"Excuse me, Taisho-sama," my personal assistant's hesitant voice calls from the intercom speaker on my phone. "Your mother is here to discuss the budget for the annual board party." I sigh, running a hand through my hair, irritation already growing.
"Send her in," I demand, taking extra care to keep my voice level. Her presence in my office can only mean one thing. I hear her open and close the door behind her, and stand to greet her. "Good morning, mother." She smiles as she glances around my office. When she makes no move to say anything, or sit, I return to my own seat. "I trust your travels have been well." She hums in response as she carefully traces the bindings of several leather-bound ledgers on one of my bookshelves.
"Well enough, though one can only visit Santorini so many times, you know." She finally turns her watchful gaze to me. "You look well. Being in charge has always suited you." She smirks a bit at the thought before taking one of the seats across from me, straightening her skirt. "I am sure you know I am not here to discuss budgeting." I nod my head in affirmation, Here we go. "Have you been seeing anyone?" She asks, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. The same gleam I am forced to endure every year before she begins her tirade of setting me up with daughters of business partners, or potentials. However, this year, a certain miko's face flashes before my eyes, and an idea dawns on me.
"As a matter of fact, I have." I do not even try to stop the smirk from taking hold of my features at her look of complete and utter shock. I wait as she collects herself, disbelief clouding her scent.
"When did this begin?" She asks, her tone betraying her skepticism.
"It is a fairly recent development," I admit, "just under a month."
"That is quite recent." She is quiet for a moment, contemplating, no doubt searching my scent for any signs of deceit. Here comes the interrogation. "How did you meet?"
"At the hanyou's dance lessons."
"Is she in the wedding party?" "She is," I concede. No need to tell her more than she requests.
"Is she in business?"
"She is in charge of her own affairs." My mother sits up a little straighter at the information.
"What sort of establishment?"
"She runs her own dance studio and is close to purchasing the building from her landlord." I watch her deflate a little and feel my inner beast bristle at the silent affront to Kagome's accomplishments. "She is still just starting out," I assure her in an attempt to save Kagome's pride. My mother raises one delicate eyebrow.
"How old is she?" Her voice is full of disdain, imagining the worst, no doubt.
"Twenty-four." I smirk, once more, as my mother's eyes widen in surprise.
"That is rather young to be in such a position. I imagine her family played a large role in her success?" I feel my own pride swell a bit as my mother's tone grows interested once again.
"All of her accomplishments are her own. She refuses to seek aid even from the banks." My mother hums again, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Perhaps I have underestimated the young demon," she muses.
"She is not a demon," I confess. "She is a human, miko." Her eyebrows lower in confusion, surprise and disgust warring in her eyes.
"A human?" She asks, incredulously. "Surely you are joking." I shake my head, silently loving her difficulty grasping the concept. "Perhaps you have been around them for too long," she mutters to herself, "forgotten your place in the world." She shakes her head, disappointment and concern lacing her scent, and I feel my eyes narrow.
"I can assure you, mother, I have forgotten nothing. Kagome is not like other humans." Her eyes widen at her name.
"Kagome?" She asks, seemingly tasting the name on her lips. "Is she not -"
"InuYasha's friend, yes." She sits back in her chair, still coming to terms with the idea of her son becoming romantically engaged with a human. After just a moment, the hair on the back of my neck raises at the gleam in her eye as she smirks up at me.
"Well, if she truly is as special as you seem to find her, surely she will have no problem meeting me." I arch an eyebrow in skepticism.
"It is a bit soon to be meeting relations, mother." She waves off my protest as she stands, gathering her bag.
"Nonsense, it'll be fine," she assures. Though her voice is light, I cannot help but feel on guard. "Bring her to the board party next week." Her tone leaves no room for argument.
"I will have to see if her schedule will allow it," I inform her, knowing full well Kagome does not work on Saturdays, but wanting to give her an out if at all possible.
"If she does have clients, tell her I'll pay for the evening, the whole day even." I narrow my eyes at her condescending tone. "I'll be in touch, Sesshomaru," she promises before exiting my office. I sigh, closing my eyes, and lean against the cushion of my chair. Kagome is not going to like this. At that moment, my cell phone buzzes in my desk drawer. I pull it out to reveal a text from the miko herself, asking if I am still able to attend practice tonight. I reply in the affirmative, knowing the sooner I inform her of my meeting with my mother, the sooner she will be able to quell her anger.
I arrive at her studio at the designated hour, a peace offering of her ridiculously sweet caramel drink in hand. I let myself in and find Kagome absently dancing by herself, eyes closed, as she mutters, what I assume to be, new choreography under her breath. I gently knock on the doorframe, effectively getting her attention. Her eyes fly open as she smiles first at me, then at the sugary object in my hand.
"Ooo," she croons, eyes wide. "A girl could get used to this kind of spoiling." She smiles up at me once more, her eyes communicating her gratitude, before she turns back towards her computer. "I was thinking we could start on the paso today," she begins, getting the song pulled up. "It's not totally finished, but I've at least got the basics down. The finessing can come once I see how you do with it and what you're comfortable with, it is a pretty intimate dance, which is why I want to start it this early, so you have time to adjust to -"
"Kagome," I interrupt. The tone in my voice has her immediately turning back around to face me, eyes wide with concern.
