V-Day, Part Two

She'd figured out something to wear, though now as she looked at herself in her mother's mirror she wasn't certain how to feel about it. Her figure was good, she was rather well curved for a girl her age, and the dress didn't fail to show that off. In fact, if it didn't have a slightly frilled skirt she wouldn't have agreed to it at all. It helped that the skirt actually went below her knees as opposed to most of the other dresses her friends had suggested. Whose lengths she would describe as 'might as well just wear a bathing suit'.

Her mom was letting her borrow a dress half-sweater with long sleeves that was black velvet. It blended well with the deep crimson color of the dress, she'd of preferred blue but the red was half as much as a blue dress she liked in a similar fashion. Kagome had on a silver necklace with a quarter moon pendant and small stud earrings in a ruby color. Her hair was pulled up and out of her face. The jewelry she borrowed from mom as well as a small purse.

"God…I'm nervous." Kagome thought, it seemed to have become her personal mantra the last hour and a half. But finally she was mostly happy with her appearance. The sweater really helped, she wouldn't be as cold or look as easy with it on. "I hope I didn't over do it, but he said it was a formal dress sort of restaurant."

Grandpa was busy with some new shipment and mom was at work, Souta had teased her for a while but was now distracted with a video game so Kagome was pacing between her moms bedroom and checking herself in the mirror and the door. He was supposed to be here any minute and she couldn't sit down to wait.

"What if he doesn't come? What if it's all just some cruel trick? Obviously he's not beyond them…even if he does come…what does he want from this? He knows I had a thing for Inuyasha for ages now." Kagome was fretting over things she'd already fretted over a lot in the few days leading up to their 'date'. She hadn't really had the chance to talk to Sesshomaru, and she didn't know what it was he wanted from her.

Then the bell rang and she pushed the thoughts aside, running up to it and then pausing, straightening her dress a last time before opening the door in what she hoped was a calm enough manner to not immediately give away how apprehensive she felt.

Sesshomaru eyed her up and down in a manner that certainly gave the impression he wasn't out to be just friends and she felt her mouth go dry as he looked her over. He was dressed well himself, she was used to seeing him in the uniform from school but this was different. He was in a nice suit, the fabric notably more impressive than the stuff used in the school uniforms. It was a charcoal grey with a crimson tie and handkerchief that complimented her own dress well enough it made her smile a bit at the coincidence. He looked older than a junior, and certainly like a serious businessman.

Sesshomaru noticed her looking as much as she noticed his, he broke her from her stare when he spoke though. "Good evening Kagome, are you ready to go?"

"Yes." Kagome wished she could keep the blush from her face but that seemed to be a dream she'd never attain. She slipped outside and made sure the door was locked after double checking that her purse was on a shoulder. "Thanks for coming up to pick me up. It can be quite the work out coming up to the shrine."

"You made it worth the walk, you look stunning." His smooth reply made her blush more and glance away from him.

"You look handsome." She murmured bashfully, having a hard time knowing what else to talk about. She was a sophomore in the choir and he was a junior in all advanced courses and on the student council. She knew he could play an instrument but there weren't any violins in the band. There seemed little they actually had in common, but she didn't know much about him either.

She wasn't acting like he usually remembered; perhaps asking Kagome on a date had changed the rules somehow. Though girls were usually bashful for a little while at first, he knew that much from the few dates he'd been on in the past. He had to admit though that he liked her outfit, she showed off her body so rarely when he saw her that it was easy to forget what he'd previously imaged until he saw her dressed like this.

He opened the back door of the limo at the bottom of the steps and Kagome got inside carefully, looking around the leather interior curiously. It was expensive, though not completely unfamiliar; she'd been in his family's privately owned limo a few times before now. She offered a small smile to Sesshomaru when he got in behind her, he told the driver they were ready and she felt the vehicle start moving.

