Fortune's Fury
Chapter One: Flashbacks, Fights, and Funerals
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"Heaven has
no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
=(
Chapter One: Flashbacks,
Fights, and Funerals
Out of Context
Rating:PG13
Summary: AU [IK] She
would never forget that he was responsible for her late husband’s death, or
ever stop blaming him, but as she joins him in the workplace, fighting over the
company he and her husband had co-founded, she couldn’t ignore the feeling he
stirred inside her, the feeling of lust, and of desire.
Disclaimer: I own
that entitles) nor the “dime-store smut” that this idea formed off the back
cover of. Just wanted to clear that up.
=(
Flashbacks.
“Dialogue.”
The Story.
=(
He spun her around, his
hands firmly grasped to her waist, listening to her joyful laughter echo
through the small clearing. He smiled at her, planting a delicate kiss firmly
upon her lips, still parted in her glee, and then promptly began to sing.
“I’m leaving on a jet
plane. Don’t know when I’ll be back again. Leaving! On a jet
plane!”
She only laughed harder,
her blue eyes dancing.
Finally, though, the
laughter halted, and the young couple stood there, holding each other close.
“Seriously,
darling. I want you to be
safe. Are you sure this thing is alright for you to fly in? Can’t you just stay
here with me?”
“You know I would, but
business calls. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“If you insist,” she
caved, hugging him tightly one last time. “Your chauffer beckons!” And with a
little shove, she turned around, making to head back to the taxi that was
waiting to take her back to
But he grabbed her wrist,
pulling her back to him for one last searing kiss. “I love you,” he said,
looking deep into her eyes with a seriousness not befitting the situation.
“I love you too,” she
replied, frowning slightly at his actions. It was like…Like he thought he
wasn’t coming back or something.
He just smiled softly at
her, and then jogged to the jet, climbing in with one last glance over his
shoulder and one last wave of his hand.
It was her one last
memory of the only love of her young life.
=(
The tears welled behind
Kagome Higurashi’s stormy eyes as she watched him
speak at her late husband’s death.
He had chartered the plane.
He had been “unable” to make the meeting. And to make matters worse, the two
had been fighting over the management of their blossoming company.
Damn bastard. He had planned
Hojo’s death. And since that moment, the very instant
she heard of the plane going down because of technical malfunctions due to a
lack in the checking of the controls and other airplane machinery junk, she
knew it. It didn’t really matter anyhoxactxactly what wentng. ng. She knew he
had planned it.
Damn scheming bastard. While
Hojo had wanted the company to stay relatively small,
the ass had big plans for it, making it into a multimillion dollar chain
company, losing all the personal contact that it had been founded on.
Oh, how she hated him.
And yet, somehow he had been
able to speak at her husband’s funeral? Laughing at memories that she knew he
was just using to cover up his true nature.
Murderer, she thought to
herself, her frown deepening and her icy glare hardening on him. If looks could
kill, well, let’s not be cliché, shall we?
Where did he get off
thinking he had the right to be here?
Following this train of
thought, Kagome’s anger only increased until the breaking point, upon which she
stood, unable to stand it any longer. Her severe and angry expression made only
sharper by the tight bun her hair had been knotted into.
“Bastard,” she muttered
under her breath, yet it was heard over the silent congregation. She slid past
the other people in the first pew of the church and stormed out, not even
honoring him with a glance over her shoulder.
Kagome just wanted to cry.
Tears welled in her eyes, thinking of how much Hojo
had adored the company and how he and his college buddy would come over to her
apartment every night, telling her about it, and how it was progressing. That
was before they were married, and before the company took off as well as it
did.
She didn’t like the look of
his friend then, and she this just made it worse. He was just waiting to betray
him all this time.
Inu-yasha.
The name seared her mind
even thinking it.
She remembered how he sent a
chill down her spine every time she laid eyes on him. His long silver locks, so
irregularly colored, stood out in the dark mass of black hair that populated
And he was always so
arrogantly dressed, as if he never needed to look nice for anyone because he
was way above them.
His
leather bomber jacket and tight blue jeans.
undershirt. Even to this day, he had yet to change his style and his
wardrobe.
And all this time… It still
got her, still made her angry beyond reason. She would forever blame that damn
man for her husband’s death. Silently, she continued to fume on the bench
outside of the church, never having really made it beyond there. Kagome felt
that if she had gone further, she might possibly dishonor his funeral.
Gods, how
she had loved him. He was so
devoted and so ambitious. It was what had attracted her to him in the first
place, her little high-school sweetheart. They remained friends through college
and slowly grew into something more. Her family was overjoyed when they
announced their plans to be married.
