Chapter 20: Problematic
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Tired eyes cracked open in the dark confides of the large room, there's a whisper of light filtering in from those high clerestory windows, one that reminded the young man that the night had come to an end.
It took a great deal of effort for Inuyasha to rise out of bed, the cuts and bruises had faded but now his body was sore; nothing he couldn't handle, but nothing to sneeze at either.
Last night ended up being a toss and turn debacle, one where he spent hours simply staring at his high vaulted ceilings, then cursing himself for it. Figuring there was nothing more to do but to start his day, Inuyasha dragged himself out of bed, heading straight for his bathroom to wash off last night's fail attempts at sleep.
The same image from last night threatened to rise up, so that the hanyou had to take several long breaths just to keep the memory down.
Showering helped some, but the spray of water continued to sting his still fresh flesh. Eventually, he was dressed in a dark navy suit and white button-up, something that would be viewed as simple in his world. He didn't have the energy for all the bells and whistles, not today.
Inuyasha spared his reflection a glimpse, one where he checked his concealment spell for the last time, before he stepped out of his room.
The day hadn't even started yet, and already he could feel a tight tension pulling behind his lids, the start of a migraine for sure.
To build on his aggravation, Inuyasha had stopped just outside the long hallway that led to her room, her words from yesterday filtering back in.
Shaking his head, Inuyasha stiffened his spine and resolve, leaving his home in more a rush than he intended.
His foot tapped in agitation as he rode the elevator up, a growl building at the base of his throat, though why- he wasn't sure.
Arriving on the 6oth floor, he was not at all surprised to find Yura there; awaiting him, a cup of coffee and a salacious smile perfectly presented on silver platters. His growl should have been plenty of warning to back off, however the young demoness in front of him only licked her lips in invitation. Either too dumb, or too sadistic to understand that today was not the day.
"Good morning, Lord Inuyasha."
Yura was dressed in a red mini dress that clung to her body, as she sashayed over to him, her long thin heels clicked on the floor with every step. The sound aggravated his senses, like claws down a chalkboard.
"Sesshomaru?" He asked, completely ignoring her, not that she ever seemed to get the hint.
"I'm afraid Lord Sesshomaru has not reported as of yet. Although, we do have a couple of clients scheduled for today, perhaps he'll be back by then."
"Fucking doubt it. Just cancel everything, I'm in no mood."
"Hm. I'm afraid Ambassador Yanuki is flagged as priority, no rescheduling this time. Would you like me to transfer those files to you instead?"
The annoyance grew fast, disorientating him for a moment. Inuyasha had to pinch the bridge of his nose, and take several long calming breaths, before he could answer back.
"Yeah, figures. Damn bastard thinks he can take off whenever, and the rest of us will just pick up his shit. Send the files to me, and make sure to book the conference room on 50th; like hell am I going to have those pigs anywhere near my floor."
Yura grinned, parting those red painted lips to reveal her white smile.
"Of course, Sir. Anything for you."
Her simpering ways pressed on his building annoyance, before it turned into real anger, Inuyasha marched over to the other side of the lobby to his office. Leaving her standing with the cup in hand.
Stopping himself from slamming the door shut like a petulant child. Once more, he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the restlessness eat at his insides but with no clue as to why.
His office was almost the same as Sesshomaru's, seeing as how Inuyasha acted as the vice president and COO of this damn company, he refused anything less than an equal spacing. Although, he didn't feel the need to fill space as his brother did, for example, he opted for no giant book-shelve wall. Instead, he preferred his office to be mostly empty, not including the desk and gadgets he kept.
No sitting area, or wet bar, just the big empty distance between door and desk. The light from the windows reflecting off the marble floors often created an illusion, one where it looked as though he was walking on the rays of light, instead of a white floor.
He could see that same mirage now, as he walked his powerful stride towards his desk, his reflection on those marble floors was of just him walking in his dark suite on a cloud of white.
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Sitting down had been a bad idea, as soon as he started answering emails and calls, his mood had taken a nosedive. By 10 o'clock he was a mess; his head started its thrumming torture, and the blood within him felt as if it were on fire.
Inuyasha was unaware he had started to scrape his claws on the desk, the sound of wood splintering never registered in his muffled ears. His hand had kept up this compulsive motion, until the red oak wood sported several long gauges, the proof of his misconduct showing as wood chippings under his claws.
He stared, surprised at his lack of control, till there was a knock on his door bringing him back to the here and now.
"Come in" His voice had gone soft, not that it mattered, Yura strode in having heard him clear enough.
