All familiar properties mentioned belong to the owners of Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho. I own nothing, I'm just futzing with their ideas.

I've been wanting to do a crossover for a really long time. This little story has been sitting on my computer for a while. It's not finished yet, but it will soon be.

Enjoy!

oOo

Shuichi Minamino, Kagome read, slowly twirling her future boss' business card between her fingers. It was a little funny, she mused, that they had given her a business card in English, when she had pretty much forgotten all the language after school.

The magazines next to her lay untouched, not as interesting as her impromptu game. An idea occurred to her and she tried to flip the piece of paper over as fast as possible. The ink on the off-white cardstock turned into a blur.

Shuichi Minamino, Shuichi Minamino, ShuichiMinamino, ShuichiMina-, ShuichiM-, Shuichi, ShuichiShuichiShuichiShuichiShu-

The card made a bid for freedom and fluttered dizzily to the floor.

"Whoops!" Kagome dived out of her seat, stretching out a hand to retrieve the escapee. It would not do to lose it, and she would hate if the snotty receptionist saw her lose such an important-

The miko paused and pulled her hand back slightly. Right in front of the card were two black men's dress shoes that were so shiny that she could see her reflection in them. The mirrored woman took a breath and Kagome broke the wide-eyed staring contest to calmly pick the paper off the floor and slowly stretch into a standing position.

Her eyes moved up, up; past the perfectly pressed slacks and the electric blue button down shirt. She noted the shiny and smooth crimson hair with a jealous inward sigh. The smile was friendly and his posture communicated that he was nothing but welcoming. But once Kagome reached a set of emerald eyes, she froze.

Sure, the man's eyes were carefully creased to match his smile. They were wide and beautiful and captivating, and yet, there was something like steel deep in those pools. Something other.

Kagome shivered despite the fact the reception area was at a perfectly comfortable temperature.

"Higurashi-san?" The man questioned politely.

She snapped out of it and to attention. This was not the time for her mostly dormant reiki to flare to life. This man was going to be her boss. This human was going to be her boss.

"Ah, yes, yes." She sketched out a small bow and offered an apologetic smile. "I was just, ah… waiting."

He nodded cordially. "It is nice to meet you, Higurashi-san. I am Minamino, Shuichi; the manager of the Distribution Division. Have you received your uniform and ID card?"

Kagome nodded eagerly.

"Good. If you could please retrieve your things and follow me, I can escort you to where you'll be stationed."

The young woman whirled around and quickly gathered her things from a nearby chair, swinging her purse over her shoulder and clutching her new work blouses to her chest. The excitement of being at her new job was finally taking over. She felt giddy and lightheaded as she followed her new boss down the corridors. Her first real job, not including when she worked at a coffee shop to pay for trade school. It had been a long road to get here and she could finally see the fruits of her labor.

I did it, Inu. She silently exulted. Even with my bad grades, I made it!

It was hard for Kagome to pay attention to her new boss' running commentary. Her head was so clouded with excitement that it hardly had time to absorb any new information. By this time, she had completely forgotten her hesitance about Minamino.

He was very charming, she noted. He managed to be friendly while still being reserved and commanding respect. It was a delicate balance and Kagome was impressed. She felt welcomed and she was overwhelmingly grateful.

She met her new colleagues, two men and one woman before being escorted to her new cubicle.

"…And this is your desk. Do you have any questions, Higurashi-san?"

Kagome peered at her top-of-the-line computer in awe before shaking her head. "I have to show up tomorrow at nine?"

She did not know if that's what he said, but she had already memorized everything in her employee documents from orientation. Mama had said to ask questions, even if the answer was obvious. Kagome was nothing if not dutiful. (The sutra hidden under her shirt as a good luck gift from her grandfather was proof of that.)

"Nine is correct." Minamino replied. "Do not forget to swipe your ID at the station at the front of the office when you arrive and after you leave so it can log your hours."

She bobbed her head in acknowledgement.

"Good, well if there is not anything else, I will see you tomorrow. Good-bye, Higurashi-san."

"Good-bye, Minamino-kacho."

He turned to go and Kagome watched him for a second before looking at her new office chair. As slowly as she could, she placed her things on the desk and nonchalantly lowered herself into the black imitation leather. Her body sunk into it and Kagome swallowed a girlish giggle.

She was in a real office, with a real job. No more worrying about being a burden to the shrine or spending the nights thinking about bills. She might even be able to upgrade her apartment soon and bring Buyo over and-

There was a dreamy sigh to her right. Kagome's eyes-which had closed while she was imagining being in an apartment with a bathtub-flew open. Leaning on her cubicle wall, was her woman co-worker.

"Isn't Minamino-kacho a god among men?" The stranger asked, gazing longingly at the door through which Minamino had disappeared.

Kagome blinked. That question was so far removed from Kagome's own fantasies about having a decent source of income, that she could hardly comprehend what her new office mate was asking.

"Pardon?"

"Minamino-san," the woman prodded. The goofy smile had been replaced with a puzzled look. "Don't you think he's beautiful?"

