Preface

He drove home with the radio on. He switched the switchboard lights off so that he couldn’t see the gauge vibrating to 80mph. The moon sparkled on the sea and the railing along the road that tried to prevent rogue cars from falling into the ocean. He hoped he wouldn’t be one of them, put he needed the speed. Usually it worked his tension out of him as much as a sparring with his brother. But the speed wasn’t releasing his tension today.

The DJ stopped talking, and the first notes of a guitar filled the BMW. It dated to the same year in which he had finished high school. It brought back so many memories. If someone had told him where he would be today, he would have never believed them back then.

~I'd give up forever to touch you

I would. I would cut my throat to see you happy

'Cause I know that you feel me somehow

Hai, you can. We’ve only met once but you’ve touched me as no one has. I have touched you. Kami, I must have.

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

Heaven. Those few moments.

And I don't want to go home right now

Home. That’s where I’m going. Right now. But it feels like anything like home anymore. I’ve known you for a few weeks. Seen you once. Mother doesn’t want me to see you. But home is where you are.

And all I can taste is this moment

I want to have them with you. Moments. Mou- what is making me think this way?

And all I can breathe is your life

Breathe you. Smell you. Take your scent and make it mine too. I want to do that.

'Cause sooner or later it's over

Iie, not over. Not ever with you. Never, before I die. I wouldn’t bear it.

I just don't want to miss you tonight

Tonight, if you could be here tonight. By me. With me.

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

No they wouldn’t. That’s why I hide. But you must, onagai, you must. I would drive me crazy if you didn’t.

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

I do. I want you to see me. As I am. The real me- the one the others would hate and kill. Who I am.

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming

I haven’t cried for years. I’ve forgotten what it feels like.

Or the moment of truth in your lies

Would I have to lie to you to make you see me? I could never- I know now already. I cannot ever lie to you.

When everything feels like the movies

Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive

I have. Since I met you, not a day has passed without my claws passing through my flesh somewhere, just to make me feel something. It feels so artificial now, all I have, next to you.

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

They never will. They never will.

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am~

He pulled up. The coast road was empty. He switched the radio off and let the last words of the song echo in his head. He wanted her to know who he was. The real him. The one he barely knew himself. He threw his head back on the seat’s head rest. The stars were clear tonight. He had never had anyone to call his own- really- someone he belonged with. Now she- she was simple, nothing more to her than a beautiful young girl. Not rich. Not model. Not star. Nothing. But herself.

She had to understand. She had to feel him. She had to know who he was.

He looked at the girl curled up in the seat beside his, asleep. The girl he lovingly called nee-chan, elder sister, even though he was a year older. Or so she thought. He was so much older than her that he could have met her great grand father.

She resembled her slightly, he thought absently, but then he looked away. He only made nee-chan resemble her in his mind, because he wanted to see her so badly. But his mother didn’t like what she was, because of what he was.

But he had to find a way.

I just want you to know who I am~

I just want you to know who I am~

I just want you to know who I am~

I do. You must know who I am. And be with me as I am. You must.

(This is a scene taken from somewhere in the middle of the chapter one; not to confuse you, but just to make you curious and give you a taste of what happens in this fic. The song, for those who don’t know it, is the beautiful song Iris, of Goo Goo dolls, from the film City of angels. I advise downloading :P. As the story goes along, you’ll see how much the lyrics fit it)

Midoriko-sama presents; (now this sounds grand)

2004- Dorei-Youkai Tokyo

~| Part one; Nuya Ayami |~

It was another one of those dull days that made you wish you were blind, in order to avoid the glare of the sun under the white sky. He began to regret not having accepted the offer of having the glass of his BMW black. Not to mention the fact that he could feel the glare on his eyes so much more than humans that to his eyes they were like torture.

Not that he looked different of course. It would never do to have any one discover that he really was NOT human. Or not completely so anyway. His ward even allowed him to let only who he wanted catch his scent. The prospective of spending his life as a slave, serving petty weak humans and receiving orders had never been too much appealing. Not to mention too much to ask his youkai pride.

That was, of course, before that blessed morning.

As he grumbled to himself about the technology that had made humans owners of youkai, but that couldn’t make a descent pair of sun glasses, he slowly pressed the break and the car slid to a halt as the light flipped to red. A bunch of school girls, with their human uniforms that were, in all the country as a rule, a more comfortable version of a short kimono from the nearby Chinese and also the local culture, crossed the road, with their youkai slaves behind them carrying their bags.

“Why are you so silent, son?” a soft voice came from behind. He looked at his mother through the mirror and smiled reassuringly at her.

“You know I hate going to the shopping centre mum” he replied “There are too many people there all the time, and all those noises, colours and scents send my senses off the line.”

“I understand you brother” said a white-haired demon sitting in the passenger seat beside him. He was marked on the face with two scars and a crescent moon, and was his father’s only other son. He didn’t resemble him in anything except the Inu traits. Apart from his father, his mother seated behind him and her mother’s personal priest and doctor, no one knew of his real identity and form.

“At least you can say it out loud brother” he grumbled “It’s hard to explain to a bunch of patronising humans that everything about your senses is better than theirs when you look exactly like them”

“Why, thank you son” said his mother behind him “I’m sure you love me patronising you”. The humour in her voice was very evident as she said this.

“I didn’t mean you mum” he snorted. He tapped his finger on the steering wheel impatiently. The traffic lights in front of schools were programmed to take double the amount of time on the red than the normal ones. Most of the girls were chatting between them or tallying between their companions and the boys. All the uniforms were supposed to look like the old slave uniforms, to keep up the memory of the human’s enslavement and therefore make them feel less guilty for doing the same thing to the youkai.

He suddenly caught his older brother following one of the girls with his eyes. He recognised her immediately as the girl that had owned his brother before his mother, on his father’s request, bought him out in order to have the youkai family complete. His mother loved his father greatly.

“One of these days, I’ll send her an invitation to the mansion again. How would you like that?” he told his brother, so that ONLY his brother could hear.

He nodded silently. He and his half brother hadn’t been in good terms in the beginning, and one night, while he had been very young, his brother had even entered his mother’s house and attempted to kill him. The guards had beaten him so badly that he had been nearly killed until his father had recognised him, and he had escaped while the guards had been carrying him to the house doctor.

He had been so wounded however, that he had collapsed in the middle of what he had thought was a forest. It was instead, a very large garden belonging to a wealthy family, which had a little girl. A little girl that found him, fed him and cured him, taking all punishments for her good heart towards a youkai by her parents and all the other retainers in the house. Even the other youkai regarded him with disgust because he had tainted their little mistress with his spells.

He had been with her for ten years until his father came to him and told him that he was free, because his rich human lover had bought him out, to be part of their secret family.

