Completed Perfection
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of Rumiko Takahashi's wonderful characters.
A/N: Just another reminder that this is a story that follows my others, starting with "A Child Within." So any confusion might be solved by reading those. If not, tell me and I'll fix it or explain. And a huge thanks to Winterzforgotten who inspired this story and has been more help than I could ever give her credit for. TY, girl!
Chapter One
Kagome smiled broadly, and for good reason. It wasn't every day that she aced her math exam, detected five jewel shards, and defended all of her friends against a giant, blood-raging youkai by purifying it with a single, well-aimed arrow...which is why she should not have been the least bit shocked or disappointed when someone roughly kicked her shin, and she jerked awake in time to miss the question her teacher had just asked her.
Trying to think of perfectly logical reasons why the outline of her notebook would be imprinted on her cheek, Kagome just smiled up at him and asked, "I'm sorry, what was the question?"
It turned out she was also very sorry she had asked. The teacher had been explaining their latest project, a report on local community service organizations. The students were to pair up, choose an organization, and do a report and presentation on what the organization did for the community, who was involved in it, anything that could be found about its history, and if possible an interview with the founders or the board that ran it. Thanks to Kagome's oh-so-favored position with the Fates, she had slept through the choosing of partners and projects, which left her with no partner and the organization no one had wanted due to its founder's rather eccentric and vicious reputation: Daiginkeiko Children's Home.
She couldn't blame her friends for not wanting her as a partner. Her sporadic attendance was reason enough for that. And she really could not fault the others for not choosing Daiginkeiko's organization. That man had a rather frightening reputation before she had found out who he was. However, none of that understanding prevented her from being quite peeved at her predicament.
The teacher had at least had some sympathy on her, because just before she left campus that afternoon, he had come running out with tomorrow's date and a time and location written on Mr. Daiginkeiko's business card. He explained that he had arranged for her to have an interview with the founder himself, and had wished her the best of luck on her project.
Kagome glanced down at the card again and sighed. Somehow the fact that "Reizo Daiginkeiko" had started out as demon lord of the Western Lands, ruthless killer with a sword that can raise the dead, didn't seem like the kind of background information her teacher had in mind when he gave the assignment. The appointment was for her to meet Mr. Daiginkeiko after a fundraising rally at a local mall, one she had seen advertised on the train. Hopefully, Sesshomaru would understand her situation.
Actually, she was more worried about Inuyasha understanding. A project like this would take up quite a bit of her shard-hunting time, not to mention she would be spending it investigating the activities of his older brother. Not that he knew Sesshomaru was still alive in her time, and she planned to keep it that way. No use having modern day Tokyo crumble if the brothers decided that her time was as good as any for a sparring match.
"Really, guys, you didn't all have to come down here with me," Kagome said, her face aching from a forced smile. You reaaallly didn't.
"Nonsense, Kagome. We're your friends," Eri reassured her as they walked into the mall.
Yeah, well, one of you could have volunteered to be my partner...or woken me up in time to pick a different project, friends.
Kagome picked at the corner of her notepad nervously. She had hoped to speak with Sesshomaru alone at first. She wasn't sure how he would react since he wasn't expecting her this time around. She had grown rather fond of her head over the years, and did not want to lose it in the quest for an A, especially to Sesshomaru's unpredictable temper. Even after all she had done for him, she could not quite banish the idea of him as the ruthless, human-hating killer from her mind.
They came upon a large crowd, milling impatiently before a small, temporary stage.
"This must be it," Kagome announced. "Um, thanks for walking me here. I think I'll be fine now."
Her friends just shook their heads and said, "Uh-unh. We're not leaving until we make sure this Reizo guy will help you with your project."
Kagome wanted to collapse. "Really, guys, that's not necessary."
Unfortunately two people talking next to them ruined her defense.
"I wonder why this Daiginkeiko is such a big activist for children. I've heard he's ruthless and vicious. Entire companies have been destroyed just because the CEO got on his nerves," one said in a loud whisper.
The other leaned closer and said, "Yeah, he sounds more like the type to eat kids rather than save them. I've never seen him smile, but I've heard that if you do, the best thing to do is run."
"Scary," was all the other said.
Kagome blushed as her friends gave her rather pointed glares that screamed, "See, we told you."
Kagome rolled her eyes and leaned over to whisper, "I don't think he'd really eat kids." He's too damn arrogant to eat a lowly human, she couldn't help but add.