"Everyone is waiting for you down on 5th, Sir."
"Right. I'll be down in a minute."
When she didn't move, he was forced to look at her, his scowl darkening when he saw the little thrill of excitement in her eyes. All it took was one deep growl from him, for her to get the hint, although that damn smile never left as she exited painfully slowly.
Shoving away from his desk, Inuyasha chose to move towards his window instead of heading down as he said he was. He gazed at his reflection in those tall windows, seeing the range of his anger in the tightness of his jaw, and the hallow of his eyes. Something inside of him was wrong, he could feel the pulse from his demon, though there was no reason behind it.
Now he would be forced to endure a long-drawn-out meeting, his headache skyrocketed at the mere thought of being stuck in a room with those gluttons' hogs.
To think if he had merely stayed in his apartment instead of going in, Inuyasha could be sitting in his kitchen... surrounded by her scent, and her voice, as she cooked on.
Staring at the cloudy morning sky, he couldn't help wondering what she was cooking, if she was even awake yet.
Grunting, the half demon scrubbed his face with the pad of his palms, imploring the stirring he felt to die down. When the second knock came, he was better prepared for it, reaching the door before Yura had the chance to open it.
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Riding down to fifth had not helped his mood any. Yura was needed as his and Sesshomaru's assistant, but her flirtatious ways were irking him more than the normal amount, he was hard pressed not to show his irritation.
She enjoyed the confined space far too much for his own liking, and although the elevator was by no means small or cramped, she continued to brush against him as they rode down.
By the time the door opened, his stride had taken a fury that he could not place, nor hide.
The fiftieth floor was nothing more than a few large offices, some of their best employees worked there, as far as he was told. The ones whose job consisted of running the bank aspect of their business, financing and crunching numbers. The floor consisted of these people, their offices, a break room equipped with a full kitchen. Plus, two meeting rooms, both on opposite sides of the offices.
One served more as a presentation room, with a long u-shaped table that left the presenter in the spotlight, along with large screens and projectors to help the transaction along.
However, this was not their bargain to make, and their company did not need any new investors or partners to make money. They were heading to the large, and somewhat cold, meeting room. The one that had a single wide rectangular table made entirely of steel, in the middle, a narrow and long fire pit that separated the two sides. The slab was only a few inches taller than the table, filled with black stones and blue gas flames.
As they walked down the hall to their destination, employees would step out to try and greet them. Thinking for a second, they could imprint themselves into his mind, as if he would concern himself with the dealing of lower management.
Maybe it irked him that they would think him approachable, maybe it was the pain from his skull navigating his inner workings, or maybe it was the knowledge that they would never try this with Sesshomaru, that sparked his easily kindled anger.
Inuyasha wasted his time for no one, and in a show of power, he stormed towards the meeting room with a flare from his aura. He pushed a wave of sheer force to every demon nearby, affectively sending everyone scattering.
Entering the room, his eyes remained ahead of him, aware the men there had stood upon his arrival and waited for his attention. They did not receive it until he had sat himself on the other side of table. His gaze bore into their own from across a vison of blue flames; when the men present only continued in their unblinking stare, he let a low feral growl escape his parted lips.
It echoed around them, transforming this modern room into a sea cavern. Flames dancing around the room, appearing to be the waves of the ocean, throwing their glint onto the stone-slab wall.
They folded immediately, the four men flanking a large oaf bowed low, hoping to make up for their show of disrespect. The big guy, however, did not, meeting Inuyasha's gaze with a scowl of self-importance.
"This is unacceptable!" His voice boomed out, face blotching with his indignation "I was promised a meeting with Sesshomaru himself; this will simply not do!"
Inuyasha evaluated the man in front of him, his spell making him to be of Italian descent; a tall and wide set fellow, with thinning hair, and rounded face. He was dressed in an expansive suit, wearing more jewelry than some of the women he knew, to any human this man radiated importance.
But seeing past his spell of normalcy, Inuyasha gazed at the oversized boar; his face was set into a nasty scowl with long purple marks across each furry cheek, his tusks wide and long were painted with black stripes, a supposed testament to his power.
"You, Inu's, have kept my people waiting long enough. Every meeting rescheduled or postponed; this place is falling at the seams! Even my evening fur was stolen, in your lobby no less! And now this- this demotion, I will not stand for it!"
Any other day he would've laughed, found the situation funny. He'd read their emails, the back and forth offers, it was them that needed their help. Yet they sent this weakling, as if he was any match for them, as if he could be held in the same regards as the Inu brothers.
Today, however, the boar was pushing on his already frail control.
