Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

A Fool's Redemption	By : Grumblebear Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > InuYasha/Kagome Views: 23728 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7 –
The Trouble with Forgiveness

For three days,
Inuyasha refused to emerge from his apartment for anything other than
work. He had been excused from his birthday party with the
explanation that he wasn’t feeling well, so that’s the
ruse he stuck with. He spent the daytime hours at his job with his
construction team building the new greenhouse, and his nights sulking
in his loft high at the top of the tower. His mood was obviously
worse than normal, so most people wisely kept their distance and
didn’t bother him unnecessarily. Even his assistant seemed to
give him more space than normal, and thankfully didn’t try to
pry into what was bothering him.

After the third
night, he finally got tired of hiding in his apartment and began
reemerging in the evenings once again, but did so very cautiously,
constantly on the lookout for Kagome. He despised the thought of
running into her again, and gave specific instructions to the
attendant who stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to his
balcony to keep on the lookout for her and turn her away if she tried
to come up. His assistant evidentially overheard the instructions and
gave him a questioning look as they headed up the stairs.

“Aren’t
you being a bit paranoid?” the young man asked.

“Mind your
own business,” Inuyasha snapped, and that was the end of that.

He didn’t
like having to be so guarded all the time, but there was just no
helping it. Despite Kagome’s uncle’s warning to him, he
told himself that the old man was wrong and that things were fine the
way they were. His life quickly returned to normal.

*****

Kagome was
starting to get frustrated. Once she had heard that Inuyasha was
coming back out in the evenings again, she had swallowed her pride
and attempted to go up to his terrace to talk with him, but had
immediately been turned away by the guard at the bottom of the
stairs. Each time she tried, the man had told her dismissively that
Inuyasha wasn’t accepting any more guests for the evening. But
when she stood back and watched from a distance, he permitted
everyone else who came along without any trouble. She realized that
Inuyasha must have guessed that she would try to approach him, and
had instructed the guard to keep her away. That not only pissed her
off, but made her even more determined to find some way to confront
him, if only for the satisfaction of ruining his effort to avoid her.

But the guard
remained extremely vigilant, refusing her each time. A week went by
and her frustration continued to grow. She finally gave up, knowing
that if she was going to confront Inuyasha, she would need to find
some other way to do it. She considered trying to catch him one
evening on his way to and from his terrace, but after seeing the
crowd he tended to attract along the way, she realized approaching
him that way would only cause a scene, and that certainly wouldn’t
help the situation. So she finally decided to back off for a while,
hoping an opportunity would present itself. And so, for Kagome as
well, things went right back to the way they had been.

Two more weeks
went by, and the days passed uneventfully. She found her job working
in the greenhouses provided a welcome distraction from her problems,
at least for the first half of the day. One morning, nearly a month
after her confrontation with Inuyasha, she was on her way back into
the small lab she shared with her coworkers when the door suddenly
flew open, nearly knocking her over her in the process. She managed
to jump back in time to avoid being hit as her two coworkers bounded
out, talking excitedly between themselves. One of them, the blonde
with bouncing curls, noticed Kagome and stopped abruptly, grabbing
her hand.

“There you
are!” she exclaimed. “We were waiting for you!”

“Come on!”
the other girl insisted. “We’ll miss it if we don’t
hurry.”

Not wasting time
on explanations, the girls started off again, down through the
conservatory with a confused Kagome in tow. “What’s going
on?” she asked.

The blonde only
smiled back at her. “It’s a surprise!”

They headed
quickly into the last greenhouse, the one used to grow grains and
sugar, and rushed down the long isle that ran through the rows of
wheat and corn. Reaching the back of the building, they turned into
the forest of towering sugar cane, taking a small beaten path that
led to the far side of the building.

“I don’t
want to be caught staring,” the blonde giggled.

The other girl
nodded and they stopped right at the edge of the sugar cane, where
the vegetation stopped just before the glass wall of the greenhouse.

“What are
we doing?” Kagome asked, now thoroughly confused by the other
women’s actions.

