Title: Perfect Distraction

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

Series: Inuyasha

Rated: T

Genre: Romance/Humor/Angst/Action Adventure

Pairings: Sess/Kag

A big Special Thanks to my beta Kari Konoko for checking out this chapter, who always does a wonderful job.

A big thanks to all of the reviewers!

A big Special Thanks to my betafor checking out this chapter, who always does a wonderful job.

LadyAkina, AngelWingsbaka, Aki-Shinko, ME, emilia, YoukaiTenshi, The Squabbit, Sapphire Birthstone, Aangsair, babygirl20008, Meletina, amber001, Maibu Wolf, fluffy li, MoonlightRose09, Entity of Sorrow, InnocentDarkSassycat, darkwolfslayer, Mz. M.J., Lady Orchid, White Tiger Princess, Lass, Go Drink Pinesol, AiTso, WhiteRose-Kurama, Kagome2691, littleschoolgirl, LaDy RInG 411 and Bf'S, Eternityoftears& Fiona McKinnon

Chapter 4: A painting is worth a thousand words.

My memories float away like little bubbles in the wind

I reach for them, I reach for better times

Yet as soon as I touched them they pop

And with them my hope of a better tomorrow

"Hello Frostbite."

Sesshoumaru was left speechless as he observed her. His golden eyes followed the delicate tilt of her lips as she smirked mischievously at him. He hadn't really looked at her the first time he saw her. Now that he took the time to look at her, he came to the conclusion that she was rather pretty. He wouldn't lower himself to call her beautiful, even when a part of him was yelling at him that she was indeed beautiful.

Her blue eyes taunted him with promise of something that he wasn't sure about. Her skin looked soft to touch, while her dark hair only brought out those distinctive blue eyes of hers. Her features were fine and soft…alluring.

Fortunately he was further distracted from his thoughts by Kioko.

"Frostbite?" Kioko asked blinking as she turned to regard her older brother curiously.

Sesshoumaru quickly composed himself. He looked bored at Kioko, who raised an eyebrow at him. She knew very well that something was up, but apparently Sesshoumaru wasn't about to say anything about it.

She turned to gaze at the young woman, clearly giving her a how you know my brother look, but to Sesshoumaru's utter surprised, she smiled brightly at his little sister and muttered 'it's a secret.' Kioko crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, making the woman chuckle. Her laughter was soft and bell-like in quality, the sound soothing to his ears, unlike the way other women laughed.

She finally composed herself and turned to gaze at him. Her blue eyes found his golden ones and she winked at him, before she smiled mischievously again. Sesshoumaru watched as Jinengi stepped towards Kagome and he felt for some reason a pang of jealousy as he took hold of her hand and gently pulled her towards them. He watched as she smiled vibrantly at him and it made him wonder if they were lovers.

"This is Kagome Higurashi, the student I was talking about." Jinengi said motioning to Kagome.

"It's nice meeting you." Kagome said bowing her head, her dark hair falling along her shoulder as she did this.

She straightened up and smiled warmly at them. Inutaisho stepped forward, softy taking Kagome's hand in his. A shiver went through her body as his skin touched hers. She furrowed her brows, not sure what the feeling was, but it was strange to say the least. Every thought left her left her though as his lips touched her knuckles.

"I'm Inutaisho Nakamura and it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He said softly, his deep voice flowing over her and his eyes never leaving hers.

Kagome felt her face heat up and she quickly lowered her eyes. The man could be her father, but that didn't stop her from finding him handsome. She mentally slapped herself. She gathered her courage and raised her face to gaze at him. She peeked from under her dark long lashes at him.

Inutaisho had long silver hair that was tied at the base of his neck. His hair looked almost white in her opinion, it was a strange color, but it was beautiful, it reminded her of the soft strings of a spider's web. His hair looked that soft.

He was tall and had a broadly build frame. He was literally towering over her, making her feel rather small compared to him, but she wasn't afraid. Just like with Jinengi, he gave off a very protective feeling. He wore a dark grey suit with a black button-up shirt and a dark blue tie. The suit fitted him perfectly, showing off his frame and accentuating all of his assets.

