InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fleeting ❯ Discovery ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

un_love_you prompt:  #04 – “I need to want you.”

That?  That was not the way that was supposed to go.

Sesshoumaru took great pride in cultivating his self-control; it was a trait that would serve him well, especially if his future was to contain a great deal of high-stakes hostile merger negotiation, as was his plan.  Self-control meant being able to resist temptation, to giving in to his base urges.  It meant being able to control his actions and emotions at all times, to think clearly and logically even in the midst of chaos.

And he could think of no better way to describe what had just happened.

His head told him:  New Year’s Eve had been a mistake.  Kagome was his roommate – what the hell did they even have in common?  It would never work; from that point, that fleeting moment of lust, things could only go badly.  He needed a bit of substance to go along with all that style, and he wasn’t entirely sure that she had any.  Her life, as far as he could surmise, was a whirlwind of parties and boyfriends, flitting from one social group to another with seemingly insatiable emptiness.

His heart told him:  hot holy damn but it had been a long, long time since he’d felt the urge to kiss someone like that.  To be that close – perhaps to take more than she was willing to give – to feel another warm body cradled so perfectly against his, so eager, so willing…

He just couldn’t find it in himself to regret what had happened.  If given another chance, to go back and relive or change the course of events?

He’d probably do it all over again.

And that?  Was a very bad thing.

He contemplated his next move as he settled into his seat on the train the next day.  His family’s estate was just outside the city, situated in a cozy little country valley.  The trip would be short; the destination would demand his full attention upon his arrival.  Still, he knew he had to come up with a plan for dealing with this sudden complication – and quickly.

He tried to think it through, logically, asking himself the tough questions.  Where could they go from here?  What did she want from him?  What, if anything, did he want from her?  It had been a long time since his last relationship, and his mind was currently occupied with other, far more pressing matters –

– but he found his thoughts wandering far too easily, replaying those stolen moments outside the party from a scant few hours ago:  their heated argument, melting into a passionate New Year’s Eve kiss.  Her saucy, bold reply to his muffled question  – “I’m continuing what I started.”  The feel of her lips on his – her hands warm as she buried them in the folds of his coat, her hold on him tight – his head growing dangerously light as he made the split second decision to respond – his heart pumping painfully in his chest – his body growing heated as she pressed him back – the post digging into his spine.

How long had it lasted?  It felt like hours while it happened, delicious moments of unrestricted heat and unadulterated lust.  It felt like seconds when she unexpected pulled away, just as he reached for her.  Her breath was hot and hard as it passed between her lips, her chest heaving heavily against his.

It should have ended there; it would have ended there, if he’d been in his right mind.

But he wasn’t ready to let her go, not so easily, not so quickly.  She kissed him again, but he took control, shifting their positions with ease.  She’d unlocked a hidden part of him, unleashing a tide of desire that threatened to overwhelm him – and in that moment of weakness, he gave in.  All he knew was the way her hands felt on him, and his on her, finding a pathway inside of her coat, roving across the smooth silk at her waist, digging his fingers into her back, her skin heating beneath his touch.  She responded eagerly, willingly, her body rising to meet his as her tongue demanded entrance into his mouth.  He went with it, one hand drifting down, tracing the line of her thigh, lifting her leg up, opening her hips, testing their fit –

– and who knew it was possible to break a sweat in sub-freezing temperatures?

Somehow, they’d managed to stop before it went any further, before anyone else spotted them.  Some primal, male part of him was deeply satisfied with her thoroughly kissed mouth, her shallow puffs of breath, the need that glittered in the depths of her eyes.  She collected herself quickly, but she was slow to let him go, her fingers twining through his hair for a long moment before she parted them, skimming her hands along the line of his shoulders and down the length of his arms.

If he understood the coy look she’d given him as she’d pulled away, her touch igniting every fiber of his being –

That encounter would certainly not be their last, not if he didn’t want it to be.

So…did he?

He released a long, slow breath as his train pulled into the station, allowing the other passengers to leave before he rose himself.  He narrowed his eyes as he disembarked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he made his way across the terminal.

If he were to pursue this – and the chances of that were looking very likely, indeed – then he’d need to know just exactly what he was getting himself into.  The fact that Inuyasha was practically clinging to her still bothered him, and not merely out of petty jealousy.  There was something so…odd about his behavior, his sudden, dramatic re-entrance into her life.

A knot of dread formed in his stomach as he slipped into the waiting limousine that would take him to his father’s house.  Love – lust – matters of the heart made people vulnerable, and he couldn’t afford to be vulnerable.

Not now.  Not ever.

Just as he’d expected, New Year’s dinner with his family was a strained affair.  Generations of Taishos descended upon the family estate for the first – and likely only – time of the year; Sesshoumaru exchanged much of the same dull conversation with assorted aunts, uncles, and cousins as he had the year before, and the year before that.  It was something of a family tradition, albeit one that felt more as if they were talking at each other, rather than to.