The blonde
pointed through the glass, and Kagome followed with her eyes. Outside
to their right stood the far end of the skeletal frame of the new
greenhouse—still under construction. Further out, the ground
was barren and rocky, littered with construction debris. Just beyond
that, several large rocks stood scattered about in the middle of a
field. Here and there, people wandered around them, carrying tools
that looked like jackhammers, and a few were hard at work breaking
the large stones into smaller, more manageable pieces.

“They pull
those out of the ground during construction,” the blonde
explained to Kagome. “The ground around here is really rocky,
so they have to get those boulders out before they can build. Once
they get them out, they break them up so that the stone can be used
for other things.” She paused and joined her coworker in
scanning the field for something. “I don’t see him. Did
we miss it?” she asked worriedly.

“God, I
hope not. I’ll be so— Ah! There he is!” The other
girl pointed straight ahead excitedly, and Kagome and the blonde
looked in the direction she was pointing. There, off to the far left
of the rock field, was a large boulder that looked as if it had
already been smashed into a few smaller pieces. Suddenly, one of the
pieces appeared to explode. The girls next to Kagome let out excited
squeals.

“What are
we looking—” Kagome started, but stopped suddenly as the
dust around the broken rock settled to reveal the form of a man she
recognized immediately. Inuyasha stood there, waving the dust from
his face and kicking the smaller pieces from around his feet. Even at
that distance, Kagome could see the scowl on his face.

“That’s
so cool!” the blonde raved as a few others emerged from the
sugar cane and joined them at the window.

“Have you
ever seen this before, Kagome?” the other girl asked, and
Kagome shook her head, staring out as he headed toward another small
boulder.

“He can
smash the rocks with his bare fists,” she explained.
“Evidentially, he was raised in some science lab where they did
a bunch of experiments on him, and now he has this insane strength.
He normally just helps with the construction, but every once in a
while he’ll do this. Everyone always rushes to watch him when
he does.” She giggled and stared out the glass. “They say
he only does it when he’s upset about something, though.”

“Well, he
has been in a pretty bad mood lately,” the blonde said.

The other girl
nodded. “I wonder what set him off this time.”

Kagome said
nothing, staring out through the glass with a sad expression. She
knew all too well where he had gotten his strength. So this is
where he works during the day, she thought. As the others carried
on excitedly around her, she watched as he moved from boulder to
boulder, reducing each one to a pile of small stones before moving on
to the next. Eventually, he stopped and sat down on one he hadn’t
yet destroyed, his back to the city.

She finally
lowered her eyes and stepped back into the sugar cane. “I
should get back. I still have a few things I need to do.”

The other two
gave her strange looks, but shrugged. “We’ll be there in
a little while,” the blonde said, returning her attention to
the window.

Kagome wound her
way out of the sugar cane and headed back toward the lab, running her
hand along the feathery tops of the wheat as she walked. Her
coworker’s words echoed in her head. They say he only does
it when he’s upset about something, though.

“What
should I do?” she wondered aloud.

“Kagome?”
she heard a man’s voice call, and she looked up to find her
uncle walking down the isle toward her. “Don’t tell me
you were out here watching the show with the rest of them.”

She smiled
sheepishly. “My coworkers pulled me out here without telling me
what it was for.”

He laughed.
“Inuyasha hates it when everyone watches him do that. I heard
over the radio that a crowd was forming out here, so I came to scare
them off before he noticed and it put him into a worse mood.”
The older man cocked his head at her perceptively. “What’s
wrong? You look like something’s bothering you.”

She opened her
mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and looked away. She never
had told him about her encounter with Inuyasha. She hadn’t
wanted to bother him with it, knowing it would only cause him worry.

Her uncle
sighed. “I already know you two ran into each other. I’d
like to know what happened,” he prodded gently.

Kagome blinked
in surprise, wondering how he had found out, then nodded and gave him
the short version of events, including her recent attempts to speak
with Inuyasha. The older man stood there, listening quietly, and once
she was finished, he frowned thoughtfully.

