No Such Thing As Free Lunch
Chapter 6:
Needless to say, both siblings were extremely ticked off with Yura after the news. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru did not agree often, so this was a notable event. Accordingly, although there was no deadline by which they had to acquire a part-time position, both of them uncovered job-openings within the first week. That way no one could claim they slacked off. Furthermore, it made the task seem easy. Why not emphasize the fact that even high-school kids could easily obtain work? It emphasized how little their latest stepmother ever accomplished.
Inuyasha begged for a posting with his friends. After hearing that Miroku's family ran a small, local delicatessen, the boy wheedled his way into (what he considered) an easy spot. Because Miroku's father often described the deli like a "hole in his palm" siphoning money away from the household, Inuyasha interpreted this as a sign. No one would ever walk through the door! Otherwise, the store wouldn't lose so much money. And if no one shopped there, then Inuyasha could spend time chatting with his buddy, Miroku, instead of working.
Ironically, Sesshoumaru had a similar goal, while searching for a part-time job. Again, this was notable, because the two sons of the Inuhito family rarely ever agreed. But the eldest son thought his half-brother had a good idea – if the part-time job was easy, then he would not need to spend a great deal of time on it, and he could devote more time to schoolwork. With college-entrance exams looming around the corner, none of the third-year students had time to waste.
Thus, he had secured a position in the same manner as his brother. No, no! He had not begged for any specific job. He merely asked various acquaintances to assist him in this endeavor, such as the other members of the student council. As it turned out, one boy had a grandfather who ran a rare bookstore.
All in all, it sounded like a perfect part-time job. Sesshoumaru loved books, and he spent most of his time reading historical fiction, when he was not digging through textbooks. Plus, a rare bookstore might sell antiques or unusual, educational materials! So, he had been overjoyed to find the store needed part-time helpers. The elderly owner of the store, Totosai, could not move around quite the way he used to, and Sesshoumaru would be able to lift books for him, to and from top shelves. He was due to arrive early the next weekend, at around 10 o'clock.
At school, he noticed some positive changes too. Strangely enough, the Higurashi girl began to appear around him, more and more often. On Wednesday, Sesshoumaru finished lunch early, intending to head to the library to study, only to find her hovering at his locker. On Thursday, he discovered her watching the kendo-club practice, after class. On Friday, he gave in and asked her what was wrong.
"Oh, nothing," replied Kagome, scuffing the toe of her shoe in the dirt outside the building. "It's just…"
While he was glad to see her boisterous, intimidating tendencies suppressed, the reason why she might follow him around was puzzling. This shy behavior was not her typical nature. It had to stop.
When silence did not work, Sesshoumaru decided to try summarization. At times, this method successfully dragged the truth out of people who did not want to talk. Other people could not help correcting him, if he said something inaccurate or untrue.
"You agreed to make lunch for thirty days, on my behalf," he began slowly, "If I would allow you to date Inuyasha."
The statement immediately threw her for a loop. "A-allow me?" she rejoined, in shock. "What do you mean…"
"And now you are dating him," he cut her off, "Because you insisted upon doing so."
"Insisted upon...?" her voice flew higher and became a notch louder. "Now, wait a minute!"
The goal had been to upset her, thereby forcing her usual spunky attitude to return. And it had worked. The girl was sure to reply now. Sesshoumaru smirked.
Stepping closer to his chest, she poked his shirt. "I didn't insist upon this crackpot deal of ours," Kagome growled. "That was your idea."
When she emerged from the shadow of the building, however, sunlight only highlighted the problem. Her expression looked drawn and worried, and little creases gathered near her lips, as though she had frowned more often than smiled, for the past week.
Catching her finger, as she poked at him, Sesshoumaru moved it gently away from his chest. "What is wrong?" he asked, more seriously this time.
She retreated a step and looked at the ground once again. "Well, I was simply wondering, that's all," she stated tersely. "Inuyasha agreed to date me, but he doesn't spend any more time with me than before, and he says he can't see me this weekend." By now, Kagome seemed nervous, fiddling with the straps on her bag. "So I was wondering… I was wondering if... if you could set up another date, between us?"
Sesshoumaru stared in shock. What on earth? This scenario was awkward on so many levels. By agreeing to assist her in dating his half-brother, perhaps he unwittingly agreed to become her love-advisor.
"It's only fair! I'm still making lunchboxes, for you," insisted Kagome. "Which means that you must arrange dates between Inuyasha and me. That was the deal."
He decided to ease her mind. Because he could. Not because he cared. Although maybe he cared about her distress just the tiniest bit.
