Kagome's cobalt-blue Manolo pumps clicked carefully against the concrete steps as she walked down to the busy subway. Sesshomaru stayed a few steps ahead of her, holding her hand so as to prevent her from any unwelcome stumbling, as any respectable gentleman would.
Flashing him a quick yet appreciative smile, they began heading for the gate. Each feeding their own ticket for the day through the ticket reader, they passed through the gate and entered a new crowd of people, though the mass was considerably less dense compared to the swarm of pedestrians buzzing about outside the subway gates.
"Roppongi, wasn't it?" Sesshomaru asked her, glancing over the subway lines.
"Yep," she answered, holding her purse in front of her as she waited for him to finish looking.
"Let's take this one," he decided, pointing to the swerving pink line heading south.
When they entered through the automatic doors of their subway, the train was packed with people, leaving them hardly any room to stand. The subway darted off to its next destination as Kagome hung onto the metal pole for balance, while her date grabbed onto the leather ceiling-handles that dangled off the ceiling. Raising her head to look at the youkai, she gave him an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I never asked you, Sesshomaru," Kagome commented with a low voice, in the midst of the quiet atmosphere of the train. "But you live in Roppongi district as well? That's such a coincidence!"
Sesshomaru shook his head, eyeing her with an unreadable expression on his face. "No," he answered forthrightly. "Shibuya."
"Shibuya?" Kagome repeated incredulously, her eyebrows rising slightly. "You didn't have to come all the way down here to Roppongi with me!"
Sesshomaru shrugged. "I'm not going to walk you home, but at least I can make sure you get to your district safely."
Silently surprised by his random bouts of civility, Kagome sighed, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "Well, now you have to take a subway back up to Shibuya…"
"A simple 'thank you' would have done," he remarked under his breath as he began to watch the subway tunnel's lights zip past the visible section of the window.
Kagome laughed, her bright eyes shining with mirth. "Thank you, Sesshomaru."
The subway continued along, stopping a few times before the electronic voice of the station called out of the loud speaker, "Next stop: Roppongi."
When the Roppongi station entered sight, the subway train came to a screeching halt and the familiar electronic voice repeated the destination. The doors slid open and a good handful of people began pouring out of the crowded train, including Sesshomaru and Kagome.
The two made their way to the side of the station, so as to not get in the way of the people clambering up the stairs.
"You know, Sesshomaru," Kagome began with a laugh, slipping her purse over her shoulder, "I'm really glad I came with you tonight. It's nice to know that a guy with your looks isn't as much of a bully as I made him out to be."
Sesshomaru raised an angled eyebrow at her. "Don't you have any normal way of saying thanks?"
With a lighthearted giggle, Kagome stepped up onto the first ledge of the stairway. "Special egos call for special thanks," she retorted with an obviously amused grin.
Sesshomaru couldn't help but smirk at her admittedly witty "insult". Now standing up on the edge of the second step, she stood a couple inches taller than him, along with the added height of her high heels. She looked down at him, lights from Roppongi's streets flooding down the stairwell.
Not failing to notice his intent stare, Kagome blushed, ignoring the people on her left trying to pass them. Her grip on her purse loosened inadvertently, and her eyes softened as she gazed on at his truly handsome features. The strands of his short silver hair seemed to glimmer in the night light, framing his perfectly chiseled face. Kagome studied the intriguing markings on his face for the first time, tracing the magenta stripes as they swept across his cheekbones and the muted, lavender crescent moon that adorned his forehead.
Then, without warning, his body leaned up towards her, close enough so that his mouth was mere inches away from her.
But before he could advance any further, Kagome put the tips of her fingers on his lips.
"Thanks for a great first date, Sesshomaru," Kagome dodged him, emphasizing the "first". She removed her fingers from his lips, turning to ascend the stairs. She gave him one last lingering smile before disappearing past the top of the steps and into the streets of Roppongi district, leaving an inwardly stunned and listless youkai at the foot of the stairs.
However, it was not long until Sesshomaru turned to go, shoving his hands in his pockets as he let out a small breath of hot air.
'In other words,' he said silently to himself with a crooked grin, 'what she's saying is: "I don't kiss on the first date."'