I don't own these characters.
5: Fall From Grace
Sesshomaru had probably never scowled so deeply in all of his life, which said a lot considering he spent more time than he liked around Inuyasha. He doubted he had ever heard such horrible news in all of his days either. The woman he had dubbed an angel and who soothed his very soul, which most people would not even know he had, was married. She was married and possibly abused considering the bruises he discovered on her wrists.
"Your husband did that?" the dog demon asked in a controlled tone. He was furious with her for being married, especially to a man who probably battered her. He wanted to shake her to wake her up, to get her to leave whoever mistreated her. He also wanted to tear into the man who did this to her.
"Yes. He momentarily grabbed me too hard," Kikyo answered in a controlled tone of her own. She was upset the golden-eyed male had not let it go. She did not want him to know about her husband. She had enjoyed pretending Naraku did not exist while she was with Sesshomaru, but now he knew and things were probably going to change between them.
"All of that from a mere grab?" he inquired, eyes narrowed on the bruise. He could hardly believe a grab could do such damage to her skin.
"Yes, I bruise easily. See," she replied and she showed him her arms, which were now bruising because he had grabbed her.
Sesshomaru actually frowned even deeper than before and fought the urge to jump back. "Did he hurt you?" he inquired in his usual tone, trying to show that the new bruises did not bother him, even though they did. After all, he had marred her lovely form. What am I, an animal? How dare I do such a thing to her?
"He only grabbed me," she repeated in a tense tone.
"Why would he do such a thing? He is your husband," Sesshomaru pointed out. Even though he saw she could have been telling the truth, perhaps he had only grabbed her and she bruised easily, this did nothing to calm the rage searing his insides. He wanted to punish her husband.
"That he is," she sighed, shoulders slumping slightly. She did not like being reminded of that fact and that could almost be heard in her voice.
Sesshomaru was not sure what he wanted to do with the new information. He had grown attracted to Kikyo in the time he knew her. How could he not? She was a breath of fresh air in a city of smoke. He thought she might have felt the same, but how could it be so if she were married? Nothing could come of it. It seemed like she toyed with him all of the time they were together. But, that did not kill the attraction at all.
Of course, his current fury fought with his attraction. He was not sure which was winning. The petite woman before him was his, yet she was someone else's too. He wanted to tear something apart, mostly her husband still. But, he did not even know who that bastard was. He really did not know what to do.
"Kikyo…" Sesshomaru trailed off because he wanted to be certain the next words he spoke were really the ones he wanted to express. He was not sure if he wanted to let her know the depth of his anger or if he wanted to let her know he could handle the new information, even though that was more a lie than anything else at the moment.
"You don't have to say anything," Kikyo told him before he decided to let his temper get the better of him.
The chocolate-eyed female realized she had pretty much lied to Sesshomaru. She could see the betrayal in his eyes. She knew any male spending time with her was not looking to just be friends. She merely hoped that was the case because she truly enjoyed being around the platinum-haired male. He was so soothing and calming, but she supposed that was the end of that.
"It was a pleasure meeting you and spending time with you," she said gracefully, giving him a slight bow, and she turned to leave.
Sesshomaru watched the woman he believed to be an angel walk out of the museum and pretty much out of his life. He told himself he did not care she left and she was lucky she got out of the place before he decided to cut her down. Why should he want to be around a liar? A woman who tried to string him along? And to think, he almost fell for it. He almost fell for her.
"I shouldn't have expected anything less from a human," he growled under his breath. They were the lowest of the low and there were no exceptions; obviously, he did not count Rin in with humans. He could not believe he had nearly allowed that woman to get the better of him. He shook his head. "It has to be this account. I've become off balance since dealing with that blasted hanyou and now I'm allowing it to affect other aspects of my life. Never again."
The dog demon went to lunch alone that day and tried not to think of what would happen if Kikyo was sitting across from him. She would probably be going on about some artist he had never heard of, but would look into later on and discover she was absolutely right about whatever it she was saying. He hated she had interested him into quite a few human artists. Or she might ask him questions about his travels around the world. It was a dream of hers to go around the world, checking out as many museums, historical sites, and other things as she could, experiencing other cultures and people. She wanted to do so much and he noted she always wanted to do them with her sisters. Family was important to her, which he could understand.
Sesshomaru shook the thoughts of Kikyo out of his head. I do not care about that woman or her hopes and dreams. I do not care for her thoughts or anything that was on her mind. She is nothing more than a liar, human scum. She was no one to him.
