I don't own these characters.
2: Is It Art?
Sesshomaru sat at his desk and decided he hated his job, more so than he had last week and he had not thought that was possible. It was just now he had a partner to work on one account and the partner was the most annoying half-breed he had ever had the displeasure of meeting. Naraku had stolen that title from Inuyasha. Naraku was like a hundred of Inuyasha, but also did not know his place. Sure, Inuyasha acted big, but he understood his place in their family. Naraku did not understand his place in their office and that was clear from the first day.
The dog demon tried not to let it get to him. He only had to deal with Naraku for a short while, but even the past few days he had spent with the half-demon seemed like an eternity on top of another eternity. He was not sure he would be able to survive any more time with the smelly hanyou without ripping the ebony-haired fellow apart, even though he doubted the stench would ever wash off of his hands after her tore the hanyou into bits.
And to make matters worse, he swore that ancient bug of a boss of his was enjoying his misery. He could see Totosai smirking sometimes outside of his office, as if having a good laugh at the expense of the great Sesshomaru. It was unacceptable, but for the moment, the dog demon could only suffer through his fate because of his love for a steady paycheck, the independence the money allowed him, and the fact he had no replacement job lined up. He would start looking for a new job if being teamed up was a sign of things to come.
He could easily get another position somewhere, he was certain of that. They might even pay him more. The issue was no other firm had the level of prestige this one did. Of course, continued, prolonged contact with Naraku would make the latter void against the former.
The rest of the agency did not seem to share Sesshomaru's deep hatred of the new employee. Several of the men liked to converse with him, have drinks with him, and such. Some of the women around the place thought Naraku even rivaled Sesshomaru in good looks. It was a debate among anyone inclined to appreciate male beauty to argue who was better, Sesshomaru or Naraku. Sesshomaru could not believe his name would come up in such nonsense or someone with half of a brain could believe Naraku on his level with anything.
Naraku was a bit more well-liked around the office than Sesshomaru, mostly because he seemed to make an effort to get along with people. It was not really all that difficult to be better liked than the dog demon, though considering the fact that he was cold toward everyone at the office. But, then again, Sesshomaru had no reason to endear himself to anyone that was beneath him and he was not at his job to make friends. As far as he was concerned, he was not alive to make friends, so he did not waste his time in such ventures.
Honestly, considering the fact that people in his agency liked Naraku, to him, it was a clear sign he worked with inferior beings. How could they not smell the deceit wafting from the hanyou? How could they not see the lie form on his tongue or see the deviousness in his gaze? Sesshomaru considered he detect it more since he was cursed to spend more time with Naraku than others, who only interacted with him in passing, but he did not excuse people missing what he felt was obvious. One day, he was certain their faith in the hanyou would bite them like the snake he knew Naraku was.
-8-8-8-8-
Now, throughout the few days the two males had been working together, Sesshomaru was not the only one who developed an opinion. Naraku did not think highly of Sesshomaru and it came from before they even met. First of all, he resented the fact that the wealthy clients he had so patiently prodded away from his old firm dared to set terms with him when they found out where he was relocating. They wanted Sesshomaru to do some of his little artwork for their product. How revolting, in his opinion.
"This is nothing special," Naraku grumbled as he sat at his desk and flipped through samples of Sesshomaru's work. He did not understand why anyone would want with this nonsense, especially this account. They made enough money to be smarter than this, in his opinion.
Naraku was not a fan of art. Sometimes, he seemed to go out of his way to despise it. He did not understand why people wasted their time looking at it. He knew that so-called artists only "created" such things because they wanted attention. He was certain that was why the self-important dog demon did his little doodles.
"And fools give into this, giving him all the attention, treating him like he's someone," Naraku huffed about Sesshomaru.
Beyond the samples in his hand, the hanyou checked out Sesshomaru's portfolio work on the company website. The platinum-haired demon designed junk as far as he was concerned. He was certain he could get the same, if not better quality work from a stoner in high school, but there was no telling his clients that. So, instead of losing one of his accounts, he had agreed to work with Sesshomaru before even meeting the pompous ass. Now that he knew Sesshomaru, he was not sure if he would have made the same decision if he could go back.
As far as he could tell, Sesshomaru had a stick lodged deep up his rectum and had no plans to take it out; Inuyasha had been making the same claim for years and to think, the two half-breeds had never met. There was an air about Sesshomaru that said he came from royalty before Naraku even found out the guy was a demon prince. It seemed he thought everyone and thing should bend to his will because he was a noble.