When the pig marched up to the table, slamming his hands down on the metal, Inuyasha rose bored eyes to meet his seething pair. "Do you hear me!? I demand to speak with the Lord of the West, not this once-outcast!"
The tightness across his chest multiplied, an involuntary reaction from that one hated word, but the only outward reaction he showed, was a single fang growing out to poke against his bottom lip.
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All it took was a signal towards the woman behind him, a lazy rise of the hand, had Yura springing forward all too eagerly. Moving to where she stood directly behind him, her hair sprung out from behind her, bouncing off the walls to encircle the men there.
Her red lips parted with her devious smile, looking like an avenging devil as she wrapped her fortified strands around the lumbering man in the center. The group reacted as expected, jumping to the man's aid, while attempting to draw weapons.
"Stand down you imbeciles!" At the direction from the only calm member, the rest did as instruct, although begrudgingly doing so.
The fat man made horrendous noises as he sputtered and choked, hanging with his limbs all stretched out, and a thick band of hair around his large neck. Yura waited, as she always would, for his command.
Inuyasha tested his temper, took the time to weigh the variables involved; he even considered letting the oaf go. But then the idiot had opened his big mouth, and with a wheeze, chocked out his final words, "Filthy... Half-breed"
His eyes narrowed, with a simple glance behind him; she finished it off, coating the wooden floors in red. When three of the accompanying demons rose to action, Inuyasha stood with them, halting their actions as affectively as if he had forced them back down.
He took his time coming around the table, the blue flames illuminating his face in such a way that left him looking every bit of a predator that he was. His eyes found the only man who had remained calm, addressing him, and only him.
"I trust I have driven my point home, but in case it hasn't; this will be your only warning, submit now or face the same fate."
There was a loaded pause, too long for his liking. So that with another burst of power, he forced the four before him to bow.
"Apologies, young Lord, for the disrespect our Emissary has committed against your person."
Inuyasha's gaze did not soften, and although the shower of red had satisfied the anger the boar had evoked, his demon was still restless. It took all his control not to bring the rest to their knees, to leave these four demons standing witness, but he managed it.
Scoffing at the younger boar, Inuyasha spoke past snarling lips.
"You will go back, tell your higher of what took place here; we expected not to hear from you again unless you are willing to triple your final offer, as payment for this impertinence."
The demon bowed, leading the rest to follow his lead, and with no further words spoken, Inuyasha walked out of the room, leaving Yura to deal with her own mess.
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Something was seriously wrong...
He felt it inside of him, the gnawing agitation that had him biting long before he barked. It left him uneasy, and edgy, with no source nor cause for it. The sudden anxiousness made it so that when he reached the elevators, he had a different floor in mind.
He paced the small space, fidgeting with his black imprinted tie, running his hand down his hair, and messing with the watch on his wrist. Idly he noted it was noon, and if his watch hadn't been the one to tell him, when the doors opened to his home, the smell of food wafted in the air. An announcement on its own, that lunch was ready.
His nose took him to her, finding her unique scent, and following blindly after it. He heard her long before he spotted her, but before he reached her, Inuyasha took this moment.
Standing just outside the kitchen, still unseen by the humming girl, he watched as she cooked on ahead, oblivious to his presence. And even though he had left her to eat breakfast alone, there she was, dishing out two portions.
Inuyasha didn't notice the calming of his beast, didn't bother to think twice about it, simply breathing out a long sigh that emptied the rest of his tension. When she turned, all bright eyed and big smile, his blood settled with a wash of warmth, that left him feeling out of bounds, rooted to this spot.
"Oh! Hey, didn't think you'd join me for lunch."
"Yeah... me neither."
Not after last night, or this morning, and especially not after the mess that marked the conference room flooring.
"Well, everything's ready." She set the plates down on his too-long dining table, sitting both plates next to each other, as if it were the most natural thing to do.
Staying would be a ridiculous idea, one that would serve no greater purpose... other than to kill time. Inuyasha took a moment, thinking about his schedule, and the things he had no rush to get back to.
As he thought about these things, Kagome carried on as though he wasn't standing in the middle of the room. She littered the table with things, some spices and fresh cut chives, he assumed to add on. He watched her hand as it came up to her mouth, fingers drumming on her lower lip, as she thought about what else was needed.
Inuyasha became so engrossed in her, her movements, her voice, her breathing. He somehow missed the calm that spread over him, never bothering to question why the tension behind his brows lessened the longer he stood there.