About that time a hush fell over the crowd and Daiginkeiko Reizo himself stepped onto the stage. True to rumor, his handsome face was blank and expressionless as stone; his dark eyes were just as cold and hard. He held himself as regally as always as he approached the podium to speak, and Kagome had to admit he knew how to wear a fine Western suit. She also noted with amusement, that the whole first row took an unconscious step backwards as Sesshomaru drew closer. She could have almost sworn that she saw a pleased gleam in his eye as he noticed this also.
She heard her friends gasp as he stepped onto the stage and had to blush at their comments.
"Oh my gosh! That's Daiginkeiko Reizo! He's..." Yuki exclaimed.
"Hot! Look at those eyes; they give me chills. And did you see his hair?"
"Yeah, how many guys can get away with hair that long these days? I swear it goes down past his knees."
"And look how he wears that suit!"
"I would rather get a look when he's not wearing it."
That caused an eruption of giggles from Kagome's friends, while she just wanted the ground to open her up and swallow her. She just hoped that his elevated demon hearing could not pick out their conversation from the hundreds of other similar whispered ones going on during his speech.
"And he's so young," Eri added once the laughter had subsided. "How does someone that young end up so wealthy and important?"
"I just wish I'd picked his Children's Home now," Ayami said with a sigh.
Kagome just rolled her eyes. Sure he was pretty, but he just didn't hold a candle next to Inuyasha's rugged charm and good looks. Besides, Inuyasha was a much better kisser. That memory got her blushing, which her friends mercifully took as embarrassment at their conversation and fell silent.
Kagome paid little attention to his speech, but watched him out of politeness. He appeared to be winding down when suddenly his eyes met hers and widened a fraction. Kagome blanched. He had seen her, she knew it. Was he angry, thinking she was seeking him out for some favor? His smooth words did not falter even as he held her in his gaze a few moments before turning to look at the rest of his audience.
Yuki elbowed Kagome roughly in the side and said, "I think he was looking at you, Kagome."
The others giggled and Eri added, "Now you have to take us with you to meet him. I wonder if he's married or not."
Kagome nearly choked as she tried to fight back a burst of laughter with a cough that ended up sounding more like a snort and dying animal.
"Sesshomaru? Married?" she exclaimed before she could stop herself. The idea was just too amusing, though.
Her friends looked at her strangely and Ayami said, "No, Daiginkeiko Reizo married. Who's Sessu-Sesshomaru?"
"Oh, um, no one. Just a cousin of mine. He just popped into my head from some reason. Um, yeah, well, I don't really know about Reizo."
A burst of applause signaled the end of Sesshomaru's speech and saved Kagome from having to explain her little outburst. She would have to be more careful. And find a way to get rid of her friends before...Oh nooo!
The crowds parted hastily and murmurs began to spread like the wake of a charging sea vessel as Mr. Daiginkeiko strode quickly and directly towards Kagome and her friends. Kagome tried vainly to distract her friends and get them to leave before he got there, but they noticed.
"Kagome! He's coming this way. I knew he saw you. I think he likes you. It's not like he knows you're doing a report on his charity," Yuki whispered excitedly in her ear.
Kagome blushed and prayed furiously that the ground would open and swallow her, or Mt. Fuji would erupt or something, anything to let her get her friends out of there. The slight glint in Sesshomaru's eye told her his superior hearing had caught every word her friend had said. She just wished she could tell if he were amused or enraged. Either way, she was about to find out because the last few people parted and the great taiyoukai stopped in front of her.
Kagome's heart was pounding furiously and she pleaded silently for her friends not to make fools of them all. Needless to say no one listened.
"Wow, Mr. Daiginkeiko, it is a pleasure to see-I mean-meet, meet you," Yuki said when Sesshomaru stopped and regarded them silently for a moment. She gave a short bow which Sesshomaru acknowledged with a slight nod of the head.
"Is all that hair real?" Ayami blurted suddenly, not even trying to hide the fact that she had been staring openly at him since he had arrived. "I mean it's so long, and, well, gorgeous."
Sesshomaru turned his hard gaze to her and the girl flinched. "Have you come to this fundraising event simply to stare at me and ask inappropriate questions, girl? If so, then I must ask you to move along as I have more important things to do with my time."
"No, I mean yes- NO! Um," Eri stammered, flustered by Sesshomaru's abrupt manner. "We're here because our friend Kagome has an interview with you for a school project we're doing on community service organizations."
Sesshomaru turned and made a silent production of studying Kagome as though trying to remember something, then said sharply, "Ah, yes, Higurashi Kagome. I spoke with your teacher on the phone."
