Okaa-san

Note: Nagoya is Japan's fourth largest city and it's not too far from Osaka - just a little bit north of it. Akita-ken is just south of the most northern prefecture in Honshu. This will help give you an idea of just how much land is in between them.

I'm not gonna lie: this is a long chapter and not much really happens except insight moreso into Kagome's and Kouga's relationship.

Please tell me if there are any errors.

Thank you and don't forget to review

'Connotes thoughts'


``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Chapter 2
An Engagement to Remember

‘Kami! Where the fuck is dinner?’ Kouga subtly glanced at his watch. ‘Five to nine. We’ve been here for almost two hours.’

“You okay?” He felt Kagome’s hand on top of his and met her concerned gaze.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” ‘I’ll be better when we get out of here and go back to my place to fuck until dawn.’

“You look a little agitated.” She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb in a soothing manner.

Kouga smiled in an attempt to reassure her and grasped her small hand in his larger course one. He liked the feel of her satin hands in his own. It made him wonder if the rest of her body felt as soft and he hoped that she would soon let him find out.

“I’m okay. I’m just upset that we haven’t been served dinner yet.” At the end of his statement he let go of her hand to raise himself up in his seat so that he could crane his neck to get a bird’s eye view of the restaurant. “I don’t even see our waiter,” he declared as he sat back down in his seat, his perusal resulting in nothing. “This is ridiculous. If they don’t come soon, they are going to have one very upset ookami on their hands!”

Several patrons turned to openly stare at Kouga as he audibly growled at the end of his rather loud proclamation. Unfazed by their ogling of him, Kouga continued to rant about the poor service and his assertation that he would never return to the restaurant.

“Kouga, calm down,” Kagome pleaded. “Look at this place; it’s packed. I’m sure that they’re very busy tonight.”

Kouga ignored her logic in favor of baring his teeth at the elderly couple seated across from them. “What are you staring at?”

The startled couple turned their heads away in embarrassment and returned to staring at their empty dinner plates.

“That’s right: you better not mess with me.” Kouga’s intimidation of those around him was going to get him in serious trouble if Kagome didn’t do something soon.

“Kouga, please, you need to relax. If you continue to act like this, we’re going to get thrown out,” she whispered heatedly

Kouga smirked. “Don’t worry about that, babe. There’s no way that they would throw me out. I’ve got too much money for them to do something like that.”

His attestation was hardly comforting.

Kagome uneasily glanced at him. She highly doubted that the staff at Le Trianon had any qualms against refusing them service. Although Kouga was endowed with a great fortune, his father was the true controller behind that power. If word were to reach him of Kouga’s less than pleasant treatment of restaurant patrons and staff members of such a reputable establishment, then he would surely punish him more so than Le Trianon ever could.

She kept her mouth shut however. Kouga’s arrogance was an attribute that Kagome had always found irritating, but if she were to correct him in any situation in which he found himself to be in the right, the results were disastrous.

Kagome was in no mood to put up with a sulking ookami-youkai at the moment. Tonight was supposed to be their night, and although Kouga was doing a wonderful job at derailing her girlish dream of perfect romance, she would do everything on her part to keep it from completely crashing and burning. Even if that included her putting up with his childish behavior.

Trying once again to take his mind off the tardiness of their meals, Kagome began to strike up a conversation. “How are things at work?”

Discussing work was second nature for Kouga; he loved to talk about what he did. Kagome knew that he thought talking about his car empire was impressive to her, but she really could care less about what he did. She knew for a fact that Kouga was more of a figurehead at his father’s company rather than an actual worker. However, she would rather listen to him talk about the fuel intake in their new concept cars than have him scaring innocent restaurant patrons.

“Things are great.” He leaned back in his seat, his right arm resting on the top of the booth. “We’re considering investing in a new startup company that specializes in hydrogen fuel cells. I personally think it’s a waste; hydrogen isn’t gonna do jack-shit in the future, but we’ll make a great profit off of them because of those stupid Americans.”

