Sesshomaru waited patiently in his car as he looked at the bar called Naruto's. The name kept plaguing his mind, why did it seem familiar? He took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke out of his car window as he scouted the area nonchalantly. A few thugs stared back at him wondering if he was a cop. He scowled at them but they continued to stare in a testing manner. Sesshomaru flicked his cigarette and got out of his car. He pressed away a wrinkle on his jeans and walked toward the red brick building. There were a cluster of people outside the bar, a mixture of customers, staff members and curious onlookers all staring at him as he went on inside.
A curvaceous woman in a short red dress with a pound of makeup on her face strutted her way toward him, flashing a flirty grin as she undressed him with her eyes.
"Hey there, sexy, for $75 a pop, I'll have you on your knees begging for more." She giggled, brushing her hand over her breast.
"I wish to speak to Naruto." Sesshomaru didn't bother looking at her, his gaze scanned the entrance of the building. When she didn't answer, he looked to see everyone was staring at him. A large man stepped beside her, nodding his head at a group of equally broad men, with black suits standing to the side of him smoking.
"Who wants to know?" said the man beside the streetwalker.
"Are you Naruto?" Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at him.
The thug scoffed and cackled to the rest of his friends. "No..."
"Then it is none of your concern." Sesshomaru darted his eyes back to the entrance and took a step forward. The group of men all reached into their blazers, tightened grips over their guns as they fixed a hard stare at him. Not flinching at the sight of their weaponry, he continued to walk when one man scoffed and grabbed Sesshomaru's shoulder.
"Whoa whoa...pretty boy, where do you think you're goin'?"
Sesshomaru's gaze slowly fell to his hand then bounced back to meet his gaze with fury. Noticing a camera above the entrance door, he glowered at it, as his hand whipped toward the thug's neck, like a cobra attacking its pray, and crushed the man's larynx with his thumb. He pressed down harder, his gaze never leaving the camera as the man coughed and choked on his own saliva. The other men drew out their guns sending everyone around them to run off and hide behind cars and light poles.
"Let him go, or I'll scatta ya brains 'cross the wall!" yelled another thug.
Sesshomaru did not comply. He continued to stare at the camera with a stern and impervious glare.
One thug, pressed his earpiece against his ear, nodded and ordered a guy to open the door.
"Let him in."
Sesshomaru released the thug's throat and he struggled to breathe. Sesshomaru gracefully walked past the group of men and went inside.
"Who the fuck does he think he is! Why didn't you blow his brains?" the thug exclaimed as he coughed.
"Boss said to let him in, don't get mad at us." said the other man as he put his gun back into his jacket pocket. The others did the same.
Sesshomaru ambled in, scanning the entire bar in one shot. Corrupted cops sat at the bar as they watched the strippers dance around the poles, thugs played poker while the prostitutes were performing oral sex from underneath the tables. A tall wide-framed guy with blonde spiked hair nodded towards Sesshomaru and lead him down a dark hallway that lead to an elevator. As they reached the elevator doors, it opened. The wide-framed guy pressed the 2nd floor button and allowed Sesshomaru to go the rest of the way alone. Once he reached the second floor, he was greeted by two men that stood sentry at each side.
"Lord Sesshomaru." He heard across the room. He followed the voice to an old man sitting at a desk smoking a cigar. "What an honor."
"Naruto, is it?" Sesshomaru fearlessly walked over to him. No one was allowed more than three feet away from the desk and Sesshomaru crossed the line without regard. Naruto's henchmen drew their guns at him but Naruto raised his hand for them to stand at ease.
"Please, sit. I have heard much about you."
"I came merely to tell you to stay away from Kikyo Higurashi." Sesshomaru demanded as he sat down. He knew they didn't know Kagome so it was pointless to mention her.
"Ah, your temerity amazes me, oh, how I do admire it, Lord Sesshomaru...but you are out of line. You have no power here."
"Do not waste my time with your farcical threats, Mr. Naruto. I do not repeat myself. Your men made the mistake of attacking someone who was not their target."
"Mistakes happen..." Naruto frowned then dismissed it with a shrug.
