InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Making Things Right ❯ It's a Dirty Job... ( Chapter 24 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: inufan625 
Metting with Sesshomaru and a job interview...
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.23.2005 | Updated On: 07.09.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 3.2K | Status: Work In Progress
Metting with Sesshomaru and a job interview...
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.23.2005 | Updated On: 07.09.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 3.2K | Status: Work In Progress
(**) a dream/vision
(~~) a note/letter
(*****) a scene/time change
A/N: I would like to thank those who continue to review and hope that since I have so many views at least a few more people would see fit to leave at least one review...please...But even if you don’t review I hope you are enjoying my story.
There is a small lime at the end of the chapter so be forewarned.
That said enjoy the newest chapter.
______________________________________________________________ _______
Sesshomaru looked up as the small group entered his office.
“Sit,” he ordered. Everyone did as instructed except for InuYasha. Sesshomaru turned his gaze onto his brother. “Is there a problem?”
“Just tell us what you know so we can get the hell out of here,” InuYasha replied.
“InuYasha, sit,” Kagome said. “Please - for me.”
“Keh, fine,” he reluctantly agreed, as he sat. “But let’s hurry and get this over with.”
“Kosotsu did in fact get sent to a youkai orphanage,” Sesshomaru told them. “However no orphanage in all of Japan has any record of him.”
“So then how can we be sure he was sent to one?” Kagome asked.
“It was included in the police record of his mother’s murder,” he replied. “If he was indeed taken to a youkai research facility, then someone went to great lengths to cover up his very existence.”
“That would make sense if they are performing illegal experiments,” Miroku offered. “It would make for… disposable subjects.”
“That’s horrible!” Kagome said. “We have to find out so we can put a stop to it.”
“Indeed,” Sesshomaru replied. “That is why I have arranged for you, Miko, to interview for a job at the facility Monday morning.”
“No fucking way,” InuYasha said coming to his feet. “You ain’t using Kagome, so get someone else.”
“It has already been arranged,” Sesshomaru stated calmly. “She has the necessary skill, and education. More importantly though, she can be trusted. Besides, I do not hear her objecting.”
“I don’t give a fuck if it has already been arranged. You can un-arrange it!” InuYasha bellowed. “She ain’t doing it, you-”
“InuYasha,” Kagome said, cutting short his tirade. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Damn it, bitch. I said you ain’t doing it, and that’s final!” InuYasha yelled, crossing his arms over his chest.
She pinned him with a fierce glare. “What gives you the right to tell me what I can and can’t do?”
“You’re my mate, damn it. That’s why,” InuYasha replied.
Kagome stood up. “How convenient, that you choose now when it is useful to you, to acknowledge that fact.” She said her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m sorry, InuYasha. If you want to sit and tell me why you are so against this, then I will listen and consider your reasons, but mates or not, I make my own decisions. Anyway, you may be my mate, but I’m not yours - not really.”
“Fuck this and fuck you,” he growled. “Do whatever you want. Like I care, bitch.”
InuYasha pulled open the door to the office and left. He’d be damned before he let them see how much her words had affected him.
Kagome took a deep breath and closed her eyes trying to stave off the tears threatening to fall.
“Excuse me,” she said softly, her voice shaking. “I... I just need a minute.” She ran out of the office.
Sango was looking at her lap and Miroku was shaking his head.
“He’ll never learn,” Miroku said.
“Do you think Kagome will be all right?” Sango asked. “Maybe I should go talk to her.”
“The miko is strong as is their bond,” Sesshomaru said. “Worry not. Now, this Sesshomaru has another meeting in fifteen minutes. I will give you both my orders. I trust you will pass them on to my baka brother and his mate.”
Both Sango and Miroku nodded.
The plan was simple. Kagome would go in for her interview to become a research intern. She would let slip the fact that she possessed spiritual powers, since, most likely, unwilling subjects were subdued by such means. Miroku, Sango, and InuYasha - if he could behave himself - would go in for another inspection, just in case something went wrong and Kagome became suspect. If Kagome got the job, they would work out a plan to get the needed information.
