ONCE AND AGAIN

By Jodie-chan

Chapter 6 Unknown Fatherhood

Kagome keeps on fidgeting in her desk. This will probably be the worst day ever in her life. She couldn't think straight due to the fact that she might lose her job today. Sango noticed her uneasiness and approached her friend.

"Kagome-chan, calm down ok, as long as you apologize to him and explain why you acted that way yesterday, he might understand…and not fire you."

"I don't know Sango-chan, I'm so nervous. I've been rehearsing my lines for a hundredth time so I wouldn't mess up in front of him but I just can't help to be afraid of what might happen. I don't want to lose this job Sango-chan." She looked at her helplessly while continuously tapping her fingers on the table.

Sango is standing beside Kagome's desk leaning against the wall of the room where Kagome shared with a couple of other employees under her supervision. She moved her hand forward to touch her friend's shoulder.

"It'll be ok." She said smiling. "I'll get back to work now, since the meeting hasn't started yet…" Sango left her and closed the door.

Since she got promoted as the new Junior Creative Director, the agency gave her an office of her own that separates from the rest of the employees. Outside her private office, Sango, her Executive Asst., Aya her Secretary and 3 more staffs of the Junior Creative Director's office is where they're staying.

She let out a long heave of sigh when she heard a banging sound outside her office and Sango's outburst.

"HENTAI!"

Kagome rushed outside to find a very furious Sango holding a bunch of folders against the man's head, she recognized as the one with the jerk President she met yesterday.

"Sango-chan?" She looked at her and back to the man, who's trying to stand on his feet while holding his hands up like a thief caught in the act.

"You must be the Junior Creative Director? Sango hasn't introduced us yet but I will have the honor," Miroku clasped Kagome's hand tightly on his own. Kagome's eyes widen when he spoke.

"I'm Miroku Kazaana and you must be Kagome Higurashi, Sango's friend perhaps?" She nodded.

"Uhhm Kagome…you know… I'm very lonely, but if you do something for me I'll be the happiest man alive…. Will you bear my child?" Kagome blushed.

WHAM

Sango pulled a computer keyboard and banged it on Miroku's head. He's lying on the floor, unconscious.

"Serves him right!" Sango said irritated while Kagome only gaped.

After a few minutes, Miroku is already conscious and chatting happily with Sango and Kagome inside Kagome's office.

"Inuyasha isn't here yet, he's probably on his way now. Used to it, he's always late." Kagome froze when she heard Inuyasha's name and they noticed it.

"Don't worry Kagome, he will not terminate you, if that's what you're thinking." He said securely while looking around the room.

"Are you sure about that Mr. Kazaana? What happened yesterday was no joke?" Sango eyed him curiously.

"Yeah…can you please drop the formality Sango, Miroku will be just fine," he said grinning. Sango blushed and Kagome saw her friend trying to hide her face.

"I know Inuyasha better than anybody else. He just have a very unpredictable temper but he's not a cruel person." He said standing up and heading to the door.

"Really?" Kagome's face lit up. She still has a hope. Miroku nodded and turned to Sango.

"Bye Sango…see you around. I guess we'll be seeing more of each other from now on." He said grinning and winked at her. Sango blushed crimson red.

"Sango-chan I think Miroku likes you." Kagome is grinning to her friend.

"What! No way! He likes every girl he sees! He's a pervert for God's sake, Kagome!"

Kagome only laughed while Sango glared at her when Aya, her secretary told them that the meeting has already started. The two rushed into the conference room, sneaking behind quietly. Miroku saw them and winked. Kagome noticed that Inuyasha wasn't paying much attention to the entire meeting. He seemed to be asleep; his hair hid his eyes and his arms crossed over his chest.

The meeting has ended with Inuyasha's 5 minutes speech. He didn't say much but the employees cheered him anyway.

The employees are leaving the conference room to go back at their work when Sango nudged Kagome to approach the President and apologize before they leave.

Kagome walked over to them with Sango on her side to support her. Inuyasha's back was turned to her. Miroku motioned for them to come closer and nudged Inuyasha to face the two nervous girls.

"Ah Inuyasha? Someone wants to talk to you." Miroku said smiling.

Inuyasha turned around completely to face a very nervous Kagome. She's shaking slightly while trying to put a forced smile on her face.

"I… I …just want to apologize, what happened yesterday… Sir…I'm sorry." She trailed off lowering her head to hide her embarrassment.

Inuyasha lifted a brow and smirked.

"Keh! Apology accepted. But be sure to watch that attitude Ms. Higurashi, I don't tolerate those kind of outbursts." He said frowning while heading out the door.

Kagome's head shot up. She was annoyed. 'What a jerk! Now I'm the one with attitude? Great!' She threw a death glare on his retreating back. Miroku waived at them and followed Inuyasha.

"At least he didn't fire you…" Sango patted her shoulder.

