No Such Thing As Free Lunch

Chapter 9:

The rest of the week passed like a dream. No, it had nothing to do with lunches from Kagome. It was because of the annoyance that flooded Inuyasha's face, in the middle of the next afternoon. The way he looked was absolutely priceless. Obviously, he had just heard the news. Kagome was breaking up with him, and it was all his own fault. Just picturing his half-brother's forlorn face, it kept Sesshoumaru happy all afternoon.

As the final bell rang for the day, Sesshoumaru traveled to his half-brother's locker, unable to resist the temptation. Mocking his little brother for losing a perfectly good girlfriend, over such a ridiculously stupid subject, this was too much fun to ignore! After a few minutes, he glimpsed light-colored hair heading in his direction.

When Inuyasha came close enough to see him, the boy glared angrily. "Hey! Bastard, what did you say to Kagome?"

Keeping his expression completely serene, Sesshoumaru leaned against the end of the row of lockers. This was too easy. "Oh? Why do you ask?"

"You drove off my girlfriend!" Inuyasha shouted in return. "I can't believe this. The one good thing I have going for me, at this school, and you chase the food-giving-wonder away!"

If home-made lunches were really the only reason the brat appreciated her, then the relationship would not have lasted long. This situation served Sesshoumaru's interests better, in any case. His original objective when pushing Inuyasha and Kagome together was to force his little brother to act more responsibly, instead of foisting problems off on other people. To abandon a girl's note in Sesshoumaru's locker, rather than telling her directly that they should not date – this showed irresponsibility. Maybe now, his younger sibling could learn from his mistakes.

"You did it all by yourself, dear brother," he replied sarcastically. "Perhaps you should think before acting in the future."

Narrowing his eyes, the younger boy stared suspiciously at his brother. "What is that supposed to mean?"

By now, it was impossible to maintain his usual cool, expressionless gaze. A malicious smirk crept over Sesshoumaru's lips. Inuyasha glared, although he did seem to become a great deal more wary.

Apparently, the boy had forgotten their original deal – that he wanted Kagome to learn to dislike him on her own. True to his nature, Sesshoumaru decided to remind his little brother of this unpleasant truth. "How odd," continued the third-year student. "I could have sworn that you wanted for your dear elder brother – that one being me, of course . . . "

With a snort, Inuyasha demonstrated how little he thought of the comment. Obviously, this conversation was not occurring because Sesshoumaru was 'dear' to him, or because Sesshoumaru felt concerned for anyone else's emotions. They both knew it.

Taking a step forward, even as Inuyasha retreated slightly, he finished smugly. ". . . I could have sworn that you wanted your dear elder brother's help, in order to not get the girl."

It was like the calm before a storm, when all of the wind paused for a second, waiting for the world to explode into action. Inuyasha stared uncomprehendingly at his elder brother. Then, sure enough, he shrieked with dismay. "You... you... How dare you?!" he yelled out, "You actually did drive off my girlfriend? What did you say? Seriously, what?"

"Absolutely nothing," Sesshoumaru said. In the end, it was true. He had not been the one to break apart their relationship. That was the best part. "Nothing at all."

"Augh!" bellyached the other boy, "I hate you! I mean it, this time. Really, I do. You get all the girls, and all the lunches, and all the good grades. And I am going to beat you up. I should."

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow toward his little brother, unwilling to believe a word of it.

Evidently, Inuyasha also realized that he was barking up the wrong tree with his last statement. Slowly, the boy began to lose steam and looked down at the ground, petulantly. It was as though he had regressed to an earlier stage of life, where pouting was still acceptable behavior.

"I will beat you," grumbled Inuyasha sullenly. "Someday. Maybe."

But even an irresponsible person could see it, when he was looking defeat in the eyes. First-year students generally knew less than third-year students, little brothers generally were not as good as big brothers, and Inuyasha generally felt vanquished by Sesshoumaru before they even began. In the end, Inuyasha understood the truth. Maybe, just maybe, loosing Kagome was his fault.

Despite what Sesshoumaru said, anyone could tell that the girl was not happy, while they dated. Hell! They had never kissed. He had never taken her to the movies . . . or to anything, really. His brother was correct. He had wanted to get rid of her, in the beginning. He had even asked for assistance in this matter.

