InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Headliner ❯ Internship ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Kagome slowly made her way up the streets, her feet moving automatically as her thoughts sorted themselves out.

She had almost gotten killed. That was enough to make her stomach twist in pain. She couldn't die yet. Not before finding her family's murderer. She wouldn't be able to rest in peace.

Everyday she checked the newest issue of Demonic Times for news of a demon with a red outfit and red eyes, but none came. She was certain he was still alive and out there somewhere, preying on his next victim.

She stopped walking and looked up, surprised. She was at her apartment already.

She went up the stairs, turned the key, and walked into her simple room. Nothing fancy, but something practical. Her room was a place she ate, slept, and worked, nothing else.

She decided to write a story on her adventures today, even if they weren't going to be published. She liked to record major events of her day, and this was a mind-blowing event.

As she got down with a pen and a notepad, something occurred to her. Why hadn't that demon killed her? He could've easily snapped her neck, silencing her for good. Instead, he had left her alive. Frightened and scared, yes, but alive.

She couldn't see the logic in that. She hated to admit it, but in his position, she would've killed her without a second thought.

Ah, well, she thought, maybe he was tired from the fight or something.

Soon she was scribbling at a furious rate across the blank lines of her notebook.

That was way too close, Inuyasha thought as he sat down in his apartment. Way, WAY too close.

He cursed his older brother for making that big explosion at the end. It was just his style to make a big scene and leave Inuyasha to clean up after him. He had nearly jumped out of his skin when that woman had taken out a notepad and started writing notes.

Maybe he shouldn't have let her live....no. Killing humans just didn't go well in his stomach. The one time he HAD killed humans, he had been sick for weeks afterwards.

Even so, it worried him. Wait...

Of course! Inuyasha slapped himself for not realizing sooner. She was that reporter that all the demons talked about in their spare time. Don't trust her sweet looks, they had said, she would drag you to hell along with her if you give her a chance.

Yeah, she had been pretty cute, now that he thought back. He had carefully concealed himself from her, thanking the heavens that he wasn't wearing his red kimono ( If any of you want to know, he was just wearing casual jeans and a plain shirt. You can make up the color). Another thing he recalled: her smell.

A sweet smell like none he had experienced before. Maybe she wore a perfume meant on dragging demons out of hiding; that would certainly explain why he had almost stepped out in spite of himself.

He had panicked when she took out her notebook, and had sprung out without thinking. By instinct, he had grabbed her from behind instead of from in front; it would have gone badly for him if she had seen what he looked like.

He sighed. He had been hoping that she would keep her word, but based on the rumors in the demon community, it wasn't gonna happen. She would print it out as headliner news for the whole city to see. And that would mean MAJOR trouble for him.

There was only one thing to do. He would have to keep an eye on her, without anyone realizing it. And he knew just how to do it.

---the next day---

Sango and Miroku looked up as Kagome entered their office. Sango stood up and asked,

"Kagome, did you happen to get any news about that explosion yesterday?"

Kagome thought for a split second, then shook her head no. Miroku sighed.

"That's what we thought. Turns out Kikyo went to the scene about an hour after that big boom. She got all the details down on paper and it's the major issue everywhere. She even got a promotion."

Kagome shrugged. "Well, if she reported on it, then we don't have to worry about it, right?"

"Wrong," Sango stated, in a serious tone, "she found a sample of hair caught on a piece of metal.....it's Sesshomaru's."

Kagome paled. "Y-you mean the one who...."

Miroku and Sango nodded. Kagome whimpered and slowly sank to the ground. Sango ran up to see if she was ok.

"Kagome? Kagome, what's wrong?"

Kagome just stared at the floor. So she had recklessly driven into a battle fought between a demon and Sesshomaru?

The one who had almost killed her could've been Sesshomaru, for all she knew. One thing was for sure. He was a demon that you didn't want to mess with.

He was the most well-known demon in the city, and possibly one of the most powerful one in the country. He was said to be totally ruthless and brutal when slaughtering demons or humans.

Wait a minute, that didn't make sense. If he was totally ruthless, than he would've killed her right away, without bothering to threaten her like that.

So maybe it was the other demon who had threatened her. Kagome looked up at Miroku. "Did they find out anything about the demon who was fighting Sesshomaru?"

Miroku sighed. "I only wish we had."

Kagome and Sango both gave him a why? look.

