Disclaimer: Sadly, Inuyasha and company don't belong to me.
Chapter 6
Kagome couldn't help but feel pleased at herself. Just five minutes ago, she was thinking on how much of an arrogant jerk he was. Yet, right now, here she was standing before him, shaking his hands with a huge grin plastered on her face.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Takahashi-san." She beamed. "See that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Hn," was his only reply before turning his gaze back to where it was before she came and almost bumped into him again.
"So, um, Takahashi-san – "
"Sesshoumaru."
"What?"
"Call me Sesshoumaru. Takahashi-san is my father."
"Oh, Okay," she nodded and gave him another smile, "but you have to call me Kagome too. I don't like it when people call me by my last name. It's too formal. And besides, I think it's only fair that if I get to call you by your first name then you get to use mine, right?"
Kagome watched Sesshoumaru push himself away from the tree he was leaning on, his golden eyes now fixed steadily on her blue ones.
"You talk too much."
Kagome felt her eyebrows tick, feeling slightly affronted, "Hey, I do not!"
Sesshoumaru did not answer, just smirked and walked passed her. Kagome rolled her eyes and snorted, muttering under her breath, "Arrogant je – "
"Have you taken your lunch, Higurashi?"
She blinked turning around. Did he just… "Excuse me?"
"Must I always repeat myself?"
Kagome blinked again, speechless.
He sighed and said in an irritated tone, "I asked if you have had your lunch already, Higurashi and I would appreciate it if you grace me with an answer. I do not like repeating myself."
"Umm…No?"
"Good. Come with me."
"What?" Kagome saw his form stiffen, and realized what she had just said and what he had just said before that. She hastily added, "NO! I mean…why?" Was he asking her out?
He gave her a blank stare, turned around and walked.
"But, hey!" Kagome shrugged, "Who am I to refuse when someone offers me a free lunch?" She said, trailing after Sesshoumaru with a huge grin plastered on her face. "And like I said earlier, Takahashi-san, call me Kagome."
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Inuyasha could practically hear his stomach grumble in protest at not being fed. Shippo had called for lunch break ten minutes ago and thank god for that because he did not believe he could take anymore of the flirting and horrendous acting.
Keh! It wasn't a surprise Sesshoumaru walked out on them…in the middle of one the auditions.
Inuyasha winced as he remembered the face of the girl when his brother stormed out of the theatre. It would have been fine if Sesshoumaru walked off without a word. But unfortunately for the girl, Sesshoumaru was in one of his not-so-rare foul mood and was the receiving end of his infamous tongue. The girl was a sobbing mess afterwards.
"I just spoke with Miroku and he said they'd be here in a few minutes with the food."
"Good, because I'm starving, and where did you get that?" Inuyasha asked, looking pointedly at the piece of what looked liked a shrimp roll Shippo was holding.
"What? Oh, this?" Shippo waved the food then popped it into his mouth. "I was hungry and since the others brought lunch boxes I asked for a few pieces of food."
Inuyasha took a deep calming breath, "And you didn't even care enough to think to give me some or that I was hungry too?"
"Oh." The expression on the younger male's face clearly spoke that he had not thought of it.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth, "Never mind, just tell Miroku to hurry the fuck up."
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"Taka- uh, Sesshoumaru, are you sure about this? I'm not complaining or anything, I mean I eat here a lot and the food is great but…are you sure you want to eat here?" Kagome asked incredulously, sneaking a glance at the silver-haired business man beside her.
"And why would I not want to eat here?" Sesshoumaru inquired.
Kagome shrugged, "I don't know. I just thought that, you know, that you…"
"Yes?" prompted Sesshoumaru.
Kagome sighed in defeat, "Never mind."
"Very well, then. Shall we?" Sesshoumaru smirked, disappearing within the curtain that hang on the entrance.
Kagome tilted her head upward and read the sign: Oyaji's Ramen House.
She gave her shoulder another shrug before entering the restaurant. Who would have thought that a guy such as Sesshoumaru liked to eat Ramen? She surely did not. But if the man said he wanted to eat here, who was she to complain? Besides, Oyaji's, in her opinion, served the best Ramen in the whole of Japan and the best part was…
She won't be paying for it.
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"What's wrong, Sango?"
"Nothing," Sango straightened herself in the passenger seat as the car turned round the corner, "I thought…I just saw Kagome enter Oyaji's."
"You sure?" Miroku asked, taking his eyes off the road for a few seconds to look at her.
"Not really," she shrugged, "It could just be another person."
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The Ramen House was the same as he had remembered. Perhaps, a few ornaments were added here and there, but besides that, it was fairly the same.
Sesshoumaru caught sight of a middle-aged man behind the counter, who looked as if he was going to have a heart attack upon seeing him. The man's face then broke into a wide grin, waving a hand at him. He nodded in response, and stalked towards the table at the corner.
"You know the owner Kawamura-san?" she asked as she slid into the seat across his, a hint of surprise in her tone.
"Apparently."
Before Kagome could ask another question, the middle-aged man stopped at their table, still grinning. "Ah, Kagome, I didn't see you there earlier."