The sixteen year old girl, who had been six years old when she had been denied all sweets for a month for touching a youkai, had followed his brother out to the car where he himself had been waiting at the wheel of the car. She had given him a pressed flower and a black ribbon to tie his long hair in. Then she had hugged her youkai slave goodbye, earning herself a confinement to the house that had lasted two whole years.

The red light finally began to blink. He slowly lifted his foot off the break. The light turned green and then he slammed his foot on the accelerator in impatience. At that moment however, a little kit decided that he didn’t care about the rules of the road and crossed. He hit the bumper, the bonnet and the glass and rolled off the sealing of the BMW violently. He hit the break and screeched to a halt, throwing the door open to scent of burned pneumatics.

A youkai woman came up screaming, carrying a school bag of her human mistress, who came running behind her. His brother and his mother were out of the car as well, and the school kids that had been crossing the road before all came and crowded around the poor mowed kit

“It’s a kitsune cub” his mother said in worry. “Seshoumaru, call an ambulance quickly”

“Yes Madam Ayami” he said immediately, running to the car to use the phone

“An ambulance? For a youkai?” said someone from the crowd “That idea is ridiculous”

He snapped his head up from the kitsune in his mother’s arms while she wept on his unconscious form, and removed his dark spectacles. He walked up to the offender and growled at him “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Yeah, you’re a disgrace to human kind if you treat that vermin so well” he said as if he were saying the most common and normal thing in the world. He had to use all his self control to avoid blowing his cover by casually slicing him into small meat chunks with one swipe. He was blinded with rage, but was conventionally helped out of the situation by the mistress of the youkai, who walked up and slapped the boy nearly senseless

“How DARE you!” she yelled

“Lady Kagome” said the dazed boy, getting off the tarmac floor “Why did you . . .”

“You should be ashamed of yourself Kouga” she yelled at him “He’s only a little cub! You’re behaving exactly like the youkai of the past, the ones you say you hate because they enslaved humans. Well you are nothing better than them if you treat a little innocent cub like this!”

“I’m sorry Lady Kagome” said the boy

“Thank you young lady” said his mother as she took the young kitsune mother in her arms “Now if you please, I would like to repair for this accident by taking the little cub to my house, and have him cured by my doctor”

“That is against the law!” said the guy Kouga again “Any hurt youkai must go only and exclusively to the state youkai hospital! They’re lucky to have as much.”

“Sue me” said his mother casually before the girl or he himself could react.

“I sure will” smirked Kouga “My father is Naraku Oni, the best advocate of Nippon”

“I know your father” said his mother, smiling very politely at him “I happen to be his employer”

He gawked

“Stop staring like a fish you idiot, and get yourself and your dumb mouth out of the way” he said impatiently

“You really can’t be-”

“I’m Nuya Ayami, and that’s my mother Hakami Ayami. Now get out of the way wimp, unless you want to get under the wheels of the ambulance and rid us all of your presence” he said in great annoyance, as his and his mother’s name suscitated the usual awe from the others. It really sucked to be filthy rich.

As if on cue, the family ambulance came screeching round the corner. Nuya had to suppress the urge to cover his ears- his real ears- on top of his head. His brother and the Kitsune vixen did it without second thought. Seshoumaru gave him a knowing smile that spoke volumes to his irritated half brother. He got into the large ambulance after his mother, the kitsune vixen and her mistress.

“Where do we go Master Nuya?”

“Home quickly Myoga. We have to get this little cub seen by Kaede. Seshoumaru, stay back and drive the bimmy behind us”

“You’re letting someone else drive your car Nuya?” said the ‘slave’ with a smirk

“Get in there and don’t complain” his half brother grumbled, shutting the door.

“That was very confidential for a slave” commented the mistress of the kitsune family

Nuya flinched. His relation with his brother was very friendly, and they spent most of their days together. It was hard to act differently when they were outside the mansion or the office.

“I’m really thankful that you agree with my view that slaves should be treated properly as well” she continued

“I happen to agree with you as well” Nuya’s mother said. “I never shared the popular opinion that slaves should be treated like animals. Even because I love animals too”

“But madam and the little misses are exceptions I fear” said Myoga from the front seat “What happened to the little Kit, Master Nuya?”

“He crossed the road on the wrong light and I ran over the poor cub” he said guiltily

“Don’t worry son, the little kit’s alright. He just has a broken rib and a big bump on the head” said Hakami, checking the cub’s pulse “Don’t worry” she repeated turning to the vixen “I’ll make sure he’s alright”

“I thank you madam!” she cried out suddenly, throwing herself into the older woman’s arms “It’s very noble of the great mate of the Inuhiko to worry herself with a humble kitsune!”

Hakami froze slightly, looking at her son, while the vixen cried profusely in her arms. Her mistress looked rather confused.

“Mum . . .”

“Shippo!” cried the human girl, forgetting anything else

“Kagome-mamma” said the little cub “Where’s that big car? It was coming close to me but I don’t remember . . . I have a pain in my chest Kagome-mamma”

“Shush Shippo-chan. We’re going to take you to a place where they will take all your pain away ok?”

“Ok Kagome-mamma”

“Kagome-onna shujin?”

“Yes Akake? (aka means red, ke means fur)”

“Thank you for being for so clement to us slaves. I understand every day more when I look at how the other masters treat their slaves, I realise how lucky we kitsune of the shrine are”

“Shrine?” said Hakami suddenly

“Hai. I’m Kagome Higurashi. I’m the Miko of Japan”

It took Kaede very little to stitch up the little fox cub and give him the right treatment. The old woman, helped by her young daughter Kikyou, went about helping the little boy to sit up with his arm sling and his dizzy head, while Nuya and his mother took care of the kit’s mother. Speaking very quietly, they calmed her down, and bade her never to tell what she had smelled out in the ambulance. If any human found out that Hakami had any sort of relation with her Inu slave that was not a mistress-slave relation, and that there even was a hanyou son out of that relation that roamed freely as a master and not a slave, there would be many that would be glad. Naraku, for one, and his bombastic son, would adore to attempt getting their hands on the money and power the Ayami family owned in Japan.

Kagome, on the other hand, was being entertained by Myoga, Nuya’s personal servant and driver, which the hanyou never accepted. He loved driving too much to allow anyone near his BMW. That was one of the only delights Nuya had from his rich life. He couldn’t even go around with his real name.

That morning however, as he looked at the kitsune mother talk so respectfully, and yet not with the same brand of respect as the other slaves- she spoke to Kagome as though she loved her, and respect was due, not out of fear- he seemed to realise that not all the world was bad.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was beautiful, in her own way. Nothing about her was extraordinary, not like all the girls he was forced to encounter through protocol. Between the business meetings and the duties he had with their huge technology company, of which, when his mother decided, he would become owner, but which he already manoeuvred totally on his own, he was literally ditched in the company of ALL the daughters and cousins and what not of ALL the people he dealt with. Couldn’t he have been so ugly that women were repulsed? At least he wouldn’t have had to date any of the cows he had to.

Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t wave her gold card around like a fly splatter, or that she didn’t have clothes of diamond weave, that made her so special in his eyes. That, and the fact that she treated her Kitsune like a friend and not a vermin, and that she was giving off a scent that meant a great power.

That alone was having a rather strange effect on him.

“Nuya?”

He looked around to see Kikyou looking expectantly at him. His childhood friend had taken an odd change in the past year. Since she had turned 18 in the human years, and come ‘of age’ or whatever they called it, she had become rather annoying. He didn’t know what came over her, but she seemed to take any occasion to cling onto his arm, to smile at him in a different way. She had nearly become like one of the rich girls he was forced to be with.

“Nu nu, are you free this evening? I was thinking we could go to the movie theatre to watch that new film that’s just out” she said with a smile and a deep gaze

“Kikyou, I don’t think you should be asking me that right now should you? I just ran over a Kitsune, for god’s sake” he said in exasperation. Where was the Kikyou that used to take care of him when he fell and peeled his knees, or that thought him the proper way of writing ‘possessions’? His friend had somehow melted away. Whereas she would have asked how he felt and if she could help a year ago, now she was asking to go to the movies.

“Ayami-sama?” he turned around to see the old bent mother of Kikyou “Your mother wants to speak with you”

He nodded and went to his mother, who had moved their guests into the next room. He opened the sliding door into the small guest parlour room. They were all seated around the table, with the sliding doors that gave onto the cherry blossom garden wide open. Their wolf-youkai retainers were serving traditional green tea, much to his disgust. To a human, the taste of green tea may seem delicate, but to a youkai, it was one sour hell.

He seated himself next to the only other young person in the room- Kagome. Some of his long black hair flipped over his shoulders as he bent to sit. He flipped it back, mistakenly batting Kagome with it.

“I’m sorry” he said hurriedly.

“No harm done” she said with a smile.

“I wish you all to stay a while, to replenish yourselves and relief your shock. My son and I are very sorry for this unfortunate happening, and we would like to accommodate you until you’ll feel better. Do you think it is ok for you, Miss Higurashi?”

“I will have to inform my mother, Mrs Ayami” she said shyly

“Mrs Higurashi has already been informed. She said that you may stay out, but you have to return home by eight for your daily protection prayer in the morning.”

“So you . . . are a Miko” asked Nuya

“Yes. I live up the temple shrine with my mother, my grandfather and my brother. I’m the one who takes care of the youkai subduing prayers every day”

“And yet you treat your own youkai like humans. That’s strange” said Nuya

“The praying is my duty. The female Miko of my family have been doing it since the youkai enslavement began, and it is my obligation to fulfil my function. This, however, doesn’t mean I agree with what I do in any way.”

“That sounds familiar” said Nuya

“In what way?” asked Kagome

“You see” Hakami answered smiling “My son has directed my companies for the past four years now, since he was 16, and he has found most of the duties rather tedious. Which is why I have gotten rid of them as soon as possible” she added with a rather odd twinkle in her eyes.

Kagome cupped her mouth and giggled

The afternoon passed quickly enough, where Nuya found himself at the shopping centre just the same, even though he had thought he had escaped the torture at least for that week. However, he found the experience less annoying than usual, especially when his mother forced Kagome into a dressing room with a very nicely chosen dress that made her look even less grand and expensive, and even more special.

With Seshoumaru, Myoga and himself covered in bags, Nuya’s mother patronised Kagome into Nuya’s car, while she and Seshoumaru found their way into the second car that was to be driven by Myoga.

Kagome was made to sit at the back with her Kitsune slave, while the little bandaged kit sat bouncing in the front seat. Nuya enjoyed pushing his car to a good speed, opening the sun roof, and watching the little kit burst with glee with every burst of speed the BMW made. Kagome gave little squeals as well, but when he looked at her through the mirror, he could see that she was looking through her open window.

This was the first time Nuya had taken any interest in a girl that was not business or simply friendship. He had had many friends while he had been in school, but most of them had been male. One of them, Miroku, ended up working for him as his mother’s priest. The poor guy had been diagnosed a genetic disease a few years back, and had begun taking his Buddhist training very seriously, becoming the best of the district. He still liked the ‘company’ of nice girls though. Some things never change.

This one seemed to be saying look at me, see how I ask you nothing, see how I say what I think and I believe in what I say. See me be just a simple girl from your every day walk in the park. See me pass you by without making you think where I bought my expensive clothes from. See me make you look at me without ever asking for it. See me.

It was astounding how he found himself analysing his feelings and finding them irrational, as opposed to his usual mechanical trains of though. It made no sense that she was conspicuous because she was not conspicuous.

Suddenly he realised that the little kit had slid out of the seat belt he barely filled, and was sitting on his lap. He looked up at him with a bonny smile

“Inu-sampai” he whispered

“Hai, Shippou?” he said with a smile tugging at his mouth

“You like Kagome-mamma, don’t you?” he said happily “because she likes you, you know, I can smell it” he added proudly. Nuya gave a look at the mirror, finding a mortified Kagome looking down at her lap

“Shippo-chan! Please get off Ayami-shujin! You shouldn’t have taken such a liberty. He is not Kagome-onna-shujin”

“It’s ok, let him” said Nuya. He turned his eyes to the kit for a split second before he turned his attention to the by-pass once again “But you should be careful what to reveal Shippo-chan. Not all the smells you receive mean the same to you as they mean to the person who gives them off. You have just embarrassed your Kagome-mamma, do you know?”

The kit looked mortified and twisted around to look at his mistress. However, he yelped in pain.

“Take it easy kit, you have a broken rib there. It will take at least a week to heal, even for a youkai like you.” Said Nuya smiling “I don’t think your Kagome-mamma minds that much, doesn’t she?” he said, stealing her a glance through the mirror. He found he couldn’t put his eyes on the road again so soon, because the blush around her eyes made them look brighter

“Yes of course I don’t mind Shippo-chan, but what Ayami-sama has said is right, and your mum has told you many a time not to speak to the other humans as if they were me”

“But Inu-sempai is not-”

“Musuko-chan” the vixen piped up “sit on your seat, because you’re disturbing Ayami-shunjin while he drives”

The kitsune looked up at Nuya in confusion.

“Two golden rules” he said, so that only the kit and his mother could hear “To live in a world of humans are; one, keep what you smell and hear to yourself, and two, always listen to your mother and father, because only they will stand up for you”

“Hai sempai” chirped the kit, climbing back onto his seat.

The BMW soon drew up in front of the shrine steps. The kit, however, clung insistently onto Nuya, pleading him to take him up the steps to meet his o-tosan. Kagome kept looking at him as if she was afraid he would blow up and kick the little youkai  away. Instead, Nuya simply took the child in his arms and started climbing the steps beside Kagome. The kitsune mother stayed respectfully behind climbing two or three steps after them.

At the top of the long staircase, they found a little boy waiting, with a middle-aged woman beside him.