"Not to me. " Sesshomaru said firmly.
"Hmm..." Naruto chuckled. "Your arrogance lives up to its reputation, I see. Kikyo Higurashi should not be any of your concern. That deceitful conniver owes me dearly and has cost me a lot of money."
"and how much is this supposed amount?" Sesshomaru eyed a guard that annoyingly hovered over him.
"No, no...my lord, I do not want your money. I'm afraid Kikyo's life is more valuable than any amount you and your fortunate family can give. I have no quarrels with you, please do not give me any reason. You are one of the few I respect."
"Spare me. I find my request to be quite pellucid." Sesshomaru stood up from the chair and turned toward the elevator.
"Is that any way to treat a client, my lord?" Naruto let out an exasperated sigh.
Sesshomaru stopped and frowned. Client? He thought. Of course, now he remembered why the name had sounded familiar. Naruto was one of his largest accounts. No matter, business or not, he wouldn't be threatened.
"I hope we do not meet again, Mr. Naruto. For your sake." And with that, he left.
One of the guards stormed toward Naruto and gruffed. "Boss, how you gonna let him talk you like that! I could've tooken pretty boy out with one feed!" he cocked his gun back and looked at the elevator door.
"Don't be foolish, Jinengi. Do you have any idea who he is?" Naruto put his cigar out on the ashtray and stood up. "No, you will be careful. Keep an eye on him, find out what's his relationship with Kikyo."
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Kagome sighed while she watched Kirara chew the aglets of her shoelaces. She tapped Kirara on the head and looked around the room. She shouldn't be scared to go out. So they made a mistake and thought she was Kikyo. She decided to go out and take her chances. She wasn't going to be afraid for the rest of her life. Looking at the top of her dresser, she frowned at the disposable camera sitting there. Since she had time, she should develop it and while she was out, probably go find her stupid sister and talk to her. Her heart began to hammer at the thought of speaking to Kikyo again. It's been months since she had even seen her. What was she to say, Hey! How's it going, Sis. Last time I saw you, you were lying down on the bed getting fucked by my boyfriend. She grimaced at the thought, walked towards her dresser, and picked up the camera. She threw herself on the bed trying to debate whether she should go or not. No, she told herself, there should be no debate. Kirara, climbed the blanket that hung off the bed and walked towards Kagome, sniffing her ear.
"Kirara..." Kagome giggled. "Stop that." she rubbed her head and looked at the camera. Kirara began to sniff the camera too, rubbing her nose against the edges. "You are so nosy..." Kagome chuckled and began to wipe the camera. It remained in her purse for a few days and was stained by her makeup that let loose in her bag. As she continued to wipe, Kirara kept trying to sniff the camera.
"Kirara!" Kagome sighed at the relentlessly curious kitten. At that same time, Kagome ran her finger over the flash button and the camera went off, blinding both Kagome and the kitten.
Kagome blinked a few times to try to rid the flash blots in her eyes and looked at the kitten who seemed to be doing the same. "You see, " Kagome laughed. "Curiosity killed the cat. " she shook her head. " I thought I finished the last picture..." she questioned with a frown as she looked at the camera and pressed the button again. This time, it didn't click.
"I guess that was the real last picture." Kagome said to Kirara.
She sighed as she went to her closet and changed into a pair of ripped up denims and a black knitted sweater. A stray thought wondering where Sesshomaru was but she dismissed it. Her cellphone blared from the dresser, startling her as she cut across the room to answer it.
"Yeah?" Kagome answered.
"Hey, I'm close to your house...let's get something to eat..." greeted Sango.
"Cool, I was just about to go out, I'll meet you downstairs." Kagome hung up and tossed the disposable camera into her handbag. Kirara spat a little meow and Kagome looked back. "Sorry, baby...Mama has to go out. Daddy will be back soon." Kagome paused. Did she refer to Sesshomaru as daddy? Shaking her head, she carried the kitten back to the living room and put cartoons on for her before leaving the apartment.
When Kagome got downstairs, Sango was double parked beside her car.
"Let's take my car please." She said.
