumaru shrugged and took a sip of his bottled imported mineral water. "I don't know. Just because, I guess."
The black-haired man shrugged. "I think he knew you were just playing with him last time, boss man." Kouga leaned back in his chair. "He looked awfully pissed."
Morikawa laughed. "Do you think I give a damn? The boy may have millions and the business sense to keep those millions rolling in, but he needs to know that I'm the alpha male around here. He needs to realize that he can't just take something from me that I don't wish him to."
"You mean Kagome."
"Especially Kagome. She is off limits to him." He replaced the lid on his water bottle and slammed it down on his desk. "He really chafes my ass. Yes, let's invite the sly little fox. Let him think that the hen house is unguarded. I will crush him before he has a chance to step one paw inside the door."
Kouga's mouth lifted in a half-smile, bringing a wolfish look to his face. "Nice. Very nice." He turned his attention back down to his laptop and began typing. "Okay, one sly fox added. Anything else?"
Sesshoumaru's lips twitched. "Yes. Take Kagome out shopping again and find her something in... blue."
"Why blue?"
Gold-colored eyes slid over to where Kouga sat, a look of resignation in those burning depths. "So she'll match your eyes."
Bright blue eyes widened in surprise. "Sesshoumaru?"
The pale head nodded slowly. Sesshoumaru sighed. "You've done so well with her the first time, I think you deserve to have a little fun. She may be my hostess, but I'd like you to escort her during the next one."
"Won't your business associates find that a little strange?"
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "No. This get-together is important, so I'll need to spend more time with them rather than with Kagome. There will be some major business propositions on the table. I love Kagome, but that little minx is rather... distracting." He chuckled, tapping his fingers on his desktop.
"She most certainly is." Kouga looked down at his laptop for a moment, then back up at his new employer. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru. She won't disappoint you and neither will I."
"I know you won't. It will be another great success. Oh, yes, after the party, he'll know that you no longer work for him, right? I hope you'll let him know before then."
"Certainly, he'll know." Closing the laptop, Kouga got to his feet. "I've already sent our resignation notices his home. But right now," he grinned delightedly, "I get to take my favorite girl out to buy a brand new dress."
"Hey," Sesshoumaru called out as Kouga began walking towards the door, "no hanky-panky, Matsuno! No asking her to marry you and no touching or feeling in the wrong places, you got that?!"
Kouga threw his head back and laughed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Later, boss man." He slipped out of the door and was gone.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Yuki was surprised to see another invitation to yet another of Morikawa Sesshoumaru's parties. He scowled and tossed the invitation on his desk. Something was up, he just knew it. Sesshoumaru hated him; he felt it strongly at the last party, so why was he invited again?
He got shakily to his feet, grabbing his cane as he did so. Sesshoumaru was tormenting him. That much was obvious. Sesshoumaru had the power to keep Kagome away from him as long as he wanted; hell, wasn't that what he'd been doing just recently? Making her put together these huge parties, acting as his hostess? Keeping her so busy that she couldn't answer her phone? Sesshoumaru would do anything to keep her away from him.
A soft knock came at his office door. "Yes?" His voice was curt, angry.
Kaede came in, a thick white envelope in her hand. "Yuki-san, this just arrived for you." As he took it from her, she reached over to brush his hair back from his face. "What's wrong? Are you in any pain?"
Yuki shook his head as he opened the envelope. There were four letters inside; the first three were resignation letters from Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku. The other one was something from their lawyer, stating that they had all relinquished their shares of Netsu to him. He frowned, sinking down onto his chair. "What's going on? Why is everyone deserting me?"
"I'm not sure that's the case, Yuki-san," said the nurse in a soothing voice. "Perhaps they felt it was time to move on. Or perhaps they found a better paying position?"
Yuki froze, then turned his head and eyed her with disbelief. "What? Are you saying I'm a cheapskate?" he demanded.
Hiding her smile, Kaede shook her head. "No, you're actually quite a generous young man." When his frown didn't go away, she sighed with exasperation. "Oh, for heaven's sake, don't be so suspicious of everything. You'll never have a long lasting relationship if you don't learn to trust anyone. Anyway, that's not what I meant."