“Shippo, are you alright?” asked the little boy worriedly

“Hai Souta-niisan” said the little kitsune “Sempai took good care of me”. With this, he startled Nuya with a hug around his neck. The only people he’d ever hugged had been his mother and Kikyou- the latter only once- and he hadn’t done either in the past 5 years at least. To his elevated senses, physical contact meant more than it meant to others, even youkai. Through physical contact, he could tell how many red blood cells were passing through that person’s blood, at what point was his digestive system on his breakfast, what the person had done through the day, even, if female, what point of cycle she had reached. What that person was thinking, through the impulses and smells that he or she gave off.

The sun was setting, and the shrine was painted in red and yellow, and all the shades in between. Nuya removed his sunglasses and slid them into his shirt pocket. Kagome’s mother came up and spoke to him, something about his mother calling and warning her they were coming, and thanking him for taking such care of a slave of the shrine

“My pleasure” he grunted. Kagome’s mother, by how she spoke of the youkai, did not share her daughter’s views, although she stood them, seeing that the younger boy, which had to be Kagome’s brother, was allowed to adopt his sister’s thought.

“Would you like to come in for a cup of tea, Ayami-sama?” she asked

“No, thank you. I have to be home early for a business reception tonight, but I thank you for the offer” he declined politely “I have to be on the way right away”

“As you wish Ayami-sama” she said smiling and turning to scoot the children into the house “But you are always welcome to change your mind whenever you do not have any ties. Our door is open”

A kitsune male, who by the smell was Shippo’s father, came to join his wife hurriedly as they bowed respectfully, giving a low bark of youkai submission to a dominant male. Nuya answered just as inaudibly.

“I thank you again for what you did for Shippo-chan, Ayami-sama” said Kagome finally. He had been waiting for this moment. The kitsune noticed, and slid away slowly “and I don’t only mean the medical treatment. Not many have the patience you showed in the car on the way here. Thanks a lot Ayami-sama”

“You’re welcome. To say the truth, they’d be one way in which we could come even” he said. He saw her blush and look at the ground. His nose told him what the kitsune cub had. But he didn’t want this attraction she had towards him to be that for his bimmy, his credit card and his expensive clothes. She didn’t look the type, but even a common girl could be attracted by glamour.

“Call me Nuya” he said simply, instead of what he wanted to say, and what he suspected she wanted to hear. He hoped she wanted to hear.

She nodded mutely, and although she kept quite a clear expression, her scent and slight sag in her shoulders told him that he could hope. A little.

“If you ever need anything, call the establishment. I’m nearly always there, and if you say you’re Higurashi, they’ll pass you through” he called as he went down the stairs. She nodded, waved and made for the house.

That night, as he drove home for yet another mundane night where he would discuss nothing but numbers, statistics, money and business, he felt a strange emptiness. He had everything- all anyone could want he had or could have with a simple e-mail. But tonight all he had seemed senseless. He even was the son of the Lord of youkai of half of Japan, so as the humans looked up to him for his wealth and social position, the youkai looked up to him for his title. Apart from those who didn’t despise him for his freedom, but that would never reveal his true identity, as he was hoodwinking the human that enslaved them, giving their race one up.

But tonight he realised that he wasn’t really happy. He worked day and night for a company that he had never felt as his own, and when he was free, he spent his time with people he hated. His life was totally empty, except for the presence of his mother, father and brother. He had understood it staying next to that simple, plain girl, who didn’t have brilliants in her ears or fingers, and didn’t have expensive make-up on. He had understood it through the strange sort of warmth she gave off, and through the little scene of a united home he had just witnessed. He spent time with his mother when he could, and his brother Seshoumaru had to follow him everywhere, under the role of retainer, to keep him company during the tedious days.

Thinking of which, Seshoumaru was soooo dead if he refused to go with him tonight. But he wouldn’t. There was going to be his Rin at the party. Now Nuya began to understand what Seshoumaru had meant when he said that hug had churned his insides until they were unrecognisable. He still tied his hair with the same black ribbon.

The BMW drove away across the patches of light and darkness created by the distance between lamp post and lamp post. Nuya’s life had changed because of a traffic light and a kitsune’s hug. The proud hanyou found himself wishing he could be a slave, in order to share a portion of a portion of what that family had, and to stay beside the extraordinarily simple girl.

“Inuyasha, you realise that it’s not possible” his mother said over their personal line. The sky scrapers of Tokyo soared behind him as the façade window opened a side of the room onto the illuminated city that was just awakening “We have discussed it every day for the past month”

“I spent a whole day with her mother, and she never sensed a thing.”

“But we cannot take risks son. I don’t want anyone but you to take up my business”

“I have already mum. This whole thing has been mine since I first stepped in. Kami-sama, since I scored 18, I haven’t even been asking your signature on the contracts”

“But legally it’s still mine, and still legally, if your form is discovered you will be removed and ARRESTED immediately. Inuyasha, if she were to-”

“Mother, you saw how she thinks about the whole slave thing. If she really were to, she would never give me up”

“Are you sure son? You haven’t considered her sense of duty. She goes against her principles in praying for the youkai confinement spells, but she does it every day nonetheless.”

Someone knocked on the door.

“I’ve got to go mum. Work”

He hung up and called the visitor in. His brother came in to announce the American Microsoft capitalist (who owns himself). It took a whole morning, which had started at 4am to avoid wasting any of the American’s precious time, to convince him that all the chips would be regularly done and processed at maximum rate and minimum cost- apart from the usual mishaps that happened everywhere, especially when you had rival companies trying to steal you ideas, clients and tenders.

By the time he was gone, to enjoy a guided tour on the company’s bad debts (clients like him were treated with silk gloves), Nuya was totally ready for bed anytime. Even though he’d taken four years of difficult clients and difficult markets, every one had a different stamp on it that made it tiring in a different way.

It was worst when you had irrationally fallen for a girl you had only seen once, who had never looked to find you in any way, and who your mother disapproved of. Not to mention that she was a Miko and you a hanyou. But that was a minor point

A blessing in the form of white haired Seshoumaru came in with of two cups of coffee and a light lunch of sandwiches.

“You were at it with Hakami again this morning, weren’t you?” said his half brother as he locked the door and then sat comfortably on the padded chair. Nuya stretched and sat down, finally, on the floor, where he felt so much more comfortable.

“Was I hollering again?”

“No, not really” he answered “But I’ve grown used to pick up the key words. Why don’t you just go and give her that dress she left behind last time?”