"Good idea," Kagome said as she got in. Sango examined her car remorsefully. The thing was just begging for it to become scrap metal.
"What were you going to do today?"
Kagome placed her seatbelt on and tousled her hair around. "Um...I wanted to develop these pictures and I need to stop at Kikyo's job to talk to her about something."
"Whoa. You're going to talk to the bitch?" Sango looked at her with eyes wide.
"There are some things we need to talk about. It's pretty important."
"You sure it's a good idea?" Sango started the car and began to drive off.
"I don't know if it's a good idea but it needs to be done."
Moments later, they arrived at the photo department of some pharmacy off the highway.
"Why did we come here, Kagome? There is one by your house." Sango scoffed as she looked around.
"No…I didn't want to go to that one." Kagome smiled at the girl behind the counter as she handed her the camera.
"Ok, it will be ready in an hour, Miss. Would you like double prints?" the girl asked in a honey tone.
"Um..." Kagome thought for a moment. Would she need double prints? Perhaps Sesshomaru would want copies? They already decided that they wouldn't give it to the paparazzi. She opened her mouth to say no but the girl reached to the side and dangled something shiny.
"We have a special today." She insisted. "Get double prints and you get this free key chain" the girl dangled the chain in front of her. It was a simple key chain with the store logo on it. Very cheesy and plain.
That was it. She had to get it now. Come on, how can you turn down free things? Kagome couldn't understand how some people were able to. "Yeah, ok!" Kagome said excitedly as she signed the envelope the film went into and gave the girl back her pen.
"Ok, let's go now." Kagome said as she turned around.
"You do know you just got ripped off, right? I mean, did you look at it? That thing should be free." Sango shook her head.
Kagome smiled and felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. She tugged on her collar to look at the mark where Sesshomaru had bit her. It had turned to a lighter shade as it healed but it occasionally stung.
"What's the matter?" Sango peered at her to the side with concern.
"Nothing…" Kagome continued to rub her shoulder in deep thought. She remembered Inuyasha telling her a while back that demons marked their mates. It made her wonder why he never did and then she remembered why. He cheated on her because he was never in love with her. But now she wondered if this mark that Sesshomaru left her was anything like that. She inwardly laughed. Sesshomaru wouldn't mark her.
"Hey, is there a bookstore or library around here?" Kagome said as they walked back to Sango's car.
Sango nodded. "There is a Barnes and Nobles a few blocks down."
"Let's go there."
"What the fuck I look like, your chauffer?" Sango scoffed then chuckled. "Yes, madam, right away madam."
"Shut up and drive!" Kagome teased. "Now!"
"Bitch..." Sango chuckled lowly.
Within two minutes, Kagome was inside the bookstore. Sango waited outside in the car saying she was allergic. Something about it reminding her of school and tragic moments. It was better for Kagome though, because the book she was looking for, she didn't want Sango knowing why her sudden interest in it. She followed the directions the information clerk gave her to the section she needed to find her book in. She looked for the book and was relieved it didn't take long to find. Mating Rituals for Demons. She opened the book and began to skim through the pages. The book was the size of an encyclopedia. She reviewed the contents page before she found the page she was looking for.
'Demons are similar to the animal kingdom when mating. They do not take the partner lightly and look for key qualities before marking them. Typically, a male will mark its female when most of his key qualities have been checked off. Marking will happen during the sexual encounter when the male fully develops a connection. He will seal the bond through impalement of his fangs, location will normally be the shoulder or back of neck so that other demons may be aware his partner is not available. Demons will only mark one mate throughout his lifetime. Once marked, the markee will probably feel a bit weak and may lose appetite. The mark will burn at first then sting or itch once it is healing. It is not unusual for a demon to refresh the mark during bedplay, as a reminder to other male demons to stay clear. Marking, doesn't necessarily mean you belong to them. Come on, this is the 21st century BUT, It might be hard for you to commence a relationship with a new demon mate, they strictly respect the ritual and believe once marked, that person is your soulmate.'
