The Corporate Catch
By: Sandreline
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha™. The entire show in all of its genius from plot to characters is owned by the wonderful and amazing Rumiko Takahashi. I merely own the story idea for this fan fiction, nothing more. If I did, I would have placed Kagome with Sesshomaru from the beginning! I also do not own Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice™, though I do love it so! (Which is why I did a Kag/Sess version as well! Go check it and my other stories out – more on my FF net account under “Moon Mage Goddess”.)
Chapter 1: Just Another Day in Paradise
“Kagome!”
An ebony haired woman in her mid-twenties let out a sigh, her eyes sliding off the computer screen as she closed them. Perhaps if she could not see him, the rough yell from her boss and friend would disappear.
“Kagome!”
Perhaps not. With her eyes still closed she stood from her chair, the wheels easily allowing it to be pushed back for easier movement. “Yes, InuYasha?”
“Where is my favorite pen?”
Sitting back in her chair, she once more poised her fingers over her keyboard. “Top left drawer.”
The sound of said oak drawer opening barely reached her ears. A soft shuffle of papers followed it, before the silver haired half-demon cried out, “Found it!”
She rolled her blue eyes before once again letting her fingers click away at the keys.
Kagome Higurashi was a brilliant graduate student. She had a loving family, was raised on the family Shrine as a priestess (complete with powers), and had the best group of friends a girl could hope for. She even had a great job.
Sometimes chaotic, but it was still great.
Her childhood friend was InuYasha Taisho, the half-demon younger son of the retired Lord of the Western Lands. While the famous family of dog demons was no longer famous for cutting down their enemies with claws and swords, they were still undefeated warriors in the modern world. The only change was that their battle ground was the corporate field. Lord Toga had seen the change as the human population quickly rose several centuries ago, and began a corporation that was now the largest in the north eastern hemisphere of the world. Taisho Industries specialized in everything from ancient artifacts and museums, to being the leader in clean energy with the latest in modern technology. The current Lord of the West, InuYasha’s older half-brother Sesshomaru, took his father’s place recently as the CEO and owner of Taisho Inc., though Kagome could count on one hand how many times she had seen him. As for InuYasha, he was the Vice President- as well as her boss.
“Kagome, it’s out of ink!” InuYasha’s gruff voice shouted from the inside of his office.
“The refill cartridge is in the second drawer.” Kagome called out.
“Where?” The half-demon cried out.
With a sigh Kagome stood once more from her chair, the wheels again silently sliding behind her. She walked around the front of her desk and towards the door to InuYasha’s office, where the silver-haired half-demon was sifting through his drawer. With a small shake of her head, she swatted his hand out of the way and swiftly removed the required refill for the beloved red fountain pen her friend could not be without.
Amber eyes filled with relief. “Thanks, Kagome. What would I do without you?”
“Not have a filing system to save your life?” She replied wittingly with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
“Feh, I could figure it out somehow.” He replied as the ears on the top of his head twitched. The half demon sat down in the comfortable leather chair at his desk.
“What is your social security number?” Kagome asked as she took the manila envelope that held the papers he sighed from the corner of his desk. She had to send them down to Miroku in legal.
InuYasha’s ears twitched.
Kagome’s smirk deepened. “Which bank is in charge of your personal spending account, and which one takes care of your business expense account?”
InuYasha’s eyebrows were pinching together as he attempted to come up with an answer.
“Which insurance company covers your sports cars?”
“Alright, I get it!” The half demon sputtered. “Shut up, wench, and bring those to Miroku.”
“Bring those to Miroku….” Kagome’s voice teased.
InuYasha scowled. “Please.”
Kagome smiled brightly at her child hood friend. “You’re the boss!” Spinning around, she walked back out of his office. Kagome had to hold in a giggle at the mumbled grumbling that came from behind her.
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“Hey Buyo,” Kagome greeted as she returned to her apartment later that night. Her big fat cat meowed from his place in greeting, getting up only to sit before his food dish.