“I’m not following,” Kagome interrupted, confused. “If you don’t think they’ll be successful, than how are you going to make a profit off of them? And what do the Americans have to do with it?”

He shook his head, with a slight smirk set on his face. “Oh, Kagome, it’s simple really. The Americans follow us like watchdogs; anything we do, they do as well thinking that they’re gonna make a huge profit off of it. Everyone thinks that the Japanese are business innovators. It’s a known fact that we make the best investment choices.”

By now Kagome understood the reasoning behind Kouga’s belief that it was a good investment, however, he still felt the need to continue.

“So, with all the Americans placing their money in this company, we make a lot of money ‘cuz we were the first to invest, and would therefore have a majority of the stock. If the company were to flounder, we would have already pulled out.” He smiled at her, then. “It’s that simple.”

Kagome found herself to be annoyed at Kouga’s degrading tone. It was as if he was explaining to a child how to play baseball for the first time instead of explaining to a full grown woman, whom he loved no less, his choice in investments.
Luckily for Kouga, their waiter came with their meals before she could knock him down a peg.

“’Bout damn time!” Kouga glared at the unnerved waiter. “This better be the best steak I’ve ever had, otherwise I might not be so generous with your tip.”

The waiter quickly placed their respective meals in front of them and stuttered an apology for the delay before he left in a beeline towards the kitchen.

“That was unnecessary, Kouga. He’s barely an adult trying to make a little bit of money. There was no need to frighten him in such a way.”

Kouga sighed and looked at her apologetically. “You’re right, Kagome. It’s just that I want this night to be perfect, and so far, it hasn’t been up to my standards. I promise I’ll keep control of my tongue.”

Kouga’s sincere apology and charming smile had Kagome smiling in return. It was hard to deny Kouga when he was being sincere with her. “I understand. Besides, who’s to say that this won’t be the perfect evening?”

Kouga grinned, one of his elongated canines hanging over his lower lip in a boyish way. ‘Oh, it’ll be perfect all right.’ He eyed Kagome, his lustful gaze settling on her abundant cleavage. ‘Yeah, it’ll be just perfect. Especially when I get to have you bent over my bed screaming my name as I fuck you like an animal in heat.’ He inwardly laughed then.

Kagome, unaware of the perverted thoughts of her masculine counterpart, was quietly enjoying her monkfish. She was more than pleased with her meal. Not particularly inclined to eat meat, Kagome jumped at any opportunity to substitute; fish was a favorite. Not extreme enough to go vegetarian, because she didn’t really care for vegetables either, she settled on eating primarily seafood while enjoying a good meat dish every now and then.

However, if she were to marry Kouga, she would have to get used to eating meat.

She subtly glanced at him from beneath her eyelashes. He was nearly done with his filet mignon while she had yet to take her third bite of her own dinner. Kagome merely rolled her eyes; she figured that she would have enough time to re-educate him on his eating habits once they were married.

Kouga speared a large piece of meat and shoved it into his mouth.

Kagome frowned. It wasn’t so bad that everything he ate was practically raw, even though she didn’t like the sight of blood, it was more of the fact that he scarfed all of his food down like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. It was like he was a large python, swallowing its food whole. She wondered if he actually could taste the meat.

While Kagome continued eating, Kouga took the time to carefully palm the small box in his side pocket. He knew it was what she wanted. She was always telling him that she wanted to marry young and have a boatload of children, and he wanted to be the man to give it to her.

Instinct told him that she would make the perfect mate. Her wide hips were good for birthing, her breasts large for nurturing, and her soft, feminine beauty paired with his natural good looks was guaranteed to produce handsome children. Kagome’s caring nature would allow her to be a good mother, while her take-no-nonsense attitude made for her to raise their children with a loving yet stern hand, so that they may grow with at least some morals instilled in them - morals that he honestly didn’t really know anything about to.

And when he would come home at the end of the day from work, she would have food on the table ready for him, like a good wife should. She would dote on him all night: letting him watch the baseball game on television after dinner, replacing his beer when it got empty, massaging his feet when they were sore, and being sympathetic while he griped about whatever got on his nerves at work.