Kagome fought to not roll her eyes at this, and smiled instead.
He turned to her friends again with one of his most famous icy stares and said, "I do not recall, however, any mention of Miss Higurashi having any partners for this project and I do not conduct public interviews."
He waited a moment, fixing his gaze on the girls, for what he said to sink in. They blinked at him, then finally squealed, "Oh, right. Good day, then, Mr. Daiginkeiko."
The bowed quickly to him and practically ran off, but not before Eri leaned over and whispered, "Good luck, Kagome," in her ear.
Kagome watched her friends go then turned around only to find Sesshomaru smirking down at her. She crossed her arms at tried to match glares with him.
"You don't need to thank me," he told her smugly.
Kagome was about to tear into him for being arrogant and a few other things she would not repeat in front of her mother, but noticed the amused light in his eyes and the playful softening of his face.
She shook her head instead and told him, "Who'd have thought the great demon lord had a sense of humor."
His smirk disappeared, though the softness around his eyes remained, and he replied, "Well, it's not something I'd let just anyone know, miko. Consider yourself honored."
Kagome rolled her eyes at his teasing that time and muttered, "Hmph, my name's Kagome."
Sesshomaru started to walk away and said, "Of that I am well aware, miko. Come, I was telling the truth when I said I do not conduct public interviews."
Kagome was about to ask where they were going, if he had known she would be there all along, and a number of other questions, but common sense reared its head and told her that she was foolish to expect an answer, even from the modern Sesshomaru, until he was good and ready to tell her. He led her through the mall and out through a private entrance. Just outside the door a dark limousine waited with a uniformed driver leaning against the side as he skimmed a newspaper.
The man jumped to attention when he noticed Sesshomaru. He glanced curiously at Kagome, but said nothing. Kagome recognized him from the day she had gone to dinner with Sesshomaru and assumed he recognized her as well. The man opened the door for his employer, but Sesshomaru did not get in.
He took off his jacket and tie and tossed them inside, then said, "Go on ahead to the Home and wait for me there."
The driver bowed deeply and scurried around to do as Sesshomaru requested. Once he was gone, Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru who was unbuttoning his collar and making himself more comfortable and asked, "Um, so are we going to do this here?"
He met her gaze and answered, "I had had a nice little shop not far from here in mind," he paused and wrinkled his nose slightly. "However if you prefer this, then I suppose I can abide."
Kagome sighed and muttered, "You really are unbearable, you know."
"Yes, that is what I'm told," Sesshomaru told her with a smirk. "However you are the one who chose to do their project on my charity."
He started walking at a swift, but unhurried pace down the sidewalk. Kagome trotted after to catch up, a little jealous at the innate grace of his movements. She had a sneaking suspicion he could trip and fall on his face, and still make it look graceful. She decided that if he continued with his arrogant little jokes, she just might try something to find out.
"I didn't choose yours; no one else would take it," she informed him once she had drawn up beside him.
"How kind of you, then, to allow the others first choice," he answered.
Kagome flushed and turned her face away. "Um, well, I kind of fell asleep in class, so I didn't get a chance to choose. By the time I woke up, all the partners and projects had been chosen."
They stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the signal. Sesshomaru said, "My brother does not understand humans well. He pushes you hard, then protests when you come back to keep up with your schooling."
Kagome jerked her head up sharply. "How do you know that?"
He peered down at her from the corner of his eye. "I do not need to know; I know the half-breed well enough to guess."
He returned his focus to the traffic, then added, "That and your teacher mentioned that you had difficulty keeping up due to your frequent absences and requested that I help you with this project since you were, how did he put it, 'an excellent student struggling with life-threatening illness without complaint.'"
Kagome blushed again and studied her toes. Life-threatening sounds about right. Though, it's not from illness. "Um, well, I do get rather busy hunting jewel shards, but it's not always Inuyasha's fault. Naraku has been keeping us really busy lately, and I can't just ask him to hold his plots for a few days while I go take a test."
Sesshomaru chuckled at that, a strangely soothing sound that had the quality of a growl about it. "No, he does not seem the type to oblige."
The light changed and the crossing signal beeped rapidly, telling pedestrians it was the safest time to cross. She and Sesshomaru stepped wordlessly out with the flow of people around them. Kagome smiled when she noticed that even with his concealment charm in place, he still had a little bit larger area of personal space than every one else had. I guess there are some good things about being Sesshomaru, she thought wryly after a rather large man nearly spun her around backwards as he brushed past.