Her eyes strayed to his face. He had a roguishly handsome face, with very chiseled and manly features. Yet what caught her attention were his eyes. They were pools of molten gold that took her breath away. The color was very unique, but in her opinion suited him for some reason.

All in all he was very handsome or better said he was a drop dead gorgeous man, who she was openly staring at, she realized only too late. Her cheeks heat up and turned a bright cherry color. By now he had already straightened up and was gazing with an amused smiled on his lips at her. She could see the enjoyment shining in his beautiful eyes and it made her blush even more. She quickly lowered her eyes, desperately wishing that the earth would open up and swallow her whole at the moment.

What would Mr. Nakamura think of her? She wasn't one to act like those love-sick high school girl. It was then that she recalled something. The name Nakamura did ring a bell. Blue eyes widened as she recalled the magazine, the pictures that her friends had showed her. These were the Nakamuras, the richest and most influential family in the land. And here she was making a complete idiot of herself in front of them.

Yep, add that to most embarrassing moments of Kagome Higurashi. And to top it off she was almost ran over by the eldest Nakamura. Raising sapphire blue eyes she was met with burning golden eyes staring or better said glaring at her. She blinked a few times and quickly lowered her eyes back. Yes, she was sure that that was the eldest Nakamaru.

She couldn't recall his name. Sess-what? Sess-who? She was brought out of her musings by another male voice.

"Dad, you can let go of her hand now."

She raised her face and was met with cornflower blue eyes staring at her. It was the second son. She couldn't recall his name either. Inutaisho chuckled as he finally released her hand.

"Oh don't tell me that you're jealous, Inuyasha?" Inutaisho taunted, causing his son to growl at him.

Kagome stood there quietly admiring the youngest son. He was definitely eye-candy like her friends would say. He wore a simple red dress shirt that had the two upper-buttons open, revealing a lightly tanned chest and a pair of black trousers. His black hair was tied in a low ponytail on the lower-part of his neck.

"No, I'm not jealous, especially not about her." Inuyasha said gruffly crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.

Kagome felt her right eye twitch. What did he mean with that? Was he calling her ugly? Okay, so she wasn't beautiful, but it wasn't nice to call someone ugly to their face. The jerk, her mind screamed at her.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" She asked angrily stepping forward and poking Inuyasha in the chest with her index finger.

Inuyasha was clearly caught off guard as he took a step back, but Kagome didn't relent as she took a step forward.

"Listen to me buddy, I might not beautiful, but you don't need to be so blunt about and besides it isn't like you look like Adonis anyway." She said blue eyes narrowed.

Both Inutaisho and Jinengi were taken back by her statement. She didn't think herself beautiful, was the girl really that modest?

"What? Are you crazy wench?" Inuyasha growled as he managed to get some control of himself.

"Wench! What is it with you men calling me a wench, your brother over there also called me a wench. My name is Kagome, repeat it with me KA-GO-ME." She emphasized each syllable of her name with a stomp of her feet.

He narrowed his cornflower blue eyes at her, hoping to intimidate her, but she wasn't the least afraid as she glared heatedly at him, her blue eyes lightening to electric blue as her temper flared. Inuyasha unconsciously took a step as he saw this. The changed of color surprised him, but he quickly pushed the thought aside and stepped towards the girl once again and resumed glaring at her. He would be damned if he lost to a woman.

Jinengi stood there looking hopelessly at the young woman as Inuyasha and her began arguing and calling one another names. He sighed as he shook his head. He dared to glance at Inutaisho who was looking amusedly at the display. It was clear that he was enjoying the show quite a lot, if the smirk on his face was any indication.

"Ummm…wasn't she a few minutes ago all smiles and sunshine?" Kioko asked laughing weakly as she watched Kagome growl, yes growl, the young woman growled at her brother.

"Hmmm…degrading…such childish display is just degrading." Sesshoumaru answered calmly as his eyes took in her angry face.

Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes lightened in her anger, while her hair fell carelessly in her eyes. Her whole small frame radiated anger and the need to confront whoever had caused that anger. He was reminded suddenly of the small kitten that wasn't afraid to fight back if she found herself cornered or in danger. He mentally shook his head wondering what he was thinking.