Not to mention the other wifely duties she would perform as well.

He knew Kagome was a virgin: something he relished. Kouga couldn’t wait to be the one to pop her cherry. Everything about her screamed innocence, but he knew deep down inside of her, that there was a hellcat waiting to be released. And he had every intention of being the man to uncover that dark, seductive, sexier-than-all-hell, side.

Hopefully, if things went according to plan, he would be discovering her hidden treasures by the end of the night.

Although his father raised him to do the right thing when it came to a serious relationship and wait until marriage to have sex, Kouga couldn’t really wait that long. For the two years that he and Kagome had been together, he had been nothing but faithful, even when he was sorely tempted to fool around with some floozy just to release the sexual tension Kagome had caused him. It had been almost three years that he had gone without sex. It was about time that the drought had ended. It was his belief that an engagement was just as good as any marriage. He desperately hoped that Kagome would agree because he was sick and tired of waking up every morning with the unpleasant need to take a cold shower. Kouga prayed that Kagome would take care of that department. It was well-known that he could use an extra spring in his step when it came to mornings.

All sexual intentions aside, Kouga really did love her. His avid pursuit of her proved that she was more than just a quick lay to him. Sometimes, when he felt that he had treated her poorly, he would call her at work see how she was doing or send her flowers to apologize, even if she herself felt that his actions didn’t deem such amends. Kagome teased him, saying that he was a true romantic deep down, but Kouga just didn’t want any of his stupid words to cause him to lose his woman.

He played around with the box, snapping the lid open and close quietly, while discretely taking a look at the ring. Kouga didn’t know much about jewelry, but he did know that she would like this ring. It was the biggest engagement ring the jewelry store had; the center-cut diamond was as nearly as large as a penny. Small diamonds circled around the gold band, while several canary diamonds wrapped around the circular stone. All women loved diamonds: therefore, Kagome would love this ring.

Now the only thing that stood in their way on the road to blissful marriage was Kagome’s boss.

Taisho Sesshomaru was Japan’s number one businessman. He owned the world’s largest media conglomerate – bigger than that of Rupert Murdoch’s - while still maintaining the spot as the most desired bachelor in all of Asia. Due to his regal youkai heritage, the inu also claimed to be heir to the western lands of Japan. When his father dies, Sesshomaru will gain political control of the lands in between Nagoya in Central Honshu and Akita-Ken in Northern Honshu.

But aside from being a leading businessman, eligible bachelor, and royal heir, he was an ass - plain and simple.

He was a top business mogul because he had no problem with cutting throats and stabbing people in the back. His unsavory tactics were known by all and loathed by his competitors. Sesshomaru used intimidation, force, and blackmail to get what he wanted. Most of his takeovers were hostile and usually occurred with disturbing events surrounding them. Oftentimes, former executives ended up mysteriously disappearing or resigning from their posts without warning. Ruthless - although not a severe enough word - could only describe Sesshomaru.

Whereas Sesshomaru’s business persona was considered legendary, his reputation in the bedroom was infamous. Never one to let a woman drag him down, the inu-youkai rarely kept a woman for more than a week. To him, they were merely gold-digging whores who only served one purpose and of course, that was what Sesshomaru solely used them for. He was naturally sought after by every woman in Japan for his sexual prowess and equally astounding bank account. However, no woman to date had claimed to be in his graces for the use of anything more than a quick lay.

Except Kagome that is.

Kouga growled at the thought of his Kagome working under that ass-wipe inu. He hated Sesshomaru and his half-brother, InuYasha, deeply. They were both arrogant pricks who expected everything to go their way. But of the two, Sesshomaru was the worst.

It was because Kagome worked for Sesshomaru that Kouga’s malignant feelings transferred from the younger Taisho to the elder. Kagome had been working as his personal assistant since she graduated from college and Sesshomaru abused his power over her. He demanded her attention 24/7, treated her like the scum of the earth, and much to Kouga’s irritation, he refused to fire her.

