Chapter 19
Going Home
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later. . .
"Ready?"
Sesshoumaru stood in the doorway to Kagome's room back at the apartment, and leaned against the doorframe.
She folded up her last shirt and put it in the suitcase, flicking the locks shut. "Yep. . . are you?"
He looked at her, then sighed and looked at the ground. "Yeah, I guess. I don't want to do this."
Kagome walked over to him, and put a hand on his cheek. "I know. But. . . he *is* your father. I mean, at least you had one. . . "
He glanced back up at her. "I guess your right."
"You're gonna be okay."
"BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEP!" A damn car horn interrupted them, followed by a shouted, "Let's go!"
InuYasha was waiting outside on the street., and was getting impatient.
"We're coming, we're coming," Kagome grumbled so only Sesshouamru could hear.
Kagome piled her things in the back of Sesshouamru's car, and they followed InuYasha's red truck away from the apartment building.
Kagome sighed in the passenger's seat. "This is all going to be very awkward."
Sesshouamru said nothing, but nodded, and gave InuYasha's truck a grim smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They drove all night, stopping only once at some small diner for food.
When they reached Tokunawa Manor, it was dawn.
The sun coming up behind the mansion was an amazing sight. It was large and it screamed elegance. Kagome caught herself before her jaw dropped. . . but she did allow herself to stare at the place.
Sesshouamru just glared at it, then pulled the car to a stop in front of the mansion on a circular driveway.
InuYasha was already getting his suitcases out of his truck.
Without glancing up again, Sesshouamru got out of the car, and opened the trunk to do the same. Kagome got out as well, and helped, not daring to say a word to her beau for the entire walk to the front entrance. They met InuYasha at the door, and he rang the doorbell.
The bell sounded in the house behind the door, and soon, a butler opened the door. "Master InuYasha." he said, bowing.
InuYasha bowed in return. "Miyoga. How are you?"
"I am good, Master InuYasha. Although, I wish our reunion was due to happier circumstances."
"Me, too, Miyoga." He walked inside, and Kagome and Sesshouamru followed him in. They stopped in the grand foyer, and set their bags down. Kagome looked around. There were two sets of stairs; one leading to the west side of the house, the other to the east. There was a large chandelier overhead, and tall windows on either side. A Persian rug lay on the highly polished marble floors, and straight ahead was a long hallway that lead outside somewhere, with other doors turning off into other unseen places along the way.
Miyoga turned to Sesshouamru and bowed. "Master Sesshouamru. I trust you are fairing well?"
"Yes, Miyoga." He bowed in return, solemnly. Placing a hand on Kagome's back, he said, "Miyoga, may I introduce Miss Higurashi Kagome. She is here with me."
InuYasha shifted.
Miyoga bowed to her politely, then addressed the half brothers. "Where would you like your rooms? There are two available rooms on the east side of the house, and three on the west."
"I'll take one on the west," InuYasha said tightly.
"Kagome and I will take the two on the east," Sesshouamru told Miyoga.
Miyoga bowed, then took their suitcases upstairs, with the help of two other servants, who appeared out of nowhere.
The three left stood around, noticeably edgy and uncomfortable. Finally, InuYasha said, "I'll be in my room," and he left for a set of stairs to the west side of the house.
Kagome and InuYasha both sighed when he was out of earshot, and Sesshouamru said, "Well. Now we wait. . . And then we meet the family."
Kagome's eyes widened. "Eh?! I can't meet them like this!" she said, tugging at the bottom of her flannel shirt.
"Don't worry!" he said, with a faint smile, placing an arm around her shoulders and leading her to the opposite set of stairs to the west. "We'll be meeting them at dinner. You'll have plenty of time to change."
"Crap! I don't have to dress up, do I?" Kagome said at the top of the stairs.
"Uh. . . well, yeah."
"Oh, no. . . I didn't bring anything really nice. . . I should've known. . . "
"Don't worry about it."