"Okay, settle down children." Inutaisho said amusedly; it was humorous to watch them quarrel, but he was sure that if this continued one of them would end up injured and by the looks of it, it would most likely be Inuyasha.

He cringed as two sets of angry eyes turned to glare at him. Kagome and Inuyasha gave each other one last glare, before backing away from one another.

Inutaisho had been surprised by the show of temper of the girl. At first glance she had seemed too calm and demure, but apparently she had quite a temper as well. Inuyasha had been clearly caught off guard by her outburst and it entertained him a lot to see his son at loss for words. It intrigued him though what she meant with Sesshoumaru calling her a wench as well. He tugged that part of information away to use it later or better said to use as blackmail later.

"These are my children, Kioko, Inuyasha and I believe you've already met Sesshoumaru." Inutaisho said motioning to his children, hoping to calm the young woman in the process as well.

Kioko offered Kagome a soft smile, while Inuyasha feh'ed and looked away, making Kagome glare at him. Sesshoumaru coldly inclined his head, not wanting to make a scene. She must have it found it quite amusing, seeing how she smiled brightly at him. The sight was breathtaking, but he quickly rebuked himself for such thoughts.

"So Jinengi, didn't you tell me that you had some paintings to show me?" Inutaisho asked eagerly; Jinengi chuckled as he saw the excitement in the older man's eyes.

While Jinengi explained to them about the paintings, Kagome took the time to really look at Sesshoumaru. She had to admit that the picture in the magazine didn't do him justice. So, she wasn't about to keel over and chase him like a lost puppy like other girls, but she had to admit that he was good-looking.

She frowned as she watched his long silver hair that was loose; the guy had prettier hair than her. Each strand of hair seemed to be in place. Her gaze shifted to his face and she realized that he had rather androgynous features, but still…there was something completely male about him.

She mentally gave him points for having good fashion sense, even if it was a bit too perfect for her tastes, but it suited him in her opinion. The black suit fitted him perfectly. The white dress shirt stood beautifully against the dark suit, while the dark green tie he wore was tied neatly. His black pants did have not even one wrinkle on them. His black shoes, looked impeccable, not even a speck of dirt. She wrinkled her nose, yes he was definitely too perfect for her tastes. His whole posture screamed very uptight. She wondered if he ever relaxed and let loose.

A picture of him dressed only in his undies and singing 'I'm so pretty' popped in her mind, making her chuckle. She straightened up when the object of her musings turned to gaze at her.

Her breath caught in her throat…his eyes were gorgeous. She couldn't stop the blush that invaded her cheeks as she found herself pinned at her spot by those intriguing eyes. She knew that she was supposed to look away, but she just couldn't. She wondered how someone could have eyes like that. Gold…pure molten gold…his eyes were pure molten gold. She shivered; it felt almost as if he was looking at her soul with those haunting eyes of his.

"Kagome." She was finally able to break the staring contest when Jinengi called out her name.

"Huh?" she asked confusedly, making Inutaisho chuckle.

He grinned as he watched her face heat up in embarrassment. She was such a sweet and adorable child. He was sure that his sweet wife would love her. His eyes settled on his eldest son who was staring at the petite dark haired beauty.

Interesting, he thought amusedly as he watched his golden eyes trace the curves of her body.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what possessed him to stare at her like that, but as soon as their eyes met it was as if he was pulled into some trance. Her eyes the strangest shade of blue that he had ever seen, drew him in. He mentally rebuked himself for thinking such nonsense, she was juts another worthless and untrustworthy woman.

"Wouldn't you want to explain your painting to Mr. Nakamura?" Jinengi asked raising an eyebrow at her confused look.

Kagome finally managed to grasp what he was talking about.

"Oh yeah…painting…" She managed to blurt out sheepishly.

Motioning with his hand, he walked towards some covered paintings in the back. Jinengi had made sure to cover the paintings with white cloths. Kagome nervously trailed next to him. She wasn't sure which paintings he had chosen.

"First of all, these painting you're going to see isn't mine, but Kagome's. She's shown real talent and I'm sure that she will become a very renowned artist. So Kagome…would you like to do the honors?" The tall man said giving Kagome a push.

