A/N: I survived finals (now all I have to do is wait for the results ::groans::). Anyway, I'm terribly sorry. I know I promised to have this chapter out on the 18th but I guess I was so happy that finals were finally over that I took a bit too long a time off to enjoy myself. Please accept this bug's humble apologies. Now that the holidays are here, I'll try to update more frequently. My plan is to have this story finished before my next semester starts in January.

A huge hug and thank you to all of you who reviewed and/or added me to your fav/alert list. Here's chapter 21, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha in any way.

Italics denote thoughts.

oOo

Angrily she jabbed at the number '15' on the panel, causing the two other people in the elevator to inch visibly away from her. Her long unbound hair fell wildly down her back, courtesy of her very brisk walk from the bus station to the building. Coupled with her fierce expression and flashing blue eyes, she made a very scary picture despite her small frame.

The two young men, interns, by the looks of it, got off at the next floor even though it wasn't their designated floor, scrambling out so fast that they nearly tripped over themselves in their hurry.

The petite girl could hardly care less. Her sole intention now is to reach the dog on the fifteenth floor and giving him a piece of her mind.

Pregnant? His fiancé? How dare he say something like that? Like anyone would want to get married to him or worse still, carry his child. When I get my hands on him, I will give him a burn so bad he'll be whimpering for the rest of his miserable youkai days. Then I am going to kick him where it hurts! Stupid, insufferable demon.

The doors slid open and Kagome marched up to where his office is.

This time around, there was someone sitting at the receptionist's desk.

The middle-aged woman behind the desk gave Kagome an assessing look, taking in the backpack that was slung over her left shoulder and the t-shirt and jeans she was wearing.

"We don't hire interns," she said before Kagome could open her mouth.

"I'm not here to look for a job. I'm here to see Sesshoumaru."

The receptionist raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Kagome.

"Right. Well, I'm afraid Kawamura-sama is in a very important meeting right now," she said in a haughty tone.

Kagome was hardly deterred. The woman was just a receptionist after all and no receptionist was going to stop her from seeing a certain demon lord.

"Is that so? Then would you please tell Sesshoumaru that his fiancée, his pregnant fiancée, is here to see him. I'm sure he'll let me wait in his office," said Kagome as sweetly as she could.

The receptionist's eyes widened incredulously.

oOo

Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair, idly twirling a pen in his hand. He had no more meetings scheduled after the one he had this morning so he was pretty much free the rest of the day, which was a good thing because he had some other things to look into. Such as interrogating a certain junior partner.

However, said junior partner was at a late lunch meeting across town with another prospective client and wasn't back in the office yet. So it looks like he'll have to push that particular plan to later.

Speaking of plans …

The image of the ebony haired miko named Kagome entered his mind. A small smirk graced his lips. Plans concerning her were also going smoothly. She is a student in need of money to pay bills and the like and she had just lost her job at the florist's. If she is as smart as he thinks she is, she will gratefully accept his offer to become his daughter's live-in babysitter.

It was a win-win situation, really. He is able to protect the miko, his daughter will be in safe hands and the miko gets paid not to mention free food and lodging. Where else on earth can you get something as good as this?

A sharp ring jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Kawamura-sama, your, er, fiancée, is here to see you."

This Sesshoumaru's fiancée? This Sesshoumaru doesn't –

Oh.

"Send her in."

The door flew open and in strode Kagome, fury written all over her fair face, sapphire eyes flashing with anger.

"You lying, sneaky, underhanded, unscrupulous mongrel!"

"I'm so sorry, Kawamura-sama! I-I tried to stop her," said the receptionist.

"Leave us."

Sesshoumaru turned to a rather red-faced Kagome the minute the door closed.

"You were saying?"

"You! You are an insufferable jerk! How could you tell Kaede that I'm pregnant with your child and that I'm your fiancée?"

The demon lord raised an eyebrow and looked at the petite miko before him with something akin to amusement on his face.

"Why ever not? It wasn't all that difficult."

The stoic inuyoukai said it in such a nonchalant tone that the only thing missing was a shrug of his shoulders. Kagome, on the other hand, felt her already boiling anger raise a few more notches at his tone.

"You are a dead dog, Sesshoumaru," she growled.

"You made me lose whatever image I had and my job! My job! Do you know how important that is to me? I have bills to pay. And food! I need to eat! With the summer holidays coming, all the jobs available have been snatched up. How do you think I'm going to survive without a job, huh?"

