Halt

The crash of metal against tile sounded throughout the kitchen, followed by a low moan from the small woman laying on the floor, and a larger man on top. Kagome opened her eyes, blinded for a moment by the glowing fluorescent lights above her.

Different thoughts rushed through her head. Was she on the ground? How did she get there? One moment she was standing quietly in the door of the kitchen, and then the next…Kagome's eyes opened fully as her body finally registered the unfamiliar weight on her lower abdomen. Why was there a person on top of her?!

As quickly as she realized her predicament, the unfamiliar weight was slung off of her. Looking over to the side, Kagome saw the shiny work shoes of Miroku next to her head. Miroku, however, was not looking at Kagome, but instead the owner of the 150+ pounds of human that had previously laid on top of her.

"What's the problem, Hojo?" He snapped at the gardener, who remained on the ground, looking mortified as he turned to face Miroku. His face turned beet red as his gaze finally fell on Kagome, who was looking as equally shocked. Hojo attempted to stammer out an explanation as to why he ran into Kagome, fell on top of her, and then took his sweet time remove his body from on top of hers.

After about fifteen seconds of bringing her mind back up to speed, Kagome quickly stood up and adjusted her skirt and hair. Hojo silently stood as well, although he made no attempt to look her in the eye. In fact, it appeared he did the exact opposite.

"This is not a big enough issue to deal with at the moment, Miroku." Kagome turned fully towards Miroku, who kept looking between Hojo and her. She stared him straight in the face until she received his full attention. "Ready for the big day, Leader?" She gave a small smile, attempting to ease the tension in the room. Thankfully, there was someone else who played that role fairly well.

"Leader? Who chose to put this bozo in charge of anything?" Inuyasha called out. He had moved on from the scene, instead going back to working on breakfast. He poured the slices of sausage into the pan, basking in the way the sweet meats sizzled. He wasn't concerned with his overbearing boss being trampled by a weakling such as Hojo, he was much more interested in the food masterpiece he had just completed.

Kagome glared in his direction, though he was turned away and wouldn't see it. In hopes of maintaining some hopes in today going smoothly, she ignored his comment. Miroku found himself shrugging, unable to defend or explain his friend's brash reaction.

"I am, Miss Higurashi. We are going to go over this place with a fine-toothed comb. The grounds will be in pristine condition for today's events." Miroku gave Kagome a charming smile, then threw a glare at Hojo. "Hojo here will be working closely with me all day. I'll be sure to keep him out of your way." Miroku smirked as Hojo turned his face away in embarrassment. Kagome chose to sigh and simply shake her head, letting the men know she would be back to check in on them before guests arrive, and to make sure everything's running smoothly.

She continued her visits to each Team Leader, including Kouga down in the Maintenance Room and Sango at the front desk. Kouga insisted on asking her out for dinner, to "celebrate" what he assured would be a fabulous opening day for the hotel. This wasn't a new occurrence for Kagome. Kouga had made his interest clear shortly after he had been hired. If he wasn't an excellent mechanic and handyman, she would've already fired him. Sadly, it was well known that Kouga Ookami was as talented as he was charming. Although she consistently declined the offer, Kouga reminded her that he would be available and just down the hall, as if he was ever going to let her forget.

As she made her rounds back to the kitchen, Kagome felt her stomach sink just slightly. Out of all of her staff, Inuyasha had already proved to be the most difficult to deal with. She found herself hoping, literally wishing, that he would be in full uniform in a spotless kitchen, ready to make beautiful creations for the guests coming in. Being the son of the owner isn't enough, he also has to put in the work in order to be a respectable chef.

Swinging open the kitchen door, Kagome let out a sigh of relief taking in the sight in front of her. There stood Inuyasha, dressed fully in his chef's uniform and finishing wiping down his counter space. The kitchen was immaculate, the stainless steel shining under the kitchen lights. Currently he was still alone in the kitchen, as his assistant chefs would not arrive for another ten minutes.

"Everything ready to go?" Kagome called as she came up behind him. Inuyasha whipped his body around, eyes wide and hands going up. She must have caught him off guard, and it obviously bothered him as he glared at her and turned sharply back around. He let out a soft 'keh' sound, rather than giving her a straight answer.

Kagome was growing tired of his attitude and the tug of war between them over who disliked the other more. Today was one of the most stressful days of her career, and she really didn't need this man- no, this child making it any worse. She pushed her shoulders back, held her head high, and marched over to Inuyasha, pushing at his shoulders so he could look at her. "Listen here and listen well. I have worked and slaved over this place to make today the best opening day possible. And I will NOT have it compromised by a adolescent who can't handle a woman being in charge of him. Everything better be ready for day, because owner's son or not, your job depends on it." Kagome ended her rant with a glare, and Inuyasha simply rolled his eyes, knowing her threat was empty.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, calm down everything is prepared. For someone so small, you're a very fiesty wench." Inuyasha snickered at the end, grabbed a pan of dough that had sat to rise, and carried it off to the other side of the enormous kitchen. Kagome was left fuming, and quickly stomped out of the kitchen before she lost her cool.

Perhaps taking Koga up on that celebratory dinner wasn't such a bad idea, as long as there was plenty of alcohol.