Kagome gasped and looked up from the book. Soulmate? She didn't want to hear more and placed it back on the shelf. No, this was not that kind of mark, it couldn't be. Sesshomaru wouldn't mark her then tell her what they did was a mistake. She exited the bookstore in a daze and walked back to the car. She got in and began to bite her lip in thought.
"Did you buy anything?" Sango looked at her. "You took a while, what were you looking for?"
"Um...this book on arts and craft. I was...thinking of...making a scrapbook." Kagome lied. "Let's get going, it's almost 4, which means Kikyo should be bartending right about now."
"What about the pictures?" Sango reminded her.
"They said it would be an hour but every time I go, I end up waiting longer. We can come back after I finish speaking with Kikyo."
"Ok..." Sango said in an unsure tone.
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Sesshomaru got out of his car as he parked in front of his apartment and looked over to see Kagome's car. Relieved that she was still home, he sauntered down the path toward the entrance. An old lady smirked at him from the first-floor window, rollers in her hair, eye lids shimmered with blue eyeshadow and cherry red lipstick smeared across her cheek. Mascara leaked underneath her eyes as she hacked a cough and greeted hello in a voice deeper than his. He ignored her and walked into the building.
A black car passed the building and slowed down at the entrance.
"Yeah, boss," said one of Naruto's goons into his cellphone. "We followed him to some apartment building. Don't know what a person like him is doin' here, should I go inside?"
"No, you will not." Naruto answered on the other line. "Write down the address and come back, Monten. I need for you and Jinenji to run an errand at the pier."
"Sure thing, Boss." Monten nodded.
Sesshomaru stopped at the door and turned the knob, a habit he picked up to reprimand Kagome for not locking the door and of course, it was not locked. He pushed the door open and walked in without faltering as he made his way toward her room to lecture her but she wasn't there. No sign of forced entry or furniture being disturb. Aside from her messiness, everything seemed fine. Where was she? From the way she was last night, it didn't seem like she'd ever go out. He was confused by the feeling of concern rising in his chest. He huffed as he took out his cellphone and called her.
After a few rings, she answered.
"Hey..." she said cheerfully as if nothing bad ever happened to her.
"Where are you?" Sesshomaru went to the point. "Is everything all right?"
"I'm with Sango, Everything's fine, why?" Kagome asked. He could hear the confusion in her tone, and it angered him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"You left the door open, again! That is a careless habit of yours!" his voice went higher. There was a pause on the other line.
"I'm sorry…"she stammered. "Sango came by to pick me up, I had errands to do, I didn't want to stay home by myself and why am I explaining myself to you, since when did you become my keeper?"
Sesshomaru stood quiet on the phone and tightened his jaw. His chest deflated and inflated with each hard breath he took. How he wanted to just shake her for being so careless. After another drawn out silence, she gasped.
"Oh my god...were you worried about me?" she asked and he hung up the phone.
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"What was that about?" Sango said as she searched for parking.
"I forgot to lock the door." Kagome said, shooting her friend an 'oops' face.
"Kagome, you can't keep doing that, you don't live in the best neighborhood, you know?"
"I know, I know. I just keep forgetting. When I lived back at home, my mother always locked the door behind me and I just got so used to it." Kagome rolled her eyes not wanting to hear it.
"Well, why was he asking who you were with? You guys sound like you go out." Sango frowned.
Kagome ignored her as she stared out the window smiling. He was worried about her. A wave of heat crossed her face as she thought about the night before and morning when they had sex. How could he say something like that was a mistake when it felt so damn good? The sex they had was unlike any she ever experienced. It was so passionate. An ache throbbed between her legs. She wanted him again but he made it clear that they shouldn't. She sighed and tried to shrug it off when Sango parked the car.
"You want me to come with you?" Sango asked.
"No, you should stay." Kagome said.
"Alright..." Sango sighed. "Yeah, I may accidently have a spasm and punch the bitch in the eye."
Kagome giggled as she closed the car door behind her and rushed into the bar.