Despite the fact that he wanted to not care anymore, the fact that she was not with him at the moment when she could have been, quietly bothered him. He already missed the sound of her voice, the warm look in her cocoa eyes when she gazed at him, and the sight of her lovely, pale face. He missed the mood she seemed to bring with her, the calming, soothing, almost affectionate atmosphere. But, even her aura was a lie. Everything was a lie.
How could she be affectionate toward him when she had the nerve to be married? Her affections were for some other male. Some male he was certain did not deserve it because that warmth should be his. She should be his.
How could some other male be worthy of her? She was a special creature and her husband obviously did not serve her well if she was out making the acquaintance of other men. Her husband did not seem to helping her fulfill her dreams either. He would take her around the world several times and make sure she saw every museum in existence to make her happy. He would help her find the best hospital or open her own practice, so she could be the amazing doctor he knew she was. He would make sure there was always a light in her eyes. She would never think to need another male if she was his.
"Stop thinking about the filthy human," he ordered himself, sucking his teeth in a rage. He turned his attention to his lunch, not even sure what he ordered. What would Kikyo have ordered if she were with him?
Sesshomaru sighed; his mind was betraying him. He was not interested in thinking of a woman who he lied to him, unless of course, he was plotting her demise. She had disrespected him and played with him, letting him grow attached to her. Yes, he should find someway to destroy her if he was going to do anything. He would consider traveling that road, but for the moment, he had to go back and deal with that damned half-breed. He never finished, or even started, his food.
The dog demon did not feel up to bothering with his half-breed partner. The crimson-eyed hanyou had already gotten on his nerves all that morning, but now he was more riled up because of what happened with Kikyo, not that he wanted to acknowledge that she had any affect on him at all. He marched straight to his office and went to his desk, silently hoping Naraku did not come in. His hope was not fulfilled.
Naraku burst into Sesshomaru's office seconds after the nobleman had seated himself. It was like he had been watching for Sesshomaru and chased after him into the office. They both frowned while locking eyes. Sesshomaru felt a headache coming on before the irksome half-demon could even open his mouth. He did not have the patience for this today.
"What?" the dog demon growled his demand.
"Are you going to do any work on this?" Naraku waved around a folder. It probably held all of his bad ideas.
"Are you?" Sesshomaru riposted. He had other accounts and he was fine with those. It was only this thing with Naraku that would haunt him for all eternity, it seemed.
"Stop answering a question with a question. You have not put in any quality work on this whole project. The clients are breathing down my neck and I can't carry your sorry ass," Naraku declared.
Sesshomaru stared at Naraku with a slight tilt of his head. When had the little hanyou's brain rot away? No one carried him. He pulled his weight. It was not his fault Naraku came up with junk. No, he had not come up with the best logos or any other sort of graphic, but they wanted something ridiculously cute and he was not that kind of artist. So, it was not like they hated his work like they actually hated all of the crap Naraku dared to show them. They kept telling him his art did not fit their vision where as they kept telling Naraku a straightforward "no."
"Don't you have anything to say for yourself? I can't believe my clients thought you would be worth anything to this account," Naraku huffed.
"I see and you've been the light of the sun on this particular project. Listen carefully, half-breed as I will not repeat myself, until you find yourself doing something worthwhile, do not question the effort I am putting forth," Sesshomaru ordered the repulsive hanyou.
"There's nothing wrong with what I've done," Naraku argued.
"Then why have they rejected everything you've shown them?" Sesshomaru inquired.
"Because it was paired with your shitty art," the half-breed stated, folding his arms across his chest.
Sesshomaru, who was already on edge thanks to his lunch hour, was now over the edge. He tore himself from his seat and methodically marched over to the damnable hanyou and glared down at him. He noticed how daring the fool returned his gaze.
"I would watch my tongue if I were you, filth," Sesshomaru growled as he grabbed the half-breed by the throat with speed that Naraku did not expect.
A short gagged escaped Naraku before Sesshomaru made it impossible for him to even gag. He needed the hanyou to understand he could easily crush this bug and he would not lose sleep over it. After a quick display of that power, he eased his grip enough for Naraku to breath.
"You think this bothers me?" Naraku inquired, trying to tilt his chin. Then, he felt claws pressing into his flesh. A couple of tentacles sprouted from the hanyou's back. He could not let Sesshomaru embarrass him further, so he was set to counterattack.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you either. Unless you're suicidal," the dog demon informed his captive. He would drop Naraku long before one of those disgusting tentacles made it to him.