The meal itself was another tradition, large and ostentatious with fourteen different courses.  The entire family gathered around the table; Sesshoumaru, his mother, and his grandmother graced one side, staring down his father and the vile half-breed he’d sired out of wedlock on the other.  His grandmother had suggested it as a tactical plan, banding together with her daughter-in-law and grandson to present a united front to her son, as if doing so could somehow shame him for his reckless and disgraceful behavior.

His father pointedly ignored them instead, taking great pains to converse with everyone else seated around them.

Inuyasha, to his credit, appeared much more ill at ease, though he relaxed as their father drew him in his conversations.  Sesshoumaru took the opportunity to observe their interactions, though it only served to raise his personal ire.  Where was this side of his father – so warm and comforting and encouraging – when he had been a kid?

Mercifully, the meal was not prolonged.  Sesshoumaru managed to slip away before the next annual tradition, relaxing in the family room to exchange veiled insults over glasses of wine and sake.  He left that to his mother, who had gained an arsenal of ammunition for the exercise the moment her husband had returned with a son he’d fathered with another woman.  The extended family was certainly looking forward to the fireworks, but Sesshoumaru demurred, making grand overtures about wanting to rest instead.

He escaped easily enough, but didn’t head up to his old room as the others had presumed he would.  Instead, he slipped down the hall to his father’s study.  He eased open the heavy door, careful to replace it in its frame before crossing the room and sitting down at his father’s desk.

It had occurred to him, as he watched his father and Inuyasha at the dinner table, that perhaps there was something to his nagging suspicions – that their father had orchestrated Inuyasha’s reentrance into Kagome’s life.  The only part of it he couldn’t figure out was why.  Inuyasha’s attraction was obvious enough, but what interest did she pose for his father?

He opened his father’s laptop and turned it on, pulling up the company-sensitive databases he knew his father used to keep tabs on anyone and everyone who had crossed his path, even nominally.

He’d run a standard background check on Kagome when she’d applied to share his lease, finding little of apparent interest – she was the only daughter of a shrine-keeper’s family, accepted to university through a vacancy, studying economics.  Her social reputation had also preceded her, making him even less inclined to dig into her potentially unsavory past.  

And yet, he’d noticed a few things that weren’t adding up.  She was paying her university fees out of pocket, was never late with her share of the rent, and never complained about household expenses.  Her wardrobe was fashionable and extensive, and she’d probably possessed at least one version of every electronic gadget ever released.  Her family took annual vacations to a ski resort, possibly the same one his father favored, which would suggest that her family was rather well off.

Or, at the very least, living beyond the modest means of a Shinto shrine family.

He didn’t have access to these databases from his own computer; they were his father’s personal files, so he’d have to take the chance while he had it.  The questions were burning in his brain now – was there some possibility that she (or her family) was connected somewhere, somehow, to someone who had sparked his father’s interest?  What was the seemingly mysterious source of her family’s wealth?

What was Inuyasha’s connection to it all?

Sesshoumaru deftly maneuvered through the many levels of security his paranoid father had dreamed up, until he hit the mother lode:  the database that contained files detailing all of the companies his father’s company had ever merged with, or was currently planning to take over.  Key players in these companies had their own separate files, with cleverly coded notes that revealed how or why they were of interest.

He stared impassively at the screen as he ran a search on her surname, unsurprised when it resulted in dozens of files.  On a whim, he clicked through to the middle of the list, running his eyes over the highlighted names in that section.

He swallowed convulsively when he spotted it – an exact match.

So there is a connection, he mused, clicking on her name to open the file.  He scanned the current biodata briefly, finding nothing new or of special interest.  He skipped down to the coded notes, his eyes widening imperceptibly as a wave of trepidation rolled over him.

“I see,” he whispered, feeling his heart pick up speed, until it was practically hammering against his ribs.  It appeared that Kagome was the daughter of the late Satoshi Higurashi, who had been the head of SHK Corporation, a holdings company that had stakes in several different high-profile businesses.

The same SHK Corporation that was his father’s greatest rival in the business, sucking up shares in near-equal capacity, if not even faster than Taisho Enterprises, his family’s company.

The same SHK Corporation where Sesshoumaru was angling for a job in the mergers department, hoping to gain the skill and experience necessary to one day take over his father’s business.

Upon her father’s death, Kagome, along with the rest of her family, had inherited one of the controlling stakes on the board of directors of the company – and with it, the power to make decisions he could only dream of.

His eyes blurred as he continued to stare at the screen.  So I see, he thought morosely.  I need to want you.

It made sense, tactically:  taking up with her (whether just for sex, as his father might’ve done, or if their affair somehow escalated into marriage, the far more honorable course) could do wonders for his career.  She could grant him the position he desired within her family’s company – or hell, maybe even something higher!  Getting on her good side, learning the secret dealings, the daily ins and outs of the family business, would probably give him an opportunity to eventually lead it himself, even if only for a short while – though, even a scant few months would be long enough to make a move on what was rightfully his inheritance.

It was certainly amazing that it lined up so well – he could have her in his life and in his bed, and it would only be advantageous to him.  The cost-risk ratio was firmly in favor of following his baser urges.

So why did it make his stomach turn in disgust?

