I don't own these characters.
10: Switching problems
Sesshomaru was not sure what to make of what just happened, but he decided that he was not going to bother with trying to figure it out. Princess Abi had just called his cell phone; he was at work. And she requested that they have lunch with Kikyo and Midoriko again. He thought that was odd because Abi detested humans, yet she wanted to meet with two for lunch again. He had agreed because the lunch before had gone somewhat well, especially for a first meeting between females that should have thoroughly detested each other for various reasons.
He called Kikyo to let her know that Abi wanted them all to have lunch together, which she thought was fine. She then had to pass the word onto Midoriko. She hoped that Midoriko had a favorable reaction to the news because it would show that her big sister was trying to be social beyond the superficial level she generally worked at. She truly thought that her sister needed to be more social.
"Yes?" Midoriko answered her phone.
"Hello, big sister. Sesshomaru called to say that Abi has suggested that we all have lunch again today," Kikyo reported.
"I suppose that's fine," Midoriko replied, making sure to keep her tone as always.
"All right. How was the ride last night?" the younger sister inquired rather curious. She gathered that everything went all right since Midoriko had agreed to lunch with the bird demon again, but she would like some details on the matter.
"It was…decent," Midoriko answered.
"Decent?"
"Well, it was only a ride. It's not like it can go horribly wrong or anything like that," the eldest pointed out.
"You make a point. Well, I shall see you at lunch."
"All right."
The sisters disconnected the call and Kikyo was about to go handle a patient, but Suikotsu came to her door before she could escape her office. He greeted her and she returned the greeting. He tried to strike up a conversation, but she informed him that she had patient waiting, which he only understood for the moment it seemed because as soon as she was done with her patient, he was back to trying to speak with her.
Kikyo did not want to be rude or anything, so she conversed with Suikotsu for a few minutes. She was vague in almost everything that she told him, though, which should have been a clue that she really did not wish to talk to him. But, her vagueness was also due to the things that he was asking her about. He wanted to know about what sorts of things she liked, such as flowers and candy and she was not trying to encourage him by telling him those things. After all, if she told him such things, she was certain that those things would certainly be in her office one day and she did not want gifts from the doctor. She did not want to put herself in that kind of predicament.
She did not understand why he continued to pursue her. She had already informed him that she had a boyfriend. Why was it that he could not respect that? It was something that she found distasteful and clashed with his affable personality and she thought that she might have to tell him that if he continued to carry on as he was. It seemed like it would be the only way to get him to cease and desist.
Kikyo decided to stop thinking about it and wondered on Abi's request for them all to have lunch again. She was hoping that Abi wanted to spend time with her sister again. She thought that it was a very good sign that her sister had accepted that the demon princess wanted to join them for lunch again. Perhaps, her sister had made a friend, someone to share experiences with on the same level as Midoriko and who was not her sister. Kikyo smiled at the thought because she felt it was about time that her sister made a friend outside of their family.
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Midoriko and Kikyo were sitting at the café table, waiting for Sesshomaru and Abi. The sisters had already ordered drinks. Kikyo was circling her finger around the glass of her lemonade while Midoriko watched the miserable habit and sipped her drink. She could not understand why or how Kikyo twirled her finger around glass, even though she was going to drink from a straw. Still, sometimes, she had witnessed Kikyo do it with a cup that she was going to put her lips on.
"I can't be you're allowed to give health advice," Midoriko commented, a hint of humor in her even voice.
"I suppose we're even considering with some of the things you do, I can't believe you're allowed to give legal advice," Kikyo replied; there was also a touch of amusement underlying her usual tone.
"Well, you know the saying, do as I say, not as I do," the eldest remarked with a small smirk.
"This is why you secretly get along so well with Sesshomaru," the doctor remarked.
Midoriko did not seem to find that quite funny. She was about to say something, but she saw her sister's eyes leave her and go upward. She turned slightly, knowing who was coming.
"Beloved," Kikyo said as Sesshomaru approached with Abi.
"They say speak of the devil and he shall appear," Midoriko remarked as the dog demon leaned down to greet Kikyo with a small kiss on the mouth. He looked at the elder sister as he sat down next to Kikyo.
"I get the feeling you were talking about Sesshomaru then," Abi quipped with a smile as she sat down, sitting near Midoriko.
"He is the devil," the elder human female commented.
"That or he ate the devil," the bird demon added in.
"Is this what you two plan to bond over?" Sesshomaru inquired.
"No, but it's really fun," Abi informed him with a teasing smile. Midoriko nodded in agreement and laughed a bit to prove how fun it was.