Sesshomaru shifted directions slightly and a path opened for him up to the door of a small shop. Kagome could smell the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed coffees and the rich scent of teas from where she was. It surprisingly didn't smell any stronger inside, only more clear and fresh, as though they had passed through some filter that had removed the outdoor taints in the air as they came inside. It was a quaint and very clean place, and Kagome wondered if he came here often.
Beside her she heard Sesshomaru inhale deeply. No wonder he liked this place. It had to be a nice relief from the polluted air of the streets, especially for a nose as sensitive as his. They both stood in line at the counter until their turn to order. Sesshomaru requested his usual, which answered Kagome's unvoiced question if he frequented it, and Kagome ordered a spiced chai with honey and milk.
Sesshomaru reached into his pocket for his wallet, but Kagome quickly slapped some bills on the counter. When he glanced at her, she smiled broadly at him and said, "Well, I know it's no Kozue, but it's the least I can do to treat. I invited you for the interview after all."
Sesshomaru nodded briefly and said, "As you wish. Thank you, Kagome."
Kagome grinned and teased, "Oh my gosh, you're alive!"
He lifted an eyebrow at her in question, so she continued, "See, it won't kill you to use my name."
For a moment, Kagome feared she had gone too far. He was still a demon after all, but Sesshomaru suddenly let out a hearty laugh that startled the girl behind the counter and half the customers at the tables. He accepted his tea from the girl, ignoring her bewildered stare, and took a seat at a table in the corner. Kagome took hers and followed.
"No, I suppose it won't, Kagome," he told her, then took a polite sip from his cup.
Kagome sipped her tea slowly, readied her notebook and lifted her pen. "So, um, I guess I ought to ask you some questions about your charity."
"That would be the general purpose of an interview," Sesshomaru said.
Kagome glared at him. "I mean, you don't want me writing that you started your crusade to save human children five hundred years ago when you brought a little girl back to life, do you?"
Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair and said, "Actually, yes I do. Of course you know which details to omit or alter."
Kagome blinked at him, doubting her hearing for a moment. As if guessing her thoughts he explained, "Each of my children's homes and charities owes its existence to Rin. I feel that merits her some recognition. Don't you?"
"Yes, Sess-er-Mr. Daiginkeiko," Kagome answered with a grin. "Rin deserves any type of honor she gets for putting up with you for all that time. Oh, and that reminds me! I need to pick up some more coloring books for Rin the next time I go back. She just brought some to me the other day, right after I found her doll with that demon."
Kagome was about to say more when she glanced down at Sesshomaru's hand. His face was as neutral as always, but his fist had crushed the paper cup, spilling tea all over his hand and the table. She swallowed her words and looked back up at his face. His dark eyes were distant and unfocused as they stared blankly at his ruined cup.
"Mr. Daiginkeiko," Kagome called out hesitantly. When he didn't respond, she whispered, "Sesshomaru."
His head jolted up with a start and he quickly scanned the area. His eyes locked with Kagome's, and, intimidated by his gaze, she looked away.
"I'm sorry," she told him. "I didn't mean to drag up old memories."
"No," he barked, then stood and threw the now empty cup into a trash bin. Slowly, he seated himself and said, "No, you do not need to be sorry. I was simply thinking and forgot how feeble these human objects are." He nodded at the cup Kagome clutched in her hand. "I have actually lost several phones in a similar manner. Rin especially enjoyed those books you brought her. And I am aware that she made payment to you of..."
Kagome smiled and reached inside the jacket of her notebook pulling out a couple folded pieces of paper. "You mean these?"
Sesshomaru closed his mouth and snatched the pictures from her. He opened them and could not help but smile.
"I thought you might like to have them," she told him.
"Thank you," he told her as he refolded them and placed them in his pocket.
"So, um, when did you open your first home?" Kagome asked, steering the subject to something she hoped was a little less painful for the demon.
"Two hundred years ago," he told her with a smirk. "However for your report you may go by when 'Daiginkeiko' first opened a home, which was about twenty years ago. Our mission statement is to find, shelter and nurture any child in need. The more legal side of this charity is devoted to prosecuting those who harm children and preventing them from abusing again."
"Are all your methods so 'legal'?" Kagome questioned playfully.
Sesshomaru smirked at her and reached up to tuck a few loose strands of black hair behind his rounded ear. Kagome was still not used to seeing a human Sesshomaru. Her mind automatically tapered the ends of his ears to points and changed the silky midnight to the usual white.
He ran an invisible claw across the top of the table, a thin strand of the surface curling up behind, and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, this dog did not forget his old tricks when he learned a few new ones. And when something works, there is no need to remedy it."