"There is a reason why Inuyasha cannot spend time with you, this weekend," he explained, "He just started a part-time job. I'm sure it has nothing to do with you."
"He's not mad at me?" Kagome asked hopefully.
"No, certainly not." Sesshoumaru frowned. As if anyone could be angry with this girl. Even when she stole his coffee, he hadn't been able to feel angry with her.
Why he was making excuses for his half-brother's rude behavior? Originally, the plan was for this girl to realize that she did not want Inuyasha, after all. Even more ironic – she needed Sesshoumaru to explain such a simple issue, instead of her so-called boyfriend. Was Inuyasha not capable of doing so himself?
"Oh, good!" Kagome exclaimed in relief. "I thought... well, nevermind. Thank you for telling me!"
Sesshoumaru nodded, awkwardly. Usually, when other people thanked him, it involved history essays or math homework. This was the first time someone had thanked him for advice on a relationship. He was not the best instructor on this subject. He had never even been on a date. Still, his reassurance seemed to cheer her up. And that made him feel better, as well.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The weekend passed, and he discovered that his part-time job was actually fun. Earning money for reading books – it was an excellent trade-off. The perfect part-time job!
The old man who owned the store was also rather amusing. Totosai was constantly forgetting his phrase, halfway through it. He drifted from conversation to conversation, from moment to moment, the way that only an absentminded, elderly man could.
The back room was probably the most interesting place, though. Not only did Sesshoumaru find rare, antique books in the store, but also, swords decorated the walls of the back room. Dual sword-sets on the top of every bookshelf formed eye-catching adornments.
Best of all, there were very few customers, and Sesshoumaru had the opportunity to study as much as he liked in the shop. It was glorious. He ended the weekend in a good mood.
Then… Monday afternoon came along and ruined it all.
Sitting in first period, he noticed that Kikyou seemed distracted. She was staring out the window, paying no attention in class. This was standard behavior from any other person, but for Kikyou to fail to listen to a teacher was an extremely bad sign. In fact, at one point it seemed as though his fellow class-representative almost fell asleep. It bothered Sesshoumaru to see her in such a state.
So, he touched her shoulder after class and asked if she was all right. It was the second time in only a few days in which he had inquired after a young girl's health, and he realized that he cared to know the answer both times. How odd.
"What?" Kikyou murmured. Even now, she seemed inattentive and tired. Sesshoumaru imagined he could see dark circles forming beneath them, although these had not appeared yet. "Oh. I'm fine," she replied calmly.
It was not the first day that he had seen Kikyou behave in this fashion. She had been distracted and drained of energy before, he remembered, the same morning that Kagome interrupted their conversation to deliver a lunchbox. Worried, his eyes remained on Kikyou, even after the next teacher entered their classroom and began a new class. What could be troubling one of his friends so much that she acted tired and depressed, for days in a row?
When the lunch-hour arrived, Sesshoumaru resolved to find his classmate and speak to her more thoroughly. Obviously, the girl was not 'fine' and it might be helpful to provide a listening ear ... That was how these things were supposed to work. Right?
Yet he could not find Kikyou anywhere in the building. The cafeteria was filled with the usual, rowdy, rambunctious students. Next, he checked the gym, track and field, and the tennis courts, but he could not see the girl in any of these spots either.
Puzzled, Sesshoumaru made his way toward a spot that he considered a very unlikely location. The roof. He had found his brother, up there, once. And the spot occasionally attracted other students, despite being rather hot, sunny, and inconvenient in his opinion. Today was no exception, and a flock of excitable teens had gathered on the flat-topped roof of the school, leaning against the fences that rimmed the area.
Unfortunately, not one of the students was Kikyou. He carefully checked the entire area. Not discouraged, Sesshoumaru resolved to continue his search elsewhere; perhaps the dark-haired girl was hiding in the student lounge, or she had returned to their empty classroom?
As he stepped onto the stairs, though, he recognized several voices. One of the voices belonged to his brother... which was strange, since this was not Inuyasha's lunch-hour...
Irresponsible siblings who missed valuable class-time always deserved a reprimand from a figure of authority. And he was more than willing to take on this important role. (Secretly, he just enjoyed demoralizing his little brother.)
Returning to the roof, Sesshoumaru walked until he stood behind a pair of mischievous first-years. How often, he wondered, did Miroku and Inuyasha act like this? The violet-eyed boy looked up, smiling, only to realize who stood behind them, and the smile faded from his face.
"Wha-?" Inuyasha asked, voice half-muffled by food, his mouth full. Finally, the boy turned around to observe his elder sibling calmly standing there. His jaw hung open slightly, and Sesshoumaru avoided the view of mashed up food within his mouth by looking at the box-lunch, instead.