What was the point in dating someone, if he could not make her happy? There was no reason for that sort of behavior. On this issue, it seemed, both Kagome and Inuyasha agreed. With a sigh, the boy tucked his hands into his pockets, then he sent his brother one last evil stare.

Clueless about how closely Inuyasha's thoughts were echoing his own, Sesshoumaru sighed. He had merely hoped to enjoy his little brother's discomposure, after being dumped by a girl. He had not actually intended to damage the boy's self-esteem . . . beyond repair.

"Hn," the older brother breathed out softly. Comforting people, he decided, was far more awkward and difficult than pushing them toward disaster in the first place. "Ahem. Well, you know what they say. Many fish in the sea."

A miniscule twitch at the side of Inuyasha's mouth showed that everything was going to be fine between the two of them. And ironically, it made him feel a little bit better. Happier. Making fun of people was never quite as nice as making up with them.

"Many fish in the sea? Whatever. I don' like fish," grumped the younger brother, half-heartedly. "I like ramen. And no matter how yummy a boxed-lunch might seem, it simply cannot stand up to the challenge of Ramen."

Sesshoumaru snorted. Surely, he did not just compare Kagome (or her lunches) to a box of Ramen? Such an odd little brother, Inuyasha was.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rin giggled mischieviously.

"Just because I have a part-time job, on the weekend," groaned Inuyasha in a sleepy stupor, "That doesn't mean that I should be forced to get out of bed early." He would have added a few more choice words, but he was speaking to his little sister, not Sesshoumaru. Only the most cold-hearted of men would have been sharp with the cute little nine-year old.

From the doorway of the bedroom, the older brother smiled and signaled his little sister to continue. Returning the grin, the girl resumed her earlier activity - poking Inuyasha's side, while he lay in bed. Inuyasha moaned again. "Riiiiin, what are you doing?"

She giggled, before she told him the truth. "I want breakfast."

"So, eat some leftovers."

"No!" the smaller sibling objected. "I want a Good Breakfast! For the weekend."

With a huff, the younger brother rolled over, twisting the sheets around him as he moved. Inuyasha cracked open one eye and considered the request. "Well, make Sesshoumaru do it. He usually fixes stuff for you."

"He's not here," explained Rin solemnly. A few feet away, the person under discussion nodded his agreement from the doorway.

"What the heck? He's standing right there, beside my door."

Once again, the fluffy brown hair on top of Rin's head bobbed back and forth, as she shook her head. Sesshoumaru decided to be merciful, and he explained. "I'm only here, until I ensure that you get up and eat breakfast with Rin. Even if it's only cereal."

Still unable to compute the strangeness of the situation, Inuyasha propped himself on his elbows, and he stared at his older brother. Sometimes, really, he despised the guy. Saturdays were made for sleeping late. As late as possible!

Finally, he managed to process the fact that his half-brother was totally dressed and carrying a book-bag over one shoulder. That meant he was leaving soon. "Where are you going?"

"I was planning to start work early, today."

Rolling his eyes, the youngest brother finally pushed off the mattress. He did not contest the issue any further. Dealing with Sesshoumaru was like talking to a brick-wall; it was pointless to argue. If a person told the dude to relax, slow-down, to be lazy for once, then he would emit the most despicable glares. . .

"Fine, fine," Inuyasha grumbled. "Overachiever."

Satisfied, the oldest sibling smirked in triumph, then touched Rin gently on the head. She gazed up at him adoringly. Silent communication passed between them. He reminded her to be good and only torture Inuyasha to a limited extent; meanwhile, she assured him that she would do her worst. Or something like that. In any case, that was how Sesshoumaru translated their silent speech. Perhaps his viewpoint was biased in favor of the little girl, instead of his younger brother.

As Inuyasha shuffled toward the kitchen, Sesshoumaru happily made his way out of the house.

So far, it was a good morning. He was not lagging behind in any subjects at school, so he planned to use this day at the bookstore to begin a practice-test for the college-entrance exams. The boss at work, Totosai, probably would not mind. (In fact, the old man might not even notice, unless Sesshoumaru informed him.) The sun had been over the horizon for little more than an hour, and birds were still chirping about it, as he strolled toward the gate of their front yard. Overall, the morning seemed to have a peaceful flavor to it.