Kagome looked at him. "Why do I have the feeling we've been in this situation before?"
"Because we have."
"But the last time you said 'don't worry about it,' I ended up with an expensive dress." She poked him in the chest. "You're not thinking expensive, are you?"
". . . maybe."
"Well, don't. I refuse. Just something nice will do." then she added, joking, "And preferably yellow. And maybe something deep red. . . "
Sesshouamru chuckled, and they found their rooms right next to each other.
The rooms weren't too large; but they weren't too small, either. They were decorated simply and elegantly, with white sheets and curtains, and expensive white furniture. There were small separate bathrooms, also. Their suitcases were on the floor beside Kagome's bed, and Sesshoumaru left her to unpack.
But she didn't. She didn't feel like she would need to, really; they wouldn't be staying that long. Instead, she just hung up a few of the nicer things she brought, and the suit she was to wear to the funeral.
Then, she sat on the end of her bed, not exactly sure what to do.
A servant popped her head into the open doorway. "Excuse me, Miss. Is there anything you need?"
"No, thank you." Kagome told her kindly. "I'm all right."
The servant bowed a little, and left.
'But I do need to change,' Kagome thought suddenly, and she got up to close and lock the door. She chose a pants and a yellow sweater, then went to check out her hair. When she saw herself in the mirror, she nearly gasped. Her hair! Her face! She looked awful! That would not do for meeting Sesshouamru's family. When she was debating whether or not to take a shower, there was a knock on her door. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, sighed to herself about her face, then ran over to open the door.
She smiled and forgot about her face when she saw it was Sesshoumaru.
"Done?" he asked.
"Yeah. . . " She swooned at his smile. She was actually swooning! Why did she choose to swoon at the strangest times? Now! After she had just ridden with him for thirteen hours in a car, she was swooning NOW. 'I'm so weird,' she thought to herself.
He leaned in the doorframe and bent down to kiss her. When he pulled away he eyed her sweater. "You look good in that."
"Thanks. . . " 'Kagome, you are smiling like an *idiot*. Stop it!'
"Come on, I want to show you something." he said, grabbing her hand and leading her out the door. He walked quickly, and she enjoyed the way her hair swished behind her as she walked quickly to catch up with him. Down the stairs they went, and Sesshoumaru took a sharp turn down the hallway that Kagome had noticed earlier.
They reached he door at the end, and it lead straight into. . . a garden. A beautiful labyrinth of a garden. 'Awwww. . .' Kagome thought to herself, 'he wanted to show me the garden. . . Awwww? Geez, I'm starting to sound like Sango.'
"This is beautiful." she told him. He didn't reply, but gave a small nod in agreement.
They were now just walking along the tiny path, hand-in-hand. Kagome's mood turned more somber as she remembered where they were and why they were there. "Sesshoumaru. . . how do you feel?" she asked him, stopping in a secluded little corner at a bench. She pulled him over to it.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean. . . you just lost your father. . . " she traced his lips. "I know all these smiles are forced."
He looked down. "I'm. . . I'm okay. I never saw him, anyway. I don't think it's going to be that big of a change. Sure, it was a shock, but. . . people die."
"You didn't want to come here, did you?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"No. . . " he grew a little quiet, and then said, "Thank you."
"What are you thanking *me* for?"
"Coming here with me." He took her hand in his. "I have a feeling I'd be a lot worse if you weren't here."
She didn't know what to say, so she just replied, "You're welcome."
They sat in silence for a little longer, and Kagome shivered a little. It was still so cold outside! Sesshoumaru spoke up. "Let's go inside."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, InuYasha was in his father's old study sorting through things. There were three stacks of papers; business, financial, and miscellaneous. InuYasha sighed as he set another paper in the business stack. It was the tallest one. He had to go through all the desk drawers, the shelves, every file cabinet and folder he could find. This was the worst part of it all. Cleaning up after them. Going through their old things. . . he felt as if he were snooping, like he used to do when he was little. His dad would catch him in here and playfully turn him upside down, as if to shake any stolen items out of his pockets. But, that was when he was little. . .
