A/N: For the 'Triple' theme on Dokuga's LJ comm - 400 words, no more no less.

Originally posted on July 26, 2010.

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Bout

Sesshoumaru paid for the drinks and sat down at the corner table Kagome had already claimed. "This will keep you awake all night," he warned, sliding the triple espresso shot latte towards her.

"That's the point," Kagome replied, accepting the warm cup with a smile. "I can never sleep after watching the fights. With some caffeine, I can get some work done though."

"What is your job?"

She studied him for a moment. "I work with computers. Nothing interesting, but it pays the bills," she said and leaned towards him. "Enough to cover my gambling debts, if that's what you're wondering."

Sesshoumaru drew himself up straight. "That was not my question."

Kagome smiled again and rolled her cup between her hands. "Well, you don't seem like the sort of guy that asks girls out very often. Especially not when you don't know them very well. Not for just talking, anyway." Her eyes glittered with amusement. "You probably don't have to ask at all."

The compulsion to tell the truth to this woman was almost overwhelming, and he decided not to fight it entirely. Besides, she would be more likely to finance his return to the professional fighting world if he were honest. Or at least vague. "Things change," he murmured.

"Your bank statement has, I'm sure," she said. "Which would only be a problem if you looked like Donald Trump. Since you don't, I'm assuming you want something else. What is it?"

His carefully planned speech crumbled in an instant. He felt like she knew what he was about to say, and she would deny him. "I only wanted coffee," he said, "with someone who doesn't believe I'm a murderer."

Her expression softened. "My father died from an aneurysm," she said suddenly. "Too much long-term head trauma. It happened years after he had stopped boxing. Maybe you're lucky that you were forced out. Maybe you should stop altogether."

"What else could I do?" he asked.

"Anything. That's the point," Kagome replied. "The past shouldn't dictate your life."

"I'll think about it," he lied.

She gave him another look that would make a lesser man believe that she could read minds, but it passed in an instant. Soon, she was babbling about the fights, her life, her job and everything else.

This might take some time, he decided as he settled in to listen to her. He was oddly comfortable with the idea.

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