"Because," Miroku stated, "We found no traces of the other demon. Not even blood or hair. Do you know what that means?"

The girls shook their heads. Miroku continued, "It means that Sesshomaru wasn't able to injure or even touch his opponent throughout the battle. Meaning that there might still be a demon out there who is possibly even stronger than Sesshomaru."

Kagome finally understood. If what Miroku said were true, than this was MAJOR 911 for demon reporters. She couldn't waste time. She took out her notepad on which she had written down yesterday's revelations. She couldn't just leave it any longer, even if that demon had threatened her.

She was about to hand it to Miroku to be edited when the speaker came on.

"Reporter Kagome, reporter Kagome Higurashi, please come to the director's office immediately. Kagome Higurashi, please come to...."

Now what? Kagome asked herself as she listened to the speaker.

"Well guys, see ya later," Kagome waved to them as she walked out the door and down the corridor.

Soon she came face to face with the director's office door. She took a deep breath. Calm down, she thought, you have nothing to worry about. It's probably a typo or something.

She opened the door and let herself in.

She saw the director sitting behind his desk, with two chairs in front of him. One of them was occupied.

"Miss Higurashi, so kind of you to join us. Please, take a seat."

Kagome walked up and sat down, glancing at the other person as she did so.

He seemed to be about her age, if not a bit older. He had long white hair tied back into a ponytail. He seemed not to think much of what he wore, if his simple jeans and shirt were anything to go by.

As she wondered why on earth he was wearing a baseball cap, the director spoke again. "Miss Kagome, I have consulted my calendar, and it seems that it is your turn to show the new intern around, am I correct?"

Kagome groaned inwardly. All the staff members had to take turns taking care of an intern, if any came in. Just my luck, she thought broodingly, I get stuck with an intern during the most important story I've ever had to write. Just great.

The guy turned to her and said flatly, "Inuyasha."

Kagome blinked. "Oh, um, hi. My name is Kagome."

"You're pretty slow for a reporter, aren't you?" he asked critically, "I bet you couldn't even protect yourself from all the demons that are out to kill you."

Kagome couldn't believe her ears. Was this guy insulting her?

"An intern like you can shut you mouth and pay attention when your sensei is talking," she snapped, irritated.

"Enough," the director cut in. Inuyasha swallowed his insult. "I'm sure you two will get along fine, judging by your attitudes. Inuyasha, show some respect for our best reporter, and Kagome, be nicer to him. Remember that you were once an intern, too."

"Alright, as long as he keeps his smartmouth comments to himself," Kagome said acidly.

"I will, as long as you don't get too full of yourself," Inuyasha retorted, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"Ok, enough you two," the direction pushed them out the door, "If you're going to argue, then do it outside. Oh, and Kagome, since he's your intern, he'll have to be a part of your pod. He'll also have to contribute to all the stories you turn in from now on."

"What?" Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who smirked back at her. She wasn't taking that.

"But can't he just write his own stories?"

"Afraid not. He's too inexperienced to be allowed to write his own reports for our paper. Just let him follow you around, ok? Show him what a reporter does everyday."

Kagome gave a sigh of frustration as the director closed the door in her face.

"So, guess we'll have to stick together for a while, huh?" Inuyasha said. His words seemed to mock her.

Kagome turned to him with a no-nonsense look. "Look here, intern, if we have to work together, than fine, but don't expect me to baby-sit you around her. It's every reporter for themselves; whoever gets to the scene first gets the story. Got it?"

Inuyasha grinned evily. "First come, first serve, eh?"

Kagome nodded curtly. "Welcome to my world."

She turned and walked away. Inuyasha fell in next to her. As they walked down the corridor, Inuyasha grinned to himself. This was working out better than he had expected. All he had wanted was to keep an occasional eye on her, and now she was stuck with him practically 24/7. Now she would never be able to publish a story about the fight.

Yes, he knew that some other woman had published a story on it, but he himself had only been mentioned as 'likely perished in battle,' so he had no problems with that.

He felt Kagome stop beside her and stopped, too. He looked at her as she readied herself to drop the bomb on her coworkers. He could smell the nervousness on her, and grinned. He was part-demon, so he couldn't help feeling a bit accomplished at being able to unnerve a human.

He let another grin slip across his face as the door opened, revealing another woman and a young man, sitting at their respective desks.