Sesshomaru sighed and just left them to peck at him like the hens they were, in his opinion anyway. With luck, he thought that they would get along well enough to where Abi might actually want to go hang out with the sisters rather than pester him. Anything that might get her out of his hair was fine by him, even if it meant some verbal abuse coming his way. He was looking at the big picture.
Instead of bothering with Abi and Midoriko, the nobleman turned his attention to his woman and noticed what she was doing. Kikyo was still circling her glass with her finger, which he put a stop to. He gently grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her cup. She sighed while casting a glance in his direction.
"It's irksome," he informed her.
"I know," Kikyo replied.
Sesshomaru sighed again, but he was not really bothered by anything. He sat back while the women jumped into a conversation about clothing because Abi had gone shopping that morning. Despite the fact that they all had different taste in clothing, he did note that they all had one thing in common and that was they bought rather expensive clothing. Midoriko was into business suits while Kikyo was into her own style altogether and Abi was pretty much the same as Kikyo.
Eventually, they did order lunch. During the meal, Abi did throw out the idea that maybe Midoriko and Kikyo might show her around the museums that Sesshomaru took her to, if only to give her some different points of view and help her better understand concepts about the art. Kikyo looked at Midoriko, who shrugged.
"What's your schedule like?" Midoriko asked her little sister.
"I'm checking," Kikyo answered while pulling out her appointment book. She preferred having a book to write things in while Midoriko was more high tech when it came to keeping track of her appointments.
"Well, I'm free in the afternoon a couple of days from now," the lawyer stated.
"Well, you two might have to go on your own. I am booked this whole week it would seem, even Saturday," Kikyo informed them.
"You are one busy doctor," Abi commented. "But, me and the big sister should be able to get along well on our own, right?" she added with a bit of a smile mixed with a smirk.
"That should be fine," Kikyo agreed for her big sister.
"Besides, you and Midoriko offering opinions on art, you might as well be one person," Sesshomaru remarked.
"At least our opinions aren't demented," Midoriko riposted.
"Merely wrong and boring," he shot back in his usual calm manner.
"I have yet to meet the artist of a painting proclaiming your interpretation of his work is spot on," she countered in her typically collected tone.
Sesshomaru was undaunted and had a comeback of his own. Kikyo and Abi just watched the pair go back and forth for about a minute. Kikyo at least had the decency to not laugh while Abi was chuckling as if they were at a comedy duo. The laughing was the thing that got Sesshomaru and Midoriko to stop, though. It would seem that neither of them enjoyed being a show for someone else.
"Anyway, the afternoon after tomorrow, we can go to the museum," Midoriko said to Abi.
"Fine with me. Hear that, dog breath, I get actual sophisticated company in two days," the bird demon commented with a teasing expression on her face.
"I shall rejoice and hope that Midoriko doesn't find her mind anytime soon and that way she won't return you to me," he retorted.
Abi and Midoriko frowned, noting that he had gotten both of them with one comment. Sesshomaru felt like his work was done by getting back at both of them in one breath. Kikyo just shook her head; she supposed that she was going to have to be kinder to her love for a while since he was getting attacked verbally at all sides.
----(New day)
Sesshomaru figured since Abi was now Midoriko's problem, at least for the afternoon, he would surprise Kikyo. He thought that would be a good thing and he would like to see her smile at him; he just loved her smile. So, he brought her a few red and white roses, just something for her to keep in her office for a few days and he was going to see if she was free for lunch, alone.
He parked his car and walked toward the medical center. He noticed the group of six people hanging outside of the clinic. He thought that was rather tacky, but he did not say anything about it. He entered the center and went directly to Kikyo's office, knowing that she was there because of her scent.
"Angel," Sesshomaru greeted her from the doorway.
"Sessho," Kikyo said in slight shock. She had sensed him coming, but she was not sure why he was at her job.
"How does this day find you, beloved?" he inquired with an interest that only she could hear in his voice. He presented her with the roses while stepping into the small office. Being in her office made him appreciate his office because he was fairly certain that he could fit about five of her offices in his office with space left over. He did not see how she could stand being in such a small space, even if it was only for a few minutes.
"As fine as it can possibly be when you show up," she replied with a small smile and that brightened his day for him. She accepted the flowers that he had for her, but she did not have a vase to put them in.
"That is promising. Would you care to join me for lunch, beloved?" he proposed.
"You know I would love to. Give me a few minutes to finish up here," she answered.