“Mum-“

“Oh mum has never stopped you before Inuyasha” Seshoumaru cut him off “Come on, tell me what’s really eating you”

Inuyasha sighed “I just don’t want her to see my money Maru. I want her to see Nuya as a guy, not as a millionaire who owns three TNCs. (transnational companies). I want her to see Inuyasha even, not even Nuya. I want her to see what I really am, and I want to have her accept me as I am. It sounds impossible doesn’t it? But I can’t help believing it might happen”

“She has your heart little brother” said Seshoumaru “I can understand where the pointless hope comes from. I had it myself. But hang onto it; look, this secret isn’t only mine alone, that’s why I didn’t tell you, but you see, Rin and I-“

“I know Maru. I smelled her all over you. So where did it happen? The green room or the amber room? They were the only two with a bed that were free during that reception.”

“Green” said a slightly less pale Seshoumaru “But don’t cock around to much ototo, cos it seems I’ll have my own back on teasing soon enough”

“Not as likely as you think. There’s no way Nuya can get a girl without the ghost of his money behind him” the boy sighed.

“Well” laughed his older brother “The way I see it, the only way you can get what you want and stay close to that girl is by becoming her slave.”

Seshoumaru’s words seemed to have entered an eternal chamber of his mind. What had sounded ridiculous at first, suddenly began to make sense and look like the only thing that could possibly be done. He began to wonder how he hadn’t thought of it himself.

But he had- on the drive home after having taken off from the shrine. He thanked the heaven for the weekly stripping of his office by very sensitive bat youkai that detected any form of bugs there ever were. And for the special wall coating that made radio transmission impossible. They would never have risked a conversation like that otherwise.

He pulled up in front of the Higurashi shrine. He pulled the hand break, took the dress in the plastic hanger from the backseat and activated the central lock and satellite car alarm. Very slowly, with his heart in his mouth for no reason whatsoever, he began to mount the steps. Way before he reached the top, he could smell her scent in the air- mixed with so many others it would have been missed had he not been looking for it. Right away, it started to do unmentionable things to his metabolism, and certain parts of his body. By the time he was at the top, his hair was on end.

He made strait for the Kitsune male he saw sweeping some cherry blossoms off the floor.

“Can you tell me where I can find Kagome please” he asked him, gaining himself some looks for the tourists for the please

“Ah! Sempai Ayami! I shall call her strait away- my lord” he said, bowing deeply and rushing away. Again, his invisible but still hypersensitive ears caught whispers about his name. It made him more than ever decide on what he had in mind.

He rested against the large god-tree on the grounds. Soon enough, Kagome turned round the house, wearing her school uniform. She seemed to falter for a second as she saw him against the god-tree, hair waving with the light spring breeze. Nuya himself wasn’t left uneffected by her, as her scent got stronger with every step she made, it got harder to keep himself from throwing himself on her there and then. He had no idea what was happening, but he was pretty sure this was his youkai side’s doing.

“You forgot your dress last time Kagome” he said, presenting her with the dress with a reproving smile

“Hai, I’m sorry Nuya-san” she said taking it “Thank you for bringing it to me yourself, I know you’re very busy”

“Call me Nuya” he shrugged “And I was wondering if that offer for a cup of tea is still valid after a month”

“Of course it is” she smile happily. Please come in”

She led him to the patio and he stepped up the stones onto the wood behind her. She slid a door aside, and led him onto the main room of the house. He was assailed by a train of smells- of her mother, her grandfather, her little brother; they all had similar smells. Then there were the scents of the servants- there was a Tanuki that had to be the cook, as his scent was strongest in the direction of the kitchen. The kitsune were more than just little Shippo’s family, there were at least three more, but they seemed not to belong permanently to the household, because their scent was as fresh as the one of the two girls in front of him.

His eyes followed his nose, and he looked at the two school girls seated as the low table, who had to be friends of Kagome. She walked to them, and asked him to wait sitting while she brought him some tea.

“Normal tea please” Nuya smirked “I have to admit that I totally hate green tea- but my mother loves it, so at home I have to stand it.”

She nodded, but he noted a pick up of her heart-beat as she made her way to the kitchen. As there was no one in there, he deducted that it meant one of two things; they either had nothing but green tea, or had never had green tea, and she had felt embarrassed of her tea closet. He cursed his bank account for the millionth time where she was concerned.

He turned around to the bristling sensation of being watched. He found the expressions of the two girls bordering on totally opposite brinks, but both amusing. One of them had her face in her hands as she rested on the table in front of an open maths book, looking at him with interest bordering on suspicion. The other had the most arrested look on her face he had ever seen on human features; Rin was not expecting to see him there it seemed. The last time he had seen that face, it had been a youkai he had killed, because he had attempted to burglar his house. Of course, Seshoumaru got the be the clawed hero, and as it was a youkai who had kicked it, nobody bothered much. Poor toad youkai.

“Are you a friend of Kagome?” he was snapped out of his thought by the girl with her hair up in a pony-tail

“Hai” he said shortly. Kagome came in with a normal mug of tea. Judging by how new it looked, it hadn’t been used for ages, and had been brought out for the occasion. Again- damn his bank account. He would have given anything for a chipped mug at that moment.

He took a sip and said thanks; it was good. The scent of the glass was one of lemon soap and man. This mug had belonged to her departed father.

“Nuya” she said shyly. He looked up at her. “These are my friends, Sango Hanta (hunter), and this is Rin Essilana Shinzo. Sango, Rin, this is Nuya Ayami”

Soon, the arrested look the silent girl had was on the face of the other. He chose to ignore it.

“Are you at school together?” he asked Kagome

“Hai Nuya. Before you came, we were studying to take some tests next week.” Kagome replied

“Ah, tests. I almost miss those” chuckled Nuya “I used to hate them, but now I know there are worst things in life”

“Worst than logarithms and algebra?” said Sango “That can’t be possible. I tell you, this is a slave life. They youkai have it better than us, because at least they don’t have to go to school and the still live their life peacefully”

“Many of them would die to have a touch of your books” he growled before he could stop himself. Sango looked at him with a critical eye “Besides, youkai are good workers, hard to tire and free labouring. My retainer Seshoumaru (he glanced at Rin under-eye), is a proof of it. He’s an excellent secretary.”

“Kagome agrees with you on that point” said Rin quietly “and so do I. You’ll find that only Sango has the notion of ‘slave driver’”

“That’s nice of you” said Sango- but she seemed none the offended. This divergence of opinions between the girls had obviously been discussed and dismissed.

“Her father is the captain of the national security” came Kagome’s explanatory response.

“And isn’t she in the age of rebellion? She should be trying to find any way possible to driver her father crazy and not adhere to his ideas” he smirked

“What about you? You don’t seem to have rebelled against your duty ne?” she replied with a smile that meant she was taking the joke and paying him back

“I gave my mother enough to chew when I was younger. My mother wanted me in University, but I just wanted to get school over with. I kind of regret it now”

“How come?” asked Kagome, cocking her hear at him to listen better. Some of her hair slid off her shoulder, and it was all he could do not to follow it down with his eyes and forget to answer.