At least, the morning was peaceful, until he reached the gate. When he unlatched it, a sudden movement near his feet startled him. Apparently, there was a person sitting outside their house on the sidewalk. She jerked awake, with a sound like the startled mew of a cat.

He blinked in confusion. "Kagome?"

No doubt about it. It was definitely Kagome Higurashi, sitting in front of their home, as though she had every right to be there. The tip of her nose and her ears were red, and it seemed like there might be . . . dewdrops. . . in her hair. The blue-eyed girl looked bedraggled and cold. How long had she been out here?

"Oh! Um. Hello!" she began quickly, rushing to stand on her feet, before he could step onto the main sidewalk by the street. Brushing off the back of her skirt, she rocked uneasily onto her toes. "Yes. I was just . . .I was sitting here, waiting to see. . . Inuyasha." Then, this comment seemed to unsettle her, and she shivered before starting again, more firmly this time. "Or you. Mostly you, I suppose."

Sesshoumaru sighed under his breath. It seemed the gods had determined that he should take care of a younger girl, this morning. Although this one was distinctly older than his little sister, Rin, she seemed to need an equal amount of supervision. And this one, he would definitely not foist off upon his brother. It was up to him to determine exactly what had happened to her.

"How long did you wait, here?" he asked first, since it seemed like the most important concern. If she had been sitting outside on the doorstep, all night long, then she probably needed a warm blanket. Or a psychologist. Or both.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Sesshoumaru tried not to think of the girl like she was desperately crazy. He should listen to her side of the story, first.

"Hmm?" Absently inspecting her clothing, the dark-haired girl brushed a bug off her skirt. "Oh! Not long. Just a few minutes."

It was, of course, completely untrue. But he could guess why she might lie about such matters. Obviously, she felt embarrassed about waiting by the front gate; she knew it made her look odd. Good. Because it did. Reaching out to touch the back of her hand, Sesshoumaru noted that she did not feel very cold. Also, good.

When he touched the skin on her hand, her gaze flew upwards, and she quickly moved away from him, clasping her hands in front of her chest. She looked upset, almost guilty about something.

Naturally, his second question was just as inevitable as his first. "What is wrong?" murmured Sesshoumaru with a frown.

Normal people did not behave like this. Maybe something terrible had occurred?

"N-nothing!" sputtered Kagome. "I just didn't expect anyone to be awake yet. I came early, to build up my courage. Because I wanted to apologize. Yes. Apologize."

To which of the Inuhito brothers did she hope to apologize? Her opening statement implied that she had been waiting for both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. He had simply been fortunate (or unlucky) enough to be the first to emerge from the house that morning.

"Apologize?" he repeated, blankly. Hopefully, she did not want to apologize to his half-brother for breaking up with the boy. It had been a good decision.

As if this mild prompting yanked out a stopper holding back the words, Kagome finally began talking. One she started, she couldn't seem to stop. The words flowed together into a continuous stream, displaying her anxiety.

"I want to apologize for trying to force you to 'save' my relationship with Inuyasha," she babbled. "Several times, in fact. And for trying to force you to set up the relationship in the first place, because it was a terrible idea! You knew that all along, didn't you? I thought you were trying to drive a wedge between us, since Inuyasha told me you might do things like that. But that is obviously incorrect, because Inuyasha doesn't need help driving girls away."

Sesshoumaru blinked slowly, waiting for the real explanation. What she said was incorrect. Her earlier fears were completely true. Inuyasha actually had wanted to avoid her, all along, and he had recruited his elder brother toward that goal (briefly). But Kagome had recently told him how annoying it was to watch his half-brother flirt with other girls – and he had nothing to do with Inuyasha's behavior on that particular score. Surely, this could not be the reason she was lurking outside his home on the weekend, because they had already covered the subject.