"Well, to hell with that," Naraku muttered.
The crimson-eyed hanyou had no inclinations to bow to anyone, especially not Sesshomaru. He was better than all of the other idiots that populated the world as far as he was concerned and he did not care about their status. All he knew was that he was the best of the best and he always had to have the best. That was the reason he had deserted his old firm.
Naraku had assumed his former agency was the best until he saw what Totosai's business was doing. He had to move on, even if it meant moving back to his wife's wretched home city. He would have preferred moving Kikyo further away from the city instead of back into it because she would be easier to control if she was not near her busybody older sister. But, this was for recognition and power. This was his way to the top.
"And I should be on top of everything," he reminded himself.
Because Naraku believed he desired nothing but the best was the reason he had pursued Kikyo. He thought she would make the perfect wife. On the surface, he would admit he was right. Anyone who met Kikyo would think she was the perfect, supportive, submissive mate. She was beautiful, demure, and delicate, like an antique doll. Men were always envious of him when they saw her on his arm.
But, behind the curtain, Kikyo resisted what he tried to mold her to be. It did not matter him, though. The appearance was the important thing and everyone saw that he had a very attractive and docile wife. Well, she was docile in public anyway. He supposed Midoriko did that one thing right; she made sure Kikyo knew how to act around people. At home, Kikyo might as well have been a pale puma.
He liked that Kikyo had spirit because it gave him a goal when it came to her. He would break that woman one day. Break her utterly and completely until she was his perfect pet. He would make her act the way he wanted to and beyond. Such a goal would not have been possible or any fun if she was not so headstrong. She tried so hard to resist him that it was amusing. Sometimes, she even seemed to think she was thwarting him, but little did she know, he was merely giving her a longer leash, the illusion of freedom.
Throughout their time together, Naraku had to learn and adjust with Kikyo. She bought the front like other humans, and some demons, but her will always remained, regardless of what he did. She merely bowed to him if she had her own reasons. One day, he would take that from her to shape her into what she should be. He would make her crumble and rebuild her because he always got his way and proof of that was the fact that he was married to Kikyo.
He had wanted her from the moment he had met her after he had been in a minor accident. She had been on the street when he had gotten into the scrape and she had helped him long before an ambulance arrived. It was love at first sight for him, but it had been a rather forgettable day to her. She had not even recollected exactly who he was when he "ran" into her a few days later. He had purposely run into her, hunting her down, needing her to be his. He invited her out and poured on the charm. It was exhausting, but worth it. Now, they were where they were.
"And with a little patience, we'll get to where we're supposed to be. Kikyo, this job, and a climb to the top," Naraku reminded himself. He just had to deal with that annoying dog demon for a little while.
-8-8-8-8-
Kikyo stood on the bus, lost in a memory of when she met Naraku. She had been on the bus that day as well and had gotten off at her stop when she heard the screech of wheels and something impacting metal. Turning around, she saw the crowd and learned several people had had been struck by a car. Medical training kicking in, she pushed to the front to help who she could and ended up treating Naraku last as he needed the least assistance. He was a hanyou and a car accident was not much of a thing to someone with demon blood. She dressed his most serious wound as they waited the ambulance to arrive, but he was never in any true danger. The other people were not hurt much either and Kikyo put it out of her mind as she handled things like that often, even though it was usually in the more controlled setting of a hospital she only just started working in.
It would have been best if Naraku had not reminded her who he was that day over a year ago. She truly had not remembered helping him in the sense that she helped a few people that day and had she kept on her way the day he ran into her, she would never have been reminded and she would not be with him now. Instead, she had lunch with him back then and allowed him to pretend to be something he was not. She even fell for the act somewhat since she was currently married to him. What a fool I was. In fact, she often felt like she was still the fool, reflecting on how she had come to her current status too frequently for it to be healthy.
For the past few days, Kikyo had not thought about her mistake of marrying the hanyou. She did not have the time or the inclination to do so. She had been spending time with her two favorite people, her sisters. She was on her way to meet them for lunch again when her mind drifted. They were at the forefront of her mind again when she got off of the bus, though.
"Hey, Kikyo!" Kaede called as she noticed the middle sister strolling toward her and Midoriko. They were at a sidewalk café.