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Kikyo bowed her head as she wiped the rim of a wine glass with a dry towel. The past few weeks have been hectic. She'd been doing doubles left and right trying to come up with enough money to leave town. As horrible as it sounded, Inuyasha was her way out before he went in debt. Ever since the scandal, he hadn't been making the money he used to, and he was too proud to ask his father for any money. She couldn't turn on the television without hearing about the scandal on Broadway and the debate on Inuyasha's sexual lifestyle. Fans were returning his cd's and would bash his name around. He barely went out without his bodyguards anymore due to upset and hostile fans. It put a damper on their relationship. She also couldn't help feel he still had feelings for Kagome. Damn it, why did her sister have to ruin everything.
She didn't believe in Karma but if it did exist, it was taking its toll. She wondered if she truly made a mistake with Sesshomaru thinking she was probably better off with him. He was more stable, serious and independent. Why did she mess that up? Right, because Sesshomaru never paid any mind to her. He could never get it up in bed and satisfy her which led her to cheat on him. It was his fault really. She would have thought he was gay if it weren't for the way he looked at…
Her breath got caught in her throat when she saw her sister come in through the door. For a brief moment, she almost wanted to pull her into a hug, beg for forgiveness but anger took over right away.
"What are you doing here?" Kikyo snapped.
"We need to talk! What the hell is going on with you and this person called 'Naruto'." Kagome went straight to the point as she sat on the bar stool and ignored the nasty perverted looks from the men around the bar.
"None of your business. " Kikyo turned around and Kagome reached over the bar and grabbed her arm.
"It is my business. Someone attacked me last night thinking I was you!" Kagome's voice wavered as she pulled her sweater down to reveal the bruises on her neck.
For a moment, Kikyo had a look of concern and shook her head. She got herself into a big mess. She closed her eyes and gestured for Kagome to follow her toward the end of the bar. They escaped through the back door that led into an alleyway. Kikyo pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"Kikyo, I don't have all day..." Kagome leaned on the wall of the doorframe.
"Naruto is an underground launderer. He leads the Yakuza downtown and occasionally does weapons trade and drug shipments." Kikyo started, her eyes filling with tears.
"Yeah, so...what does that have to do with you?"
"I got caught up working for him. The girls working for him said they'd make 10k a week."
Kagome's eyes opened wider as she stared at her sister in disbelief. Kikyo was always money hungry. It was never enough for her but to get into drug trade, what was she thinking? Kikyo took Kagome's silence as a sign to continue.
"A few months ago, right before school finished, he had me do a drop off by the pier, 70 kilos of pure uncut Cocaine, all I had to do was drop it off and get the money, but the fucking bastard and his thugs jumped me for the merchandise and split. Anyway, I begged Naruto to give me a chance to pay him back, so he gave me two months to come up with 250 grand. I actually owed a lot more, but he said to pay him 100 grand and...perform services for...f-free.." Kikyo choked trying to hold back her tears, purposely avoiding her gaze.
Kagome glared at her trying to hold in her anger. How could she be so stupid? No, she was not going to feel sorry for her.
"as for the money?" Kagome asked, her jaw tightening.
"I kept trying to save but it was so hard. I couldn't afford anything else. I lost the apartment."
"That's why you live with Inuyasha..." Kagome muttered.
"How do you know that?" Kikyo whispered, her face almost looking embarrassed.
Kagome gasped forgetting that no one other than the people at the office knew she and Sesshomaru lived together and that he was the one to tell her about Kikyo living with Inuyasha.
"Um...word gets around, continue."
"Well, I also had to sell my car just to get at least near a quarter of a million and lets not forget you stole from me, so it made it a lot harder!" Kikyo took another pull.
"Stole from you?" Kagome cocked a brow in disbelief. "You borrowed from me, that was my savings when I moved out. Ugh, I can't believe you're twisting this around, it's so typical of you. Always blaming people for your problems and actions! You know, I always knew you were shady and always stealing your friend's boyfriends, but I thought for some reason, you wouldn't do that to me! How could you go and ruin my life, Kikyo, why? What did I do to you!" Kagome cried.
"What did you do to me?" Kikyo repeated in the same disbelieving tone. "Oh, right, because you are miss perfect Kagome, always getting good grades and miss responsibility. All innocent and fragile." Kikyo mocked. " Always getting the attention from everyone. I could never have anyone or anything without you taking it away from me!"