Unable to meet his gaze any longer, Kagome began to twiddle her fingers. "What I mean to say is... um... I started to think it was very important to have a boyfriend. Not just any boyfriend, but Inuyasha in particular. Because he was the first boy that I met in high-school, who was handsome and annoying and hard to understand. And I always like puzzles, so I thought I could make Inuyasha into a happier, more well-rounded person, by giving him the best gift of all. Me!" she laughed nervously, and she paused the movement of her fingers. "But in the end, he's not the one for me. Which is really obvious, now."

It seemed like she was thinking out loud, and the direction of her thoughts made no sense to him. Eyes closed, he tried to filter through all the input. Regrettably, she was not done yet. One thing, he understood for certain – women worried about far too much.

"Miroku said I should act more forward, if I wanted Inuyasha to like me," she continued, when he did not speak. "But I don't know what guys like, so I can't do that. Then, Miroku offered to give free lessons – completely perverted, of course – and I said no..."

Somehow, the more she spoke, the more nervous she became. He could not figure out what to say to calm her, yet it seemed clear that she was hoping for a response. In the face of his silence, she filled it up with words.

"In fact, I am probably just bad with men, in general," she sniffled. Sesshoumaru cringed. Her eyes, they were looking slightly watery . . . and especially blue. She was not going to cry, was she? "I just... wanted to say... I'm sorry for relying on you for all these things, and... I'm sorry. And I'll just... be going now, since no one wants to..."

Finally, he decided the best method to ease someone's worries was – distraction! He might not have any clue what Inuyasha had done, this time, to make her sad, or whether he was at fault somehow, but he did know that she had been sitting outside for a long time. It was still very early in the morning, so she probably had not eaten anything yet.

And furthermore, if he distracted her, then she would forget about crying. Which was a good thing. Because Sesshoumaru never learned how to deal with crying girls.

Slipping one hand under her arm, he steered her away from the house. Inuyasha was in there, and his presence might upset her more. "Have you had breakfast?" he inquired calmly.

Kagome gasped, staring at his hand, as though she could not quite believe it was there. The arm quivered in his grasp. "N-no?"

"I was thinking of coffee," he said next, carefully ignoring the way that she froze under his touch. He would analyze all of this, later. At the moment, he wanted to change the subject, so she absolutely did not start crying on him. If so, then he was the one who would be having a meltdown.

"O-okay," she agreed timidly. "I like tea. And they usually sell it, at coffee shops."

He nodded and led the way toward the nearest available coffee shop.

Truly, this girl was as crazy as his brother had said. Over-emotional, fanciful, and prone to impetuous actions like sitting outside of their front gate at the crack of dawn. It was anyone's guess how long she had rested there.

On the other hand, however, he didn't really mind. Perhaps her behavior was caused by the universally dreaded melancholy which overcame people who ended a relationship. Usually, the blues only descended upon a person who was dumped . . . but Kagome had been the exception to other rules. Perhaps she was willing to break this rule too. Inuyasha had not grieved for the death of their relationship, so Kagome was simply picking up the slack for him.

Tiny sniffles began to emerge from the direction of his elbow. Sesshoumaru steeled himself not to look. If he didn't see it, then she was not crying. He didn't like tears.

Unfortunately, Kagome immediately poked holes in his mental barricade. She mentioned it aloud. "I'm sorry to cry over something so stupid," she explained slowly. "I got a bit worked up, over nothing it seems. You aren't angry?"

He paused mid-stride, straightening to face her. Luckily, the tears in her eyes were not so terrible. Despite their existence, she seemed a great deal happier than a few moments ago.

"Why would I be angry?" he asked. "You would be perfectly fine, if not for the fact that my brother undermined your emotional state."

She nodded, and then just as quickly, shook her head. "You do know," she said, "I am the one who broke things off with Inuyasha, right?"

"Yes." Of course, he understood! The end of a relationship could be stressful. Even if the partnership seemed brief or unrewarding. He understood perfectly.

"Right." she nodded once more. "Okay, then. Actually, I was waiting to apologize to you."

Turning to continue down the sidewalk, Sesshoumaru tugged at her arm, hoping she would follow like last time. He shrugged one shoulder, under the strap for his bag. "And you did. I accept your apology. Coffee."

She stumbled after him, her pace slightly off-kilter. Apparently, she had been hoping to convey something else, in addition to an apology. Finally, Kagome mumbled, "Oh! Nevermind. It doesn't matter."