He grunted. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you meant," he replied sourly. "Someone lured them away, like religion supposedly lured Miroku away. Well, damn them all. If they don't want to work for me, then I sure as hell don't need them."
Yuki settled back against his seat, his mind going around and around. Something felt a little off here, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Miroku, Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku...
Somehow, their leaving his employment so closely together suddenly seemed suspicious. What was the connection?
They had all been deeply involved in watching over Kagome when he had been incapacitated; even more so than anyone else because he had trusted them more than anyone else. Of course, there were those two other men, Kanako and the new guy, Hachi. But even so, those two had been directly under Miroku's supervision.
Yuki made a mental note to question those two as soon as possible.
ooo
A couple of days later, Yuki, accompanied by his mother, attended Sesshoumaru's latest bash. This time, he came early so he could see Kagome again, face to face. Thankfully, Sesshoumaru was busy talking to a couple of old stiffs in tuxedos when he and his mother came up to Kagome.
"Kagome!" his mother cried and embraced the girl. "I've missed you so much, you naughty thing! Where have you been?"
Kagome flushed under Rini's bright gaze. "Forgive me! I had many things to do, Rini-san. My step-brother needed a hostess for his parties, so naturally I stepped up to do my duty. Unfortunately, that also consisted of taking care of all the arrangements like catering, alcoholic beverages, etc. It's been very exhausting work."
Rini smiled sweetly at her and eyed her up and down. "Well, my dear, I must say that you look positively radiant. Doesn't she look lovely, Yuki?"
His eyes had already taken in her appearance; several times in fact. "Stunning," he said appreciatively, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. In truth, he wished to do more than that... like snatch her up, run off with her to some deserted island and make love to her until she begged him to stop. His lips skimmed lightly over her cheekbone and placed another kiss on her little ear. "I love you," he whispered hotly, "and I'm still waiting for your answer."
When he pulled away, he saw that her face was a bright rosy shade of pink. Her eyes glowed like large brown gems in her adorable face and his heart began to gallop in his chest.
"Y-yuki," she moaned breathlessly.
He looked down and noticed that her chest was heaving, as though she had trouble breathing. All he knew at that moment was that he would give anything to be able to nuzzle his face against her beautiful breasts...
"Darling, you're getting a little too excited, if you know what I mean," his mother whispered hurriedly in his ear.
That snapped him out of his lovely day dream and his face went red. "Mom!" he hissed at her.
"What?" Rini's big brown eyes widened innocently.
"You're not supposed to notice stuff like that!" He sent Kagome an apologetic look.
Rini's body stiffened defensively. "I'm your mother," she said rather loudly, much to Yuki's dismay. "I'm supposed to notice things like that." Turning to Kagome she said, "A small problem has arisen with my son. Please excuse us, my dear."
She gave Kagome a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing a now fiery red Yuki by the arm and leading him away. They soon disappeared through the crowd of elegantly dressed men and women.
As Kagome stared at Yuki's and Rini's retreating backs, she was filled with confusion. What had happened just now? A small problem? Was his leg hurting again?
"A good hostess is not supposed to look confused."
Startled by the proximity of the soft voice beside her ear, Kagome whirled around to see Kouga smiling down at her. She returned his smile and he held out his arm to her. She took it and he led them to the dance floor where many couples were waltzing. Kagome couldn't resist a small, pleased grin.
The waltz was something else she'd been forced to learn during these past several days. Of course, she'd been terrible at the beginning, always managing to trip over her own feet and occasionally, over her instructor's feet. Thankfully, he had been incredibly patient; but then again, she knew he'd always be patient with her, no matter how incompetent she was.
"I'm scared," Kagome whispered to her teacher.
Kouga chuckled, grasping her hand in his. "You'll do fine. Just relax and follow my lead."
As they slid smoothly in with the other couples, Kagome couldn't help but laugh self-consciously. "I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb," she murmured, trying to speak and concentrate at the same time.
