The Sound Of Change by Aiyoku Saotome

A Woman Scorned

I wrote the first, VERY rough, chapter of this story years ago but I never typed it up. Now, I can't get the idea out of my head! So here I am, writing it. I hope you enjoy it!

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Kagome stared. She blinked. She stood. She didn't know why she grabbed the magazine as she left her office; she didn't really know what she was doing at all. She just knew she had to get out of that building. Not realizing her hands had started to shake when she pressed the elevator button, she rode it down ten floors to the lobby. As she stepped out, she saw someone looking at the same magazine in their hands, and then up at her. She saw the awful pity in the other woman's eyes, and she fled. The door to her freedom seemed so far away; people kept staring at her. Most people felt sympathy, curiosity, and sadness, but some women were wickedly happy; Inuyasha was a wanted man by many, and now his long-term fiance was out of the picture.

She burst through the door and was blasted by the cool fall air, but she kept going. Her heart was racing, her breathing was ragged, and her body wracked with sobs. 'How could you do this to me?!' she kept thinking. The magazine that caused all of this was thrown violently to the wet sidewalk, the front cover alerting passers-by of the girl's trauma if they didn't already know.

Inuyasha Taisho Seen With Another Woman. Where Is Fiancee Kagome Higurashi?

The photo explained it all. He was practically devouring the other woman's face at a fancy restaurant. Kagome picked up her phone and shakily dialed her best friend's number, but the phone buzzed before she could finish; it was Sango. "S-Sango," she wailed.

"I know, sweetie."

"He, Inuyasha, he cheated on me, he actually cheated on me."

"I know, sweetie."

"You got the magazine?"

"Yeah. And I'm going to tear his ass apart when I see him at work, later." Kagome sobbed harder. "Honey, I am so, so sorry. Who was that slutty-looking whore he was with?"

"H-his new secretary. She's the one I-I told you about, the one I thought m-might try to steal him away from me, but then I threw out that idea because I thought Yasha would n-never cheat! GOD I am so stupid!"

"You are not stupid, Kagome-chan. He is," she said with venom dripping from her voice.

"Sango," she cried, "what am I gonna do? I can't work here anymore, I can't go back to our apartment, I can't even face him again, and I have nowhere to go."

"You know you do. You will always have the shrine and my apartment to choose from, you know that. You need to calm down. I know it's hard, but you have to in order to get to my place. I don't have to be at the office for three hours, and I'm going to make you mac and cheese. So come over and you can cry over that and wine."

"Okay... thank you, Sango-chan. Oh, shit. That's him on the other line. What do I do??"

"As much as I want to tell you to ignore him, you should probably answer it. Put him in his place. But you don't have to. It's entirely up to you. Bye, Kagome. See you in a few."

Kagome answered the incoming call and felt her emotions suddenly shift from grief to fury. "Inuyasha, you're an ASSHOLE!" People around her turned and stared. "I am leaving this job and I am moving out! I am already on the street leaving this godforsaken building! No! I don't want to hear your bullshit story! NO I will NOT listen! YOU listen to ME! Our relationship of seven years is done! The wedding is off!" Some people started clapping and giving her thumbs up. She didn't respond to them, but she secretly loved that they were routing for her. "Don't you 'but sweetie' me! It's over, Inuyasha! And that will NEVER change!" By now, a crowd had gathered to hear what she had to say to him. But she didn't have to say another word on the phone, for the doors to the building flew open and he came running out.

"Kagome, baby, please. Please hear my side of the story!"

"THERE IS NOTHING FOR ME TO HEAR!" she screamed. She picked up the rain-soaked magazine and threw it at his face, but he dodged it and stared guiltily at her.

"Love, can we please talk about this? Go somewhere more private?" He glanced around at the now huge crowd. Even some reporters had gathered.

"No! I feel like humiliating you like you humiliated me! And I want the whole world to know that you're a dirty bastard, the scum of the earth, and nothing but a big-headed rich, arrogant shithead!" He cringed and flattened his ears to his head. She pulled the diamond ring off her finger and threw it at him. "Go give that to your dirty whore!" She turned to stalk away but she stopped, and her shoulders sagged. Without looking at him, she said defeatedly, "I loved you. I would have given my life for you." Then she found the strength to move her legs. The crowd parted for her, cheering and clapping. Inuyasha backed up and turned, fleeing back into his office building.

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Sango's made her feel a little calmer, but she didn't leave feeling any better than she felt when she arrived. Sango begged her to say, but she had to be alone. It was raining again. She didn't know where she was going; she just walked where her feet took her. She eventually sat on a bench in the park a few blocks from Sango's apartment building and wept. She felt weak, but the pain was so raw that she didn't care if anyone saw her. It was raining so hard now that she was completely soaked. She pulled her feet up onto the bench, wrapped her arms around her legs, and put her forehead on her knees with no intention of leaving anytime soon.

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Sesshoumaru was walking through the park back towards his office building after getting groceries for himself and Rin. Because of the rain, he could barely see ten feet in front of him. He mentally cursed; instead of driving, he thought he'd just go to the grocery store across the small park before going home because he hadn't smelled rain. The storm came on so quickly that he had no warning. Thankfully, he brought his umbrella just in case. He heard something and stopped walking. It was difficult for him to smell in the rain, but his hearing wasn't affected. He heard what sounded like a sniff. He squinted and saw a body on the bench ahead of him. He walked up to the person and immediately recognized her scent when he got close. "Miko?"

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I apologize if this is short, but I thought this was the best place to stop for now. I am known to have very long chapters, so I am working on shortening them. Please let me know what you think! Thank you!