Hm. It looked rather familiar. The contents of Inuyasha's o-bento box resembled the same foods that he had been giving to Rin for a number of days now. "Does this... particular... lunch need to be consumed," Sesshoumaru inquired blandly, "Outside of the appointed midday hour that you have for lunch?"
Swallowing nervously, his brother squirmed. "Holy dog-balls. You are a bloodhound, after all. Seriously, you never, ever come up onto the roof, except when I am missing class."
Sesshoumaru scowled, and his sibling appeared to realize that he should not advertise the fact that he skipped classes on purpose. "Wait! Um... It's Kagome's fault!" Inuyasha continued in an exasperated, desperate tone, "Yeah! She made the lunch, and she said that she wanted to hear what we thought of it. But how are we supposed to do that, if we don't eat it before meeting up with her after school?"
It was not difficult to maintain a vacant, expressionless gaze, when presented with such ridiculous comments as this. Why, oh why, did his younger brother do this every time? Inuyasha never quite made sense to him. Perhaps he didn't think normally like other human beings.
"You should eat lunch with her," he sighed, when it became clear that Inuyasha actually expected an answer, "During your lunch-hour."
"Right!" nodded his little brother eagerly, "But I thought - what if the food is terrible! We'll need to test it first, so we can 'fake' our enjoyment, if need be."
Tucking his hands into the pockets of his slacks and staring at the sky, Sesshoumaru did not reply. He knew perfectly well that the food Kagome produced was not terrible. Rin loved it. And he had tested the first one that she made, like his sibling chose to do now. But he could not exactly admit this to his little brother, could he?
Happily, Inuyasha ignored his silence. "It's really good, actually," murmured the younger brother, clutching the box close to his chest, as if Sesshoumaru might steal it away from him. Then, Inuyasha smirked. "Hah! Maybe it isn't so bad having a girlfriend. Even if she ain't attractive, she can cook!"
Miroku just laughed. Then, he snatched a vegetable roll from Inuyasha's box. The pale-haired boy shoved his friend's shoulder in response. They both seemed entirely too happy, in Sesshoumaru's opinion.
A small furrow worked its way onto his brow – not quite a frown, but something more than mere confusion – as Sesshoumaru stared at his brother again. He was perplexed. Something about his younger brother's comment and Miroku's laughter, they rubbed him the wrong way.
Kagome looked like Kikyou, and to be honest, both of them were... quite... charming. Yes, that was the proper word, wasn't it? Charming.
Or maybe beautiful. Beautiful might be a more descriptive term, for these two girls.
Maybe even gorgeous.
He tried to stop himself, but he was unable to avoid it. The question slipped out. "What do you mean, she is 'unattractive'?" he asked, gruffly.
Now, it was Inuyasha's turn to look appalled. Interpreting this question in exactly the wrong way, the younger boy gaped openly. "Wait, wait!" he protested. "You think that she... Oh my God, you really are trying to steal my girlfriend? I wasn't just making that up?"
Rolling his eyes, Sesshoumaru kicked his half-brother and unsettled the box-lunch in his lap, forcing Inuyasha to grab for it desperately. Rice-balls spilled onto the concrete. The youngest brother glared.
"Stop being stupid," Sesshoumaru said firmly.
"What's stupid about..."
"And don't skip class on purpose," he continued sternly. "It isn't as though your teachers fail to notice. Do you enjoy detention?" It wasn't the most threatening thing he could say, but it sufficed. Both of the first-year students began to gather their belongings. Inuyasha shot one more evil glare toward his elder brother, as they left.
For some reason which he could no longer remember, he had wasted time here, speaking with his brother, instead of searching for Kikyou. And he didn't really feel like continuing his search any longer. Listening to that brat had ruined his resolve.
Instead of finding Kikyou, it seemed that he had found a new subject to worry about that afternoon.
Why would his brother have agreed to date a girl, if he did not find her attractive? It bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Inuyasha should not spend time with a girl, simply because he liked her food... that was a shallow excuse. Eventually, Kagome would notice that he didn't care, it would hurt her feelings, Inuyasha would blame all the wrong people, and everything would become Sesshoumaru's fault, somehow, for allowing the stupid girl to date his half-brother in the first place.
Moreover, why would anyone find Kikyou (or Kagome) unattractive? That was a bare-faced lie.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Later in the week, an unexpected visitor approached him, in the library. Slapping her bookbag down on the table, Kagome made the librarian wince at the noise. Next, she slouched deeply into one of the chairs across from Sesshoumaru.
