InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages ❯ Between Brothers ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I wish to as much as I like him. He attracts way too much trouble, and I like my boring life. ^_^

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Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages

Chapter Two

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"Sesshoumaru…" Inuyasha whispered.

Turning quickly, he flipped the light switch and glared angrily at the unwelcome sight that met his golden eyes. Sesshoumaru, his estranged half-brother, was calmly sitting on the slightly worn green sofa with an amused expression on his face, and the black jacket that Inuyasha had thrown earlier was still in his hand.

"We've just met after not seeing each other in over a year, and you're already throwing things at me. I suppose that means you're no less hostile and uncouth than you were before."

Inuyasha growled slightly in Sesshoumaru's direction, his hackles raised. "What the heck are you doing here?" His voice was low and almost unnerving in its sudden calm. "You'd better explain yourself before I decide to throw you out the window."

Sesshoumaru gave him a bored look. "I'm sure it's probably too late for that. I just find it surprising that you haven't tried yet."

"Don't tempt me."

Deciding it was probably about time to give Inuyasha a break if he wanted him to agree to anything, Sesshoumaru went into business mode. "I'm sure you heard that our father passed away a few months ago."

Inuyasha frowned. "Yeah, what about it? It's not like I had anything to do with the old man after I left."

"You also know, of course, that he left you with a fair amount of money and property if you care to claim it. Even after you left, he still refused to write you out of his will." Sesshoumaru frowned as well. "That's a fact that I find rather distasteful. I admired our father, but he was pathetically sentimental where you and your mother were concerned."

In a fit of rage Inuyasha slammed his hand down onto the nearest thing, which happened to be a small end table. The result was a small pile of firewood. "Don't you DARE mention my mother!" He roared.

Sesshoumaru held up a complacent hand. "I have not come to bring up anything in the past. I just wanted to know where you stood on the matter of the money." He reached into his jacket and pulled out several pieces of paper. "The terms of the will were that you come back to the family and take your rightful place as one of his sons. You still refuse to do this?"

"Damn straight."

Not batting an eyelash at Inuyasha's rude replies, he continued. "I will leave you the papers with this information if you by some chance change your mind. Until that day comes though, I suppose you will need some form of income."

"That's none of your business!" Inuyasha snapped at him. "I left wanting to take care of myself without depending you or anyone else! I don't NEED anyone else and I never will!"

Sesshoumaru gave him a level stare, not at all put off by his half-brother's attitude. "Those are hasty words, Inuyasha. Years from now when you are still living in this cramped, dingy little apartment alone, will you regret them? You should really learn to think before you speak."

When Inuyasha stayed silent, Sesshoumaru changed gears once again and decided it was time to lay his proposition out on the table. He would let Inuyasha's stupidity slide for the moment. "Instead of coming here to tell you how terrible your life is, I actually came here today for the purpose of giving you a job. I see I was right on time with my offer."

Inuyasha gawked at him in shock. "What the hell did you just say?!?!"

"You need a source of income if you want to continue living." He glanced around the room. "In fact, I'm sure with the money I'm willing to pay you'll be living much better than this. You could even afford a better apartment if you wished." He looked around at the apartment doubtfully. It was clean and in good shape, and the location was nice, but it was rather small and bare of furniture and personal effects.

"There's no WAY I'd move out of this place!" Inuyasha protested angrily. "Not that I plan on taking your stupid job anyway!"

"What kind of attachment could you have to a place like this?"

"That's none of your business." He refused to mention Kagome, the HUMAN girl he was interested in, to his brother. He knew he'd probably only get looked down on more for such a thing.

Sesshoumaru decided to drop the argument and went back to the matter at hand. "You still have not heard what kind of job I am offering you. It might or might not be to your liking. Are you willing to risk not hearing the terms before you decline?"

Inuyasha smirked. "Does the fact that I quit my last job because you bought the company tell you anything?"

"You always were rather petty."

Of course Inuyasha opened his mouth to return the insult tenfold when Sesshoumaru suddenly stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where the heck are you going?" Inuyasha grabbed his arm. "I didn't think you were through trying to make me hate you even more than I do right now!"

Sesshoumaru leveled his gaze on him. "I think I've more than accomplished that goal. But I do find it a waste of time to try doing business with someone who is dead set against the whole affair from the beginning."

"So you're quitting, just like that?" Inuyasha wasn't sure what to think. Should he be glad that Sesshoumaru was giving up so easily, or worried? The demon lord didn't get his reputation as a ruthless businessman by walking out and giving up.

"Goodbye, Inuyasha." The door closed with a soft click, leaving the dumbfounded hanyou staring at the spot where Sesshoumaru had been standing a moment before.

"That was way too weird." He muttered to himself. "I thought I'd never see him again. When I left he acted like he was glad to be rid of me." Inuyasha scratched the top of his head in confusion, messing up his white hair. "So what the heck has changed since then?"

Finally giving up on figuring out his brother, Inuyasha slumped down on the couch and glared at the broken end table on the floor. What a waste that was. Now he'd have to go spend money to replace it……

One of his dog-like ears suddenly twitched. "What the heck was that noise?" Listening closely this time, he heard it again. "Was that a…sniffle coming from my bedroom?"

