"Look at me!" he commanded, grabbing her chin and titling it upwards. Their eyes met and she could feel her blood beginning to boil.
"Will you do anything to save him?"
"Yes!" she strongly responded. He smiled and let her chin go before giving her the box. She slowly opened it and when she saw what was inside, her eyes grew wide.
"No!" She yelled, looking at him. He simply grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number. He waited patiently before speaking.
"Good morning. Can you please give me the number of one of your journalists? Yes, I already have an appointment with him. His name is…"
He was not able to continue as Mercedes snatched the cell phone away and pressed the red button, ending the call, her face showing her fear.
"Okay." She murmured.
Inuyasha looked at her, a small smile gracing his lips but her words made him frown again.
"Okay, let us discuss it Mr. Taisho." She nearly begged, her eyes searching his for any sign of pity. There was none.
"Discuss it?" He asked, slowly making his way towards his chair and sitting on it. "I think that what I am going to offer is far more generous than you actually deserve."
Mercedes swallowed, her throat going dry. All kinds of emotions rushed through her veins. Fear, confusion, wonder…questions posing themselves again and again. Her thoughts were interrupted by his impatient voice.
"I do not have all day!" he harshly spoke, his eyes hard like stone. Why was he so strange? She asked herself. He was not like the other men she knew. He was different, thrilling, mysterious, and dark. "It's not me who is in danger here." He continued his voice venomous but she could see behind his cold appearance, behind all the things he was showing her that he was destroyed, depressed. Her heart clenched. He was hurting and she knew that because she knew how it feels to hurt silently, without letting the others know. He was lonely and deep inside she was lonely too.
"I am telling you!" He warned, getting up, making her back away from him. He didn't seem to notice as he made his way towards her, his eyes threatening her. "Naraku will pay the consequences unless you obey every single word I would say. You will not oppose me! You will not refuse me! You will beg for my attention, for my mercy on you! You will accept this gift and you will wear it when I request it. You will obey me and respect me or else I will throw your dear Naraku in jail and trust me…" his voice suddenly stopped to resonate in his office. Her eyes that had dropped earlier to the ground flew to his. She saw him, standing in front of her, his eyes lost and his body trembling a little.
"Inuyasha?" she tried, worry eating her insides as she saw some beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. For the first time since she entered the office, she noticed that he was pale, much too pale. His eyes showed that he did not sleep so much.
"Are you okay?" she nearly yelled as he stumbled in front of her, almost losing his balance. His eyes were by now unfocused, worrying her to no end. Kagome's heart immediately ached, almost choking her with its intensity. He was vulnerable. He was not as invincible as she thought he would be. He was human, fragile.
"Kagome." He barely whispered, his voice coming in shaky breaths. She didn't understand what he said, was he talking to her? "Please" He whispered again. This time she heard him but was not able to think of it. She rushed to his side as he fell to his knees.
"Help!" she yelled from the inside of the office, panic enveloping her. Why did these things happen to her? When did the hunter become the victim itself? He was threatening her a few seconds ago and here she was, holding his defenseless body against her own, praying for his safety. Tears rolled down her cheeks as his body shuddered between her hands and his weight became too heavy for her to carry. Why did God decide to punish her? As if it was not enough that she had lost all notion of her past.
"Help!" she yelled again before her eyes widened. The company was closing its doors when she first came. They were probably the last two persons present in that building right now. Her heart raced inside her chest.
"Inuyasha, do you hear me?" she asked, nudging him a little while placing him softly on the carpet. His body immediately collapsed and his eyes shut closed. She felt that his muscles relaxed. Maybe too much. She got up and ran to his desk. She found his cell phone where she had put it. Her hands were shaking so badly as she looked over the contact list he had. His hard breathing was the only thing that kept her sane. She suddenly heard him whisper something.
"Don't worry. I'll call your brother." She said, barely recognizing her broken voice. She dialed the number and waited. It rang repeatedly but nobody answered.
"Please answer!" she silently begged but no one answered. She was about to search for another number when his whispers got louder. She ignored him again and fumbled in his contact list until she found the number of a doctor. She immediately called it and waited.
"Inuyasha?" came the other voice.
"Hello?" Mercedes answered her voice breaking. "I am Mr. Taisho's assistant. Please help me. We're in the office and he suddenly collapsed. I don't know what to do. I found your number…"
"Stay by his side!" came the harsh reply from the other line. "Don't leave him until I come. Did you tell anyone else?"
She swallowed hardly, but felt much more relaxed.
"No."
"Good. I'm coming."
She nodded before ending the call and going towards his body on the floor. Tears flowed again from her eyes as she kneeled in front of him. She didn't know if he was unconscious or not because his whispers had seized but she knew that he was alive. Gently, she stroked his sweaty bangs away from his eyes.