Kagome felt her eyebrow twitch. “That’s it; you are going on a diet.”
The look she received from the feline clearly informed her that he did not believe her. The look had merit – Kagome had been saying she would put him on a diet for years. “Fine,” Kagome replied. “But I don’t want to know what your cholesterol level is!”
The cat simply swished his tail at her, but Kagome gave him his dinner anyway.
The young woman sighed as, later that night, she curled up on her couch in a shirt and yoga pants with her favorite book Pride and Prejudice. Kagome would be the first to say that she loved her life: she had a beautiful apartment, made a great living, and had a wonderful family with equally wonderful friends.
Lately, however, Kagome could not stop the shadow of loneliness that was swelling in her heart. As she had a hundred times before, she brushed it off envy due to the fact that Miroku had recently proposed to her best friend Sango. Still, she had never been very good at attracting the good men. Kagome did excel at attracting the strange ones, though. That was a long list: from Kouga the obsessive wolf demon to Hojo the far-too-polite-and-oblivious schoolmate.
So with great determination, she opened her beloved book and entered the world of old England just as Elizabeth Bennet was to be introduced to Georgiana Darcy.
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“Here are the updated documents in regards to the new proposal,” Kagome stated as she walked beside InuYasha, the halls of the building having since long been memorized as they made their way to the executive board room. “They are already in order based on the itinerary of the meeting.” She handed him six pristine documents, each with a cover page labeling the proposal that was detailed inside and the directors that were overseeing the project.
“Did we hear back from Miroku about the take-over for the Chinese microchip company?” InuYasha asked as he looked over the top papers she handed him.
“I attached them to the proper document just ten minutes ago.” Kagome answered.
“Where is the flea bag?” InuYasha looked up, his nose taking a good sniff.
Kagome rolled her eyes, not even bothering to lecture InuYasha on manners at the moment. “He should already be there.” He had been referring to Kouga, who over saw the antiquities branch of the company. He was going to put up a proposal to open a new museum in Hokkaido. As they approached the large oak door to the conference room, Kagome slipped in front of the half demon to block his path. “Please try and behave. Your father is going to be here for this meeting.”
“Feh,” InuYasha huffed as he moved passed her with a sly smile. “I’m not making any promises.”
With a sigh Kagome followed, already opening her lap top to bring up the PowerPoint presentations.
InuYasha sat down at his usual chair, which was the first to the right. The head chair was reserved for his father, who was surprisingly not in attendance yet. Kagome sat in her chair to InuYasha’s right, taking the connector that came up from the opening in the large table and connecting it to her laptop. It would allow the presentations to stream from her computer through the projector and to the screen for everyone to see.
“You are in my seat, half-breed.”
Kagome felt a chill as cold as death go down her spine. Snapping her attention from her laptop, she looked up and to her left. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of InuYasha’s older half-brother and current Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshomaru Taisho.
InuYasha let out a growl. “What the hell are you doing here, ya bastard?”
“Aw man, there are two mutts I have to deal with?” Kouga’s voice whined as he entered the room. “Oh, never mind. Yo Sesshomaru, welcome back. Hey Mutt-face.” Kouga gave the Lord of the Western Lands a nod of his head as the Western Lord dismissed him, and ignored InuYasha’s growl in reply. The wolf demon instead chose to move passed the half-demon towards Kagome, and took her hand as he pulled her to stand from her chair. “How is my woman doing today?”
“She’s not your woman; get the hell away from her!” InuYasha growled as he pushed the wolf away, much to Kagome’s relief. “Go sit, you mangy wolf! As for you,” InuYasha cried as he turned his attention back to his emotionally crippled form, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“A little more respect for your brother, InuYasha.” Toga stated calmly as he entered the room. “He is here on my orders. Shall we start the meeting? Hello Kagome.” The dog general smiled warmly at the priestess as she offered him one of her blinding ones in greeting.