"What do you know?" Naraku snarled. He would tear the bastard dog apart with his tentacles.
"I know I could melt your head off of your shoulders before your slithering appendages could touch me. Now, if you wish to call my bluff, feel free. I would not lament your loss in the slightest and I would only get a new office to not have to live with the permanent stench you would leave behind," the platinum-haired male stated in a cool, calculating tone. He spoke no lie.
Naraku hesitated and Sesshomaru no longer felt the desire to play with the fool. He flung the half-breed out of his office as if the crimson-eyed male was worthless. Well, as far as Sesshomaru was concerned, his partner was worthless. Naraku impacted the wall on the opposite side of Sesshomaru's office and he cracked the plaster. Sesshomaru casually shut the door to his office to not even have to look at sorry excuse for a half-demon.
The nobleman returned to his desk and sighed. He massaged his temples, hoping to ease the tension built in his brain thanks to Kikyo and Naraku. The fact that his work was not going well from an artistic point did not even get to make it to his list of annoyances because Kikyo and Naraku took up the whole list, but the problem was predominately his former cocoa-eyed angel. How long would she haunt him?
He wanted her. She was one of the few things on the planet that did not bother him. Well, had not bothered him before he knew that she was married. No, stop thinking about her and do not concern yourself with her. She is not worth your time. You do not care about her.
Kikyo was a worthless human, on the same level as a hanyou, maybe even lower. Well, it was what Sesshomaru told himself. He did not care about someone who was lower than an insect. Kikyo was nothing. She was no one. He was not interested in her in any way other than possibly teaching her to never cross him. He was done with that trifling human wench unless he was making her feel his wrath. Yes, that was it, he promised himself.
"I will punish her eventually," he said, as if that would take away all the other emotions. It did not stop him from wanting to put his hand through his desk, though. Thankfully, he had enough self-control to not do that. He tried to get some work done, but his mind was too jumbled to do more than brood.
-8-8-8-8-
Kikyo was visibly upset over what happened between her and Sesshomaru, but luckily, she was alone, so no one noticed or asked questions. It was a good thing she did not have an appointment to be with her sisters or she would have been explaining all sorts of things for the whole afternoon just because of the expression on her face. That would not go over well. She could practically feel Midoriko's gaze on her. It would make her wither if she had not already done so.
Thankfully, being in a big city, riding a bus, no one bothered her over what she was certain was forlorn expression, tearing at her face as depression settled over her entire being like a massive shadow. Sesshomaru was going to be out of her life. He had been a strange light in her life. He had made her feel at ease, comfortable. It was something she was not very used to, especially around a demon male. And now, he was gone. She supposed the only thing that was left to keep her sane was her sisters. She would always be thankful for them. They were always there.
She decided to go home. It seemed like the best place for her to be with the way she felt. She needed time to sort through these emotions. She doubted Naraku would be in anytime soon, so she could be miserable alone. It was safe to be dejected in the enclosed area of her own.
"Perhaps some tea once I get in will help," she muttered as she came to her stop. Her mind scoffed at the very idea. Tea would not cast out the shadows inside of her.
Her brain began to tell her it was wrong for her to be upset over a demon exiting her life. Sesshomaru was just a demon. Sure, he brought her comfort into her world, but she had survived before him and she would survive after him. She always went on. It was what she was taught by life.
"You can only move forward. Sometimes, you might need a little rest or help along the way, but you can only move forward," she reminded herself as she took steps on the sidewalk. Her feet felt heavy, like they did not wish to return home yet.
She decided to go to a convenient store to buy some junk food before ending up at her apartment. She thought it would ease her mind somewhat, even though she would prefer to not admit her mind needed easing. Still, she brought ice cream and cookies. Eating junk food was a bad habit she and her sisters had from when they were feeling less than pleased with how the days were going. It helped get them through their parents' deaths and they tended to fall back on it. Sometimes, eating such food helped remind her things were not as bad as they could be. The worst day of her life was far behind her and this, too, shall pass.
She went home and cracked open the cookies while putting on some music, up-tempo jazz. She grabbed her sketchbook and thought she might be able to do some drawing. She curled up on the sofa with the cookies near the edge of the couch. She ended up drawing her right hand from lack of inspiration. She could draw with both of her hands and alternated between them when she practiced. She occasionally picked up a cookie and ate it.
