Chapter 2
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The court meeting had been long and strenuous. Despite having the right to the majority of the things they had in their home, she had left him everything; the house, the cars, the furniture, the TV. She didn't want to have any more memories of him or what they once had.
Kagome knew he wouldn't be pleased with the sudden divorce and would try to come after her. As a result, she issued a restraining order against him. It had been her mother's advice—purely out of concern—remembering how much of a bolshie Inuyasha could be.
"I'm proud of you, Kagome," her mother said, rubbing her back after they entered the car.
Kagome smiled at her. She was feeling oddly better now that, that was over and done with. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Now all she had to worry about was getting a job and an apartment.
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"Hi, Miroku, is Sango there?"
"Kagome." His voice sounded flabbergasted. "I'm sorry about everything, I...we...should have told you sooner. I...
Kagome giggled. "Seriously, Miroku, it's okay. It's over...for good."
"Y-you divorced him?" Miroku stuttered.
"Well yes…what did you want me to do?" Kagome said, confused at his stuttering and overall tone.
"No, no," he said quickly. "I'm happy for you. You deserve better than him. Hold on, I'll get Sango."
Kagome hummed and brought the brush, dipped in crimson paint, up to the paper in front of her. Painting had always been her favorite pastime. Especially when she was still married to Inuyasha. It made her feel more at ease.
"Hello?" Sango's voice reached her ears and she smiled.
"Hey, San," she greeted.
"Kagome! Oh my god, how are you?"
"I was wondering if we could go out shopping. God knows how long it's been since we've done that." Kagome tapped her chin in wonderment. How long had it truly been?
"Alright! Where?"
"Hm, Dillards in five?"
"Gotcha, see ya there, babe."
Kagome hung up the phone and dipped her brush in the bowl of water to wash off the paint before drying it off. As soon as she was done, she grabbed her beige jacket and purse.
"Mom, I'm off to Dillards with Sango!" she called, pausing momentarily at the door for her mother's response. Though she was twenty-one she still owed her mother the courtesy of informing her when she was leaving.
Her mother's head popped out from the doorway that opened into the kitchen. "Have fun, dear," her mother said with a smile. "Oh and invite your friends over for dinner tonight!"
"Alright bye, Mama, love you!"
"Love you, too, dear."
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"Kagome, I'm so sorry!" Sango said, her voice laced with pure culpability. Kagome shook her head wryly and accepted the bear hug from her friend.
"No, Sango, I doubt you knew much more than I did," Kagome said, pulling back from their hug.
"That may be a little true," Sango muttered, lowering her head, ashamed.
"How much did you know?" Kagome asked, an eyebrow raised in question. Kagome knew she could never be mad at Sango, even if the girl told her she'd known about Inuyasha cheating on her for a year.
"Only what I heard during Inuyasha and Miroku's conversation over the phone after I got off the phone with you. I tried calling you, but your phone was turned off," Sango admitted.
Kagome smiled, a genuine one this time. "I would have found out sooner or later so don't worry. Come on, we came here for a good time, did we not?"
Sango nodded. "You're right but I'm still sorry."
"Say that one more time…" Kagome threatened, walking towards the entrance of the store. "And I'll tell Miroku what his birthday present is!"
"Why you…" Sango growled playfully and chased after her friend.
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He sighed as he looked at the store he was about to enter. Dillards, he sneered mentally. If it weren't for his ward's birthday—though he could never be certain, when she was born, seeing as her mother was a lunatic—he would have never dream of venturing into such a common store. He preferred establishments that only carried the best.
His ward, however, had hinted at something that she said he could only find at this store. She had seen it one day while out with his right hand, Jaken, and had coveted after it ever since; but he still hesitated entering such a place.
It's merely an article of clothing for Christ's sake.
He shook his head and walked towards the entrance, his expression reserved as always.
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"Ew," Kagome whined, looking at herself in the mirror of one of the dressing room cubicles. "Of course, only you, Sango, would pick this out," Kagome said, pretending to gag.
"Hey!" was her friend's response, muffled from the slab of wood that separated their cubicles. "I've have good taste! I'm sure you look absolutely ravishing."
Kagome snorted in disagreement. She pulled open the door to the dressing room and saw Sango's face twist into a grimace.
"W—what is that thing!"
Kagome broke into a fit of laughter. In all honesty, the outfit looked like something you would find in an Austin Power movie. Sure, the jump suit was...colorful and fit Kagome like a charm; it still looked hideous.
"I believe I do look rather ravishing," Kagome said with a false British accent.
Sango broke into a fit of laughter. "Oh man. Here," she said handing her a fifty-dollar bill. "I dare you to buy it and wear it for the rest of the day."
"No!" Kagome protested looking at herself in the mirror.
Sango pulled out another fifty from her bag and Kagome's eyes shone. "Done."
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"Inuyasha? Where are you going?" The female dressed in one of his t-shirts asked softly as he got up from the bed.
"I just need to make a phone call. Kikyo. I'll be right back," he said in the same tone, kissing her on the forehead and watched as she snuggled back into the pillow.
Inuyasha made sure she was asleep before slipping on his pants and shirt, grabbing his keys and cell-phone. He closed the door to her bedroom before flipping open his phone, pressing number two on the speed dial.
Kagome had always been number one. And it would stay that way until he gave up. For now, he needed to separate himself from the vixen in the next room for some time if he wanted to successfully woo Kagome back into his arms.
"Miroku? Hey, it's me."
"Inuyasha…" Miroku growled out. "What do you want?"
Inuyasha gave a sigh of defeat. "I need your help."
He grinned when Miroku gave in quickly and asked him where they should meet. Good thing he had been a Drama major in college. It would make things a helluva lot easier.