She still couldn't believe that Kouga, of all people, knew how to waltz. During one of their dance lessons, she put the question to him.
He chuckled and shook his head. "I learned back in my late teens. I know this will sound odd to you, but I was once a rich woman's plaything and one of the things she demanded from me was that I know how to do well was the waltz." He smiled ruefully. "She was a slave driver when it came time for my lessons. I don't think I'll ever forget how to waltz, thanks to her."
"Oh, wow. What else did you learn?"
Kouga gave her a concerned look. "Are you sure you want to know?"
She nodded and he sighed. "Let's just say, I was a virgin when she took me into her bed. Everything I learned, I learned from her." His eyes stayed on her face, as if waiting to see her reaction.
"I see." Kagome bowed her head. "I didn't mean to pry. I hope I didn't upset you too much."
Warm, loving arms surrounded her and she felt Kouga's lips in her hair. "It doesn't upset me unless it upsets you. She meant nothing to me, Kagome. Sure, she gave me lots of money, took me on shopping sprees, bought me anything I ever wanted and yeah, the sex was great. But that was so long ago, that I don't think about it or her anymore. I didn't want to tell you, but you wanted to know."
"I know. Have you seen her recently?" She looked away.
"Darling, are you jealous?" He tilted her head up, his blue eyes sparkling. Of course she didn't need to answer. Her thoughts were written all over her face. "No and I'll never see her again."
Kagome felt a bit of relief flood her. "Are you sure?"
With a shout of laughter, Kouga kissed her thoroughly. "Kagome! My little girl is jealous of another woman! That's so cute!" He grinned from ear to ear and kissed the tip of her nose. "But I'm positive I'll never see her again. She was killed in a car accident five years ago." The grin slowly vanished.
"Oh! How awful!"
He nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I know, but it was her fault. She was drunk and she struck another car at a high rate of speed. It was pure luck that the other driver wasn't killed, too." He shook his head sadly. "I don't know how many times I told her to lay off the bourbon. That was her favorite drink, but damn, she drank it so often you couldn't tell when she was drunk or sober."
"How long were you with her?" Kagome asked as Kouga pulled her to her feet to continue practicing.
"Until my 22nd birthday. She was in love with me," he said, spinning her into his arms and kissing her, "but by then, I was so utterly bored with her and her repulsive drinking habits, I left. Little did I know that I would find an even greater treasure waiting for me years down the road." He winked at Kagome and they began to dance...
"You're doing great," he told her graciously, smiling a little as he looked down at her sapphire blue gown. His gaze slid up and he watched her as she closed her eyes, allowing him to sweep her along. As he studied her, her face began to flush with exertion and he felt his mouth go dry. His heart raced like a hundred stampeding horses in his chest. When his hand clutched her waist a little tighter, her eyes flew open.
Kagome, who had finally felt like she had gotten the hang of it, was startled at the feeling of the hand around her waist tightening convulsively. "Kouga?" she asked after a moment. Kouga's eyes were burning through her.
Unable to help herself, her gaze fell to his lips, for they had begun to move. Through the roaring of her wildly pounding heartbeats, she caught the words, "Have I told you I loved you today?"
Numbly, she shook her head and managed to reply. "No. Tell me," she said automatically.
Suddenly, the couple-filled dance floor was gone and she found herself alone with him outside on the terrace. The night was warm and velvety soft around them, but she barely took notice of it.
Taking her hand in his, he led her away from the brightly lit windows to the darker part of the terrace. Once there, he pulled her to him. "I love you. I love you so much." He bowed his head and kissed her softly, his lips nipping lightly at hers.
"But... Sesshoumaru..." she gasped between kisses.
"... is busy," he finished for her, wrapping his arms about her. "That's why he asked me to be with you tonight."
"Oh, I see." She felt him steer her backwards a little until she felt something hard and cool press horizontally across her back.
Kouga leaned her gently against the railing, smiling as he dipped down to ravish her adorable little mouth again.