"Kaede," Midoriko somewhat admonished the child. She was smiling, so it was not a total scolding.
Kaede smiled sheepishly, blushing slightly. She was growing up to be the opposite of her older sisters, Midoriko and Kikyo noted. She was loud where they were typically quiet. She was hyper where they were mellow. She was gregarious and they were reserved. She was interested in an endless list of things while they had both had only a couple of hobbies that they focused on.
The older sisters did not mind Kaede's personality. As long as the girl was not getting into any trouble, they were all right with her doing just about anything, as long as it was not stupid and it did not bother her grades anyway. Kaede seemed to know that without being told and always came home with some bizarre new way to kill time.
"Good to see you again, sister," Midoriko greeted Kikyo as she climbed to her feet. The sisters exchanged light kisses on the cheek. Kikyo then went over to Kaede and did the same. Kaede also hugged her around her waist, holding her tight for several seconds.
"I do enjoy meeting up with you two," Kikyo informed them as she sat down at the table.
"It is fun, but we're not going to be able to do this too much more. I got school next week." Kaede pouted, slouching in her chair. Usually, she did not mind school. She could hang out with her friends and do all sorts of wild things with them. But, now, she wanted to be with her sisters.
"It's all right, little one. I will be around on the weekends and after school, too," Kikyo promised. They had so much to catch up on.
"Really?" Kaede asked with an eager grin.
"Can you really keep such a promise, sister?" the eldest of the trio inquired with an eyebrow ticked up toward her hairline.
"At the moment, I can. I have no job, after all," Kikyo pointed out. She would wait to get settled and feel out Naraku's personality in the move, knowing he would change, probably for the worst, and then decide the best course of action for finding work.
"That's true. You will look for work, right?" Midoriko inquired.
"Of course. As if I would rely on Naraku to support me," the middle sister answered. She would never rely on him for anything ever again.
Midoriko nodded. "Good to know."
The sisters dropped that conversation in favor of allowing Kaede to tell them about how she wanted a new bike because she had ruined her last one. Apparently, according the youngest sister, one should scout out a hill before riding down it because there could be big rocks and when bikes met big rocks at decent speeds, the rock would win the contest. The older pair sighed as they listened. At least their baby sister had not been injured while riding down the hill. They wondered if she did such things because of peer pressure or just because she was that daring.
The trio ordered their lunches and changed the subject once again. Midoriko and Kikyo would rather not know what Kaede did when they were not looking. The older pair would only worry if they were aware of everything the little one did. Kaede knew she should not share what she did in her spare time, but it was fun to see the incredulous expressions on her sisters' faces.
"Oh, sister, did you hear they opened a new museum downtown?" Midoriko asked Kikyo.
"A new museum?" Kikyo echoed and she leaned forward, her interest piqued already.
"Museums are boring unless they have dinosaurs," Kaede declared. She was hoping to stop a discussion about museums from rising. Her sisters were not into "dinosaur" museums. They were not even into science museums and they glanced right over Kaede's statement, continuing on like she said nothing.
"It features mostly demon paintings with a few famous demon sculptures," Midoriko informed the middle sister.
"Really?" Kikyo was now very much fascinated. She was a sculptor in her spare time, but she enjoyed art from all mediums. She had a stomach for demonic art, which her older sister could not fully understand. There was something visceral about it.
Midoriko did not have anything against demon art, but most of the time, it was meant to be beyond a human's understanding, even a human that had a deep knowledge of demons like she did. Demons tended to have higher senses than humans, so they experienced more of the physical world and they expressed that in their works. A demon would be able to grasp the expression, but a human would never be able to experience it and the meaning of the work was usually lost to humans because of that. Of course, that did not stop her from enjoying the work when she could.
Kikyo had an odd ability to comprehend what a demon was trying to express a great deal of the time when she looked at demon art. It was a talent that made Midoriko enjoy going to galleries with her sister. She liked to get an interpretation that she could understand and help her appreciate a piece. It also let her see that despite the fact that Naraku was trying so hard to break her sister, he was not succeeding because she still held on to her love of art and healing. Kikyo was still Kikyo, even while attached to that filthy hanyou.
"Shall we go to this new museum sometime?" Kikyo asked, her eyes alight with excitement.
"Today," Midoriko proposed with a motion of her hand.
"No!" Kaede protested, jumping up from her chair. She did not want to go to some boring museum. "I'm not wasting a day of my vacation on some boring art."