When he was finished with the desk, he turned to the shelves behind it, full of books an folders. He flipped through one folder. . . business. The next. . . finance. Business again. . . more business. . . until, finally. . . a photo album?
InuYasha's eyebrows drew together curiously as he took the book over and sat it down at the desk. On the front, was a picture that was taken at his eighth birthday party. His father and mother both stood at his side as he smiled happily to the camera. His father beamed, with a hand on his shoulder, and his mother, as usual, only smiled, the smile never reaching her eyes. InuYasha never understood why she was never happy. Never. She was kind, and she had her good moods, but she was never truly happy.
He opened to the front page. He and his father riding horses, his father looking regal, and him looking awkward. He had never liked riding horses. He smirked at his ten year old self, who was sneering a little in return.
He turned to the next page and laughed out loud. The time they had cut his unruly hair. Holy crap. . . he looked like a mouse. Still chuckling, he turned to the next page, and there was a picture of his mother. She stood in a navy blue dress, that hugged her body, then draped to trail the floor. Her auburn hair was up in a bun at the back of her head, and she looked beautiful and graceful. But she still did not smile. Why was she always so sad? He would have to have a real talk with her one day.
He turned to the next page to see himself at sixteen sticking his tongue out at the camera, his eyes narrowed defiantly. He remembered this; he hadn't wanted his picture taken, so he had ruined it at the last second. He remembered now; Sango had taken this picture with his camera. He laughed a little and turned the page.
Sesshoumaru. There was a picture of Sesshoumaru, leaning against a wall at a party with a glass of wine in his hand, although he looked only eighteen in the picture. This must have been the last Christmas party he came to. He wasn't looking at the camera; he hadn't known the picture was ever taken. He was glowering, as he usually did at the parties, but InuYasha had to hand it to him; the guy would look good with mud on his face.
InuYasha turned to the next picture, and his eyes narrowed. When was this taken? It was a professional photo of his father, himself at five, and his brother at nine. Sesshoumaru was glaring at the camera, and InuYasha looked as if he had something other than the picture on his mind; his father's arm was on his waist as if he were holding him in place. But his father's other hand was on Sesshoumaru's shoulder.
The next photo made InuYasha's eyes become larger, instead of narrow. He wasn't in this picture. But his father was; along with Sesshoumaru's mother, and Sesshoumaru, around a year old. It was a very old picture, but well kept.
The next photo didn't have InuYasha in it, either. It was just Sesshoumaru's mother, in a red dress, her dark blond hair pulled into a loose up-do. She was very beautiful, InuYasha noted.
The rest were all of her. Laughing at a picnic; sunning by a pool; even one of her sleeping, the morning light glowing on her face. Another of her, reading a book by a window, the sun setting behind her.
Why did his father have so many pictures of Sesshoumaru's mother, but only two of InuYasha's?
There were then more pictures of Sesshoumaru following the photos of his mother. He was very young in most of them; probably the only time he was around long enough to get a good snapshot of him. There were only a few of him as a teenager, and they were all at the Christmas parties. In one where he looked about sixteen, he was actually laughing at something the person in front of him had said. The photographer had caught him in conversation.
InuYasha stared at this photo in particular. He had never seen Sesshoumaru smile so completely. When he was around InuYasha he was either sneering, brooding, or glaring.
Had there ever been a time when they had gotten along?
Suddenly, InuYasha felt a little sad. Sad that he had missed so many years of getting to know his half-brother. It wasn't his fault they were rivals; he had never done anything to make Sesshoumaru hate him, and he knew this for a fact. He had actually tried to be nice to him once, but Sesshoumaru had remained hateful towards him.
And now. . . now he had Kagome. . .
