Ren was pacing back and forth in front of the door to his apartment. Kyoko would be there any moment to watch InuYasha with him. He was certainly capable of doing research for this role by himself, but where was the fun in that? He had decided to forego Google on this particular job and rely on her expertise; she was a much prettier source of knowledge.
A quiet knock sounded at the door and he opened it to reveal Kyoko, who was laden with two large shopping bags. Ren scooped them out of her arms and carried them into the kitchen for her. "I wish you would tell me if you're going shopping so I could help you, Mogami-san." he chided her gently.
She took her shoes off, slipped on a pair of slippers, and followed him into the kitchen. "You mean you wish I'd tell you so you could pay for everything."
He chuckled and set the bags on the counter. "You know me so well. What's for dinner?"
"Shogayaki." She busied herself pulling the ingredients and cookware out. She had taken the liberty of buying dinner for him, because she knew he wasn't going to eat otherwise. He gestured around the kitchen.
"Could I at least help you make dinner?"
She shooed him out of the kitchen, and he sat down on the couch in front of the TV. He turned on the TV and entered his credentials into the streaming app. He got the show set up, and then went to the dining table to sit. He wanted to go watch Kyoko cook, but he knew he'd just be a distraction. It wasn't long anyway before Kyoko was coming out of the kitchen with two plates of shogayaki.
When she saw him sitting at the table, she blushed. I feel like I'm his wife bringing him dinner or something, she thought. She set the plates on the dining table. Ren got up and pulled her chair out for her. "Thank you for dinner, Mogami-san."
She sat down with a bashful smile. "Don't thank me yet. You haven't even tried it."
He sat down opposite her and took a bite. Though he wasn't a foodie by any means, Kyoko's cooking was always delicious. He closed his eyes and savored it. "Can I thank you now? It's incredible."
At that, she blushed. "You're welcome, Tsuruga-san."
They finished the meal and then went to the couch. Kyoko picked up the remote and flipped through the episodes. Secretly, this gave Ren a thrill. He loved it when she acted like his home was her home. "We won't have time to watch the whole show before filming starts, but I think there are a few episodes that would be good for you to watch for your character, particularly in the first season." She selected the episode "Aristocratic Assassin, Sesshomaru" and sat down on the couch next to him.
The episode started, and Ren found himself drawn in by the catchy theme music and upbeat feel of it. He could see why Kyoko liked the show already. His eyebrows lifted at his first sight of Sesshomaru. He hadn't expected him to be so regal.
"I can see why you reacted the way you did in the car. He's not what I expected at all."
Her cheeks burned. "Bully."
He laughed. "I had pictured some big scary-looking dog. I thought I would have to be in makeup for hours. Or in some kind of weird motion capture suit with balls stuck all over my face."
She rolled her eyes. "You really think they'd cast you, Ren Tsuruga, as some big ugly dog?"
He fixed her with a smoldering gaze. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing!" she squeaked. "Just watch the show!" She focused on the TV. The Lord of the Western Lands has nothing on The Emperor of the Night, she thought. As the episode progressed, Ren tilted his head to the side.
"He's not very nice, is he?"
Kyoko ran a hand through her hair with a nervous chuckle. "No, I suppose he's not."
"Is Kagura nice?"
Kyoko moved her head side to side "Not at first, but she gets there eventually. She's got her own motivations and just wants to be free to be herself."
"Do Kagura and Sesshomaru interact?" He noted the dark blush that settled on Kyoko's cheeks and smirked. "Are they an item?"
She shook her head. "Never officially, but Kagura seems to be attracted to him. She mostly just wants him to kill her boss, Naraku. It's never really said how Sesshomaru feels about her. Sesshomaru isn't really an emotional guy."
The episode ended and before Kyoko could pick another one, Ren suggested to her that she pick one with Kagura in it. So, she chose "The Deadly Trap of Kagura the Wind Sorceress!". Upon seeing Kagura, he nodded.
"I see why they wanted you."
Kyoko nodded. "I understand why. She's like if Natsu and Mio had an unholy union."
