True to his word, Sesshou began to pop up whenever he pleased. Kagome had come home from school one afternoon to find him on the roof of her home, patching up a leak that was coming through into the kitchen.
"Kagome?" Yuka froze mid stride, her eyes glued to the man on the roof. She had come over that afternoon to work on a project together. Kagome would have rescheduled if she had known the retired lord was going to be making a visit to the shrine today.
"Huh?" Kagome peered into the evening sun setting behind Sesshou. As the two girls got closer, his figure became more clear.
"Oh, wow," Yuka quietly admired, her face going flush. Kagome was about to admonish the girl for gawking, but ended up doing just the same. "Who...who is that, Kagome?"
"Uh," Kagome couldn't tear her eyes from Sesshou. He was bare chested, wearing nothing but his jeans and boots. "Well," She could hardly think of a reasonable lie when he looked like that. Thankfully, she didn't need to. Sesshou took it upon himself to climb down the ladder. Somehow she knew he would have jumped instead had Yuka not been present.
"There you are, Kagome." Sesshou nodded to her. "I came earlier to ask you to dinner when your mother asked for help with a leak in your roof."
"Oh." Kagome still couldn't form words. It wasn't like she hadn't seen a naked man before. She had come across Naraku reforming his natural body via absorption of other demons a handful of times. She had seen naked corpses. She had even seen Inuyasha naked at least twice by accident. Sesshou wasn't even totally naked, and yet, "Um," She blinked rapidly, trying to focus elsewhere. "Right, uh," Kagome was interrupted.
"My apologies," He addressed Yuka, bowing his head slightly, "My name is Taisho Sesshou, I'm a friend of Kagome's."
"Hi," Yuka squeaked, then offered her hand daintily. He took her hand and shook it, "I'm Yuka. Kagome and I are friends, too. So Kagome," Yuka regained focus much easier than her stunned friend. "How come you never mentioned your good friend Taisho?"
"Huh?" Kagome snapped out of it when she felt an elbow jab into her side. She glared at Yuka, who smirked back at her. "We met many years ago and only just reacquainted ourselves." It was a half truth, she knew, which made it more believable.
"Would you perhaps be," Yuka shot puppy dog eyes at Sesshou, but Kagome could see the devious intent behind them, "A suitor for Kagome's hand?"
"Yuka!" Kagome yanked the girl's hand to pull her away from Sesshou. He almost smirked at the flare of embarrassment radiating from Kagome. "You shouldn't go asking around personal questions like that!"
"Ooh, is that a yes?" Yuka giggled, sticking her tongue out at the older teen.
"Actually, I'm Kagome's boss." Sesshou cut into the girl fight, "She's interning with my company to pursue a career in human resources at Yana Corp."
"What?" Yuka turned serious, "Kagome that's amazing! How come you never told us?"
"I was planning on it, but," Kagome was cut off once more.
"So does that mean you're single?" Yuka leaned into Sesshou once more. Kagome allowed the intrusion, if only to see Yuka get shot down.
"I'm afraid I'm married to my work, Ms. Yuka." Sesshou politely turned the girl down, "So about dinner…"
"Oh, right," Kagome's stomach turned as he focused his attention on her once more. "Um, sure. How should I dress?"
"Your mother has picked the outfit herself. I hope you are pleased with her selection. She helped me find the right color for you." Sesshou turned to his button up folded on a step and slipped it on, buttoning up one handed as he spoke. Kagome assumed he had become so accustomed to being disabled that he often performed two handed tasks with just the one. "I think you'll enjoy this evening's company very much. Old friends will be in attendance."
Kagome's excitement tickled his nose. She was nervous and anxious and buzzing with curiosity. How was one human so lively?
"Well it sounds an awful lot like a date." Yuka smirked, purposefully avoiding Kagome's glare. "Should we work on the project tomorrow? I've got time before student council starts."
"Sure, Yuka," Kagome nodded in agreement and walked her friend back to the steps of the shrine. "Sorry about the change in plans. I didn't know he was going to show up like that."