Making sure his hat was in place, Inuyasha trailed behind Kagome, who went in.

Kagome took in their questioning glances at Inuyasha, sighed, and began to explain.

As she finished, she could tell that Miroku was thrilled to have another guy on the team. Sango, well, Sango was getting ideas in her head; Kagome could tell.

"Sango, what are you thinking?"

In reply, Sango dragged Kagome over to the far corner and whispered excitedly, "Oh my gosh, so you're basically stuck with that guy, like, 24/7!"

"Yeah..." Kagome said miserably.

"Well, maybe he'll help you open your eyes to a more....meaningful relationship!" Sango hinted.

Kagome sighed. She appreciated Sango's concern, but she might've had better luck with someone else. "Listen, Sango, don't judge a book by it's cover. He might look like the ideal guy to YOU, but he's a rude jerk, an annoying pest, and I'll be glad when he's off my hands."

Sango made a remorseful expression. She really wanted Kagome to open her eyes to some womanly emotions, but of course, it couldn't be helped. Kagome had once given her heart to her family, and it had been ripped cruelly from her heart. Sango understood that Kagome didn't want to be hurt again.

Standing by Miroku's desk, Inuyasha's sensitive ears took in every word of their discussion. Well, that's just too bad, Inuyasha thought, she's stuck with me as long as she remembers what happened. I'll just pretend not to understand the job so that she has to take care of me everyday.

He grinned. It was going to be fun messing with this girl.

"So, your name is Inuyasha?" the guy with the ponytail asked him.

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied, expressionless.

"Well, welcome to the pod. My name would be Miroku."

Inuyasha remained silent, not sure what this guy wanted from him. He heard Miroku stand up and lean closer.

"So, is there a particular reason you requested to be interned by the beautiful Miss Higurashi?" he asked slyly, catching Inuyasha off-guard.

"W-what?" Inuyasha stuttered.

Miroku gave him a knowing smile. "Oh, come, you can't fool me as easily as Kagome. She might be the best reporter around here, but I'm the one that keeps up with the inner information, and I happen to know that it was Kikyo's turn to take care of any interns coming in this week. Now, I'll ask again: why did you personally request to be chaperoned by Kagome?"

Inuyasha's looked at the floor. The truth was, he HAD privately requested to be partnered with Kagome; the director had assumed that Inuyasha wanted to learn from the best. But he was confused as to why this Miroku person was giving him a 'knowing' look.

"Why are you arching your eyebrows like that?" Inuyasha asked him.

Miroku wiped the silly grin on his face. "Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about."

Inuyasha blinked. "As far as I'm concerned, you didn't say anything besides ask me pointless questions."

Miroku sighed at this intern's blunt attitude and......how to say this nicely......his stupidity.

Any male reporter in the building would kill to be partnered with either Kagome or Sango. He himself was lucky beyond his blessings to be working in the same room as them.

And here was this clueless intern, thrust into an opportunity of a lifetime, and he wasn't even aware of it.

Inuyasha just walked over the the corner where the girls were still huddled. They looked up at him.

"So, what am I supposed to do around here?" Inuyasha asked purposefully.

Kagome glared at him. "You stack the papers, file them, label them, and do whatever else we tell you to do, got it?"

Sango scolded Kagome. "Kagome! That's not very nice. Here, Inuyasha, was it? You can ask the janitor on the 10th floor to get you a spare desk. Tell him to deliver it to room 1401."

Kagome huffed and stood up to storm out the office door. She desperately needed some coffee to cool down. She was about to walk off when Inuyasha grabbed her arm and spun her around.

She looked at him, surprised. He stated in a menacing tone, "As long as I work here, I'm a part of this team, so I'll be expecting some respect from you as well, got it?"

Kagome looked at him for a moment longer, then laughed.

Inuyasha stood there, slightly confused as to why this woman was laughing. In his face, too. He growled in annoyance. (I mean come on, wouldn't you be pissed off if someone laughed in your face?)

"What're you laughing at?" he whispered threateningly.

Kagome stopped and said with a slight giggle, "Miroku, stop it! You're making him look like a total idiot!"

Inuyasha spun around to see Miroku, mimicking his every movements. Inuyasha burned all the way to his concealed ears. He didn't appreciate being to object of humiliation.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha towered over Miroku, who cringed at his anger and laughed nervously.