Kagome.
InuYasha sighed. No matter what he did, she always found a way into his thoughts. Just when he had her off his mind, she would push her way back through. But this didn't surprise him; after all, he was in love with her.
That day they had spent together had been heaven. She had made him open up, and do crazy things. . . and he had done them all because it made her smile.
But every time he had gotten her attentions, Sesshouamru had come between them. If it hadn't been for him. . .
He sighed once more. No use in thinking about what *could've* happened. It was a waste of time, because Kagome would never be his.
What good would it have done to get to know his brother if he was going to end up hating him, anyway?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lunch time.
Kagome and Sesshouamru had gone back inside the house from the garden, and had fallen asleep together on her bed, back in her room. They had slept until noon, Sesshouamru waking her by tickling her nose with a lock of her own hair.
"Come on," he had said, getting up off the bed and pulling her with him.
"What?" she had asked.
"You're a woman; you like to shop."
"You're right about that." she said suspiciously.
"I'm always right." had been his reply. His, er, *serious* reply.
"Yes, so. . . are we going shopping?"
"Yes."
"Okay!" she'd had qualms with that.
And now they were in a women's dress shop in the nearest down, looking for cocktail dresses.
Sesshouamru kept wandering over to the more expensive racks, trying to get her to try one on without her noticing the price; but her eyes were too sharp, and she would smile at him and tell him to put it back.
But, she had to admit it to herself; he did have taste. Everything thing he picked out, she loved. She just didn't want to spend all of his money.
She ended up choosing a plain black dress, a sequin-covered yellow one, and a beaded red one. They weren't too tight, but they weren't too big. They all fit her perfectly, and when Sesshouamru mentioned shoes to go with each, she told him no once again, but he finally talked her into buying a silver pair that would go with each dress.
His incessant need to spend money on her reminded her of Kouga, and she laughed a little. She hated it, but there were thousands of girls who would like nothing more than for their boyfriends to buy them everything they owned.
They stopped for coffee, and while they were enjoying their mugs, Kagome asked him seriously, "Shouldn't we be back at the mansion, you know. . . helping out, or something?"
"All of that is InuYasha's job," he replied. "He knows about all of his files, the business and financial things. He knows what belongings are what. I don't know anything about all of that. I was never around enough in my youth."
Kagome nodded, staring down into her mug. "This must be hard on him. After all, he and your father were close, weren't they?"
Sesshouamru nodded.
"Who's the mansion going to?"
"His mother, I suppose. And after her, InuYasha. I'm sure he left all of his money to her."
Kagome nodded in agreement. "Was your father a nice man?"
Sesshouamru stared at the table. "Yes. . . he was a good man. He was always smiling, and in a good mood. . . he had good humor. I regret never giving him a chance. But still; I hated him for leaving my mother."
"He doesn't sound like someone who would just up and leave a woman in poor conditions."
"I know. . . it doesn't make any sense. . . But life doesn't make sense."
"*We* make sense."
Sesshouamru looked up at her. "You're right. . ."
"I'm always right."
Sesshoumaru laughed, his cheeks growing red. Then his face grew still once more, and he continued. "You're right, but, what do you mean by it? Are you saying there may be more to this than we think there is?"
Kagome said nothing, but instead raised her eyebrows, Sesshoumaru watching as her nose disappeared into her mug when she took a sip of her coffee.
He then regarded his watch, still wondering about the things she *hadn't* said. "Ooh, I guess we should be getting back. We need to get showered before dinner. It's at five, and we'll more than likely be up all night. Those people love to talk."
"Ugh," Kagome said sympathetically. "It's incessant?"
"Yes. Prepare yourself."
She laughed as they left the coffee shop, bags of dresses in hand, and the thought of dinner bothering their minds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it!
I'll have some very special news for you when we reach 200 reviews! I know that's mean, but that's life. ^_~
Love you guys, Honey Bee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later. . .