"Why? I'm not." Yuka giggled, "Oh, Kagome, he's gorgeous! If you don't want him, can I have him?" She folded her hands in plea and begged her friend.
"He's my boss, Yuka! And you have a boyfriend!" Kagome grabbed her friend's shoulders and spun her around, forcing her to take steps down the stairs.
"But Mr. Taisho is so dreamy!" Yuka whined, but allowed herself to be led down the steps.
"Goodbye!" Kagome yelled, and promptly turned on the balls of her feet to march back to her house, only to smack right into Sesshou.
"Your friends are interesting." He said, backing up from Kagome and steadying her with a hand on her shoulder.
"They're all gonna behave like that, I hope you know. I'm sure Yuka is texting Eri right now about you." Kagome accepted her fate that was to come the next day. She would be grilled by all her friends about him, she was sure. "And then Ayumi. And probably Hojo."
"They care," Sesshou nodded, seeming to accept them as reasonable company. "Which reminds me, we both need to get ready for the event tonight."
"Wait, so," Kagame refocused, "Who are these old friends you're talking about?" They turned to head back to the house. Sesshou used an easy stride for her to follow, keeping pace instead of leaving her in the dust like he had the night of the festival.
"It is a surprise." Sesshou smiled tightly, being cheeky in his own way. Kagome sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to get a straight answer anytime soon. "Now go get ready. I will be back in one hour to pick you up." He turned away from her before she could argue further and left her standing dumbfounded, with her mouth open.
"Oh he finished," Kagome's mother exited the house and smiled at the rooftop. "It was so nice of him to fix roof for me. I was worried I'd have to hire someone." She leaned into the doorway and admired her daughter's thoughtful expression. "He reminds me a lot of your father." Perhaps Kagome needed a nudge, she thought. "Always silently going about his duties, just so he could surprise me later."
"Mama, what's this about a gift?" Kagome changed the subject. She missed her father, but often disliked speaking about him. She could never contribute to the memories, as she had long forgotten his face.
"Oh, right," Mrs. Higurashi waved her daughter to follow her inside, "Sesshou brought you something to wear tonight for this formal dinner he's attending. Said it was a business meeting, but that you knew some attendants from the feudal era." They climbed the stairs together and entered Kagome's room to find the most gorgeous cocktail dress she had ever seen, displayed on her bed with heels and accessories to boot. "Isn't it just perfect?" Kagome couldn't even bring herself to respond. Instead she approached to analyze the dress further, holding it up to herself.
The dress was white, long sleeved, and came down to just above her knees in a pencil skirt. Flipping it over, she found that the back was open in a deep V that would end at her hips. Along the opening and around the high neckline was faint gold stitching that matched the rim of the sleeves and bottom hem of the dress. It was elegant and sophisticated, soft and sexy all at once. While she admired the beauty of the dress, she wondered how the hell she was supposed to pull off the look.
"I'll leave you to it, Sweetie." She heard her mother say before exiting the room and leaving Kagome to her thoughts.
An hour later, Sesshou arrived to find anxiety in the air. He could smell it coming from her mother, who was worried over how anxious Kagome was, and it came down the stairs in waves, from where he presumed Kagome still was.
"Please, sit," Mrs. Higurashi offered him the couch, "I'm sure she'll be down shortly."
"No need." Sesshou replied, but his focus was on the stairs. Kagome had emerged.
She descended the stairs slowly, trying not to trip over her own two feet. The heels Sesshou had provided were elegant and low enough she could walk without hobbling like a baby giraffe, but even still, heels weren't a regular wear for her, and she had to consciously mind her steps. She did admire the rosey violet hue and pointed toe. It went well with her lipstick and brought out the blue in her eyes.
"You look wonderful." Sesshou complimented, offering his arm to steady her. Kagome blushed under his gaze. He admired the romantic style of her hair, a low loose bun, short strands curled and pinned delicately to the sides of her head. She was even wearing the earrings he provided for her; simple teardrop diamonds. He could hear her heart racing. "Try not to be so nervous. There is no one to impress, but me," Sesshou had rarely joked, but he did enjoy making her sweat from time to time. She stiffened when she remembered he was the reigning king of all demon kind. "And you've already exceeded my expectations."