Sesshomaru nodded and he stood there waiting for her to finish what she was doing. After standing there for a few seconds, something odd caught his attention. He smelled someone approaching and the scent was vaguely familiar. He guessed that the aroma belonged to someone that Kikyo worked with and then the owner of the smell showed up, Suikotsu. His Kikyo was carrying the scent of a male? Sesshomaru frowned.
Suikotsu caught sight of Sesshomaru as he came down the hallway and was able to see into Kikyo's office. He recognized the dog demon from the picture that Kikyo had in her office. He was surprised to see the nobleman, thinking that the demon never visited Kikyo. It was one of those things that made him believe that Sesshomaru did not deserve Kikyo. He figured that any real boyfriend would visit his girl at her job.
Suikotsu kept walking, going by Kikyo's office and looking inside. He glanced at her; she watched him go by. He also eyed Sesshomaru, who did the same thing. The male doctor did continue on his way, though. He figured that he would tell Bankotsu and the others about Sesshomaru being around. He knew that Bankotsu wanted to know about Sesshomaru, but he was not too sure why.
The dog demon was mildly intrigued by the passing doctor. He supposed that it was all right for Kikyo to smell vaguely of someone that she worked with, but he was not very open to the idea because it just was not right for his woman to smell even slightly like a male that was not him. He turned his attention to her.
"Beloved, the man that just passed," Sesshomaru said.
"Suikotsu," she supplied him with the name.
"Okay, but does he spend time around you often?" he inquired.
"He often comes by my office to greet me in the morning," she answered.
Sesshomaru did not respond to that. He did not like the idea of some man visiting his beloved on the daily basis, even if it was innocent; or at least innocent on Kikyo's end. He doubted that the visits were innocent from the man's position.
"So, where would you like to go to lunch?" Sesshomaru inquired, putting the man out of his mind for the moment at least.
"Anywhere is fine by me," she answered.
The dog demon nodded to that information. He then waited patiently for her to finish what she was doing. She stopped to smell her roses before turning to him when she was finished with her work. She liked how whenever he brought her flowers underneath there own scent was a small piece of Sesshomaru's smell there that just hinted at her nose.
The couple left, walking by Suikotsu's friends as they exited the medical center. Bankotsu did not say anything, but he did watch the couple curiously. He guessed that the dog demon was the boyfriend. He had not gotten a good look at the picture that was in Kikyo's office to be totally sure, but he was just going to go ask Suikotsu in a few moments.
"She's got good taste," Jakotsu commented.
"Not now, Jakotsu," Bankotsu said, which caused the effeminate male to pout.
"What?" Jakotsu asked, curious as to what he had done wrong.
"We're thinking about Suikotsu now, like good friends do, okay?" Bankotsu pointed out.
"Fine," Jakotsu sighed. They were thinking about Suikotsu, but that did not mean that he could not think about the demon that had left with Kikyo while he was at it. The demon had been rather attractive, after all.
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Sesshomaru and Kikyo went out to lunch to their usual restaurant. He was happy that he was back there with Kikyo and it was almost visible on his face. She did notice the glint in his golden eyes that most people would have missed. She was pleased that her presence could make him close to smiling in public.
"Do you think your sister would keep Abi for the rest of the day?" Sesshomaru wondered out loud. It was his hope.
"I'm not sure. They seem to get along quite well. Maybe if Abi is persistent enough, she could talk Midoriko into staying out with her. Midoriko really needs it," Kikyo replied.
The sliver-haired male was inclined to agree, but he did not express that. He could understand why Midoriko might not want to make friends or anything, but he agreed with his beloved because if Midoriko had a friend to do things with, she would not need to be around Kikyo as often and he could have Kikyo all to himself. The idea was very pleasing as far as he was concerned.
"Well, if she does keep Abi company for the rest of the day, what do you say I take you out to dinner too?" Sesshomaru proposed.
"I would love that," she answered.
Sesshomaru was very, very close to smiling now; his lip was even twitching, ready to move into an upward curl. He was already enjoying his day more than he had since Abi showed up in his life just from being around Kikyo and being able to take her out alone. He reached across the table and took her hand into his. She smiled, both for her own happiness and for his.
They had a quiet, but joyful lunch. They took their time with the meal and Sesshomaru returned Kikyo to work at the last possible moment. He informed her that he would come and pick her up as long as Abi was still with Midoriko; if Abi ended up being with Sesshomaru, Midoriko would come pick up the doctor as that was how things had been going since Abi showed up. Kikyo nodded to that and then Sesshomaru surprised her.
The nobleman leaned down and captured Kikyo's mouth with his own. Her chocolate eyes went wide in shock. They usually did not engage in shows off affection when they were in public. They just were not the type for public displays, even if they were in an empty hall, which they were at the moment. They were in the doorway of Kikyo's office.
