Preparations were in order, and Sesshoumaru was exceptionally anxious about what Kagome was going to say when she found out. He had known he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret forever, but it was a little sooner than he had expected. He had underestimated Koga. While he had prepared himself and had been very careful around InuYasha, he hadn't thought Koga would have the attention span to catch on that there was something going on. Sesshoumaru was not entirely pleased with having been found out earlier than planned, but he supposed that it couldn't be helped at this point in time.

He stepped out of his office, looking down at the girl who had been the one responsible for helping him through a very difficult time and smiled. "Shiori, I know that we were hoping to keep this under wraps for a little while longer, but it would appear that I have been placed under a higher scrutiny than I had anticipated."

The little half-demon gasped, placing her hand over her mouth for a brief moment before touching her chest just beneath her throat. "Koga and InuYasha? They know?" She seemed to be distraught as she looked back down at her papers, Sesshoumaru frowned slightly.

"It's not your fault, Shiori. And while they do not know exactly what is going on, they know that something is amiss." Sesshoumaru sighed, shaking his head. He would tell Kagome that night, hopefully by then Koga and InuYasha would not have had time to speak with her yet. "Please get me Kagome on the phone, Shiori." With that, he turned and headed back into the office so that he could try and sort through the thoughts. When his phone rang, he picked it up. "Kagome?"

"Yeah, what do you need, Sesshoumaru? Are you going to be late again tonight?"

"No, I was calling to let you know that I would be home for dinner tonight. I bumped my usual evening meetings up and took it during my lunch break today," he stated softly. "Kagome, I want tonight to just be you and I. Perhaps Kira or Ayame could take Mika and Nira tonight?" There was a brief moment of silence before Kagome answered.

"I can ask my mom if she'd mind. Kira and Ayame are going out with Koga and InuYasha tonight. Kind of a double-date thing, according to Ayame, she said that Koga and InuYasha had some sort of special plan for them."

"Oh, alright then. Thank you, Kagome, I will see you tonight." Sesshoumaru waited for Kagome's response. Perhaps an 'I love you' or something of that nature. Instead, all he received was, "Yeah, see ya." He heard the click of the other line, indicating that Kagome had hung up on him. He sighed, slowly lowering the phone back into its cradle. Was he too late? Had Koga and InuYasha already told her that they suspected him of cheating?

"The nerve of him! Ugh!" Kagome glared at the phone on her desk for a few moments before a knock on the door caught her attention. "Come in."

"Kagome, are you alright?" Ayame asked quietly, closing the door behind her. "I heard you shouting at your phone..." she gestured towards the device. "What has it done to offend you today?"

Kagome leaned forward, putting her head in her hands on her desk. "Nothing, it wasn't the phone's fault. It was his high and mighty lordship on the 16th floor. He wanted you or Kira to take the kids tonight because he wanted to be alone with me."

"Isn't that a good thing, though? I can tell Koga that we need to stay and watch Mika and Nira for you if you want. You guys need some time to talk, more than Koga and I, at least... I don't think Koga is keeping something from me." Ayame looked just a little sheepish when Kagome looked up at her.

"No, no, you guys have had these plans for a week, it's not fair to you. I'll ask my Mom, she's been dying to spend some quality time with her grandkids, I'll let her get her wish. I swear, she only met them a few days ago, and already she's partially obsessed with them. Nira's loving ever second of it, Mika... not so much." Kagome gave a soft laugh at the memory of Mika's expression when her mother had tried to kiss him when he came into the house. "He thinks he's to big and tough for grandma to give him kisses."

Ayame giggled softly, nodding. "Mine are the same way." She moved forward, lightly touching Kagome's hand. "Well, I wish you and him all the luck in the world. And if he finally confesses to keeping a secret from you... I hope you give him hell." She smiled brightly at this point before waving and heading out of the office.

Kagome leaned back into her chair and stared at her phone. Give him hell indeed.

"Is everything ready?" Sesshoumaru's voice came over the intercom. Shiori sighed, reaching up to hit the button on her end.