"Ready?"
Sesshoumaru stood in the doorway to Kagome's room back at the apartment, and leaned against the doorframe.
She folded up her last shirt and put it in the suitcase, flicking the locks shut. "Yep. . . are you?"
He looked at her, then sighed and looked at the ground. "Yeah, I guess. I don't want to do this."
Kagome walked over to him, and put a hand on his cheek. "I know. But. . . he *is* your father. I mean, at least you had one. . . "
He glanced back up at her. "I guess your right."
"You're gonna be okay."
"BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEP!" A damn car horn interrupted them, followed by a shouted, "Let's go!"
InuYasha was waiting outside on the street., and was getting impatient.
"We're coming, we're coming," Kagome grumbled so only Sesshouamru could hear.
Kagome piled her things in the back of Sesshouamru's car, and they followed InuYasha's red truck away from the apartment building.
Kagome sighed in the passenger's seat. "This is all going to be very awkward."
Sesshouamru said nothing, but nodded, and gave InuYasha's truck a grim smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They drove all night, stopping only once at some small diner for food.
When they reached Tokunawa Manor, it was dawn.
The sun coming up behind the mansion was an amazing sight. It was large and it screamed elegance. Kagome caught herself before her jaw dropped. . . but she did allow herself to stare at the place.
Sesshouamru just glared at it, then pulled the car to a stop in front of the mansion on a circular driveway.
InuYasha was already getting his suitcases out of his truck.
Without glancing up again, Sesshouamru got out of the car, and opened the trunk to do the same. Kagome got out as well, and helped, not daring to say a word to her beau for the entire walk to the front entrance. They met InuYasha at the door, and he rang the doorbell.
The bell sounded in the house behind the door, and soon, a butler opened the door. "Master InuYasha." he said, bowing.
InuYasha bowed in return. "Miyoga. How are you?"
"I am good, Master InuYasha. Although, I wish our reunion was due to happier circumstances."
"Me, too, Miyoga." He walked inside, and Kagome and Sesshouamru followed him in. They stopped in the grand foyer, and set their bags down. Kagome looked around. There were two sets of stairs; one leading to the west side of the house, the other to the east. There was a large chandelier overhead, and tall windows on either side. A Persian rug lay on the highly polished marble floors, and straight ahead was a long hallway that lead outside somewhere, with other doors turning off into other unseen places along the way.
Miyoga turned to Sesshouamru and bowed. "Master Sesshouamru. I trust you are fairing well?"
"Yes, Miyoga." He bowed in return, solemnly. Placing a hand on Kagome's back, he said, "Miyoga, may I introduce Miss Higurashi Kagome. She is here with me."
InuYasha shifted.
Miyoga bowed to her politely, then addressed the half brothers. "Where would you like your rooms? There are two available rooms on the east side of the house, and three on the west."
"I'll take one on the west," InuYasha said tightly.
"Kagome and I will take the two on the east," Sesshouamru told Miyoga.
Miyoga bowed, then took their suitcases upstairs, with the help of two other servants, who appeared out of nowhere.
The three left stood around, noticeably edgy and uncomfortable. Finally, InuYasha said, "I'll be in my room," and he left for a set of stairs to the west side of the house.
Kagome and InuYasha both sighed when he was out of earshot, and Sesshouamru said, "Well. Now we wait. . . And then we meet the family."
Kagome's eyes widened. "Eh?! I can't meet them like this!" she said, tugging at the bottom of her flannel shirt.
"Don't worry!" he said, with a faint smile, placing an arm around her shoulders and leading her to the opposite set of stairs to the west. "We'll be meeting them at dinner. You'll have plenty of time to change."
"Crap! I don't have to dress up, do I?" Kagome said at the top of the stairs.
"Uh. . . well, yeah."
"Oh, no. . . I didn't bring anything really nice. . . I should've known. . . "
"Don't worry about it."