"And I should be thankful?" Kagome snorted.

Inuyasha rushed to a lunch appointment to meet his lawyer. He left the office just after the meeting ended and asked Miroku to stay there to take over while he's away.

Attorney Hirigizawa was already sitting in the table reserved for them. He shook his hands when he reached the table. They ordered and ate first before discussing the important matters his lawyer was telling him about.

"How's everything attorney Hirigizawa?" He said seriously.

"We have a big problem Inuyasha. You're wife didn't sign the divorce papers, she even tore it in my face." He fixed his eyeglasses and handed a folder to Inuyasha.

"What's this?" He flipped through the files in the folder.

"Those are the possible grounds we can use against her in the court proceedings." Inuyasha nodded and handed back the folder to his lawyer.

"What do you think is the most possible ground we can use?" He asked intently.

"Well as far as I examined everything, we can use 'Irreconcilable Differences' as the heaviest ground possible. Her usage of birth control pills doesn't count at all since it's a woman's choice if she wants to get pregnant or not." He stated firmly.

"Just do everything. I'm really counting on you here. I really want 'out' of this marriage." He said dead serious.

"Don't worry we'll work things out. Before I forgot, the detective I hired to investigate on your wife's bank account has already reported to me. You wouldn't believe, but almost all her savings accounts were already closed. She probably spent it on casinos because she has always been spotted in Las Vegas."

Inuyasha wasn't shock to hear the story at all. He knew very well what are Kikyou's luxury besides jewelries and clothes. She's in too much gambling ever since they live in New York. He just shook his head.

After his lunch meeting with his lawyer he decided not to go back at the office and to stroll down the mall nearest to the restaurant he'd been. He took off his suit, leaving just his blue long sleeved shirt on. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt and tied his long silver hair leaving just a few locks on the side of his face. He parked his Benz in the basement and proceeded to the mall, hoping to relax for a while.

Souta held his nephew's hand tightly; they're inside the mall's arcade. Souta's class was half-day due to an emergency teacher's meeting. The Principal cancelled all the classes and let the students went home early. Souta is in his first year in Junior High, he was a bit behind his batch because he had to stop when he was hospitalized a few years ago.

His 4 year-old nephew Inari is only in nursery. His class is half-day every day. Souta took his nephew with him in the mall because he keeps on whining and asking for an ice cream and cotton candy.

They strolled along when Souta spotted the arcade. Being a teenager himself, a video game is always tempting.

"Inari-chan, just stay here beside me ok, I'm going to play one game and then we'll go and buy you some ice cream and cotton candy," he tried to sound as convincing as possible. The boy nodded.

"Ok…but hurry uncle Souta, Inari wants ice cream," he said pouting.

"Yes, yes…just stay there and don't move ok." He turned and walked on one of the video games. He wasn't far from the kid, just a few feet away, but his back was turned on him so he didn't noticed when the kid started to go out of the arcade.

Inari saw a big purple dinosaur walking outside the arcade. Children are following the purple creature, while it's dancing and giggling with them.

"Barney! Uncle Souta! Barney! It's Barney!" Inari squealed happily and turned to his Uncle to get his attention but it's too loud inside the arcade. Souta didn't hear his nephew and kept on playing but Barney's going away. Inari stepped out of the arcade and followed Barney.

Outside, there were too many people walking in every direction. Inari lost Barney's track. He stopped and looked around but he couldn't see the purple creature anymore. He tried to go back to his Uncle Souta but he didn't know what direction to take, left or right, this way or that way. There were so many people, and it's very loud, he covered his ears and walked again.

He stopped when he saw a fountain in the middle of the mall. There were few benches unoccupied so he walked over and sat on one.

He started to sniff after a few minutes of glancing back and forth to the people that passed him by.

"Uncle Souta, Mama…Where are you?" he mumbled quietly, tears threatening to fall from his golden eyes.

Inuyasha has been walking for 30 minutes trying to find some place to sit and rest his aching muscles when he spotted a fountain right in the middle of the mall. He walked over and sat beside a kid when he noticed that the boy is crying.

His head was down, his hands cradled on his lap while the tears keep pouring from his eyes.

"Oi kid… are you lost?" Inuyasha asked the kid, trying not to scare him.

The boy's head shot up and looked at him. Inuyasha stared at the boy's tear stained face not noticing his eye color are the same like his.

A sudden emotion rushed over him. He felt like a hand crushed his heart when he saw the tears in the kid's eyes. Fear and sadness flashed on his face and he couldn't help but stared down on the boy. 'What is this? Why am I feeling this way? I don't know this kid at all…' he mentally pushed away the emotion when the boy spoke.

"Hey mister, why are you staring? Mama said it's rude to stare, you know." Inari said innocently while pouting. He already stopped crying.