She realized that she had gone a bit too far with what she had said. She also knew that he had lashed out at her for it, feigning anger to hide that what she had said hurt him, but she was just so tired of trying to keep it all inside, tired of pretending to be strong.
Kagome dried her tears and washed her face. Once the meeting was over, she would go find him and she was certain she knew where he would be.
InuYasha left Sesshomaru’s office, but instead of going down, he went up to the roof. He leapt from building to building with no set destination in mind, but he wasn’t surprised to find himself at the Higurashi Shrine.
Rebuilding had started, but fortunately, no construction was currently taking place. He went to the well house and jumped in, hoping that he would be allowed, at least for a little while, to return to the time he remembered, a place he felt he belonged.
“Damn it!” he yelled as his feet hit solid earth at the bottom of the old well.
InuYasha jumped out and made his way to the Goshinboku. The tree that spanned the ages. Something familiar to him. Something tangible that remained of his past. The tree that had sheltered him for fifty lost years, and where he met his future in a strange, stubborn, beautiful, and loving miko, named Kagome. He leapt into the tree and settled himself on the branch that had cradled him while he rested many nights in a different life.
He knew that he had hurt her and that she had probably cried once he was gone. He also knew that she hadn’t deserved it. What she said was only the truth. She was entitled to make her own decisions, and he was supposed to support her and protect her when she made bad ones.
He didn’t want a woman who cowered and followed his every command. Kagome’s spirit was one of the things that had drawn him to her, and that he had eventually come to love. He wanted a woman who was his equal, who could stand up to him, and stand beside him no matter what the fates put before them. He had found that in Kagome and then he punished her for it.
InuYasha made up his mind to find a way to apologize, to make it up to her when he went back to their home. For now, though, he would sit in the branches of the tree that had born witness to both the best and worst moment of his life and think of nothing.
She turned back to the car and told Miroku and Sango not to wait, that she and InuYasha would make their own way back. The car pulled away behind her and she could feel him. His body was close, but that wasn’t her concern. It was his mind that she feared would be out of her reach. She took a deep breath and ascended the shrine steps.
Kagome was at the top of the steps before he smelled her. The polluted air of the city was overpowering her scent. He pretended not to know that she was there, wanting to see what she would do, and how mad she was, so he could prepare himself.
“Hey,” Kagome called from below him.
She didn’t sound mad.
“Hey yourself, wench,” he replied. His tone, if not his words, had been accommodating.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
“Ain’t that what we’re doing?” he replied. He heard her give and frustrated sigh and it prompted him to jump down. “So talk.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have taken it so far. I should have been more considerate of your feelings. I know it’s not an excuse, but I just couldn’t keep it all to myself anymore.”
“Kagome, I…” he started. “I shouldn’t have said what I did, either. I didn’t mean it, and I know you can make your own decisions.”
“Will you tell me why you don’t want me to do it?” she asked.
“If they see youkai as disposable and can cover it up, then if they find out about you too, who’s to say they won’t just try and dispose of you?” he replied, reaching out and pulling her to him. “I can’t lose you, Kagome. I can’t. I won’t. I don’t understand why it has to be you.”
“We’re close to finally finding out what we’re up against,“ she told him. “This is important. Sesshomaru knows he can trust us. He can’t say that for sure about anyone else.”
“Why is that bastard so sure he can trust us?” InuYasha questioned.
“For one, because this demon is after us, too,” she replied. “But more importantly, even with you as you are now, as much as you dislike him, he knows that you have honor and that you would not betray your own family.”
“Keh,” InuYasha replied. He didn’t want to admit what she said was true, but he also knew that he couldn’t deny it.
Miroku, Sango, and InuYasha were standing just inside talking to a short, balding man in a white lab coat. “I just don’t see why you need another tour of the facility?” he said.
“Before our employer spends his money, he likes to know to exactly to what purpose it will be used,” Miroku replied. “Of course, if this is a problem, I am sure there are other places that could use his very generous donation.”
The man looked past Miroku at Kagome.
“Um… no. That’s not a problem at all,” he stammered. “Excuse me for a moment.”
Kagome made sure to smile as the man approached. She could feel InuYasha watching her and knew he could probably tell how nervous she was. Kagome offered a small bow and it was returned. She didn’t like the way the man’s eyes traveled the length of her body, and from the flare of a familiar youki, InuYasha didn’t either.