Kagome looked at him. "Why do I have the feeling we've been in this situation before?"
"Because we have."
"But the last time you said 'don't worry about it,' I ended up with an expensive dress." She poked him in the chest. "You're not thinking expensive, are you?"
". . . maybe."
"Well, don't. I refuse. Just something nice will do." then she added, joking, "And preferably yellow. And maybe something deep red. . . "
Sesshouamru chuckled, and they found their rooms right next to each other.
The rooms weren't too large; but they weren't too small, either. They were decorated simply and elegantly, with white sheets and curtains, and expensive white furniture. There were small separate bathrooms, also. Their suitcases were on the floor beside Kagome's bed, and Sesshoumaru left her to unpack.
But she didn't. She didn't feel like she would need to, really; they wouldn't be staying that long. Instead, she just hung up a few of the nicer things she brought, and the suit she was to wear to the funeral.
Then, she sat on the end of her bed, not exactly sure what to do.
A servant popped her head into the open doorway. "Excuse me, Miss. Is there anything you need?"
"No, thank you." Kagome told her kindly. "I'm all right."
The servant bowed a little, and left.
'But I do need to change,' Kagome thought suddenly, and she got up to close and lock the door. She chose a pants and a yellow sweater, then went to check out her hair. When she saw herself in the mirror, she nearly gasped. Her hair! Her face! She looked awful! That would not do for meeting Sesshouamru's family. When she was debating whether or not to take a shower, there was a knock on her door. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, sighed to herself about her face, then ran over to open the door.
She smiled and forgot about her face when she saw it was Sesshoumaru.
"Done?" he asked.
"Yeah. . . " She swooned at his smile. She was actually swooning! Why did she choose to swoon at the strangest times? Now! After she had just ridden with him for thirteen hours in a car, she was swooning NOW. 'I'm so weird,' she thought to herself.
He leaned in the doorframe and bent down to kiss her. When he pulled away he eyed her sweater. "You look good in that."
"Thanks. . . " 'Kagome, you are smiling like an *idiot*. Stop it!'
"Come on, I want to show you something." he said, grabbing her hand and leading her out the door. He walked quickly, and she enjoyed the way her hair swished behind her as she walked quickly to catch up with him. Down the stairs they went, and Sesshoumaru took a sharp turn down the hallway that Kagome had noticed earlier.
They reached he door at the end, and it lead straight into. . . a garden. A beautiful labyrinth of a garden. 'Awwww. . .' Kagome thought to herself, 'he wanted to show me the garden. . . Awwww? Geez, I'm starting to sound like Sango.'
"This is beautiful." she told him. He didn't reply, but gave a small nod in agreement.
They were now just walking along the tiny path, hand-in-hand. Kagome's mood turned more somber as she remembered where they were and why they were there. "Sesshoumaru. . . how do you feel?" she asked him, stopping in a secluded little corner at a bench. She pulled him over to it.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean. . . you just lost your father. . . " she traced his lips. "I know all these smiles are forced."
He looked down. "I'm. . . I'm okay. I never saw him, anyway. I don't think it's going to be that big of a change. Sure, it was a shock, but. . . people die."
"You didn't want to come here, did you?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"No. . . " he grew a little quiet, and then said, "Thank you."
"What are you thanking *me* for?"
"Coming here with me." He took her hand in his. "I have a feeling I'd be a lot worse if you weren't here."
She didn't know what to say, so she just replied, "You're welcome."
They sat in silence for a little longer, and Kagome shivered a little. It was still so cold outside! Sesshoumaru spoke up. "Let's go inside."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, InuYasha was in his father's old study sorting through things. There were three stacks of papers; business, financial, and miscellaneous. InuYasha sighed as he set another paper in the business stack. It was the tallest one. He had to go through all the desk drawers, the shelves, every file cabinet and folder he could find. This was the worst part of it all. Cleaning up after them. Going through their old things. . . he felt as if he were snooping, like he used to do when he was little. His dad would catch him in here and playfully turn him upside down, as if to shake any stolen items out of his pockets. But, that was when he was little. . .
