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Sesshomaru's eye twitched.

The infuriating girl was in his house.

Again.

Once again she had arrived only to disappear seconds later into Inuyasha's room, but this time was even worse than before; now Izayoi and Inutaisho were paying him an equal amount of attention and they cackled gleefully at him from across the room.

"Sesshomaru, my son!" Inutaisho boomed. "Fancy seeing you in the living room agai-"

A marble paperweight struck him in the face before he could finish his sentence.

"Shut. Up." Sesshomaru hissed, his temper flaring. He did not possess the patience today to deal with the immaturity of his parents (and he didn't feel bad about the blood trickling down his father's face; he knew his father had gotten struck on purpose in order to whine about it later).

"That was attempted patricide!" Inutaisho wailed, holding his forehead. "How could you, Sesshomaru? After all the love and care I put into raising you -"

He was interrupted by yet another paperweight to the face, this one identical to the other.

"…Honey?" Inutaisho asked, turning to his wife with his nose crushed. "…Why do we have a pair of matching paperweights in the living room?"

Izayoi looked confused as well, though her gaze held no sympathy as she casually handed him a napkin. "I don't know dear. Just make sure not to get any blood on the carpet, okay? I just had it redone the other day."

Sesshomaru grit his teeth as his father proceeded to whimper about how Izayoi had more love for interior decoration than for him. He was reallynot in a good mood, and his irritation at having Kagome visit his home (to see Inuyasha, no less) was reaching its absolute peak.

Sesshomaru was hasty in correcting his own thoughts.

Not that it mattered who she came to see, of course.

"I'm going for a walk." He said at last, slamming his book down and interrupting whatever his father was whining about now. Inutaisho instantly calmed and frowned at his son.

"You're still under house arrest, Sesshomaru." He said warningly, his voice low and ringing with authority. Normally the younger youkai's instincts would force him to yield to his father's dominance, but right now Sesshomaru was far too annoyed to care about proper etiquette.

"I'm going to take a walk." He repeated again evenly. "Unless Izayoi would like to pay for new carpet after you're done holding me here against my will."

Inutaisho paled as Izayoi's eyes widened at the thought.

"Dear, why don't you just let him off this one time." She turned to her spouse with a forced smile, though her eyes revealed her true intentions.

If anything happens to my carpet, you die.

"Erm…you know what, Sesshomaru? You've actually been behaving pretty well lately. Maybe some fresh air would be good for you after all." Inutaisho said hastily with a nervous chuckle. Having gotten what he wanted, Sesshomaru simply nodded and left through the front door, slamming it shut behind him.

Inutaisho and Izayoi gazed after him, both of them frowning.

"…I can't believe he threatened the carpet."

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Outside, Sesshomaru stood still for a moment weighing out his options of what to do next. After deciding, he set off in a brisk pace.

Some people might call what Sesshomaru did next 'eavesdropping'.

Sesshomaru merely called it being at the right place at the right time – on purpose.

Because the other side of the house was much better for taking a walk than the side he was on, Sesshomaru had no choice but to walk alongside his house to get there, coincidentally passing underneath Inuyasha's room. Deciding that the moon was beautiful and that he'd get a much better view if he were to climb onto the tree next to Inuyasha's window (it contradicted with his sudden desire to walk, but whatever – Sesshomaru wouldn't question his bodily desires), Sesshomaru stealthily leaped onto one of its branches, careful not to make a sound as he landed.

With his superior hearing, that distance was more than enough to hear the voice of his idiotic half-brother, along with the softer tones of the girl who had come to visit.

"…Tomorrow." Inuyasha was saying.

Tomorrow?

Ah. The cultural festival.

"Mmmm." Kagome sounded, her voice a bit higher than usual. "I'm not looking forward to it." She admitted, and Sesshomaru could hear the sound of rustling fabric.

"Don't be like that, Kags." The half-wit replied. "It'll be fun!"

What a stupid nickname.