"She reminds me of Setsu."
The hairs on the back of Kyoko's neck stood up as she remembered Guam. "I suppose she is a bit like her, same type of attitude. No brother complex, though."
"That's a shame," he said with a melancholy sigh.
Kyoko's heart did a funny dance in her chest at that. I wonder if he wants me to act more affectionately like Setsu when we're together? When the episode ended, she got to her feet. "It's getting late."
Ren frowned. He didn't want her to leave, but he didn't want to risk the Taichou of the Darumaya's wrath if he brought her home late. "It is. Shall I drive you home?"
She nodded and went to get her shoes on. When they got into the car, Ren turned to her.
"Mogami-san, I'm sorry for bringing up Setsuka. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."
She waved her hands at him. "N-no! It's fine! I just… since we talked about our feelings, I'm more conscious of the things you say." And more conscious of the look in your eyes, and more conscious of the way you talk to me, and the way you touch me, and most importantly more conscious of how badly I want to kiss you.
He nodded. "I will try to be more careful in future… though you do make it hard when you blush like that."
She turned her face toward the window and crossed her arms over her chest. "Bully."
They drove back to the Darumaya and Kyoko smiled at him before getting out of the car. "Same time next week?"
He nodded. "It's a date."
She sputtered, unable to formulate words after his use of the "d" word. He placed a hand over hers. "Calm down, Mogami-san. It doesn't have to be like that if you don't want it to be."
Oh god, she thought in a panic. Do I want it to be? What should I say? "I-is that what you want it to be?" Her voice was barely a whisper.
He considered that for a moment; he hadn't anticipated her asking that question. "If I say yes, are you still going to want to come over?"
She looked at his face. It was full of hope, and she knew if she told him no, he would backpedal on the date idea to protect her feelings. They'd still watch InuYasha together, because he wanted to spend time with her, but he would be hurt. She swallowed her fear and gave him the tiniest nod.
He picked her hand up from the seat and brought the back of it to his lips. "Then I'll see you next week." He chuckled as she scurried nervously out of the car and into the restaurant, and then used his drive home to plan.
The following week, Yashiro dropped Kyoko off at Ren's apartment. They had decided to do a marathon of sorts to study as much as they could before the first table read the following week. In order to squeeze in as much time as possible, it was decided that Kyoko would spend the night at Ren's.
She shouldered her overnight bag and went inside the building. In the elevator, she took the jeweled compact that she had gotten from Kanae for her birthday from her pocket and checked her makeup in the mirror. She had wanted to do her best to be cute today, with their date in mind, and had used the nice makeup that her friend had bought for her. As she looked in the mirror, her head was buzzing with all kinds of negative thoughts. What if he thinks I'm trying too hard? What if he doesn't like this? What if I look like a bimbo? Is he going to think I want to sleep with him? Oh god, what if he expects something!? What do I do!?
"Mogami-san?"
She gasped and dropped her compact on the floor of the elevator. When she looked up, she saw Ren standing just outside the open door. She regained her composure and reached to pick it up, but Ren was faster. He had already scooped it up and was looking it over.
"This is cute. Not as cute as the girl that was holding it, but cute just the same."
She averted her eyes from his as he handed the compact over and she put it back in her pocket. "T-thank you, Tsuruga-san." She chanced a look at him and noticed that he was wearing a sweaty t-shirt, gym shorts, and a towel around his neck. He must have just come from the gym. She took a moment to admire his muscular shoulders as he hit the button for his floor.
"Sorry you caught me like this. I wasn't expecting you until a little later."
She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Sorry about that. I got off work early tonight, and Yashiro-san thought it would be okay if he just brought me right over. I should have called you first."
He shook his head. "Not at all. I'll take any extra time I can get with you."
The doors opened, and they walked out into the hall. When they entered Ren's apartment, he kicked off his sneakers and gently pulled Kyoko's bag off of her shoulder.
"You don't have to do that!" she protested as he carried it toward his guest room.