"You're going to be fine." She whispered, whipping her tears away from her eyes before returning her hand to his face, lightly caressing it. "The doctor is coming, can you hear me? You're going to be fine. You're the strongest man I have ever met. You're fine. God! It hurts me to see you so weak!" She sobbed.
The company was empty as she thought it was. She was helplessly waiting in her old office. When the doctor came, he was accompanied with two other men. He asked her not to tell anyone and to wait for them. And she was waiting. She placed her hands over her eyes, trying to dissipate her headache. She came to confront the beast in him; she came to defy him, to tell him that he will never control her. She also came to beg the man in him for mercy, to ask him to leave them alone. She didn't want to hurt him. Did she hurt him? Could she hurt him? Her head hurt so much that she thought it would explode. Maybe someday, it would.
Inuyasha was lying on the sofa in his office as his doctor forced the pill in his mouth, followed by a huge gulp of water. He winced at the bitter taste, glaring at the man in front of him.
"Since when did you decide to stop taking your medication Mr. Taisho?" The doctor asked, returning the glare with double force.
Inuyasha looked away, his mouth shut.
"Don't you know that you cannot just stop taking the pills Mr. Taisho? You almost just had a seizure!"
"I don't want to take those stupid pills!" The young man finally yelled. "I am fine!"
"Fine?!" The doctor exclaimed, his voice low. "You are lucky that your assistant was here when you collapsed. I will tell your family about this."
"No!" Inuyasha yelled. "Fine! I'll take the pills from now on. Happy?"
"It's not a matter of happiness!" the doctor suddenly yelled, making his patient flinch. "I am tired of you pretending to be alright when you are nothing but sick. You told me that you were over that girl and that you are taking your pills regularly. Well, I see that someone was lying."
Inuyasha glared at him, his amber eyes heating with rage.
"I don't need your medication! I told you that I am over her and I was not lying! You're just saying this in order to poison me with your damn vitamins and other pills!"
The doctor shook his head negatively while getting up.
"I will not tell your family on the condition that you will stop working for seven days."
The businessman tried to interrupt but was unsuccessful as his doctor continued.
"In addition, you will constantly take your pills, never miss one and you will come to my office ten days from now. Do we have a deal?"
Inuyasha nodded silently.
"Good. I will let this Kagome thing pass for now. I cannot believe that after all our sessions together you still called her name repeatedly."
Inuyasha looked away, his eyes hardening.
"Is the girl that found me still here?" he suddenly asked. His doctor nodded.
"I want to thank her personally."
"You're fine!" Kagome breathed, relief washing her face. He stared at some random spot in front of his couch, not answering her worry. Her eyes roamed his body, checking for any apparent injuries that would have caused what happened. He had none. However, she managed to see that the sleeves of his white shirt were raised and a plaster band rested on one of his main veins. He was not pale anymore and she thought that he looked even more gorgeous, his face calm and serene.
"Thank you." He said, making her blink. His intense eyes clashed with hers, stopping her heart for a few seconds. "You could have left."
"Never!" she immediately responded, causing a blush to adorn her cheeks when his eyes widened slightly to her outburst. "I mean, of course not." She whispered, and not being able to hold his gaze anymore she dropped her eyes to her hands.
Silence filled the office for a few minutes.
"Can I ask what happened?" she questioned but was surprised when his laugh resonated. She looked at him, waiting for the cause of his happiness. When his laugh finally died out, he returned a cold stare on her. A shill ran through her body. Even Naraku could not master such a stare.
"You have destroyed everything I tried to build in three years. You have returned me to where I was just after my destruction, broken, shattered, and weak."
"I don't understand!" she yelled. "Why do you always talk in riddles? What destruction? You were the one who destroyed Naraku's company!"
He inhaled deeply, his eyes everywhere but on her.
"This will not change anything." He finally replied. "I want your answer immediately or your beloved Naraku will face the worst fate he could ever imagine. Choose."
Mercedes stared at him. He did not seem like the same man who was in her arms an hour ago. He seemed more like the man she knew before. The coldhearted jerk.
"Do with me as you please." She finally answered.
A smirk crept to his lips as he eyed her. For a second, she swore that his golden gaze darkened a little but she dismissed the thought.
"You will accept my gift." He began and his smile widened when she nodded her approval. She felt her headache return in full force. She was selling herself, negotiating herself to him. Him, a man with no emotion at all. But when she saw the bandage still around his arm, her eyes softened. Maybe he was not as bad as she thought. Her eyes returned to his. Maybe he looked evil, but he didn't act like one at all.