“How can I help you?” The man asked.
“My name is Higurashi Kagome and I am here to interview for a research internship,” she supplied.
“Ah, of course,” he said. “I am Dr. Sato. Give me one moment to find someone to show these people around and then we can go to my office to conduct your interview.”
The doctor disappeared through a pair of double doors and InuYasha turned to look at her. She could see the question in his expression.
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
He looked at her for another moment before turning back to Sango and Miroku.
A younger - man also wearing a white lab coat - led InuYasha, Sango, and Miroku through the double doors, and Dr. Sato guided her to a small office. He slid a card key and typed in a series of numbers on the keypad. Kagome stepped into the office.
“Please have a seat,” Dr. Sato said.
“Thank you,” Kagome replied, sitting down.
Dr. Sato sat behind his desk and opened the folder in front of him.
“Let me start by saying that we are not actually looking for any new employees, but one of our benefactors insisted that we see you. He informed us that you were one of the brightest and most promising future medical students he had ever seen,” he told her. “I have received your resume, and I must say I am impressed. It would seem that I am not the only one. All of your professors rated you among the best, and were dismayed that you had not enrolled in the current semester. Many were relieved to learn you were only taking time off to gain practical experience. So tell me why you are interested in working here.”
“Well, I haven’t decided exactly what field I want to work in, and I hoped that by putting myself in different medical settings, I could find which one appealed to me most,” she replied. “I also saw this as an opportunity to hopefully test my theory that spiritual powers can be used to heal youkai.”
“Spiritual powers are used to subdue and purify youki. I don’t see how such a thing could be possible,” he told her.
“It is possible,” she insisted. “I haven’t ever tried it on a full youkai, but I was able to heal a hanyou of a rather serious injury without completely purifying his youki. It is a matter of controlling how you use your power. I figured in a research setting I would be taken seriously.”
Kagome could see it in the man’s eyes. She had just become infinitely more appealing to him as an employee.
Dr. Sato considered her words. If in fact she could do as she claimed it would be nothing short of a miracle. Healing youkai would save him a lot of work disposing of his failures.
“Like I said, we were not looking for any new employees, but your skills are simply too valuable to let pass,” he told her. “If you would join me for lunch, we can work out the details of your employment.”
Kagome worked to hide her discomfort. InuYasha would kill her if she went somewhere alone. “I am very sorry, but I already have plans for lunch.”
“In that case, be here tomorrow morning at eight and we will discuss it then,” Dr. Sato said.
Kagome nodded.
“I look forward to seeing more of you, Miss Higurashi.”
Kagome shuddered at the man’s tone and at the presence of his hand grazing the small of her back as he ushered her out of his office. She headed for the door.
“Thank you for this opportunity,” she said with a small bow. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the building and hailed a cab.
The cab dropped her off at a parking garage several blocks away, where a car was waiting to take her home. She had the job. She did what she set out to do, but somehow she didn’t think InuYasha would be pleased - especially after how that man was looking at her. Now, she would have to go speak to Sesshomaru and devise a new plan as to how to proceed.
They came inside about an hour after she arrived, and InuYasha looked relieved to see her - until he got close enough to smell her, that is.
“What the fuck?” he yelled.
Kagome was taken aback by his outburst. “What’s wrong?”
“That bastard had his hands all over you!” InuYasha replied. “I’ll kill him.”
Kagome reached out and put a hand on his shoulder as he paced in front of her.
“He did not,” she said. “His hand just brushed against my back. It’s no big deal.”
He stared at her for a moment. “No big deal?” he repeated. “I saw the way he was looking at you, wench; smelled the way he reacted. He had no fucking right to touch you. You ain’t going back there.”
Kagome sighed. “I have to go back,” she insisted. “I got the job. This is our best chance at finding out about Kousotsu. It’s not like we’ll be alone together. Other people will be there. He won’t be able to do anything.”
“Keh, you think so?” InuYasha asked. “Maybe these other people will decide to help him.”
Kagome’s reply died on her lips. She hadn’t considered that. People who were capable of taking youkai against their will and experimenting on them probably wouldn’t balk at doing similar things to a woman.
