Kagome stayed in Dr. Asus' private clinic until he was satisfied that her body had had enough time to regain enough strength to function with relative ease on her own and that her arms no longer needed the stitches. When Kagome was released, it was on the condition that she stay with Sesshomaru, at least until she was back to full health, after that, where she stayed would be between her and her "intended" as he called it. It ended up taking about 2 long tedious weeks for her blood count to be acceptable, even after a blood transfusion.
Interestingly enough, two weeks of sitting in an empty room with no one to talk to but Sesshomaru was just as enlightening as you would expect. Kagome learned that Sesshomaru works 80% of the time, the other 20% being split between sleep, food, and a very minimal amount of conversation. She supposed it made sense, he did have to run Taisho Industries after all. Normally he would be doing all that work from his office, and just because he was on suicide watch didn't mean he had any less work to do.
When they did talk it was mostly small talk. He asked about which school she attended, her favorite foods, friends (that had been a short conversation, AKA she didn't answer him). Most of his questions were trivial, and Kagome got the odd feeling that he was just as new to this whole relationship thing as she was. In fact, in those two weeks, they hadn't even talked about the whole mate thing, not that Kagome was ready for that conversation anyway but still, Kagome had no idea how to define their relationship. Was she supposed to treat him like an acquaintance? Friend? Boyfriend? Master? How was she supposed to know? He said Marriage, but that still didn't help Kagome to understand their dynamic, or the inexplicable connection she felt with him that went far beyond just, "hey I've met you before", and somehow managed to grow stronger every day.
When they arrived at the large apartment complex, Kagome stared up at the towering structure in awe. The tall glass building was unlike anything Kagome had ever seen in person before. "You live here?"
Sesshomaru hummed his answer in the affirmative. A response, Kagome was learning, that he preferred to actual speech most of the time.
Sesshomaru gestured for her to enter the building as he handed the car keys to who she assumed was probably the valet. Inside the lobby was just as dazzling as the outside of the building, the multicolored granite tiles sparkling in the evening sunlight. Everywhere she looked she saw sakura blossoms. The tile pattern, the paintings adorning the pristine white walls, and in every flower vase on every counter and coffee table. even the silver elevator doors on the far end of the room were embossed with a red honeycomb and sakura blossom pattern.
Meanwhile, Sesshomaru checked with the front desk to let them know he was back. While the clerk retrieved him the extra set of keys he had requested, Sesshomaru looked back at the Kagome who was standing in the middle of the room and taking everything in. She looked entirely enraptured. The thin white and green dress she was wearing was given to her by Asus' Mate who was about the same size, and it suited her rather nicely. Mrs. Nakamura had chosen well, and his Beast was currently purring with approval seeing Kagome in the afternoon lighting, the granite tiles casting light specs across her face and hair. Sesshomaru would have retrieved Kagome's own clothes, but in the few conversations they had had in that hospital room, Kagome refused to discuss her family, friends, or anything about her home at all. He suspected that they probably played some part in why she had done what she had, though he didn't think her home was abusive. The only wounds that marred her flesh when he found her were obviously self-inflicted.
In fact, Sesshomaru was completely confounded as to what could possibly have caused this, young, spitfire of a girl to even contemplate death. She was strong, stubborn, and completely beautiful, as his Beast loved to constantly remind him, often distracting Sesshomaru from his work with complaints of wanting to watch or talk with their Mate, or thoughts of seeing her with pups someday, or imagining her in the wedding dress that human custom would require she wear before their Mating night. What could have made her life seem THAT bad?
Once the clerk returned and called Sesshomaru from his thoughts, he handed over the keys and moved on to the next person.
Sesshomaru then proceded to walk up to the object of his previous musings, and lead her to the elevator doors with a gently guiding hand on her lower back.
Kagome felt Sesshomaru's proximity several seconds before she felt his hand on her back. The touch sent pleasant tingles through her entire being. She didn't even care that he hadn't asked, the contact alone was enough for Kagome to relax into the touch. She followed him to the elevator, and sorely missed his hand when the doors closed and he pressed the button for the topmost level, sticking one of the keys into the slot next to the button he selected. Kagome assumed that he probably owned the penthouse apartment, and the elevator probably opened straight into it, which was why it required his key. The ride up to the apartment took several awkwardly silent minutes before Kagome's suspicions were confirmed and the doors opened into an entryway that led into a lovely family sized kitchen black countertops and a tall two door stainless steel refrigerator.
"Go ahead and look around, I'm going to make sure that my attendant prepared your room." Sesshomaru said as he walked around the corner, dropping his keys into a small bowl on the counter by the door.
As he left the room Kagome watched as he let his disguise fall, she still wasn't used to his sudden changes in appearance, and from what she knew, she still hadn't seen his true form. If this jarred her, she could only imagine how it would feel to watch him become some... creature.
Venturing out into the rest of the house, Kagome explored the expansive penthouse. This was the largest apartment she had ever been in. The main living area consisted of the kitchen, of course, what Kagome assumed to be a library, a sitting/living room, a dining room, an office of sorts, and what was probably a small personal theater room with one of those fancy new curved-screen TV with large speakers in every corner of the room, a few comfortable chairs, and a pile of beanbags and pillows in the corner. She supposed when one lives as long as Sesshomaru had, you have plenty of time to just save all that money you don't need or use. That and he was the CEO of a very successful company, so she supposed that probably didn't hurt his bank account either.