"Fine. We'll go tomorrow and little Miss Kaede can go play with her friends," Midoriko commented.
"Try not to break anything tomorrow," Kikyo remarked, speaking to the baby of the group.
"Try not to fall asleep in that boring place," Kaede retorted as she sat back down.
Midoriko and Kikyo only smiled, even though they disliked it when Kaede got sassy. They supposed it was all right as long as she was only that way with them and she tended to only do it when they made a comment to her. They did not want her to behave so brazenly with others. They taught her better than that. They expected her exercise her manners around most people, which she typically did as far as they knew.
"Well, little sister, since you have so much to say, what it is we shall do today?" Midoriko inquired while fiddling with the straw in her iced tea.
"Laser tag," Kaede suggested with a devilish grin. It would be quite the sight for her two dignified sisters to be in a dark place with laser tag equipment.
"Laser tag?" Kikyo echoed, tilting her hand to the side slightly. She drew circles with her index finger around the glass her lemonade. It was a strange habit of hers.
"Yeah, laser tag," the preteen repeated.
"I suppose we could indulge the little one," Midoriko replied with a slight smile.
"I would rather the museum," the middle female admitted. Of course, she was certain Midoriko would prefer the museum as well. "But, I will give it up for now in favor of what Kaede wishes to do." They loved to see Kaede happy.
Kaede grinned and clapped a little. Oh, her big sisters were going to be fun to watch. So, after lunch, Kaede led her older sisters to a place not to far away for them to engage in a bit of laser tag. Apparently, the youngest of the three spent a lot of time at the place because some of the employees knew her and greeted her as if they were friends. They were curious about her sisters. Midoriko and Kikyo stood out in the establishment. Midoriko was in a pants suit and Kikyo was dressed in an almost business-like manner. Added to that, their expressions, bland and aloof, did not seem to belong in the arcade.
"Sister, I think we should have thought this out a bit more," Kikyo commented as she handled the equipment to play the game. She fiddled with the gun, knowing what it was, but feeling no desire to hold it, even if it only fired lasers.
"We should have at the very least asked for clarification on what it was," Midoriko replied as she focused down on the laser gun for the game. Leave it to Kaede to take them someplace where they would not likely end up even if they were lost.
Kaede grinned. "You guys need to try new things."
Midoriko sighed. "The things we do for this child."
Kikyo nodded in agreement. So, they suited up to play the game and were let go into the play area. Kikyo and Midoriko looked around at their dark surroundings. Neither of them was up for surprises in the dark, even if it was not truly dark and it was only a game.
"So, we just shoot at those who are not on our team?" Kikyo asked her little sister.
"Yes," Kaede confirmed.
"Will the lighting remain dim?" Midoriko inquired, scanning the area, quite on guard. She could not help it.
"Yeah," Kaede affirmed.
"It is a bit silly. We can just sense the others that are in here with us," Kikyo commented and Midoriko nodded in agreement.
The game began and the sisters sort of cheated. Because of their priestess training and heritage, they could sense where their opponents were, but they supposed it was all right since there were a couple of demons on the other team. The demons had similar advantages to the sisters, their senses heightened, so the battle ended up balancing out.
Kaede was a bit shocked her sisters were not bad at laser tag. They were unaware they had to fire at the flashing lights on vests that the players wore, but it had been drilled into their minds when taking archery to go for the center of their target, so they shot for the chests of their opponents and thanks to the archery lessons again, they were excellent shots.
"We won!" Kaede cheered when the game was done, her eyes glued to the game board, taking in their points from hitting the targets on their opponents.
Her sisters were less enthusiastic once the game was over. They tucked the lesson of the day in the back of their minds—never agree to play laser tag again. At least it was over and they had the museum to look forward to tomorrow without having to worry about Kaede moaning and groaning as they toured the corridors.
"I can't believe we lost to chicks in a suit!" someone groused.
"Yeah, suck it!" Kaede snickered.
"Kaede," Midoriko snapped and wagged her finger at the youngest.
Kaede immediately looked sheepish, shoulders dropping, and her head ducked down. "Sorry."
"Come along," Kikyo said, waving the teen over. Kaede tucked herself against Kikyo's side and showed her sisters around the rest of the arcade.