She stumbled a bit and turned to glare at him, but he only offered her an encouraging smile. Kagome blushed as everyone turned to look at her. She was sure that her face would be permanently red after this. She had never blushed so much in her life. She hated all the attention that she got at the moment.

Kioko looked at Sesshoumaru who had apparently snorted at this. She brushed the thought aside as she returned her gaze to Kagome, who was now looking like she was going against a whole army or something by how nervous she looked.

Kagome was mentally thinking of a way to get back at Jinengi, but that would have to wait for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she walked to one of her paintings and pulled off the white cloth.

Her eye widened like saucers as she noticed which painting it was. She was once again, thinking about really hurting Jinengi. This was really personal and she really didn't want it on display. Her eyes traveled over the different shapes and colors, while she was debating with herself if to show or not to show them her painting.

Inutaisho's eyes glittered enthusiastically as she looked at the first painting that she had uncovered. There weren't any words, to describe it, but if he had to describe it, he would have described it as innocence and longing.

"Interesting. Can you tell us what this painting means to you?" Inutaisho asked curiously stepping forward as his eyes traced the delicate contours of the painting.

Kagome's blue eyes traced the familiar piece of art that she had made a long time ago. Her blue eyes darkened as she recalled what this piece meant to her. Memories of a better time came to her and she had to bit her lower-lip in order not to cry.

The picture depicted a very beautiful young woman sitting in an intricate silver cage. Her white wings were folded neatly behind her, but were slowly loosing their feathers. She had one hand outstretched and reaching for the bright bubbles that were floating just out of her reach in dark surrounding. Each bubble glowed brightly and each bubble was different in size and brightness. The painting gave off the feeling of sadness of longing and of innocence that left all those in the room speechless.

"What do you call it?" Inutaisho asked hoping to get an answer out of the suddenly somber looking girl.

He was taken back as she whirled around, blue eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I….I just can't." She whispered turning around and looking at Jinengi imploringly.

"I'm sorry." She said before running pass everyone.

She was just almost out of the door, when her eyes once again met Sesshoumaru's. The Nakamura was surprised what he saw there in those glistening blue jewels. She quickly looked away and ran out of the room.

"Kagome!" Jinengi yelled chasing after her, leaving the others to wonder what had just happened.

Everyone in the room was left speechless, even Inutaisho didn't know what had happened. He turned to gaze at his eldest son, who looked deep in thought.

"What was that all about?" Inuyasha asked confusedly, breaking the silence that settled in the room.

"I don't know." His father said softly.

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything as he stepped towards the painting, his golden eyes tracing the delicate features of the woman on the painting. He hated to admit it, but the woman had talent. The painting was beautiful, each detail was exquisitely accentuated. Jinengi was right; she would become a very well known artist if she continued creating pieces like this one.

Yet not even how beautiful the painting was, it held such sadness and…longing. The same sadness and longing that he had seen in her eyes at the split second when their eyes had met. His heart tightened as the painting made him remember the longing in his own heart. He quickly crushed the feeling. As his eyes once again settled on the painting, he wondered what this piece really meant to that Kagome girl. It had obviously affected her a lot. She had gone from the bright, fiery young woman to a melancholic, sad and hurt little girl.

Why did the woman in the painting suddenly remind him of the young woman that had just run out of the door?

Such sadness and longing….and yet beautiful and innocent.

"Father, I want to buy this painting. Tell Jinengi to ask the girl how much she wants for it and let me know." With that he turned around and walked out of the room as well, leaving three very confused individuals behind.

Kagura Narita sighed as she put down the telephone. Another relationship that ended up badly, she thought wryly. How long had she been going out with that ass again? She couldn't quite recall how she met him…that was a bad thing right. She sighed once again. She never really understood why her relationships never worked out.

She wasn't one to doubt herself. In her mind every women was beautiful in their own way. Unfortunately many women lacked confidence and were very self-conscious of their looks, something that she found utterly ridiculous.

She was as confident as she could be. She knew that she was beautiful, hell she was gorgeous. With her perfect figure and enchanting features, she was considered many men's dream.

A figure that she worked damn hard to keep, she thought sourly as she recalled all the days spend at the gym.

