Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to: Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media, Shogakukan, Sunrise, Yumiuri TV and the other foreign manga rights companies that I have not dealt with. Twiknham owns intellectual rights only to the original characters including: Michael, Lucy, Logan, Armaund, Sesshoumaru's household staff (minus Jaken) and any characters in this story who reside in Texas. Twiknham makes NO monetary gain from this story, it is a completely free fanfic and Twiknham will not accept any payment. Reviews would be great, but are not required for updates. Also, as with any Twiknham fic, criticisms are welcome but please keep the language clean. Reviews do not come with ratings and are open to all viewers. Thx! –TK
---------
Over the next several months, Sesshoumaru and Kagome were seen together enough to raise a few eyebrows. Kagome didn't think much about it until she went to visit her mother. While she was there, her mother brought out a newspaper in which she was pictured next to the tall businessman. It was obvious they were together.
"So, is there something you want to share with your mother?"
"InuYasha's brother owns the computer company I bought my VR system from and we occasionally eat together because we're comfortable with each other?" She reached over and gave her mother a hug.
"Mmm. I was hoping for some juicy gossip. That's rather boring dear, can't you spice it up a little?" Her mother looked so confounded by the lack of dirt that Kagome only laughed and hugged her tighter. "Only my daughter would find a man who happens to be sexy and rich, and not be interested in him."
"Mom, he's older than InuYasha. There MIGHT be a generation gap that we can't bridge."
"Kagome, you can do anything you set your mind to. But until you decide where he stands in your world, make sure you smile for the camera next time." She pointed at the picture. "You look like you're scowling."
Kagome remembered exactly when that photo was taken, they were arguing about the best method of killing snail demons. Although she never saw the photographer, she remembered their conversation. As always, Sesshoumaru thought Tokijin was the best method. Kagome was arguing that Miroku's wind tunnel was better because it removed the slimy creature from the face of the planet, therefore eliminating messy cleanup.
They had argued both sides quite vehemently. One bystander had stepped in to add his opinion, believing they were discussing a role-playing game. She grabbed Sesshoumaru's arm, dragging him into the restaurant before he could verbally attack the poor guy. She was scowling at him, telling him he needed to remember that most of the rest of the planet thought their experiences were only fiction, when the picture had been taken.
They continued to argue until their meal arrived. That is when Sesshoumaru brought up the point that the Houshi was dead, and therefore the wind tunnel could no longer be used. So Kagome pointed out that Sesshoumaru had broken Tokijin fighting Mouryoumaru and therefore it could no longer be used either. Pointing out Sesshoumaru's failure had made him so mad he refused to talk for the rest of the meal. Finally she said that the only method they could use today would be salt. He actually agreed and said that the two of them agreeing on anything warranted desert.
He dropped Kagome off at her apartment, having already told her he knew where she lived and he would be picking her up from there instead of from the office. She hated to admit that she liked his company, but it was nice to have someone in her life that understood what she'd experienced. Without asking him, she knew that was why he continued to keep her in his life. Her mother brought her back out of her trance.
"So, have you slept together yet?" Kagome just looked at her mother, a blush spreading wildly up her cheeks. "My grown daughter is blushing." Turning, she looked at Souta, who was standing in the door eavesdropping. "You should take a lesson from Kagome, Souta. You can tell by her face she's been a good girl."
He was chomping on a Popsicle, a hand going up to scratch the back of his neck. "I'm engaged, I don't understand the problem. Kagome, you're like thirty or something. If you don't get laid soon, you're going to be as dried up as one of grandfather's lizard paws."
Kagome glared at her brother, wishing she had something to throw at him. He was finishing up college and had gotten engaged to Hitomi last semester. Once he was out and into a stable job, they were going to get married. He winked at her before turning and running up the stairs. "Mom, five hundred years ago, he was trying to kill me. That might have been five hundred years for him, but it was only a couple of years for me. I'm NOT comfortable having intimate thoughts about the beast."
"But you are having them?" Kagome knew her mother worried about her, but there was nothing she could do.
The man she'd been in love with had left her for another woman, and it had taken everything she had to walk away and admit that although she hadn't lost him to a dead woman, she had lost him to a younger one. Deciding it would at least make her mother happy, and not be a complete lie, she nodded her head. "Yes mom, I occasionally have intimate thoughts about Sesshoumaru." 'I won't tell her they usually involve me eviscerating him and leaving him to stew in his own acid, or ignoring him until he finally understands what it feels like. Maybe not the intimate thoughts mom means, but they are still classified as something we would do alone; therefore, intimate.'