When he was finished with the desk, he turned to the shelves behind it, full of books an folders. He flipped through one folder. . . business. The next. . . finance. Business again. . . more business. . . until, finally. . . a photo album?
InuYasha's eyebrows drew together curiously as he took the book over and sat it down at the desk. On the front, was a picture that was taken at his eighth birthday party. His father and mother both stood at his side as he smiled happily to the camera. His father beamed, with a hand on his shoulder, and his mother, as usual, only smiled, the smile never reaching her eyes. InuYasha never understood why she was never happy. Never. She was kind, and she had her good moods, but she was never truly happy.
He opened to the front page. He and his father riding horses, his father looking regal, and him looking awkward. He had never liked riding horses. He smirked at his ten year old self, who was sneering a little in return.
He turned to the next page and laughed out loud. The time they had cut his unruly hair. Holy crap. . . he looked like a mouse. Still chuckling, he turned to the next page, and there was a picture of his mother. She stood in a navy blue dress, that hugged her body, then draped to trail the floor. Her auburn hair was up in a bun at the back of her head, and she looked beautiful and graceful. But she still did not smile. Why was she always so sad? He would have to have a real talk with her one day.
He turned to the next page to see himself at sixteen sticking his tongue out at the camera, his eyes narrowed defiantly. He remembered this; he hadn't wanted his picture taken, so he had ruined it at the last second. He remembered now; Sango had taken this picture with his camera. He laughed a little and turned the page.
Sesshoumaru. There was a picture of Sesshoumaru, leaning against a wall at a party with a glass of wine in his hand, although he looked only eighteen in the picture. This must have been the last Christmas party he came to. He wasn't looking at the camera; he hadn't known the picture was ever taken. He was glowering, as he usually did at the parties, but InuYasha had to hand it to him; the guy would look good with mud on his face.
InuYasha turned to the next picture, and his eyes narrowed. When was this taken? It was a professional photo of his father, himself at five, and his brother at nine. Sesshoumaru was glaring at the camera, and InuYasha looked as if he had something other than the picture on his mind; his father's arm was on his waist as if he were holding him in place. But his father's other hand was on Sesshoumaru's shoulder.
The next photo made InuYasha's eyes become larger, instead of narrow. He wasn't in this picture. But his father was; along with Sesshoumaru's mother, and Sesshoumaru, around a year old. It was a very old picture, but well kept.
The next photo didn't have InuYasha in it, either. It was just Sesshoumaru's mother, in a red dress, her dark blond hair pulled into a loose up-do. She was very beautiful, InuYasha noted.
The rest were all of her. Laughing at a picnic; sunning by a pool; even one of her sleeping, the morning light glowing on her face. Another of her, reading a book by a window, the sun setting behind her.
Why did his father have so many pictures of Sesshoumaru's mother, but only two of InuYasha's?
There were then more pictures of Sesshoumaru following the photos of his mother. He was very young in most of them; probably the only time he was around long enough to get a good snapshot of him. There were only a few of him as a teenager, and they were all at the Christmas parties. In one where he looked about sixteen, he was actually laughing at something the person in front of him had said. The photographer had caught him in conversation.
InuYasha stared at this photo in particular. He had never seen Sesshoumaru smile so completely. When he was around InuYasha he was either sneering, brooding, or glaring.
Had there ever been a time when they had gotten along?
Suddenly, InuYasha felt a little sad. Sad that he had missed so many years of getting to know his half-brother. It wasn't his fault they were rivals; he had never done anything to make Sesshoumaru hate him, and he knew this for a fact. He had actually tried to be nice to him once, but Sesshoumaru had remained hateful towards him.
And now. . . now he had Kagome. . .
Kagome.
