A/N: I just finished my exams! Yay! Hehe… sorry for the long wait! I'm really really sorry! Anyway, here goes:

''-speech

-thoughts

Recap from last chapter:

My… that is some woman… I believe I'll ask her out. Now, where is her number… Wait, I didn't get her number!' Hiten exclaimed.

All four heads snapped in his direction, realizing that they may not ever get a chance to see that beautiful Kagome again.

Naraku rushed out of the door, followed by the trio of arguing males-each blaming the other. Sprinting across the pub, they vaguely say a flash of Kagome's form and raced towards her. When they finally came within a distance; enough to catch sight of her, they found her being harassed by an intimidating male… Or so it seems.

Chapter 5

Normal Pov

With Sesshomaru-

'Farewell Sesshomaru'.

Two simple words that were filled with such agony and finality had haunted him since the day she left. Ironic as it is, he only came to a startling realization that he actually loved her when she had gone. Regret was apparent; a foreign emotion that never visited him until now. The little tendrils of guilt and regret had wormed their way into his heart and seemed to deem it their responsibility to permanently reside there until he atoned for his sins. The anguished look on her face she threw his way; eyes glimmering with unshed tears, betrayal and unrequited love, was unconsciously imprinted in his mind. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to banish the heart-wrenching image from his mind. On the contrary, he busied himself with work as much as he could and then take comfort in the resultant of his hard work. But somehow, the fates seemed to be persistent in prolonging his suffering by flashing haunting images of the blue-eyed beauty even in his dreams.

Knowing it was futile to deny the fact that he didn't need her; Sesshomaru had started searching for her whereabouts. It wasn't even remotely hard to find her in fact. His pride and unerringly huge ego was preventing him from actually finding her. Even if he did, he was afraid that he would say the wrong things that would not help him in his dilemma at all. But what he wouldn't give just to feel the luscious body of her pressed against him; her beguiling eyes gazing at him with such love that even Aphrodite would be ashamed.

Frowning in annoyance at where his track of thoughts were heading to, Sesshomaru schooled his face back into the stoic façade and buried himself in his work, unconsciously deciding that he would look her up today…

In the Evening-

Snapping the folder shut, Sesshomaru slid it back neatly into place and leaned back against his leather upholstered chair- painting the perfect picture of elegance even with the frown on his face. He was at a loss.

What would he say when he saw her for the first time in five months? Would he be able to persuade her to come back to him in the end? What if he failed?

Sesshomaru was an individual with so much self confidence that he never doubted himself. This would be the twentieth or so times he did since she left. He thought she made him vulnerable when she was there. Now he realized his stupidity for thinking that. Without her, he knew what vulnerable truly felt like; a ruthless kick in the butt.

But now, was the time to put all his self doubts to ease and let the good old self confidence return. He would need it to pull this off; to win her back.

Getting up abruptly from his seat, he snatched his jacket hanging on the hook by the door and strode his way to his car; inwardly praying to all the gods above to give him another chance at the happiness he so carelessly threw away….

With Kagome-

Humming happily, Kagome walked towards the exit of the pub. She had made four gorgeous acquaintances though the other two were too much of jerk material, so much like Sess… NO! She would NOT think of him. She was supposed to FORGET about him and all the grief his 'lordliness', as quoted by Jaken, 'bestowed' upon her.

Scowling at his arrogant image that surfaced suddenly in her mind, she vowed to herself that the next time she sees him… he would be expecting a good thrashing down.

And the later events that would ensue would ensure that her recent vow was to be carried out sooner than she thought.

With Sesshomaru-

Sesshomaru hoped that Jaken had gotten the place right or else he would not ensure the toad-like man's well-being.

So Kagome was sighted to have gone into this pub Sesshomaru pondered while double-checking the address to make sure he had got to the right place. Ironically, the icy look on his face was exactly the opposite of what he was currently feeling inside. His heart thumped against his ribcage in nervous anticipation. He swore he could almost hear the thunderous sound of the life giving organ and his ribs making violent contact. It had been an estimate of two hours that he had been sitting inside his gleaming silver Porsche and Kagome had still yet to appear. Two hours of anticipation and nervousness would drive one hysterical but thankfully, his iron-clad control had slipped back into its rightful place. However, even one with such control was nearing the edge of hysteria though there were no visible indications on his face except for the nervous glint in his eyes which was a rarity itself.

It was then he spotted her.