"Oh come on, Inuyasha, can't you take a light joke? We're, ah, the group I mean, we're always joking around like this you know!"

Inuyasha didn't bother. He swept out the door, calling back contemptuously, "10th floor, huh? I'll go and get the stupid desk. Don't bother trying to get rid of me, cause all of you are stuck with me as long as I 'need help.'"

Satisfied with the answering silence, Inuyasha slammed the door.

Sango sighed. "Look you guys, now he's mad at us, and on his first day here, too."

Kagome pouted. "Well, it's not like we asked him to join us. I must've been cursed this week; I get stuck with that monkey-faced attitude as well as get attacked..."

Miroku, who had been about to mention Inuyasha's 'request', stopped mid-sentence. He and Sango both rushed over to her and started examining her, checking for overlooked injuries or demon hexes. "You were attacked? How? When? Why didn't you tell us?"

Kagome shook them off impatiently and declared, "there's nothing wrong with me, ok? The truth is I went to that explosion sight yesterday, and I almost got my neck snapped off by this demon."

Sango didn't know what to say. Her best friend was acting like nothing was happening! "Kagome, get a grip of yourself!"

"I'm fine, Sango, really! I appreciate your concern but the demon only threatened me and let me go."

Miroku finally composed himself. He stood up from his examination and cleared his throat. This was serious business, he realized. The demon who had assaulted Kagome obviously wasn't Sesshomaru. No, if it had been him, Kagome wouldn't be here right now.

"Kagome, do you remember anything about this demon who threatened you? The knowledge you have might be invaluable in finding out more about a very powerful demon."

Kagome had realized this some time ago, but she still wasn't sure if she should tell them. Demons had a nasty way of finding out if promises were broken. Besides, there really wasn't much to tell. All she had seen of him was the color white and clawed hands.

"Well..." Kagome was pondering. If there wasn't much to tell, why not just get it out of her? It was killing her having it bottled up inside, with her being a reporter and all.

"The truth is," Kagome started as Sango leaned forward eagerly and Miroku got out a notepad, "there isn't much to say. All I saw was a blur of white that passed in front of me. He grabbed me from behind with clawed hands. That's pretty much it."

Kagome shrugged, half-resentful that she didn't have more information and half-glad that she wouldn't have to tell them any more.

Miroku seemed puzzled as he consulted his notes. "How do you know it's a 'he'?"

Kagome replied immediately, "his voice."

"What about his voice?" Sango questioned.

"Well, he kinda threatened me in a very scary whisper, and it did NOT sound feminine at all, trust me."

The both nodded.

Miroku looked over his notes one more time. "Well, it's a start. We know white, claws, and Kagome could recognize the voice when she hears it."

Kagome nodded her head. "His voice was almost inhuman, so I'm sure I'll be able to recognize it right away."

"Recognize what right away?" a familiar voice sounded in the doorway.

Kagome spun around to face the last two people she wanted to see: Inuyasha, with Kikyo trailing eagerly behind.

Inuyasha had been waiting in front of the elevator, tapping his foot impatiently. He shouldn't have agreed to get the desk. Now he was out of earshot of Kagome, which meant that she could be blabbering about him that instant!

He sighed in relief as the elevator number said '10'. (he already got the desk, now he's going back up) The doors swung open and he marched in, almost crushing the '14' button as he pressed it.

Man-made things are so flimsy, Inuyasha thought as he quickly removed his finger from the dented button.

"Wow," said a voice behind him, "you must be really strong to make a dent like that."

Inuyasha turned his head quickly to see a woman looking at him in a flirtatious way. A few seconds of that and he felt sick to the core. He managed a weak smile.

This seemed to encourage her. "I haven't seen you around here; you must be new," she continued, her voice dripping with honey, "my name's Kikyo, what's yours?"

Inuyasha just looked at her quizzically. She didn't seem to notice. "Hmm, if you're new, than you should be paired up with me. It's my turn to show interns around, you know. Not that I would mind. I look forward to spending some quality time with you."

"Actually, I'm already being trained by another reporter."

Kikyo frowned. "That can't be right. I'm sure it's a mistake. Don't you worry your little head about it, I'll fix it up right away."

"Uh, you don't have to," Inuyasha said quickly, "I'm perfectly fine with my partner right now."

"Well, I guess....it's not a girl, is it?" she said, glaring.