“Good morning Lord Toga.” Kagome replied as she sat down once more and pulled up the first PowerPoint.
“Half-breed.” Sesshomaru’s cold voice filled her ears as he reminded InuYasha to move.
“Whatever. I would rather sit next to the annoying wolf than you.” InuYasha grumbled as he relinquished his chair. “Icicle ass.” He muttered under his breath.
Sesshomaru’s golden eyes narrowed, but he did not respond as he took a seat. Kagome could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as her own priestess powers buzzed from being in such close proximity to such a powerful demon. She would never say anything out loud, but Lord Sesshomaru was easily even more powerful than his father!
Sesshomaru, meanwhile, chose to ignore the human female beside him. She was familiar to him though he was not sure from where; not that it mattered, of course.
“Now, before we begin I have some wonderful news.” Toga said with a grin. “My eldest son has successfully completed the opening of the office in London; and with record numbers, might I add.” Sesshomaru remained unresponsive as his father continued. “He has returned home and will now be running the corporation from here.”
Kagome mentally gave a wince. This would promise to prove a stressful work environment - for her, at least. It was her job to keep InuYasha from doing anything stupid, after all. Said half demon was currently sitting across the table with wide amber eyes and an open mouth. Will wonders never cease; the half demon was actually capable of keeping silent after all!
“Now, let us get down to business. InuYasha, how goes the take-over of the Yin Chai microchip company?”
Kagome already had the presentation on the screen before Toga finished speak his youngest son’s name. She failed to notice the ever-so-slight eyebrow rise of the Western Lord from beside her. He had been impressed that she was so prepared; a rare feature in a human, let alone one of the female variety.
“Miroku sent over the signed contract’s before the meeting.” InuYasha began as Kagome pulled up the scanned version onto the screen for everyone to see. “We were able to negotiate a slightly cheaper price than what they offered, so we were able to purchase the majority of the shares. We can now almost double our efficiency as a result of overlapping responsibilities being eliminated and decreasing operating costs.”
“I see that Kagome’s negotiation skills have once more proved an asset.” Toga smiled at her.
The ebony haired girl blushed slightly, but it was quickly dispersed by the cold “Hn,” that filled the room.
“What the hell is wrong with you now?” InuYasha glared at his half-brother.
“This Sesshomaru finds it interested how you, little brother, had to resort to the skills of your secretary to do your work for you.” The silver-haired demon spoke.
Kagome felt her back straighten in response and anger coursed through her. However, before she could refute his audacity, Toga addressed the issue for her.
“InuYasha has proven that his skills, as unorthodox as they are, are an asset to the company.” Toga defended. “And surely you have not forgotten little Kagome and her infinite talents.”
Now that his father mentioned it, he did recall a small girl that InuYasha spent a lot of time with when he was younger.
“Hn,” He replied.
Kagome’s eyes lowered in a glare as she chose to continue to focus on the presentation. It was her turn, anyway. “My sources informed me that they were going for a white or gray knight defense. I used it to my advantage.”
“And how did you do that, priestess?” Sesshomaru’s voice remained monotone, but he was actually quite interested. Perhaps she was an asset – his own idiot of an assistant did not know those terms.
Kagome looked at the demon from the corner of her eyes. “The target company enlisted the help of another corporation to bail them out by offering them incredible concessions, in return for buying enough stock to stalemate our takeover. They were not aware that the corporation they enlisted our aid from was recently taken over by us. So I instructed Takahashi Technologies, our clean energy branch, to make outrageous demands, far exceeding those that they offered, and to inform Yin Chai that they would be replacing most of their staff. I received an email of compliance from Yin Chai an hour later. The only other way to avoid it was for them to Jonestown.” It meant that they would have to put themselves in debt to make no other company interested in buying them out, which is the last thing the Yin Chai Corporation wanted.
Toga smiled brightly, and InuYasha has a huge shit-eating grin on her face.