"What? Who did I take away from you? Huh? Tell me! Did you forget you took Inuyasha?"
"Kikyo!" yelled a guy wearing a dirty black apron. "You got a crowd by the bar that needs some service!"
"I'm coming!" Kikyo shouted and looked back at Kagome. " Don't come back here. I don't want to see you."
Kagome walked into the bar and down a hall toward the front entrance. " Count on it! The feeling's mutual!" and with that, she stormed out of the bar.
Sango looked up at her fuming friend as she got into the car and refrained from making any comment.
"So..." Sango said.
" Let's go get the pictures." Kagome growled.
"Right..." Sango nodded and raised her brows as she put the gear in drive and drove off.
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A girl in her teens yawned as she stared at the machine printing pictures. Her job was so boring, she thought. Another girl was leaning against the counter holding a mirror and applying lipstick.
"Hey, Tika, do you think the rumors are true, that Inuyasha is gay?" said the girl sitting down as she stared at the printer.
"Who knows, Kani, it seems these days, all the cute ones are gay." Tika shrugged.
"The news said that he wasn't the one that caused the fire on Broadway or that he went into that gay bar." whispered Kani.
"Kani, get it right. It was a drag club, not gay bar." corrected Tika as she rolled her eyes.
"Same thing, isn't it?" Kani muttered naively.
"No, dummy. Being a drag doesn't necessarily mean you're gay, it just means you like to dress in woman's clothing." Tika scoffed.
"Man, this job is so boring! Nothing ever happens. It seems all people take pictures of these days are of their cat's birthdays and kid's communions. If I had money, I'd so bail!" Kani sighed and slouched.
"Me too..." Tika agreed. " We need to find a way to make some money or something so I can move out of my parent's house!"
"Aw shoot!" Kani shot up and cursed under her breath.
"What?" Tika looked back from her compact mirror at her friend.
"This girl's pictures, they're messed up, they are all coming out black!" Kani cursed as she hit the machine.
"Wait, " Tika said as she squinted to get a better look. The printer stopped and she pulled out the pictures that kept coming out. "no, look, see, some are coming out, where are the negatives?" she turned back to look for them.
"Here..." Kani pulled them out of the printer and they both held it up to the light to see it. "Shit, the film must have been corroded to begin with. Only three came out of twenty-four. That girl is going to be pissed." Kani began to look through the pictures. One picture was half of a girl's face and what looked to be a kitten. The other was of a girl and a really hot guy and the last was of a guy with a hat with drag queens dancing around him.
"Those are some ugly chicks." Tika laughed. "But that guy is super-hot!" she bit her lip.
"Tika..." Kani said slowly and looked up. " Why does this look familiar?" she held up the picture with the girls dancing around the guy.
Tika opened her eyes and snatched the pictures. " Hmm, those girls are actually guys...wait, Oh my god, Kani!"
"Uh huh!" Kani jumped and squealed.
"You know what this means? Oh my god! This is our way out of our parent's home. Quick, that girl should be back, make a copy of this picture." Tika handed her the picture of Sesshomaru and the drag queens. "The other ones don't matter. I'm going to make a call." she said as she pulled out her cellphone and dialed information. "Yes, the daily news please."
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Kagome looked at the pictures and groaned as she flipped through them.
"We're like super sorry, Miss…but the camera you used was probably faulty, they probably kept it in a high temperature room." said the girl.
Sango patted Kagome on the back as she looked at the pictures. Her mouth dropped when she saw one of Kagome and Sesshomaru.
"We will give you a full refund bee tee dubs".
"Gee, thanks..." Kagome sighed. "This sucks...oh well, I guess these three aren't bad."
"When did you get a cat?" Sango frowned as she grabbed the pictures from Kagome's hand.
" Oh...a couple of days ago. Her name is Kirara. Shit, today is not my day, man!" Kagome spat as they walked out of the store.
"What's this about?" Sango asked as she held up the picture of her and Sesshomaru.