“I...” She started. “That doesn’t matter. I can take care of myself. It has to be done.”
“Take care of yourself like you did with Kouga?” he questioned. InuYasha cringed inwardly as Kagome winced at his remark. He knew it was a low blow, but he wanted to keep her safe. He had to convince her not to put herself at risk, even if he hurt her and she never forgave him.
“Maybe that’s my problem,” she said quietly. “I’ve been too dependent on having you there to protect me. After all, if I had been able to protect myself, you never would have been hurt. I have to do this, and this time, I will take care of myself.”
Kagome headed for their room and shut the door behind her.
Sango and Miroku to their credit sat at the kitchen table pretending not to have heard anything.
InuYasha cursed himself. He hadn’t wanted her to feel guilty. It was his job to protect her. Why couldn’t she understand that he didn’t want her to have to take care of herself? How could she not know that she was his to love, and his to protect, that if something happened to her it would be his fault for not being there for her?
A small growl escaped. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she could handle herself. He knew that when it came down to it she could be a formidable force in her own right. He just didn’t want her put in a situation where she might have to be.
InuYasha could hear her crying softly in their room and he knew he would have to let her take the job, to show her that he trusted her, but he didn’t have to like it.
Kagome lay down and cried. It hurt her that he would bring up Kouga. He sure does have a good memory when it’s convenient to him, especially since he doesn’t actually remember what happened; only what I told him about it. I know he’s just worried about me, but doesn’t he trust me. I’m not stupid. If there were trouble, I would call him or run away if I had to.
He sat down behind her on the bed. “Promise me that if anyone so much as looks at you the wrong way, you’ll get the hell out of there.”
Kagome turned over and sat up, resting a hand on his shoulder and her head between his shoulder blades. She knew he was trying to prove to her that he trusted her. She also knew how hard it was for him to give her this.
“I promise,” she replied. “Just as I promised to always stay by your side.”
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. “Thank you.”
As soon as she lay beside him his lips fell roughly over hers and his arm wrapped around her. His kiss was filled with so much need, such quiet desperation that it took her breath away.
She shuddered as one of his hands slid up the back of her thigh and cupped her bottom, pulling her closer to him. His other hand slid between then and squeezed her breast gently. She moaned into his mouth.
Up until now she had been the one to instigate their encounters, but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t pleased with him taking the initiative. She lifted one hand to his ear and rubbed gently.
He growled low in his throat and moved to kiss her neck.
Hesitantly he slipped his hand down between her legs and caressed her gently. He placed soft nips and soothing swipes of his tongue upon her mark as he relentlessly strove to bring her to her peak. It didn’t take long for her to rasp out his name.
Her body trembled as he held her against him, and she panted softly to catch her breath. When she at last looked up into the beautiful golden gaze of her hanyou, she saw the same desperation his kisses had possessed, and more than that she saw fear. She brushed a hand lightly across his cheek.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He closed his eyes and crushed her to his chest.
“Say it again,” he replied. “Promise me you’ll be careful. I won’t be able to survive in this time without you,” he lowered his voice, “and I wouldn’t want to.”
Kagome gasped as tears filled her eyes. That he would express such a depth of concern about her, and admit something so deeply personal touched her and let her feel the depth of his love, even if he was unable to say the words.
“I promise,” she said. “I swear to you, I won’t leave you. I won’t let anything take me away from you. I love you.”
She raised her head and he kissed her again. This time though, it was a kiss meant to convey his love for her and his faith in her to keep her promise to him. He had to show her that to live without her would be to not live at all. Maybe if she knew just how much she meant to him, it would give her the strength to survive if something were to happen, just as so many times he forced himself to stay alive, and to win, for her.
After a long moment he broke their kiss. She smiled softly at him.
“Goodnight, InuYasha,” she whispered.
He smoothed her hair with his hand. “Goodnight.”
(~~) a note/letter
(*****) a scene/time change
A/N: I would like to thank those who continue to review and hope that since I have so many views at least a few more people would see fit to leave at least one review...please...But even if you don’t review I hope you are enjoying my story.
