Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or the fmylife website.

F My Life

Sesshoumaru

Today, my little brother's new girlfriend showed up at my house looking for him. She is so sweet and perky that I really want to hate her, but no matter how hard I try, I can't. FML

On 07/29/2010 at 7:21pm – misc – by lordoffluff (man) – Japan

"What, Souta, do you just assume that any post by someone in Japan somehow has something to do with me?" Kagome asked, laughing as she clutched her cell phone closer to her ear so she wouldn't drop it as she navigated the streets of Tokyo.

"No." Her little brother's voice was fuzzy with static, but she could still hear his exasperation. "But c'mon, Kagome… Sweet? Perky? And you told me you met up with Inuyasha at his half-brother's house yesterday. It fits."

"I think you read that website too much." With the pause that followed her observation, Souta could clearly hear Kagome's laughter across the phone line.

"Maybe," Souta conceded, "but I still bet that Sesshoumaru guy posted it."

"Hmm, maybe," Kagome murmured, crossing the street at the stoplight with a large crowd. "Honestly, Sesshoumaru didn't really strike me as the type who would post something on fmylife, let alone even know the website exists. Then again, he didn't really strike me as the total creep Inuyasha thinks he is either. He might not be a chatterbox, but he was polite and gracious, if nothing else."

"So… nothing like Inuyasha."

"I thought you liked Inuyasha!"

"I do!" Souta assured his sister quickly, his next words rushed. "He's freaking awesome. You know he's practically my hero now, but anyone with a brain can tell you that he's a complete loudmouth who can be rude faster than you can nag me. He did treat Grandpa like a crazy old man rather than a respected elder."

"Grandpa is a crazy old man, Souta."

Finally, Kagome saw her target in the distance. The ice cream shop loomed ahead. Even the cardboard cut-outs of cones overflowing and topped with sprinkles made her mouth water. It had been raining for weeks, and even though it had just started to warm up again, Kagome was already aching for something to cool off.

"So, what exactly happened?" Souta asked.

"Last night?"

"Yeah. Why were you so sweet to this Sesshoumaru guy? Doesn't Inuyasha hate him?"

"I'd just like to remind you that I'm still not convinced it was him that posted that FML. And I don't see how I was 'so' sweet; I didn't do anything special."

Less than twenty-four hours earlier, Sesshoumaru had opened the door of his rather spacious condo to find a very petite, admittedly attractive young woman smiling politely up at him. She was dressed conservatively in a pastel skirt and sweater set, her long hair loose around her shoulder, and she had little makeup on her face.

"How may I help you?" Even his droning tone (which made it clear in no uncertain terms that he did not believe he could help her in any way) didn't seem to discourage the girl.

"Hi, I'm Kagome," she introduced herself, shoving her hand in his direction with a fixed grin on her face. "Inuyasha texted me the address and asked me to meet him here."

Sesshoumaru eyed the proffered hand, waited just long enough that he hoped she felt a little uncomfortable or even unwelcomed, and then finally clasped her hand in a loose, quick handshake. Kagome, meanwhile, was dismayed at how much more delicate and well-manicured his hand looked wrapped around her own smaller one.

"I am unclear as to why my little brother," Sesshoumaru sounded a disgusted at this term, "would ask to meet his… whatever it is you happen to be… at my home."

Kagome's face fell, overcome with such confusion and disappointment that even Sesshoumaru (very, very deep down) felt a little bad for causing it.

"Why don't you come in while we straighten this out," he offered, opening the door a little wider so Kagome could come inside, kick off her shoes, and step into one of the many sets of slippers meant for guests.

"Thank you," she said politely, bravely putting on another smile. She allowed the older man to lead her to the couch, all the while fighting the urge to pull out her cell phone and doublecheck the message she had received from her (very new) boyfriend just a couple of hours earlier. Communication may not be the couple's strong point, but there were very few ways to interpret an address followed by, "Meet me and Sesshoumaru at 5." She'd sent a text back, agreeing. He responded immediately with a smiley face— which seemed very out of character, but Kagome was hoping he was just in a good mood.

"Kagome—It is Kagome, isn't it?" At her nod, Sesshoumaru continued slowly, thoughtfully, "Inuyasha and I, how you might say, differ on a number of opinions. I am sure he has complained that it is my fault that he has to work to support himself."

"It isn't?" Kagome asked hopefully; not because she was hoping Inuyasha was a liar (everyone knew he exaggerated if it made him out to be a bigger hero or more badass than he actually was), but she liked to believe there was good in everyone, even Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were, after all, family. Kagome may complain about Souta all the time, but the truth was that she would do anything for the brat.

Sesshoumaru seemed to consider his words carefully as Kagome entertained ideas about how, behind that stoic mask, lay a man bursting with familial love and warmth.

"Yes, it is true."

If Kagome were in an anime, she would have dropped face first into the ground in shock.

"I was raised by our father to believe that a man should find his own way in life. Rewards are not the same if you do not earn them yourself. If I were to just hand Inuyasha the money, how would he learn to be strong and self-sufficient?"

"Have you tried explaining that to him?" Kagome asked, back to smiling as warmly as she possibly could, her faith in mankind restored. Yes, Sesshoumaru was a good, wonderful, kind-hearted—

"Of course not," Sesshoumaru said, making a noise that for any lesser gentleman may have sounded like a snort or a scoff. "I find it amusing to see him struggle and blame me for all his failures when, in reality, it is due to the fact that he's more or less worthless."

Even now, the morning after her encounter with him, as Kagome recounted this conversation with Souta almost word-for-word, she felt confused—was Sesshoumaru a good guy or a bad guy?

"Stop trying to label everyone!" Souta shouted, breaking into Kagome's thoughts. Being her brother, even over the phone, he knew exactly what was conflicting her at that very moment.

"You're right," Kagome sighed, moving up another spot in line at the ice cream parlor. "I guess I'm just glad I got to meet him in the first place. I like seeing where Inuyasha came from."

"What I want to know," Souta said, after the conversation started to drift into another comfortable silence, "is how you ended up there at all. It sounds like Sesshoumaru wasn't expecting you, and Inuyasha was really late."

"Oh!" Kagome said, actually clapping her hands together when she perked up. Some of the other customers turned to look at her strangely, but most of the glares softened when they saw just how gosh darn adorable the dark-haired girl was. "Turns out Miroku stole Inuyasha's phone and used it to text me. I'm still not sure if he was trying to put us in an awkward situation, me between two feuding brothers, or if he was actually trying to help us out by getting Inuyasha to open up to me some more."

"It was probably just a prank," Souta decided.

"Maybe. Probably. Who knows?" Kagome stepped forward again, next in line after the woman ordering a chocolate ice cream cone. "You should have seen the look on Inuyasha's face when he showed up after Sesshoumaru called him and demanded he get his ass over there. I honestly feared for Miroku's life. Far as I know, though, he's still alive."

"Ok, but that leaves one last mystery."

"Which is?"

Kagome was certain she could actually hear Souta's facial expression turning mischievous through the phone. "How could Sesshoumaru find you sweet and perky?"

"SOUTA!"