"Oh, we were trying to finish the film. " Kagome answered her, ignoring the look of suspicion Sango was shooting at her. "It's getting late, I have to get home."
"Let's pick up some food first, I'm hungry again." Sango rubbed her stomach.
"Damn..." Kagome smirked and shook her head. " You've been eating a lot; I'm surprised you aren't fat."
"Shut your face."
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Sesshomaru looked at the clock and stared back at the television. It was nearly 8pm. What was taking her so long to get home. As on cue, the door opened and Kagome walked in.
"Hey!" she said as she closed the door and locked it. Now she remembers. She sprinted towards the couch and sat next to Sesshomaru. "Where'd you go today?" she asked as she removed her jacket.
" I... had some things to take care of." he cleared his throat as he scooted away from her. Kagome noticed it and a saddened expression took over her face. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and scooted further away.
"Well, I developed the pictures but only three came out. I got doubles in case you wanted one."
Sesshomaru stared at the television without acknowledging her.
"I also talked to Kikyo today." Kagome gave him a sideways glance.
He shot his gaze at her with a look of concern. "and?"
Kagome tried to gulp down the jealousy she felt when she got his attention with Kikyo's name.
"She told me the whole thing with Naruto. It's pretty big. She owes him a quarter of a million dollars."
"Is that so?" Sesshomaru said, looking back at the television with annoyance.
"Yeah..." Kagome said. Seeing that he didn't bother making any conversation, she went to her room to change. She left the pictures on the couch beside him.
He briefly looked over at the pictures and then back at the television. He looked back at the pictures and scoffed as he grabbed them and began to look through. He cocked a brow at the picture of Kirara and Kagome and frowned when he saw the picture of him with his head down while the men in drag danced around him, the next picture was of him and Kagome. His face went soft but tightened as he looked up and saw Kagome staring at him. He cleared his throat and set the pictures back down. Kagome stared at him with a teasing smirk.
"You're so funny, you know that?" she went to sit by him.
"How so?" his face remained stern.
"because you are so full of it." Kagome sighed. "You like to act like you don't care...but you do."
"I haven't the slightest what you're on about." Sesshomaru scowled as he changed the channel.
"Uh huh..." she sucked her teeth. "It's like how..."she paused. "you call me and wonder where I am because you were worried, right? and how you showed no interest in the pictures but when no one is looking, you are filled with curiosity and just have to see them."
Sesshomaru shrugged. "You have me all figured out."
Kagome frowned. She was growing tired of his 'I'm too cool to care' act. She wondered what it would take for him to lose this façade. Was it a façade or was she romanticizing him because she was feeling a certain way toward him?
"So, be honest, were you worried?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, you didn't lock the door, we have valuable things here that could have been stolen."
"Is that what you were worried about?" Kagome dropped her mouth disbelievingly at him.
Sesshomaru smirked slightly. " Of course, what other means should I be worried about?" he glanced at the fuming girl. Kagome scoffed as she moved forward to get up but he softly grabbed her wrist. She turned to face him and he snuck a glance at her lips before looking away.
"You were attacked last night, how do you expect me to be when I come home and your car is downstairs and the door is left open?"
Kagome looked at him surprisingly not expecting him to say that. She bowed her head and blushed as she let her hair fall to her face. His thumb rubbed across her palm and her heart raced inside her chest. He noticed it and removed his hand back to his side.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." she looked up at him somberly. There were so many questions she had wanted to ask him but she didn't see him answering her. The whole question about the mark was burning a hole through her mind. She decided to leave it alone for now, she would ask him later. It was difficult to sit beside him trying to pretend she didn't want him to rip her clothes off and have his way with her. She would take her mind off of it and work on her scrapbook.
"I'll be in my room." she told him.
"Alright..." he said in a low tone as he watched her enter her room and frowned. He could tell she wanted to ask him something. He ignored it and went into his room to workout. Eventually, he knew, they had to speak about what was going on between them. Although they said they would forget about it, he knew that there still was no closure in the matter and a very small part of him, wanted to keep it that way. The bigger part, however, wanted her naked in his bed.