Kikyo lost track of time and before she knew it, she heard keys in the door. She glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed it was about time for Naraku to come in. She hoped he was not drunk again, but in case he was, she mentally prepared for him. She steeled her spine and froze her nerves, not wanting to lose any part of herself should he start up.
She closed her sketchbook and put it away. She closed her cookies, too. In the past, eating anything with Naraku around resulted in a fight, as he insulted everything from what she chose to eat to the way her mouth moved as she did so. The door opened and she watched him stumble into the apartment. Apparently, it was too much to ask for him to not be drunk.
"Kikyo!" Naraku bellowed as he slammed the door shut, shaking the walls and rattling the few porcelain items they had on their shelves.
"I'm standing right here," she pointed out. She was not even five feet away from him, so she did not see what he was yelling about.
"Why didn't you make dinner?" he demanded, glancing into the kitchen where there was no activity whatsoever.
"I never make dinner," she reminded him. She did not make dinner for him anyway. She would prepare it for herself at home, but never for him.
"You are quite the worthless mate, aren't you?" he practically snarled. "Everything about you is worthless and you never seem to want to amount to anything. What good are you to me? To anyone?"
Kikyo decided against answering that. Why deal with him when he was intoxicated? She did not even like dealing with him when he was in his right frame of mind, which was relatively speaking because even then, he was a bully and sadist. She was not in the mood to entertain him tonight. She had her own wounds to mend.
She turned to retreat into the bedroom as she usually did when he was in the apartment. He knew better than to follow her in there, even if he thought he was more powerful than she was. She wanted to be alone, especially now since she would have to bother with Naraku without the leisure afternoons with Sesshomaru. It was amazing how a few hours with Sesshomaru made Naraku tolerable for an evening.
Naraku did not want her to leave just yet. He grabbed her by the arm, grip stronger than ever, and pulled her to him. She was about to demand he release her, but he beat her to talking.
"Do you know that dog bastard is going to ruin me? I've been building myself, clawing my way to the top of these wretches, and now he's going to ruin me. No, I won't let him do that," Naraku said, his breath threatening to intoxicate her.
She narrowed her gaze on him. "Naraku, you're drunk." Her tone had a hint of warning under it.
He continued to lament, as if he had not heard her, as if she were some statue he needed to bawl to. "I can't let him do that. I won't let him do that. I'm going to get him off of this account. I won't let him bring me down with him. Him and his shitty artwork. His art is worse than yours. He's nothing, less than you could even be. I definitely won't be brought down by one arrogant dog, no. Not someone as worthless as he. I won't have it."
"You are drunk," she repeated, but he was not listening to word that she said.
He was in a ranting mood and held her by her arm to make sure he had someone to share his evil plot with. "I refuse to let him tear down what I have. I will be recognized. I will be heard. I will be at the top of it all. I'm going go speak with our clients personally. I'm going to tell them just what that dog bastard does all day and I'm going to get them to drop him. They don't need him when they have me, anyway. I've always been good to their account, which is why they left with me. They don't need him and I will make sure they remember that, make sure they pass that along to anyone who might work with him. Everyone should know how worthless he is. It'll teach that ass to throw me into a wall. I'll ruin him before he can ruin me. I'll show him my power. I'll show them all. He'll end up like others who underestimated and opposed me, left with nothing, as nothing, just fodder for the rats."
She was not entirely sure what he meant by that final sentence. He claimed to hurt people, which she believed. There were times he hinted to doing more, though. Had he committed murders? She did not know, but he liked for her to think he had.
"I'll bury him in every way possible," he snarled, giving her a squeeze.
Kikyo sighed. She could very easily escape his grip, but then she might end up killing him. While it was no great lose to the world at this point, she had little desire to have to explain the situation to the police. So, just let him ramble on about how he was going to talk the clients into taking that "dog bastard" off of the account.
He let her in on everything he planned to tell the clients when he met up with them, as if she cared to know. She was not really listening to him, but he seemed to think she was and that was what mattered. He would fly out to meet with the clients in person to make it seem like he was very concerned about their account when in fact he was only concerned about his reputation and their money. It was good news to her. He would be gone for the weekend, so now all she had to do was make it through the week. I can do that. A free weekend would give her time to recollect herself and regroup.