There is a small lime at the end of the chapter so be forewarned.
That said enjoy the newest chapter.
______________________________________________________________ _______
Sesshomaru looked up as the small group entered his office.
“Sit,” he ordered. Everyone did as instructed except for InuYasha. Sesshomaru turned his gaze onto his brother. “Is there a problem?”
“Just tell us what you know so we can get the hell out of here,” InuYasha replied.
“InuYasha, sit,” Kagome said. “Please - for me.”
“Keh, fine,” he reluctantly agreed, as he sat. “But let’s hurry and get this over with.”
“Kosotsu did in fact get sent to a youkai orphanage,” Sesshomaru told them. “However no orphanage in all of Japan has any record of him.”
“So then how can we be sure he was sent to one?” Kagome asked.
“It was included in the police record of his mother’s murder,” he replied. “If he was indeed taken to a youkai research facility, then someone went to great lengths to cover up his very existence.”
“That would make sense if they are performing illegal experiments,” Miroku offered. “It would make for… disposable subjects.”
“That’s horrible!” Kagome said. “We have to find out so we can put a stop to it.”
“Indeed,” Sesshomaru replied. “That is why I have arranged for you, Miko, to interview for a job at the facility Monday morning.”
“No fucking way,” InuYasha said coming to his feet. “You ain’t using Kagome, so get someone else.”
“It has already been arranged,” Sesshomaru stated calmly. “She has the necessary skill, and education. More importantly though, she can be trusted. Besides, I do not hear her objecting.”
“I don’t give a fuck if it has already been arranged. You can un-arrange it!” InuYasha bellowed. “She ain’t doing it, you-”
“InuYasha,” Kagome said, cutting short his tirade. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Damn it, bitch. I said you ain’t doing it, and that’s final!” InuYasha yelled, crossing his arms over his chest.
She pinned him with a fierce glare. “What gives you the right to tell me what I can and can’t do?”
“You’re my mate, damn it. That’s why,” InuYasha replied.
Kagome stood up. “How convenient, that you choose now when it is useful to you, to acknowledge that fact.” She said her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m sorry, InuYasha. If you want to sit and tell me why you are so against this, then I will listen and consider your reasons, but mates or not, I make my own decisions. Anyway, you may be my mate, but I’m not yours - not really.”
“Fuck this and fuck you,” he growled. “Do whatever you want. Like I care, bitch.”
InuYasha pulled open the door to the office and left. He’d be damned before he let them see how much her words had affected him.
Kagome took a deep breath and closed her eyes trying to stave off the tears threatening to fall.
“Excuse me,” she said softly, her voice shaking. “I... I just need a minute.” She ran out of the office.
Sango was looking at her lap and Miroku was shaking his head.
“He’ll never learn,” Miroku said.
“Do you think Kagome will be all right?” Sango asked. “Maybe I should go talk to her.”
“The miko is strong as is their bond,” Sesshomaru said. “Worry not. Now, this Sesshomaru has another meeting in fifteen minutes. I will give you both my orders. I trust you will pass them on to my baka brother and his mate.”
Both Sango and Miroku nodded.
The plan was simple. Kagome would go in for her interview to become a research intern. She would let slip the fact that she possessed spiritual powers, since, most likely, unwilling subjects were subdued by such means. Miroku, Sango, and InuYasha - if he could behave himself - would go in for another inspection, just in case something went wrong and Kagome became suspect. If Kagome got the job, they would work out a plan to get the needed information.
*****
Kagome found the nearest wash room. She went into one of the stalls and cried softly. She wondered if he understood how much he hurt her when he said things like that, even if she knew he didn’t really mean it.She realized that she had gone a bit too far with what she had said. She also knew that he had lashed out at her for it, feigning anger to hide that what she had said hurt him, but she was just so tired of trying to keep it all inside, tired of pretending to be strong.
Kagome dried her tears and washed her face. Once the meeting was over, she would go find him and she was certain she knew where he would be.
InuYasha left Sesshomaru’s office, but instead of going down, he went up to the roof. He leapt from building to building with no set destination in mind, but he wasn’t surprised to find himself at the Higurashi Shrine.
