------ Six years later-----
"Hm…. This is a really nice way to spend a birthday…" Sayuri murmured, as her mate continued to wash her back.
The two were sitting in the rather large tub; both had their hair up to prevent it from getting wet.
"You don't look to bad for 31…" Sesshomaru said. Sayuri blew a few bubbles at him.
"No duh, Sherlock…. I still look 24…" Sayuri huffed. "It's like saying for a 42 year old; you don't look a day over 23…"
"And you said I was being the smart as…"
"You are…"
Sesshomaru smirked. He was going to make her pay for that. He started to slowly kiss her neck. Sayuri let the tingle his touch caused consume all over her body. Sesshomaru started to slowly work down. Right before he disappeared beneath the suds, Sayuri lifted his head.
"Nuh uh… I am not letting my man drown himself. I know how you work down there…" Sayuri teased. She leaned closer to his ear.
"Besides…I don't think we're alone anymore…" she whispered. She got out of the tub.
Damn it… you are so going to pay for that later…Sesshomaru thought as he followed her out.
"Ya know…" Sayuri called from the bedroom, after she got one of her silk night slips on.
"What?" he called back, putting on boxers, flannel pj bottoms and his robe.
"I think we need to replace the mattress. I mean, look how bumpy it is…" Sayuri said, taking a seat on the bed.
"Really? We just replaced it last year…" Sesshomaru said, taking a spot next to his wife.
"Maybe if you beat the mattress it would help with the bumps…"
"Like this…"
He gently hit the bed, causing it… to giggle?
"You're not very sneaky honey!" Sayuri said giggling, as she pulled back the covers and started to tickle a six year old girl.
"Mommy! Stop!" Karei cried out, laughing.
So far, she was growing up to be a very beautiful girl. Her hair reach to just below her knees, but she always wore it in pig tails, loving the way the black in her hair ended right at the end from the white. Even though she had her father's eye color, they were more like Sayuri's.
"Mommy! I made you a card!" Karei said, holding up a simple paper card scribbled over with crayon. Sayuri sweat dropped.
"Did you have to draw all those candles?" Sayuri asked.
"Yup! Because you're old!" the six year old said, while giggling.
Sayuri and Sesshomaru couldn't help but laugh.
"Ok pup, time for bed." Sesshomaru said, tossing Karei over his shoulder.
"But daddy! It's only nine!" Karei whined.
"An hour pass your bedtime." Sayuri added.
"But Rin gets to stay up late!"
"That's because Rin's 16…" Sesshomaru said, getting closer to the bedroom door.
"Boo! I don't wanna wait ten years!" Karei whined.
Sesshomaru just rolled his eyes. She was too much like Sayuri for her own good.
Sayuri giggled as the two bickering dog youkai exited the room.
"Good Morning Mr. Tashio." Kagura said, as Sesshomaru entered the company lobby.
"Morning…" he replied.
"Odd thing happened this morning…"
"What?"
"Your son was in earlier than usual today, which is strange considering how much the kid likes to sleep in…" she said, handing Sesshomaru his coffee.
"That's because his girlfriend is coming in from America tonight."
"Hm… that explains a lot…" Kagura said, turning back to her computer.
Especially since he pretty much bathed in Calvin Kline… or it seemed like it… I could catch his scent before he even entered the first floor. The wind demoness rolled her eyes at the thought.
Sesshomaru just shrugged the gesture off and went into his office.
Why am I so tired?
"Hey dad!" Ryusei called from the doorway.
After he graduated high school, Ryusei went to Tokyo University, then eventually to Harvard, to pursue a degree in business management. He was now working as an intern for Sesshomaru's computer company. Unknown to Ryusei, Sesshomaru was planning to pass the company on to him when he retired. In the meantime, Ryusei's just gaining experience on how companies run.
"What's up?" Sesshomaru asked, while taking a seat behind the oak desk.
"So… it's alright for me to get off early to pick Lili up at the airport today, right?"
"I said it was alright… and I found out from Kagura that you came in early to make up the time you would have missed…"
"Time management baby…" Ryusei replied, with a cocky smirk.
Sesshomaru just rolled his eyes.
"Whatever…."
"So Lil and I will be by the house at 5 tomorrow. She can't wait to see Rei-chan."
"Do what you want…"
Ryusei left. That gave Sesshomaru a bit of peace and quite to finish his coffee, and read the newspaper, only to be interrupted again by Kagura.
"Mr. Tashio…" Kagura said, as she opened the door.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Someone is here to see you."
"Do they have an appointment?"
"Trust me, Mr.Tashio… you're going to want to see this one…" Kagura said in a tone that indicated that the person in question wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Fine… show him in."
"Yes, sir.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town…
Y know, every now and then
I think you might like to hear something from us
Nice and easy
But there's just one thing
You see we never ever do nothing
Nice and easy
We always do it nice and rough
So were gonna take the beginning of this song
And do it easy
Then were gonna do the finish rough
This is the way we do proud mary
Sayuri and Chiyo moved their hips to the beat of the music. They were gathered in the studio today, as they had a huge order of designed to fill so might as well have fun while they were at it…
And were rolling, rolling, rolling on the river
Listen to the story
Sayuri started to lip sync to Tina Turner's voice, while Chiyo did Ike Turner.
I left a good job in the city
Working for the man every night and day
And I never lost one minute of sleeping
Worrying bout the way things might have been
Big wheel keep on turning
Proud mary keep on burning
And were rolling, rolling
Rolling on the river
Chiyo took over for Tina, while Sayuri did Ike.
Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis
Pumped a lot of tane down in new orleans
But I never saw the good side of the city
Till I hitched a ride on a riverboat queen
We're rolling, rolling
Rolling on the river
"I sometimes have to question your work ethics girls…" Jakotsu said, sighing.