Sesshoumaru was unfazed by her.

Coolly, he said, "You've lost your job? I just so happen to need a babysitter for Rin. Interested?"

Kagome couldn't believe what she just heard. Sesshoumaru was talking as if nothing had happened or, more correctly, talking as if he had no part in her losing of her job at Kaede's.

"Why, you … you … filthy mongrel," she spat.

"This Sesshoumaru believes that you shouldn't talk to your employer like that, Kagome."

Sapphire eyes blazed with fury.

"I'm not working for you and I can talk to you however I like!"

"Really, so you're telling me that you don't need a job?"

"I don't need a job from you," she said stubbornly.

Figures that she'd be a stubborn one. Well, time for the other strategy. The Taiyoukai shook his head slightly and made his way back to his seat.

"Well, it appears that this Sesshoumaru cannot adopt the fox kit. He must be sent away to the orphanage. Jaken cannot possibly look after two children by himself especially now that he's injured. It looks like Rin will have to be placed at the childcare centre all day long for the time being too."

Before she knew what she was doing, Kagome had reached a hand out and grabbed his elbow. Sesshoumaru turned slightly to look at her.

"Wait. What did you just say?"

"This Sesshoumaru does not repeat himself."

Oh, that insufferable dog, Kagome thought, fighting back the urge to glare at him.

"You're not really sending Shippou away to the orphanage are you? And Rin, she can't be at the centre the whole day, that's just so … "

"Have you a better idea what to do then, miko?" he asked, removing his elbow from her hand and turning fully so that his golden eyes were looking directly into her sapphire ones.

"I, er," she began, biting on her lower lip, "Shippou is a good kid and Rin is an angel so … yeah, I suppose I could baby-sit them for you."

Hook, line and sinker.

Although his face was kept carefully blank, the tall inuyoukai was smiling to himself inside. His plan had worked like a charm on the soft-hearted miko.

"Very well. You will start immediately. Go home and pack all your things. This Sesshoumaru will pick you up at 5 p.m."

He began walking towards the door. In a few steps, Kagome was behind him, her hand once more taking hold of his elbow.

"Pack all my things? I have to live with you? But, but I can't! What about Sango? She can't possibly pay the rent all by herself!"

"That will be taken care of. Anything else?"

Kagome blinked twice. Is he for real?

"I-I guess not."

"Good," he said.

Casually placing his hand at the small of her back, he opened the door and guided her out towards the elevators. Unconsciously, Kagome leaned in closer to the youkai walking beside her, blissfully ignorant of the many pairs of female eyes glaring daggers at her passing form.

"This Sesshoumaru will see you later," he said the minute the metal doors slid open.

The ebony haired girl nodded and gave him a small smile just before the doors closed.

oOo

"This Sesshoumaru believes that he is hiding something."

"So you think working as an accountant is just his cover for something else."

"Hn."

"And that something else has got to do with Naraku."

"Hn."

"Right. Since when have accountants begun leading double lives huh?"

"Just do the job, hanyou or this Sesshoumaru will have your head," the inuyoukai threatened to the person on the other end.

"Keh. Alright, alright. Jeez. I'll go dig up everything about his past and present, happy?"

"Hn," was the reply before he ended the call.

Golden eyes glanced at the watch on his wrist. Time to go pick Kagome up. Swiftly he got up from his chair and exited his office for the day.

oOo

Her large chocolate brown eyes looked around at their surroundings while her partner spoke to the waiter. Despite only having been here for less than ten minutes, she had already taken a liking to the place. It had a very cozy feel to it and she couldn't help but feel relaxed.

The inside of the restaurant was painted a deep red color that matched the dark mahogany of the wooden furniture. A few artistic oil paintings hung here and there on the walls, highlighted by strategically placed lamps that bathed the entire room in a soft yellow light. All in all, it felt very homey.

Funny, I never knew this place existed and I've been studying just 5 minutes away for the past two years.

"So, how do you like this place, my dear Sango?"

"Huh, oh, er, it's very nice."

"I'm glad you like it," he said, flashing her a grin.

She smiled back weakly, trying not to focus on how their knees were almost brushing one another's beneath the table.

"You know, Fujisawa-san –"

"Please, just call me Miroku, Sango."

"Okay, Miroku. I have a question."

Miroku raised a dark eyebrow but said nothing, only indicating with a slight tilt of his head for her to continue with whatever she wanted to ask.