Rebuilding had started, but fortunately, no construction was currently taking place. He went to the well house and jumped in, hoping that he would be allowed, at least for a little while, to return to the time he remembered, a place he felt he belonged.
“Damn it!” he yelled as his feet hit solid earth at the bottom of the old well.
InuYasha jumped out and made his way to the Goshinboku. The tree that spanned the ages. Something familiar to him. Something tangible that remained of his past. The tree that had sheltered him for fifty lost years, and where he met his future in a strange, stubborn, beautiful, and loving miko, named Kagome. He leapt into the tree and settled himself on the branch that had cradled him while he rested many nights in a different life.
He knew that he had hurt her and that she had probably cried once he was gone. He also knew that she hadn’t deserved it. What she said was only the truth. She was entitled to make her own decisions, and he was supposed to support her and protect her when she made bad ones.
He didn’t want a woman who cowered and followed his every command. Kagome’s spirit was one of the things that had drawn him to her, and that he had eventually come to love. He wanted a woman who was his equal, who could stand up to him, and stand beside him no matter what the fates put before them. He had found that in Kagome and then he punished her for it.
InuYasha made up his mind to find a way to apologize, to make it up to her when he went back to their home. For now, though, he would sit in the branches of the tree that had born witness to both the best and worst moment of his life and think of nothing.
*****
Kagome exited the car at the base of the shrine steps. The first thing she noticed was the sign announcing the rebuilding of the shrine by Taisho Industries. A soft smile graced her lips. She knew it was InuYasha’s doing.She turned back to the car and told Miroku and Sango not to wait, that she and InuYasha would make their own way back. The car pulled away behind her and she could feel him. His body was close, but that wasn’t her concern. It was his mind that she feared would be out of her reach. She took a deep breath and ascended the shrine steps.
Kagome was at the top of the steps before he smelled her. The polluted air of the city was overpowering her scent. He pretended not to know that she was there, wanting to see what she would do, and how mad she was, so he could prepare himself.
“Hey,” Kagome called from below him.
She didn’t sound mad.
“Hey yourself, wench,” he replied. His tone, if not his words, had been accommodating.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
“Ain’t that what we’re doing?” he replied. He heard her give and frustrated sigh and it prompted him to jump down. “So talk.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have taken it so far. I should have been more considerate of your feelings. I know it’s not an excuse, but I just couldn’t keep it all to myself anymore.”
“Kagome, I…” he started. “I shouldn’t have said what I did, either. I didn’t mean it, and I know you can make your own decisions.”
“Will you tell me why you don’t want me to do it?” she asked.
“If they see youkai as disposable and can cover it up, then if they find out about you too, who’s to say they won’t just try and dispose of you?” he replied, reaching out and pulling her to him. “I can’t lose you, Kagome. I can’t. I won’t. I don’t understand why it has to be you.”
“We’re close to finally finding out what we’re up against,“ she told him. “This is important. Sesshomaru knows he can trust us. He can’t say that for sure about anyone else.”
“Why is that bastard so sure he can trust us?” InuYasha questioned.
“For one, because this demon is after us, too,” she replied. “But more importantly, even with you as you are now, as much as you dislike him, he knows that you have honor and that you would not betray your own family.”
“Keh,” InuYasha replied. He didn’t want to admit what she said was true, but he also knew that he couldn’t deny it.
*****
Kagome stood in front of the research center. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her knee length black skirt and pulled at the edge of her white blouse to make sure it was straight where it was tucked in. Opening the door, she tried to look confident as she stepped inside.Miroku, Sango, and InuYasha were standing just inside talking to a short, balding man in a white lab coat. “I just don’t see why you need another tour of the facility?” he said.
“Before our employer spends his money, he likes to know to exactly to what purpose it will be used,” Miroku replied. “Of course, if this is a problem, I am sure there are other places that could use his very generous donation.”
The man looked past Miroku at Kagome.
“Um… no. That’s not a problem at all,” he stammered. “Excuse me for a moment.”
Kagome made sure to smile as the man approached. She could feel InuYasha watching her and knew he could probably tell how nervous she was. Kagome offered a small bow and it was returned. She didn’t like the way the man’s eyes traveled the length of her body, and from the flare of a familiar youki, InuYasha didn’t either.