Flustered and confused because she had not been paying attention, Kagome managed to gurgle a response. Apparently it sounded like a "no."

The woman sighed. "I had hoped with another woman around, that finally someone would have sense."

Was that an insult? Before Kagome could puzzle that out, one of her other co-workers slid into her doorway.

"Aha! I told you, Honda, that your obsession over our manager was unhealthy. I told you."

"Quiet, Fujioka, no one wants to hear you-"

"Higurashi-chan," a quiet voice prodded. She turned around to see an older gentlemen leaning on one of her dividing walls. "They'll be like this all day and will not notice if you leave now. You need your rest before tomorrow."

Kagome nodded, feeling guilty that she could not remember anyone's name.

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Tomorrow. Have a good evening."

"You too." She smiled at him before gathering her belongings and squeezing through the space between the bickering couple. They did not even blink. She offered them a hasty "Bye!" before sweeping out.

oOo

Boredom. All Kagome felt now was boredom. Of course, she had always associated that with the Modern Era. The Modern Era was safe and the place where horrifying enemies like Calculus lived, and the Feudal Era was the time where dime-a-dozen monsters wanted to eat her or at least steal her jewels. Now that she was stuck in her original time, she accepted that life was just going to be a drag.

But at least she had a job, right?

One month, Kagome mused, twirling her red pen in between her fingers. She had been at this company for a month already. She peered at her work, a sheet full of numbers and then at her pen. It seemed funny to her that she would become an accountant when she had struggled so much with math in the Feudal Era.

She snubbed her papers in favor of continuing her little game. She tried twirling her pen through her fingers as fast as she could. She was actually getting pretty far when-

"Higurashi-san?"

Kagome jumped and her felt-tip pen clattered to her desk. She whirled around to see Minamino and an unfamiliar man standing in the doorway to her cubicle.

"Ah," she said while standing and trying to smooth her skirt. "Hello, Minamino-kacho."

He smiled, polite as ever but his smile still did not reach his eyes. "Hello. I just wanted to introduce you to my replacement. This is Hattori Daichi and he will be taking over in a couple of weeks."

Kagome's eyes widened. Minamino was leaving? Oh, Noriko would be so depressed. Hattori's dull black hair and sensible haircut was nothing in comparison to Minamino's.

The former priestess sketched out a little bow. "It is very nice to meet you."

Hattori nodded. "You as well."

They exchanged a bit more small talk, before the two men moved onto the next cubicle. When the managers had made their rounds, and disappeared around the corner and into Minamino's office, Noriko practically threw herself into Kagome's space.

"It's a tragedy!" Noriko, the woman co-worker cried. "How am I going to live without seeing Minamino's face every day? He's only going to be here another two weeks!"

There was a scoff and a chuckle from deeper in the office. Kagome ignored them and kept her face as sympathetic as possible.

Kagome patted Noriko's arm in a comforting manner. "That is definitely going to be hard for you." Kagome supposed she should have offered something else. But honestly, she was not very used to comforting someone who did not fight demons or shared her sleeping bag.

Noriko's tears miraculously dried up as she glared at Kagome. "You're no help," the woman muttered and flounced away.

Kagome paused and looked at her papers. Her pen had made a bold mark across them when she had startled and now the ink was spreading due to Noriko's tears.

"You're welcome!" Kagome called helpfully.

oOo

A youkai was being interviewed on television. Kagome was in the break room, staring wide-eyed at the screen on the wall in front of her. She had been flabbergasted that after all those years of searching, youkai had been around. They had just been stuck in a different dimension.

She stirred her tea absently as she watched one of her favorite news anchors quiz the otherworldly guest. Kagome would give her old yellow backpack with some of Kaede's arrows to be in that anchor's shoes. She had searched and searched, even when her powers suddenly refused to work anymore.

Just a glimpse of a youkai walking down the street. That's all Kagome wanted. Maybe a brush of youki to remind her of the good times. She occasionally practiced with her old bow when she visited the shrine, but without her reiki or being in a life-or-death situation, it was not the same.

She was frozen in place, idly swirling a spoon in her rapidly cooling tea when Minamino spoke.

"It is unbelievable isn't it?" He asked, coming to stand next to her and sipping at a cup of coffee. "Unbelievable that those supernatural creatures could have existed all this time and humans never knew."

Kagome did not really register her boss' presence, too transfixed on staring at the youkai's horns. What kind was he? Lizard? No. Dragon? This was going to drive her nuts. She absently answered the red-head, not really paying attention.

"I just don't believe it when that guy says he's a thousand years. He has to be less than five-hundred, I mean, look at his horns, right?" She scoffed.

The silence from the person next to her was so complete it almost seemed like he had stopped breathing. Kagome's hand paused and she snapped out of her slack-jawed trance. She turned and met his gaze. It was the first time she had ever seen true emotions in his eyes. Those emerald orbs… held confusion.

Kagome felt her face heat and she knew she was crimson. "I-I-I mean, I wouldn't know, but I'm just guessing, I mean a thousand, wow, that's a long time, and oh I'm rambling, bye! Sir!"