“I used to enjoy some of my subjects a lot. History, art, music, maths-”

“You ENJOYED Maths?” gaped Sango

“Yeah- we had a really good sensei were I went to- he just made you love the subject. And thank god too, I have to do with nothing but numbers every day- and calculations. But it’s a challenge, like fighting a battle with someone who knows all your moves and winning just the same”

“You speak like a martial artist” said Rin “My brother is one. Hojo is really into kendo”

“Really?” said Nuya, rather happily “So am I. I can’t remember a time of my life when I didn’t have my katana”

“That’s nice, we could organise a little match if you ever have the time Nuya” said Kagome shyly “If you want of course”

“Yes, why not” he gave a look at her book “Hey, you’re doing triple equations with imaginary numbers! I used to love those”

“You have to take a break from work Ayami-sama” said Sango with a smile “You’re going crazy”

“Sango!” said Rin “You barely met-”

“That’s exactly what I have been attempting to do for the past month, but how can I? Today it’s this business man, tomorrow it’s that production line or design problem- ah, don’t bring work up for me ok?” he said cutting Rin off as she was going into the ‘you just met him be respectful of an elder’ mode. He was enjoying the company of this girl who treated him as though he was the common teen grumbling about his part-time job.

Much to his dismay though, Kagome seemed to be rather put off from talking by her friend’s louder personality.

“Do you need any help with those?” he said, turning to her hopefully “I’d love to pick a hand and see if I still can manage them”

“Sure anytime” said the Kagome “As a matter of fact, I’m stuck in the number three. I’ve tried all the types of working I know, but it always comes wrong”

He gave it a look, and immediately, he knew the answer to it. He had been dealing with so many complicated calculations of profit and loss, statistics, projections and what not that this one in front of him was as easy as 2+2. However, as he got closer to the paper to write it down, she closed in to look at his working, and her direct scent, leaving her skin and entering his nose mere centimetres away nearly drove him into youkai mode. However, years of training in control managed to get him through the longest 10 minutes of his life as he showed Kagome the correct way to work the sum. Of course, he couldn’t control ALL his body reactions, so by the time he was finished, his face was burning red with every time he noticed her arm brush against his. With every time the spring breeze had made a stray hair tickle his face.

Sango smirked at him as he looked away. He fidgeted under her gaze as he realised she would probably tell her friend later that she had noted a particular blush on his face. What the hell was wrong with his youkai blood?

In his agitation, he accidentally knocked down his tea cup, sending tea everywhere and the long cup rolling along the floor

“Oh shit, I’m sorry for that” he said, getting up and picking the cup off the floor.

“It’s ok Nuya” said Kagome standing up too “I’ll have it cleared in a minute”

He expected her to call one of the youkai slaves, but instead she went into the empty kitchen herself and came back with a wet cloth, proceeding to rub the tea out of the carpet. Nuya couldn’t help staring at her. No doubt she loved her youkai friends, but she knew that they would gladly have eased her of the low duty. Then he noticed that Kagome was blushing under his stare and he looked away, taking the bait of a Sango waving her book at him. Kagome soon stood and went into the kitchen, returning and seating her self back to her mathematics.

Soon enough, the front door made a good number of noises. As if out of nowhere a red blur burst into the room and bolted into Kagome’s arms

“Kagome-mamma! Thank you for the permission to buy candy! I love it! I do!” squeaked little Shippo

“Hey little kit, I see you’re much better. It’s good to see you so lively” smiled Nuya

“Sempai!” cried the cub, bolting onto the boy and giving him a hug- another one. “I’m so happy to see you! Have you come to ask Kagome-mamma to marry you?” he asked enthusiastically

Nuya gave a little laugh at the embarrassed Kagome “Why yes of course, but if I marry her, I’ll take her away with me, and you won’t be able to see her every day”

“No!” said the Kit in dismay “Then don’t please! Can you wait at least a bit more before you ask her? Another Hundred year?”

The room burst in jolly laughter at the little cub’s innocent comments, and Kagome, although burning in the face, was laughing along with them. Akake, carrying a bunch of bags, a huge tanuki and Kagome’s mother entered the dining area at that moment on their way to the kitchen. Nuya, with the kit in arm, stood up and bowed

“Kagome let me in” he said respectfully “I made use of the offer for a cup of tea, I hope you don’t mind”

“Mind? Why should I? I have so many visitors to this shrine, that once in a while it’s nice to have someone inside the house, and not around on a tour. Please sit down, and would you like to stay for dinner?”

“Yes of course, thank you” he smiled, happy that he had taken the afternoon off. He almost gagged when he remembered how much work accumulation there would be tomorrow. Oh well, it was worth it.

“Rin, it’s very nice of you to have ordered your kitsune slaves to help mine out. The shrine is so busy right now that I need any hand I can spare.”

And bingo. That was the reason why Kagome had cleared the floor herself. The vixen, her son and the cook had been helping her mother, while Shippo’s father was managing the tourist and visitors. That left Kagome without her personal slave and without any slave at all. The situation couldn’t have been better.

Rin and Sango soon excused themselves and left to have their dinner at their own respective homes, leaving Nuya the only guest. Souta, Kagome’s brother, came shortly after they had left from his football training, smelling of mud and grass, and was sent to wash.

“Oden!” he heard Kagome say happily, as she put her nose up in the air and sniffed.

“I like oden too, but ramen’s better” he said

“Oden is so much better!” said Kagome, looking scandalised. She didn’t care going against convention where it came to slaves, but was ready to take the parts of her favourite plate with religious conviction? Maybe she wasn’t that simple after all.

“Ramen’s better” he said, just for the sake of seeing her look again

“Oden is”

“Ramen is”

“Oden”

“Ramen”

“Oden”

“Okonomiaki!” piped in a newly washed Souta, sending them all in a fit of laughter

“Nah!” said little Shippo, crawling onto Nuya’s shoulder “Candy is best”

“Shippo-chan! Leave Ayami-shujin alone” said Akake, entering the room with the fuming tray of food.

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t bother me” said Nuya, patting the little red head on his shoulder “I’m glad he’s alright. If I had known you liked candy so much. I’d have brought you a bag full to make up for the car accident”

“Well . . . now you know, Nuya-sempai” said the Kit tentatively

Nuya was about to burst out laughing when he caught a stern look from Kagome’s mother to Akake, who immediately and wordlessly removed the cub from Nuya’s shoulder and left the room bowing.

“I’m sorry you have to serve yourself Ayami-sama” said Kagome’s mother shyly “but we are short handed at the moment, as you might have heard me say”

`And through deduction I make it that they cannot afford to buy another slave. Kami-sama, I’m beginning to think that the heavens are helping me with this crazy plan`

“I can repair to that, if you do not take offence” he said quickly “I still am very sorry for the accident I caused your little kitsune, and I owe you your hospitality as well now. I could easily help you out”

“Nuya, I don’t think-” began Kagome

“My mother had two retainers, and she barely needs one slave at all. I can send one of them to wait on Kagome, so that Akake will be free of her personal slave duties and dedicate herself completely to the shrine”

“Ayami-sama-”

“I by no means mean to offend you, on the contrary, I am seeking to pay my depth with your family” he continued quickly “please accept my offer. I would be honoured”

“In that case, I thank you for your kind offer and accept” said Kagome’s mother “God knows I need Akake with me on the shrine a great deal, but I can’t send my Kagome to school without a slave to take care of her”

“Mum . . .” murmured Kagome.

