"Does Miss Kagome have to go?" Rin whines at the door. "Can't she stay just a little longer?" Kagome giggles, kneeling down to look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry, Rin, I have to get back to my apartment. The police say it's all safe now." At the younger girl's disappointed face, Kagome pushes her hair out of her face, smiling. "But I promise to come visit and you can come to my studio anytime you want." I watch Rin's face light up as she looks to me for confirmation. I nod my head in response, smirking as she throws her arms around Kagome's neck, screaming a thousand thank you's. Kagome laughs, rubbing her back, before standing up and offering Rin her hand. "Ready to go now?" Rin nods her head, takes Kagome's hand, and leads her out the door. I shake my head, locking the door behind them, and carry Kagome's bags to the car. "Are you sure you don't want any help?" She asks after getting Rin settled in the back seat. I arch an eyebrow at her, easily loading her few things into the trunk. She raises her hands in surrender before getting into the passenger seat herself. The ride to her apartment is unsurprisingly spent with Rin talking about going to visit Kagome, when she will come over next, and the like. Upon arriving, Kagome once again tries to take her bags from me but, giving one glance at my expression, quickly turns to unlock the door. So she can be taught, I chuckle to myself. "Remember Rin, it's going to be very messy, so you have to be really careful, okay?" Rin nods her head.
"Yes, Miss Kagome," she answers quickly, eager to get inside. Kagome smiles, takes a deep breath, and opens the door. I shut the door behind me and watch as she takes in the sight of her apartment. While it had been lived in but clean before, it was now as though a tornado had gone through the small area. Books on the floor, her couch pulled out from the wall, her side tables and ottoman on their sides. Dishes and glasses are broken in the kitchen, drawers left open, cabinets hanging off their hinges. She takes a deep breath, seemingly forcing herself to take a few steps further. I set her bags by her open bedroom door, though do not look in. It is still her bedroom, a private area, I think to myself. She will allow me in on her own terms as she deems fit. Nearly all of the furniture, door frames, and handles are coated in a thick black dust, used in an attempt to attain any fingerprints. I catch her shaking her head out of the corner of my eye.
"Are you alright?" I ask, making her jump. She quickly smiles, running a hand through her hair.
"Yeah, just somehow seems worse than I remember," she replies, chuckling lightly. She looks around the room again and down the hall where Rin had disappeared. "You guys don't have to stay. InuYasha and the others said they would be by soon, I can manage until they get here." I step closer to her, suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to comfort her, ease her nerves, and find myself taking her hand in my own. She looks on with wide eyes but does not pull away.
"We would like to stay," I admit, pushing a piece of stray hair behind her ear, leaving my hand to caress her cheek. I hear her breath catch and her heart beat faster as she looks me in the eye. "I want to help." The confession sounds strange to my own ears, as I have never felt inclined to help anyone that was not myself or Rin before, but I can only find truth behind the words. "Unless you wish to remain under my care?" The brief pulse of desire at the edges of her aura teases my own youki with untold promises as her cheeks flush. She quickly averts her eyes, shaking her head. I do my best to ignore the wave of disappointment that rushes through me. "Then, I will ensure that you are settled in properly before taking my leave." I drop my hand from her face and back away, allowing her to regain control of her breathing. After a moment, she smiles up at me, nodding, before quickly making her way to her bedroom. I hear her curse under her breath and quirk an eyebrow, tilting my head in her direction, but not moving.
"Sesshomaru?" She calls out, hesitantly. "Think we could start in here?" Suppressing a smile at her clearly embarrassed tone, I follow her into the bedroom and stop at the doorway to survey the damage. Her bed had been pulled out from the corner and dragged to the center of the room, mattress overturned on the floor. Various clothing items are strewn about the room and it does not go unnoticed as she tries to hide some of the more intimate articles. I avert my gaze each time I find one before she does. A few picture frames lay on the ground beneath their hanging places on the predominantly white walls. The fourth wall, across from where the bed seems to have originally been, is painted a deep teal, a large window taking up much of the space. Two large plants sit on either side of the window sill beside two light grey curtains pulled away from the window. It is clear it is a very nice space when not in complete disarray. The girl has taste, I smirk to myself. Rin finds us and lets herself into the small space, shaking her head in disappointment.
"Whoever did this should be ashamed of themselves," she tsks, earning a brief laugh from Kagome.
"You're absolutely right, Rin." She giggles, throwing her coat on her dresser, half of the drawers sticking out. As she rolls up her sleeves, she glances over at me. "Think you could help me with the bed?" I barely manage to suppress the eye roll that nearly escapes. I nod my head in the corner I believed the bed belonged in and, at her confirmation, quickly return it to its rightful place, easily picking up the mattress and placing it on top of its frame. "You know," she starts, picking up a few previously hidden clothes from the ground. "It's only helping if we both do it." Her tone indicates she is teasing and I feel the corners of my lips twitching upwards of their own accord.
