December 28 2006: Author's Nonsense: Not much to say, just gonna move it along.

Chapter 10: To Kill A Mocking Cat

Victoria Preston walked toward her room with a hand hovered over her mouth as she yawned wide, smiling after it was over as she opened the door to her room with a grin, she'd been up the whole night speaking with Duke Belaway about the latest demon upstart to arrive into the city. The discussion had turned into other interesting activities after she poured some of the pheromones 'accidentally' into the sink that she'd used to make the incense she sent to the little fox slave to plant in that woman's home. Sesshomaru would likely already be livid with the result, of course the rat from the day before had been caught and killed but cats were suppose to take care of the pest problems.

She had expected no less from her betrothed and the whole night went on longer than either expected, she would have to wear turtle necks for a while as well but overall the events were totally worth the results.

The cat demon didn't notice her dog stalker until he'd already put his acidic claws through her left shoulder blade from behind, holding her in place by gripping her -through- her body. Light hissing from the green liquid burning into her flesh becoming a small background of deadly white noise.

"Are all of you so weak?" Sesshomaru asked without feeling. "I smell another cat demon on you…is that your beloved duke? Where would he be?"

"Just because I was temporarily distracted doesn't mean you'll defeat me easily." she replied then winced as he turned his arm, the acid starting to burn deeper into her body. She fought to stay off her knees.

"What do you want?" the demoness hissed, realizing that she wasn't exactly at an advantage.

"Never come near me or the girl again…never interfere with me or harm anyone near us. If I so much as catch your scent on an underling or acquaintance I will hunt you down. Whatever position you might have held in this city has been revoked temporarily. I don't like the cowardly tactics you choose to use, I'm giving you the civil request to leave before I remove you. You've been warned. Now where is the Duke within the city?"

"He usually doesn't tell me where he stays." She muttered through the gritted teeth, slipping but being held steady by the greater strength of the demon lord. "I've seen him stay at a few different places but they were always different. He moves around a lot."

"Sesshomaru…" Kagome blinked as she stared at the gory scene, wincing at the woman's wounds. "She didn't do anything worth killing her over…you can't just kill people. Please put her down and let's just go somewhere else."

Sesshomaru turned around, pulling Victoria with him only until he managed to get his arm free of her innards, narrowing his eyes on the priestess. "Don't presume to order me miko. I'll decide what punishments are worthy of the crimes against me. However you are lucky weakling, I have a simple job for you. Tell your Duke to back off, I haven't yet decided if I want to take his command but let him understand that one more step against me and he won't be able to find a hole I can't discover him cowering within. I don't give second chances, get out of here before I change my mind."

The woman forced herself to a sitting position with her working arm, the wound starting to heal but still leaving her unable to use it. Staring in a mixture of hatred and surprise at the greater demon before her.

"Where did you come from?" she managed to ask, pulling her feet beneath her.

"No questions. Come Kagome, lets give her a chance to get decent. You have four hours to get out of here." Sesshomaru announced before moving to the door and leading the priestess out, closing the door of the woman and heading her into the elevator.

"You can't just do that…" Kagome hissed. "What if there were the camera's I told you about before?"

"She can't turn them in if there were." he shrugged, hitting the button for them to go to one of the lower floors. "That would be breaking their own rules. There is nothing she can do about it, it would have been worse for me to threaten without acting if she had camera's within her own residence."

Kagome opened her mouth to reply but then snapped it shut. He was right, however sick it made her to admit it, he'd already started to figure out the new political games the demon's played with one another. Physical action was almost necessary in one planned to intimidate another seriously, she had to remember that these were full demons…not half ones.

"Are you coming swimming?" Kagome asked, smirking at the idea of Sesshomaru in trunks then kicking herself for calling up the mental picture.
"No. I believe I should speak with some of the people Eri mentioned and ask what I need to do in regards to the model position. She said she wanted me to speak with her boss in the lobby area and that the man would be dressed in a pink shirt and black pants." He explained. "Enjoy your time, I'm sure it won't take long and I'll just return to the room upstairs, closing off my more demonic nature is uncomfortable after a time."