"Of course I have to," he said with a grin. "You're my guest. It would be bad manners not to take your bag and show you where you will be staying." When he flipped the light switch, Kyoko stared. There was a little plush Lord Sesshomaru sitting on the bed. She was equal parts excited and irritated. She went to the bed and plucked the little demon off the comforter. He was handmade from the softest materials that Kyoko had ever felt. It took everything in her not to press it against her face and nuzzle it. She knew it must have cost Ren a fortune, and that's where her irritation stemmed from.
When she turned around, she found Ren leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face. "Don't pretend you don't like him."
She cuddled the perfectly squishable plushie against her chest. "I do like him. But I don't like how much his price tag must have been." She cast her eyes down at the floor. "I wish you wouldn't spend so much on me sometimes. I can never pay you back."
Ren crossed the room in two strides and lifted her face with his fingertips. "I don't give you presents because I want something in return. Seeing you smile is the whole point." He was giving her the patented Cain Heel puppy eyes. She tried to fight the guilt, but to no avail. She gave him a small smile.
"Thank you, Tsuruga-san."
He brushed her cheek with his thumb, and his eyes lingered on hers a little too long, causing her stomach to flip. "You're welcome, Mogami-san." He pulled away from her and headed for the door. "I'm going to go shower now. Please make yourself at home."
As soon as she heard his bedroom door shut, she let go of her restraint and nuzzled the plushie. She stopped mid-nuzzle and sniffed it. It smelled like sakura blossoms. She wanted to throttle Ren. She shut the guest room door and changed into her pajamas, a soft yellow t-shirt with light blue and yellow striped pants. When she finished, she picked up the plushie and headed to the kitchen.
She set him on the counter and opened the refrigerator. She couldn't help it as her eye twitched upon taking in the contents, or lack thereof. How does he even LIVE?, she thought, taking in the lone carton of eggs, half gallon of milk, and handful of pre-packaged rice balls. Just then, the doorbell rang. Her heart flew into her throat. Do I answer it? But it would be weird for a girl to be answering Ren Tsuruga's door in her pajamas, right? Who could it be? She tip-toed to the front door, clutching her new plushie, and looked out the peephole. Upon seeing no one there, she opened the door just a crack.
To her surprise, she found a large paper bag sitting in the hallway in front of the door. The delicious smell of hot food wafted up into her nose, and she smiled. She brought the bag to the dining room, set Sesshomaru on the table, and started unloading its contents. Upon checking the contents of the boxes within, she found that he had ordered them both hamburger steaks with vegetables. A warm feeling passed through her body. He remembered. There was one other box, and when she opened it, she found a large piece of chocolate cheesecake, covered in strawberries. Her stomach was fighting her like an untrained dog on a leash.
"I see you got surprise number two."
Kyoko jumped. Ren was standing at the end of the hallway, watching her with a smirk on his face. She had been so hungry that she hadn't noticed him. He had changed into some black pajama pants and a clean gray t-shirt. His hair was still damp. She blushed. "If you know what's good for you, there won't be a surprise number three."
He smiled warmly at her. "So I should cancel the parade?"
She finished unpacking the bag. "Haha." She went to take her seat. "So," she started, "Have you done any more research without me?"
Ren nodded. "I have. Sesshomaru is more complex than I had originally thought. It will be nice to get the script at the table read to figure out where he should be, in terms of his character development, for the film. Things really change quite a bit for him after Rin shows up, and as of right now, I don't know if Rin is involved."
Kyoko nodded. "Rin is a lot more important than people give her credit for. Are you excited to meet the rest of the cast?"
He smiled. It was a cold, cocky smile. "I'm most looking forward to meeting my little brother." His eyes were sharp and dangerous. Kyoko almost dropped her chopsticks. He saw her reaction and took another bite of his steak. "I thought I might let you meet Sesshomaru. If only for a moment."
She shivered and patted her plushie on the head. "Your Sesshomaru is not quite as cute and cuddly as mine is."
Ren chuckled, "No, he's certainly not."
They finished eating, and Kyoko eyed the box of cheesecake. "Um… Tsuruga-san, are you going to eat your cheesecake?"