"Thanks Sesshomaru, for bringing me out. I was a little afraid you'd ditch me." Kagome admitted, for lack of having anything else to say and not wanting to fall into an uncomfortable silence.

"How fortunate that I didn't," Sesshomaru's deadpan tone got her to let out a single laugh. "There we go you finally smiled; here I thought I might be tormenting you."

"No. It's lovely, we haven't even gotten there yet and I'm sure it'll be perfect. You always seem to do everything magnificently." Kagome replied, relaxing now that they were talking.

"Many would disagree when it comes to social matters." The upperclassman pointed out, curious what she would have to say. "I can't say they would be wrong."

"I dunno. Things can be harsh and cold, but beautiful and capable of warming someone's heart…like the snow." Kagome gestured outside where it'd started to snow lightly. "God I sound cheesy."

"Yes, you do." Sesshomaru smiled at her. "I appreciate the compliment however, even if your views are off. People can die if they get lost in a snowstorm after all."

"Well, I think I'm safe. I do my best not to raise your ire. I've seen how badly you can bite people." She replied, giggling at the continued 'snow' conversation. "So…why did you ask me out?"

They hadn't even reached the restaurant. She'd told herself all day she'd wait to ask him but here she was doing it right away. "So much for personal discipline Kagome."

"I didn't have a date, I assumed you didn't…"

"There's the attitude, probably why you didn't have a date."

"...You don't generally make me want to hate you constantly. I wanted to go out and thought you might want to go out. It was logical to invite you." Sesshomaru explained matter-of-factly. He had thought out ahead of time if she asked him. He wasn't completely certain himself but the logical explanation seemed the best to hold onto.

It didn't surprise Kagome, though she was a little more hurt by it than she expected she managed to nod. She was well practiced at swallowing pain to stay near people she liked. She knew she didn't like Sesshomaru the way she'd felt about Inuyasha for years, but it was just as well she didn't need to go pining after someone else. It was relieving as well, she didn't need to worry about impressing him, she could just be friends.

"I guess." Kagome nodded, relaxing a bit more. "Does it get lonely at your house during the holidays?"

"It can get tedious, my parents were throwing a party for friends and I didn't wish to attend." Sesshomaru replied. "I actually prefer to be alone, so I wouldn't say I get lonely."

"Still seems sad to always just sit in your room and study." Kagome replied, and then changed the subject as it didn't seem to be one he would want to discuss. "Where are we going?"

"We should be there soon, it's a popular place downtown the meals are prepared in a Fondue style. You choose your appetizers, meats, and deserts and the sort of cheese, broth, and then chocolate you want to dip them in." Sesshomaru explained. "I suppose it's not for everyone but I enjoy it."

"It sounds interesting." Kagome smiled a little more as she tried to picture it, blushing and poking her stomach when it growled. "Sorry, I didn't have much time for lunch."

Sesshomaru smirked and looked out the window. "So she put a lot of effort into looking so nice for me…who was I kidding. Of course she was going to assume it was a romantic date, I asked her out for Valentine's Day…even though it's not until Monday a lot of people are celebrating tonight. She had no reason to think this was purely friendly…I'm not sure myself if that's all I want. It's all I should want…but…"

Generally he could stay home during the parties his family held but Father had wanted him to escort a woman from another prestigious family he had no interest in. He'd been given the ultimatum last week to find a date or be set up…it was the night before he'd asked her out and it had been a whim. He could have asked anyone, but most people he'd of wanted to go out with likely already had dates, and while he didn't doubt many women would drop their other date for him he didn't want the drama that would come with it.

"…but she's so cute when she blushes like that." His thoughts were treacherous.

He felt a little guilty for misleading her but now wasn't the time to confess his father's ultimatum. It had involved his step-mother as well but he didn't care for Inuyasha's birth mother. They were only married for six months when Inuyasha was born, did they think Sesshomaru wouldn't figure out Father had cheated on his own mother? His mother and father's divorce had been finalized quickly, and only a month before he remarried, she must have known he'd gotten another woman pregnant.