Admittedly, Kouga had played a significant role in many attempts to get Kagome fired from Shiroi Inu Inc. His most ingenious, yet sadly still doomed plan, had involved Kouga sneaking in after hours into Kagome’s building. With much patience and a lot of drinking, he had successfully downloaded enough porn onto Kagome’s office computer to make an adult video store go out of business. That hadn’t been as enjoyable however, as the two dozen beers he downed while waiting. With an unusually high tolerance level due to him being a youkai, Kouga was still as sober as a widow at a funeral after the two six-packs. He took all the empty bottles and scattered them about her desk as well as leaving a few in Sesshomaru’s office. While in there, he knocked all of Sesshomaru’s belongings off the desk and shattered the computer monitor.

But it was as he was downloading the last file that his true genius struck. Attached to the file was a virus that would have normally been targeted right away by the computer’s anti-virus software, but Kouga immediately dismissed the pop-up. Instead, Kouga let the virus eat away at the computer and then forwarded the contaminated file to all the employees at Shiroi Inu Inc.

Kouga had been pretty proud of his work, and was reassured that Kagome would undoubtedly be fired by Sesshomaru. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

Upon arrival at work the next day, Kagome hadn’t found a single thing out of place at her desk. Lacking was the sight of empty beer bottles strewn about her desk while an irate youkai stood in front of her chewing her out. And to boot, when she turned on her computer, she didn’t see two lesbians making out while her computer crashed, but instead the standard logo of Sesshomaru’s company as her background. Sesshomaru’s office had also been oddly intact: a normalcy that Kouga had no explanation for.

The only thing out of place that day was Sesshomaru’s snide comment about Kouga. While attending to Sesshomaru’s daily cup of green tea, Kagome had been surprised to have Sesshomaru warn her about her future employment if she continued to date Kouga.

“If you cannot keep better control of your more than disagreeable boyfriend, the wolf, then you may consider yourself out of a job,” Kouga remembered Kagome recanting Sesshomaru’s words that day. “Although you may not know what I speak of, he does. Just keep him on a shorter leash next time.”

Kouga was more pissed off than embarrassed by Sesshomaru’s admonition though. It just meant that he wouldn’t be able to get Kagome fired. It had, however, never crossed Kouga’s mind to just simply ask Kagome to quit her job. He didn’t want her to know about his petty reasons behind his unsuccessful attempts at getting her fired.

It unnerved Kouga that Kagome was the only female in Sesshomaru’s employ. But what unnerved him even more, was that Kagome had been working for him for over two years now: that was longer than any previous personal assistant Sesshomaru has ever had.

His constant calls for Kagome’s assistance after work hours were the icing on the cake. On many occasions Kagome had left Kouga high and dry in order to get over to Sesshomaru’s apartment to help him with something he deemed too important to wait until the morning. Of course Kagome always apologized for leaving Kouga and after returning from Sesshomaru’s she always had something foul to say about him. Kouga was consoled by the fact that Kagome didn’t like going over to Sesshomaru’s just as much as he did.

Although Kouga trusted Kagome, he didn’t trust Sesshomaru. Kouga was no fool: he knew that Sesshomaru could take Kagome from him at any time. The fact that Kagome hated Sesshomaru meant nothing; if Sesshomaru wanted to, he could seduce the pants off of a crotchety old maid, and that meant that he could do the same to Kagome.

Which was why, he was going to ask Kagome to quit her job once they were married. In all truth, her working was unnecessary since Kouga could more than provide for her. The challenge was still there however, since Kagome enjoyed her independence and making her own money. But Kouga was willing to work her until she gave.

“Sweetie, you okay?” Kagome’s soft voice brought him out of his musings. “You seem a little distracted.”

Kouga didn’t answer her immediately. He waited until the waiter had taken her now empty plate away before giving her a response. “I’m just perfect. I’ve just been thinking about us, that’s all.”