It was a dream-come-true: a
little house with a white picket fence, a successful business man coming home
to her every night, his meal already prepared and on the table.
He was always so happy about
his business too, and how it was blooming. Sometimes, she thought he loved it
more than her with how much time he spent on it. Sometimes, she wished she was
running the company alongside him so she could sequester some of that time that
he so lovingly spent on it.
That was when it hit her.
Yes, a chance for revenge
and to honor Hojo’s memory. Yes. It would be perfect.
All she had to do was muster up his will and check a few minor details, and
then, she could set her plan in motion.
So intent was she on her
little scheme that she didn’t even realize the tall man standing in front of
her, clad in a simple suit, hands resting in his pockets.
He frowned at her as he
watched the evil smirk slide across her features, wondering why she was housing
that expression on a day like this anyhow. But his expression slowly changed
into a soft smile, noticing, not for the first time, just how pretty she was.
He had to remind himself,
though, that this was his best friend’s wife.
He crouched to be eye level
with her, resting his hand lightly on her thigh, and smiled wider when she
jerked, startled.
“Inu-yasha,”
she snarled, roughly brushing his hand from her thigh.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he
began, holding his hands up beside his head in defeat, “What’d I do?” Damn
bitch, he thought silently to himself.
“You know very well what you
did,” came her dark whisper, “You planned it. I’m not
stupid, you bastard. You killed him, just so you could have the company. I
heard your arguments.”
It was his turn to smirk
evilly, his golden eyes thinning in calculation.
“And if I did?” The words
slid off his tongue like acid.
“I’ll get my revenge.”
He ignored her soft reply,
standing up, and turned, walking away into the city.
Kagome broke down into
tears, sobbing her heart out. Others assumed it was just because she had had a
hard day, not knowing how the silver haired man had cut her so deeply.
He had practically confirmed
her suspicions. He had planned it. He had practically said so!
=(
Inu-yasha
anyhow? Why the hell would he even want to give her that awful impression?
He knew the answer, but
didn’t feel like acknowledging it. She had hurt him by suggesting it, and so he
wanted to hurt her b mak make it fair and all. It didn’t make it right, but
that was what he got for growing up with an asinine older brother. He couldn’t
help making those remarks.
He’d correct her impression
later, hopefully, when she was more calmed down. Until then, he would rest up,
and then first thing Monday morning, he would be in the office, sorting out all
the paperwork.
Hojo
joint owner’s soft decisions. He would get the company to prosper ten times
what it was now.
Now, to
get home and relax. He’d worry
about work after the weekend was over.
=(
Finally, he arrived at his
apartment, and pulling out his key, he let himself in, shedding his confining
clothing almost immediately and randomly all over the room until he was left
clad only in his little sharkie boxers and a white
undershirt. Then, grabbing a piece of ice to suck on, he walked to his room and
crawled in between the sheets, relishing in the cool texture that he could feel
steadily warming up.
Yet, no matter how hard he
tried, he could not get to sleep. He tried turning off all the lights, then
keeping some on, then laying on his left side, then rolling over onto his
stomach, then with the sheets, then without. All his futile attempts failed.
It seemed his conscience
wasn’t going to allow him any rest. The stupid girl’s comment was eating at him
now, and decided to give in; he lay, propped up on his back, to ponder over it
for a while, eyes watching the blank ceiling.
She got all her little
conspiracy from their arguments?
That sounded a little
preposterous to him, if not downright ridiculous. But then again,
Inu-yasha
of sanity.
From their
arguments? He questioned himself,
wondering if he missed something. They never seemed that severe to him.
Yes. Kagome had been
overreacting right over the line of sanity, and then some.
Gods, those arguments were
harsh, and mean, and, well, indelicate, but both really only cared for the
betterment of the company anyhow, so that was all that mattered, right?
=(
“No, you don’t get it,”
he yelled, his golden eyes flashing in anger as he slammed the manila folder
onto the table.
“And what don’t I get?”
came the quick retort, “That this is supposed to be a family run company that
cares about personalization? So, we don’t get the extra money into the
account—“
“That we’d get if we
became a chain. The opportunity is there and you know it. You are just ignoring
it.” Inu-yasha interrupted, ignoring the irritation
that his friend was obviously expressing with his clenched fists.
“I am not ignoring it,”
he insisted, putting a strained emphasis on the word ‘not’. “I, unlike you,
care about our customers. You seem to have changed Saishi*.
