Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Defensive Interference	By : monophobian Category: InuYasha AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 4843 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own or make money off anything to do with Inuyasha.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Couple things:
1. I went through block scheduling in high school (four 80-minute classes in one semester, another four 80-minute classes the next semester) and while I realize that most of the world doesn't do that, I don't know any different. Rather than fit the story to what I assume most people will know, I'm keeping it to what I know so I don't fuck it up.
2. I'm totally guessing at Kagome's job so if anyone is a graphic designer working at a company full-time, please ignore all the mistakes you're about to read.
Other than that, this chapter took for-fucking-ever. I really struggled with this and I hope it's halfway decent. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think!
Today was going to be an easier day at work.
First, she was on the tail end of her period. The first couple days were always rough and cramps usually set in on days three and four, but five was always light and six was barely there and she’d never had a period stretch to the seventh day in her life. Today was day six, so wearing a thin liner should be all that was needed. Plus, less blood flow meant less crazy youkai reactions which meant less chances of being fired for blowing up at said crazy youkai reactions, so really, she should be fine.
Second, the weekend had been wonderful. After such a rough week for the both of them, she’d spent the entire time wrapped up with Kouga either on her couch or his, watching movies and taking care of each other. When she’d woken up with cramps that Saturday, he’d curled around her back, pressed the heat from his hand into her belly, and soothed her back to sleep. It really had been perfect and a great break to get her ready for the week.
Last – and most important – she was going to purify her office.
Getting there early had been easy. The closer they got to Monday morning, the more Kouga thought about the stress at the high school. She couldn’t blame him. Human and youkai relationships were always strained when fights like that broke out, but Kagome wasn’t worried. He’d get through it, just like they had gotten through so many of those instances before. She just knew it.
And she was going to make it easier on him. No more would Kouga smell Sesshoumaru on her clothes when she got home. No more would Kouga feel unwelcome when he visited her office. How she’d never even thought of purifying the scent before, she didn’t know, but she was going to start now.
Kagome was going to have to send Ginta a fruit basket for that brilliant idea.
Even with her mind made up, she had to be careful. Purifying while Sesshoumaru was in the building… Well, technically, it was her office. And technically, she was free to do as she needed to be productive. So really, she shouldn’t have to justify purifying her office completely clean of all traces of youkai scents that used to grace the bed she slept on a lifetime ago.
She knew Sesshoumaru though. And she knew how she reacted to his judgmental displeasure. It would be easier all around if she did it before he showed up.
Walking out of the elevator, she carefully checked down the halls and into the open offices to make sure she was alone. She normally was. No one showed up early on Monday, at least not on this floor. Rin would arrive a quarter ‘til, the receptionist didn’t start until nine, and the few other people that worked on the floor never showed up before 8:30.
Sesshoumaru was really the only person she had to worry about and it was looking like he wasn’t there.
She chanced a peek into his office just to make sure – no silver hair, no domineering presence, no unspoken expectations – then quickly shut herself into her office. Her purse went to her desk, her heels next to her chair, and Kagome stood in the middle of the carpet and closed her eyes. She had to be thorough. Just blasting around her would work for her nose, but this was for Kouga. Letting her aura expand until it found every nook and cranny and crevice, she sought out every porous surface. The carpet, the ceiling, the blinds, the drawers in her desk, the air conditioning vent, and even the space between the art and the wall. Holding it, focusing on it, embracing it with her aura, and then she summoned the reiki and let it fly.
For the first time in two weeks, Kagome stood in her office and breathed in a huge breath and relaxed.
It lasted exactly fifty-eight minutes.
Kagome was head first into one of the projects and she hated this part of the process. The overall direction was decided on and she had feedback for her current sketches, but now she was waiting on approval from multiple offices. All this red tape had her longing for freelance work again. Not as stable, but it held much less bureaucratic crap to wade through. Right now, she was waiting on finalization of packaging and then she would get actual specs and then she could finalize her sketches—
Her door opened and she wasn’t surprised to see Sesshoumaru. The folder in his hand looked promising, though she really didn’t understand why a simple email couldn’t have sufficed.
“Please tell me that’s what I think it is.”
His lips twitched and he walked in. Two feet from her desk, he went utterly still. What? Standing, she reached out for the paper as she glanced up to see what was wrong.
Shit.
Everything about Sesshoumaru was tense. His jaw, his shoulders, the hard stare he held on her. There was the briefest flare of his nostrils, almost a second check to make sure his nose was telling him what he didn’t want to hear, and his eyes turned downright cold.
She hadn’t seen that quiet fury in a long, long time.
Steeling her spine, Kagome remembered every fight they had, every ugly word that had come out of his mouth in order to keep from addressing his silent demand. She knew him too well to misunderstand what he wasn’t saying and she could practically hear his growl as he silently questioned her sheer audacity.
It wasn’t audacity, she reminded herself. It was survival.
He tossed the folder on her desk, then turned on his heel and walked out. It wouldn’t be the last time she saw him and the controlled way he closed the door spoke of how much his displeasure would ruin her day. Picking up the folder, she tried to center her thoughts. They hadn’t spoken in years. She’d moved on, he’d moved on, they were living different lives and seeing different people, and she wasn’t the same person he once knew. She had grown. If Sesshoumaru wasn’t going to voice his demands, she wasn’t going to listen to them.
And he really wasn’t going to voice the demand that she keep his scent on her. That was far too unprofessional and he knew he didn’t have that right.
Once, she had jumped at every hint for what would please him. Kagome wasn’t there anymore and she wouldn’t be there again. She was her own person and she could establish her boundaries. Surely, he wouldn’t hold that against her.
Oh, how wrong she was.
***
I’m thinking of you.