The scandal around that had cost the company countless yen, people always stop wanting to invest in companies with problems at the top. There were still people that wouldn't deal with the family but it'd been long enough that most people didn't remember the scandal anymore.

"Are you all right?" Kagome's voice drew him from his thoughts and he nodded to her. Though he was rescued the need of giving an excuse when the limo stopped. He rarely made the driver get out; instead he opened the door and helped her out. The restaurant was on the edge of downtown, with a small red carpet for its patrons laid out. It looked like it was built in a old factory though it had been heavily cleaned and made up for the higher society. Neon blue illumination reflected from over the top of the door; 'The Melting Pot'. She'd heard of the restaurant a few times, the name let her recognize it more than his description had. Yuka or Eri had mentioned that it was impossible to get a reservation here a few weeks ago or so.

She followed Sesshomaru inside where it was clearly busy and they didn't even have to stop to wait when he spoke to the greeter. She blushed a little at a girl glancing her way she recognized from school, that expression of surprise on the girls face was a little insulting, but she knew there would be rumors now. Sesshomaru rarely went out, and usually when he did all the girls were chatting about it.

There weren't many people from the school here, none she knew well, but enough she recognized that at least seemed to know who her date was that Kagome was nervous again by the time they were seated at a booth and told a waiter would be with them shortly.

Kagome picked up her menu she opened it and did her best to resist the urge to hide behind it, suddenly self-conscious with the glances they were getting from other students out on their own dates for the romantic holiday. "Do people have to stare so much?"

"You are gorgeous; of course they want to stare." Sesshomaru replied smoothly, he supposed it was wrong to tease her but the way she colored pleasantly when he said it made it impossible to resist.

"Stop that." Kagome retorted, remembering they weren't on a real date. "I'm sure they're just staring at you. Seeing you out of school is as rare as getting hit by lightning."

"I do go out on occasion you know." The smiles he'd spared on the ride over were gone now, he was back to being serious under the observation of others. "It's not quite that rare."

"So more like spotting a UFO," Kagome corrected, grinning a bit.

Then the waiter arrived and Kagome glanced back at the menu, she hadn't given it much thought and she wasn't sure what she wanted. Why did the women always have to order first?

"Um…I'll have a coke to drink…and…whatever Sesshomaru is having." She generally didn't like to do that, but she didn't want to leave them waiting when they were so busy.

Sesshomaru didn't argue though, he gave the man an order of bottled water to drink and then listed off the different courses they would have. The waiter nodded, glancing back at Kagome.

"When the pots come out don't touch them, they'll be very hot, only use the prongs to dip your food. When the main meal comes I'll explain how long you should let the meat simmer in the broth for it to be cooked." He was speaking just for Kagome's sake, she could tell. "I'll get those drinks for you."

"Do you like the restaurant?" The upperclassman seemed curious as to what she thought.

"I think it's great." Kagome nodded, she'd been looking at all the old factory styled piping far above them, then was glad for how sectioned off it was so there weren't too many people that could stare. "I like how unique of an idea it is. I figure the food must be good if you come here so much."

"Well I normally get a spicy broth but I got something more toned down that I wanted to try. I wasn't sure how you would take to something spicy." Sesshomaru replied glad for food as a nice neutral topic.

"I don't mind a little spice to my meals, but I can't just eat a jar of peppers. I guess I'm not as wimpy as some but wimpier than others." Kagome said thoughtfully as she thought about her own experiences with spices.

"I remember you doing that once." Sesshomaru commented. "You were trying to impress Inuyasha; Dad had to take you to the E.R. because he wasn't sure what to do. You were crying the whole way and your face was a lot more flushed than it is now."