She scuttled off to her desk and her face did not cool off until her tea felt like ice.

oOo

Kagome was late-late-late. And that was bad-bad-bad. While Minamino was usually pretty calm when it came to those sort of things, his replacement was the one who was going to be in today. Since Kagome had no clue if Hattori was a slave driver or not, she did not want to get on his bad side.

She slipped into a bakery near her workplace, hoping to snatch up a last minute breakfast before running the rest of the way. Ooh, there were brownies on the counter, perfect.

Picking up a brownie and quickly paying by slapping a few yen on the counter and smiling at the counter-boy, she swirled towards the door. Unfortunately, on her way, she encountered a few obstacles. Namely other people. Namely a red haired man named Minamino.

Kagome bounced off his hard chest and landed on her bum in the middle of the shop.

"Higurashi-san!" He exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

Kagome accepted his hand and rubbed her hip. She still felt a little disoriented. "Yes… I think so. Something broke my fall-oh my brownie!" Her cry was anguished.

"I can get you another one," he offered, but Kagome shook her head. There were apples and sugar packets in the break room. She'd survive.

"Thank you but I really have to go, I'll see you!" Without giving him a chance to respond, she rushed right out the door and… into another hard chest.

This time Kagome stayed on the pavement. She felt like crying. And maybe flailing around a little bit. And now her stockings had a run in them and she was hungry and late and-

"Oi, Lady! Don't cry, I'm sorry! It was an accident, okay?"

"Higurashi-san!"

-And now she was making a fool of herself in front of her attractive boss. Kagome sniffled.

"Don't cry, dammit!"

"Yusuke, what did you do?" Minamino sounded aggrieved.

"I didn't do nothing! I was just minding my own business when this lady just rushes me and-"

Kagome, who was tearfully staring at the run on her knee, suddenly had a vision full of fire hair and concerned green. His voice was surprisingly soft. If he did not make her so uncomfortable, Kagome would have been pleased at drawing out any kind of real emotion from his blank gaze.

"Are you hurt, Higurashi-san?"

Yes. She shook her head no. He crouched beside her and took a hold of her elbow like he was going to help her stand but a dark-haired man with a frown and scuffed tennis shoes stomped over.

"No, I'll help her, it was my fault!" He leaned down and took her other elbow. His grip was not as soft. He did not cradle her like she was delicate like Minamino did, instead his fingers dug into her skin.

But the only thing that she noticed as they lifted her was how their combined auras pressed heavily into her. Something warm was rising from her belly to the top of her head. It felt like someone was tickling her insides. She wanted to laugh even as the oppressive youki of both hanyou and kitsune surrounded her.

It felt like she was alive again, like she was the adventurous "KA-GO-ME!" again, not some robot who only cared about rent and money. It had been five years since her reiki died; three more since she had seen her best friends. Eight years since she had accidentally absorbed a cursed jewel and only now did she feel like a real person again.

She laughed and her joy exploded, pushing her knights through the air. Kagome felt like she was coming apart from the seams as her previously suppressed powers surged out through her every pore. She bent over, still racked with hysterics and wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to keep her patchwork soul together.

The woman could not hear the gasping, or the exclamations by the bystanders that were being washed in what felt like pure love. She could not see her boss and his friend stagger to their feet while they watched her with awe on their faces. All she could think of was trying to keep herself from flying apart.

She was back. She was free.

Soon the massive amounts of power she released began to pause its outward motion, before thickening and swirling back into her. The pink glow finally faded from her skin, but her blue eyes seemed brighter and when she stood, her shoulders were no longer slumped. Kagome wiped a tear from her eye and when her vision cleared there was a crowd standing around her.

No one said anything until the man with the scuffed shoes swore. "What the hell was that?"

"A miko…" Her boss answered lowly. But his voice was huskier than Kagome remembered. She looked at him and gasped. His hair was silver and there were the cutest pair of ears on his head.

"Inu-Inuyasha?" Kagome asked hesitantly.

"No," he snarled, green eyes flashing. His tail whipped behind him.

It was then Kagome realized something. She might be overjoyed to see youkai, but they probably would not be.

"Ahh," Kagome laughed nervously even as she still trembled through the leftover euphoria. "Whoops. I-uh… Gotta go." She turned tail and ran. It was only because of the assembled crowd and a conveniently placed taxi that she was able to escape. Deciding neither to go to work or her apartment, she forked over a good amount of money to get a ride to the Sunset Shrine. She had a feeling she was going to need her bow and arrows after all.

oOo

Notes:

Apparently business cards are a big deal in Japanese business society. Treating one badly is considered rude. Also, the honorific of "-kacho" is supposed to acknowledge Kurama's place as the department head. This is all from research that I have done, but I fully admit that I can be wrong. (Yes, some of those last names might be mighty familiar. Just a not-so-subtle homage. ;))

I'd love to know what you guys think, even if it's just to correct me. Thanks for your time.