Chapter 9
Kagome rushed to her car and got in. Slamming the door with anger, she choked on a sob and rested her head on the steering wheel. She wasn't going to cry, no, why would she? She only experienced something great with someone that she's never felt before. How could that be a mistake? It felt so right. She couldn't explain how in such a short amount of time, her feelings for him grew into something else but it did and she couldn't help it. She jumped in her seat feeling her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. She took out her phone and looked at the number, it was private. Ugh, was it Inuyasha again? She hated private calls but what if it was Sesshomaru and he privatized his number because he feared she wouldn't pick up? She gulped away the huge ball in her throat and answered it.
"Yes?" her voice broke. She cleared her throat. " Um, w-who is this?"
"Kagome…don't hang up." It was Inuyasha again.
" Ugh...Inuyasha, please stop calling me!" she begged, her voice rasping at the last words.
"Are you alright? You seem bothered by something." Inuyasha asked.
"I am fine, and whether I am or not, it's not your business anymore!"
"Wait, Kagome, please don't hang up!" Inuyasha shouted into the phone.
Kagome rolled her eyes and stayed on the phone.
"Listen, ok...today might be a bad day but can we meet sometime this week?" he cleared his throat. "Please, Kagome, I just need to see you and I won't take no for an answer."
Kagome shook her head and looked at her rearview mirror. Her gaze turned to Sesshomaru coming out of the building holding keys in his hand.
"Fine, I'll let you know when." Kagome closed her phone and started the car. She shot one last look at Sesshomaru before peeling out of there.
Sesshomaru sighed, seeing the hurt in Kagome's face as she bolted down the street in her car. He bowed his head in deep thought and looked back up. His expression seeming troubled. He snapped out of it and went toward his car and got in. He turned it on, subconsciously as his thoughts drifted to last night and drove off. Why had he marked her? Did she realize this as well? Why did she make it so hard for him to be in control of his actions and rationality? Too many questions. Asking why was irrelevant now. What's done is done. What, he should be asking, what was he going to do about it? So they shared this wonderful night together and this morning and now they are supposed to pretend it didn't happen? He tightened his jaw in anger and closed his fist tightly. Damn it! This never happened to him. He was never put in a situation where he didn't have complete control over and didn't know what to do.
There were many reasons, he told himself, why he shouldn't be with Kagome. One, she was not his type. Two, she was the sister of his dreadful unfaithful ex. Three, she could possibly still have feelings for Inuyasha and probably is attracted to him for the remote resemblance they shared. That sounded a bit self-conscious. He scoffed as he eliminated all of them on the account that they were bullshit. Who was he kidding, Kagome was more his type than any girl who ever approached him. She was funny, smart, caring and incredibly sexy. The way she bites her lip and looks at him with those smoky gray eyes. She was nothing like Kikyo, no. He sighed as he shook his mind of it and drove with no destination intended.
That evening, Kagome and Sesshomaru didn't say a word to each other. She had gone outfit shopping for work. Sesshomaru went to the office to take his mind off things and work. Kagome was reading a book at the edge of the couch and Sesshomaru occasionally peered at her from his laptop. The awkward became unbearable; Kagome closed her book and went out the fire escape for some fresh air. It was very hard to be in the room with Sesshomaru. He seemed like he didn't miss a beat, he was so nonchalant. She sat on the ledge and looked out into the street, people hanging out by their front doors, hanging in the corner by the grocery shop and sauntering in and out of the train station. Could she do this? Could she pretend nothing happened between them? It wasn't easy for her to just shrug it off like nothing happened. If he wasn't thinking about it, was it even special to him as it was to her? Was she just reading into everything too much? She smirked as she took a deep breath. She could do this. She was strong and didn't need anyone, she thought.
Sesshomaru gazed at her from the couch and cleared his throat. He had no idea what to say and kept looking at the blank screen of his computer. His fingers rested lightly on the keyboard but typed nothing. His thoughts were distracted with Kagome sitting on the window ledge. What was she thinking about, he wondered. They needed to talk more about what happened. There had to be closure. As he closed his laptop, Kagome turned from the ledge and closed the window behind her.
"I'm going to order something to eat, are you hungry?" she asked him.
Sesshomaru stared at her, stunned by her talking to him and shook his head hesitantly.
"I'm fine, thank you." he looked back down at his laptop.
Kagome smiled and shrugged. " Ok then." she hummed as she walked toward the kitchen.
"Kagome..." he muttered. He was surprised to have called out her name. It seems his mouth had been quicker than the mind lately.
Kagome looked back as she paused by the kitchen doorway.
"Hmm?"
"about earlier..." he continued.
"What about it?" she said, indifferently.
"It's just that...you and I work together." he explained in a low tone. "and…our past is…."
"Sesshomaru, you don't have to explain..." Kagome rolled her eyes feeling angered not wanting to talk about it. "I totally understand. It was just…heat of the moment."
No, he thought, it wasn't but he didn't correct her. " I don't think we are in any position to be dating again...especially each other." Sesshomaru held his laptop and stood tall next to her. Was that what he wanted to say? Yes, this was the right thing to do, he kept telling himself.
"Yeah...you're right..." Kagome forced a smile and nodded. She bit her lip not knowing what to say. "so...we'll just go back to the way things were before and... forget about last night...and this morning." she cleared her throat and walked into the kitchen. "It's totally forgotten now so let's move on...shall we..?" she finished her conversation with him and picked up the phone to order pizza.
"Are you alright with this, perhaps I should look into moving out?" Sesshomaru said almost inaudibly and closed his eyes. He had not wanted to suggest that.
Kagome had her back to him while she waited patiently on the phone as she was on hold. She closed her eyes as his suggestion sent a painful ache to her chest.