Chiyo and Sayuri couldn't help but giggle.
"Hey! When you have a job like ours… who wouldn't goof off?" Sayuri pointed out, taking a seat next to Jakotsu.
"So… Chi-chan…" Jakotsu said, crossing his legs in the same manner as Sayuri. "Should Sae-chan be expecting any nieces or nephews anytime soon?"
Chiyo's face turned completely red.
"Um… well…"
"Yes sister… it's about time you started a family…" Sayuri added.
"The thing is…" Chiyo tried to say in her defense. "Aaron and I are so busy with our careers now that I don't think that we will have time for a family. And after seeing you in child birth…" Chiyo made a sick face.
"I'm not sure if I want kids…"
Sayuri threw a rag at Chiyo.
"You're so dumb!" Sayuri said teasingly. Chiyo playfully stuck her tongue out.
"And the whole 'I'm too busy for kids' is total bullshit…" Jakotsu added. "I mean, look at Sayuri! She's not only a mother, but a stepmother, and an adoptive mother… and yet she still has time to become Japan's top interior designer."
"Live by example…" Sayuri added, as she got up and went to her art desk to continue working on an interior design for Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.
"I have to talk to Aaron about kids tonight…" Chiyo concluded, earning a small applause from Jakotsu.
"Oh! And Sae! Don't forget Rei-chan only has a half day of school today." Chiyo added.
"I know… got it on my phone…" Sayuri replied. She looked at the clock. 12:00 pm. DAMN IT! She had to go pick up her little puppy.
If there was something that Sesshomaru was never expecting, it was the person that entered his office next.
"Hello old chum…" a spider hanyo, with long tangly black hair, held back in a ponytail, in a dark gray business suit and tie, said, as he entered, his red eyes not leaving Sesshomaru.
"Naraku…" Sesshomaru said coolly.
"So… I see that life's been treating you well. Who would have thought that the star of our class would have taken over one of Japan's biggest computer companies?" Naraku said casually.
"And what have you been doing with yourself?"
"Creating and running a company of my own…"
Naraku took a quick glance at the family photo that was on Sesshomaru desk. Naraku smirked.
"Well, what do you know… the great Sesshomaru mated a human, and had a hanyo…?"
"What's your business here?" Sesshomaru asked, getting annoyed with the small talk that Naraku had going.
"Ah yes, always straight to the point…"
Naraku then pulled out a file from his brief case.
"I would like to merge our companies together. Just think of the profits that will be coming in. It will most likely give you a better retirement plan that what you already have now. It wouldn't be a bad idea to do it for that cute little family of yours…" Naraku slid the papers towards Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru took a glance through the papers, though his mind was already made up. He knew too well that the only reason Naraku's company only did well was because of constant bribing of public and political officials. He didn't trust any of the money in the Onigumo Inc. name. He'd rather make an honest attempt to help the world with technological needs.
"Thanks but no thanks…" Sesshomaru said, sliding the papers back. "I'm not interested."
"But…"
"I said… I'm not interested. You can just go and find some other company to embezzel, because Tashio co. will have no part in it." Sesshomaru said sternly.
Naraku narrowed his eyes.
"you're going to regret that… Sesshomaru…" Naraku said, as he stormed out of the office.
"Rei-chan. You have daddy's lunch, right?" Sayuri asked Karei, as the two got off the elevator.
"Yup mommy! Right here!" Karei replied, lifting the bundle with her right hand, while her left was being held by Sayuri.
"That's a good girl!" Sayuri said with a smile. As the two walked on, a man brushed Sayuri's shoulder. He looked at her with cold red eyes.
"so… you're the infamous Mrs. Tashio." The man said, looking at Sayuri, especially at her mating mark.
Naraku's envy grew as he continued to look at Sesshomaru's wife. She was a perfect built, with the right size breast and butt, and long legs. Her black hair was currently down to her waist, bringing out the white in her silk blouse and evening out the black knee length skirt. Naraku then turned his attention to the little girl. She looked a lot like Sesshomaru, if not for the black tips of her hair, and the single stripe on eack cheek.
"You have a good day…" he say, disappearing in the elevator.
I really don't like the vibe I get off that man…Sayuri thought to herself.
"Mommy," Karei said. "I don't like that man…"
Sayuri looked at her daughter, who squeezed her hand tighter. Sayuri suddenly remembered something that Kai told her while growing up.
If dogs don't like a certain person, then there's a pretty good reason as to why…
I think you might be right on that one Kai…
"So, he was trying to propose a business merger?" Sayuri asked.
She and Sesshomaru were sitting in bed, with Sayuri working on a sketch in her sketch book.
"Key word…tried…" Sesshomaru said, while gently tugging at the sketch book.
"Please tell me you refuse it…" Sayuri said.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because he gave me and Karei these weird vibes. It was like, he was checking me out… but he also seemed disgusted somehow… I don't know… it's weird to explain…" Sayuri said.
Sesshomaru finally suceeded in pulling the sketchbook away, only to wrap Sayuri in his arms.
"It was probably because he was jealous that he doesn't have a beautiful wife like you…" He whispered in her ear.
Sayuri couldn't help but giggle.
"Ok… what did you do this time?" Sayuri asked suspiciously.
"Hid some odd cans of whipped cream under the bed…" Sesshomaru said, in a Karei- ish way meaning 'I'm not up to anything.'
Sayuri gently whacked him with a pillow.
"You're so dumb!" Sayuri muttered, but reached for under the bed anyway.
Hikaru- chan: hoped you all like this chapter! Please R&R and i'll update asap! oh yea! before i forget, i don't own anything... except for the OCs. song in this story is Proud Mary by Ike and Tina Turner!