"Oh…well good luck." Kagome replied, heading off in a different direction for the pool, grinning when she saw she was almost completely alone with the large heated pool. It seemed Eri shared her want for a warm swim and was already in the water. Otherwise the old friends were left to share the water two ways.

"Hey Kagome." Eri waved, looking good even underwater in her two piece bikini. "Coming in the water?"

"Yeah." Kagome laughed. "Sesshomaru went to speak to your boss about the open position and I miss swimming a lot, even in the cooler weather I couldn't resist the chance."

"Well go get changed, it's great. I'm not looking forward to getting out." Eri admitted.

Kagome grinned at her before moving and getting quickly changed, running and diving into the deeper side, coming up and pushing her soaked hair out of her face. "You are right, this is great."

"I suppose you need cooler water though after spending time with your guy." Eri teased, grinning at the blush. "See, you were thinking about him before you came in. You should bring him swimming."

"He doesn't like swimming." Kagome explained. "and I think about him on occasion. He is living with me. He's not my guy."

"But you'd like him to be."

"I…don't need that sort of problem. It doesn't matter anyway. He doesn't like me." Kagome hesitated, she didn't want to lie to her friend. "He has a blue blooded sort of family and I wouldn't be an acceptable date in the bounds he has to stay within."

"Oh boo Kagome." Eri rolled her eyes and kicked herself lazily around while waving her hands to keep her afloat. "If you like him then you should at least try. Besides, scandal is everything these days; most people don't care anymore who dates who."

"He wouldn't share that sentiment." Kagome chuckled. "We're just friends Eri."

"Come on." the girlfriend urged. "You wouldn't like to know what more than friends would be like? I've seen you stare at him, he's gorgeous, you can't tell me you haven't thought about it."

Kagome flushed a little further as a memory of him kissing down her neck appeared in her mind and she reached absently up to rub her shoulder near where the contact had been.

"Wait…" Eri read the body language. "You have done something with him…you naughty girl Kagome…spill it…how dare you hold out on me. How far did you go?"

Kagome bit her lip. She so wanted to talk to someone and who else than Eri could she ever bring it up too? "Will you promise not to tell another soul?"

"What about…"

"A soul!" Kagome demanded animatedly.

"Fine fine." Eri chuckled. "This better be good for that demand though."

"He started making out with me one night…we'd gotten back from just looking around the mall and I was on the couch with my eyes closed. When I opened them it was because he'd run his hands up my arms - it gave me goose bumps - and then he was kissing me. It was divine Eri…he is just…" She shivered in girlish delight of the memory. "Boy he can kiss. I stopped him though. I don't think he'd really want to do something like that with me."

"Stopped him kissing you? God Kagome…you act like a virgin. Obviously he likes you if he started kissing you after spending the day with you. " Eri laughed, dipping her head under to wet her hair and then coming back up. "Or you just really enjoy being a little minx and playing hard to get. Hell, I can't believe you made out with the dreamy guy, I would have melted."

"I wanted to." Kagome giggled a bit, a little surprised to be speaking like this about Sesshomaru but feeling better having her friend there. "Seriously though, there isn't a future with it. I'm just helping him out for a while, and if he gets a job as a pretty boy and his own place we probably won't see much of each other."

"Stop with the excuses Kagome." Eri laughed at her friend. "You finally find a guy that's good to you instead of that other guy that used to hurt you and you are going to tell me you don't want a chance to take the relationship further than 'just friends'."

Scene Switch

Sesshomaru headed down the hallway from the strange room that the stranger man had called a studio. The pink clad male human must be suffering from some strange disease, his voice had been exceptionally high pitched and it seemed he had to wear odd ointments on his face that made him appear vaguely girlish. He had given Sesshomaru a card and told him to come down the following morning for a shoot around nine o clock to see if he liked the job and that he would be paid for the shoot in some three thousand dollar amount. He wasn't sure how much it was but he didn't expect a lot for just letting people paint him, he was on his way back to the room when his sensitive ears picked up a discussion between Kagome and her insane friend past a door in the hallway.

"Stop with the excuses Kagome." Eri laughed at her friend. "You finally find a guy that's good to you instead of that other guy that used to beat you and cheated on you and you are going to tell me you don't want a chance to take the relationship further than 'just friends'."