Kagome simpered slightly at his words. “Oh, and what exactly have you decided about us then?”

Kouga returned her smile with a tender look. He reached across the table to grab her silken hand and met her twinkling blue eyes. “I’ve decided that I don’t want to spend another day without you; that I want you to be with me . . . always.”

Butterflies fluttered in Kagome’s stomach while her heart sped up at Kouga’s words. ‘Oh, please let this be what I think it is.’ She waited eagerly for what he was about to say next. ‘Kami, this has to be it.’

He rose from his seat across from her, her small hand still in his grasp, to kneel next to her chair. Without breaking eye contact, Kouga reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. Pulling his hand away from hers, he opened the box, revealing an engagement ring that probably contained all of the diamonds of Sierra Leone.

Kagome raised her hands to cover her gasp at the sight. As flashy and somewhat gaudy the ring appeared to be, it showed just how much Kouga thought she was worth. The ring’s cost was most likely equivalent to a year’s salary for her. And to Kagome, it wasn’t so much the object itself that mattered, but the care and effort that he had made to truly make her happy.

Tears glistened in her eyes, threatening to ruin her carefully applied makeup. Kouga loved her and to her it had never been more evident than at that moment. Her heart swelled at the idea of being with a man such as him for the rest of eternity. The fact that he, a youkai, loved her, a ningen, with such an unbridled passion that broke all lines between their races made her chest hurt in unconceivable joy.

In her entire life, Kagome didn’t think that she had been as happy as she was in that single moment.

Kouga (in all due credit on his part) waited patiently for her response. The delay was expected; of course she would be shocked by his actions considering he hadn’t shown signs of taking such a serious step in their relationship before. However, Kouga was beginning to panic when, after almost two whole minutes, Kagome still had yet to give him a response.

Deciding to give her a little nudge, Kouga pronounced, “I love you, Kagome, with all my heart. You evoke feelings in me that I can’t even describe-things I’ve never felt before. You make me a better man just by being in your presence and I want to remain that man, for you.

“I want you to be my mate, mother to my children, queen of my castle. I want you to be with me forever, because I know that without you, I’m only half a man. Life without you just wouldn’t be worth living.”

Kouga’s words became urgent and his eyes pleaded with her to give him the answer he so desperately sought. “Complete me, Kagome. Marry me and be my wife.”

Unbidden tears streaked down Kagome’s cheeks. She was so afraid to open her mouth-afraid that she wouldn’t be able to formulate the words needed, but to only be able to cry in pure unadulterated bliss.

Taking a deep breath behind her hand, Kagome quickly composed herself. Slowly lowering her hands from her mouth, she silently wiped the tears from her face while leaving Kouga on the edge in expectation.

Ready to answer, Kagome could swear that she saw Kouga lean closer into her as she graced him with a dazzling smile that easily outshone the engagement ring he still held in his open palm.

Tenderly reaching out to stroke the side of his face with her right hand, Kagome used her other to grab Kouga’s own, resting on his bent knee.

“Kouga, I love you more than words could ever describe.” She paused to raise her left hand so that she cradled Kouga’s head in her hands. “I would be honored to be-“

“Higurashi-san, there’s a telephone call for you.”

If Kouga could get away with murder, he would have gladly exercised that right with gusto at that moment. Of all the scenarios he had planned for this evening, he did not consider being interrupted when Kagome was going to give him the answer that would either make or break him. Of course, the worst of it seemed as if the maitre-d knew exactly what he had walked into.

“Can’t you see that we’re in the middle of something?” Kouga barely gritted out at the small, portly Japanese man.

Clearly ignoring him, the maitre-d continued to look at Kagome expectantly. “Miss, the phone is at the front of the restaurant. If you allow me, I will lead you to it.”

Kagome, just as shocked as Kouga was, remained silent. Debating between getting angry at being denied the most important moment of her life and calming Kouga’s frazzled attitude, Kagome decided to go with the latter.