Walking back to the library, she inspected the many ceiling-high bookshelves, just to see what sorts of books he had. Among the many textbooks, business books, history books, dictionaries, and encyclopedias, there was one shelf completely devoted to old scrolls. reaching for one, she gingerly unrolled it on the desk in the middle of the room and tried to read what was there. The calligraphy was beautiful, and the illustrations were stunning, but the language used was foreign to her. She could tell by the shape and style of the characters that it was Japanese, but it was not her Japanese.
Kagome felt Sesshomaru's presence enter the room."That is a history of my family. It was written over 2,000 years ago, many years before I was born." He said as he approached the little reading table.
"That must explain why I can't read this." Kagome mused.
"Probably, there have been a few changes since then." Once again Kagome was reminded of just how much older he was than her. To him, she thought I must seem almost like a baby.
"How does the apartment suit you?" He asked.
"It's fine, a little bare, you can tell a bachelor has been living here for a while." she joked. "Your library is impressive, and the view of Tokyo from the windows it beautiful."
"Hmm... Feel free to change whatever you want, as long as you don't rearrange the office."
Kagome laughed "Do you always have to be so formal? I was joking about the whole bachelor thing"
He smirked at her "I know"
Kagome rolled her eyes, "So where is my room?"
Sesshomaru headed towards the back hallway and gestured for Kagome to follow. He leads her back past several closed doors until they reached a door that opened into a comfortably sized bedroom with a queen-sized cherry wood bed and a lovely cherry wood dresser. there were three other doors in the room aside from the main entrance, two of which Kagome assumed to be a bathroom and a closet, respectively. It was a really nice room.
"What's the third door for?" She asked.
"That connects to the master bedroom." He answered, as though it was completely normal for her room to open straight into his.
Kagome looked at him suspiciously. "You're not planning on spying on me while I sleep are you?"
"No, I simply thought it might be more convenient, were something to happen"
Kagome tried desperately to hide the blush now covering her cheeks. Not only was this man supposedly her soul mate, chosen by fate, and she would be sleeping right next door to the guy, but now their rooms would be connected by a door. What if she opened a door to use the restroom and walked in on him changing? Her blush deepened.
"If this arrangement makes you uncomfortable, there is a lock on your side of the door should you wish to keep it closed more permanently." He said, not missing the embarrassment marring her cheeks.
"That's um..." she cleared her throat uncomfortably. "nice to know..."
"Feel free to change whatever you like. I want you to feel comfortable here." He gave her a brief glance before he pointed out which door was wich and was about to leave the room when he remembered something. "My daughter will be home in a few hours with her babysitter. She's a bit of a handful, just so you know."
"Wait, hold up! You have a daughter? I thought you never mated..." Kagome looked at him shocked. How did he not mention this detail to her in the two weeks they just spent together?
"I didn't. Rin is adopted," he answered.
"Is she a youkai?"
"No, she is human. I found her in an alley near the company's main building. I tried to find her parents, but she didn't speak, and I found no record of her parents. It took a while, but Rin is legally my daughter now, and after a year an a half of counseling and therapy, we brought her voice back. Now, of course, she almost never stops talking."
Kagome looked at him curiously, only to find a fond smile gracing his features. She felt a little stir in her heart. He must really care for the girl. Kagome smiled too. "She's lucky to have you. How old was she when you found her?"
"The doctors guessed about 5, maybe 6 years old. She is 8 now."
"Well, your apartment certainly doesn't look like 8-year-old lives here."
Sesshomaru chuckled. "It usually does, but Rin was staying at her babysitter's house while I was with you, so she hasn't had the chance to make it messy again since the house cleaner was here on Sunday."
"That makes sense." Kagome suddenly felt guilty for keeping the little girl from her father for two weeks. She was also feeling slightly light-headed from standing so long, the extreme lack of blood in her system coming back to bite her in the ass once again.
"You have free reign in the apartment, so long as you don't move anything that looks like paperwork. You should probably lay down for an hour or two though. I'll just be in the office finishing some things up so I can be free for you and Rin when she gets back." he turned and left back up the hall.
This man was a complete mystery. One moment he appeared stoic and aloof, and the next, he was this completely different person with a daughter whom he obviously loves to pieces, and had feelings, and who somehow cares about her well being. The transition was almost as jarring as seeing him transform from normal human man to aristocratic Taiyoukai.
Sesshomaru was so impossibly perfect, and she was supposedly this man's soul mate. The poor guy had obviously drawn the short straw with her. She felt like she was in that "One-Of-These-Things-Just-Doesn't-Belong-Here" game, and she was the thing that didn't belong.
Slumping over to the bed, Kagome collapsed onto the cushy mattress and was out like a light bulb. Obviously, she was more tired than she thought.
AN. That's it for this week. Chapter five is already in progress. I don't have any experience knowing anyone who is selectively mute, but I tried to make Rin's recovery time somewhat realistic. I mean she was only like 5 or so, but still, If you know anyone or you yourself have dealt with this before, feel free to correct me and I will edit my story to match. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.
See you all next week!
~Cassiopeia