InuYasha sighed. No matter what he did, she always found a way into his thoughts. Just when he had her off his mind, she would push her way back through. But this didn't surprise him; after all, he was in love with her.
That day they had spent together had been heaven. She had made him open up, and do crazy things. . . and he had done them all because it made her smile.
But every time he had gotten her attentions, Sesshouamru had come between them. If it hadn't been for him. . .
He sighed once more. No use in thinking about what *could've* happened. It was a waste of time, because Kagome would never be his.
What good would it have done to get to know his brother if he was going to end up hating him, anyway?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lunch time.
Kagome and Sesshouamru had gone back inside the house from the garden, and had fallen asleep together on her bed, back in her room. They had slept until noon, Sesshouamru waking her by tickling her nose with a lock of her own hair.
"Come on," he had said, getting up off the bed and pulling her with him.
"What?" she had asked.
"You're a woman; you like to shop."
"You're right about that." she said suspiciously.
"I'm always right." had been his reply. His, er, *serious* reply.
"Yes, so. . . are we going shopping?"
"Yes."
"Okay!" she'd had qualms with that.
And now they were in a women's dress shop in the nearest down, looking for cocktail dresses.
Sesshouamru kept wandering over to the more expensive racks, trying to get her to try one on without her noticing the price; but her eyes were too sharp, and she would smile at him and tell him to put it back.
But, she had to admit it to herself; he did have taste. Everything thing he picked out, she loved. She just didn't want to spend all of his money.
She ended up choosing a plain black dress, a sequin-covered yellow one, and a beaded red one. They weren't too tight, but they weren't too big. They all fit her perfectly, and when Sesshouamru mentioned shoes to go with each, she told him no once again, but he finally talked her into buying a silver pair that would go with each dress.
His incessant need to spend money on her reminded her of Kouga, and she laughed a little. She hated it, but there were thousands of girls who would like nothing more than for their boyfriends to buy them everything they owned.
They stopped for coffee, and while they were enjoying their mugs, Kagome asked him seriously, "Shouldn't we be back at the mansion, you know. . . helping out, or something?"
"All of that is InuYasha's job," he replied. "He knows about all of his files, the business and financial things. He knows what belongings are what. I don't know anything about all of that. I was never around enough in my youth."
Kagome nodded, staring down into her mug. "This must be hard on him. After all, he and your father were close, weren't they?"
Sesshouamru nodded.
"Who's the mansion going to?"
"His mother, I suppose. And after her, InuYasha. I'm sure he left all of his money to her."
Kagome nodded in agreement. "Was your father a nice man?"
Sesshouamru stared at the table. "Yes. . . he was a good man. He was always smiling, and in a good mood. . . he had good humor. I regret never giving him a chance. But still; I hated him for leaving my mother."
"He doesn't sound like someone who would just up and leave a woman in poor conditions."
"I know. . . it doesn't make any sense. . . But life doesn't make sense."
"*We* make sense."
Sesshouamru looked up at her. "You're right. . ."
"I'm always right."
Sesshoumaru laughed, his cheeks growing red. Then his face grew still once more, and he continued. "You're right, but, what do you mean by it? Are you saying there may be more to this than we think there is?"
Kagome said nothing, but instead raised her eyebrows, Sesshoumaru watching as her nose disappeared into her mug when she took a sip of her coffee.
He then regarded his watch, still wondering about the things she *hadn't* said. "Ooh, I guess we should be getting back. We need to get showered before dinner. It's at five, and we'll more than likely be up all night. Those people love to talk."
"Ugh," Kagome said sympathetically. "It's incessant?"
"Yes. Prepare yourself."
She laughed as they left the coffee shop, bags of dresses in hand, and the thought of dinner bothering their minds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Hope you liked it as much as I liked writing it!
I'll have some very special news for you when we reach 200 reviews! I know that's mean, but that's life. ^_~
Love you guys, Honey Bee