A/N: Thanks to everyone that is reading, and enjoying, this story! I am glad that you are enjoying it so much. There are still a few tricks up my sleve for the plot, so stay tuned. Also, remember I due consider requests and suggestions. If you send it, I just might put it in here! Anyway, on with the story!

A First for Everything

Chapter 11

Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair, staring silently at the walls of his office. It was no use. He could not concentrate today. That damned wench had once again ruined another chance at a productive day. Why had he not let her go from the contract? What was it that made him so persistent to keep her here, under his watch? He grunted at the thought. It was something that perhaps he would never know.

Unconsciously, his lean fingers reached up and traced over where Kagome had slapped him. Although the mark was no longer red, it still stung as much as it did the moment he received it. For such a small woman, she packed quite a punch. Sesshomaru winced slightly as his fingers ran over a tender spot. Perhaps what she had said was true. Maybe he did deserve it. However, he dismissed the thought. That woman caused nothing but trouble. If she had not insulted his pride, then he would not have had to confront her. Kagome needed to be reminded of her place in this company. 'But then again, what exactly is her place?' he thought.

The gentle knocking of his door caused his eyes to swivel to the object. He did not move his body. He did not have to. His eyes were imposing enough.

"Enter," he called out, his low voice powerful in the command.

Slowly, the door opened, revealing a timid Yumi, his secretary. Yumi shifted nervously on her feet, not even daring to look him in the eyes. He knew her source of fear. It was him. All of his workers have been acting in such a manner since yesterday. His bad mood was obvious, and he did not enjoy it.

"Mr. Tashio?" she quietly mumbled, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I am afraid that I have some bad news," she began, tentatively stepping into the office.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and he brought his head around to pin her to the spot. "Continue," he ordered.

"Well, I just received the letter that you tried to send to Miss Higurashi. It seems that she is no longer staying at the Crescent Hotel. What would you like me to do, Sir?"

Leaning slightly forward in his chair, he glared at Yumi. He had wanted things to go smoothly, but Kagome seemed to make it impossible.

With his voice bitter, he asked, "How long has it been since she resided in the Crescent Hotel?"

Gulping, Yumi momentarily lifted her eyes before darting them away.

"I was told that she left the premises three days ago."

Holding back a growl, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He would not let this woman affect him in such a way again.

"Find out where she is, Yumi. I want it done immediately. Relay me back the information when you are through."

"Yes, Mr. Tashio," she replied. Bowing, she quickly retreated from the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Yawning, Kagome stretched, allowing her eyes to lazily close once again. The blinding light of the morning sun, however, prevented her from doing so. Huffing slightly, she sat up in bed. Her hand ran slightly up her tank top, exposing some of her soft flesh as she scratched an itch.

Swinging her legs over the side, she paused there a moment, collecting herself for the day. Rising from the bed, she began walking in slow strides to the kitchen. As she fixed a pot of coffee, the thought of yesterday's events did not faze her.

When she had arrived home from the office yesterday, she had been at loss. Kagome immediately ran into her shower, trying to wash off the feeling. She had slid down the wall, letting the water mix with her tears. No matter how hard she tried, she was always pulled back into this mess-and mostly because Sesshomaru had done so. Kagome did not understand why he did not leave her alone. What was he trying to do?

She had gone to bed expecting nothing short of a fitful sleep. However, she was not plagued with horrid visions. Instead, she had had a pleasant dream, one with mysterious meanings and love.

Humming to herself, she began looking through her closets for her favorite coffee mug. But the ringing of her doorbell interrupted her actions. Raising an eyebrow, she looked curiously at the door. Who would be coming this early in the morning? Perhaps it would be Sango. She might be nervous about her date with Miroku tonight.

Happily ambling to the door, she called out cheerfully, "I'm coming!"

As she opened the door, however, her face fell. It was not Sango after all. There in her doorway stood a postal worker. Crinkling her forehead in confusion, she asked, "May I help you?"

The short man scanned over her attire before answering. "Miss Kagome Higurashi?"

"Yes, I am she."

"Humph, I have an important delivery for you." Holding out his hand, he presented her with a clipboard. "Will you please sign on the dotted line? I need to confirm its delivery," he told her dryly.