"Oh, stop," Kagome smacked his shoulder, knowing that even if she had actually tried, it would never have actually done any harm. "We don't want to be late." Her shoulders relaxed and he was pleased to see that as long as he could annoy her into behaving like herself, she would calm down and hopefully enjoy the evening.
Kagome's mother watched the interactions between the two and smiled to herself. There was no way either of them knew, but she could see it plain as day. They were falling in love.
When Sesshou had asked her on preference of dress for Kagome, Mrs. Higurashi had surprised him by picking such an elegant and sexy dress over the others he had chosen that were more Kagome's style that flowed and covered her back fully, or were sleeveless and more colorful. Her mother knew that sometimes it often began with attraction. This dress would help inspire that.
Entering the event hall that evening, Kagome's stomach was in knots once more. She had asked a number of times in the car who all was going to be there and what the purpose of the event was, but Sesshou had insisted she wait and see. He could feel the tension in her form by how tightly she grasped his arm, and pat her hand to remind her to calm herself.
"I'm alright," She said more to herself than to him, but he nodded in acknowledgment anyways. "Just nerves."
"Come, our table is over here." Sesshou guided her in front of him and led her with a hand to her back. It was then that he noticed exactly how much skin she was showing. No straps to cut off the clean look of her open back either. He was pleasantly surprised when she didn't object or recoil from his touch. She was comfortable with him, and that satisfied him greatly.
"Okay, now can I know?" Kagome asked, taking her seat, and crossing her legs towards him. Instead of answering her, he simply eyed the empty seat behind her as a clue. Kagome wasn't dense. She whipped around and snatched the name card up.
She gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand.
On the name card was Azumakara Ginta.
Kagome reached to snatch the next name card, only to see it grabbed much quicker than she could ever hope to move. Looking up at the culprit, she met a familiar face. Different, but familiar.
"Excuse me, miss," He said politely, "I believe this is mine."
"Hakkaku!" Kagome stood abruptly, both hands on the white linen table. His mohawk was gone and instead the wolf demon sported a bald head, perfectly shaved down to a soft buzz cut. He was dressed in a fine suit, looking professional and sharp. She didn't think she could miss the tiny pelt skirts the wolf tribe sported, but somehow she did.
The gentleman eyed the familiar woman and shifted his gaze to Sesshou smirking with his arms crossed in his chair, a single brow arching in question. That's when he realized who the slight woman in question was.
"S-sis?" Hakkaku stuttered. She nodded furiously and reached for him before he knew what was coming.
"It's me, Hakkaku." Kagome nearly cried, clutching his much taller frame to herself.
"Sis!" Hakkaku wrapped his strong arms around her and dug his nose into the crook of her neck, reacquainting her scent to his memory. When he lifted his face from from her shoulder, he could see Sesshou behind her, a blank expression on his face as he openly stared. The message was clear: hands off. Hakkaku pulled away from the beaming girl and held her at arm's length. "Oh man, where's Ginta? He's going to be so psyched!" He turned his head to sniff out his brother.
"Sis!" Was heard across the room, and she was squashed once more in a bone crushing hug seconds later.
"Ginta!" Kagome exclaimed, holding on as tightly as he was to her. "Oh, how I've missed you both!"
Sesshou watched the reunion happen with every tribe member she came across as she discovered more in passing. He was surprised by how many she could identify despite the concealments they wore to hide their demonic attributes. Perhaps she was gifted. Or maybe she had genuinely missed each and every one, etching their faces into her brain to never forget the friends she had made so many years ago.
Either way, Sesshou was irritated with his own possessive pack mentality. His instincts were itching at him to dispose of all the wolf scent on her by marking her with his own scent. A simple hug would do, but the wolves would still linger and likely ask her to dance later. Sesshou resigned himself to the fact that this night was less about him and more about opening her world once more. He would behave. She was unaware of her belonging in his pack, and what that entailed. Sesshou would speak with her later. For now, he watched as she blissfully spoke with long lost friends, never straying too far from either Hakkaku or Ginta.
He would have to speak with them too.