The day ended and Kikyo returned to her home with Naraku. He was home. He often beat her home, no matter what, back when they lived across the country and now as well. She stayed out with her sisters until very late. Midoriko often tried to make her stay with them throughout the night, not wanting her to return home at all. She would not run from Naraku, though. She was not intimidated by him, even if he wanted her to be.
"You do know it's almost midnight, right?" Naraku stated as he stood in the hallway to glare at her with those sharp scarlet eyes of his.
"I am aware," she answered. She had a watch and she had learned how to tell time back in the first grade like most other children.
"Why were you out so late?" he inquired.
"I was with my sisters," she replied as if that answered his question. It was actually her way of saying it was none of his business as to why she was out so late.
"So?"
"So, that is why. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go take a shower and then go to bed," she informed him in a clipped tone.
Kikyo did not wait for his response. She moved passed him to go to their room to retrieve what she required for her shower. Naraku frowned; he was getting sick of her attitude. She felt the same with his attitude.
-*-(Next day)-*-
Kikyo and Midoriko walked the halls of the new museum that the eldest told the middle one about. The design of the place itself earned their approval before they even noticed any of the art.
"If only the museum down the street looked this elegant," Midoriko commented while examining the pristine white columns at the entrance of the building.
"It would certain draw me in more often," Kikyo replied.
Midoriko nodded. "I would actually take more open displays like this." She motioned to the first group of paintings they saw. "Do they not understand the glare of putting every bit of art behind a glass there?"
"I would rather they space things out better, but we should focus here. This is lovely area." Kikyo looked around, noting the pieces were spaced well and according to the map, the galleries and exhibits were set up much better than the other museum they frequented.
They traveled through the museum, which was full of demons, who eyed the sisters suspiciously. The two ladies could hear whispers of wonder about the humans who dared pollute their museum. Why demons thought so highly of themselves, the duo would never know. The sisters ignored the demons for the most part. As long as no one attacked them physically, they were fine. They were used to whispers, anyway.
Humans and demons whispered about the sisters alike for most of their lives. They were viewed as oddities for a number of reasons by humans, like their interest in archery, even though no one believed there was a practical use for archery. Then, there was the fact that they sought to build up and control their spiritual power, as if they lived in the feudal era, many people commented snidely. Being trained priestesses, but not actually priestesses troubled people as well. The fact that they behaved so similarly, like they were twins or something of the like, but there were three years between the pair seemed to bother people. It seemed that everything about them was whispered about, no matter how trivial it seemed.
Demons whispered about the sisters because they tended to travel where most humans would not and the demons that were there noticed them. When demons whispered about them, it was because they stood out as human. Demons were curious of them, maybe even threatened by them. At least that made sense to them.
"Sister, isn't this one of your favorites?" Midoriko asked as they came to a painting that most humans would find disturbing. It was of two wolves in a forest and one wolf was feasting on the heart of the other.
"Oh, this painting," Kikyo sighed. The detail alone was enough to make her stare for hours. She never failed to notice something new when she gazed upon it. Unfortunately, for all her studying, it was the one piece of art, she could not understand. There was no indication the wolves represented a battle inside someone or eating the heart gave the other power. They looked identical, so it was not like the strong was eating the weak. There was a theory the wolves were comrades and the one eating the other was to show they were merging, or becoming one. She did not get it and this was possibly the only piece of art she ever viewed where she could not gleam anything deeper than the aesthetics.
"It still haunts you," Midoriko commented.
"When I first saw it in art class, it was even in my dreams. Every time I see this, I wonder what it is he is trying to express here. I just cannot grasp the meaning of this painting," the younger sister replied.
"Surely it will come to you one day," Midoriko said.
Kikyo did not respond. She only stared at the painting and allowed it to do what it always did when she laid eyes on the piece — capture her. What was the painting trying to say? There were two possible meanings, which the artist had hinted at in an interview years ago, and no one had been able to figure out which was the true statement behind the painting. Kikyo sometimes thought the artist lied, wanting to further taunt the audience or add even more mystery to a piece that needed no such thing. The talent in the piece was more than enough for attention.
Midoriko had to pull her sister from the painting, but now she knew where her younger sibling would be when she was alone. The painting was a "Kikyo trap" in a way. She needed to comprehend that painting and she would stare at it until she did.
"There are dazzling sculptors you will love," Midoriko promised. It was the best way to get Kikyo moving.