Nuya looked at the red faced girl seated next to her. He was sorry to have embarrassed her, but he couldn’t help the excitement he felt when he thought he would be spending his days entirely with her. Which reminded him

“This retainer is very specialised to take care of women, he has been especially trained, but in need, you can utilised him in other chores as well”

“Him?” asked Kagome’s mother suddenly

“Yes, he’s a male Inu youkai” said Nuya “Will that be a problem?”

“Oh no- no” replied the woman, fearing of sounding rude in refuting such a needed gift

“However I would prefer him to remain to his duty as personal slave as much as possible” added Nuya “He has been duly trained, and it would be rather a waste”

“I agree completely”

“Very well, I’ll see it out with my mother and then I shall keep my word as soon as possible. I-” his pager bleeped “Oh gosh, can’t the company make it without me for half a day?” he grumbled

“I’m afraid I’ll have to be leaving you. I’ve had an urgent call from my office that seems to promise trouble” he said, standing “I’m sorry to interrupt the meal, but I have no alternative”

“I understand” said Mrs Higurashi “Kagome, take our guest to the shrine entrance please”

“Hai mum” she said standing up. Kagome’s mother was very glad when she saw that Nuya didn’t complain about her daughter following him.

“I’m sorry I spoke like that about the slave, but your mother doesn’t seem to share your ideas I noticed” he said as soon as they were out of ear-shot

“She doesn’t in fact” sighed Kagome “You really don’t have to this for me Nuya- I can manage without a slave”

“But your mother doesn’t seem to think so, and I don’t want you fighting with her” he said. Kagome looked up at him and wondered how this person she only met twice had left such an impression on her, and how he was now talking to her like an old caring friend.

“In any case, I’m sure he’ll take good care of you” Nuya said before waving her goodbye. In contrast to the last time he had descended these steps, this time he was extremely elated.

Immediately home, he left his business call for later, he hunted out his brother in his own room, seated him down on the bed and told him;

“Maru, I need your help”

“How’s that? What can I do?”

“I need a crash course of slave manners”

“Why is my son so irrational all of a sudden” sighed Hakami, sitting on her futon

“It’s very simple koibito (beloved)” said the inuyoukai beside her “It’s youkai instincts. I’m very surprised he has them so soon, but it must be his human site speeding up the process”

“What kind of instincts?” asked Hakami

“Well, let me remind you of a certain Inu youkai that nearly got killed in order to glimpse you through a window. Hadn’t you stopped the guards that day, I would truly have lost my head for you” he laughed

“I see what you mean aite” said Hakami “but I still cannot understand the-“

“Rashness? Irrisponsibility? Doggedness? Well you see, I don’t think you can ever understand koi. But let me try to explain. An Inu youkai mates for life, and the choice of the mate is not something that has to do with the mind, or the consciouness at all. It’s all instinct. An Inu youkai’s finds the mate for that inu youkai, and nothing the inu youkai can do will change it. From the moment of meeting onwards, the inu youkai will do everything, even the irrational and the irresponsible to get his chosen mate and brand her. It has been like that for centuries. I have passed through it, Seshoumaru has passed through it, and now my son will also”

“Your branch of inu youkai seem to have a predilection for human aite” said Hakami, batting her own mate playfully

“Seemingly so” he answered her “And after all, Inuyasha is not the first one to have chosen a Miko for human mate”

“Switch off the light koi”

“Hai”

******************

“Nuya, you’ve been neglecting our friendship a lot lately”

No answer

“Nuya, could you please speak to me?”

No answer

“Nu nu, are you listening at all!”

Nuya snapped out of his state of stupor. His cola had long lost bubbles with the amount of stirring he had administered it. When this happened to him, he was usually thinking of the company- or one of them at least. It was the first time that he had been lost in thought thinking of a girl. God, what an urge he had to call her HIS girl. His Kagome. It had a nice sound to it.

What was happening to him he didn’t know, but he didn’t really mind. The feeling was beautiful, if not a little too excessive. He literally CRAVED her. Wanted her at all costs. Dreamed of her at night. Broke the world at the thought of her being touched by another man.

He had been thinking about her arm against his, her tickling hair against his face. Her scent was enough to drive the living day light out of his rational side. Everything about her made him go crazy. And yet, she was so simple. Simply herself.

Why didn’t he just ask her out? Why didn’t he just go to that damn shrine and ask her to go out for a pizza and then to go and watch a movie, or for a drive along the coast?

But no, there would be his bimmy parked outside, his pager bleeping every other minute. He wanted to spend time with her as himself. He wanted to present Inuyasha, and hear her say that she, Kagome, liked the company of Inuyasha.

But all this slave crap was so damn complicated. There was more protocol in the slave life than in a company meeting three times over. He couldn’t even look his masters in the eyes in no time during the day before they addressed him. Kagome’s slaves never did anything of the sort, but as this slave was supposed to be ‘trained and educated properly’, he had to learn and follow the protocol to the letter. He and his damned mouth.

“Nuya!” He snapped up to see Kikyou holding her bag in her hand, standing while she closed the chair into the table “I’m not going to stay around all day until you decide I’m nice enough to look at and talk to” she yelled, walking away while all the people in the western style restaurant looked at him or at her in disdain. He let her go. He didn’t care about her anymore.

Bah, of course he cared. She was his sister Kikyou- no matter what he may ever feel for Kagome, he would never be able to throw away a life and childhood with Kikyou. She was part if his past and his memories, and even though he hoped Kagome could be his future, he could not deny Kikyou as part of his life and his heart as he could not deny his mother, his father and his brother.

He followed her out of the restaurant but didn’t find him near his car, waiting for him with crossed arms as she had done the first time she had stormed out on him. It had been the first time he had noticed a change in her- he had been lost in thought over a large contract with a toy company for talking-doll microchips, while manoeuvring the European market of instant Ramen that was making a big hit especially in Italy over mobile messages. She had done just what she had done tonight, plus slap him and burst out crying.

But she had been outside, resting against the car, and when he’d come out, she’d let him hug her, and she said she felt lonely because the only other person in the house that wasn’t old was him, and that he never had time to play chess with her anymore. And that even when he took her out, he just phased out and left her on her own again.

So he’d hugged her, undone my tie and taken her to sushi take away after a whole half hour of bumping cars.