"I will handle the heavy lifting," I inform her, leaving no room for argument. She chuckles but nods her head, telling me where her dresser belongs. Once her bedroom is mostly back in order, we hear her front door slam open and shut.
"Yo, Kagome, we're here!" My brother's voice calls from the entryway. Rin continues helping Kagome pick up clothes from the floor, folding what she can as Kagome tells her what will be put away and what will go in her laundry basket. "Holy shit, what the hell happened?" InuYasha yells. Kagome's expression immediately becomes agitated as she runs out of her bedroom door.
"InuYasha! Watch the language, there's a kid here!" She yells back, gesturing at Rin who simply smiles, continuing her work.
"What the hell's she doing here?" My brother asks, trying to keep his voice down. I walk out of the bathroom connected to her bedroom and enter the living room, to find InuYasha staring at me in shock. "The hell he's doing here?" He yells, once again. Kagome quickly shushes him, gesturing at Rin once more who is no longer paying attention to them.
"He's here to help," she tells him, stressing the last word in her sentence. "It's not like I can't use an extra set of hands." InuYasha looks at her, then me, and back at her again, clearly at a loss for a reason for me to leave. After several long seconds, he scoffs, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever," he mumbles. Kagome smiles before hugging him, taking him by surprise.
"Thank you for coming." At this, InuYasha sighs before wrapping his own arms around the small girl. I feel a growl trying to crawl its way out of my chest and quickly quiet it. He is her friend, I remind myself.
"Yeah, yeah, like I'd leave you hanging with something like this. Sango and Miroku are grabbing some more cleaning stuff from the car."
"My heroes, think you and Sesshomaru can handle putting the furniture back in place while I finish up the bedroom?" I can practically see his hair bristle as he gives her a tight nod. "Awesome, thank you so much!" She yells before quickly running into her bedroom once more. We stand in silence for a few moments before he rips off his zippered jacket, throwing it on the countertop in the kitchen.
"Let's get this over with," he huffs. "The sooner we finish, the sooner you leave." He walks to one end of the couch and I, the other.
"Do you truly despise my presence so much, little brother?" I ask, easily lifting the furniture. I follow him to the wall opposite the television where I remember it being the last time I was here.
"And here I thought I was hiding it so well," he sneers, trying to center the couch against the wall. "I don't like you hanging around her at all. What's your deal? What do you get from this?" He asks, nodding at the ottoman. We quickly replace it and move on to her bookshelf to the right of the tv.
"Nothing, I simply wished to help." He drops his end of the bookshelf, sending several books flying. I glare at him from around the large structure.
"Bull. You don't help anyone." He looks around before closing the distance between us. "Look," he starts, voice low enough that only I can hear him. "Kagome's a nice girl and too damn trusting for her own good. She's been my friend for a long time and I don't want you hurtin' her." The threat is clear in his voice and, for the briefest of moments, I almost feel proud of his need to protect the girl. It is because of this that I answer.
"I can assure you, that is not my intention. We are merely friends." For now, the thought comes so quickly I can only remain grateful it does not force its way out of my lips. Before he can say anything else, the door opens and shuts again, followed by the sounds of plastic bags and struggling.
"Sesshomaru?" Sango's confused voice comes from the entryway. I look over InuYahsa's shoulder to find his friends staring at us in complete shock. It is the monk who recovers first.
"Great to see you again, here to help Kagome?" I arch an eyebrow at his idiotic question. "How thoughtful of you!" Kagome rushes out to greet the two newcomers, who quickly start scrubbing the walls and doorframes. InuYasha and I finish getting all of the furniture back to its rightful spots and begin collecting fallen books, photos, movies, anything else that had found its way to the floor. When Kagome starts to move to the kitchen, I quickly step in front of her. She looks up at me in confusion.
"You might cut yourself. I will handle this," I inform her. She looks as though she is about to argue but quickly shuts her mouth as I cross my arms over my chest. She closes her eyes, throwing her hands up in surrender.
"Fine, you play with the broken glass. There's a broom and dustpan in the little pantry area there to the left." I nod my head and go to retrieve it, watching as she goes to scrub the windowsill with the demon slayer. InuYasha looks at me in shock before quickly shaking his head and focusing on vacuuming the floor. Rin has settled herself on the couch, organizing Kagome's movie collection for her. A very important job, Kagome had assured her, and Rin indeed took it very seriously. I smirk watching her make several piles organized first by genre and then alphabetically. Within a few hours, her apartment is once again clean and livable.