The raven-haired female got over her shock after a few seconds and just appreciated the feel of his lips on her. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss while wrapping her arms around his neck. He put his hands on her waist, pulling her close to him. They did not end the kiss until breathing was absolutely necessary.
"I'll see you this evening," he practically whispered to her.
Kikyo only nodded and with that her lover was gone. She sighed and flopped down into her seat. She hoped that he was the one that was going to pick her up. She had no problem with riding with her sister, but she missed Sesshomaru. She did not like sharing him with Abi, even if it was only temporary and nothing was going on between the two demons. Her mind was taken off of that subject as Suikotsu suddenly appeared at her door.
"Good afternoon, Kikyo," he greeted her with a smile.
Kikyo's expression almost fell because of his appearance, but she kept her control. She forced a little smile out for him. The right end of the smile did twitch in aggravation, but he did not seem to notice.
"Good afternoon, Suikotsu," she replied, forcing her mouth to avoid speaking through her teeth.
"Did you have a good lunch?" he inquired.
"Very," she answered honestly.
"So, that man that was in your office earlier, was he the man in the picture on your desk?" he asked curiously.
"Yes," she answered plainly. Any person with eyes would have been able to see that in her opinion.
Suikotsu made a noise and nodded slightly. He never thought that her boyfriend would actually come up to the center since he had never seen the boyfriend before. Was the demon more considerate than he thought? He doubted it. He was not sure what brought the demon up to the clinic, but he was not going to let it get him down. He was still certain that he was better for Kikyo and his friends backed him on that, but he still did not know what to do.
Suikotsu tried to make some small talk with Kikyo, but she had an appointment that she needed to get to, which she was very thankful for. He sighed as she went to an examination room. She never seemed to respond to him, he noted. He was not sure what he should do. His friends had urged him to just ask her out, but he argued that it was not that simple. He could not be so forward with Kikyo for whatever reason, even though a voice in his mind was ordering him to do just what his friends suggested.
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Bankotsu and his crew watched as Sesshomaru exited the medical center. The dog demon glanced at the group, but did not seem to pay them any further attention. Bankotsu figured that they would get Sesshomaru when they saw him again if Suikotsu did not make his move on Kikyo. It would be fun, Bankotsu thought with a smile. He was sure that a good fight would get Jakotsu to stop whining.
Sesshomaru did not think too much on the group hanging out outside the medical center. He did not care what humans did to pass the time, no matter how tacky it was. He did wish that they were not loitering outside of the space that Kikyo worked, but they did not seem to be doing any harm.
The nobleman decided to think about where he would take Kikyo if he got the night to himself. He figured that it would be safe to check in with Abi and see if Midoriko was sick of her yet. He called the bird demon.
"Miss me?" Abi teased the dog demon when she answered her phone.
He did not miss a beat with his response. "Like one would miss a bad rash," he answered.
"Aw, you miss me," she continued on.
"Hardly," he assured her. "Have you worn out your welcome with Kikyo's sister?"
"Not at all."
"So, you will remain with her?" he asked, but he sounded more like he was ordering her to do that.
"Well, I suppose," she answered as if it pained her to stay with Midoriko, but she would do it as a favor to him. In fact, she was enjoying Midoriko's company much more than Sesshomaru's since Midoriko was nowhere near as condescending as the dog demon, although Abi doubted that God All-mighty was as condescending as Sesshomaru.
"All right," he said and he disconnected the call.
"Ass," Abi muttered as she put her phone away; yes, she was referring to Sesshomaru.
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Kikyo smiled as Sesshomaru showed up at her office door as she was leaving for the evening. She was glad to see him for two reasons; it meant that he was all hers for the rest of the day and that Abi was getting along with her sister. It was a win/win situation for her.
The couple left that night holding hands. As they exited the building, they did not notice that Bankotsu and his group were not out there for once. They went for dinner at a little restaurant and engaged in some light conversation. Feeling oddly adventurous, the couple then went to a movie after dinner and they were in such good moods that they barely noticed that they sat through a film that would typically bother them; it was heavy on special effects and light on plot depth.
They arrived home late at night, but that did not faze either of them. Sure, Kikyo had work in the morning, but she was pleased with having spent the whole night with Sesshomaru rather than spending half of the night home on her own wondering what he was doing. She was ready to fall into bed, but apparently, Sesshomaru had other plans, or so his grabbing her from behind and placing light kisses on her neck implied. She did not resist, even though she did have work in the morning.
