As per usual I do not own this anime. Thank you for the reviews I appreciated them greatly!

On Friday evening at 5 she was riding down to the garage with Sesshoumaru. Kagome was almost giddy with excitement. Sesshoumaru had been trying to talk Mr. Hitachiin into selling all week and she was about to close the deal for him.

"By the way Miko, here's your first paycheck." Kagome looked over at the envelope in Sesshoumaru's hand and hesitantly took it from him. When she opened it and read the number she nearly fainted.

"Wow this is more than enough to get a good apartment with." Sesshoumaru glanced over at her curiously.

"You want an apartment?"

"Well yes. I can't become a burden on my mother by living at home forever." Sesshoumaru nodded slowly as they followed their usual ritual for getting into the car.

"How very responsible of you. If you would like I own a high end apartment building not far from my company. With what I pay you, you could definitely afford it and I happen to have an opening. The apartment comes fully furnished. We could take tomorrow off and I could take you to see it." Kagome found herself shocked. She couldn't believe her luck or how much Sesshoumaru had helped her since they had met.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru I would appreciate that a lot. Actually I really need to thank you for a lot more than that. You've helped me in a lot of ways." Sesshoumaru waved vaguely as he pulled up to her mother's house.

"Since we aren't working tomorrow would you like me to pick you up later for a trip to the park?"

"I actually have plans that start at six but they shouldn't last very long so if you still want to go I'll call you as soon as they're done." He looked away from her out the window obviously not happy with the fact that she had plans. Don't worry Sesshoumaru you'll be thanking me later.

"What kind of plans?" Kagome was surprised that he had even asked. When she hesitated to answer he turned to look at her with the emotionless face she was used to.

"Well a dinner date if you must know." For a few seconds he just looked at her. Kagome wanted to jump out of the car and run.

"If these plans happen to be with the fox be careful. Fox demons are just as notorious for trickery as their animal counterparts." Kagome couldn't believe what he was saying and found herself immensely angry. Who was he to talk about her friend that way?

"For your information these plans have nothing to do with him but it's nice to hear you speak so lowly about my friends." She shoved open the door to the car and got out before Sesshoumaru could beat her to it. Sesshoumaru was by her side before she closed the door.

"I only spoke that way out of concern for your safety." Kagome squared her feet and glared up at him.

"I don't need your concern." With that she moved to walk away from him.

"Do not walk away from this Sesshoumaru when he is speaking to you, you pathetic human woman." She flipped him the bird and kept walking.

"You really do get off on pissing me off." He grabbed her wrist and before Kagome could think about the consequences she slapped him across the face. With that the angry tears started flowing down her face. Sesshoumaru turned his head slowly to look at her with the area around his contacts turned blood red in color. He stood there glaring at her for a long moment before he shoved her forward. She fell on the stairs scraping her knee before he turned his back on her.

"Do not assume that you know what does or does not get this Sesshoumaru off." He slammed his car door and burned rubber leaving. Kagome sat there for a minute debating whether or not she would cancel her diner date. No I won't do that to him. After all he said it with the best of intentions. She pushed herself off the steps and went up to the house to get ready. The doorbell rang just as she finished her hair. She had pulled out one of her old homecoming dresses and decided to put her hair into a bun with no make-up. She ran down the stairs and answered the door since her mother and grandpa were out for the day. She opened the door to find Mr. Hitachiin dressed in slacks and a white poet's shirt.

"Good evening my dear, are you ready to go?" When he offered his hand she hesitantly allowed him to tuck her own hand into the crook of his arm.

"Evening Mr. Hitachiin." He laughed lightly and led her down to his car.

"You may call me Kyo, after all this is technically an informal date even if it is for business purposes."

"In that case you may call me Kagome." He smiled over at her as he opened her door.

"Kagome, how pretty." They made simple small talk until they reached the restaurant. "Alright since you have held up your end of the bargain I will hold up mine." Kagome watched Kyo as he pulled out his cell phone and flipped through the contacts. When he found Mr. Sesshoumaru Taisho he showed her the number before pressing dial. "Mr. Taisho! I realize this may be odd timing but now that young Ms. Higurashi has come to speak so highly of your character I have decided that I will be selling to you after all." Kyo paused for a long time listening to what she assumed was Sesshoumaru's reply. She had to repress a laugh when the man nodded enthusiastically oblivious to the fact that Sesshoumaru could not actually see him do this. "Yes sir, I'll come into your office on Monday morning and we'll draw up the papers. You really should thank your lovely secretary after all I was wavering on my decision until she came to speak with me." As they finished up and said their goodbyes Kagome couldn't help but feel extremely proud of herself. She was still angry with Sesshoumaru but she was glad she could help him get something he wanted.

"Thank you for that." Kyo waved her off before getting out of the car and coming around to open her door.

"Do not thank me. It's been a long while since I've met someone that cared so deeply about what their boss wanted." Kagome smiled up at him and allowed him to lead her inside. They mostly shared small talk about themselves until eventually Kagome found herself curious as to why such a young man would give up the company he had worked so hard to create.