“Stubborn
boy,” he muttered. He looked directly at Kagome. “Will
you accept my help now?” When she made a move to protest, he
held up a hand to quiet her. “Indirectly, of course. He won’t
even know I had anything to do with it. Probably.” The older
man smiled at her reassuringly. “I don’t like seeing
either one of you like this, and I know you want to do this on your
own, but I also know how stubborn he can be. Let me help you at least
get around his little road block.”

She stared up at
her uncle, still feeling unsure about accepting his help, but
realizing that she had no other choice at this point. So she nodded.
“Alright,” she said, and smiled. “Thank you.”
Despite her unease, she was grateful for his help.

“Come up
to my terrace tonight. I’ll have something worked out by then.
Right now, I’m going to go scare away the hens,” he said
with a wink, and then continued on his way toward the back of the
greenhouse. She watched him go, wondering nervously what exactly he
had planned.

She didn’t
have long to wait. The rest of the day passed quickly, and before she
knew it, she was climbing the stairs leading up to her uncle’s
terrace high above the dance floor in the underground hall. At the
top, her uncle greeted her warmly, and then called over another man,
tall and tattooed, who she had often seen accompanying the older man
through the city. Her uncle introduced the man as his personal
bodyguard. “But bodyguards aren’t really needed here, so
he’s more of an assistant,” he explained with a smile.
“His name is Noah. Just leave everything to him. Stay back and
out of sight until you see him motion to you.”

Kagome nodded,
not really knowing what they were plotting, but she sensed that her
uncle was eager to get things started, so she didn’t bother to
ask. The older man seemed almost giddy, as if he was enjoying the
chance to sabotage Inuyasha’s efforts to keep her away. She
knew her uncle well enough to understand that it was just his
mischievous streak emerging. Everything he did was always in good
spirit, and she knew there was no ill intention on his part. He was
interfering not only because he wanted to help, but also because he
found it amusing to cause a bit of trouble.

Her uncle sent
the two of them on their way, back down the stairs. Noah looked down
at her as they descended. “I think he’s enjoying this way
more than he should,” he said with a wry little grin.

Kagome laughed,
knowing what the man must have had to put up with working for her
uncle everyday. The older man could be unrelenting with his pranks.

She followed
Noah to one of the smaller side bars where he casually purchased a
drink, then moved into a crowd gathered in the middle of the room.
“Like your uncle said, just stand back where you won’t be
seen and wait for me to signal you. You may not have much time, so
make sure you're watching,” he instructed, stopping just at the
edge of the crowd. Kagome nodded and watched as he stepped away and
headed toward the guard standing at the bottom the stairs leading up
to Inuyasha’s terrace. The guard was slouched against the
railing, a bored expression on his face, until the other man
approached him.

They stood there
talking for a moment before Noah offered the other man the drink and
pointed off to the sitting area under the black prince’s
terrace. The guard raised an eyebrow in surprise, and then downed the
drink eagerly. They stood there talking for a couple minutes, but
Kagome was too far away to hear what they were talking about. After a
while, the guard began to look around uneasily, as if something was
suddenly bothering him. She watched as he leaned over and whispered
something to her uncle’s bodyguard. Noah nodded and the guard
rushed off toward the back of the hall.

As the guard
left, Noah smiled and took his place at the entrance to the stairs,
then found Kagome in the crowd and motioned to her with his head. She
quickly broke away from the crowd and walked up to him.

“Hurry. I
don’t know how long he’ll be gone,” he said in a
low voice.

“What did
you do?” she asked, but he only smiled down at her. She had a
feeling he was enjoying this more than he let on. She quickly slipped
past him and headed up the stairs, her heart racing suddenly. Her
footsteps on the iron staircase felt sluggish even though she was
ascending it quickly. As she neared the top, she swallowed the
nervousness that had risen in her throat, and took a deep breath as
she covered the last few steps.