“How can I help you?” The man asked.
“My name is Higurashi Kagome and I am here to interview for a research internship,” she supplied.
“Ah, of course,” he said. “I am Dr. Sato. Give me one moment to find someone to show these people around and then we can go to my office to conduct your interview.”
The doctor disappeared through a pair of double doors and InuYasha turned to look at her. She could see the question in his expression.
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
He looked at her for another moment before turning back to Sango and Miroku.
A younger - man also wearing a white lab coat - led InuYasha, Sango, and Miroku through the double doors, and Dr. Sato guided her to a small office. He slid a card key and typed in a series of numbers on the keypad. Kagome stepped into the office.
“Please have a seat,” Dr. Sato said.
“Thank you,” Kagome replied, sitting down.
Dr. Sato sat behind his desk and opened the folder in front of him.
“Let me start by saying that we are not actually looking for any new employees, but one of our benefactors insisted that we see you. He informed us that you were one of the brightest and most promising future medical students he had ever seen,” he told her. “I have received your resume, and I must say I am impressed. It would seem that I am not the only one. All of your professors rated you among the best, and were dismayed that you had not enrolled in the current semester. Many were relieved to learn you were only taking time off to gain practical experience. So tell me why you are interested in working here.”
“Well, I haven’t decided exactly what field I want to work in, and I hoped that by putting myself in different medical settings, I could find which one appealed to me most,” she replied. “I also saw this as an opportunity to hopefully test my theory that spiritual powers can be used to heal youkai.”
“Spiritual powers are used to subdue and purify youki. I don’t see how such a thing could be possible,” he told her.
“It is possible,” she insisted. “I haven’t ever tried it on a full youkai, but I was able to heal a hanyou of a rather serious injury without completely purifying his youki. It is a matter of controlling how you use your power. I figured in a research setting I would be taken seriously.”
Kagome could see it in the man’s eyes. She had just become infinitely more appealing to him as an employee.
Dr. Sato considered her words. If in fact she could do as she claimed it would be nothing short of a miracle. Healing youkai would save him a lot of work disposing of his failures.
“Like I said, we were not looking for any new employees, but your skills are simply too valuable to let pass,” he told her. “If you would join me for lunch, we can work out the details of your employment.”
Kagome worked to hide her discomfort. InuYasha would kill her if she went somewhere alone. “I am very sorry, but I already have plans for lunch.”
“In that case, be here tomorrow morning at eight and we will discuss it then,” Dr. Sato said.
Kagome nodded.
“I look forward to seeing more of you, Miss Higurashi.”
Kagome shuddered at the man’s tone and at the presence of his hand grazing the small of her back as he ushered her out of his office. She headed for the door.
“Thank you for this opportunity,” she said with a small bow. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the building and hailed a cab.
The cab dropped her off at a parking garage several blocks away, where a car was waiting to take her home. She had the job. She did what she set out to do, but somehow she didn’t think InuYasha would be pleased - especially after how that man was looking at her. Now, she would have to go speak to Sesshomaru and devise a new plan as to how to proceed.
*****
Kagome hadn’t given any thought to the doctor having touched her back, but once InuYasha and the others arrived, she wished fervently that she had.They came inside about an hour after she arrived, and InuYasha looked relieved to see her - until he got close enough to smell her, that is.
“What the fuck?” he yelled.
Kagome was taken aback by his outburst. “What’s wrong?”
“That bastard had his hands all over you!” InuYasha replied. “I’ll kill him.”
Kagome reached out and put a hand on his shoulder as he paced in front of her.
“He did not,” she said. “His hand just brushed against my back. It’s no big deal.”
He stared at her for a moment. “No big deal?” he repeated. “I saw the way he was looking at you, wench; smelled the way he reacted. He had no fucking right to touch you. You ain’t going back there.”
Kagome sighed. “I have to go back,” she insisted. “I got the job. This is our best chance at finding out about Kousotsu. It’s not like we’ll be alone together. Other people will be there. He won’t be able to do anything.”
“Keh, you think so?” InuYasha asked. “Maybe these other people will decide to help him.”