-*-(New day)-*-
Sesshomaru massaged his temples and stared down at his desk. He was so bothered it hurt his brain. Naraku was a new type of annoyance. They had not agreed on anything so far and they had been working together for a whole week. He was ready to toss the troublesome hanyou out of the window. It would at least rid him of the cause of his headache, even if it might jeopardize the account.
Once he realized he was very close to murdering the filthy half-breed, he decided he needed to calm down. He tore himself from his desk, causing Naraku to stop talking, and Sesshomaru marched out of his office, leaving Naraku sitting there with his mouth agape, like an idiot. Sesshomaru exited the building without a thought and traveled to the one place guaranteed to soothe his nerves, the demonic art museum.
The dog demon dropped a few dollars in the donation box outside of the building, needing to support his fellow artists and then strolled in, looking around as if it was his first time. It might as well have been his first time. He had gone to the museum on opening day not to long ago, but he had not been back. He liked what they had around the first day, so he had vowed to himself he would make a return trip. Now seemed like the perfect time to do so when he was considering slaying his account partner.
He slowly strolled through the place, admiring the painting mostly. There were other works of art around the place, but he was mostly there for the paintings. He noticed something odd as he passed through a corridor. There was a lone woman in the hall. It would not have been so strange, but she was a human. He paused and arched an eyebrow.
"What in the world is a human doing in a museum full of demonic art?" he muttered to himself.
Sesshomaru walked over to her to see what piece garnered her attention. The painting before her surprised him. He suspected the scene of a wolf devouring the heart of another disgusted her. It seemed like something a human would be because she probably had no understanding of demon art, especially this particular work.
As he got closer to her, he caught her scent. It was subtle, but he told her she was not confused or disgusted. She was not even uncomfortable. He could not understand why that was. Maybe she was lost.
"Good day," she greeted Sesshomaru as he came to stand by her and eye the painting. It was actually one of his personal favorites.
"Good day to you," he replied. "Is this not genius?" he asked. He was actually waiting for her to disagree, so he could explain to her why a foolish human would never be able to grasp such a piece or any demonic works.
"I suppose so," she concurred.
He tilted his head slightly. "You suppose?"
"Until I can figure out if he is portraying the two wolves as allies and the one wolf is eating his comrade's heart to always carry a piece of him with him or if they are enemies and the one wolf is devouring the other's heart to possess his fighting spirit, I cannot weigh in on the genius of the piece as far as that, but the technical aspects of it are breathtaking," she explained. It was infuriating. Why did the artist not just say the meaning?
Sesshomaru glanced down at the pale creature next to him. It seemed he had been wrong about her, not that he would admit that out loud. So, she was actually there to admire the painting and staring at it to understand it, not because she wanted to know why it was considered art. She even complimented it. Who is this woman?
"Well, have you ever supposed he was going for something so ambiguous?" Sesshomaru proposed.
"I can agree with that, but that is different from his usual style," she commented.
"You are familiar with his other works?" he inquired, hiding his surprise. He had never met a human interested in demon art, even his stepmother. It usually was so beyond human experience.
"He is my favorite," she admitted.
"How odd," he commented. Granted he never interacted with many humans, but he never heard a human claiming a demon artist as a personal favorite.
"I know," she agreed.
"For simply meaning or technique?"
"His attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. I prefer his watercolors to his oil paintings. I find he challenges himself more with the watercolors and it shows. The darkness he likes to present, to pull your attention to the piece, is harder to do in watercolor," she replied.
Who is this woman? These few sentences she spoke, he could only agree with. How could this human have such insight on demon art? He considered it was a fluke.
"Have you studied this one long?" he asked.
"Since being introduced to it in my high school art history class."
He made a short noise low in his throat. "That is quite a while to pay such attention to one painting. Do you suppose you could leave this one and walk with me through the rest of the place?" He was slightly curious of the little human because she was an admitted oddity. He wanted to see how deep her knowledge of demon art went and see if she was lying or making things up as she went along. After all, he took his art very seriously and he was not interested in being lied to.
"I can do that since I doubt I will come to an answer with this painting anytime soon. I am Kikyo," she introduced herself.
"Sesshomaru," he replied.
"It is a pleasure," she stated.
He did not respond, if it was a pleasure to meet her remained to be seen. He was skeptical it would be, but he was willing to try if her artistic knowledge was deep. He was willing to try anything to keep him from returning to work and having to deal with Naraku.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Sesshomaru and Kikyo spend some time together while Naraku continues to try their nerves.