"I'm alright. Unless you want to move. I…I know you aren't really content with this place." she swallowed, waiting for the person at the pizza shop to pick up the phone.
"It was just a suggestion; I have no plans to motion it as of now." he said and left toward his room.
Kagome sighed deeply and snapped out of it when the pizza guy answered.
" Yes, can I get the biggest pie you have on the menu!" she grunted.
A half an hour later, Kagome went downstairs to meet the pizza guy. She grabbed the box from him, paid him and turned back to the building. As she walked down the path to the entrance, she heard a little cry of a cat. She looked around and followed the sound of its mewing and peaked over the bushes. Still holding the box of pizza, she saw the little beige fluffy kitten with a black tail beside the garbage can.
"Ohhhhhh!" she squealed. "You are sooo cute! What are you doing out here?" she held the pizza box in one hand as she reached down to scoop up the kitten with the other. The cat meowed louder as she picked him up and went back to the apartment.
When she got to the apartment, she crept toward the kitchen trying to be unnoticed by Sesshomaru and set the box down. She tippy-toe toward her room to hide the kitten but it began to meow louder.
Sesshomaru's door swung open and Kagome froze in the hallway holding the cat. She plastered a cheesy grin on her face and tittered.
" Ohh...hey." she cleared her throat.
"What is that?" Sesshomaru crossed his arms.
" You've never seen a cat before?" Kagome teased.
"You know what I mean, what is it doing here?"
"He was alone outside and cold..." Kagome whined, holding the kitten up like a six-year old begging her parent.
Sesshomaru grimaced and shook his head.
"Well put it back where you found it."
"I'm going to keep him." Kagome said, assuming her best authoritative expression.
"Absolutely not..." Sesshomaru exclaimed.
"Uh, Absolutely yes! He's so cute—wait." Kagome lifted the kitten up. " Oops...I guess it's a she...sorry, girl." Kagome chuckled.
"Cats are filthy. They bring diseases." Sesshomaru sighed. "You're not keeping it." he walked to the kitchen and turned toward the table and opened the pizza box and looked at it suspiciously. He grabbed a slice and set it on a plate and went to sit down on the sofa.
"I so am...and I thought you weren't hungry..." she said as she smiled at the kitten and set it down on the couch and went to fix herself a plate. She came back and sat between the kitten and Sesshomaru. They turned the television and began to watch a movie.
"I changed my mind..." he said flatly.
Kagome stared at the kitten with a big smirk as she fed her a pepperoni. "Aw, she is so cute. I think I'll call her Kirara."
"You are not naming the cat, naming it would mean you're keeping it, which you aren't." Sesshomaru sighed at their petty dispute.
"Well, I am keeping her. " Kagome pet the cat and noticed Kirara was making her way toward Sesshomaru and crawled on his lap. " Oh, she likes you."
"Kagome...take the cat off my lap." Sesshomaru ordered as he tried to shrug the kitten off with his leg but the kitten impaled herself into his jeans with his claws.
"Aww" Kagome orated obnoxiously to annoy him. " He's trying to climb on top of you." she giggled. She grabbed the kitten and helped it go on top of Sesshomaru's shoulder. The kitten was walking on top of him trying to balance herself. Kagome smiled while Sesshomaru lowered his head as the kitten purred its way to his ears.
"Take her off." he sighed.
"Oh come on, relax. She just likes...you" Kagome's mouth dropped as she saw what the kitten was doing. Her eyes widened as the kitten nonchalantly peed on Sesshomaru's shoulder.
Sesshomaru closed his eyes in disbelief. The cat was pissing on his shoulder. He took a breather as he tried to calm down. Killing the cat would be wrong, he told himself. Kagome quickly snatched the kitten off of Sesshomaru before he could grab it and heave it out the window. "Oh my god...I'm so sorry." she snorted, trying her absolute best not to laugh. "She's a baby, she doesn't know."
Sesshomaru set his plate down calmly and went to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
"Oh my god." she whispered to Kirara. "Why did you do that? Now it's going to be harder to keep you." she said as she brought the kitten to her room and closed the door. Sesshomaru finished showering and stood before his closet in black Michael Kors boxer briefs as he searched for a pair of sweats.
"Are you mad?" Kagome poke her head into his room.
"No, I'm not mad." Sesshomaru said, pulling a pair of sweats from one of the drawers. Kagome quickly glanced at his underwear, seeing the outline of his massive protuberant penis sitting neatly in the pocket of his briefs. That was inside her last night, she thought, and this morning. Her face became hot and her eyes widened at the scratches on his arms and back.
"If it…really bothers you," she said. "I'll try to find a home for her."
"Just keep it away from me." he said, turning to her and revealing his bare chiseled chest.
"Okay…" Kagome smiled. Her smile faded as her gaze dropped from his eyes to his chest. His hair was dripping wet and water ran down his chest. Oh god, Kagome thought. She needed to leave his room, right now. " Ok, well, I'm taking a shower now, night!" she turned around, blew out a deep breath and ran to the bathroom.
She closed the door and rested her hands on the sink. She sighed deeply. This was not going to be easy. How was she supposed to pretend nothing happened when she can't look at his bare chest and not get severely turned on. No, she had to forget it happened. Before she got into the bathtub, she stopped to look at the mirror when she saw a mark on her shoulder. Damn it, she seriously didn't need a reminder of what they did. She touched the mark suspiciously to see if it had hurt but she felt nothing. It just swelled up and looked like it was already healing. Weird, Kagome thought. She heard once that demons marked their mates, but she didn't think this was the case. Sesshomaru was just a biter, that's all. If demons marked their mate, why hadn't Inuyasha marked her when they were together then? She shook her head of these thoughts and got into the tub and turned on the shower.