He cursed his stupidity again as only a fool would let go of one so beautiful inside-out. Once upon a time, he dismissed the thought of her being a lovely visage with a heart and soul of a goddess. But now, he found himself welcoming such thoughts back, agreeing with a rare burst of enthusiasm.

She was clad in a sexy little black number that passersby either stopped to look or glance her way in the corner of their eyes. However, she seemed to be unaware of them. No matter, they were insignificant. She may be oblivious to them but when he made his presence known, she would hear him out. That much was certain.

With Kagome-

Satisfied with her vow, Kagome resumed humming. Since that quaint pub could lift her spirits, she decided it would be her regular hangout in the near future. Of course she would ask Sango and Miroku out too when she did that. After all, they were the two that helped her through hard times. They were her best friends and she was proud to be the one who brought the two lovers together, not to mention their antics were highly entertaining.

She giggled as she pictured a red-faced Sango beating a lecherous Miroku while he threw her innocent, pleading looks that seemed to simmer her down; until he slipped hand to her rear once more that is. Grinning happily, she was about to extract her cell phone from her mini handbag to spring up her famous weird calls on the funny couple until she felt a hand resting on her right shoulder blade.

She was about to turn around when a pair of hands cupped over her eyes.

'Guess who?' a deep husky voice whispered into her ear.

(A/N: were you thinking that it was Sesshomaru? WELL! It's not! Hehe…)

Kagome's heart thundered in her ribcage upon hearing that voice. Carefully removing the calloused pair of hands from her eyes, Kagome turned around. Her eyes twinkled with happiness as she saw him.

'BANKOTSU! WHEN did YOU come BACK! Oh my GOD! I'm not dreaming am I!' Kagome exclaimed in a fit of happiness and blushed when she realized she had attracted many weird stares her way.

'Kagome! You're still as kawaii as ever eh kaijuu?' Bankotsu laughed as he crushed her to him and swung her around with ease.

Unbeknownst to the two reunited best friends, there were five pairs of eyes burning with jealousy staring at them.

With Sesshomaru-

Who the heck is HE! WHAT in seven hells is he doing with MY Kagome! Clenching his fist tight, Sesshomaru was trying his damnedest to not scream at the joyous pair. He wanted to be the one swinging a laughing Kagome around. He wanted to be the one to crush her into his embrace. He wanted to be the one she was laughing with!

Taking deep claming breaths, Sesshomaru reassured himself that Kagome would not have gotten over him so easily, that Kagome still loved him. He was about to walk over to her when he saw four males making their way towards her fast. Though he wanted to stop them and ask them what they wanted with Kagome, it was best that he calmed down first.

Sesshomaru may have thought that was a wise decision but in actuality, he would soon learn that it was not. Conversely, what the four males would do later on would only serve to feed his jealousy and anger.

With Inuyasha, Kouga, Hiten, Naraku-

'Who the FUCK is that?' Inuyasha gritted out, eyes glittering with jealousy and something akin to hatred.

Like him, Kouga, Hiten and even Naraku eyed the scene with fire ignited in their eyes. Not the passionate kind, mind you. Ok, maybe it was passionate. But it was a passion of unerring jealousy and very strong dislike towards a certain oblivious male that held their desired woman in his god damn arms.

The four infatuated males were seemingly not out of their previously lust-induced state of mind or were just simply blind to even deduce that Kagome was being harassed by the 'son-of-a-bitch'- as quoted from Inuyasha.

Pissed, they went marching towards the couple; with the exception of Naraku walking in a tense gait, their thoughts surprisingly on the same track that went something along the lines of 'the bastard is going to die a thousand deaths or a horrible death, or an utterly gruesome death'. Well, you get the message. Their intent was also very much apparent with the look on their faces. For once, they were in sync- it was thought impossible but now; as circumstances deem it, it was apparently not.

With the oblivious rejoicing pair-

'Oh Bank! I missed you so much! But, let's leave the celebration of your return for tomorrow please… I'm really tired… All the excitement today is finally taking its toll.' Kagome whined 'it'll just be like old times ne! You'll just have to carry me back!' she exclaimed in momentary exuberance.

'Haha… Sure twit. To think I thought you've already grown up. But I guess I was wrong.' Bankotsu grinned mischievously at her and quickly swept her into his arms bridal style. Kagome snuggled close, basking in the warmth of his masculine body, sighing wistfully. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard a familiar voice shouting 'PUT HER DOWN YOU IDIOT! I SAID PUT HER DOWN YOU HEAR ME!'