"Is everything okay? Do you have to go? Is this an apology drink? I didn't think you did apologies," she rambles, clearly unsettled by the breach in routine.
"I do not have to leave, everything is as planned," I assure her, taking a few steps closer. "However, there is a matter we need to discuss." She remains silent, but her nervous energy is radiating so palpably from her aura, I can almost feel my own skin become unsettled. "It would seem that your wish to help this one has come to fruition." She blinks up at me, her face taking on a look of confusion.
"You… you need my help?" I nod my head, once, and watch as her shoulders sag in relief. "Thank god, you scared me there. What can I do? Need me to watch Rin for a bit? Help with any homework? Not that you couldn't, I just know you're busy and Jaken isn't as smart as he likes to think he is and I've already done all of that stuff. Or do you need time off training? I knew this would be too much, you have so much going on already, why didn't you say something earlier?" I raise a hand, cutting her off before she can go any further. She smiles in apology, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry, you were saying?" I suppress a chuckle and allow a small smirk to take hold of my features. Here it goes.
"It appears I will be requiring a companion to an event," I begin, trying to ease her into the idea. Her eyebrows lower in confusion.
"You mean a date?" I nod my head, letting her work it out in her own time. "Somehow I don't think you'd have a hard time finding one you would be interested in," she teases, laughing slightly at the end, even as her cheeks stain pink. "What kind of an event?"
"It is a party of sorts, held every year for the board members of my company." Her eyes widen and she nearly drops her drink.
"A , a work party? Sesshomaru, I, I don't think I'm the right person to bring to something like that." Her voice is laced with concern and anxiety. "I don't know the first thing about any of that, I'm not exactly in the same class as those guys, you guys, sorry, and I didn't even think that was the sort of thing outsiders were allowed to go to." There it is, my smirk falls slightly at the more intimidating part of the gathering.
"It is not. However, significant others are always encouraged to attend." I watch as realisation dawns in her eyes, her mouth falling slightly open as she fumbles over her words.
"But, I, I'm not, we, we're, we're not -"
"I know," I interrupt before she works herself into a panic. If her scent is anything to go by, she is not flustered because she dislikes the idea of being with this one, but because she had also been considering the idea. I feel the corners of my mouth twitch upwards in a small smile as I place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "When my mother came to my office today, however, she left under the impression that we were, and is insisting on your attendance. I have provided you with a way out, should you choose, as I do not intend to force you into an uncomfortable position, but…" I take a breath, tilting her head slightly to meet her gaze. "I would be lying if I said this would not help me in a number of ways." Her breath hitches in her throat as her heart beats a touch faster.
"You talked to your mom about me?" A chuckle finds its way out of my lips and I nod.
"I hope you do not mind." She starts shaking her head before I finish my sentence.
"No, n-not, not at all. I'm just… surprised," she concludes, biting her lip. I find my own gaze drawn to the bit of flesh between her teeth, my inner beast rumbling with ideas of where else it should be. I use my thumb to gently pry it from its prison, noting the smallest of sighs that escapes from her when I do. "W-what would I have to do?" I take a step back, removing my hands from her, before she elicits any more sounds that drive me to actions I would not take under these circumstances.
"Just be yourself," I promise her. "She knows we have only been seeing each other for a short while, you would be under no expectation of behaving any differently from how we normally are." She nods her head, dropping her eyes to the floor. The smell of disappointment drapes around her in a light veil, Well that won't do. "Except, perhaps, a small amount of extra touching upon entry and exit. A few small motions of endearment. It is an office party, after all, still a business affair." Her disappointment ebbs away a bit, giving way to humour, at my attempt at a joke. She nods her head, slowly, and when she looks back up at me, there is a smile on her face again.
"That doesn't sound too hard."
"You will help me then?" Her smile grows as she nods her head again, though more enthusiastically.
"Absolutely. I mean, after everything you've done for me, the least I can do is sit through a meeting with your business partners… and your mother." She sounds slightly less sure towards the end, but the determination in her eyes doesn't fade.
"Are you sure?" She nods her head once more. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"Why does your mom seem to want you to have a date so badly?" I cannot stop the grimace that takes hold of my features at the thought of my mother's past meddling.
"She tries to set this one up with some eligible demoness every chance she gets. I am afraid that, when she began her usual line of questioning, this one found himself spinning our friendship into some promising budding romance. I assure you, it was only to get her to cease any further action, I did not imagine she would request to meet you, especially once I made it known you were a human." Kagome's giggle floats up to my ears, ensuring that I knew she is not mad at my earlier blunder.
"Safe to say that backfired a bit," she teases, setting down her drink. "I'll be on my best behaviour," she promises. "Unless you'd like me to make a scene so you can escape early?" I chuckle at her suggestion, taking her into my arms to begin our practice.
"We will keep that as Plan B."