After Kagome showered, she'd gone to her room for the night. Sesshomaru's door was closed and she felt a twinge of sadness that she couldn't sleep with him again. It wasn't just the sex, she had felt so at peace in his arms, so protected and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to sleep the same way without him. As it turned out, a couple of hours passed and she still couldn't go to sleep. She heard the TV in the living room turn on and got out of bed. As she shuffled down the hallway toward the living room, Sesshomaru was sitting on the couch, his arm propped on the arm rest holding his chin up.
"Can't sleep?" Kagome grinned as she stood in the hallway.
Sesshomaru's lips twitched into a half grin and shook his head. No, he couldn't. His mind couldn't turn off what happened last night and this morning. He desperately missed the warmth of her body, the scent of her skin.
"We work tomorrow, right?" Kagome asked. She drifted over to the couch, not remembering that she was in the skimpiest shorts and laced camisole but there was a part of her that wanted to tease him. Did he really think it was a mistake? The way she'd catch him looking at her said otherwise.
"Yes, we do. We actually have an important meeting with the board, you may join if you'd like or if you rather stay in the office." he said as he muted the television. He looked up at her and his gaze went immediately to the mark on her shoulder. He looked away and bowed his head.
"No, I'll join you. I want to see how it is..." she sat down beside him in the lotus position. Her purse was beside the couch and she dragged it over to her by the strap. Pulling out the disposable camera, she turned to him. "What should we do about this camera with the pictures? Do you still want to give the pictures to the paparazzi?"
Sesshomaru thought for a moment and shook his head.
"This vendetta is getting out of hand now that the authorities are involved. I think we've caused enough damage for now."
"Yeah…" Kagome droned, still not satisfied that Kikyo was left unscathed but he was right, a lot of damage was done and Kikyo was still dealing with the side effects of it all. She held the camera in her hand and sighed. "You know, now that I think of it...it was kind of dumb. I guess I was just really mad but now...I just don't care anymore." she turned to him and smirked. "Hey, there is one picture left in the camera...come on." she giggled as she slid next to him and held the camera in front of their faces.
"No, I'm not really into taking pictures." Sesshomaru looked away feeling very uncomfortable on how close they were.
Kagome turned to him and frowned. " Just smile." she moved his chin towards the camera.
Sesshomaru sighed and made an attempt to smile but didn't and Kagome flashed the camera.
"Did you smile?" she asked. "Well, anyway, we'll find out once I develop it tomorrow." she grunted as she got up from the couch. "so why couldn't you sleep?"
Sesshomaru crossed his arms and didn't answer her. His gaze fell on the television.
"Why do you do that?" Kagome asked as she turned to him.
He looked up and tilted his head slightly. "Do what?"
"Just not answer me or talk to me. You rather watch television which is on mute than acknowledge me. "
"I'm sorry...I have a lot in mind. I usually speak when I have something to say." he got up and turned off the television. "Good night."
"Night…" she watched him solemnly as he went into his room and closed the door.
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Sesshomaru woke up to the sound of bad music. It was on low but his hearing was hypersensitive from the lack of sleep. He groaned as he sat up against his bed frame and rubbed his face. He looked at the time, 5:30am. He fell asleep less than two hours ago. He uncovered the blankets off of him and walked out of his room. He peaked into the living room and saw Kagome cleaning and dancing to 'I'm a Scatman' by Scatman John. He leaned against the wall, grinning as he watched her shake her hips as she wiped the kitchen counter. His attention left her and fell on the kitten on the couch. Sesshomaru squinted at her. The kitten met his glance and squinted back. He ambled quietly toward Kagome, tickled her lower back absent mindedly to alert her that he was right behind her and she jumped up.
"Oh...hey, morning." she laughed feeling embarrassed. "I hope I didn't wake you, I put the music really low."
"It didn't." he lied as he turned on the espresso machine.
"I couldn't go back to sleep and kind of felt like cleaning and I like to clean with music..." she said as she turned off the radio.
"It's alright." He said, letting the espresso machine warm up as he left to the bathroom to wash up.
Kagome looked at Kirara and groaned.
"Why didn't you tell me he was watching me dance!" she whispered tersely. Kirara closed her eyes as her ear twitched and purred.
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Naraku pulled his pants up on as he got up from the bed and flickered his gaze at Shurran, who laid naked under the covers smoking a cigarette, looking very disappointed.
"You seemed out of it today. Not fully into it, if you know what I mean." Shurran exhaled a large gust of smoke.
"It's this damn bet. You told me this would work…that we would benefit from this bet and so forth...but you couldn't do a simple thing as to seduce Sesshomaru. He left with Kagome."
" I've tried, alright...and don't get mad at me. You couldn't even get that wench Kagome to come with you to the event. Anyway, we still have another two weeks until the deadline. We still have time...they have yet to be together. Tell me what's really bothering you."
"It's him..." Naraku spat. "How can I be working under a pretentious teenager?"
"Isn't he, like, twenty?" Shurran snorted.
Naraku scowled at her. "He should not be running the company. I've been working for that company for ten years, and because rich boy buys it out, he's suddenly head CEO of the corporation. It's not right."
"Hmm, you sound jealous." she smirked.
Naraku scoffed. "He's not running the company the way it should be ran. Youkai entertainment wants to merge, and he told them no, outright, without discussing it with me! His arrogance is going to bring our company down."
"Sesshomaru is a great businessman like his father, I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing."
"No, he needs to be stopped."
"Don't dare to try and overthrow him, it's suicide." Shurran warned.
"Do you take me for a fool, Shurran? Quit pointing out the obvious."
"Why are you worried? There is no way he'll fall for someone like her." Shurran grimaced and scoffed.