And just what rights does she have to know ask about this? Inuyasha yelled in his head. Does she think we're going out or something? Cause I'd hate to be the one to shatter her hopes.

"It IS a girl. In fact, it's Kagome Higurashi," he said, as the elevator reached his floor.

As he got out, he heard a constricting gasp behind her. He half-heartedly turned to see her reaching out to him, saying, "you're saying you're partnered to that reporter wannabe!!!"

He could tell she wasn't going to let go once she let go, so he took off, in the direction of the office, Kikyo trailing him, right at his heels.

Kagome looked up as Inuyasha entered the room, with a sour-faced Kikyo marching in behind. This was definitely NOT her week.

Before she could say anything, Kikyo had confronted her and screamed in her face, "what are you thinking, snatching my intern away from me?"

She raised her hand, about to slap Kagome across the face.

Inuyasha grabbed it before it could swing. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Kikyo turned to him, bewildered, "well, it's obvious she requested to be your partner so that she could tease me about it; that's the only reason you're HER intern instead of MINE!"

Miroku glanced at Inuyasha, who looked at Kagome, who had a what-is-going-on-here look on her face. Kikyo seemed to notice, and became even more aggravated.

"Don't even think about telling me that....!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Mind clearing things up, intern?" Kagome finished, looking at Kikyo's red face to Inuyasha's grimaced one.

Kikyo looked at him. "I'd like to know too!"

Sango crossed her arms. "As do I."

Miroku wisely backed away, leaving Inuyasha in the midst of 3 very pissed-off women.

Inuyasha looked from one face to the next. They were all staring at him, waiting for an explanation to the confusion. How did it come to this? he thought dispairingly.

"Well, um, you see, the...uh...I saw the director looking at this paper," Inuyasha began desperately.

Sango nodded. "That would be the responsibility rotation chart."

Inuyasha nodded eagerly. "Yeah, that thing. Anyway, he seemed...ah....confused, let's say, for a moment, and took a while scribbling stuff down and crossing out stuff."

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Go on..."

Inuyasha gulped. "It seems that it WAS originally planned that I go with Kikyo, but some delay or another, along with Kikyo's promotion, had me stuck with Kagome here."

He stopped, hoping they would buy his ridiculous story.

Kikyo seemed discontented, but didn't argue. "Hmph. Well, then, I'll be going. This room smells, and I don't think it's the floor. See you around, cutie."

She winked at Inuyasha, who almost gagged at the disgusting gesture, before stalking out the door with her nose held high.

Kagome was still scrutinizing Inuyasha. "Is that REALLY what happened?"

"Of course! Would I lie to you?" Inuyasha replied, with what he hoped was an innocent face. She sighed in defeat. "Well, there's no arguing with the director once his mind is made up. So, intern, did you get the desk?"

Inuyasha was about to answer yes, when he stopped. "You know, I do have a name."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Don't we all? Now, answer the question."

"Kagome," Sango intervened on Inuyasha's behalf, "I think Inuyasha feels that you should call him by his respective name, rather than his job title."

Inuyasha nodded in agreement. Kagome covered her forehead in a tired gesture. "You know, I really don't have time for this. I need a report finished and ready to print by this Thursday....that means I only have 2 days left! I really need to get started. Intern!"

Inuyasha waited.

"Since you seem bent on ruining my life, you might as well come with me. Saves me the trouble of walking over there."

"What, you want me to carry you?" Inuyasha asked, confused.

"What I mean is we'll be taking a cab," Kagome explained while gathering up her purse and files.

"But what does taking me have to do with that?" Inuyasha inquired.

"Because," Kagome said with a straight face, "you'll be paying. Now let's go, Sango, Miroku, see you guys later."

"Bye, Kagome!" the called to her back as she disappeared out the door. Sango glanced at Inuyasha. "You might want to follow her. She's not likely to wait for you to catch up, you know."

Inuyasha stood there, indiginant. "Since when do I have to pay her transportation fees?"

Miroku promptly replied, "Well, she usually walks."

"So?"

"She lives on the other side of the city, Inuyasha."

He still didn't get it. "So why not take the taxi everyday? And tell me why I have to pay for it again?"

Miroku looked at him. "She doesn't earn enought money to be able to afford the luxury of a car."

"Not even a taxi?"

"Not even a bus."

"Oh," was all Inuyasha said as he followed Kagome out.