At the very top,
she found herself on a small landing, a large arched doorway framed
in colorful stained glass standing before her, its doors swung wide
open. With a final surge of determination, she took the last few
steps and passed through the doorway.

But even after
steadying herself, she still wasn't prepared for the wanton scene
that greeted her on the other side. In front of her, a long, low
couch ran along the terrace’s edge, with people engaged in all
manner of intimate activity scattered along its length. One couple
was busy dancing suggestively in the middle of the terrace, while a
few others were off carousing along the railing. Caught off guard by
the spectacle, Kagome stood there in shock for a moment, until she
reminded herself that it wasn’t any different from what went on
downstairs. She just hadn’t been expecting to see it first
thing through the door.

She was vaguely
aware of a small voice addressing her, but her heart was beating so
loudly in her ears that she disregarded it as her eyes darted around
the terrace, looking for Inuyasha. After all this effort, she would
feel foolish if he wasn’t even up here. The terrace was darker
toward the back, shaded beneath a canopy of fabric, and Kagome peered
into the shadows, until movement in the far corner caught her eye.

“Excuse
me…” the voice said to her again.

She ignored it,
continuing to stare, until she suddenly realized with a start what it
was she was looking at. Bodies—several of them, sprawled across
a large, rounded bed, writhing against each other, pale forms against
the near darkness. And there, spilling out from underneath them, was
a wash of white hair.

She felt her
heart stop for a moment, and fought back the sudden urge to turn
around and flee back down the stairs. This wasn’t at all what
she had expected to find!

“Miss? Are
you ok?” the voice asked, and this time she looked over to find
a young man with blond hair standing next to her. He looked at her
with a concerned expression. “Was Inuyasha expecting you?”

“I…
no, I…” she stuttered, not knowing what she should say
to him. He seemed to be some kind of an attendant. She vaguely
remembered noticing him standing next to the door as she entered. But
before she had a chance to respond, a bellowing shout from behind met
her ears. She spun to find the guard who had turned her away so many
times rushing up the stairs, straight toward her. Out of time!
Fear swept through her and, in a panic, she grabbed the doors and
slammed them shut, grateful to find the knob of a deadbolt on the
inside. With a snap of the lock she sealed out the guard, who began
pounding on the doors and shouting from the other side, demanding
that she open them immediately.

“Um…”
came the small voice next to her, and she suddenly remembered all the
other people there with her. She spun around, her back against the
rattling doors, and looked around. All activity on the terrace had
come to a dead stop, and everyone was staring at her with wide,
questioning eyes. Hesitantly she looked toward the bed in the far
corner. Inuyasha was lying there, propped up on an elbow, staring at
her in disbelief.

“What…
the fuck is this!?” he yelled.

Standing there
dumbly, it suddenly struck Kagome that she had been so busy trying to
find a way to get past Inuyasha’s guard that she hadn’t
even thought of what she would do once she actually got up to the
terrace. Her mind was still struggling to gather its scattered wits,
so she opened her mouth and said the first thing that came to mind.

“I demand
to speak with the red prince. I’m not leaving until he agrees
to speak with me.”

The others on
the terrace stared at her for a moment, then looked to Inuyasha,
thoroughly perplexed by what was going on.

In a fit of
cursing, Inuyasha untangled himself from the pile on the bed and,
pulling the sheet with him and wrapping it around his waist to cover
his nudity, headed straight toward Kagome. Seeing his furious
expression, she tried to take a step back, but was already pressed
almost flat against the doors. He walked up to her, and raised a
hand. Thinking he might strike her, she flinched, but instead he
shoved her away, unlocked the doors and swung them wide, revealing
the guard on the other side. The man, who had been busy fumbling with
his keys, suddenly looked up.

“Ah—,”
he started, but was abruptly cut off as Inuyasha leaned out the
doorway to thrust his face menacingly close to the guard’s.

“Hey,”
Inuyasha said flatly, his expression deadpan. “She got past
you.”