"You obviously don't understand men." Naraku scoffed. "It's the way he looks at her. She's important to him and if she feels the same way, then that's it. We need a better plant to stop those two, too much money at stake. I'll see you later."
"Mmhmm." Shurran rolled her eyes and watched him leave her bedroom.
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Inuyasha, his father and the authorities all stared at the tape over and over in his father's study. They were still trying to find out who was behind the chaotic events on Broadway. Inuyasha's reputation was on the line.
"Inuyasha, you have any idea who'd want to impersonate you?" asked one of the detectives as he paused the tape.
Inuyasha nodded and rubbed his face. " I don't know. I didn't think I was hated." he walked toward the window and sighed. "Rewind it again."
The detective rewound the footage and they all leaned closer to watch for any details that may have been overlooked.
"Wait, stop there." Inutaisho demanded as he went closer to the television. He observed the impersonator with the drag queens dancing around him. The impersonator had a familiar tick in his hands, the way he stroked his thumb across his knuckles. Could it be…no, it couldn't. "Hmm, never mind...I thought I saw something..." his father went to sit down at his desk. "Gentlemen, it seems this case is feeble. If you cannot find a suspect, you cannot pin this on Inuyasha if his alibi checks out."
"Sir, a kid almost committed suicide because of this."
"I understand that, but my son is not to blame. You have no case...detective." he said, and the detective nodded.
"But dad," Inuyasha started. "If they don't find this suspect, people will always think it was me. I'm already getting tons of hate mail."
"Your fans will realize over time it wasn't you." His father sighed. "Anyone care for some tea and biscuits?" Inutaisho smiled as he nodded for the butler to get them.
"Yeah, sure." the detective and his crew all nodded.
"Dad, someone out there wants to ruin my life! I can't even go anywhere without someone calling me names, and people are starting to think I'm gay!"
"Well, there's nothing wrong with being gay, my son."
"I know that, dad but I'm not and because the Hiltons think I trashed their hotel, I've been blacklisted by everyone and no one wants to book my concerts!" Inuyasha snapped, rubbing his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Settle down, Inuyasha. It is not the end of the world." his father said. A knock came at the door and they all looked at it.
Kikyo came in and bowed. "Inuyasha, a word?" she said as she exited the room.
"Excuse me." Inuyasha said as he left the room. He looked at Kikyo who was staring off bitterly. "What is it?"
"Your bank statements came through." she held the letter in her hand.
"Okay, why are you opening my mail?" Inuyasha stared at her disbelievingly as he grabbed the letter from her hand.
"It shows an inventory of things that you bought within the last weeks and you checking into a hotel."
"Which I didn't do or buy. " he shook his head and scoffed. "you remember my cards were stolen?"
Kikyo took out an envelope out of her pocket and opened it. She pulled out a few credit cards and then stared at him with her hand on her hip. "Well?"
"Where the hell did you get that?" Inuyasha frowned.
"They were in the room, in the drawer. Inuyasha, I need you to tell me the truth, it says you were at the hotel and you bought a few dresses, woman dresses, Inuyasha!"
"What are you trying to say? That I have some other woman lying around?"
"Well it wouldn't be the first time." Kikyo scoffed.
"You should talk." Inuyasha gritted. "Look...I couldn't have done anything, I was with you the whole time. I don't know how the cards appeared there but something is going down and I'm going to find out!" he walked away leaving Kikyo shooting daggers at him.
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"What's a seven-letter word for dream?" Kagome took a sip of her soda and looked up at Sesshomaru who was leafing through files, stroking his thumb across his knuckles in thought.
Sesshomaru pondered for a moment while he flipped through the pages of the folders. "Reverie."
"Hmm..." Kagome furrowed her brows with deep concentration. "That'll do..." she murmured as she wrote the letters into the box of the newspaper's crossword puzzle. "What about an eight-letter word for dead?
"Deceased." he answered.
" Oh yeah...I knew that." Kagome scoffed as she wrote it down. "How about-"
"Kagome, I'm rather busy." Sesshomaru flashed an impatient look at her." Shouldn't you be working?"
"I finished and I'm just trying to complete this so I can win this cool free toaster." she lifted up the paper and showed it to him.
"It looks pretty cheap. Why not buy one yourself?" he said as he retracted the pen in his hands and began to scribble down on the document.
"because...this one is free?" Kagome rolled her eyes as she stood up and walked over to his desk. "winning free things is fun." she leaned her butt against his desk. He discreetly gazed at her thighs as she pressed the top of his pen against his lips.
"Oh hey...look, you're in the newspaper with...Shurran." she said, her tone laced with bitterness.
Sesshomaru looked up and glanced at Kagome and grabbed the paper from her. He looked down at it and read the article by the picture. " Hmph..." he set it down on the table.
"Well, what did it say?" Kagome said as she grabbed the paper and read it. "The black and white event was the highlight of 2005. The party was the talk of the town, while celebrities like Inuyasha from City Slackers was denied entrance at the doors and removed by authorities due to his uncouth and barbaric behavior on Broadway. His brother, Lord Sesshomaru, head CEO of Crescent Corporation attended with his lovely date, Shurran Kimoto, in black and white Versace attire that complemented the pair." Kagome bit her lip and cleared her throat. "The hosts of the black and white event were honored and pleased by Sesshomaru's presence, even if it were for less than a half an hour. They hope to have him again next year. Witnesses say, Lord Sesshomaru entered with Shurran Kimoto only to have left the party with another woman, whose name is unknown for now."
"It doesn't seem to cease, this drama." Sesshomaru shook his head and noticed Kagome's expression change. "Is something the matter?"
"No…nothing's the matter." She muttered. He didn't have to ask her to know what was bothering her. He knew it had to do with going to the event with Shurran after giving her the pitiful and hypocritical excuse that he couldn't go with her because she was his subordinate.