Kagome's interest peaked. An important delivery? What could it be! She quickly grabbed the board and scribbled her signature on the paper. Her bright eyes began to recover some of their incredible joy.

"Here you are," she replied, handing him back the papers. "May I have my delivery now?"

"Yeah, yeah, be patient," the man retorted sourly. Finally, he pulled out a slim letter and handed it to her. "Have a wonderful day," he said before he turned on his heel and scurried off.

Kagome stuck her tongue out at the retreating man. 'Sour puss,' she thought. She stepped back into her apartment, closing the door behind her. Glancing down at the paper in her hands, she couldn't help but notice the elaborate designs on the envelope.

The paper was a soft vanilla color with gold embroidered vines tracing along the edges. Her name was carefully written on the paper in stunning calligraphy. The back was closed by a golden seal that was detailed with more vines and leaves. 'Damn,' she thought. 'Someone spends way too much money on an envelope.' However, there was no return address.

Carefully, as not to ruin the paper, she opened the envelope. Her eyes scanned over the content, growing wide as she did so. 'This can't be right!' she thought. Once again her eyes went over the words in disbelief.

To Miss Kagome Higurashi,

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Tokyo Productions Ball. Attending this ball will be various important clients, as well as many important social figures. We would be honored to have your presence on the evening of Friday, September 23. One guest may be permitted to accompany you to this glorious event. Formal attire will be required.

Sincerely,

Tokyo Productions and

Sesshomaru Tashio

Kagome went pale. 'Oh no,' she thought. Quickly glancing at her calendar, she began to panic. Today was Wednesday. She had only 4 days to find a dress, and not to mention a "guest."

"Damnit!" Kagome yelled. "Could they have at least told me earlier?"

Turning sharply, she began her trek down the hall to her room, not even noticing that it had been Sesshomaru's real signature on the invitation.

"What about this one, Kagome?"

Kagome raised her head, turning to look over Sango. Her friend was pointing to a beautiful emerald dress. However, the neckline plunged low, willingly exposing too much cleavage.

Shaking her head violently, Kagome replied, "Absolutely not."

Frowning, Sango fingered the delicate fabric of the dress. "Why not? It's beautiful, and you do need a nice dress for this formal."

"That is way too much cleavage for this party," Kagome retorted, turning away from the woman and beginning to search through the large racks of dresses.

"You just don't want to encourage anything to happen, do you?" Sango teased her friend.

Blushing, Kagome stiffened. Even though she knew that Sango was only teasing, she knew that there were some truths in her words. Kagome knew from previous experience that she would not be able to push Sesshomaru away if he decided to make another move. Keeping conservative and a low profile was the safest way to avoid the experience. Besides, after the fiasco of the week, she had no desire to be around the arrogant, but gorgeous man. Who knows what low blows he would pull out.

Shaking off the thought, Kagome raised an eyebrow at Sango. "Hardly. I just don't want Kouga thinking that I am trying to impress him. Kami knows that it was hard enough to deal with his bullshit when I had to ask him to be my guest," she said sourly, vaguely recalling the ordeal that Kouga had caused.

'It's his entirely his fault anyway,' Kagome thought to herself. 'If he wasn't such an ass, then I never would have meet Sesshomaru.' Her eyes narrowed slightly. She would have to repay Kouga for the 'favor' sometime.

Sango laughed at her friend, turning away from the elegant dress and meandering through the aisles of dresses.

"Fair enough. I still can't believe that you asked Kouga to be your date though. Couldn't you have asked Inuyasha or something? I am sure that he would have loved to go with you. From what you have told me, it seems that he would be happy to help keep you away from his brother," Sango commented.

"I can't ask Inuyasha, Sango," Kagome retorted, looking over at her friend with wide eyes.

"And why not?"

"Well...just because. He is my agent after all. I don't think that it would seem to be professional. Besides, I am sure that he already has a date by now. The party is only a day away."

Sango scrunched her nose in thought before shrugging her shoulders. "I suppose you have a point. Tell you what, why don't we take a break from shopping and go grab some lunch?"