“Gomen nasai, but I cannot answer at this time. If you could, would you take a message for me?” Her response did nothing to soothe Kouga’s boiling temper or to dispose of the unnerving maitre-d.

Instead of nodding his head in acquiescence like she expected, the maitre-d merely shook his head and in a stern voice replied, “I’m afraid that I cannot do that, Higurashi-san. Your caller is of great importance to this restaurant. If I were to tell him that you did not wish to speak with him, then I am afraid that not only would I get in an enormous amount of trouble, but you as well will find yourself in a quite serious dilemma.”

Kagome sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “And who, may I ask, is calling?”

“Taisho Sesshomaru, Higurashi-san. As you can see, it would be prudent for the both of us if you answered his call.”

Kagome had no warning before Kouga stood before the other man, took him by the collar of his shirt and raised him up so that they were at eye level. “You tell that prick,” he growled out menacingly, “that he can go fuck himself.”

“Kouga! Let him down,” Kagome demanded. She too exited her seat, but only to grasp one of Kouga’s arms in an attempt for him to lower the man. “It’s not his fault that Sesshomaru called. He’s just doing his job.”

Kouga reluctantly set the maitre-d on his feet, however, he refused to let go of him. Ignoring the admonishing look Kagome was giving him, Kouga kept his glower on the other man. “You tell that bastard that Kagome quits.”

“Kouga!” Angry at him thinking that he could make such a decision, Kagome turned her heated eyes towards Kouga. “You can’t do that! I want that job and I’m going to keep it, even if Sesshomaru is being an ass right now. It’s not like he knows that you were in the middle of proposing to me.”

Without letting go of the maitre-d, Kouga explained himself to Kagome. “But he does know that! How do you think he knew where we were going tonight? He knew I was going to propose to you.”

Kagome was both confused and curious. “And how could he know that?”

“When I bought the ring at the mall, he had entered the jewelry store as I was waiting for the ring. I tried to ignore him, but you know how it is with him. He asked a few questions and I told him about tonight and how I was going to ask you to marry me. The moment I got the ring, I high-tailed it outta there, not bothering to ask what he was doing in there. I fuckin’ hate that creep.”

Kagome sighed. “Kouga, I don’t think he did this on purpose. I bet there’s an emergency at the office. The quarterly reports were due yesterday; he’s probably just found some numbers that don’t add up. If that is the case, then the company could lose a lot of money if those numbers aren’t accounted for.”

Kouga finally let go of the maitre-d and turned so that he completely faced Kagome. “You can’t possibly go! Tonight’s our night; fuck Sesshomaru! You’ve been under that ass-wipe’s thumb for long enough. He doesn’t give a shit about you. He fuckin’ abuses his power over you at every chance he can get.” Suddenly the anger faded from Kouga’s face as he calmed down somewhat. In a soft voice he pleaded, “Onegai, don’t go. It’s the weekend. He’s the president of the company; I’m sure that he’ll be fine without you. Tonight’s our night - let’s at least salvage what we can.”

Kagome really did want to stay with him, but she didn’t want to lose her job either. As much of an ass Sesshomaru could be, she knew that it was merely a façade. Overall, he did treat her pretty well even though he did overwork her at times.

“Kouga, I do want to be with you right now, but my job is important to me. Sesshomaru promised me a VP position after five years of working for him. I’m almost there, please understand.”

Kagome thought that Kouga would understand, considering the passion he held for his own job, but the hurt in his blue eyes immediately told her otherwise.

“Yeah, I understand.” He shook his head ruefully and let out a bitter laugh. “You love me, I get that. But you love your job more and as long as we’re together, it’ll always come first. I always figured that you would put family first considering all you’ve ever told me is about how many kids you want. I can see now that I was wrong.”

Kagome reached out for him, tears streaking down her ivory cheeks. “Onegai, Kouga, don’t say that. I love you, I really do.”

“Then quit.” His deep indigo eyes begged for her to understand. “If you love me as much as you say you do, then quit . . . for me.”