Four little words. Four simple, little words and Kouga was walking on air. He hated leaving her that morning. Absolutely hated walking out of his house while she was still in the shower, getting into his Jeep while her car was parked in his driveway, and driving off to work before seeing her off to hers.
But they had a mandatory staff meeting and after what happened Friday, Kouga knew better than to miss it.
What a shit meeting. Every year, it seemed administration continued to grow in stupidity. The vice principle had always been a self-centered ass, but this had gone far beyond the call of duty. The school board had wanted to shut down all conversation and the VP was vying for a promotion and it had taken twenty-three minutes before the principle showed up and shut it all down.
Thank fuck for small favors.
The principle sided with the teachers, the school’s resource officer sided with the principle, and the conniving vice principle could do nothing but go along with what they were told. It wouldn’t last long. The school board would get their fingers in it soon enough and they’d have another fight, but that’s why Kouga was only a teacher.
No fucking way was he ever going to take positions that reflected more concerns toward politics than students.
First block had been alright. Quiet, a little restless, but mostly tired and content to focus on their work in silence. Second block wasn’t so quiet but were getting through it. A few questions here and there, a couple comments from some of the loud-mouthed kids he carried fond aggravation for, but they’d calmed down once he got a good way into his lecture and most of them were taking notes.
Third block was planning and he couldn’t wait, but he just knew fourth would be a nightmare. No way would all this building tension wait until after school was out to finally explode.
The bell was going to ring in four minutes and Kouga had no interest in making his kids try to work until then, so they were all talking and he was safe to sit behind his desk and count down the seconds until he’d have two hours of blissful silence.
Kagome couldn’t have picked a better time to text. Just seeing her name on the screen made him happy all over again, but the reminder that he was on her mind? Even though she was thirty minutes away in that beautiful skyrise surrounded by a world he’d never have any interest in and doing work he would never be able to do, she thought of him. Him.
He sent back a tease before he slipped and told her he was always thinking about her. Anything in particular or are you looking for ideas?
Little bit of A, little bit of B.
God, he fucking loved her.
The bell rang and five minutes later, Kouga closed his door to an empty classroom. The silence was beautiful. Two hours of not having to deal with another living soul and then only one class left before the day was over. At this rate, he was going to need a vacation far sooner than he anticipated, but he’d have to make it through.
There was a text waiting for him when he got back to his desk.
Thank you for this weekend.
He blinked at the screen, wondering all the different ways she could have meant that. They did absolutely nothing – which had been perfect – but he couldn’t quite think of what would warrant a comment out-of-the-blue.
You really thanking me for keeping you to myself all weekend?
They’d done quite a bit of that since they started dating. He’d wanted to take her out and do all sorts of fun things with her, but Kouga was possessive of his time with her – something she had picked up on pretty quickly.
Yes.
Well, that wasn’t going to work. Swiping open the screen, he tapped a few times and then put the phone to his ear.
“Hello?”
“You want to explain what you mean by that?”
She was silent and he was almost expecting a snarky response at his less-than-welcoming greeting, but Kagome sighed instead. “Not really.”
That didn’t sound good.
“I will if you really want me to,” she continued, “but I’d rather not.”
He had two choices: he could push just a little bit more and figure out just what was going on in that gorgeous head of hers or he could back off and maybe hope to get a smile out of her before she had to hang up. While his curiosity was desperate for the first option, his heart didn’t want to risk the mood that might put her in.
“What do you want for dinner?”
Her sharp intake told of her surprise and Kouga felt a sudden wave of relief. He chose right.
“Want to order take-out?” she asked a little too hopefully.
“Twist my arm, why don’t you.” They’d indulged over the weekend, but he wouldn’t ever say no to cuddling with her on his couch while enjoying food he didn’t have to cook. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
Quick answer. “You sure?”
“Yeah.” He loved that smile in her voice. “No cramps today, I’m just feeling a little sluggish.”
“Oh, I see how it’s going to be,” he teased. “You’re going to set up camp on the couch and have me do all the work.”
“That’s why I suggested take-out. Less work for you to do.”
He laughed loudly, thoroughly amused with Kagome’s sense of humor. He always knew she had one, but he loved discovering how many parts of her life it touched. “Alright, if that’s the case, we’re doing this at my house. I want to sleep in my bed after doing all this hard labor for you.”
“Wherever you want, Kouga,” she said softly and Kouga’s humor faded.
“Babe, are you sure you’re okay?”
There was a pause. “I will be.”
“I lo—” Nope. Snapping his mouth shut, he swallowed those words back down. As much as he wanted to tell her, especially with that tired, soft tone in his ear, no way was he risking that just yet. “If you say so.”
Kagome blew out a sigh. “It’s been a long day and its only lunch time. I’m just ready to be home.”
Something happened. Something big. Kagome’s work ethic had always been something to behold and even on her bad weeks, she made it to Wednesday at the earliest before wanting out of that building. It being only Monday and not even at the end of the day? Something was definitely wrong.
“I’ll have dinner ready for you when you get there,” he said, if only to keep from pushing questions onto her, “and then you won’t have to worry about anything until tomorrow morning.”
“I don’t deserve you, Kouga.” Her voice was so soft, he barely caught what she said.
She was wrong – incredibly, undeniably wrong – and his heart hurt at the quiet fervor in her voice. He wanted to say so many things, remind her just how wrong that small sentence was, but he didn’t. Couldn’t. Something was wrong and until he could smell her, he wasn’t going to push a damn thing. “Too bad,” he joked instead. “You’re stuck with me anyway.”
She let out a quiet laugh. “Your couch. 5:30.”
“I’ll be there.”
He heard a soft, “I can’t wait,” and then she hung up. Frowning down at the phone, he replayed her words over. Kagome had sounded so tired. Weary. Defeated.
Fuck.
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Defensive Interference