"Yes, sir. Everything is ready." She bit her lip as she paused for a moment. "Sir, do you want me to go with you tonight? To help explain everything?"

"No, Shiori. Thank you. She is my Mate and I have been keeping something from her. I need to do this on my own." The intercom then went silent, indicating that Sesshoumaru had turned it off. She felt bad, really, for she had also been keeping this big secret from everyone at Sesshoumaru's behest. It had been hard though. She'd been so honored he had chosen her to be his partner.

Sesshoumaru gathered up a few folders and placed them into his briefcase before heading out of the office. Taking up a few more folders from Shiori's desk, he offered her a smile. "Well, wish me luck. And thanks again, Shiori. Your company has made this whole process that much easier." With that, he gently lay a hand on her shoulder before turning to move away and head home. He hoped that Kagome had been able to get her mom to watch over Mika and Nira for the evening.

Upon arriving home, he waited in the car for a few moments before he opened the car door and headed towards the house with his briefcase in hand. Opening the front door, he didn't hear any child-related activity in the house. No television blaring cartoons, no rock and roll music from upstairs. Just the gentle tinkle of glass on glass leading him to believe Kagome was in the kitchen. He took in a deep breath before he headed forward into the kitchen, and watched Kagome dry her hands on a dish towel from where she had been washing dishes.

Kagome turned to face him and Sesshoumaru smiled. "Good evening," he stated softly, watching her carefully. She didn't exactly seem like she was in a good mood. Had something gone wrong at work? He frowned at the very notion, wondering what could possibly have her standing there, her gaze bordering on a glare. He frowned, perhaps Koga and InuYasha really had gotten to her. "You are cross with me."

"No, I'm not cross with you, Sesshoumaru, I'm actually rather pissed. I'm waiting for you to admit to me what it is that you've been keeping from me. I'm tired of waiting for it, so if you thought tonight was going to be some big special evening where you thought you could make up to me the fact that you've been keeping something from me, then you're just shit out of luck." Kagome's voice was level, she wasn't shouting, which perhaps made the situation all that much more awful.

Sesshoumaru watched her quietly for a moment, lifting his briefcase to set it on the table gently and then looked over towards her. "Alright then. I had hoped that this would not have come out quite so quickly, but I suppose that I cannot alter the way things have been going. You are right, Kagome. I have been keeping something from you."

"I don't like this. I don't like it at all," Koga growled softly. He flipped one of the burgers he had on the grill over as he spoke. InuYasha stood beside of him with a bottle of Asahi Panache beer. "He could hurt her or something if he got angry enough."

"I don't think Sesshoumaru would ever hurt Kagome." InuYasha paused to consider his words with a frown. "Well, physically at least. But at least he's telling her, Ayame said that he told Kagome he wanted them to be alone, right? Well that's not something you would want to come out and say right in front of the kids, after all. Maybe he's confessing."

"Still, I'm worried about her. Hell, what if she kills him?" Koga asked, turning a few of the other burgers.

"Well, then I suppose we'll have to help her dump his body in the bone-eaters well," InuYasha replied calmly. "Or maybe bury him under the sacred tree, that might be a bit poetic."

Koga paused, looking over at InuYasha with an arched eyebrow. "You're one sick dog, you know that?"

InuYasha grinned slightly at the other male. "Hey, I can't help it. It's been way to long since I've been allowed to show it."

"What's taking so long over there?!" Kira called out from where she and Ayame were sitting on the porch swing on the back deck, laughing at some joke only they knew about.

InuYasha grinned slightly and nudged Koga. "Better hurry or those two are going to eat us for dinner."

Koga smiled slightly and began to put the burgers that were done on a plate. "Here, take these over to them to placate them, and I'll finish these last ones up..." Koga watched as InuYasha walked away with the plate and sighed. He picked up his own bottle and hoped that whatever was going on over at the Taisho residence didn't involve murder.

A/N: Okay, so I had some extra time today. This one isn't as long, but... I feel guilty for leaving you all alone for so long!