----(New day)
Suikotsu was pacing in his office, which did not give him much space to pace in. He had to turn around every two steps. He was nervous. He was anxious because it had been decided that he would ask Kikyo out and if she did not accept, Bankotsu figured that he would take care of that.
He knew that Kikyo was already in and she was with a patient at the moment. He was thankful for the time to stall, but he knew that he was going to have to go sooner or later. He gulped, but a voice in his head ordered him to stop acting like a coward and talk to the woman. The voice got louder as time passed and it steeled him until he was confident enough to go to her office once she was done.
Kikyo was ready to sigh because she could just feel him coming toward her office. What was she going to have to do to get Suikotsu to understand that she was not interested? She was not sure and she did not get the answer before he was standing in her doorway, so she was going to have to deal with him for the moment yet again.
"Good morning, Kikyo," Suikotsu greeted her, even though they had gone through that when she had come in about an hour ago.
"Good morning," she replied, turning to pay him some mind to avoid being rude, although she was starting to consider that she was going to have to be just that to him if he was going to continue on as he was.
"How's the day going so far?" he asked.
"Fine," she answered in an almost clipped tone. She might as well have told him to go away with the way her voice came out.
Suikotsu took notice of the very rare attitude, but he did not suspect that it had anything to do with him. He immediately blamed her mood on her demon boyfriend, betting the inferior male had done something to her to put her in such a foul mood. Obviously, to him anyway, that demon did not deserve such a fair creature as Kikyo.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Kikyo asked Suikotsu since he was just standing in her doorway now.
"Um…well, I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me today," Suikotsu just sort of blurted out.
Kikyo was almost taken back by his forwardness, but she maintained her composure. "I have plans," she answered almost a second after the proposal.
"With that demon?" he practically demanded to know. The speed with which she answered him seemed to have angered him, which was unexpected since he was normally so even tempered.
"How is that any of your business?" she countered. She actually did not know who she had lunch plans with. It depended on who was spending the day with Abi, she supposed.
The retort seemed bring him back to himself. "Oh…yes, right. I'm sorry," he apologized and he then bid her farewell rather hastily. He was not sure what came over him to make him so angry with her so suddenly. He went to step outside for some air to hopefully get his head together. He walked right into Bankotsu.
"Hey, did you ask her out?" Bankotsu inquired curiously.
"Yeah. Hey, where are the other guys?" Suikotsu looked around and noticed that the short leader was the only one around.
"Ah, they went to do their own thing," Bankotsu answered in a dismissive tone, waving his hand in a nonchalant manner to further show that he could care less. "So, what happened with Kikyo? Where you taking her?"
"Nowhere. She declined."
"She declined?" Bankotsu echoed as if he did not understand. "Ah well, it's probably because of that demon guy. I'll change her mind."
"You will. How?" Suikotsu asked curiously.
"I'll fight him and make him dump her," Bankotsu declared as if that was the most logical plan of all time, but for him it was and Suikotsu did not argue with it because he knew how the shorter male was.
Bankotsu figured that the next time that he saw Sesshomaru, he would challenge the demon to a battle and force the dog demon to break up with Kikyo. Then Kikyo would be free and Suikotsu could sweep her off of her feet. Surprisingly enough, Sesshomaru came by that afternoon; he was going to take Kikyo to lunch again. It would seem that Abi did prefer Midoriko's company to his and he could not be happier for that fact.
Sesshomaru frowned as he made it to the door of the medical center, only to find Bankotsu blocking the entrance. He would not have cared, but the short human did not move out of his way. Bankotsu smirked.
"What?" Sesshomaru inquired.
"I'll give you a fair chance to back out of this. Either you dump Kikyo right now and I won't have to kick your ass or I could kick your ass and then you dump Kikyo," Bankotsu answered.
If Sesshomaru had just a little less self-control, he would have been rolling on the ground, dying of laughter. Instead, his face barely twitched from what he saw as a ludicrous ultimatum. There must be something wrong with the little human, he thought.
"Move," Sesshomaru commanded, not wanting to waste his time with such foolishness.
"I guess I'll have to make you then," Bankotsu said while cracking his knuckles. "This'll be fun," he decided and probably easy. He figured that Sesshomaru could not possibly all that tough just from the way he looked. One would have guessed that with his friends, he would have learned not to judge a book by its cover.
Sesshomaru sighed. It would seem that he was going to have to injure the little human for him to learn anything. Well, at least they were right outside of a doctor's office.
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Next time: the outcome of this battle and another battle. Sesshomaru ends up curious about Suikotsu's relationship to Kikyo too.