"I'm not staring kid." Inuyasha looked away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes you are!" Inari jumped up and stood in front of him, pointing a finger on his face.

"No I'm not." He smirked.

"Hmph! I saw you mister, don't lie." He said and pouted more, his lips puckered. Inuyasha glanced once more at the kid. He couldn't help but smiled when he saw his face. ' This kid is cute…Keh! Why would I think that! Sure this kid is as annoying as Sesshoumaru's brats!' he mentally argued with his self.

"So kid…are you lost? Where are your parents?" he asked and looked at the kid.

"Uncle Souta, can't find him." He shook his head and looked at him, he's about to cry again.

"Oi kid, don't cry! I'll help you find your uncle, just don't cry!" He panicked when he saw the threatening tears.

The boy's face lit up and smiled at him. "Thank you."

He took the kids hand and led him on the way. "Kid, what's your name?"

The boy stopped and looked at him. A toothy smile crept his face.

"Inari"

Inuyasha looked thoughtful, 'Inari? What a weird name to name a kid…his parents are probably old fashioned, naming their child after some god'

He snapped when he felt a tag on his hands. He looked down at the boy and he's staring back at him with a grin. He's pointing a finger over an Ice Cream booth.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes before he let the kid dragged him over the ice cream seller.

"Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!" he kept on chanting over and over again until they reached the booth.

'What did I get myself into…babysitting a kid I barely know? I should have been sitting in a café' drinking a cappuccino…but why couldn't I resist this kid?' he thought.

"What flavor do you want, little one?" the teenage seller asked.

"Rocky road!"

The boy squealed happily when he received his ice cream. Inuyasha paid for it. He licked the ice cream continuously when he saw the purple creature once again bounding, with few kids around him.

"Barney!" He raced down and chased the mascot Barney.

"Huh?" Inuyasha snapped out of his trance and noticed that the kid is chasing a purple dinosaur along the mall's hallway.

"Hey kid, Inari wait!" he called out for him and followed. He's mentally cursing himself for letting the kid sneaked out of his attention.

Inari reached the unsuspecting creature. Barney jumped up when somebody pushed him from behind and he stumbled on the floor. Because of the huge mascot he wore he lost his balance and rolled over. All the children around him laughed their heads off thinking it was some kind of a show.

Inuyasha reached the 'crime scene' and saw Inari giggling while poking Barney's head.

Inuyasha sweat dropped.

He pulled the kid out of that place before he can kill Barney, who was still lying on the floor surrounded by other kids.

"Where exactly did your Uncle left you, before you ended up in the fountain place," he asked intently to the boy, his patience is wearing off.

The kid sensed his impatience and begun to sniff. He's alarmed and tried to talk to him as nice as he can be. He bent on his knees to level himself to the kid and held his shoulder.

"Look Inari, your Uncle is probably worried about you and it's getting late. Don't you want to go home?"

The boy shook his head and smiled. His face was smudged with ice cream. Inuyasha sighed and pulled a hanky in his pocket. He gently cleaned up the boy's face. (A/N: Awww…that is so cute!)

Back in the arcade.

Souta looked at his wristwatch. It's been almost an hour ago since he started playing video games. Then he remembered his nephew, 'Inari…'

He turned to look around where he left the kid but failed to catch a glimpse of his face. Then it dawned on him… 'Crap! He's missing! I'm so dead to my sister!' he mentally kicked himself for forgetting his nephew.

He rushed outside the arcade and looked around. He kept on cursing himself. He asked every person he bumped into if they saw a kid with a description he mentioned over and over again.

He's already panicking. He's been looking for Inari for almost an hour and he hasn't found him yet. He slumped on a bench in the fountain place.

"Oneechan will kill me if she found, her son is missing." He sighed and looked up when he saw a longhaired guy coming his way with a kid riding on his back. He recognized the kid and ran towards them.

"Inari-chan!"

"Uncle Souta! Are you finished playing with video games?" Inari asked sleepily while peeking over Inuyasha's shoulder.

"You're the Uncle?" Souta nodded. "Next time kid, don't let your nephew sneaked out on you." He said gruffly.

"I'm sorry…Thank you for taking care of him. I don't know what to do if he really has gone missing. My sister will probably kill me!" He said non-stop while continuously bowing his head.

"Ok…ok stop!" He grabbed the boy's shoulder to stop him from bowing. "Just take your nephew and go home. He's probably tired by now, running around, chasing Barney." He said while handling the now sleeping boy over to his Uncle. He smiled remembering the incident with the purple dinosaur.

"Thank you Sir." Souta said once again and bowed.

Inuyasha just nodded and looked on when Souta turned around and left.

He saw the boy stirred in his sleep a few meters away from where he stood. He looked in his direction, smiled and waived his little hand before drifting back to sleep in his Uncle's shoulder.

Inuyasha just kept on watching as the two figures disappeared from the crowd…