Unfortunately she hasn't found a man yet that could tame her. Her beauty was only surpassed by her temper. She wasn't the easiest of women and she wouldn't take shit from any man. She was her own woman and hell would freeze over before she ever gave into any man.

The idiot that she had been dating...about two minutes ago…just didn't understand that for one she didn't need a knight in shining armor and secondly, she wasn't those demure girlfriends who let him have his way with everything. An unladylike snort left her lips as she thought about why exactly she had been dating him in the first place.

Not able to find a suitable answer, she came to the conclusion that it was only for the best that they broke up. The more she thought about the more she realized that right now she didn't see how any man would tie her down. No, she was happy being single…well single as of…two minutes ago.

Feeling much more relieved she stood up and walked out of her 'office' and into her store. Her office was in the back of the store, so it only took her about three minutes to get to the store. She pushed away the colorful beads that hang from the door as she walked inside the store.

She stopped in her track and felt her right eye twitch; her clothing store resembled a zoo. She frowned as she looked at how many people there were. She knew should be glad; her clothes were literally flying of the wracks. The future looked quite good for the upcoming designer. People did like her designs, but there were too many costumers. And she had so little help.

A loud noise brought her attention and she watched as her dear little brother tripped over some boxes and landed on a heap with clothes covering his face. She could feel her right eye twitch again. She really needed some help…some capable help preferably.

She looked for her other help. She finally found her and noted with sympathy that the young girl was very busy with a young man who seemed quite lost. The poor girl obviously needed some help. Straightening up she made her way towards them.

Rin was in over her head with this man. He wanted to buy something for his wife, but until now everything she showed him, he found not good enough or the price was too high. She sighed; she didn't know what else to do.

"Excuse me, can I help you sir?" A deep sensual voice asked from behind her.

The girl quickly spun around to see her boss standing there. The man must have noticed her too, for he was gaping at the beautiful woman. Kagura almost snorted at the look on her face.

"Ummm…yeah…I'm looking for a gift for my wife." The man managed to squeak out, the woman in front of him was just too commanding.

Her dark brown hair was held in an intricate bun with some strands framing her face. Her skin was a healthy light tanned color. Her lips were painted a sinfully red color, while her eyes were accentuated by a dark eye shadow, bringing out her amethyst colored eyes.

She was wearing a stylish red top that tied behind her neck with the long strings cascading along her back. She combined the top with a pair of black pants and a red pair of high heels. Small blue beaded earrings adorned her ears. The top left her back and arms bare. A thick blue beaded bracelet hung around her left wrist. She could pass for a model.

"Is there anything you have in mind sir?" Kagura asked softly, enjoying the way he watched him blush; she really liked to mess around with the shy guys.

"Umm…I…" She cut him off with a polite smile.

"We do have some daring and sexy assortment of lingerie that I'm sure your and wife and you will enjoy." She said winking at the man, making him blush.

"Oh…well." The man stuttered, making Kagura grin even more.

"Follow me this way, sir." Kagura said coyly as she winked at the guy; she just couldn't resist, she was a very flirtatious woman by nature.

And beside it she was only playing around, no harm could come from it. She motioned for him to follow, which he sheepishly did. Kagura turned around and grinned at Rin, who smiled in return.

The young girl watched as her boss and the man left and wondered if she would ever be so beautiful and audacious. The sixteen year old girl found herself just too plain shy. Every time she talked to a guy, she would get tongue tied or end up saying something really embarrassing. She blushed as she recalled the last time she spoke with a hot guy, she ended up completely embarrassing herself. Shaking her head, she began making her way to couple who seemed in need of help, but she stopped in her tracks as she noticed a mirror in the corner.

She slowly traced her reflection. She pursed her lips as watched the pink sleeveless turtleneck that she was wearing with the white floral printed skirt. She even had white flats to go with the outfit. The skirt reached just below her knees and was wavy. She looked like a child, she thought with disdain.

Her chocolate brown eyes traced the lines of her body and she found her body was still too immature to her, while other girls walked around with C-cups; she was almost completely flat-chested, with only a barely amount of breasts. Her figure lacked the curves that other females of her age had; she was just scrawny.