Kagome leaned off his desk and he grabbed her hand.
"By the time I had wanted to go...Hiten had already asked you." He said, looking at her hand in his and yearning to caress it. He let her hand go and went back to tending to his documents.
Kagome nodded with a weak grin, feeling slightly better that he explained it. She walked back to her desk, removed her blazer and grabbed a pile of papers.
"I'm going to make some copies, I'll be back."
Sesshomaru stared at the door and back at her desk. He cleared his mind of his thoughts and decided to focus on work. He looked through the folders and couldn't find what he was looking for. He got up and walked toward the filing cabinet by Kagome's desk and opened the drawers. He flicked through the labels and exhaled a breath of agitation. His concentration broke when Kagome's cellphone began to vibrate on her desk. Sesshomaru looked around and noticed the phone vibrating towards the edge of her desk about to fall. He quickly caught it, looked at the screen, and saw Inuyasha's name. His jaw tightened as he slammed the phone on her desk and meandered back to his desk. He exhaled a deep breath, staring at the phone as it continued to vibrate. Why was he calling her? Did she still talk to him?
Kagome came back into the room holding some folders in one hand as she covered her mouth with the other. She silently chuckled and went to her desk.
"Everyone is making fun of me out there." she shook her head. "Everyone's like ' hey, you should have seen yourself drunk.' I didn't think I was that bad, I mean, I knew what I was doing." Kagome mocked her coworkers. "I hate drunk stories. Especially when I'm the drunk person they're talking about."
Sesshomaru didn't look up nor say anything.
Kagome sat at her desk and searched for something to do. She saw her phone lying on the desk and picked it up to look at the time. She saw she had one missed call and checked to see who it was. Her eyes widened when she saw it was Inuyasha and immediately set the phone down. She looked up to see Sesshomaru staring at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked calmly.
"Nothing." she quickly answered and looked around trying to avoid his eyes. She reached for another set of files and dragged it toward her. Clearing her throat, she started double checking each folder and making sure it was entered into the computer correctly.
Sesshomaru scowled at her from his desk. He waited, hoping she'd tell him the truth and heavily disappointed when he realized she had no intention of telling him.
Kagome was startled when her phone rang causing her to jump. She stared at the vibrating phone and looked at Sesshomaru.
"Aren't you going to answer?" he asked, shooting her an amused grin.
"Huh? Um...yeah." she nodded as she hesitantly picked up her phone and looked at the screen. Her muscles eased when she saw it was Koga. She answered and expelled a sigh of relief. "Hey, Koga."
Sesshomaru eased his muscles as well. He could hear Koga's voice amplify around the room.
"I guess so." Kagome said into the phone. "Alright...well what time? Ok...yeah, I'll be there.." she hung up the phone and looked at Sesshomaru. "Hey, is it alright if I leave now? We only have an hour left and I'm pretty much done with everything."
"That is fine." Sesshomaru answered. "How will you be getting home?"
"Well...I'm going to meet Koga on Broadway. It depends if he brings his car or motorcycle. If it's his motorcycle, then I'll just take the train."
"If he doesn't drive you, I'll pick you up." Sesshomaru said not meeting her gaze, still hoping she'd tell him the truth.
"It's alright. Thanks though. I'll see you later..." she stood frozen by the door. For a second, she felt like she had to kiss him goodbye and then shook her head and left.
Sesshomaru exhaled his anger and looked out of the office window. Why hadn't she mentioned Inuyasha calling earlier? Was she trying to hide it? Why would she though? He decided to let it go and work. He'd been falling off with things at work, focusing too much of his attention on Kagome lately. Let it go, he thought. You guys aren't dating and she is not obligated to tell you everything. His thoughts didn't offer him any solace. What if Inuyasha was trying to win her back? His leg started to shake under the table. No, he made it perfectly clear to her that there was nothing between them and their moment of intimacy was a mistake. But if that were so, why did the idea of her going back to him give him a crushing sensation in his chest?
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Kagome waited inside the coffee shop she once frequented often with her cinnamon dusted espresso. In the last four months, the coffee shop was under new management and had changed its niche and décor to cater to a much older crowd. What was once a teen hangout became the haven for corporate business men and women. There were a few baristas that stayed. She spotted Koga parking out front with his motorcycle, a group of schoolgirls giggling flirtatiously at him as he made his way into the coffee shop. Koga straightened his leather jacket and flashed them a flirty grin through the window as he strolled toward her booth.
"Hey, Kagome..."he greeted with his usual raspy voice.
"Koga..." Kagome smirked, looking at the schoolgirls. "They're like twelve."
"I'm just smiling." He said defensively as he took a seat across from her.
"Look at you looking like you're important with your business suit." he crossed his arms and looked around. "Damn this place has changed. It looks like Sesshomaru's type of peoples up in here."
"I just came out of work, dork." Kagome muttered as she undid the bun in her hair.
Koga squinted at her suspiciously and leaned forward into the table.
" You look different." He said, his nose twitching.
"I dyed my hair back to black..." Kagome said stupidly.
" No... that isn't it." he smiled and leaned back into his seat. "So, how are things with Sesshomaru?"
"Um...they're fine." She quickly dismissed. "So, what's so urgent, why do we need to go to Broadway?"
"Ok...here's my dilemma. Ayame wants me to meet the parents'. Now, I want to make a good impression and her parents are rich snobs."
"Your point?" Kagome cocked a brow. "Koga, you shouldn't have to change for anyone...damn…I'm hungry."
"Yeah but look at me..." he stood up and whirled around. A few girls whistled as they passed him. He ignored it and sat back down. "I mean, I have that bad boy look that they don't want their daughter dating."
"but you're not a bad boy, aren't you? No you're not." she joked in baby talk as she pinched his cheek.