"Hello, Kawamura-san. How are you today?" Kagome greeted him with a smile.
"Fine, fine," he chuckled. "Well, I see that you came in with Sesshoumaru here."
"Actually – "
"We just met today, Kawamura-san," Sesshoumaru finished.
"Really?" the older man said slowly, but his expression later changed from confusion into a sly look, "Just met and you're already asking her out. Sesshoumaru, you sly dog," He winked at Kagome.
Sesshoumaru's lips curled up at the girl's shocked expression.
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Kagome watched both men silently as they conversed (Kawamura doing most of the talking while Sesshoumaru supplied short replies). Kawamura-san appeared quite fond of the younger silver-haired man and seemed to know quite a lot about him too.
Watching them, Kagome couldn't help but feel slightly out of place. Her gaze strayed towards Sesshoumaru as he politely answered the question bombarded to him by the older man. And it made her think that maybe there was more to him than he let on.
But there was something that was really bugging her…
"Ah, how rude of me. You must be very hungry. You came here to eat and here I am interrogating you," the older gave them an apologetic look. "So, what would you two like to order?"
"Well," Kagome began but paused, remembering that she was here with Sesshoumaru. It would be rude of her if she just ordered whatever she wanted. She looked at him.
He nodded for her to continue. "Go on, Higurashi."
"Well, I'll have what I always have then, Kawamura-san. Oyaji's special and an iced tea, please."
"Same as hers but I'll have water instead."
"Very good. Your orders will be served in a few minutes," the older man spoke, writing their orders in a slip of paper, "Well then, I better leave you two alone."
Kagome rolled her eyes and snorted when he winked at her.
"Well, it's really nice to see you again, Sesshoumaru." With that, he walked off, laughing.
Kagome giggled softly, shaking her head before propping one elbow up, resting her chin on her raised hand in the process and stared at the person across her.
Feeling that he was being watched, Sesshoumaru turned his head and found Kagome staring at him with an unreadable expression. He raised one elegant brow.
"I'm curious."
One silver brow upped a notch.
"You know Kawamura-san and he seems to know you. Too well I think for just a couple or occasional meetings," Kagome stated, pausing to thank the server as he placed their drinks on the table, "I also noticed that you seem to know your way around the campus. Very well. In fact, I was given the impression that it wasn't your first visit. That you've been there before."
"That is quite perceptive of you, Higurashi. But your point is?"
Kagome grinned proudly at the compliment, "Thank you, Takahashi-san. And I was getting to that."
She saw him frown at the use of his surname, but ignored it. It was only fair. If he insists on calling her by her surname, then so would she. "But I've also learned that your brother – "
"Half brother."
She rolled her eyes, "Half brother graduated at the university."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed faintly, "You know of Inuyasha?"
"A friend of mine told me. They happened to share a class together before. She just learned about it today actually." Kagome took a sip from her glass of iced tea.
"Is that so?"
Kagome nodded, "So, since Inuyasha graduated at the university, did you graduate there as well?"
Sesshoumaru considered her question for a moment. And when it looked like he wasn't going to answer, she decided to ask again. She was about to open her mouth to say something when he spoke.
"You are correct on certain accounts, Higurashi."
"Kagome." She insisted.
He smirked.
Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes (she had been doing a lot of that lately) when he still refused to use her name. "So, I was right?"
"Partly, yes."
"What does that mean?"
"Simple, Kagome," Sesshoumaru drawled out slowly.
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"Sushi?" Inuyasha stared at the contents of his plate with disgust, "Why the fuck are we having Sushi?"
"What's wrong with it? It's really good." Miroku said after placing two pieces of sushi at once into his mouth.
Sango swatted him in the arm, "Don't talk with your mouth full."
"Sorry."
Shippo sighed wearily, obviously aware that something like this would happen, "We are not having ramen, Inuyasha," The singer tried to protest but was cut off when he continued, "Yes, I know Oyaji's Ramen House is just a block a way but there is no way in hell I'm letting you spill all over the carpet," he gestured at the carpeted floor. It was an expensive carpet.
Inuyasha sent Shippo a nasty glare, snorted, turned around and grudgingly ate his share. Grumbling as he did.
"So you guys found anyone yet?" Sango asked. Shippo gave her a look. "That bad huh?"
"I don't get it," Miroku began, "You said the board and the chairman wanted you to involve the other students outside the club, right? You also said that you already had someone in mind who would fit the role perfectly."
"Yes, just as long as they're not part of the club." Shippo explained. "But the problem is that the person I had in mind is in the club."
"Right. So why don't you just kick the person out of the club?"
The room fell silent.
"Why the fuck did you not say that earlier?" Inuyasha blurted out, spraying bits of raw fish all over the pristine red carpet.
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She should have been thrilled when he finally called her by her first name. But somehow, Kagome felt that something…not right was boundto happen. And the way that he had said it…
Sesshoumaru leaned forward, "I did not graduate in Taishou University. However…"
She had a feeling that she did not like what she was about to hear.
"My family owns it."
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-tbc-
