Miscellany by Chie
Steward(ess)
Chie: In order to practise and keep us writing regularly, in October 2014 my friend and I started to give each other prompts over on a Tumblr blog. Based on these prompts we'd write max 1,000 words long drabbles.
This collection started as a place to post the drabbles I wrote for my friends' prompts, but I have since included short one shots based on other Tumblr prompts such as those of the 2015 SessKag week and the occasional reader requests.
The drabbles in this collection are random and they are NOT interconnected, and the universe and genres are likely to vary.
Also a friendly warning: As these stories are generally written in a very spontaneous manner (within 24 hours of receiving the prompt) and because they have all been originally posted on Tumblr, they have not been beta-read. I apologise for any possible mishaps you may encounter.
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Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko-sensei. I’m just a fan, writing for fun and other fans, for absolutely no profit.
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1. Steward(ess)
Prompt: Steward
Universe: AU
Genre: Humour, Drama, Romance.
934 Words
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“Kagome-chan,” Sango whined from the corner of her lip, her smile growing rather fixed, “the VIP-sama is glaring at us again.”
“Oh, what does he want now?” Kagome rolled her eyes. Every flight had that one problem customer, and this time it was a certain self-entitled businessman flying in first class, whom Kagome and Sango had dubbed as the Vain Insufferable Prick.
“Could you?” Sango employed the puppy eyes. “I’m afraid I might end up smacking him in the face.”
”I’d let you,” Kagome murmured, her lips twitching. She glued her best customer service smile on her lips, and walked down the aisle to the surly businessman.
“Could I be of any assistance, sir?” she enquired in a polite, low voice as she stopped by his cabin.
“I’d like a glass of scotch,” he replied, the full weight of his intimidating golden glower focusing on her.
Kagome was experienced and well-trained, so her smile didn’t falter even when that eerie gaze threatened to make her shiver.
“Certainly, sir.”
Kagome bowed her head and then retreated to the front to prepare the drink.
“What does he want,” Sango whispered.
“Just a drink,” Kagome replied as she poured the scotch into a glass.
“I hope that’ll loosen him up,” Sango muttered under her breath.
Kagome straightened her uniform and picked up the tray, walking over to the customer and setting it down on the side table.
Sesshoumaru offered stiff thanks to the cabin attendant, mentally sighing in relief as the studied the amber liquor. He hated commercial flights. For the umpteenth time he cursed the mechanical failure that had grounded his private jet. The conference in London had been interesting but exhausting. He had barely slept all weekend because of the jet lag, and the days had been filled with the lectures, the evenings with social functions. Now he felt drained and disgruntled. It was hardly the optimal emotional state for a 13-hour flight. The perfume of the British lady two cabins down was making his head pound. He had already watched the good movies from the airline’s selection during his flight to London four days ago. He had a book with him and a financial newspaper, but was too tired to concentrate on reading. Someone was hacking away at their laptop’s keyboard, and the sound grated in his ears. What he really wanted was to sleep, but there was no way he could relax enough for that when he was trapped here.
He reached for the glass and took a liberating sip of alcohol. The pounding in his head lessened instantly.
Sesshoumaru missed the good old days. Before the air space control and the invasive radars, he could have flown himself, without resorting to any of these human contraptions. That was an even better way of travelling than his jet.
Three hours later Sesshoumaru was in the middle of his third glass. He was hiding behind the Financial Times to battle his growing boredom, but his eyes kept washing over the same three lines without really registering what it was saying. His concentration was destroyed further when the man in a nearby cabinet raised his voice.
“Cheers for the beer, love. Could you stay for a bit to chat? It’s such a long flight and I’m starting to get bored.”
“I’d love to, sir, but unfortunately I have to divide my time equally between all customers,” the cabin attendant smiled.
“Oh come on, sweetie. I know you Japs are uptight, but I won’t bite.”
“I’m afraid I’m too busy right now, sir.”
The woman’s voice sounded more strained, now. Sesshoumaru lowered the newspaper and saw it was the same girl who had brought him his drinks.
“It’s just a chat, it won’t take long, I promise.”
“Sir, please let go.” Some irritation had started to seep into her body language.
Sesshoumaru could sense odd tingling in the air. It was a familiar feeling, but one he could not quite place. Like an elusive memory from decades ago. His boredom swiftly evaporated, and his golden stare landed on the stewardess who was the source of that curious ki.
“You should loosen up and have more fun,” the slightly intoxicated customer continued, his fingers stroking the cabin attendant’s wrist he had grabbed.
A shiver ran down Sesshoumaru’s spine as the tingling suddenly intensified. He decided that the poor woman could do with some help and downed the rest of his scotch.
“Miss,” he called. He didn’t have to raise his deep voice for it to carry in a clear command. “Could I please get a refill?”
“Right away,” Kagome breathed in relief. “I’m sorry, sir, but I need to serve another customer now.”
The disgruntled man reluctantly loosened his hold and Kagome slipped away, hurrying over to VIP-sama. Vain Insufferable Prick as he was, she could have kissed him for coming to her rescue. From this point on, he no longer held the dubious honour of being this flight’s number one problem customer.
He was watching her as she approached, and the earlier glower in the golden eyes had been replaced by a curious gleam. Kagome beamed brilliantly at the businessman and bowed her head gratefully. She reached to get the empty glass from his hand, and the moment her fingers accidentally brushed against his, a shudder ran through her.
His body jolted, and his eyes widened. Finally, he grasped that elusive memory. A miko. This flight had suddenly got much more interesting.
“I’ll be right down with your drink, sir,” she spoke, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“I’ll be waiting,” he murmured, his voice full of promise.