All you care about is their money.” Hojo’s voice was
calm and collected compared to the angry spurts of the man pacing throughout
the room, wearing a hole in the already worn carpet.
“Damn it all
out to protect the people, but just, god damn it, listen to me. The finances
are running thin. Yes, we are already expanding across
we will get back –it just doesn’t balance.”
“So,
what? You are giving me an
ultimatum? The people or close? I’ll close.”
“But I won’t.”
“You can’t go on without
me. You don’t have the patience to deal with these people.”
“Look,
take this company out right from between your feet. If you won’t take care of
it, then I will. I will not see my life’s work go to waste, do you hear me?”
“Drop the god damn pride,
Si. I’m tired of listening to you.”
“And I am tired of your
fucking sentiments for these people. What about your wife? Huh? What about her?
Are you going to let her starve? You fucking pansy. If you
don’t take care of her, then what? Are you ready to lose her? Get your
act together. Weigh your options.”
“I already have. This
conversation is over. We will not be expanding beyond
“Shut the fuck up
asshole. I can’t believe you.” And with that comment, Inu-yasha
stormed out of the building.
=(
“Don’t talk to me about
the finances, Mr. Takahashi, talk to my partner, Hojo,
over there. He is the one you should be speaking with.” Inu-yasha
directed with a smirk, knowing that the representative from the bank about
their loan wouldn’t give it to them. It was already a ‘No’ the minute he had
explained that they weren’t expanding any further. There just wasn’t enough
money to be made to counter-act the spending going on at the moment, at least
not fast enough to guarantee that the young company wouldn’t declare bankruptcy
and that the bank wouldn’t lose all their hard invested cash.
After the meeting with
the Mr. Takahashi, Hojo called Inu-yasha
into his office, looking none too pleased.
“Smooth.
“As a matter of fact, I
am,” Inu-yasha retorted with a self-satisfied smirk
expansion?”
“No. That was the
original answer. These men aren’t going to change my mind. There are other
banks. We’ll get the loan, no expansion. These next guys will see that there is
plenty of profit to be made right here in
“Oh, don’t convince me.
Convince the representatives. I am thoroughly convinced already, darling.”
Hojo
in the nose, immediately feeling the crunch of the cartilage as it flattening
under the force of his knuckles. The warm trickle of blood met his senses next.
His eyes were still narrowed slits, glaring at the smug, but shocked, man
before him.
wiped his upper lip, smearing the blood across his
face and palm.
“Feel better?” he
questioned the frowning man before him. Hojo smiled,
visually calming down and relaxing.
“Yeah.
stay small.”
“I know,”
to one or two more banks in this area, and if it turns out a negative, then we
see about expanding beyond? Okay?”
It was amazing how the
fight had suddenly dropped.
“Fine.
loan!”
“After seven banks
already declining… I doubt it, but whatever. If it makes you happy…” He rolled
his amber eyes and went to go clean up.
=(
He had planned, at one time,
to take control of the company, but it was never a really serious idea.
Obviously, anyhow, they had needed to try and have bigger plans or the loan
would never go through. Hojo, the day he died, was
headed for a meeting with a bank in
there.
Yes, Inu-yasha
felt guilty. Yes, he had set the plane up and the trip up. But he didn’t think
there would be anything wrong with the flight, and he most definitely did not
plan on it.
Stupid
girl.
How could she think he would
purposely murder his best friend over just a simple trivial matter as a failing
company?
Okay… It wasn’t trivial, but
it held nothing compared to the loyalty he felt towards ,
and he would never le get get between them for an extended period of time.
She was just upset, he told
himself, over the loss of her husband. It must have been heartbreaking.
He remembered when his
girlfriend died in a freak accident years ago. It was a pile up in the middle
of the summer, in the middle of the afternoon. Perfect
weather, bad timing. In her tiny car, she was on the interstate highway,
a semi in front of her, and one behind her. The first semi hit his breaks, and
so did she, but the second one, the one behind her, didn’t.
When they removed her car, it was a total of sixteen inches in length, the same
size as her tiny waist.
He remembered how
devastating it was to hear of her death, and Kikyou
was just a girlfriend of his, not even as deeply committed as a marriage. Her
funeral was almost as devastating as Hojo’s, though.
hadn’t gotten enough money up for a ring yet.
Stupid
girl. Kagome would have to
realize that she was being irrational. Hojo and he
never fought badly enough and for long enough to actually inspire those kinds
of conspiracies behind one another’s back.
Yes, Kagome was being
ridiculous.