"Oh, that was when we went to Disney in Tokyo…that hurt." Kagome giggled a little as she remembered. "I'm surprised you remember that, it was almost ten years ago. Inuyasha was so mad we had to leave; I thought he wouldn't talk to me for weeks. He brought me ice cream and left it for me, he even squeezed my hand, so I guess it couldn't have been too bad. I always figured you were angry at me too. After that I didn't really see you at all when we hung out. I thought you hated me."

"A little back then," Sesshomaru replied with a tiny shrug. "We were just kids, though I hope this won't turn into an Inuyasha reminiscing session."

He sounded bitterer than he meant to. Sesshomaru had been the one that brought her ice cream and squeezed her hand but her face had been covered then…she'd assumed it was Inuyasha and he had been angrier about that but it seemed silly to tell her that now. Inuyasha hadn't gone to see her even though his father had told him too, he was too angry, and he hadn't talked to her for weeks. He was as selfish then as he was now. As she said, it was ten years ago and they had just been children, his reasons for getting away from her and everything had more to do with himself than that interaction.

"You really hate him…" Kagome commented, watching him quietly, empathy was something she had enough of that she could tell that the dislike went deeper than usual. "You guys are brothers, why do you hate him so much?"

The answer had to wait until the waiter delivered a tray with a pot and a small burner below it, inside the pot was melted cheese and to the side of it were different types of veggies, cracks, and other dip able things. There were two prongs and Sesshomaru picked one up, looking over the tray as he replied to her.

"Inuyasha is selfish, he's only ever been just concerned for himself and his own entertainment or how he can best one up other people around him. Certainly you've noticed he is quite good at taking and very bad at giving when it comes to anything important." For Sesshomaru the answer was easy; he'd hated his half-brother for his selfish nature for ages. "Inuyasha thinks of Inuyasha first and anyone else only if it helps his own agendas. He has no concern as to the consequences of his actions. He dared you to eat those peppers for his entertainment ten years ago, and just last year he ditched you at the old school for the same reason. I'm surprised you don't hate him more than I do, he's certainly given you even more reason than me."

Kagome blinked, it was a lot at once, but she should have known Sesshomaru wouldn't pull punches, if you asked him a question you had a chance to get a harsh truth in reply. She didn't believe that was the only reason, he couldn't hate Inuyasha that much just cause he was selfish, but reason told her not to push it right now. Instead she smiled a little sadly. "I…don't want to hate anybody. I knew that's who he was and I still did it, I wanted to blame Kikyo and say she made him that way. I guess it was stupid but I can't hate him for doing stupid things myself. I got even with him and that's that. I'm done being tormented by him. I'm just lucky you were there to rescue me, otherwise we might not be having the conversation at all….wait…you were there on purpose! I meant to ask you for a while why you were at the old building when it was closed, you knew I was going to be there."

Kagome pulled the piece of broccoli she was dipping back out of the cheese and put it on her plate, it was falling apart from her hesitation to pull it out more quickly but she was also curious if she was right.

"I was cleaning up after Inuyasha's mess. I've been doing it for years." Sesshomaru nodded to her conclusion, he saw no reason to deny it, speaking between bites of appetizers. "I overheard him talking on the phone about their Halloween prank plans. I didn't know it was you, though I suspected, I just knew it was a good idea to be there in case something bad happened."

"Well…thanks again…" Kagome offered a slightly awkward smile. "I got so caught up the last several months with school and everything else that I almost forgot about it. You saved my life."

"Don't go saying that or telling anyone." Sesshomaru commented matter-of-factly. "You'll ruin my reputation. Besides, it would have looked horrible on the family and our companies if he was behind the death of a young girl."

Kagome laughed. "Well, you do make it easy not to go spreading your praises."

He offered a slight smirk at that retort, the veggies were steadily vanishing.

"Glad I can assist."

"Well, I'll keep your secret but…" Kagome leaned a little closer, watching the pot so she didn't burn herself, and lowering her tone in a mock conspirator way. "…I know you aren't all just ice in there."