“N-not
past me, sir! I had to use the bathroom, and Noah offered to take my
place. It was only for a minute! He didn’t know she wasn’t
allowed…”

He must have
put something in the drink, Kagome realized, remembering the
drink her uncle’s bodyguard had given the man. She fought back
a smile.

Inuyasha turned
his head slowly to give her a suspicious glare, then turned away from
the door.

“Well, the
evening’s ruined. I’m done. Everyone get out!” he
declared angrily.

A groan of
dissonance went up from the others on the terrace, but Inuyasha
crossed his arms defiantly. One by one, they began collecting
themselves and filing out the door, each one giving Kagome an
irritated look as they passed.

She tried to
avoid their eyes by glancing up at Inuyasha, but his irate expression
caused her heart to sink. There's no way he's going to speak with
me now. He’s too angry, she thought. Sighing heavily, she
moved to follow the others, but was stopped as Inuyasha grabbed her
arm tightly.

“Oh, no
you don’t. You stay right here,” he growled at her in a
low voice. “I want to know just what the fuck is so important
that you feel the need to charge up here and ruin my whole night.”

“I didn’t
mean—” she started.

“Shut up.
Stay here and don’t move until I come back,” he snapped
as the last person shuffled past. “Emory! Shut the doors and
make sure she doesn’t leave.”

The young man
with the blond hair had been standing next to the door with a
perturbed expression the entire time, but now seemed to snap back to
attention, quickly closing the doors. As Inuyasha disappeared into
the shadows on the far side of the terrace, the young man turned to
Kagome with wide eyes, seemingly at a loss for words. “Um…
can I get you something to drink?” he offered.

“No!”
came a shout from the darkness. “No drink! She’s not a
welcome guest. Don’t be nice to her!” The sound of a door
slamming followed, then silence.

The young man
turned back to her with an exasperated look, but Kagome didn’t
think his annoyance was directed at her. He offered an apologetic
smile and directed her to the closest end of the long couch. “He’ll
be back out shortly. I think.”

Left with no
other choice, Kagome sat and waited patiently, grateful at the very
least for the fact that she hadn't been thrown out with everyone
else. As she waited, she gazed around at the lavish terrace. It took
the shape of a large half-circle, and was entirely open air. It was
very much like the sitting areas downstairs, with the same kind of
low, dark colored furniture.

Elegant lanterns
crafted from stained glass similar to the kind that framed the
entryway hung from sconces along the wall and curved poles along the
railing, bathing the terrace in a dim but warm, almost festive,
light. The only exception was the back area along the wall, which was
left dark from the shadow of the canopy suspended above. Set into a
wall running along the right edge of the terrace was a small,
unmanned bar. Like the sitting areas below, the music seemed to be
suppressed somehow, so that one could carry on a normal conversation
but still hear the music.

Inuyasha emerged
sometime later, dressed in a loose bathrobe and toweling his hair
roughly. From his appearance, she assumed he had been taking a
shower. She stood as he approached, but he paid her no attention as
he threw himself down onto the couch, bending forward to wring his
wet hair in the towel. “Emory, get me a drink. I don’t
care what, just make it strong,” he called to the young man who
hadn’t left his spot next to the door since he had shown Kagome
to her seat. The blond nodded and headed back toward the small bar.
“And I forgot my comb!” Inuyasha shouted after him.

Kagome remained
standing as Inuyasha continued to ignore her, wringing the last of
the water from his hair. After a minute, the young man returned, a
glass filled with some dark liquid in one hand and a comb in the
other. He handed both to Inuyasha and then dutifully returned to his
spot next to the door. Kagome watched all of this in awkward silence,
deciding to be patient and allow Inuyasha to have his fun ignoring
her for a while longer.

He downed the
drink and ran the comb through his hair a few times. Setting the comb
next to the empty glass on a low table resting in front of him, he
turned a bit in his seat and reached an arm over the back of the
couch, staring out across the hall. “So. What the hell do you
want?” he asked without looking at her.

“I…”
she started, then froze as he turned to glare coldly at her.

“Don’t
choke now,” he said mockingly. “Not after you’ve
gone to so much trouble to bother me.”

