I still don't own the characters.

Chapter 5

Sesshomaru sat at his desk, checking his watch to see what time it was and trying to finish up his work since he was going to have to dash out soon. He liked to make sure that he left a little early to pick Kikyo up. He hated when she had to wait even five minutes for him. The last time he had hit traffic and found her trying to shoo off a male co-worker that did not seem to want to take the hint. The man did not seem to get it until Kikyo's boyfriend was standing next to her and glaring down at the offending little gnat of a man like he was worthless. It was almost laughable that such a base creature thought that he was worthy of Sesshomaru's precious jewel, but Sesshomaru had been a bit too angry to find the humor in the situation. His thoughts were thrown off by his cell phone ringing.

"Yes, Father?" Sesshomaru answered the phone.

"Good day, Sesshomaru," his father greeted him in a rather friendly tone.

"Indeed," the younger male replied in a clipped voice. He was a bit suspicious because of his father's voice.

"We haven't seen much of you lately," his father commented.

"I've been busy," Sesshomaru answered cryptically.

"Your mother worries."

"As always. You should assure her that I am quite fine. I am more than capable in taking care of myself."

"I try, but she doesn't listen. You will come over for dinner tonight and prove that you are quite fine and capable of taking care of yourself," his father ordered, but he made it sound like a request. His father was not a man that requested anything, which was where Sesshomaru inherited the trait.

"Tonight?" Sesshomaru echoed like he did not know what that was.

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

Sesshomaru took a moment to think it over. It should not be a problem. He could go pick up Kikyo and take her home. They could spend a couple of hours together and then he could go to dinner with his family. She deserved a break from entertaining him anyway, he figured. So, it sounded very doable.

"I will be there. At seven, correct?" Sesshomaru wanted to be sure.

"Of course," his father answered.

"See you then," Sesshomaru bid his father farewell.

Sesshomaru closed his flip phone and then checked the time. He might as well get going, he silently decided. He exited his office and went down to parking lot. He hopped into his car and headed for Kikyo, but he got caught in traffic yet again. He growled in anger and annoyance; that little rodent had better not be hitting on his Kikyo, he thought while the cars on the highway moved at a crawl. With each second that passed, his grip on his steering wheel tightened as he thought of that irksome male talking to his Kikyo, trying to touch his Kikyo. He could not stand the thought of such a thing, even though he was quite aware that Kikyo would not do anything with her co-worker. It was just the idea of the man bothering and not taking the hint that got to Sesshomaru rather deeply. He pulled up to the school ten minutes late and, sure enough, that same pest was bothering his Kikyo. He scowled deeply.

"Dearest, is this man bothering you?" Sesshomaru inquired as he came up behind Kikyo. He put his hand around her waist. He glared down at the pale, ebony-haired man standing a couple of inches away from his woman.

"No, Sessho. Naraku was just leaving," Kikyo replied, dropping a hint that she wanted her co-worker away from her now. The co-worker did not take the hint, as usual.

"All right. Shall we go?" the golden-eyed male proposed in order to get Kikyo away from the pest.

Kikyo did not bother to bid Naraku farewell; she just left with Sesshomaru, walking toward his car without bothering to look back. The silver-haired male did take a moment to glare daggers at Naraku before going to the car. He drove Kikyo home and glanced at his watch; it was a little before five o'clock. He had plenty of time before having to go to his parents, so he went up to her apartment with her. He parked himself on the sofa and waited for her to come back from putting on her house clothes. She did not take long and when she returned, she curled up next to him as usual, snuggling her body into his.

"Kikyo, I'm not going to able to stay long," Sesshomaru informed her while putting his arm around her to caress her while she was so temptingly close.

"No?" she asked while yawning slightly. She was a bit tired and his petting of her back was not helping because it was so soothing.

"I have to go to my parents' house."

"Today?" she asked, her eyes dropping halfway closed because of the constant, tender stroking on her back.

"Yes."

"All right," she accepted that.

"You need to get your rest anyway. You should go to bed early tonight," he suggested, some concern sneaking into his voice, which was something that typically happened when he was speaking with her. She was one of the few people that could bring out some emotion from within him; he did not mind it. She deserved it in his opinion.

"I could," she considered.

"Should," he stressed while leaning down to gently kiss her on the lips. She smiled a bit against his mouth, pleased with the affection it would seem. She tasted so sweet, he thought. She pressed herself closer to him as he pulled away.

Kikyo did not argue with him because he was right. She was tired and she could use some extra-sleep. She should get it while he was not going to be around. They sat there on the couch and talked a bit while letting some music play in the background while remaining cuddled up. When the time came for him to leave, he kissed her again, with even more tender care than before. She whimpered in an almost inaudible tone when he took his lips from her. Kikyo did not put up a fuss, even though he knew that she wanted him to stay.

"Fluffy will keep you company," Sesshomaru told her as a joke.

"He's not as warm as you," Kikyo replied, almost pouting just to play with him a bit.

Sesshomaru smiled a little and wondered if she knew the deep, strange affect that she had on him. He promised to call her later on, mostly to check on her and make sure that she had gotten a good amount of sleep. He then left to go to his parents' mansion. By the time he got there, his family was already seated at the dinner table. He checked his watch; it was seven, so he was not late.