Kagome shook her head. Desperately she tried one more time for Kouga to see her side. “Kouga, you know I can’t do that. I didn’t go to business school to just throw it all away. I didn’t put up with Sesshomaru’s crap to give up now. This job is important to me. If we just hold out for three more years, things will get better. I promise.”

Kouga turned away from the hand she had placed on his cheek. “I can’t wait three years, Kagome. I’ve waited two long years just to reach this point. I’ve put up with sleepless nights of being unfulfilled, turned away countless women who sought my company, took so many cold showers that I’ve lost count, all just for you. I’m done with that.”

Realization dawned on Kagome. Upset at his words, Kagome lashed out. “Sex, Kouga, that’s what you’ve gone without? Of all the things that you’ve had to put up with, going without a lay for two years is what you regret the most?” Tears fell without restraint now. “I thought I was important to you. I thought that you actually cared about me. I thought that you loved me. But now I see that everything that you’ve ever done for me was nothing more than an attempt to get in my pants.”

Her reiki flared out without control. Kouga winced as the strong purifying energy licked at his skin. When her emotions grew too strong for her to manage, Kagome's miko powers took over her and lashed out at the source of her discomfort. Now was such an occasion.

“What was I too you: the ultimate conquest?” Kagome’s reiki grew in its ferocity as Kouga remained silent. “You thought that you’d be the first to fuck little, innocent Kagome is that it? Were you even going to marry me? Were you going to drop me like a rock after you got some action?”

The purifying power of her reiki was now singing Kouga’s skin. He had to stop her soon or else every youkai in the restaurant was going to be turned into ash. “Kagome, none of that is true. Now, please just calm down.”

Kagome, discerning that she was at the moment a danger to those around her, followed his wishes and soon her blue purifying powers were pulled into her body. After a moment of deep breathing, Kagome finally got enough nerve to look Kouga straight in the face. “It doesn’t matter though, does it? No matter what your intentions towards me are, you’re not going to want to be with me as long as I have my independence.”

Kouga could not deny her words: they were true. He didn’t like the idea of her working because that meant that she was making her own money rather than being dependent on him. It was old-fashioned for him to think in such away, but a majority of society agreed with him. As advanced as Japan was, it was rare to find such a woman as Kagome in the workplace.

“Maybe it’s a good thing that this happened now,” she went on. “I guess it’s better to realize now, that we weren’t meant to be rather than being stuck in a marriage that neither one of us would want to break.” Kagome shook her head and wiped the last of her tears from her eyes. “No matter what, Kouga, know that I love you. I guess that I just don’t love you enough to give you what you want.”

He didn’t know what to say. In a way he was upset that he had put so much effort into a relationship that obviously went nowhere but at the same time, was relieved to find out that he could return to his bachelor ways. Kagome was right: they wouldn’t be happy in a marriage together, as much as that hurt to admit.

Kagome moved forward and kissed the side of his cheek. Meeting his gaze she said, “I hope that you have a happy life, Kouga, and that you will one day find the woman who will give you what I couldn’t.”

Without giving him time to respond, Kagome turned to the maitre-d who had remained as a spectator to their break-up. “Please show me to the phone.”

The maitre-d nodded his head and led Kagome away from the stunned ookami. Without a second glance at Kouga, Kagome followed the portly man to the front of the restaurant.

It hurt her to know that Kouga was unwilling to let her be happy with her independence. He probably just wanted a housewife that would wait on him hand and foot while popping out a few babies here and there. That wasn’t the life she wanted. Admittedly she hadn’t thought Kouga was the one until Sango had mentioned the possibility of him proposing, but that didn’t mean that the damage was any less. She had been looking forward to a married life with him. She genuinely thought that Kouga would make her every wish come true. Now . . . now she realized that it was all a girlish fantasy.

“Here you go, Higurashi-san.” The maitre-d handed her a phone that was attached to a half-wall in between a fish tank and a potted fig tree. It gave her some privacy and for that she was grateful.

She thanked the maitre-d and waited until he disappeared before raising the phone to her ear.

“Hello,” she greeted.