“Well, well, well,” boomed a voice from the doorway, startling Sesshoumaru from his reverie.  “I’m certainly surprised at you.”

Sesshoumaru looked up, unsurprised to see his father standing there, leaning so casually against the doorframe.

I’m going to be sick, he thought as he met his father’s bemused gaze.

“I thought you were smarter than this, Sesshoumaru,” his father continued, gliding into the room and closing the door firmly behind him.  “Don’t you know you should always lock the door when you go snooping through other peoples’ things?”

The taunt spurred him; he began to close the files, though he was unable shut them all down before his father made it to his side.  Nonetheless, he continued, feeling a bit of an idiot for allowing his curiosity to overwhelm his better judgment.

His father chuckled softly.  “It took my getting Inuyasha involved to make you realize what was going on, eh?”

Sesshoumaru didn’t respond, staring straight ahead at the now-blank screen of the computer.  “Is that why you brought him here?” he asked coolly, calmly.  “I should’ve known better than to fall for your ‘out of familial obligation’ line of bullshit.”

His father laughed outright at that.  “Don’t be upset, Sesshoumaru,” he breathed between guffaws.  “When it became obvious to me that you weren’t going to act in the best interests of the family on this matter, I had to bring in a pinch hitter.”

Sesshoumaru glared up at his father.  “How long have you known about her?”

“Since she was born, of course!” he replied jovially, slapping his son on the shoulder.  “I knew everything about ol’ Satoshi, right down to how often he changed his underwear.”  He shook his head, still utterly amused at Sesshoumaru’s ignorance.  “The day that girl moved into your flat was the day I’d hoped to see what you were made of,” he continued with a wry cluck of his tongue.  “Frankly, I’m disappointed it took this long for you to come sniffing around for more info.”

Sesshoumaru scowled.  “I don’t play dirty like you,” he returned petulantly.

“Your sense of honor is admirable, if misplaced,” his father contended, giving him another slap on the shoulder.  “Business is a dirty world; I’m certain I’ve taught you that.”

“Indeed,” Sesshoumaru replied, “but you go above and beyond.”  He narrowed his eyes, wholly unamused by the situation he now found himself mired in.  “Toying with the emotions of human beings just to buy up stakes in companies?  Breaking up families, siring bastard children?”  He shook his head disgustedly.  “There’s dirty, and then there’s absolutely cutthroat.”

His father was in his face before he realized it, his features drawn into a hard mask.  “And how do you think I became so powerful in one generation, when it took Higurashi just as long to merely capitalize on his family’s modest, yet long-held holdings?” he asked harshly.  “I play to win.”

“Taking risks, be damned the consequences to everyone else?” Sesshoumaru returned with a sneer.

His father’s expression grew truly fearsome then, as a slow smile creased his mouth.  “The dalliance with Inuyasha’s mother was not without its benefits,” he mused.  “Mine was the first company from Japan to expand into Europe, after all.”

“And only at the expense of your family,” Sesshoumaru muttered.

“Actually, I’m quite glad I have another son, one who is only too willing to follow in his old man’s footsteps,” his father informed him.  “Someone who appreciates the life I’ve carved out for him, and is willing to do whatever it takes to expand the family’s power and reach.”  He sniffed as he stood tall once more, sending his signature look of dissatisfaction down the slope of his nose.  “Quite frankly, Sesshoumaru, you are proving to be quite the disappointment to me.  I’m beginning to wonder if you’re worth any sort of inheritance.”

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, more than used to hearing about his father’s profound disenchantment with him.  Cutting him out of his legitimate inheritance was not a new threat either, though he would seriously question his father’s sanity if he attempted to leave everything to the vile half-breed instead.

“What makes you think I don’t desire power?” he murmured, lifting his eyes to meet his father’s.  “I am your son, after all, your flesh and blood.  Your ambition flows through me just as well as it does that gaijin son of a bitch.  Yes, Father, I desire your power, he continued, “but I have no intention of selling my soul for it – or anyone else’s, for that matter.”

His father’s eyes glittered with mirth.  “That’s a very interesting, impassioned response, coming from the likes of you,” he mused.  “Perhaps, if it had been anything else – like, maybe, a willingness to see things my way, or trying to understand why I do the things I do to succeed – I would’ve been willing to redirect Inuyasha’s attentions elsewhere.”

Sesshoumaru shook his head.  “I’ll never understand you,” he shot back, feeling his blood heating beneath his revulsion.  I’ll never understand how you can hate me so much.  I’ll never understand why Inuyasha can’t see through your silly façade of being a caring, loving father.

“And that is truly a pity,” his father sighed, “for I feel the girl is quite better suited to you than to Inuyasha.”  He shrugged, as if he had little power to control their fates.  “But, I’ll do what it takes to obtain a controlling stake in Higurashi’s company and thus, cut my biggest competitor off at the knees.”

Sesshoumaru matched his father’s deadly expression with one of his own.  It seemed his father had no idea about his independent plans to obtain a job with SHK, much less the fact that Kagome wanted him, and not Inuyasha.  He already had a leg up in this little war, but he wasn’t about to tip his hand.

“We’ll just see about that,” he vowed.