He was thankful that he'd kept his anger in check when he'd seen Yuki kiss Kagome earlier. Seeing that bastard touch her made his blood boil. But he would not think of that right now. There was only one thing he wanted to fill his mind with... and she was right here with him, kissing him back.
oooooooooooooo
He looked around the ballroom, but he couldn't find her! Yuki felt panic crawl up his throat, wanting to get. He'd looked everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. On top of that, his leg had begun to ache...
"Darling, what's wrong?" Rini asked calmly, taking a sip of her champagne.
Yuki's fair eyebrows snapped downwards. "I can't find Kagome!" he snapped irritably.
Rini caressed his face. "Sweetheart, Kagome is the hostess. No doubt she's busy right now. You shouldn't worry so much."
"Busy doing what?" he muttered unkindly under his breath, but his mother heard anyway. She clicked her tongue reprovingly at him and he turned away from her.
He glanced over where the doors that led outside opened and he caught a glance of silvery-white hair. Yuki craned his neck to get a better look, but all he could see was a tall man with long silver hair in a black tuxedo. As he recalled, the Morikawa brothers had dressed alike this evening, damn them.
But it wasn't only the pale hair that had drawn his gaze. The silver haired male was standing by a pillar of white marble, talking to a young lady in a lovely blue evening gown. Kagome! What was she doing way over there?
Her smooth cheeks were flushed charmingly and she smiled lovingly up at... Inuyasha? Or was it Sesshoumaru? Damn, he wished he could tell which one it was.
The pale-haired man left and Kagome then moved and disappeared behind the pillar. Yuki scowled. It looked like she had been pulled behind it and he started forward, but when she reappeared again, her face was bright red and her fingers were pressed lightly against her lips. Yuki knew what that meant! Somebody had just kissed her! With a snarl, he began making his way over to her, his mother clinging to his arm.
Then he saw something that made him stop. He hadn't noticed it because he had been solely concerned with Kagome, but once again, a tall, silver-haired man was beside her. The man was holding her hand and leading her away... and that was when Yuki could see the man's face.
Inuyasha?!
He looked over at Kagome, who was still blushing like crazy.
Something tugged sharply on his arm and Yuki looked over his shoulder. Rini was shaking her head and pulled him back.
"But mom, that bastard kissed my woman!" he growled as she slipped her arm in his.
"I think I should take you home, my love," she told him, casting a worried glance over his face. "You don't look so good and your limp is more pronounced. I think you should take your pain medicine and lie down. Come, darling. Let's go home."
ooo
After Rini and Kaede fussed over him like a couple of mother hens and managed to tuck him into bed, Yuki lay in the dark, glaring up at the ceiling. His right leg was throbbing madly; even the big scar on his face hurt him, but all he could see was Kagome's face, flushed and smiling, her fingers pressed against her lips. She'd just been kissed; he would swear to that. But just because Inuyasha had been with her after she reappeared from behind the pillar, didn't mean he was the one who had put his disgusting face on hers.
So who had? Was it the man Kagome had said loved her? It was certain to be someone she loved back and trusted, for she had shoved him away and said that 'he' loved her.
So did that mean Inuyasha wasn't the guy who kissed her?
Sitting straight up all of a sudden, he let loose a roar of frustration, grabbed his bedside lamp and flung it across the room. It shattered loudly in the semi-darkness and he lay back against his pillows, feeling slightly better.
The sound of feet came running down the hallway and soon after his bedroom door was flung open. Rini, with Kaede close on her heels, burst into the room and flipped on the light switch.
"Yuki! Baby! What's wrong?" Rini ran to him and practically flung herself on top of him. "Honey? Are you okay?"
The worry in her eyes made him regret losing his cool. "I'm fine... mom, really," he rasped, desperately trying to keep his anger at bay. "I just had a nightmare."
Kaede was already picking up the pieces of his broken lamp. "It must have been some nightmare for you to chunk this all the way across the room," she remarked dryly.
While Rini resumed her fussing, Yuki closed his eyes. His mother's hand was running through his hair, sweeping it back and all the while she was cooing to him, soothing his frazzled nerves.