"Oh, that." He picked up the box and a pair of chopsticks and headed toward the couch.
"Tsuruga-san! You can't eat that in the living room!"
"Why not?" he asked, his face a blank slate of innocence.
"What if it spills!?" She rushed after him. "Your sofa is so nice! It'll get dir– oof!" He had set the box on the coffee table and pulled Kyoko onto the couch beside him. He picked the box back up and opened the lid.
"If it spills, I'll just buy a new couch." She opened her mouth to argue, but he had anticipated this. He picked one of the strawberries out of the box and popped it into her mouth. She tried to fight it, but the overwhelming deliciousness tamed her. He watched as the look on her face turned from one of outrage to rapture. Fuck, he thought. I've never been jealous of a strawberry before. "Is it good?"
She nodded, her cheeks turning pink at the timbre of his voice. He picked up a piece of the cake with his chopsticks and offered it to her. "Do you want to try the cake?" He was trying to be romantic, but Kyoko was ravenous. Her mouth closed over the cake and she pulled away like a dog that had been caught stealing food from the counter. Ren turned away from her, his shoulders shaking with mirth.
She finished chewing. "Stop laughing at me!"
He turned back to her. "I'm sorry, Mogami-san." That was just the most adorable thing I've ever seen! He gave her the box of cheesecake. "Shall we watch the show?" She nodded as she stuffed another piece of cake into her mouth, forgetting her manners. Kyoko cleared her throat. "Um… Tsuruga-san… did you want any of this?" she gestured at the cake.
A mischievous smile appeared on his face; the show had been forgotten. "Only if you feed it to me."
Kyoko fought the nervous tingle that ran up her spine. She had almost forgotten they were technically on a date. She picked up a piece of the cake and offered it to him. Before his lips could reach it though, the nervous tremor from her hand caused the cake to fall from the chopsticks and onto the couch.
"Oh no! Tsuruga-san, I'm so sorry!" She snatched the fallen piece off the cushion and was getting to her feet to get a towel for the mess when his hand closed on her wrist. She looked back at him in surprise as he guided her hand to his lips. He took the cake from her fingers with his mouth and chewed. He looked up at her, his dark lustful eyes stealing her breath.
"Delicious."
He had wanted to lick every drop of chocolate off of her fingers, but he knew that would absolutely be taking it too far. He released her wrist, and she made a mad dash for the kitchen. "I'llgetatowel!" she squeaked. When she was safely in the kitchen and away from his eyes, she stared at her fingers, her mind turning to goop. She pulled herself together and washed the chocolate off of her hand and got a paper towel.
After cleaning the small cake spot off of the couch, and after assuring her that it was no big deal, Ren started up the stream and chose an episode. He had admittedly been watching the show frequently when he was home. Aside from wanting to watch it for work, he found it to be entertaining on its own. As they watched the episode, Ren kept peeking at Kyoko. He noticed that she was curled up in a ball. He excused himself, went to his bedroom, and brought back the comforter from his bed. When he draped it over her head, she let out a surprised, "Oh!"
"You looked cold."
She wrapped herself in the blanket. She loved how much it smelled like him, though she'd never admit that out loud. "Thank you."
The night wore on as they watched more episodes. Occasionally, they would discuss the plot or the characters, but mostly they watched in silence, periodically checking on each other out the corners of their eyes.
"What do you make of the monk? I keep waiting for Sango to strangle him." No answer. "Mogami-san?" He looked over to find her bundled up in the comforter, leaning against the arm of the couch, sound asleep. He smiled, turned the TV off, and pulled the end of the comforter down over her bare feet that were sticking out of the bottom.
"Corn," she mumbled in her sleep.
Ren felt like someone had punched him in the gut. I'm here, Kyoko-chan, he thought. He retrieved her plushie from the dining room, kissed the top of her head, and tucked Sesshomaru in next to her before making his way to his bedroom. As he lay in bed, he chuckled to himself. She slept over on the first date. Success.
Thank you to everybody taking the time to read my story! I've been so nervous to see what everybody thinks of it. I hope you all enjoy it! - BO