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Sesshomaru fingered the cloth of the t-shirt in disgust. The material was so cheap. He scowled as two children, about two years younger than his ward's age, ran past him, giggling and making themselves utter nuisances. He resisted the urge to reach over and reprimand them when their childish laughter grew in volume.
This is for Rin, he reminded himself, looking away from the troublesome kids and down at the shirt in his hand. The child knew she had him wrapped around her finger. Hell, half his companions knew it and secretly laughed about it when they knew he was not around. He couldn't help question his sanity as he headed over to pay for the shirt.
He made it to the cash register without incident and set the t-shirt down with grace, his clawed hand reaching for the credit card in his back pocket. The man at the cash register quickly rang it up before giving him the amount.
Sesshomaru scoffed when the man told him the shirt was only 25.64. That was not even a quarter of what he normally paid for articles of clothing. Thinking he would be coming off as cheap for just giving his ward a simple shirt, he decided a bracelet and necklace would do nice as well.
He grabbed his purchase, much to his dismay, and began walking towards the jewelry department, only to collide with a repugnantly dressed female.
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"Who are you going to invite tonight?" Sango asked, composing herself from a laughing fit she had, had when the man at the cash register had given Kagome the weirdest look. Even he agreed the outfit was hideous, though he didn't seem the least thwarted when he realized it fit Kagome like a glove.
"Um well you obviously," she said, munching on a bar of Godiva chocolate that she and Sango had bought. "Miroku, Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku," she listed off and then paused when a thought dawned on her. "Have you ever noticed most of our friends are guys?"
Sango nodded. "Yeah, I was surprised Inuyas—I mean…"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "You can say his name around me. I'm not that hopeless."
"Sor—Um, who else?"
Kagome grinned when the other girl cut herself off at the 'sorry'. Sango must have remembered her threat to tell Miroku. "Hmm…I would invite the girls but they're all on vacation. So I guess that's it."
"What about Sesshomaru?" Sango asked.
"What about him?"
The girls were now browsing through the shoes. Kagome getting the most interesting looks from the people surrounding them.
"Actually, while we're on the subject of Sesshomaru, what happened at the café?"
"How'd you know I was at the café with Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, quite befuddled at her friend's knowledge.
"Inuyasha called Miroku...yada, yada…what happened?"
Kagome sighed. "Um, I went to get something to eat and Sesshomaru happened to be there…so he joined me and we saw Inuyasha come in with some chick—"
"Kikyo," Sango supplied.
"Yeah…and then he came over, told us she was a 'good friend' from work and then Sesshomaru cut in saying he never hired her."
"What a bastard—Inuyasha I mean."
Kagome nodded. "And so all hell broke loose and Sesshomaru took me home. The end," she finished, picking up a pair of black knee-highs and examining them before setting them back down on their stand.
"I'm sorry, Kagome. I know, I know. But I truly am," she said, ignoring Kagome's 'what did I say about saying that' look.
"I just want to forget about it, you know? Sure, I'll always love him...but I've got to move on."
Sango nodded sympathetically. The topic was dropped for now and they continued their browsing. Sango glanced over when she suddenly heard Kagome gasp.
"Oh my god," Kagome said in awe as she stared at the pair of shoes in front of her. "I have to have these!" She squealed, picking them up.
Sango glanced over, examining the shoes in her friend's hands. They were actually very nice. That surprised Sango since Kagome was fashion-blind when it came to shoes. It was a good thing Sango was always with her when they went shopping...
"So are you going to invite Sesshomaru?" Sango tried again.
Kagome looked up from the shoes and placed them back into their box before holding it next to her hip. "We're not really friends. I barely talk to the guy…"
"He is your brother-in-law though."
"Was and I don't know…I mean how do you think he'd react to a gathering between us and my family. He's not exactly fond of everyone we hang out with."
"Maybe he could bring Rin?" Sango suggested, following her friend as they made their way back towards the cash register to pay for the shoes.
"She is cute, the little thing. But I think she'd be bored out of her mind with all of us 'adults' hanging—Oomph!"
Kagome was cut off when she ran into what felt like a brick wall. She fell backwards and slid a little on the freshly waxed floor; the box in her hands landing with a clatter next to her. "What in the...?"
She saw Sango trying hard not to laugh—so hard, in fact, that her face was slowly turning cherry red with the effort— and grumbled, knowing she wasn't going to get any help from her. She was about to push herself up when a hand came into her line of vision. She shrugged and took it, not even bothering to look at the person who was helping her up.
"Kagome?" asked a familiar silky voice that sounded both amused and disgusted.
Kagome looked up and gasped when she noticed who she had collided with. "Uhm—uh, hi?" she said with a smile. She noticed his eyebrows were furrowed as he eyed her outfit, and Sango stopped all pretense of keeping quiet and laughed. Kagome blushed furiously.
"Do you not have a mirror?" Sesshomaru asked.
She glared at him. "It was a dare." He merely raised an eyebrow at her, making her huff.
Sango sighed as silence continued between the two. She knew Sesshomaru was never one to be loquacious and while Kagome definitely was, she couldn't, for some reason, keep a conversation going when it came to interacting with the man. Kagome always said her brother in-law (former brother-in-law, she silently corrected) made her nervous; but after three years? They've known each other, been part of the same family, for three years and they still couldn't hold a descent discussion? Sango decided to take matters into her own hands. With a grin, she said, "Would you like to come to dinner at Kagome's tonight, Sesshomaru?"
Kagome looked ready to kill.
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A/N: Well I hoped you liked it--I tried to make this chapter happy...haha so yeah--review and I'll updateee.