Startled, Bankotsu turned around and saw four apparently irate males marching his way. Quirking his eyebrows at the utter weirdness of the situation, he waited for the four patiently as he smoothed the hair out of Kagome's eyes.

'Bank, what the yawn hell is going on' Kagome murmured while rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Smiling, Bankotsu said 'well, we'd just have to wait and see ne twirp?'

Bankotsu looked up and found himself, staring at the four irate males. Flashing them an amused smile, he shifted Kagome and placed her head into the crook of his neck.

'Well, what may I do for you sirs?' Bankotsu grinned, blatantly showing his amusement.

'The very…' before Hiten could continue, Inuyasha interrupted rudely.

'You could start by putting Kagome down!' Inuyasha shouted, rousing Kagome from her light slumber.

'Bank, what the HELL is happening! You can put me down now.' Kagome bit out, all grouchy and frustrated from having roused from her sleep.

Bankotsu gently set Kagome down, though he still held her small hand in his own large calloused one. Kagome stared at the four incredulously.

'Weren't you the four at the pub just now? What are you all doing here?'

'Well, we saw HIM' Kouga pointed at Bankotsu accusingly 'harassing you! So we came over! Don't worry, you're safe now!' Hiten interjected, pulling her into his arms.

This gesture did not go unnoticed by the rest of them. Kouga pulled Kagome out of Hiten's arm screaming along the lines of 'don't touch my woman', which ignited Inuyasha's fury causing him to extract Kagome from Kouga's embrace and into his. Naraku was no exception when it came to claiming rights over this woman. He snatched Kagome from Inuyasha's arms proclaiming that he saw her first.

The once amused Bankotsu was scowling like no tomorrow. Well, Kagome may have thought him as just a best friend, but his crush on her had simply slammed back into place the moment he saw her. Thus, was a cause for him to reach out towards her, wanting to get her out of reach from the four males, which had ostensibly taken an obvious interest in her. Just as he was about to fulfill his task, a tall silver haired man stopped him.

With Sesshomaru-

Who do they think they are! Trying to claim this Sesshomaru's woman as their very own! They are courting their own downfall! This Sesshomaru would see to that and NO ONE would take his woman from him!

With the very last of his raging thoughts, Sesshomaru marched over to the group of males that were getting their filthy hands all over HIS Kagome (A/N: THAT is an exaggeration.. but hey! This IS a pissed of Sesshomaru!). Clenching his fists till his knuckles turned a deathly white, Sesshomaru walked towards them. His calmed demeanor may have fooled the passer-bys (who were looking at him as if he were a god--" the females that is.) but he was as sure as hell that he was not going to fool the bunch of idiots engaging in a useless quarrel over HIS woman.

With the entire group-

Bankotsu swerved his head violently to the right; the action ruffling his midnight black mane. A man, a few inches taller than him, was spotting a deadly glare in his golden eyes. Bankotsu was not easily intimidated but this man intimidated him alright. With the silver locks and features so utterly flawless, he looked like the very quintessence of an avenging angel.

However, before his thoughts could trail any further, he was jerked violently to the realms of reality by a cold, commanding voice that chilled him not to the very bone but definitely to a justifiable depth.

'You imbeciles would do well to keep your hands off this Sesshomaru's woman or I can assure you that the day after, you would all be living in streets.'

Message received and understood. But a cumulative anger also resulted. Sesshomaru's speech was obviously not propitious to the situation. However, just as angry retorts and profanities; that would shame even the crudest person alive was about to come flying out of the mouths of the ireful males, Kagome intervened.

'Why you arrogant son of a bitch! Who gave you the rights to claim me! If my memory served me well, you divorced me you frost-bitten jerk! And I accepted the divorce with due course seeing as how you insulted me and humiliated me! Well, your lordliness, I do not know what is your intent and where that asinine conversation you made is heading but I do know that whatever happens here is between me and them and not you! This is utterly absurd! The next thing I know, you'd be trying to mollycoddle me with gifts! Now get the hell out of my sight!' Kagome seethed in indignation.

Unbeknownst to her, though she was looking like the devil's incarnate with her rant of righteous anger, she not only intimidated the other five males but also successfully; though unconsciously, aroused them. To them, she looked dangerous and erotic. The new appealing image with the air of innocence and unparalleled beauty in its own due she possessed proved to be a fatal combination indeed.

A/N: I know I know. This is short but I'm far too tired to write anymore… heh… I'm sorry! Anyway, pls read and review! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!