Inu-yasha’s
and throwing his usual attire on, he grabbed his bomber jacket and headed out,
hoping to find somewhere that sold some strong alcohol that was still open this
late at night.
He needed a drink.
=(
Kagome lay awake in her own
bed, alone, the left side still cold, as it would remain forever more. Just the
thought brought another wave of tears unbidden to her eyes, and the big drops
of salty water rolled down her red cheeks.
She wasn’t sure if she even
had the energy any more to sniffle, she was so tired, but still, the sleep did
not come. And, by this point in time, she had already gone through every
night-time drowsy medicine in her cabinet, every bottle of the cheap wine
stored in their pantry, a grand total of two, and
every box of tissues.
She had even planned out her
idea of taking the company from Inu-yasha, checked
that she did still own half of it, thanks to Hojo’s
will, and possibly, if she could, finding a way to get that damn bastard tossed
in jail for the murder of her recently deceased beloved.
Thinking of him made her
start crying all over again. Damn her emotions. Damn Hojo
for leaving her. Damn him for having that company anyhow. Damn
She needed some sleeping
pills and some alcohol.
Yes, she needed some more
alcohol. She would go to the corner store on Fifth and
A warm draught of sake
snaking down her throat sounded really good compared
to the cold sheets she lay between at the moment.
After five more minutes of
staring at the clock, willing herself to move, yet unable to get up the energy,
Kagome finally convinced herself that it was indeed necessary to get up, or
else she would never get any sleep, and someone without sleep can hardly take
over a company, now can they?
She slid out of bed, put on
a pair of flip flops and a trench coat over her dressing gown. Her long black
hair lay messily down her back, curling slightly from the tight bun it had be
severely locked in all day.
She shut her door behind
her, having locked it from the inside, totally unaware to the face that her
keys, were sitting on the hall table, never picked up, and when she would
return, she would be facing a very cold night on her stoop.
Thankfully, though, she did
bring her purse and money for enough alcohol that she probably would be too
drunk to notice she slept outside.
=(
Inu-y
the sidewalk as he walked from bar to bar, seeing if any were still open.
Knowing his luck, they had all begun closing, and wouldn’t allow him in. He
frowned to himself. Since when do bars close at
Seeing that the trend seemed
to continue, he turned back around, crunching slowly back to his car, hoping
that maybe he would stumble across some liquor store, or some corner store that
would still be selling.
The snow began falling
faster and was quickly coating the ground. He drove past the business district
of town, hitting the edge of the suburbs where he was almost sure
The snow was too thick and, in his opinion, all those sub divisions looked the
same anyhow.
Suddenly, a dark shadow
crossed directly in front of his car, and slamming on his brakes, he narrowly
avoided plowing right through whoever it was.
Streaming off profanities,
he climbed out the door into the snow covered road, and looked at the person lying
on the ground in front of his car.
They were clutching a paper
sack, obviously containing some kind of alcohol that they had been generously
gulping down. A bottle of pills was spread across the ground, blending into the
snow. He couldn’t tell how many had been taken, but by the looks of the girl,
it had been enough to make her pass out, but not enough, yet, to hurt her with
anything more than a little delirium. He picked her up, lifting her into his
back seat, planning to take her home and put her up for the night. She could go
back to her house once he deemed she was okay, and then, looking closer at her,
he noticed she really wasn’t dressed to be outside, wearing flip flops and a
trench coat over a silk night gown. Who in their right mind would go out like
that on a night like this? His eyes continued up her body and rested on her
face. An awful feeling sunk in the pit of his stomach. Maybe she was a little
further over that sanity line than he had originally thought.
He knew he recognized this
neighborhood.
He never got that alcohol he
wanted.
=(
* I got this name from…
Breaking all the Rules, by some author whom I forgot her name already… Sorry!
The last name Saishi, though, sounded like a good
name to me, so I borrowed it. If you want to read that story though, I highly
recommend it, and not just to gain myself kudos points incase she reads this
and gets mad… It really was a great story.
Author’s Note: I know what
you are thinking. It is moving too slowly, and and
It will connect later. I hope you all review because I spent a lot of time on
this chapter, seeing as how it is like 11 pages in Arial, size 12. I mean, that
is like a lot, and it is also like 4,000 words. That is a lot of words. Think
about it. Good. Now, do me a kind favor, and review. Otherwise, I will be
sorely hurt. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we? No, I thought not.
By the way, this will not be
a terribly long story, probably not ever really exceeding about 6 chapters.
Okay? Good!
..At least the chapters are
long, right?
Now! Review!