"…I don't see you being forced into a frilly maid outfit, Inu-kun. Though as head of the organizing committee, that can always be arranged." Kagome answered, and Sesshomaru was amused to hear the steely glint to her voice.

He could practically see his brother wince.

"Eh…let's…not." Inuyasha laughed nervously.

"Well, I'm just glad everything worked out for you." Kagome sighed, changing the subject.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Inuyasha sounded happy. "I owe you one!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Kagome replied, her tone rather grumpy. "You just better do a good job of making sure nobody grabs my ass, or else I swear I'll be sending half the school to the hospital with broken wrists."

She's not joking. Sesshomaru remembered how she had effortlessly taken down two guys much bigger than her the previous week.

"I just wish there was a way out of it…" the girl continued.

"…Food poisoning?" Inuyasha suggested.

"I wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of the cultural festival."

"What if I broke your arm?"

"What if I broke your face?"

"I'm out of ideas." Inuyasha sighed.

Sesshomaru's brow twitched.

His brother was truly proof of why some animals liked to eat their young.

Deciding that he had heard enough (and that the important content had already been missed), Sesshomaru departed from his perch and glided through the air, landing soundlessly on the nearby pavement.

He walked aimlessly for a few minutes, enjoying the outside air that had been denied to him except for when he went to school. Having to breathe the same air as his foolish half-brother for such extended periods of time was probably bad for his intelligence, and Sesshomaru enjoyed the refreshing feeling of not having to hear Inuyasha's annoying face (yes, he could hear faces, against all logic) one room away.

The only thing that could ruin such a moment was…

"…Sesshomaru?"

Mother of god.

She was everywhere.

The silver-haired man turned to see Kagome staring at him with her wide, sapphire eyes that made him feel far too uncomfortable for his own tastes.

"What a coincidence!" she beamed, bounding over like an excited puppy. "I just came from your house, actually!"

Which is why I'm not there. Sesshomaru inwardly grimaced.

"Which way are ya headed?" she asked, smiling widely.

Sesshomaru glanced around him and picked a random direction.

"…There."

"That's the way I'm going too!" Kagome stated, and for a moment Sesshomaru fought the desire to dig a hole in the cement and stuff his head in it.

This. Girl. Was. So. Bothersome.

"Hey!" Kagome interrupted, probably seeing the irritated look on his face. "Don't you dare leave a delicate girl like me to walk home by herself!"

The inu-youkai would have sputtered had he not been entirely constructed of elegance and grace.

"…Delicate?" He repeated dryly.

Kagome looked away. "I guess not." She laughed. "…Still pretty freaky though." She muttered quietly to herself. Sesshomaru glanced down at her for a brief moment, taking in the way luscious raven curls framed delicate ivory skin that seemed to glow under the gentle moonlight. Her eyes were turned downwards towards the ground, causing thick lashes to frame high cheekbones as she carelessly kicked a small rock away from her.

Once again, his inner youkai spurred to life.

Sesshomaru stomped it down forcefully.

Silence.

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome called softly, her lips turned downwards in confusion. "I'm losing you."

"…Your hairband." Sesshomaru spoke, looking away. "It was dishonorable of me to break it."

The raven-haired girl looked up at him, pink lips parted in shock. She seemed to be waiting for him to say more, but Sesshomaru awarded her with a glare instead.

If she was expecting an apology, she'd have to wait for another ten years.

"Yeah." Kagome spoke at last, her tone no longer pleasant as it had been before. "…Right."

She gave him another glance before shaking her head.

"I'm going to go home alone after all." She stated evenly, shouldering her bag. "It was…fun seeing you again, Sesshomaru."

The silver-haired youkai watched Kagome leave, ignoring the uncomfortable churning of his stomach.

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AlexandriteSky: It's going to be a bumpy road for Sesshy…As always, please leave a review on your way out! I have way too much time on my hands now, and seeing a lot of feedback makes me unable to resist spamming out these chapters!