Kagome's eyes lit up like a child's in a candy store. "You don't have to ask me twice!" she exclaimed.

His dark eyebrow rose curiously as he saw two dark haired females cross the shopping plaza. Shifting his head, the long silver strands of his hair fell away from his face, giving him an ample view of the females. Their melodious laughter filled his ears. It was familiar. Yes, he knew who they were...well, at least he knew one of them.

Turning his golden eyes to his friend, he called out, "Let's go, Miroku. I see Kagome over there."

Miroku smiled, his lips curling into his infamous perverted grin. "That is not just Kagome. Before us are two goddesses sent from the heavens, Inuyasha."

Snorting, Inuyasha rolled his eyes before striding towards the two women. "Feh. I'm not standing up for your ass if they slap you."

"Hey, Kags!"

Spinning around, Kagome scanned her eyes through the crowd, searching for the male voice that called to her. A flash of silver darted before her eyes, making her tense. Was Sesshomaru there? 'Stupid idiot,' she thought to herself. 'There's no way that Mr. Tight-ass would ever call you Kags.'

In no time, the powerful, yet immature figure of Inuyasha appeared in front of her. Her body began to relax as a slow smile crept across her face.

"Hey, Yasha. What are you doing here?" she asked the silver haired agent.

Giving her a sly, toothy grin, he responded. "Feh. I had to run some errands with the pervert here..."

Looking over at his side, he had to look twice. "What the fuck?" he mumbled. Miroku had disappeared from his side. "Where the hell did he go?"

"Where did who go?" Kagome asked in a confused voice.

SLAP!

With wide eyes, both Inuyasha and Kagome turned slowly around. Before them stood Miroku, holding his palm to his reddening cheek. He had a grin on his face, while Sango was glaring daggers into the dark haired man. Unable to stop herself, Kagome began to giggle. When Inuyasha joined her, she could not help but burst into a fit of laughter. Sango began to blush at the unwanted attention.

While gasping for air, Kagome managed to choke out, "Hey, Sango, did he do this on your date?"

Blushing even further, Sango crossed her arms in front of her chest, evilly muttering at her friend.

Carefully regarding the pair in front of him, Inuyasha cautiously asked, "Miroku had a date? And he is still alive?"

"Yes, my friend. Sango is a goddess, and deserves to be treated like one. I was on my best behavior for such a lovely woman."

"Humph! Only if your best behavior means trying to grab my ass all night!" Sango retorted.

Once again, Kagome and Inuyasha burst into laughter. Inuyasha was laughing so hard that he was crouched over himself, holding his stomach as if in pain. Tears of joy were springing from Kagome's eyes. Miroku chuckled guiltily, holding his hands up in the air in a sign of innocence.

Thinking of a safe escape, Miroku blurted out, "So, Miss Higurashi, are you attending the ball?"

Kagome's laughter started to fade as Miroku's words sunk into her mind. Wiping away the light tears from the corners of her eyes, she replied, "Yes, Miroku. I am."

Inuyasha straightened his body. Quirking his eyebrow, he glanced at Kagome. "Who are you going with?"

"With an...acquaintance."

Frowning, he responded heatedly, "An acquaintance? Who is it?"

Snorting, Kagome narrowed her eyes slightly. "Relax," she began, slight annoyance lacing her tone. "His name is Kouga. Why do you want to know?"

"He better not try anything unless he wants a fist in his face!"

Smiling slightly, Kagome shook her head at Inuyasha. "Don't worry, he won't. I can take care of myself, you know."

"Yeah, we can all see how well you do that, "Inuyasha grumbled lowly, his voice too soft to be heard by his companions.

"What did you say, Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned, glancing up at his tall form.

"Feh, nothing," he snapped, turning his nose up into the air arrogantly.

Looking at each other with amusement, Miroku and Sango stifled their laughter. Both knew that this sibling like argument would escalate if someone didn't step in.

"So, Kagome," Miroku asked, "Did you get that package yet?"

Whirling her head to Miroku, Kagome's dark mane twisted through the air before crashing gently on her shoulder.

"Do you mean the invitation?" Kagome asked softly.

"No," he replied warily. "Did you receive the package from Sesshomaru yet?"

TBC...