"Big brother!" Rin cheered with a wide, happy grin and pushed out of her chair. The little girl charged Sesshomaru before he was even ten inches into the dining room.

"Hello, Rin," Sesshomaru greeted his little sister in his usual voice while she busied herself by hugging him around his leg because he was so much taller than she was.

"The great one returns," Inuyasha declared sarcastically with a smug look on his face.

Sesshomaru did not even give his brother the time of day to bother responding. He bent down and lifted Rin into his arms to give her a proper hug. Rin grinned widely again, looking much like a raven-haired cherub. She hugged his around the neck now that she was at that level as he walked over to his mother and kissed her cheek as a greeting.

"Good to see you again, my son," his mother commented in an amused tone. Although it sounded like she was teasing, she was quite sincere. She liked knowing that her children were alive and breathing.

"It has not been so long," Sesshomaru argued as he put Rin down in her seat next to their mother. Sesshomaru took the chair across from his mother, which was to the right of his father, who was sitting at the head of the table.

"It's been four months," his mother declared.

"Four months?" Sesshomaru echoed in disbelief. He had been with Kikyo for four months? It seemed like so much less than that, but as he did the calculations on his mind, he found that his mother was being generous; it had almost been five months. Kikyo had been at the forefront of his mind and getting all of his attention for almost five months. He was glad that his mother said something because it reminded him to consider doing something special for their six-month anniversary.

"Yes, four months. What have you been up to having forgotten us for so long?" his mother practically demanded to know. She felt so forgotten by her oldest son and she wanted to know why he had been so distant lately.

"This and that," Sesshomaru answered cryptically. He was not one to share his personal life, even with his family unless it was necessary.

"I know you like your privacy, Sessh, but could you be a bit more forthcoming than this and that?" his mother requested.

"I hear that you've been out with some girl," his father commented as if such news was nothing at all, even though he knew very well that his wife would be instantly fascinated.

"A girl?" his mother asked in a very intrigued voice. Her eyes went wide and Sesshomaru groaned slightly. She turned her attention to her husband for more information since she knew that her eldest son was going to be secretive about things.

"Quite a few of my associates have seen him out with a very pretty girl. They have seen him at restaurants, cafes, and places such as that. Is it true, Sesshomaru?" his father inquired with a teasing smile on his face.

"It is true," Sesshomaru confirmed.

"What is this girl's name? How long have you been seeing her? Why haven't we heard from you about this young woman?" his mother demanded to know in a gentle, yet still somehow forceful tone. Only a mother could pull off such a voice, Sesshomaru figured.

"Give him a chance to answer," her husband interjected with a bit of a laugh. Her excitement and interest was amusing.

"Sessh?" she asked.

"Her name is Kikyo," Sesshomaru answered.

"Kikyo?" Inuyasha repeated, suddenly interested in the conversation. His brother better not be talking about his Kikyo.

"Yes," Sesshomaru stated flippantly, like he did not really want to speak to Inuyasha.

"My Kikyo?" the younger brother asked.

"Your Kikyo?" the elder brother said while turning his attention to Inuyasha. He thought that maybe he would see some hint of insanity invading his little brother's brain for him to actually lay claim to Kikyo. Sesshomaru felt like she belonged to him and no one else. She never would belong to anyone else as far as he was concerned.

"Is that the girl that you were so very in love with for a moment, Inuyasha?" their mother inquired curiously. Inuyasha had a way of letting his love be known moments after falling into the emotion because he never shut up about a girl that he liked. Too bad Sesshomaru made it a habit to never listen to him.

"Wait a moment, you used to date Kikyo?" Sesshomaru demanded to know from his brother.

"Yeah, and she's way too good for a pretty boy like you, Sessh-butt!" Inuyasha proclaimed quite seriously.

"Inuyasha," his mother scolded him.

Sesshomaru frowned and excused himself. He left the table, the room, and then the house. He drove back to Kikyo's apartment like a man possessed; he luckily was not stopped by any police officers and did not hit any pedestrians, especially since he would not have halted for any accidents if possible. He pounded on her door as if he intended on breaking it down. She answered the door, letting him in. Before she could greet him in any way, he pushed into the apartment and glared down on her as if trying to slaughter her with his piercing golden eyes.

"You used to date Inuyasha!" he bellowed in pure fury.

"What?" Kikyo asked in shock. She was stunned by the question and his tone. They seemed to come out of nowhere.

"You used to date Inuyasha," he repeated in just a vexed tone as before; he just did not yell that time.

"Well, yes—" she tried to explain, but he cut her off right after the affirmation.

"And you didn't tell me? How dare you!" he growled, as if he would breathe fire on her if only he could.

"How dare I what?" she inquired in a puzzled tone. She regarded him with some offense in her eyes, affronted by his behavior.

"Date that moron! That's it! We're done," he proclaimed like that was the only logical thing that could be done and he turned to leave.

"Wait, Sessho!" Kikyo pled as she grabbed his arm. He flung her from him as if she was meaningless. She fell to the plush carpet while he left the apartment. She called after him, but he did not return. What just happened?

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: who handles the break up the best … or would it be the worst?