"Guys, I can't thank you enough, I couldn't have done this without you. Is pizza sufficient payment?" Kagome asks, phone already in hand. Everyone, of course, answers in the affirmative when she turns to me. "Can you and Rin stay for dinner?" A quick glance at the clock shows that it is still early evening and I nod my head. "Great, we can play video games while we wait for food and then she can still get to bed on time." I suppress a smile as I watch her go into the entryway to order pizzas for everyone while InuYasha sets up her gaming station.
"Rin, have you ever played Super Mario Bros?" The monk asks. Rin quickly shakes her head. "Want me to teach you?" She looks at me, silently asking for permission. Only after I nod does she nod her own head. I move from the kitchen to sit on the grey armchair next to the couch, watching as Kagome's friends teach Rin how to play their game. By the time Kagome returns, the four of them are involved in a rather serious match against a group of turtles. She chuckles, sitting on the arm of the chair I'm in.
"Has she ever played?" she asks, quietly. I shake my head. "Well, she's doing better than me." She chuckles, forcing a small smile to take hold of my own lips. I look up at her to find her staring at the screen.
"Would you like your seat?" I ask, ready to get up. She shakes her head, rolling her eyes.
"I have one," she retorts. I roll my own eyes, staring at her until she meets my gaze. She lets out a small laugh before patting my shoulder. "I'm fine, really." I nod my head, deciding that once the food arrives, I will make her sit either in the chair or on the couch.
"What the hell?" InuYasha yells, staring at the screen in disbelief. "You just threw me down the hole!" Rin doubles over in laughter at her evil actions, clearly pleased with herself.
"It's about time someone took you out!" Kagome yells back, wiping tears from her eyes due to her own laughter. InuYasha glares at the eight-year-old girl.
"That was on purpose, wasn't it?" She nods, grinning up at her uncle. "Who taught you that?"
"No one," she admits, "Rin saw Miroku-sama throw a turtle shell earlier and wondered if it worked on other players. It does." She grins, proudly. Sango quickly pulls her into her lap, hugging her tightly around her stomach.
"Okay, I am officially in love with this girl." Rin giggles, settling into her new seat.
"You know, Sango," Miroku drawls, "it suits you, having a child on your lap." Sango blushes at the insinuation and quickly looks away. Kagome laughs as the doorbell rings and quickly gets up to get it, grabbing her wallet on the way out. She returns moments later, several pizza boxes in hand.
"Dinner!" She yells. The game is paused while everyone retrieves their slices and quickly resumed in between bites. They are able to clear several levels as two boxes quickly empty themselves. Around eight-thirty, I allow Rin to finish their current level before telling her to collect her things. We say our farewells and Kagome walks us out to the car, hugging Rin before making sure she's buckled in and promising to come over soon. "Thanks again for all your help," she says after shutting the car door. "It was really nice of you to stay, even after everything else you've done for me this past week."
"It was our pleasure, truly. Are you sure you do not need anything else?" She shakes her head, smiling up at me.
"All good! I have a feeling those three are going to end up staying the night though," she admits, chuckling to herself. "Something tells me they're a little uneasy about me being here alone still." I nod my head, fully agreeing with them. I do not admit to her that knowing someone is there with her tonight eases several of my own concerns with her return home. "Let me know you guys make it back alright?" She requests, no longer making eye contact. I smirk a bit, pulling her into a hug. The action clearly takes her by surprise, as it takes her a moment to return the gesture.
"Of course," I promise her, pulling away and taking her hand in my own. "Have a good evening, Kagome." I raise her hand to my lips, brushing a kiss against her knuckles, delighting in the flush of her cheeks and the increase in her heartbeat.
"Y-you too, Sesshomaru. Drive safe," she stutters out. I release her hand and force myself into the driver's seat, waving at her as I pull out of her driveway. Rin is already nodding off in the backseat. Once we arrive home, I text Kagome to alert her of our return, and carefully retrieve Rin from her seat. After getting her ready for bed and tucked in, I wander around the house for a minute, acutely aware of the silence echoing against the walls, seemingly pressing in on me from all directions. It is relieved only by a ding, signalling a text. I pull it out, smirking at Kagome's name on the screen.
Glad you two made it back safe! Is it weird that it feels weird without you guys?
I feel my smirk morph into a full smile and allow it to do so, typing back a quick response.
Not at all. I can assure you, the feeling is mutual.
As I get into my own bed, noting the silence coming from her previously inhabited room, I find myself staring at the ceiling. This just won't do, I nearly growl in frustration. We'll just have to find a way to get her back, my inner beast suggests. I cannot help but think it is not his worst idea.