-*-(New day)-*-
Sesshomaru was irritable, more so than usual. His annoyance could be seen on his face, which was rare. He was typically stoic in appearance at all time. Many of his coworkers believed he probably would not even blink if he were to have his arm chopped off, yet now, they were able to tell something bothered him. They did not know what that something was. They assumed his forced partnership with Naraku was finally getting to him because that was the only explanation they had and he had thrown the half-demon into the wall a couple of days ago.
Really, he was not even thinking about Naraku anymore. The half-breed had not polluted his office with his presence and he had not opened his mouth to Sesshomaru since the dog demon tossed him into that wall. No, the thing that bothered Sesshomaru was he already missed Kikyo and he had only been without her company for a couple of days. It also bothered him that her absence bothered him.
"I do not care about her," he hissed to his desk. If only the itch under his skin believed him.
He should not care about her after the way she attempted to toy with him, pretended to him, offered herself when she was someone else's. How dare she be married! But, he had grown fond of her from the brief time he spent with her. Parts of him called out for her. He longed to be with her, just around her. She eased his soul, something he did not even know he had until she came along.
The dog demon did not know what he should do. Should he try to bear being without her? It was already like shredding his guts. Surely, the pain would lessen with time, right? Should he let her go, then? He would have time to find himself once more and become the demon he used to be. Part of him feared he might never be the demon he used to be. His odd human had opened something inside of him and it would never close. He could feel it. Just the fact that he thought of her as "his human" was enough to tell him this was not something that would simply vanish.
Should he try to at least recapture the friendship they had? Being around her had been enough. He had never actually considered something more with her than what they had. But, now, knowing she was married and how it upset him, he considered maybe he had wanted something more. Should he try to go for more? Or should he just look to get revenge against her? Usually, he would have gone with that last option without hesitating, but he could not do that when it came to the woman who he believed was an angel.
"This is like being cursed," he growled to the air. He felt torn and confused, which was not something he was used to.
The way he felt, he knew he would not feel better if he hurt Kikyo. The very thought made his stomach turn. He already knew he would feel worse if she was injured in any way. He was still bothered by the fact that he had bruised her by accident when he grabbed her in the museum to examine her wrists. If he was upset with himself over an accident, he could not even fathom how he would feel if he purposely caused her some kind of distress.
Well, he doubted he could just let her go. He had not seen her for two days and he felt as if he had been run over several times by a speeding bus. Everything was growing increasing irksome, tension winding its way through his system, and he felt like he might snap at any moment. He knew if he could see her face, hear her voice, anything involving her, he would feel calm and ready to deal with the garbage the rest of the world threw at him.
So, it seemed he was really only left with two options — he could try to recapture what they had or he could try for more. At the moment, he would settle on attempting to recapture their friendship and he doubted that would be very hard. He was, after all, the great Sesshomaru. How hard could it be to get back a friend? They had not even had an argument, really, so it was not even like he would have to apologize.
He only had to think of something worthwhile for Kikyo to agree to meet with him. The first thing that came to mind was a museum, but he did not think that was grand enough. After all, she could go to a museum with her elder sister. He needed something unique. What would an interesting angel like Kikyo like and what would he be able to make it through?
He had not gone to the movies in ages and refused to give them any of his hard earned money. He would not even take Rin to the movies. But, Kikyo was a lover of art, in all of its forms from what he could tell. He supposed she might appreciate a play and the city was full of plays that held some potential. He could take her to a play and maybe out to dinner. He had his doubts that it was appropriate to take a married woman out on what might appear to be a date, but he really did not care. If she agreed, he would take her. If her husband was doing right by her in the first place, Sesshomaru figured she would not have sought his friendship, unless humans were that strange.
Now, he would have to look into plays or some other form of theater. As he searched for some form of entertainment, he was informed he had some luck after all. It turned out Naraku was going to be gone on Friday. Well, now he wanted to celebrate. He would be without that pest for three whole days. Perhaps there was at least one merciful god.
Sesshomaru made his plans for Friday. He got tickets to a show he heard was worth a look. There were rave reviews about it on the Internet. He also made reservations at a fantastic restaurant he loved to celebrate the fact that he would be half-breed-free for a day. He then called the one thing that would make everything totally perfect.
"Sesshomaru?" Kikyo answered her phone in a surprised tone. She had not been expecting to hear from him ever again.
"Kikyo, I was wondering if you are free Friday," the dog demon stated. It seemed like he completely forgot about the interaction they had days ago, but that was not the case. He chose to ignore it. If he pressed forward, she might do the same.