She gently raised a hand and traced her cheek; her skin unlike others was sun kissed and tanned lightly, not that blemish free porcelain colored one that guys liked so much. Her hair was the only thing that she loved. The dark straight silky strands reached just below her shoulder blades and shone healthily, but still it was simple. All in all…she had too many flaws in her eyes.

Sighing she turned around and walked away, she had work to do. There was after all was no use; she was just an ugly duckling that would never turn into a swan.

Yume giggled as she ran around the parks. The little girl was the perfect picture of innocence and childish glee as she ran around, exploring her surroundings. Her forest green eyes shone happily as she swung back and forth in one of the swings.

Kikyo sat next to Sango on bench as they both watched her daughter giggle and run around. Kikyo couldn't help, but smile at her daughter antics.

Yume might be only six, but she was quite smart for her age. She was very inquisitive about everything. She had clearly understood the situation between her father and her and had clearly taken her mother's side.

She could still recall Yume asking her why her father was bad. Why he hit her mommy? She had been unable to answer her child and had broken down crying while hugging her small daughter. As soon as the divorce had been official she had left and moved to Europe, where she had lived for one year. Life had been hard and she soon realized that she needed help. Sango had instantly offered her a place to stay and she had accepted, coming back here, where she hoped to start a new life and hopefully a better one.

Her dark auburn eyes narrowed as she thought of the possibility of running into her ex-husband; he did live here after all. She could not be the foolish woman he had come to known during their five-year marriage; she had changed. Her gaze softened as it settled on Yume, even though she had full-custody, she couldn't just deny her if she wanted to keep in contact with her father. Yume had often asked about her father and she had tried to explain the divorce to her as best as she could. Still that didn't stop her from occasionally asking about him.

She scrunched up her nose, even though he had been a terrible husband, he had always loved his daughter. She only got full-custody, because of his violent behavior towards her. The judge hadn't thought that it would be safe for the little girl. She leaned back against the bench and crossed her legs as she laid her hand in her lap.

"She's grown up so much." Sango commented, breaking her out of her reverie.

"Yes, the last time you saw her, she was still a baby." Kikyo said a small smile on her lips.

The wind gently played with her dark hair as she stared at her daughter. Sango stayed quiet as she studied her sister. She knew very well that her sister was still hurting, Kikyo had loved him a lot and even though she would probably deny it, until she was blue in the face, her older sister still loved her ex-husband.

Knowing Kikyo though, she would not show any weakness. Kikyo was the type of woman to keep everything inside. Something that wasn't very good in Sango's opinion. Sango had only found out about her bad marriage when she was almost divorced, it had pained her to know that her sister hadn't confided in her, but she understood her on some level.

Maybe it was for the best, she was sure if she had found any sooner about him beating her sister, she would have made sure to kill him. No one messed with her family; they were sisters and they needed to look after one another.

Kikyo and she could not be even more different. Kikyo was the silent, proper and lady type, while she was the loudmouthed, sometimes rude and tomboyish type. As a child Kikyo kept to herself. Kikyo had always been soft-spoken and quiet, while most children were playing outside, she would be quietly reading a book in her room or in a library or playing her piano.

She on the other hand would be getting down and dirty by playing every kind of sport known to men with boys of course or she would be fighting with the boys. She had never liked to play with girls, they had been to girly to her taste and she wouldn't be caught dead playing with some dolls. She could still recall how her mother berated her father for encouraging his daughter's boyish behavior.

All hell had broken loose when her father had signed her up for martial arts lessons. That had been the topping on the cake. If she wasn't mistaken her father had had to sleep in the couch that night. However she thanked her father everyday for letting her take martial arts.

Martial arts had come in handy when she fought with older and bigger boys or in these days when she wanted to get rid of an overzealous boyfriend, she thought grinning.

She was still a tomboy at heart; she absolutely hated dressing up or wearing a skirt for that matter. No wonder she was still without a boyfriend, she thought dejectedly, but at the same time she mentally slapped herself. She would not lower herself to dressing up in pink and giggling and making googly eyes at males. She had a brain for Pete's Sake. She shook her head as she tried to get her mind on track once again. She really needed to stop getting sidetracked like that.

"Kohaku's has been dying to see you." Sango said grinning.