But meanwhile, his mind was still racing around. There was only one way to be sure of the trespasser's identity and this time he wouldn't rely on his men, who he'd realized had most likely concealed information regarding Kagome and her unknown suitor.
This time, he would hire a private investigator.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Sesshoumaru found Kouga kissing Kagome out on the terrace, but he managed to keep his cool when he strode over and tapped the man on the shoulder. Kouga's body tensed and Sesshoumaru could see his left arm moving slightly forward, as if it was reaching for something.
"It's just me," Sesshoumaru muttered, hoping that the ex-assassin wouldn't have an itchy trigger finger. He should have remembered that Kouga probably would have a weapon of some kind on him.
Thankfully, Kouga's body relaxed and he turned away from Kagome so that she was looking at his left side, and his arm dropping down. "Oh, hey. Um, a word of warning, boss man. Don't sneak up on me. Okay?" His right hand came up and quickly flipped the right side of his tuxedo jacket back a little. Sesshoumaru caught a glimpse of a dark handle of a gun tucked in the waistband of his trousers before the jacket was returned to its original place.
Kagome glanced from one man to the other with confusion, but then turned to her guardian and smiled at him. "Hi, Sesshoumaru! How are you doing? Is everything going okay?"
Sesshoumaru nodded and took her hand, pulling her away from Kouga and back to the party. "Yep, everything's going just fine." When they were inside, he turned to her. "You have done an excellent job once again, beloved. I have received so many compliments tonight." He bowed to her and left, after telling her that he would see her in a bit to claim a dance.
As soon as he was gone, movement from behind the marble column made her look and a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. Kagome found herself once more in Kouga's embrace, his lips against hers. "Hello, beautiful. Did you miss me?"
She giggled. "I was only with you a couple of minutes ago!"
His lips brushed against her temple. "A couple of minutes away from you feels like a year," he replied, giving her body a squeeze before taking her lips once more.
"Oi! Let her go, baka!"
Kouga groaned as Kagome gasped. They both looked over to where Inuyasha stood, hands on his hips. "What could you possibly want, Inu?" grunted Kouga irritably.
"She promised me this dance," Inuyasha said triumphantly. He held out his hand to her. "Come on, my lady. Will you dance with me like you said you would? Or do I need to force you to sign something?" He winked at her, giving her a sexy smile.
Kagome grinned at both men before taking Inuyasha's hand with a laugh and allowed him to pull her behind him. But she wasn't quick to forget Kouga's kiss. It seared through her, making her feel weak. Pressing her fingers to her mouth, she sighed. Yuki's kiss was like this too, so heated, so raw, so intense with feeling.
As Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her for the dance, she leaned against him. If only she could choose between the two! If only there was some sign to tell her which path she must start down. As she danced with her step-brother, Kagome prayed to Kami-sama for help.
oooooooo
Kami-sama was quick to give her an answer. Even though she didn't know it was the right one, it was an answer nonetheless... but it didn't make it any less painful.
Kagome was taken out the next day by not one, but three sexy men. Kouga and his boys wanted to spend time with her, so they took her to Palette Town and to ride the massive Odaiba Ferris wheel. After they rode the wheel enough to satisfy Kagome, not to mention the Hyper Shoot and Hyper Drop, (both which freaked her out) they kept a close eye on her as she dragged them along while she shopped. They first went to the Sun Walk, then up a level to Venus Fort: a woman's shopping paradise.
Kouga was the only one willing to enter those stores with her. Ginta and Hakkaku waited outside the shops, wondering when the torture would end.
It finally did... after Kagome had, mostly at Kouga's insistence, to spend a small fortune (at least, to her) of Sesshoumaru's money. She left the mall with several new outfits, shoes and plenty of accessories that had been picked out by Kouga. When she began to worry that Sesshoumaru would have a fit about the amount of money she spent, Kouga nay-sayed her.
"Don't worry your pretty little head with that," he told her with a grin. "Besides, he wanted me to take her you here. He told me that this is to show his gratitude to you for all your hard work."