"I was planning to spend the day with my sisters," she answered. Since Naraku would be gone, she decided to spend the whole weekend with her sisters. Kaede had cheered when she shared those plans with the pair.
"Is there no way to talk you into joining me for a show and dinner?" he inquired.
"Joining you?" she echoed in a deadpan tone. She could not believe he really wanted her company anymore and she thought he might be joking with her, even though she was aware he did not joke. But, then again, she was also aware he did not go to shows.
"Yes, join me. I have already purchased us some very good seats at a play I heard was halfway decent. I have also made reservations at one of my favorite restaurants and have told them to give us a very choice wine," he explained. It did not occur to him it might be helpful if he apologized for his behavior when they last met, or at the very least apologize for bruising her. He was the great Sesshomaru, after all. He did not make mistakes that needed apologizing.
"You have gone through great lengths to tempt me into agreeing," she commented.
"It will be a good outing for us. It would keep us away from the museum, which is necessary because too much of a good thing is supposedly unhealthy… not that I agree with such thinking," he replied. He doubted he would ever get his fill of Kikyo.
"I know you don't. I suppose I could spend some time with you Friday. I would still have the night and weekend to be with my sisters," she stated. "But…"
"But?" He managed to keep down a growl.
"You grabbed me." She would not let him pretend things did not happen. She was not so easy.
He almost swallowed his tongue. How dare she bring that up? How dare she? You're kidding, right? You marred her flawless skin. "I was concerned."
"I understand that."
Sesshomaru was not exactly sure what happened there, but he felt like this was the end of things. Perhaps she did not need an apology, just for him to acknowledge something happened between them. It was not difficult.
"Excellent. I shall pick you up in the evening. Is that all right?" he asked because of her circumstances.
"It's fine," she answered. Naraku was leaving in the morning.
"All right," he said. He was pleased she had not been very difficult. He supposed she wanted to see him as much as he wanted to see her and why not? He was the great Sesshomaru, after all.
-*-(New day)-*-
Sesshomaru waited outside Kikyo's apartment building. She did not live too far from him. It was a good thing because he planned to see more of her. He watched her as she exited, wearing her usual clothing, red slacks and a white shirt, which he did not mind. She had her own unique style and he would not call it informal, but he would not call it formal either. It was fine for almost any situation, though.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she apologized.
"Not at all," he replied. He had only just gotten there a minute ago.
The pair of friends went out to the show and enjoyed it. Sesshomaru knew he enjoyed it because Kikyo found some substance in it and shared every little bit she liked with an explanation for why she liked it. It was a good thing she could find meaning in plenty of things or he would have been demanding his money back. Instead, he sat through the event and was entertained by it through Kikyo. He would not mind experiencing more things in such a manner.
They went to dinner after the show. It was much like their lunch dates. They discussed various topics for a few minutes at a time. It seemed they did not care about what they conversed on. It was more they just enjoyed being around each other and found it easy to talk with each other when they wanted to talk.
"Sesshomaru, you don't have to park," Kikyo stated as the dog demon was doing just that as he came to her building.
"I do if I want to walk you up," he replied.
"You don't have to do that either," she informed him.
"It's rather late and I would prefer to see you safely to your door," he countered.
"It is unnecessary," she argued.
"Let me be the judge of that," he stated.
Kikyo gave up the argument with a sigh. She could see Sesshomaru would not bend on the issue. Sesshomaru was not sure why he insisted on going with her to her apartment. Was he attempting to see what kind of environment she lived in? Was he hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband? Or at least get an idea of what kind of man she was married to? What was up there for him? Perhaps a nightcap, part of him dared to consider, even though there was no guarantee she would even think to let him in, even if her husband was not home.
Sesshomaru parked the car and they both exited the vehicle. They rode the elevator in silence and walked to her apartment door when they arrived at her floor. She put the keys in and as she worked the locks, she wondered if she should invite him in. Would he think poorly of her if she did such a thing? She was not looking to do anything with him, but she thought it would be polite to invite him if only for a moment. Nothing had to come of it.
"Would you like to come in, Sesshomaru? Perhaps I could make us some tea," Kikyo offered.
Sesshomaru thought on the proposal for a moment. Could he intrude in another man's home while coveting that man's wife? He had some manners as a nobleman. Did he even want to chance seeing a picture of the man Kikyo was married to? After all, knowing what the man looked like would probably upset him. Did he want to be upset again after such a great day?
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Will Sesshomaru take Kikyo up on her proposal and enter her home? If so, will they really just be having some tea?