“That
wasn’t my intention!” she protested, suddenly finding her
voice again. “You didn’t leave me much of a choice!”

“Noah,
huh?” Inuyasha said, ignoring her comment. “That’s
the old man’s bodyguard. So this was all his doing?”

Kagome bit back
a sigh. She hadn’t come here for idle bickering. “It
doesn’t matter if it was or not. I’m the one whose
been trying to get to you. If you’re going to get mad at anyone
for this, get mad at me.”

“Done,”
Inuyasha declared, turning his eyes out over the hall once again. “Is
that all?”

“No, it’s
not,” Kagome said, steeling herself. “I wanted to
apologize to you, for what I did. I realize you still hate me, and
you have every right to. The things I helped do to you were
unforgivable. And I know there’s probably nothing I can say or
do to make up for it. I have no right to ask for your forgiveness—”

He snorted.

“But I
wanted to at least try. Even if you choose not to forgive me, the
least I can do is give you an honest apology. That’s why I came
here. To tell you that I am truly sorry and to beg for your
forgiveness.” She bowed low, shutting her eyes in anticipation
of the angry tirade she expected to follow. But it didn’t come.
She remained bowed for some time, until she felt her back begin to
complain.

Finally, after
what seemed like an eternity, he repeated, “Is that all?”

She straightened
her body and looked down at him. He was still staring off across the
hall, refusing to look at her. “Yes,” she replied.

He sat quietly
for a while longer, then turned his eyes up to her. They were soft
for an instant, almost thoughtful, but then turned hard once again.
“Forgive you? Why the hell should I? Because you asked nicely
with pretty words? You haven’t done anything to earn it! You
think I’d just give you what you need to make yourself feel
better about what you did? Idiot!” he spat.

There it is,
she thought, but she refused to back down now. “If I have to
earn it, then tell me how,” she said boldly.

Inuyasha glared
at her for a moment, then his eyes narrowed and he gave her a
taunting little sneer. He spread his legs and pointed to his lap.
“Suck me off and I’ll consider it.”

“No,”
Kagome replied flatly, without hesitation. She had almost been
expecting that response. “I don’t care if you want to
humiliate me, but find some other way to do it.”

Inuyasha gave a
derisive little snort and shrugged. “Didn’t think so.
That awful look on your face would have ruined it anyways.” He
paused once again, and then his eyes shot toward the door, as if a
thought had suddenly occurred to him. “Emory!”

“Yes,
sir?” the young man asked as he approached them once again.

“Introduce
yourself and tell her what you do.”

The young man
turned to Kagome and gave a small, friendly bow. “I’m
Emory. I work for Inuyasha as his attendant.”

“Attendant?”

“Yeah, or
assistant. Whichever you want to call it. I look after him and do
stuff for him. Kinda like a nanny.”

Inuyasha’s
foot suddenly shot out, striking the young man in his shin. The blond
yelped and grinned teasingly.

“Thank you
for that colorful job description, Emory,” Inuyasha growled up
at him, then turned back to Kagome. He considered her for a moment,
and then said, “He’s going to be taking some time off.
You can work for me in his place. For as long as I want, until I get
tired of you.”

Kagome blinked.
“What?”

“Really?”
Emory asked quickly, his eyes wide.

Inuyasha ignored
the young man and pointed a finger up at Kagome. “You heard me.
You take his place and work for me.”

“For as
long as you want?” she asked nervously.

“Those are
your choices. Either take the fast, easy way out,” he motioned
to his lap, “or the long, difficult way. Of course, there’s
always the option of just leaving me the hell alone and accepting the
fact that I hate you,” he jeered.

“But…
even if I agree, I don’t want to take his job…”
Kagome said, looking over at the young man beside her.

“No! It’s
alright!” the blond said hastily, putting up his hands in a
compliant gesture. “Really!”