" Kagome...I'm serious." Koga became agitated. "I really like this girl."
" Ok ok...I'm serious too…see?" her smile faded into a stone mellow face. "so, why am I here?"
"to help me pick something out...kind of like...something Sesshomaru would wear?"
Kagome laughed. "Oh come on! Why didn't you ask him then?"
Koga snorted. " Yeah, right...how does it look me going up to Sesshomaru, hey Sesshomaru, wanna come shopping with me and help me pick out something super fabulous!" Koga joked in a girl voice.
Kagome exploded into laughter and covered her mouth. "Point taken. So, you want to pretend to be like Sesshomaru?"
" Yeah...Sesshomaru's the perfect guy you bring home to mommy and daddy, especially to her parents so you're gonna help me or not?" Koga asked.
" Oh...alright..." Kagome sighed. She paid for her coffee and they started browsing through stores and checking out the menswear.
Hours passed and after purchasing a nice suit and tie, Kagome lectured Koga on how to be like Sesshomaru for Ayame's parents. Kagome treated him to dinner since purchasing the suit put a dent into his pocket.
" Ok...so...no belching, no howling, no flatulence. 'Ain't' is not a word."
"Kagome... come on, I'm not that bad. What's flatulence?" he harrumphed.
"Farting, Koga. Also, sit up straight and never smile...always say words like 'indeed' and 'remarkable'." she joked.
"I'm glad you're finding this amusing...if this doesn't work, I'm gonna strangle you by the neck." he popped a fry into his mouth.
" Shit...it's getting late." Kagome looked at her watch. It was nearly nine.
" What, you got a curfew or somethin'?" he teased then followed it up with a wink.
" No." she tittered. She didn't have to check in with anyone. It's not like Sesshomaru was her boyfriend that needed to know her whereabouts. Kagome checked her cellphone and cursed under her breath. "My battery is dead. You don't have a charger, do you?"
"Nope." he muttered. "Hey, so I saw the newspaper today...your boyfriend was on the page—"
"Koga, he is not my boyfriend." Kagome interrupted as she took a bite of her burger.
"and it said that he went to the Black and White event with some good looking ass chick with bluish hair as his date...and then left with another woman, her name unknown..." Koga egged on staring at Kagome with a devilish smirk. "Might that woman be you?"
"Koga, unless you want to finish your last meal for a few weeks, I suggest you quit it." Kagome shot him an evil scowl.
Koga grabbed the plate of fries between them and pulled it more toward his side. "Hehe, alright alright...why do you have to take my last meal though? You're evil..." he sighed.
Kagome forced a smile then fell into a daze as she looked down at her plate.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing…" Kagome snapped out of it.
"Yeah right, come on. You can tell me."
"Really...it's nothing." Kagome protested.
"Alright...fine…don't tell me. Oh, did I tell you I saw Sesshomaru with that chick with bluish hair coming out of some hotel before I met you at the coffee shop."
"You what?" Kagome barked, her eyes widening with rage.
"Haha, Wow, I was just kidding, but damn did you look like you were about to murder someone! Gee, I wonder why you got all worked up."
"Very funny." Kagome blushed feeling extremely embarrassed.
"So?" he persisted with an arched brow. He took a sip of his beer and started to grow impatient.
Kagome exhaled a deep breath and fixed her gaze with him. " I—I slept with Sesshomaru." she quickly looked away.
"Haha, tell me something I don't know." Koga guzzled down his beer. Luckily for him, no one would question his age and would quickly assume he was over 21, Oh and how he loved it!
"You knew that...how coul-"
"Trust me...I know." His gaze moved toward her shoulder and although he couldn't see through her shirt, he knew it was there. "So...what's the problem?"
"Well...we agreed that it was a mistake and we should go back to the way things were." Kagome said softly.
"You mean he said it was a mistake and that you guys should go back to the way things were..." Koga squinted as he chewed on his cheeseburger.
"Well...he did suggest it but I agreed to it."
"You had no choice." Koga muttered.
"What do you mean?" Kagome shot him a look of confusion.
"Well, I know you. Even if you don't agree with it, you won't tell him otherwise and just leave it as he wishes it to be. You're too nice, Kagome. You need to put your foot down and go for what you want. I guarantee that's what he needs. I highly doubt he wanted you for a one-night stand." Koga glanced at her shoulder again and chuckled. "Trust me on that."
" I... guess. Um, can we talk about something else please?" she said, no longer in the mood to eat the rest of her cheeseburger.
"Do you want that?" Koga asked with his mouth full pointing to her cheeseburger.
Kagome pushed it away. " Please..."
" Wanna go see a movie? I think I have a 20 somewhere in my pocket. I wanted to see 'Death of an Assassin'." Koga said with his mouth full of cheeseburger and fries.
Kagome grimaced at this and nodded. "I already saw that movie."
"Oh." Koga shrugged.
"It's late anyway, the last showing is at 9:30pm." Kagome muttered. "I'll get home around midnight."
"So?" Koga said.
"Alright...let's go watch it then." Kagome said. It had been a long time since she and Koga hung out. She missed him terribly and it beat going home to be around Sesshomaru and pretend she wasn't developing feelings for him. Koga really took the stress away from it all. She hardly thought about anything because he was always doing something silly to keep her mind off it. She studied Koga as he spoke and smiled at him. Although he was immature, he had grown up a lot. Although Koga was attractive, nothing would ever come of them and she would never risk losing her best friend to entertain the idea. Throughout high school he would always joke with her to leave Inuyasha for him but they were better as friends. She really hoped things worked out for him and Ayame, he deserved a good girlfriend. After they were done, they went to the theatres to watch the movie. After a couple of hours, they left and Koga was complaining about the movie. It was almost midnight.