“Kagome completed her Master’s in Business Management from Tokyo University last year.” Toga explained to his eldest son.
“Then InuYasha should be careful; it will not be difficult for her to steal his job.” Sesshomaru began.
“Sesshomaru, you-“
“Enough.” Toga’s bark echoed in the room. Kouga was trying his hardest to not laugh. The dog general turned to the wolf. “You have a proposal to bring to the table?”
Kagome clicked into the proper presentation, all the while pretending that she was not aware the Lord of the Western Lands had his eyes on her.
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“Hey Gome!”
Kagome looked up from her computer to see her cousin Kikyo walking up to her desk, a small smile on her face. “Hey! Here for your date with Inu?” Kagome asked as she walked around her desk to hug her look-alike.
“And you, of course.” The differences between her cousin and herself were slight. Kikyo had guarded brown eyes to her trusting blue eyes, and straight hair to her waves.
“Good, I was ready to fake being angry with you.” Kagome teased.
InuYasha appeared at Kikyo’s side a moment later, his arm wrapped around her waist as he placed a kiss on her cheek. “Are you ready?”
“Hello to you, too.” Kikyo half-scolded her boyfriend.
InuYasha only rolled his eyes. “Get out of here and go home, Kagome. You have four hours of over overtime, and it’s only Wednesday.”
“It’s only six, InuYasha.” Kagome smiled. “I just need another half hour to finish the last of the emails and I’m gone.” At the doubtful looks she received from her cousin and her boss, she held up both her hands in defeat. “I promise.”
With a quick farewell the couple departed, and Kagome was able to be left alone to complete her work. Turning on her radio, she turned up the music. Normally, she kept a soft volume of classical music playing at her desk. With all of the chaos in the office, it worked wonders to keep her headache at bay. Now that she was alone and did not have to worry about his sensitive but tug-able doggie ears, she sat in her chair and listened to the melody of Paganini’s 24th Caprice float around her loud enough to drown out the clicking of the computer keys.
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Sesshomaru gave a grumble. Firs thing in the morning he was having his office sound-proofed. Some idiot decided to blare classical music on the floor below; as much of a lover of the music he was, it was incredibly too loud. Glancing at the clock and realizing it was well after seven at night, his curiosity grew. There was no way that could be the half-breed still working at such late hours with such a loud volume. So who remained in the office besides himself?
Placing the last of the contracts that required his oversight in his briefcase, he decided to take a look.
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Kagome had been so engrossed in finishing the last email that her powers didn’t alert her to the sudden and overbearing demonic energy behind her until it was too late. Her music was somehow silenced as her fingers froze over the keys, and she turned to look ever her shoulder. “Lord Sesshomaru!”
“You are too loud, priestess.” The silver-haired demon stated, holding the power-cord to her radio in his clawed hand up for her to see.
There was a faint blush on her cheeks. “My apologies, Lord Sesshomaru. I am normally the only one left in the building at this time; I didn’t know you were here, or it wouldn’t have been so loud.”
“Hn,” He replied as his golden eyes narrowed. “See that it does not happen again.” He could smell the spice aroma of her annoyance as she struggled to keep her argument inside. He could not help himself from opening his mouth to continue. “You work hard and late, for a human.”
Kagome gave a barely audible huff. “I happen to enjoy my job, and my ethics will not let me leave at the end of the day until everything is done.”
“Hn,” Sesshomaru repeated. Letting the power cord fall to the floor, he turned to leave. “Return to your residence. It grows late, and as such it is dangerous for you to be alone.” Kagome let out a more audible huff this time. As Sesshomaru was about to pass through the door to the hallway for the elevators, he stated, “Vivaldi is a worthy composer, is he not?”
Kagome was left dumbfounded at his words, and unable to see the slight smirk that stretched his lips. His half-brother’s assistant was proving to be of great entertainment.
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So, what do you all think of the first chapter? I would greatly appreciate any reviews!
See you all soon!
~Sandreline