Kagome turned
back to Inuyasha, her mouth agape. She was at a loss. She absolutely
would not allow herself to be degraded doing the first option he’d
given her, and she certainly wasn’t just going to accept defeat
and let him hate her forever. She had come this far after all…

She leveled her
eyes at him and clenched her fists. There was no helping it. If the
only way to earn his forgiveness was to become his subordinate, then
that’s what she would do. There was no guarantee it would work,
and it might even make things worse between them, but she had no
other choice.

“Alright.
I’ll work for you,” she agreed.

A faint look of
surprise passed across Inuyasha’s face. “For as long as I
want, until I get tired of you,” he reiterated, and when she
nodded, he blinked once, then smirked. “You really aren’t
very smart, are you?” He hadn’t meant it as a question,
and he didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s an oath
then. You’ll start tomorrow. What shift is your other job?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. What
shift is your other job?” he repeated, ignoring her shocked
stare.

“First,”
she answered uneasily.

“Good.
That will work out perfectly then. You’ll still keep that job,
but when you're not there, you’ll be working for me.” He
turned his eyes to Emory. “You still have your other place?”

The young man
nodded.

Inuyasha
motioned back to Kagome. “You’ll take his place in my
loft. I’ll have everything set up for you. Just pack all your
stuff and bring it with you. Be at my apartment at six… no,
seven tomorrow evening so we can go make the oath. Room 1963, on the
top floor.”

“Wait.
Take his place? He lives with you?” she asked incredulously.
Now she would be working for him and living with him?

Inuyasha waved a
dismissive hand. “You’ll see tomorrow. Emory will stick
around for a while to show you the ropes. Is that alright with you?”
he asked the younger man.

Emory nodded
eagerly, and Kagome stared at him for a moment as a sudden sinking
feeling swept over her. He looked absolutely… overjoyed
at this sudden change. Was his job with Inuyasha that bad?

“Good.
It’s settled. Now go away,” Inuyasha said, leaning his
head back to stare up at the expanse of stars above them.

The final tone
of his voice told Kagome that the conversation was over. She stood
there for a few seconds, still wanting to clarify things, and not at
all pleased with what had just happened. She had the distinct feeling
that she had been duped. He had rushed the entire conversation
without giving her any details or fully explaining anything. She
fought back the urge to stay right where she was and demand some
answers from him. But one look at his suddenly aloof expression told
her that, even if she did try to continue, she would just be wasting
her breath. The conversation wouldn’t go any further. She
sighed inwardly, silently conceding temporary defeat, and bowed once
again. “Thank you,” she said softly.

As she
straightened, she noticed him scowl in annoyance. “So damn
formal,” he grumbled.

With a nod to
Emory, she excused herself and began to make her way back down to the
bottom floor of the underground hall. As she took the iron stairs one
by one, the young man’s elated expression passed through her
mind once again. He hadn’t fought for his job at all. Was he so
miserable in his position that he didn’t mind giving it away
just like that? And if that was the case, just what kind of a mess
had she managed to get herself into now?

Continued in
Chapter 8 – Crossing the Rubicon

A/N: And
there you have it, a real meeting ;) We're now (roughly) a
third of the way through! Thank you again for awesome reviews! They
really encourage me. Nothing like a nice review coming through just
as writer’s block/fatigue kicks in to get you going again!

Also, I have
unexpectedly found myself ahead once again, and in addition to this
chapter, 8 is nearly completed as well, but I’d like to hold
off releasing it until I get some opinions on 7 before I do.

One more
thing. I seem to get A LOT of formatting issues when I upload these
chapters, and often times the only way to fix the issues is to delete
the chapter and reupload it. Just wanted to say sorry if I have to do
this again in the future and it causes more than one notification
message to go out.

Ginny: I must
say, that's the first time I've received a reward like that for my
writing. Thank you very much! They were scrumptious! (And yes, your
right, they WILL get you drunk! >.<)

Influential
music for this chapter

Requiem ~
Inori – Trinity Blood OST

Dress –
Abingdon Boy’s School, Parade ~Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick~
- 6
- 7
- 8
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A Fool's Redemption