Kagome shivered at the tone of his voice and the thought that the tabletop could easily have been someone's flesh. She hurriedly wrote down the parts that would go into her paper, groaning at the amount of blank space. This project would require a lot of creative license to complete.
She was about to say more when Sesshomaru's pocket started to ring. He retrieved a sleek cell phone and held up his index finger at Kagome as he spoke in hushed tones with whoever was on the other end. Kagome fought the urge to giggle. Was the demon lord of the Western Lands really shushing her with his finger while he took a call? The old dog really had learned some new tricks.
Kagome doodled small stars and hearts, then stars attached to hearts, then a few animals made up of stars and hearts while she tried not to eavesdrop on his conversation. Sesshomaru's stoic face and even voice slipped suddenly, and he jumped up from his chair.
"I'll be there!" he snarled into the phone and crushed his finger onto the button so hard that it penetrated all the way through.
Kagome jumped, her notepad and pen in hand, and her miko senses on edge. It was very strange to not feel his aura flare when he was angry. Surprisingly only a couple of the patrons actually noticed his outburst, and they merely glanced up from their books or lap tops, then went back to work. This must be a usual occurrence, Kagome decided, seeing as how his laughter silenced the room yet this didn't even merit a stare.
"Come," he barked at her, and before she had time to process what was happening, Sesshomaru hauled her out of the door with an iron grip on her arm. Kagome gave her tea a mournful glance farewell where it sat not even half drunk on the table. A low growl rumbled in his chest, and she heard the unpleasant sound of plastic and metal being crushed, then the slightly sweet odor of his poison.
And another cell phone dies in the line of duty, Kagome joked wryly.
As they hurried out of the door, a young man running in collided with Sesshomaru's shoulder. He glanced off the demon like a rubber ball meeting a concrete wall. Kagome gasped, expecting to witness a quick and messy evisceration, but to her relief the demon seemed too focused on his current issue to care about something so trivial and kept on walking.
Or he would have if the foolish (and in Kagome's opinion downright mentally challenged) youth hadn't turned around and grabbed Sesshomaru by the first thing his hand could catch, which turned out to be Sesshomaru's long, silky hair. Pangs of sympathy fear passed through Kagome. The poor boy had signed his own death warrant and was dragging the executioner by the hair.
Sesshomaru let out a growl that would have impressed Inuyasha and whirled on the boy with speed faster than any human eye could follow. Unfortunately, Sesshomaru's hair was extremely long and had enough slack to accommodate his movement without yanking it from the man's grip. And in equally poor fortune, the young man was so shocked by the inhuman growl or the incredible reflexes or both that he did not release his hold on the pony tail. Instead he simply stared up into the blazing eyes of the much taller demon with the same look as that of a deer when it suddenly realizes that it will never win a head on confrontation with a car.
Kagome reached out and put a firm hand on Sesshomaru's arm, but before she could say anything to calm him, he drew himself to his full height and said, "You will release me at once, or I shall notify the authorities and have you arrested for assault."
Kagome blinked. Now that was unexpected.
"Uh..." the boy droned, his mind still trying to catch up with Sesshomaru's words. Once it did, he released his grip on Sesshomaru's hair and backed into the doorway of the shop.
Sesshomaru snorted, then turned and stalked gracefully into the stream of pedestrians. Kagome followed on his heels, more because he had not yet released her arm than from eagerness to follow. Kagome released a sigh of relief, which caught Sesshomaru's attention.
He glanced down at her with a smirk and said, "Why so sad? You were hoping for blood, perhaps?"
Kagome's cheeks heated and she looked down at her toes. "Well, yes-I mean no! No, I didn't hope, but yeah, I did kind of expect a more...physical threat. The Sesshomaru I know would kill a lowly human for looking at him the wrong way."
"Ridiculous. Humans are not worth the time to kill," he told her. "Yet the day is still young." Then she heard a faint sigh and him muttering, "And now I'll stink like human until I have time for a shower."
Pleasant memories of a certain demon lord in a kitten bath robe led to a curiosity as to what had happened to cause such damage in her shower back home.
"Speaking of showers," she began with a hint of laughter in her voice. "What in the seven hells happened in ours during your stay with us?"
Sesshomaru stopped and looked down at her with a somewhat playful and extremely dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Questions like that, Kagome, are enough to convince me to make an exception in my views on killing humans."
Kagome sighed. There were some things the world (and curious teenage girls) would never know.
"Well, then, can I at least ask where we're going?"