"Kyo, if I may ask, why exactly are you choosing to sell your company now?"

"You mean because of my age? Yes it isn't really considered normal for a young man to sell a company that is doing well. I'm simply tired of having to put on appearances for the world. I'm tired of being expected to take out beautiful young ladies when my tastes gravitate toward more unconventional fair. I'm ready to get out of the spotlight so that I don't have to give a damn about what others think of me." Kagome found herself feeling sorry for him and for Sesshoumaru. How terrible to have to hide who you truly are for the sake of appearances. "How long have you known Mr. Taisho?"

"Since I was fifteen, though back then I only knew him as my best friend's brother. Lately he has been helping me get on my feet in the world. I had a rough start in the world after high school. I spent so much time out of school sick that most jobs didn't want to hire me. I happened to apply as Sesshoumaru's assistant as a fluke since I never knew his last name." Kyo was grinning by the time she finished talking.

"You're trying very hard not to fall for him aren't you?" Kagome felt her cheeks heat up and shock wash over her. How could someone think she had any feelings for Sesshoumaru?

"No! I don't have those kinds of feelings for him he's just helping me through a rough patch. He's only doing it because of his brother; in all actuality the man hates me." At this point Kyo was laughing at her.

"Yes you do you just haven't admitted it to yourself yet. And by the way he reacted when I asked him if you were his woman I'd say he doesn't hate you. I can't really blame you for guarding your heart against him. The man is known for being a cold hearted ass when it comes to women. I hope it works out for you, after all you are a very sweet girl. Since we both appear to be finished are you ready to go?" Kagome nodded her head and allowed him to lead her out. Kyo stopped just long enough to pay the bill before he led her out to his car. When they arrived back at her house he opened the door for her and waited patiently for her to get out. "Thank you for the lovely evening Ms. Kagome Higurashi if I ever decide to change teams you'll deffinitly be the first girl I call."

"And thank you for the diner Kyo." The two of them shook hands in a friendly manner before Kagome started to head up the stairs. Should I call Sesshoumaru? He was pissed when he left so I should probably just give him some space. With that thought in mind Kagome prepared for a lonely night at her mother's house since no one was home. But when she reached the top of the stairs she was shocked to see Sesshoumaru pacing in front of her house. He looked up at her blankly for a moment before he made his way over to her.

"Since you and I separated on such a bad note I figured you wouldn't call so I decided to come and wait for you. If you still want to go that is." He was keeping his eyes downcast and obviously looked like he regretted what had happened between them.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Sesshoumaru sighed deeply before he looked her in the eye.

"I was wrong. I should have known better than to speak ill of your friend and I deeply appreciate what you have done for me." Something tells me that is about as close to a thank you or an I'm sorry as I'm ever going to get.

"Alright Sesshoumaru, just let me get changed." He nodded and turned toward the road.

"I will wait for you at the car." Kagome quickly changed into warmer more comfortable clothes and then went down to meet Sesshoumaru at the car. "So may I ask exactly how you managed to get Hitachiin to sell to me?"

"He made a deal with me at the charity that if I would have dinner with him he would sell to you." Sesshoumaru glanced over at her curiously.

"And all he wanted was dinner?" Kagome laughed at the implications in his voice. No straight man would ask a girl to dinner without any other intentions so Kagome was glad it had been Kyo that she had gone to dinner with.

"His tastes run toward more unconventional fair." She quoted Kyo's words and a looked of understanding. "That's why he's selling the company because he's tired of being something he's not."

"I know that feeling far to well," Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath as he pulled the car through the park entrance. Shortly after that they found themselves on their cliff in a ritual that had become a routine for them. They talked about a lot of things until Kagome made one comment that she should have known better than to ever say.

"You know I never thought I'd be playing an impromptu game of fetch with the demon lord of the western lands." When she released her arrow and realized Sesshoumaru hadn't moved she turned her eyes to look up at him as he glared at her. "Well that's what it is. I make something go and you bring it back." He narrowed his eyes further and started to slowly move toward her.

"This Sesshoumaru does not fetch." Kagome started to step away from him and every step he took closer she took one back. "I am not some domestic house pet and for you to insinuate such is demeaning. The only reason I return your arrows to you is so that I don't have to go find more, furthermore…" he cut himself off at the moment that Kagome's foot stepped off the side of the cliff. When he tried to grab for her the tips of his claws barely missed her wrist and she fell. Kagome screamed as she fell thinking she would hit the ground hard. Before she ever reached the ground a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and held her tightly against the body they were attached to until they landed safely. "You really need to learn your limits little Miko, a fall like that could have killed you." Kagome looked up into the surprisingly soft golden eyes of Sesshoumaru. He studied her face for a moment to make sure she was ok. As the two of them stood there staring at each other Kagome couldn't help but notice just how closely he was holding her. Then he tightened his hold on her and she felt like the gravity had been turned off. When they landed on top of the cliff Sesshoumaru released her and began walking toward the car. Just like that, the moment was lost and they were both scrambling to put their awkward friendship back into perspective.