She waited for him, always so patient, as if she had all the time to sit there and wait. Finally, with an annoyed grunt, one that had more to do with his demon's violent edge, than her. He plopped on the chair next to the girl, weary of her, at the same time, relaxing under her easy companionship.
The first bite had the remaining tension around his shoulders melting, his mind and body leaving behind the day's annoyances, to be replaced with steaming noodles and rich broth.
"So-" she spoke in between bites, pulling his attention away from the steaming bowl in front of him, "How's work?"
What a bizarre thing to ask, odder than that, was the smirk that pulled at the edges of his lips with her soft questioning.
"Feh! It's work, how'd you think is going?"
Kagome paid no mind to his short replies, she just wasn't buying into the cold, billionaire persona he seemed to dawn on. Instead, she focused on the hardy way in which he devoured his food, the sloppy way in which the noodles slapped broth against his chin. Even with all his money and synchronized staff, it pleased her to see him so devoted to a simple batch of ramen.
It made him far more accessible, at least in her eyes.
"Right, right. I don't imagine cheating people out of their hard-earned money can be easy."
His growl came as expected, but the sound was morphed as his slurp of noodles still hung from between his lips, making her laugh easily at his expense.
"Relax, will ya?" Kagome rose from her seat, hand coming out to steady herself on his shoulder, "I was only kidding. You want any more?"
The sharp intake of breath went unnoticed by the girl, staring at the hand that supported her weight on his shoulder, he expected the fast rage, and twisted displeasure from his agitated beast. But he found himself at a loss when none came; instead, he felt the warmth from her touch travel through him.
After a pause, one that had seemed longer to him than it was; Inuyasha shook his head, pushing the bowl away as he came to stand.
"Nah, can't. Busy."
He said this, but didn't move, in turn she didn't bring any attention to it. If she could tell something was wrong, she didn't show it, carrying on as if this was the norm. He could see himself spending the rest of the day here, but as her hand moved away, the cold seeped back into his bones.
"I should leave" Inuyasha finally managed, intrigued when she stopped her cleaning to come to him. Offering a small smile, when she joined his side; he felt the twitching of his palm as he damped down the urge to reach for her.
"Okay, are you going to come back late?"
Another odd question... but he felt just as propelled to answer her, "I don't think so, before sundown, maybe."
Her smile grew, warm and inviting, drawing him in with the affection behind it.
"Awesome! Ramen for dinner it is."
It was impossible not to tease her when she was so eager, "Keh, about time you did something useful around here."
Kagome's smile faded, to be replaced with an annoyed, narrowed gaze. Her agitation growing, while simultaneously, taking the edge off his. In fact, Inuyasha found himself biting his inner cheek with mirth, just waiting for her usual rise of spirit.
She huffed, moving past him, Kagome deliberately hit her shoulder against his. No doubt expecting him to be easily brushed aside.
His laugh nearly broke free when instead, she hit him full on, and stumbled under his force. In her anger, Kagome had forgotten his steel resistance, and sheer magnitude of strength.
When she merely pressed on, as if nothing had occurred, the shoulder bump to be never discussed again. He moved along with her, barely holding on to his laugh. Once more she surprised him when she led them to the foyer, going as far as to hold the tall door open for him.
"What? You kicking me out?"
Her bright-blue eyes flashed with her challenge, "Yes, get out. Don't want to get fired for tardiness, now, do you?"
If he would allow it of himself, he would've laughed. A good, long, bark of a laugh. Instead, he shook his head to get the damn grin under control. Taking her assistance by walking through the doors, he couldn't allow her to have the last word.
Before he fully exited, he took a pause, stopping on the arch of the door. Leaning forward by a fraction, he only got close enough to curl a single long strand over his finger, the one lock that often escaped her notice when piling her long hair back.
"Try not to burn the place down, eh?"
His stride continued, leaving her shocked and angry, as per usual. But as he made his way back to his office, he could feel the difference she had provided as though it were night and day. So that without meaning to, Inuyasha had spent more than an hour away, simply having lunch.
Something which had proven to be his own saving grace; arriving back at the top floor, Inuyasha had felt the calm he had gathered slip through his fingers as the minutes trickled away.
The calls had started almost immediately, one after another, they poured in from all those who had been shunned by the all too great- Sesshomaru.
By the time dusk was on them, Inuyasha had sequestered himself inside his office, the violent way in which his blood pumped had left him disorientated.
All he needed was some time, just enough time for Inuyasha to get a grip, then he could head home for the day. In time to enjoy a warm, homemade, bowl of ramen.
Of course, it should have come as no surprise when it looked like that would not be happening