"That movie was so boring." Koga snorted.
"You were asleep through most of it." Kagome laughed.
" Yeah...that's how boring it was." he yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Come on, I'll take you home."
"No, I'll take the train." she smiled. "I don't like motorcycles. I would actually like to get home with my head still attached to the neck."
"No, I don't feel right you going home by yourself at this time. Shit, if I had money, I'd hail and pay for a cab but that suit drained me dry."
"Koga, really...it's fine. I'm like four stops on train away from my house. It's not that far."
"You sure I can't convince you, Kag. Seriously...it's really late and I don't like your neighborhood. I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to you." he said as he mounted on his bike. "Just get on the bike."
"Koga, look I will call you once I get home and charge my phone, okay? You really have nothing to worry about?"
"Alright..."he groaned as he turned on his bike and placed his helmet on. " Thanks for the day!" he shouted.
"All day every day." she raised her fist as she turned down the block toward the train station. She cursed once she realized her train just left. After midnight, the train came every half an hour instead of every 5 minutes. She walked down the platform toward the benches when she heard footsteps behind her. She began to walk faster, clutching her purse tight. She looked behind her, there was no one. She began to pant and tried to calm down as she hurried down the platform when someone locked their arm around her neck and dragged her into a cubby hole.
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Sesshomaru paced back and forth, looking out the window and checking his cell phone intermittently. It was almost one in the morning. He wasn't worried, no. He wasn't. Why would she hang out with Koga so late? He had tried to call her but kept getting her voicemail. His teeth gritted against each other when the thought of Kagome with Inuyasha popped into his mind. He growled as he pulled out a cigarette from the pack with his mouth and covered the cigarette to light it with his $700 dollar palladium lighter made from France. He exhaled a large amount of smoke as he leered out of the window, his eyes widened. He opened the window and mounted himself onto the fire escape and took a drag as he gripped the railing with one hand. Should he call Koga? No, he wasn't going to do that.
He tapped on the railing, took another drag of his cigarette, and noticed his hand was twitching. It happened when he was enraged with anger but why was he mad? Kagome is an adult. If she was with Inuyasha, there wasn't anything he could do or say about it. This was out of his character, partaking in trivial mundane emotions such as worrying. He scoffed as he shook his head clear of thoughts. You cannot get mad at her, you are not her boyfriend.
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Kagome's face turned red as her attacker's fat arm squeezed tighter. His arm was probably bigger than her thigh. "p-l-ease." she tried to say.
The guy turned her around and slammed her against the wall. He smacked her in the face, and the two other guys beside him laughed. He pulled at her blouse and buttons popped and bounced off the floor. Clutching her shirt together, she started crying.
"Please, take my purse, I don't care!" she said and the man smacked the purse away from her hand.
"Bitch, this is a reminder that you have four days left to pay him. Or next time when we see you, all three of us are going to have ourselves a good time before we destroy that pretty face of yours." he said, plunging his hand under her skirt. She screamed and they cackled as they turned to walk away. They disappeared in the corner and Kagome leaned against the wall, shaking as she noticed they left her purse there. She coughed still feeling her throat crushed by the man's arm. The train entered the station and she whipped her head down both ends of the platform for her attackers. Quickly, she snatched her purse from the floor and got into the train, praying for the doors to close right away. She pressed her face against the window to see if they were coming back. Finally, the doors closed and she slid down into the seat. She panted as her trembling hands placed the strap of her purse over her shoulder. She grabbed her compact mirror and opened it. Her makeup was a mess. She fixed it incase Sesshomaru was still awake. She didn't need him interrogating her. Her neck and cheek were inflamed with redness. You have four days to pay up? Was this was Kohaku warned her about? Naruto's people thought she was Kikyo!
The train pulled up at her stop within ten minutes and she got out, constantly looking over her shoulder as she made her way down her block to her building. The night was very quiet as she walked to her apartment building. She wanted to cry so badly but she couldn't. Then Sesshomaru would know something is wrong. Once she got upstairs, she was very quiet. A sob tore at her throat and she tried to silence it but she just couldn't. She could have been killed over this. The lights in the living room was on and so was the TV. She saw Sesshomaru sitting on the fire escape. He looked back at her; his face tightened.
"Hey," she avoided his face as she went to the bathroom. "Sorry I'm late...train took forever." she said in a fake nonchalant tone as she closed the door and leaned against it. She cried into her hands and sniffed as she went toward the tub and turned the shower on. She undressed and went in.
Sesshomaru flicked the cigarette off and went inside. He struggled not to storm through the bathroom door demanding to know where she was and who she was with. Instead, he just stared austerely waiting for the anger to diffuse. As he closed the window, his cellphone rang. Who was calling him at 1am? He walked over to the coffee table and picked it up.
" Yes..." he said in a whisper.
"Hey, Sesshomaru. I got your number from Inuyasha. My bad on calling so late but Kagome said she'd call me when she got home and never did. She said it was only four stops on the train."
"Yes." He said, relieved that she was with Koga and not Inuyasha. "She got home just now."
"Just now? I left her at 11:30 on Broadway. I would have taken her home but she didn't want to get on my bike."
It shouldn't take two hours to almost get home from Broadway, he thought. "Hmph."
"Anyway, I guess tell her I called. Later."
Sesshomaru flung his cellphone onto the couch and walked toward the kitchen. He rested his hands on the counter and frowned.
What took her so long to get home? When she came home, something didn't feel right coming from her. He cursed to himself as he made his way to his room. He passed the bathroom and heard a whimper. It was faint but he was sure he heard it. He pressed his ear against the bathroom door and could hear suppressed sobs. He was about to walk off but growled lowly to himself as he opened the door to the bathroom and opened the shower curtain only to see Kagome sitting down, letting the shower hit her face, shaking uncontrollably. She looked up at him, not caring, just crying. She bowed her head on her knees and covered the side of her face with her arms.