For a while, she pretended to ignore him. Pulling paper and pen out of her bag, she shuffled her belongings around without purpose, never actually bothering to write anything on the sheet of paper in front of her. Sesshoumaru raised one brow, waiting for an explanation of why she invaded his study space.
Finally, the first-year girl spoke. "So... um... I have a question," she began slowly, tapping the pen in her hand onto the table. "Er... another one. I was wondering... What is your idea of a perfect date?"
He blinked in puzzlement. This was the reason why she had sought him out in the library? Truly, his interactions with this girl grew more and more strange.
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason," she countered quickly, diverting him from his goal of uncovering the truth. "Come on! Answer the question."
With a shrug, he acquiesced. If this was what she wanted to talk about, then who was he to complain? Perhaps the answer might return to bite Inuyasha in the butt, when he failed to live up to her expectation of a proper date.
"Hm," mused Sesshoumaru, going back to his homework, while he thought. "I suppose... a nice lunch at an outdoor café, followed by a trip to a museum. If you go to a movie, then you can't speak with her. And if you stay outside too long, then you get sunburned. But enjoying a museum shows a respect for culture and a sense of creativity, while avoiding sunlight and allowing conversation."
Kagome giggled, hiding her lips with one hand. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru frowned. He had not been joking; he had been serious. There was nothing wrong with wanting to tour a museum...
"Well, that sounds lovely," she added after a while. "I have never worried about sunburn during a date, but it seems like you have given this a lot of thought."
Sesshoumaru cringed internally. No, that was not true. The first time he ever considered the issue was when she asked this question. At least, she was not outright laughing at his idea – only at his opinion on the importance of skin-care and the avoidance of freckles.
Come to think of it, he did sound slightly silly. It was not as if Sesshoumaru ever had actually gone on a date. With a soft sigh, he returned to the work laid out on the table, although he made no progress.
"Is something wrong?" he inquired, at length.
Shaking her head, the dark-haired girl waved away his concerns with one hand. "Oh, no. I just wondered."
He closed the nearest textbook and crossed his fingers on the wood before him, to display that he was paying attention. Surely, Kagome did not hope to escape answering so easily. People did not open subjects like this randomly, out of sheer curiosity.
When she realized that he would not accept that answer, the girl squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. "Oh, fine. Okay," Kagome muttered, "It is simply that you said Inuyasha could not date me last weekend, because he had a part-time job."
The fidgeting increased, while she fought not to look him in the eyes. "So, I went to his store and watched him serve lunch to people," continued the first-year student. Now, a tiny blush was forming on her cheeks. The tone of her voice said that she was embarrassed, not angry. But he could not fathom why. "And later, when I suggested a movie, he said that we already had lunch together, and that was the 'date' ... Yea. Just checking whether normal people thought... watching someone work... counted as dating."
Unexpectedly, it felt like his heart was sinking within his chest. Sesshoumaru was disappointed on her behalf. This could not be good. There was really no reason for him to be involved in this.
Still. His younger brother was such an idiot. Inuyasha had recently said that he enjoyed her cooking, if not her attitude or appearance. Rather than running away from the idea of dating her, at the very least, perhaps the boy could think of some way to include her culinary skills into the event.
On the other hand, this was a long-awaited result. From the very start, he had hoped for Inuyasha to display various negative traits. Sesshoumaru had wanted Kagome to learn to dislike the boy, on her own. Even Inuyasha had agreed this was a good idea in the beginning. So, if the idiot's behavior this weekend had pushed forward their original plan, then it was good. In some ways. Technically speaking.
Soon, thinking about his little brother's relationship began to overtax his brain. And since when had he started thinking of her as Kagome, instead of Higurashi? Even inside the privacy of his mind, he must retain control. Yet it had been a while, he realized, since he had attached a last name to thoughts of her. If he did not stay careful, then he might refer to her in this familiar fashion, in real life. Maintaining distance was important.
"I am certain..." he said next, hoping that his tone seemed firm and more distant than he felt, "Inuyasha did not intend to..." Trailing off, Sesshoumaru realized he had no idea what to say. But silence would make this subject worse, not better. "Inuyasha was probably tired," the pale-haired student asserted, "And he felt like he did not have enough money for the cinema. Since he has not received a pay-check from his part-time job, as of yet."
Hmm. Now where did that lame excuse come from? As he watched a small smile creep over her face, Sesshoumaru shook his head, sadly. Speaking positively of his little brother, it would ultimately work against his plans. Besides, it was difficult - he had almost no experience in comforting someone. But if it made her comfortable, then it was okay. She would learn what his half-brother was like, soon enough.