Immediately the deep sensuous baritone of her boss came over the phone line. “I feared that you were not going to answer my call. It usually does not take you such a lengthy stretch of time to answer my request.”

In no mood to put up with his mocking, Kagome stated as such. “I do not feel like putting up with any crap you have for me right now, Sesshomaru. So this better be a serious emergency you have or else I can easily say that I can’t be held responsible for any actions on my part.”

“Is that a threat, Higurashi?” Sesshomaru’s voice remained cool; however, Kagome could detect the slight amusement behind his questioning. “I thought that you would be in an affable mood considering that you now are an officially taken woman.”

Kagome’s eyes nearly popped out of her head at his words. Kouga was right: he did know exactly what he was interrupting. Ignoring the fact that she was about to yell at her boss, Kagome decided to let him have it. “Of all the horrible things that you have done to me, this is most definitely the worst. I can’t believe you, Sesshomaru; you knew that he was going to propose to me and yet you called here anyways. As if interrupting us wasn’t bad enough, your call actually made us break up.”

“So, you and the ookami are no longer an item?” If Kagome thought that Sesshomaru was actually capable of the emotion, she would have said that he was happy at this development. “Well, I never actually did think that you two would wed one another. Of course, I cannot take credit for your separation: it was imminent.”

“Ugh! You are the most frustrating man alive,” Kagome accused. “If you didn’t think that we were right for each other than why didn’t you say anything?”

Kagome pictured Sesshomaru checking his fingernails for dirt as he responded to her in a nonchalant manner. “It is not my place to let my opinions be known about my employees’ personal lives. As long as they do not question mine, I do not question theirs.”

She exhaled dejectedly. “Alright, I understand. Now would you please tell me what is so important that you had to call me on a Saturday night at,” she glanced at her watch, “half-past nine while I’m at dinner?”

Sesshomaru’s tone turned serious. “I cannot give you all of the details at this moment, but I require you to arrive at my home as soon as possible. I realize that you do not have a vehicle of your own, so my personal limo should be waiting for you outside right now. Jaken will be able to drive you to my penthouse where I will inform you of the issue.”

Kagome knew that the problem must be massive if Sesshomaru could not tell her the facts. “I’ll be there right away.”

“Good.”

Kagome heard a click and then the line went dead. She huffed at the stereotypical response from her boss. ‘Would it kill him to say “good-bye” just once?’ Disregarding her ire, she hung up and made her way to the exit.

She paused as she reached the door, wondering if she should go back to Kouga and say something more. But she didn’t know what she would say once confronted by him again. After two years together, she had absolutely nothing to say to him. It was apparent now that their relationship wasn’t as serious as they originally thought it to have been. For some reason, that knowledge didn’t sting as much as she thought it would. Somehow Kagome knew that she would get over Kouga more quickly than she had originally thought.

With a somewhat lightened heart, Kagome exited Le Trianon and walked towards the waiting black limousine in the street. Without the help of the green chauffeur who deliberately ignored her, Kagome stepped into the limo.

As they pulled away, Kagome thought she saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning to face the window, Kagome took a quick look outside and found the sight of a light form of what appeared to be a man running out of the restaurant. Watching the man panic as he glanced around him as if in search of someone or something, Kagome couldn’t help but think that it might be Kouga looking for her. But as the limo sped up, the man became smaller and smaller in her sight and finally she saw him give up in his quest and head back into Le Trianon.

Sitting back in the leather seat, Kagome faced forwards again and contemplated what she saw. ‘What if it was Kouga? If he was willing to make amends, would I be able to forgive him? Did he really chase after me?’

Distressed that she could not answer her own questions, Kagome decided that it was pointless in getting herself worked up over something that in all probability did not and would not happen. Disregarding her thoughts, Kagome looked out the side window to watch the city of Tokyo pass her by.

Somewhat calmed by the diluted lights and city atmosphere, Kagome let the limousine take her away into the night, on towards the man who she had unknowingly sacrificed her relationship for.