"You will break any romantic relationship you maintain at the instant."
She silently gasped. Michel! She had forgotten about him! He would kill her if she left him again! He would think that she played him! She had just promised him to move in with him. Sensing her hesitation, Inuyasha chuckled a little.
"I see that some little heart will break tonight."
She nearly cried. He may have chuckled but it held no happiness, no malice, and no amusement. She felt sorry for him. How couldn't she have noticed before how weak he was? How sensitive. His chuckle immediately died when he saw the sympathy in her look.
"Don't you dare!" he yelled, making her jump with surprise. "Don't you pity me you stupid girl! Don't you think that I am going to make it easy on you! You will move in with me!"
Her eyes widened.
"And you will do all what I ask you to do! Everything I demand!"
"What?" she asked, her cheeks flushing. "I…I can't do that! Not now! Give me a month. I barely know you. I…"
"Starting from tomorrow, you will be in my apartment, do you hear me?"
Silence filled the air just to be interrupted by Kagome.
"Why are you doing this? You won! You took the money, you…"
"I what?" he asked, slowly getting up. His tall frame rose and she backed away a little, intimidated by his perfectly masculine body.
"W…what about Karla?"
He exploded into a hysterical laugh, supporting himself on the sofa.
"You're funny! Do you actually think that I will be…loyal? I will do whatever I please with anyone and you will have nothing to say about it Mercedes. I may even make you watch!"
She drew a sharp intake of breath as the mental image of him being with another woman attacked her. She supposed that she should feel disgust but instead, something more primitive kicked inside of her.
"Disgusted dear Mercedes?" He asked and before she knew it, he had grabbed her chin, forcing their eyes together. "Huh?"
His voice dropped to a sensual whisper caressing her skin.
"I remember that you told me once that I disgust you, that my kiss almost made you vomit."
His hands snaked around her waist but she didn't even notice, taken aback by the ferocity in his wild eyes, that ferocity that awoke feelings inside of her, feelings that she was ashamed of, feelings that left her aching for something only him can relief. This time, the darkening in his eyes was obvious and she felt weak in the knees.
"Now, I understand if I could disgust you. After all, I am saying that you will belong only to me and I will never belong to you. I'll toy with you as you tried to toy with me, to destroy me in order to satisfy Naraku." He whispered, his face lowering to hers. "However, I'll use another way with you. You are one of the worst women I have ever met."
His statement took her out of her trance as she gazed up at him.
"Your eyes are the worst deceiving part of you." He continued, never breaking their eye contact. "I will not allow you to deceive others. That's why you will wear my gift."
"You hate my eyes don't you?" she countered, searching his face. "I refuse to think that Naraku has anything to do with it. Sometimes, I believe that your revenge is against me.
"Maybe it is. Kiss me."
His sudden request took her by surprise. Her eyes dilated and she immediately tried to get away but the hands on her waist stopped her.
"Was that a no?" he asked, his voice trembling a little. "Let me help you."
His hands left her waist and cupped both of her cheeks. She stared at him, a dark flush forming on her face. He suddenly crushed his lips to hers, making her jump back from the sudden impact but his hands kept her face in place. She closed her eyes, her legs nearly failing below her. His proximity, even if it was aggressive, calmed her raging sensations. She could feel his bruising lips against her own, trying to impose hurt more than pleasure. He then detached himself from her, leaving her standing by her own. A small whimper escaped her lips before she could contain it. Her eyes snapped open to meet his surprised ones. She knew she was shaking, she knew that he would think of her as crazy but he did not have the right to give her such a little torture then withdraw himself as if nothing happened.
"I hate you." She confirmed again but before he could reply back, she grabbed him by his shirt, taking advantage of his weakened physical state, yanking him down to her level. He stared at her, his eyes showing for a split of seconds the vulnerability in his gaze.
"If you'll do it…" she whispered, not recognizing her own voice." Then do it right". And with a kiss, she sealed the deal. She had just given up all her principles, everything she believed in, to a man whom she feared and craved for in the same time. But at least, she knew that Naraku would be safe from the folly of Taisho.
Chris opened the door of his apartment. It was already late in the night and Mercedes was still not back. He expected it to be her and prepared himself to ask her what happened with Taisho but was surprise when he saw his sister, her face in tears, and a suitcase in her hand.
"Rin?" he questioned. She immediately flung herself into his arms, sobbing quietly.
"What's the matter?" he asked, caressing her hair lightly.
"I don't want to be with Sesshumaru anymore! We had a fight. I…I want the divorce."
A small smile slowly crept to his face.
"Shhh. Don't worry Rin." He answered, forcing back his happiness. "I'll take care of everything."