On the alert at the threat of an intruder being in his, er, rather humble abode, he slipped as quietly and nimbly as a cat towards the door to his bedroom. Now that his attention wasn't fully centered on Sesshoumaru and his unwelcome and sudden appearance back into his life, Inuyasha could smell the presence of someone. Inuyasha could have kicked himself for not paying closer attention earlier.

'So this is probably why he gave up so easily. Did he leave someone here to try and kill me so he could get his girly hands on my money? I wouldn't put it past him…'

With a snarl and a burst of speed, Inuyasha slammed the bedroom door open, almost knocking it off its hinges. "WHO ARE YOU-" Coming to a sudden stop, Inuyasha almost tripped over a pile of dirty clothes on the floor. "What the hell?!?"

Sitting on his bed was a small human girl who couldn't have been older than six or seven years at most. She smiled at him sweetly, not at all fazed by the fear-inducing entrance he'd made a moment before.

"Hi, Uncle Inu!" She cried happily. "Rin has come to stay with you for a while!"

Although Inuyasha had faced many life-threatening situations during his 24 years on earth, never had he experienced such a feeling of fear and complete helplessness until now. He had a REALLY bad feeling about this!

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Downstairs in the apartment right underneath his, Kagome had been peacefully studying for her classes the next day. She'd fixed herself a small snack and settled down at a small coffee table, eager to get some work done before she was disturbed by her roommate, Sango, who was sure to be home soon. She also took classes at the local University, but her schedule ran later than Kagome's that day.

"Now let's see," She murmured to herself. "If I take this number and divide it by 423, then I should get a total of-"

*CRASH*

"AAHHHH!" Kagome snapped her pencil in half before looking up at the ceiling in fear. "What the heck was that noise? Please don't tell me the roof is going to cave in or something…the last thing I need distracting me is a cute guy falling in my lap." Kagome blushed and tried to think of something or someone else, but failed miserably.

She knew Inuyasha lived in the apartment above her, but despite how much people talked about what violent tempers youkai and even hanyou have, she had never had a problem with him destroying furniture or making loud noises.

"Maybe something just broke." She reasoned. "I hope nothing's wrong though. What if he's hurt or something?" Kagome nearly laughed at the direction her thoughts were taking and started scolding herself. "You're being silly! It would take a lot more than a nasty fall to put a half-demon out of commission. You worry too much."

'Maybe so,' A little voice inside her head continued, 'But it's not often you find yourself worrying about people - or hanyou - that you barely know.'

"I do barely know him, don't I?" She mused out loud, having completely forgotten about her schoolwork. "We've talked quite a few times, but he always starts acting so nervous, like he thinks I'm going to bite him or something! If anyone should worry about something like that, it should be me! Those sharp fangs of his…"

Lost in thought about the mystery known as Inuyasha, Kagome barely registered the sound of the front door opening and closing. "I'm home!"

"I'm in here, Sango-chan!"

Her friend breezed around the corner with a bag full of her own torture materials and dumped them on the couch. "Getting any work done?"

Kagome tried not to look guilty over her earlier distraction. "Yeah, a little bit, but not much. I was getting somewhere but a sound from upstairs distracted me. It almost sounded like something crashing."

Sango looked unconcerned. "That's Inuyasha's apartment, right? Whatever happened, I'm sure it won't kill him. Maybe just maim him a little." She joked.

"Stop that!" Kagome protested, giving her friend a small push.

Sango raised both her hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry! I just don't feel very charitable towards those things known as MEN at the moment."

Kagome smiled. "Are you ever?"

"That's beside the point! It's all because I ran into Inuyasha's twisted little friend again today when I was walking back from my last class. Do you know he actually had the audacity to grope me in front of all those little old ladies?!?!"

Kagome giggled. "He didn't!"

Sango nodded grimly. "If that wasn't bad enough they all started sighing wistfully, and the lady at the closest table started wishing he'd do it to her instead."

That sent Kagome into a fit of laughter that lasted for several moments, and soon even Sango couldn't help but join her. Laughter like that was very catching, and she had to admit, the situation WAS rather ridiculous…

Wiping the tears out of her eyes, Kagome was finally able to catch her breath. "Remind me to stand at least an arm's length away the next time I see him."

"I'd never walk by there again if it weren't the shortest route between this place and the school."

Both continued to chat happily while Sango pulled out her own books. She had just settled down to study when another loud crashing sound startled them both.

"Not again!" Kagome cried, staring up at the ceiling. This time it had sounded distinctly like someone trying to break down a door. "I wish I knew what the heck he was up to!"

Sango raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? I personally would rather not know, you probably wouldn't want to either. Who knows what he could be up to."

Kagome thought better of her earlier statement and reluctantly agreed. Knowing her luck he was probably some psycho…

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Well, I hope that made things clearer since I know the first chapter didn't give anyone a good idea of where the story was headed. And don't worry about me not updating, I've got most of the story finished and ready to be posted except for formatting. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! It always means a lot to me when you do.