The four of them walked to a small ice cream stand by the waterfront and had ice cream. While Kouga leaned against the railing, looking out over the river, the wind kicked up, forcing the back of his light jacket to blow upwards. Kagome, who had just happened to look over at him at that moment, saw something dark protruding out from the waistband of his jeans.
Her eyes widened. A gun?
His hand automatically reached back and tugged his jacket down. Kagome, completely stunned, turned around and ran smack into Ginta's chest. Her hand reached out to brace herself against his abdomen... and she felt some cold and hard as steel beneath his t-shirt. Jerking her hand back, she looked up at him and for the first time, saw something cool in his glance that disturbed her greatly. Where was the gentle look she had always come to expect from him? Obviously, he hadn't wanted her to discover what he was hiding beneath his shirt.
"G-ginta," she stammered, not knowing what to say.
He shook his head. "Say nothing," he told her quietly.
"But..."
Ginta sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his eyes were narrowed. "Kouga didn't want us to tell you that we carry guns," he murmured softly.
Kagome stole a glance at Kouga, who was laughing and talking with Hakkaku. "Why not?" she asked, afraid to know the answer.
"He didn't want to scare you off and well... because it's really none of your business, is it?" He groaned and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Kagome. We carry weapons on our bodies at all times. It's a habit that we've never bothered to break. Kouga's told us that you know what he used to do for a living and its just second nature to us now. Besides, we never know when we'd have a good paying job and we needed them for work. So it just made sense to keep wearing them."
Her eyes grew wide with horror. "What are you saying?" She whirled around to look at Kouga, who was still chatting with Hakkaku.
Ginta leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Do you remember when Kouga and my brother were out of town?"
Her mind went swiftly back to that time. They had been gone for several days as she recalled. She turned away from him. "Please, no more. I don't want to know."
"But..."
"I said I don't want to know," she whispered, feeling her heart grow heavy. Kouga, she thought sadly, hadn't changed his old ways. Wiping away the tears, she turned to Ginta and asked to be taken home.
When she was dropped off, Kouga got out of the car, fully intending to see her into the house, but she pleaded a bad headache and said that she was going to lie down, so it wasn't necessary to follow her in. As soon as she shut the door on his confused face and locked it, she slid down the nearest wall, tears streaming down her face. After all this time, she thought she knew him! How could he lie to her?
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
While Sesshoumaru and Kouga were in the former's office, the secretary buzzed in and told Mr. Morikawa that he had a visitor. Sesshoumaru acknowledged this and told the woman to allow the person to enter.
A moment later, Kagome came in. Both men got to their feet and came forward, but Kagome tried, unsucessfully to keep from flinching when Kouga came to her. While he was wondering what was wrong, her eyes were searching his waist in search of mysterious lumps.
Kouga took a step back, utterly baffled. What the hell was going on?
"Sesshoumaru? I was wondering if we could have lunch together today. Its been awhile since we've had time to ourselves together. Pretty please?" She looked up at him and gave him an innocent smile.
He looked happier than ever. "Yes, that would great! Let me get my things first," he said, turning away and going to his desk. "I'll be back in a couple of hours, Kouga. Do what you need to do to finish the invitation list and anything else that needs to be done." He grabbed Kagome's hand and they headed for the door.
Kouga watched them go, hurt and puzzlement in his eyes. He looked down at his waist and wondered what it was she was--
His eyes flew open in stunned understanding. Had she seen his gun?
Grabbing his phone, he dialed Ginta's number. When he answered, Kouga asked him point blank if Kagome had seen his gun the day before. Ginta, who was half-asleep, confirmed that she had.
"Oh my god," Kouga breathed, sinking down into his chair.
Ginta yawned. "Oh my god, what? What difference does that make? She found mine too."
"What?! How?"
Ginta told him briefly of her bumping up against him and of the ensuing conversation. Meanwhile, Kouga felt his blood pressure spike to a dangerous level. "What the hell were you thinking?!" he roared.