"How's our little brother doing?" Kikyo asked turning to gaze at Sango who was smiling brightly.

"Well, he's all grown up and did I tell you he has this huge crush on a girl in her class? It's so funny to see them together. I think her name is Shiori or something like that."

"So little Kohaku has finally grown up?" Kikyo said amusedly as she pictured the face of her little brother in her mind.

"Yeah. Well, he's sixteen after all. His hormones are bound to kick in any time. You must have seen his face when dad sat down with him and tried to explain to him about the birds and the bees. It had been so funny, his face had resembled a tomatoe. It was so priceless, especially when Dad took out a banana and tried to show him the proper way to use a condom." Sango said laughing loudly.

"I can only imagine. He would have been mortified." Kikyo said feeling sorry for her brother, but at the same time chuckling softly.

"Yeah, I wanted to record everything, but Mom forbid me." Sango said pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You would have probably blackmailed him. She knows you too well, Sango." Kikyo said smiling.

"Yeah, but man can you imagine he could have been my slave for a whole year with such blackmail material."

"I can imagine." Kikyo said shaking her head as she turned her gaze to Yume.

"So how you're holding up?" Sango asked concernedly, breaking the silence.

Kikyo was clearly taken back by Sango's question, but she was used to Sango quick ways of changing the subject. She sighed as her shoulders slumped. She really didn't want to discuss this with her.

"I'm good." Kikyo answered too quickly too Sango's taste.

"Kikyo, you don't have to lie to me sister." Sango said sternly, making Kikyo smile a sad smile.

Of course she would see through her lie. Sango was very perceptive about these things.

"I'm getting through. I need to be strong for Yume. I won't lie, it hurts very much and I've never pictured my life to be this way. Yet there's nothing I can do. I can just hope for a better tomorrow and stay strong for my daughter." Kikyo said looking straight at Sango; the younger woman must have satisfied with the answer as she nodded her head.

Kikyo was glad for that. She wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell her sister yet. She was a very private person and preferred to keep such subjects to herself. She looked up as her sister cleared her throat drawing her attention.

"So, have you thought about the job offer?" Sango asked changing the subject again.

Kikyo sighed, raising her eyes to the sky, she let out another sigh. True Sango had managed to get her a job interview with her boss, but still she wasn't sure. She just didn't want to have to depend on her younger sister. Sango had already done more than enough for her, by giving them a place to stay until she got a job and being there for when she really needed a shoulder to cry on.

"I won't take no for an answer, Kikyo. The job pays well and my boss isn't that bad. Yes, he can cranky sometimes, but he's a good guy and he will understand your situation…"

"I don't want that. Look Sango, I appreciate it, but I don't want anyone's pity. If I get the job is because I'm qualified for it, not because he felt sorry for me." Kikyo said sternly, making Sango shut up.

Sango knew her sister very well and had expected such a reaction from her. Kikyo just wasn't someone to show her weaknesses or depend on other people. She could only imagine how hard it was for her, being in this situation, without a job, without a home and starting a new life, it must be very frightening to her. She was someone that needed to be in control, as much of herself as her environment.

However she just couldn't let her pass up this opportunity.

This would be the perfect job for her and maybe she could knock some sense in that stubborn boss of her, Sango thought excitedly.

"I see, but I still insist that you should check it out and besides you're more than qualified, come on." Sango said grinning, making Kikyo roll her eyes.

She knew that she needed to accept otherwise, Sango would never leave her alone.

"Fine, I'll do it." She muttered darkly, making Sango cheer and hug her tightly.

She smiled softly as her sister released her and jumped up and ran towards Yume. The little girl squealed as Sango grabbed her and twirled her in the air. Kikyo shook her head as she watched her sister's interaction with her daughter. Sango was just like a child sometimes. She had to admit though that if what Sango told her was true than the job would be perfect for her. The hours were good and the salary looked more than enough for her. She wanted to be able to provide for Yume, and give her everything she wanted; her daughter deserved it.

It was going to be difficult to start all over again. It had been very difficult in Europe, but hopefully it would be better her. She just knew that she could handle it. She would be damned, Yume needed her to be strong and she would be.

TBC…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………