Sesshomaru felt like he stopped breathing. Her cheek was swollen and red and there was a reddening bruise across her neck like someone put their hands on her. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the shelf. He wrapped it around her and placed his hands underneath her as he carried her out of the bathroom room to her room. He set her on her bed gently and kneeled beside her.
Kagome was so embarrassed, she turned around not wanting to look him in the eye.
"What happened?" Sesshomaru said, trying to remain calm but he wanted to kill whoever put their hands on her.
"I—I don't know...I...they thought I was her." she choked on a sob. " I don't look like her! I don't.." she whimpered.
"Kagome turn around." he said as he lifted her stomach and faced her toward him. "Look at me." he said as he observed her. He noticed the bruises on her neck and his eyes widened with anger. "Who did this?"
"I don't know who they are. They thought I was Kikyo...they work for Naruto, I think that's his name." she cried. "Kohaku warned me...and I was so stupid to have not listen. They could have killed me just because they thought I was her. I'm tired of her ruining my life!"
Sesshomaru stroked her hair and stood up. He didn't know what to do, his whole body boiled with rage. He had wanted to hurt someone. It ached him to see her like that. He turned to leave and find this person when she gripped his arm.
"Wait—please, don't leave me." she tightened her grasp on his arm. "Can…you stay here, please?" She looked at him, red puffy eyes waiting for him to answer.
Sesshomaru swallowed hard, nodded then got into bed with her. He laid beside her and she nestled into him. He placed his arm over hers and pulled her closer. He could hear her tears dropping onto the bed and he steadied his breathing as he caressed the back of her head. It pained him to feel her body shaking with fear. He wanted to kiss her so badly. Within minutes, Kagome fell asleep and he debated whether to leave but he didn't want her to wake up and not find him beside her. He needed to settle this soon because he wasn't sure what he was capable of if something happened to her.
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The next morning, Sesshomaru woke up with Kagome in his arms. His face buried into her hair getting a strong scent of her shampoo. His hands made its way around her body as he breathed heavily. He immediately opened his eyes realizing what he was doing. He felt a strong arousal take over him and he pulled away from her. He quietly left her bedroom, showered, changed into a pair of jeans and white crewneck sweater and left the house. He dialed the mansion's number as he got into his car.
"Hello?" said one of the staff members.
"Rin, please." he said as he turned the corner down the highway
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Sesshomaru waited in his car as he carefully inspected the streets with precision. Rin had informed him of Kohaku's usual hangout spots. After she told him of certain places, he didn't like the idea of her hanging out with him. He saw Kohaku walk out of a pizza place with a group of his friends. Kohaku pulled out a cigarette and waited outside patiently as two other kids joined him out front. A pale girl with white hair that was covered by a black hoody and a boy with orange hair in a ponytail, both demons. Sesshomaru frowned as he saw them walk down an alley and got out of the car to follow them.
"So, what now?" Shippo sighed. "I'm bored...let's go rob someone."
"No..." Kohaku muttered as he took a drag off of his cigarette. He couldn't get his mind off of Rin. He had almost asked her out but froze in the moment.
"Hey, I robbed this guy last night and he chased me down the back alley off St. Marks, he caught me and I spat in his face and told him he was dead on his money."
"Yeah right…" Kohaku rolled his eyes.
Kanna walked silently next to them.
"Dude...I fuckin' promise you." Shippo cackled.
"Dude, I've seen you wig out in the simplest situations. You were probably crying beggin' for your life" Kohaku took another drag of his cigarette.
Kanna stopped in her tracks. "Someone is following us."
"Hm?" Kohaku said as he exhaled the smoke and looked around only to see Sesshomaru push him against the wall.
Shippo scream. "Aghh, please don't hurt us."
Kohaku growled and frowned. " Shippo, relax man." he grunted as he tried to pull himself out of Sesshomaru's grasp.
"What the hell, man?"
"Who's after Kagome?" Sesshomaru went straight to the point holding him against the wall.
Kanna and Shippo darted eyes slowly between Kohaku and Sesshomaru.
"What?" Kohaku opened his eyes. "Why, what happened to Kagome?"
Sesshomaru said nothing and just glared at him for answers.
"No one is after her. They are after Kikyo. Kikyo owes money to Naruto. I told Kagome to watch her back since they look alike!" Kohaku coughed. "Let me go!" he pulled at his collar and Sesshomaru let him go. He came closer to Kohaku's face and observed him up and down. He looked at the cigarette in his hand and grabbed it away, tearing it apart while it was lit. "If you are to hang with Rin, I suggest you do not do this and hang around filthy places like this."
Kohaku avoided Kanna and Shippo and bowed his head embarrassedly. They didn't know he liked Rin.
"The prep girl?" Shippo cocked his brow. " You like the prep girl, Kohaku?" Shippo laughed.
"Shut up." Kohaku spat and looked at Sesshomaru. He lowered his head and began to walk off. He stopped and looked back at Sesshomaru. " Naruto is not a man to mess with, he owns everyone...even the cops."
Sesshomaru walked away toward his car leaving them to stare.
"Who was that guy?" Shippo said with glistening eyes. "He's so cool!"
"That's Inuyasha's brother..." Kohaku shook his head as he looked at his pack of cigarettes.
"From City Slackers? No way! You know him?" Shippo squeaked.
"You can say that..." Kohaku sighed as he threw away the pack of cigarettes.
Silence filled the alley as they stared off awkwardly.
"So..." Shippo broke the silence. " Rin, huh?" he teased again.
Kohaku growled and punched him on the shoulder.