"Oh?" A silver brow arched slightly, as though in reply to a challenge. Then he leaned a little over the table, pushing the tray to the side and leaving his face so close to hers she thought he was going to kiss her a moment. "Are you certain you aren't just being manipulated?"

Kagome swallowed, she'd be surprised if he couldn't hear the sudden thundering in her chest. She sat back then and looked away from his intense gaze. "Well, not anymore."

Whatever Sesshomaru might have said died on his lips as the waiter came up to take away the first of the courses and then others followed behind him with a slightly larger pot and a separate tray of different meats and a few different types of veggies so it wasn't just all meat at once and they explained how long you should leave in each type of meat before eating it. There were skewers that you could leave in many pieces at once and while the 'cook it yourself' option might not appeal to some she liked the idea. She could have the beef how she liked it just by putting it back if it was still too rare for her.

"I heard that you are contenting for best in your year with grades, you could apply for various scholarships if you keep that up, everything still going well in your classes?" Sesshomaru changed the subject back to something less personal as he prepared his skewers with different types of meat and set the small timer they brought when Kagome was also ready so they wouldn't overcook things.

"They're okay. Most classes aren't too hard, science and math are the hardest to deal with, that and I think maybe I shouldn't have taken economics this semester. I'm having a hard time with it. It's probably going to bring down my overall grade." Kagome answered with a sigh. It wasn't a shock he'd know about her grades, people on the student council often dealt with the students with higher marks. She'd actually been approached about running once before but had no interest in it, she didn't have the time for more school activities unless she dropped choir and she'd rather not do that.

"I could tutor you. I got top marks in my Economics class." Sesshomaru offered before he really thought about it. What was it about this girl that made him so impulsive? Was it just that he'd known her for so long?

"You got top marks in all your classes, you're the highest in the school remember?" Kagome laughed a little. "I'd love the help but are you sure you'd have the time?"

"It would be a mutual effort. I have a project for my Business Management class. I'm supposed to work with someone over a few weeks and help teach them something while keeping a record of how they were trained. Teaching Economics is a good subject for such a project." Sesshomaru explained.

"You really have things all thought out pretty quickly." Kagome observed. "But yeah, it sounds like a good trade to me. Did you have a time in mind? I usually have events after school for about an hour but after that I could meet you in the library a few days a week."

Sesshomaru was silently amused at how little she realized that he planned so little in her case. They discussed scheduling as they ate. Though Kagome also side-tracked into how good the food was, it was so tender, the broth wasn't spicy but it had a full flavor that she definitely enjoyed. Between figuring out a time to work with him on tutoring and raving about the meal the time went by quicker than she realized and before long the meal had depleted and they took the pot away, bringing then melted chocolate with cookies and fruit and sweet breads to dip into the thick liquid.

Sesshomaru skewered a strawberry and got some chocolate on it before offering it to Kagome across the table. She went red, which was his intent in the action, he did enjoy seeing her flushed. She even leaned forward to take the strawberry off the skewer, despite her blushing and looking away after.

"I've never been very interested in sweets, is it good?" He was preparing to do it again, as he was amused at her reaction.

Then his mood plummeted at a familiar voice and the silver haired boy that stepped up to the table with his dark haired date. "Well, this is the last thing I expected to see, this is your date? What poor thoughtless woman did you convince to go out with you? Did you tell them you'd probably never see them again."

Kagome was mortified! Inuyasha and Kikyo had to have seen her eat the strawberry a moment before, what the hell were they doing here? Apparently they hadn't recognized her face though so she kept it down. Sure it would get around school soon but she was hoping she'd at least be able to enjoy tonight. Though given the chill that had invaded the table she doubted that would be possible.

"Wait…Kagome?"

She may not hate Inuyasha, but boy did she hate Kikyo right at that moment…

End Chapter

Steadily getting through V-Day, one more chapter left for it after this one.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Anon – Thanks for the kind words. Hope you keep reading.