"Why did you bring me here? It still doesn't make sense to me."

"What doesn't make sense?" he asked.

"This," she replied, gesturing to the restaurant with her hand. "I spilled coffee on you. You don't take people who spill coffee on your shirt early in the morning to dinner."

The man simply grinned and asked, "Not even if she is a pretty girl?"

A faint blush colored Sango's cheeks.

"No. You … you chew off their heads and then make them pay for dry cleaning or dinner or both."

"Oh, well. What can I say, I do things differently," he replied with a shrug. "Besides, it's just a shirt. I can easily get another. Don't worry about it."

"I still feel bad about dirtying it, coffee stains are hard to get out," mumbled Sango.

Amused, Miroku remarked, "That's what the dry cleaner is there for, isn't it?"

"I don't suppose you'd let me pay for the bill, would you?" asked Sango, turning her large brown eyes at him.

Picking up her hand, he gently ran his thumb over her knuckles and looked directly into her eyes before continuing softly, "No. But if it'll make you feel any better, I shall collect the payment I think is appropriate later."

The blush on her cheeks darkened so much that Sango was pretty sure they were matched the walls perfectly.

"Let's forget about it and just enjoy this lovely evening, shall we?" he said with a disarming smile as he clinked his wine glass with hers.

oOo

She should have known that he was too much of a gentleman to let her walk up to her apartment alone; not that she has got anything against it or whatsoever. But somehow, his walking her to her door caused her to think about things that are bound to happen when dates came to an end.

But this isn't a date, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, or is it? It had certainly felt like one.

He had been very attentive to her, spoiling her even, with her favorite food and desserts. He flirted with her and made her laugh. Even now, recalling the way he looked at her and the way he would touch her hand every now and then still had her stomach feeling as if it contained a hundred butterflies.

If this isn't a date, I don't know what is. Does this mean I have to kiss him goodnight?

Their arrival at her doorstep prevented her from further contemplating the matter.

Turning to face him, she said with a smile, "Thank you for dinner, I had a great time. Would you like to come in for coffee?"

"I had a great time too, thanks to you, my lovely Sango. As for the coffee, I'll save it for another time because if I do stay, you'll be too tired to attend your morning class tomorrow," he replied, an eyebrow raised suggestively.

Sango flushed bright red. He did not just say what I think he did. Does that mean he was thinking of -

"Well, goodnight then, my dear Sango."

"Goodnight," she replied automatically.

He had not taken two steps away when he spun around to face her once more.

"I nearly forgot."

It all happened between one heartbeat and the next. There she stood, all prepared to ask what he had forgotten only to find that the gap between them had disappeared and his lips covering hers. One hand cupped her cheek while the other rested at her waist.

It was just a kiss, chaste and sweet in its briefness, but it was unlike anything she had ever experienced in all her 21 years.

"I'll take that as compensation for the shirt," Miroku remarked softly, his thumb gently caressing her cheek.

He couldn't help smiling at the surprised look on her face. If he didn't leave now, there was no guarantee that she would be able to get any sleep tonight.

"I should go now, goodbye and goodnight Sango."

"Wait," she said, one hand fisting in his shirt to prevent him from walking away, "will I see you again?"

"Of course, my lovely Sango."

With that he removed her hand and walked away, the soles of his leather shoes tapping rhythmically against the tiled floor. Sango watched his retreating back with her chocolate brown eyes until he disappeared around the corner before entering her silent apartment. The feel of his lips still lingered on hers.

Downstairs, violet eyes gazed up to the fifth floor of the apartment building. As much as he wanted to take it further with the lovely, dark haired girl, he had to restrain himself. He wanted Sango around forever and not as just another woman for yet another one-night stand.

He wanted to be able to spend his days and nights with her, to be able to have a family with her, to grow old with her. But he couldn't. At least not until the matter with the jewel was resolved.

For now, he had to content himself with loving her from afar. If he could help it, there would be no more accidental meetings such as this between them. It wouldn't do if Naraku found out about Sango and decided to use her against him someday. He really wouldn't put it past Naraku to do something like that.

He will keep Sango safe even if it meant staying away from her.

"Goodbye, my beloved Sango," he whispered to the wind. The next time I see you; there will be no more goodbyes.

The corner of his lips curled upwards into a small smile as he got into his car. Cursed as he is, it was nice to have something to look forward to.

oOo

A/N: Review, please? I missed reading them.