Kagome’s reply died on her lips. She hadn’t considered that. People who were capable of taking youkai against their will and experimenting on them probably wouldn’t balk at doing similar things to a woman.
“I...” She started. “That doesn’t matter. I can take care of myself. It has to be done.”
“Take care of yourself like you did with Kouga?” he questioned. InuYasha cringed inwardly as Kagome winced at his remark. He knew it was a low blow, but he wanted to keep her safe. He had to convince her not to put herself at risk, even if he hurt her and she never forgave him.
“Maybe that’s my problem,” she said quietly. “I’ve been too dependent on having you there to protect me. After all, if I had been able to protect myself, you never would have been hurt. I have to do this, and this time, I will take care of myself.”
Kagome headed for their room and shut the door behind her.
Sango and Miroku to their credit sat at the kitchen table pretending not to have heard anything.
InuYasha cursed himself. He hadn’t wanted her to feel guilty. It was his job to protect her. Why couldn’t she understand that he didn’t want her to have to take care of herself? How could she not know that she was his to love, and his to protect, that if something happened to her it would be his fault for not being there for her?
A small growl escaped. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she could handle herself. He knew that when it came down to it she could be a formidable force in her own right. He just didn’t want her put in a situation where she might have to be.
InuYasha could hear her crying softly in their room and he knew he would have to let her take the job, to show her that he trusted her, but he didn’t have to like it.
Kagome lay down and cried. It hurt her that he would bring up Kouga. He sure does have a good memory when it’s convenient to him, especially since he doesn’t actually remember what happened; only what I told him about it. I know he’s just worried about me, but doesn’t he trust me. I’m not stupid. If there were trouble, I would call him or run away if I had to.
He sat down behind her on the bed. “Promise me that if anyone so much as looks at you the wrong way, you’ll get the hell out of there.”
Kagome turned over and sat up, resting a hand on his shoulder and her head between his shoulder blades. She knew he was trying to prove to her that he trusted her. She also knew how hard it was for him to give her this.
“I promise,” she replied. “Just as I promised to always stay by your side.”
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. “Thank you.”
*****
Later that night Kagome came out of the bathroom to find InuYasha already in bed. He was leaning against the headboard, and much to her delight he had decided not to wear a shirt to bed.As soon as she lay beside him his lips fell roughly over hers and his arm wrapped around her. His kiss was filled with so much need, such quiet desperation that it took her breath away.
She shuddered as one of his hands slid up the back of her thigh and cupped her bottom, pulling her closer to him. His other hand slid between then and squeezed her breast gently. She moaned into his mouth.
Up until now she had been the one to instigate their encounters, but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t pleased with him taking the initiative. She lifted one hand to his ear and rubbed gently.
He growled low in his throat and moved to kiss her neck.
Hesitantly he slipped his hand down between her legs and caressed her gently. He placed soft nips and soothing swipes of his tongue upon her mark as he relentlessly strove to bring her to her peak. It didn’t take long for her to rasp out his name.
Her body trembled as he held her against him, and she panted softly to catch her breath. When she at last looked up into the beautiful golden gaze of her hanyou, she saw the same desperation his kisses had possessed, and more than that she saw fear. She brushed a hand lightly across his cheek.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He closed his eyes and crushed her to his chest.
“Say it again,” he replied. “Promise me you’ll be careful. I won’t be able to survive in this time without you,” he lowered his voice, “and I wouldn’t want to.”
Kagome gasped as tears filled her eyes. That he would express such a depth of concern about her, and admit something so deeply personal touched her and let her feel the depth of his love, even if he was unable to say the words.
“I promise,” she said. “I swear to you, I won’t leave you. I won’t let anything take me away from you. I love you.”
She raised her head and he kissed her again. This time though, it was a kiss meant to convey his love for her and his faith in her to keep her promise to him. He had to show her that to live without her would be to not live at all. Maybe if she knew just how much she meant to him, it would give her the strength to survive if something were to happen, just as so many times he forced himself to stay alive, and to win, for her.
After a long moment he broke their kiss. She smiled softly at him.
“Goodnight, InuYasha,” she whispered.
He smoothed her hair with his hand. “Goodnight.”