Inuyasha beat her? Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. I always knew he was scum, but not how deeply it ran. I should have killed him on the many chances I had.

"I wouldn't mind it being more than friends but I already said that Sesshomaru would never do that. He'd leave if he so much had an inkling I ever thought about it." Kagome answered, not knowing about the eavesdropper.

The girl wants to pursue me? Or for me to pursue her? This Eri is a horrible influence on her.

"I doubt that. He did kiss you first the last time. That doesn't happen unless there is some kind of attraction already there." Eri pointed out.

Not quite how it works. Just what is the priestess telling her. I'll repay her for the rumor spreading later I suppose.

"I don't know, I think he may have been a little drunk and that was just another reason to stop him. He immediately backed off and all but I'm not gonna dig deeply into something like that, it was a mistake Eri."

At least she's smart enough to say I wasn't completely myself. I don't have time for this. The demon lord shrugged and moved on toward the elevator. I shouldn't be surprised as most of the humans seem to be taken with my appearance somehow, but at least she knows better than to think anything would happen between us.

Scene Switch

Unaware of the short eavesdropping the girls continued their conversation.

"Have you talked to him about it?" the irritating girl pressed.

"No." Kagome admitted. "But he hasn't brought it up either. I'd prefer to leave it as a really exquisite experience and remember it as the amazing kiss it was…much as I would like to repeat it he probably wouldn't manage to be so desirable the second time."

She giggled and hoped Eri was buying it.

"I wouldn't mind trying it as you seemed to have tossed out your hat." Eri teased. "I'll go ask him while you are enjoying the pool."

Wishful thinking. Kagome scoffed in her head. He'd want to kill you…course he'd probably want to kill me…

"No…don't Eri." Kagome replied. Splashing her friend with a scowl.

"Then will you at least talk to him about it?" Eri baited, starting to float toward one of the ladders out.

"What would I say Eri?" Kagome asked with a sigh. "Hey person who'd never give me a chance in hell, I have a huge crush on you so would you consider dating little ole me even though you have loads of better things to do and the thought of me in that way probably makes you want to be sick?"

Eri laughed. "Kagome all you have to do is try. If you walk up and you say 'hey look, I kind of like you and I'd like to know if we could maybe go on a date or two to see how it would work out.' The worst that can happen is he says 'no' and then nothing changes." Eri pointed out wisely.

"And then everything becomes awkward because I asked a stupid question." Kagome added. Then amended quickly as her friend started climbing. "Don't, don't…I'll say something if you leave him be."

"There you go…live a little Kagome. Anyway, I gotta go out for a while and mingle with some of the other co-workers. I'll bet that your boy wouldn't mind an invite to the pool, might have to ask him if I see him."

"Oh go to your party." Kagome splashed Eri again. "I already agreed, at least give me a while to enjoy my swim before I consider the problem further."

"I'll let you off this time cause you're my friend." Eri winked and moved off, leaving Kagome to bite her lip.

I don't want to ask Sesshomaru out? Do I? She thought and then held her breath as she let herself sink. I'm gonna get myself killed cause Eri wants to set me up with a demon and I'm not sure how much I want to argue, I've finally lost it.

End Chapter

I liked this chapter, Eri was fun to throw in as a troublemaking friend that's out for details. I didn't remember any of her other friends names so I went with that one and just augmented it how I wanted. The plot is thickening and things are happening. If you think there aren't many threats to Sesshomaru…then you are right…there wouldn't be many. Think about him in the show. No one really got the better of him unless he was silly and transformed into a demon dog (and lost his arm). Naraku really never bugged him a whole lot and he was the main bad guy. Hope you continue to read.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Angel Maiden - That's pretty late to be up reading! It'll be here so make sure you don't get sick from lack of sleep cause of my story…that would make me sad. Happy new year!

Solaria - I don't think he'd model underwear, I bet people would lose limbs if they tried.

Kimoukai - yay thank you.

Llebreknit - He hasn't yet but he has every reason to think about it.

FoxLuvr - Get updates up when I can. Thankfully I had/have some time during my holidays to write.

XxcutiekatxX - Here you go ;) You can thank me later.

Vigatus - It's a little angst ridden at times I guess…but maybe I should make it angst instead of drama…might do that if people keep thinking it is so sad.