"Dude, chill out! I figured she'd find out sooner or later about us working for Yuki, so--"
Kouga was ready to tear his hair out. "That's not what it sounded like to me! The way you talked it sounded like we were still in the old game!"
"Huh?" Ginta's voice was low, confused... but not for long. "Oh! Aw, shit! Sorry, Kouga! I didn't think--"
"Obviously not!" He groaned wretchedly, running an agitated hand through his hair. "No wonder she doesn't want to come near me. She thinks... she thinks I'm still... oh god..."
"Kouga, I'm sorr--"
But Kouga hung up the phone before Ginta could finish. He felt utterly miserable. How could he make her understand that it wasn't what she thought? He'd given up that life a long time ago!
He raised a trembling hand to his chest where the ring rested against his skin on its gold chain. With a sinking heart, he realized that the chance of her ever wearing this ring had just slipped away.
What a mess.
What a horrible, damned mess...
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Several days later, Sesshoumaru was supremely happy. He'd spent his entire weekend with Kagome, doing pretty much anything her little heart desired. During the work week, he took her out to lunch everyday. Vaguely, he wondered why she spent no time with Kouga, but he didn't care. She was spending time with him and that was all that mattered.
So delighted was he at her sudden change of heart, that he didn't even mind if Inuyasha was around her. As to Kouga, Sesshoumaru was concerned. The man hadn't appeared for work in over a week, which was unusual. He finally got a hold of Hakkaku, who told him that Kouga had gone off on his own for awhile, but they didn't know where. Apparently, he'd left them a note telling them he'd left but that was all.
When Sesshoumaru asked Kagome what had happened with Kouga, she refused to talk about it, turning her face away sadly. But when he told her that Kouga had gone away, she became instantly concerned for him.
Sesshoumaru was confused. Just what had happened between them?
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Did you find anything concrete?"
It was two weeks after the last Morikawa gala. The private investigator Yuki had hired was standing at the window for a moment, smoking a cigarette. He was in his 40s, medium height, medium weight with a small potbelly and a bad chain-smoking habit. He seemed to be inwardly debating something.
As the silence wore on, Yuki grew frustrated. "Well?" he demanded angrily. He reached for the glass ashtray on his desk and stubbed his own cigarette out impatiently. "Look, I didn't pay you a shit load of money just so you could stand around smoking all day."
The investigator sighed and picked up his briefcase where he had set it on the floor beside him. He brought it over to Yuki's desk where he set it down, opened it and retrieved a large, sealed manilla folder. He set it down in front of Yuki, who only glared at it. "Go ahead, take a look. But personally, I wouldn't pursue this matter any further."
Shutting his briefcase, he grabbed the handle and headed for the door. "I'll be expecting the rest of the money wired into my personal account by the five today, as per our agreement," the man said briefly before slipping out of the room and shutting the door quietly behind him.
Yuki stared at the folder a moment before opening it. He was terrified of what he might find, but he had to know. His trembling fingers undid the flap and he lifted one end, tilting the envelope so the contents spilled out onto his desk. Large, glossy black and white photographs stared up at him. He picked up the top and one, bracing himself to see the worst.
It was a picture of Kagome, as fresh and lovely as ever, standing on her front porch with a look of expectant joy on her face. Frowning slightly, Yuki's eyes slid over to the left, in the direction of her gaze. A man was getting out of a car. A tall man with long white hair.
He let the photo slide out of his nerveless fingers. Inuyasha. Of course, damn it all. How could he not have known that?
But picking up the next picture, his heart froze. The tall man with the white hair was standing in front of Kagome, cupping her face with one hand. He was smiling so tenderly at her that for a moment, Yuki could only stare in shock at who the man actually was. The moment of disbelief wore off enough to make Yuki wanted to reach into the picture and knock that look off his face. But at least he could see who the man was. No one could mistake that haughty profile.
Not Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
A/N: Okay... I hope this one is long enough. -- Anyway, y'all should look on my profile. I have the link there for my LiveJournal, where I will be posting an alternate ending to this story... eventually.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie!
RSB