But she wasn’t there today. He looked around the car park, but she wasn’t anywhere. Beginning to get worried, he ran to his car, pressing the car alarm button and getting in hurriedly, raising the gear box and leaving the park at an unwise speed

And he saw her climb into the car of none other than Kouga. He pulled up so that their cars were a-lined, but when he’d called out to Kikyou to come out, she’d said thank you, she got a lift. After the scene on the street, that wimp seemed extremely overjoyed to have taken his companion

“Come on neesan, get back onto the car and let’s go home” he called again

“Didn’t you hear her, she doesn’t want to come” said Kouga “Now go”. He swerved his Afla spider at Nuya’s BMW, who had to go in the ditch to avoid collision.

The wimp’s car left him eating its dust by the time he got out of his own  ditched car. He could have lifted the BMW with one hand, but he could see he would damage the shassy, and he would also have awakened suspect in the two humans, neither of who knew his secret.

However, he was not about to leave his sister in the hands of a maniac like that. He activated the car alarm (god knew there was a big enough insurance claim already) and took to the trees that lined the road. He’d knock the boy senseless before he realised where he had come from. With his pager, he sent Seshoumaru a message to locate him with the transmitter of the pager and be ready with a car. Kikyou didn’t need to know what she didn’t want to.

He soon caught up with them. They had pulled up in a grove. Kikyou was sitting on the car bonnet, looking at the stars. Kouga was in his driving seat, looking at her ass. Damn disgusting bastard.

“. . .That guy really can’t take it when a girl says no” he was saying “But are you really his sister?”

Nuya could see the thoughts passing through his mind. She’s his sister- get her laid and pregnant- get a share of the huge fortune. He wanted to growl, but Kikyou was looking at the idiot, so he couldn’t attack without getting caught by her.

“I’m more his date, but he hasn’t realised it yet” Kikyou answered. Nuya nearly fell out of the tree. What the hell was she talking about- Kikyou was his neechan!

“We’ve been friends since we were both very little children, and I once heard his mother say she would be very happy if we got married. I think we’ve been engaged by our parents for a year now”- hell, that was why she had changed? Could this be true? But he didn’t want . . . he wanted . . .

“Oh well, come with me instead” said Kouga suddenly. Nuya’s ears caught so much lust in the undertones of his voice that he had to splat a hand on his mouth and nose to muffle his growl.

“And what would you offer me?” laughed Kikyou in answer “Why should I go for you when Nuya can offer me much more?” she inflated herself in pride “I can be the richest woman in the world, with a husband that looks as good as any beautiful man that walked the earth, and I have to settle with you? Don’t be ridiculous”

The blood that had been boiling in his veins froze. Could this person speaking be Kikyou? Kikyou-neechan? She was speaking to Kouga like a wealthy woman, one who dispensed her gold because she had so much of it. His gold. About the engagement he would check, and if it really existed, he would dismantle it. But that was a thought that passed briefly in his mind like a minor transaction. He gaped at what his ears had caught. Kikyou had talked about his money- only his money- and the way he looked, as though it was all that mattered in the world to her. What was worst was that she had said it with such and innocent pride, and strong conviction of righteousness, that is left him no doubt that she believed what she said was right whole-heartedly. He waited a few seconds, hoping to hear her say that she enjoyed his company because she was lonely- that she liked his character because they had grown up together. Instead it was his money and his looks. Damn looks weren’t even really his except one night a month. It took Miroku’s under-skin ofuda to make him retain the illusion of a human. She wouldn’t be so happy of being rich if she knew what his true form was. He sent his brother a short signal on the pager, and he jumped noiselessly down the tree.

“Kikyou” he called, stepping into the moonlight. She turned on the bonnet

“She’s with me now, sheesh can’t you take a no you-”

“Shut up” he said calmly “I have Seshoumaru waiting with Myoga”

“I don’t think I feel like coming with you, since all you can think of is your work while you’re with me” she said

Nuya frowned. Now that he knew what she really felt, her words had no effect of guilt on him as they should have. She was expecting him to tell her to stop being silly, to call her neechan and to guide to the luxurious car back to the luxurious home. The worst thing was that she didn’t see anything wrong in it.

“Ok Kikyou” he shrugged, and she turned around in confusion “But I’m not leaving you here on your own with that lech. Myoga will stay back with you with the second car. I’ll be heading home”

And he gave her his back and left before she ever had the time to breath again. He didn’t want to hear her say sorry and that she would come with him now. He didn’t want her anywhere near him tonight. He had never known how right he was when he had though she was turning to become one of the annoying rich girls he had to date. He had perhaps toyed with the idea in a moment of frustration, but had never believed it at all.

Kikyou-neesan thought she was engaged to him, and basked in the glory of his money before even stopping to consider what he thought about it. She had used the same patronising tone she used to have when she scolded him on his bad manners, but now that attitude didn’t concern her caring for him anymore- it concerned her caring for his money.

He was silent for nearly all the trip back. The car Seshoumaru was driving was a common company car, but Nuya was glad of it, because with the darkened glass, he could tear the ofuda away from the back of his neck with a wince as he took the tip out of his skin and the paper became visible. His hair turned white. His ears went visible. His eyes went amber. The concealing spell was very uncomfortable.

“I heard it all, ototo” said Seshoumaru, as they finally entered the main city and left all the trees and fields behind. “I came over looking for your exact location and I heard her say it all”

“Seshoumaru, you’re closer- you have more time to be with mum and dad. Do you know anything about this engagement? Is it true?” Inuyasha blurted out

“No, Inuyasha. None of that ever existed. Hakami thought of it briefly for a while, it’s true, but then father explained to her that for an Inuyoukai, such a thing as combined marriage is impossible, and he knows that well. Unnatural. An inuyoukai would go crazy in a situation like that.”

“I know” said Inuyasha, feeling a strange sort of relief wash over him. It had not only been Kikyou’s words that had twisted his guts. Apart from the betrayal of his ‘sister’ on a point he was sensitive about, it had been the thought of being denied Kagome that had split him most. That obsessive, senseless desire to be with this girl he barely knew the proper name of. He couldn’t understand what she had done to him, and once or twice he caught himself thinking that she had used her Miko powers on him. But he knew that was wishful thinking. What was happening was a problem with him; him and his crazy youkai blood. It suddenly occurred to him that the person who could probably help him was seated a few inches away.

“Maru-”

“Before I came for you, father asked me to take you to him as soon as you were home. He explained all that stuff to me Inuyasha, and I don’t think I would manage as well.” Seshoumaru cut him off. Looking at him through the mirror with eyes that now mirrored his own, he settled the argument quiet definitively.

“You’re still set on that mad idea of yours?” he asked

“Now more than ever” Inuyasha replied as the street light outside made his image reflect on the darkened glass, showing him his real hanyou form, which was how he really was but that he yet saw so rarely even himself.

****************

“You mean that all this madness from my youkai blood stems from that fact that . . . Kagome is . . . aite?”

“Hai son” said his father

Inuyasha just gaped.

****************

This is Part 1, I hope you like. Please review ;)

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