Ten minutes later, she was headed back across town. However, when she arrived at her apartment, there were police vehicles and officers everywhere. Parking her car on the street, she walked up to find out if she could pass to go home. That's when she learned her next-door neighbor had been cooking methamphetamines in his kitchen and it had exploded. Although most of her apartment was still intact, the entire area had been quarantined because of the hazardous materials.
"But that's my home." She looked at the officer, unable to see anything through his face shield.
"It WAS your home. I hope you have some place to stay, you will NOT be allowed back in this building. Those chemicals are highly toxic and unstable." He handed her a card. "Call this number in the morning and they'll help you take care of the insurance claims." He turned back to his job, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her life.
ssssss
When Sesshoumaru arrived home from work, Jaken was waiting for him. "Sir, I have a message for you from Tailou." Sesshoumaru nodded. "Ms. Higurashi's apartment has been declared a hazardous area by the National Policy Agency. All residents have been evacuated."
If looks could kill, Jaken would be one fried toad youkai. "What did I tell you about emergencies? This constitutes an emergency."
Jaken was trying hard not to grovel. Although Sesshoumaru had only killed and brought him back from the dead once, he didn't particularly relish the trip. "But Tailou said that she had gone to a restaurant and hadn't left yet."
Sesshoumaru headed down the hallway, stripping his tie off and unbuttoning his collar. "Get Tailou on the phone, I want to talk with him."
Ten minutes later, Sesshoumaru was back in the limo and headed out to take care of a woman whom he refused to admit had wormed her way into his thoughts.
When he arrived at the seedy place Kagome had holed up in, he told Michael to keep the limo running, they would be out in a moment. He did not want to give anyone an opportunity to use them as pickpocket practice. Opening the door, he was assailed by body odor and week-old beer. Kagome was sitting at the bar under a dim light, drinking some foul concoction.
Walking up to her, he picked her drink up and sniffed it. "What the HELL are you drinking?"
She blinked as she tried to focus. "Hello Fluffy. Fancy meeting you in a nice establishment such as this." She tried to grab her drink back, but he held it just above her head. "It's called 'Long Island Iced Tea.' The bartender recommended it." She frowned as she noticed an empty glass already sitting on the bar. "How did that get there?"
He raised an eyebrow at 'fluffy.' "I think it is time we left." He walked over to the bartender and took care of her tab.
The large man behind the bar smiled at him, showing that although some of his patrons might not, he took the time to visit a dentist. "I'm right glad you're here. I was worried about how the lady was going to get home."
Sesshoumaru did not reply, just left a few extra hundred yen as his way of appreciation (A/N: Tipping is frowned upon in Japan, so this would not have been considered a tip), and picked Kagome up since she could not walk. Literally shoveling her into the limo, he told Michael to head home.
Feeling quite stress-free and having lost count at two, maybe it was three drinks, Kagome curled up in Sesshoumaru's lap and went to sleep. She didn't think about the effects it could have on a certain individual. Nor did she think about the repercussions of being indebted to such an individual as him.
Arriving at his Tokyo mansion, he shifted her into his arms and waited for Michael to open his door. They barely made it out of the car before she started throwing up. His quick reflexes were the only things that saved him from being a victim. He flipped her over and held her while she threw up a gallon of foul smelling booze. His senses had already been assaulted by the bar and were now rioting at this latest onslaught.
Showing a strength of patience he had learned from taking care of Rin, he waited through two more bouts of puking. Sometime between the first and second, he had managed to get her upstairs into the master bath. At least over the toilet, he could flush the stench. Shaking his head at how low some people could sink, he wondered at how low that made him since he was doing this sober.
After the third bout, he got her cleaned up and managed to persuade a couple of crackers to stay down. Despite his retainer's protests, he picked Kagome up and carried her to his room. Laying her on the end of the bed, he arranged pillows to keep her confined so if she vomited again, she would not aspirate on it. Then he stripped her of her spoiled clothing and placed her in the bed, tucking the sheets securely around her to prevent her from rolling.
Once she was snuggled under his covers, he left to go work in his personal office. She was in no condition to fend for herself tonight. Let her sleep off her suffering and tomorrow they would figure out a path forward. Turning down the hall, he entered his home office, quietly closing the door so that any noise he made would not awaken the girl.
He spent the next two hours on the phone with the West. Texas was fourteen hours behind Tokyo, so 4am was a good time to conduct overseas business. After he finished his work, he headed to bed. His mind deep in the negotiations he was making to buy a competitor's firm, he stripped and climbed in bed. Having eschewed female companionship decades ago, he had already completely forgotten about the warm body he had placed under the covers hours earlier.
A/N: Thank you for finding the 'dollar' issue. I thought I had proofed those out. As for the drinking, I'm allergic to alcohol so I neither know how much a normal person can drink, nor did I go to any bars while in Japan. Thanks for the notes so that I could correct this. -TK