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A month has passed by and Kikyo performed well beyond his expectations. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that she read his mind. He hardly ever had to ask her to do something, she always had what he needed before he knew he needed it, never asked stupid questions, was always punctual and always had his coffee at 5 PM. Despite all her exceptional qualities, it never changed how he acted towards her. He always came off rude and arrogant. She didn't talk or say much to him, and he started to wonder if it was because of how he reacted to her.

Kikyo walked into his office placing a few forms on the desk, "I have some PTO requests here for you that need to be approved or denied by the end of the day. I made sure they were all filled out properly and wrote down more additional details about questions you might have."

Sesshomaru had his elbows on his desk with his hands interlocked resting in front of his face. He was studying her while she had been talking. Today she decided to loosely tie her hair back with a white ribbon. She wore a sleeveless cotton pink blouse, black slacks, and flats. No make-up anywhere on her face. Although her blouse was slightly loose, her slacks were well fitted and he couldn't help but take in the curves of her body. Luckily, he had heard enough of what she said to know what she was talking about.

"I just had my meeting with the accounting department this morning, it seems they were auditing the beginning of the year and a lot of the billing didn't add up. They gave me a list of the cases I must go through and verify with myself and the attorney attached to them. I know I haven't needed you to stay past 5 PM since you've been here, but tonight expect to stay a few hours, it is a Wednesday after all. A day you approved yourself. If you finish with your tasks, feel free to start on gathering all the files. I will send you a list in an email and exactly what to grab." The sarcasm in his voice when he said "approved" was very evident, but she had ignored his personal attack.

"Of course sir. I don't have much left to do today, so I should be able to grab most if not all of what you need. If you don't mind, I will start bringing them in and place them on your coffee table to start arranging them."

"That should be fine. You may go."

Kikyo had completed her final tasks for the day and started to bring in the paperwork they'd need for the night. Every time she walked in she'd give him a small smile if their eyes happen to meet. She never waited for him to return the smile or offer any type of friendly reaction. She must be determined to not lose her job that she'd remain polite towards him despite his unwelcoming demeanor. Or she just was a truly kind person at heart. All these little things, such as that, drove him crazy.

The end of the day was quickly approaching and the staff started to pack up their belongings and wrap up their business for the day. Right before 5 the phone on Kikyo's desk started ringing, "Hello, Taisho Law, how may I direct your call?"

"Uh, yeah, is Sesshomaru in?" The woman on the line sounded confused.

"One moment," Kikyo clicked the hold button and buzzed into Sesshomaru's office, "Mr. Taisho, you have a call. Are you available to take the call or would you like for me to take a message?"

"You can transfer the call."

With another simple click of a button, Kikyo had transferred the call to Sesshomaru.

"This is Sesshomaru."

"Hey, your secretary didn't sound like Kanna. Is she out or did Naraku fire another one of your employees?" The voice on the line was unmistakably his wife's.

"Yes, I didn't care too much to ask why. What did you want?"

"You don't have to be such an ass. I was wondering if you'd be home early tonight? You've been staying past five at the office every night. I wanted to go out and try something new with you. I'm sick of hanging out with Yura, and your mother has been pestering me about you."

"I will not be home. Find ways to keep yourself entertained without me." Now that he was thinking about it, he hadn't been home on time in almost a year it felt like. He always had some reason to stay behind. Sometimes as simple as just wanting to read without interruption. Nor could he remember the last time him and Kagura had even went out together or spent any time together other than the few hours every night before bed.

"How about you come home tonight? I haven't asked you to do that in a while, and you could use a break from that boring old lawyer stuff. It's not that unreasonable of me to ask."

"Kagura, I will not stop working because you're bored at home." He could feel himself getting irritated with her nonsense.

"If you do not come to me then I will come to you."

He grabbed the bridge of his nose and pinched it slightly to try to prevent the headache he was developing from this conversation. She was resorting to her normal petty efforts, no shock to him, "This Saturday I will only spend a half a day at work and then I will come home. Will that satisfy you enough to let me work?"

There was a deep sigh on the other end of the line, signaling his victory in this battle, "Fine. I will let you be tonight. If you do not keep to your word Saturday I will come down there and I will force you to pay attention to me. This needs to stop becoming the norm for you, if you don't start normalizing your days, we will have to work out a scheduled date night every week."

"I must be off now. Goodnight." As he hung up the phone he could hear her sigh as she whispered "I love you."

Kikyo walked in to his office carrying two cups of coffee with her, "I already placed the phones on night mode. We shouldn't expect any more calls unless they are calling your personal cell. So, what do you need me to do?" She placed both mugs on the coffee table away from his desk and sat on the couch.

She had left enough room for him to come sit by her, and he imagined that's what she figured he'd do when she put his coffee by her. He grabbed his mug to start sipping on but stayed standing up. He was sure there was no ill intentions behind her actions, but just still hasn't gotten over the uncomfortable feeling of being around her. He grabbed a stack of bound sheets from his desk and placed them on the coffee table with everything else. "This stack is all the financials for the first quarter. The hours, prices, discounts, etc. are on here corresponding to their case file. For each case, we must compare the file with the financials on these sheets. These are copies of the original case file for office use, so a lot of information will be blacked out to preserve the client's confidentiality. If the numbers don't match the original contract, notes, and charges the attorney documented, pull it to the side to be reviewed by the attorney on the file. Highlight the casefile on the financial sheets to keep track of the ones we are having issues with. The correct ones can be set in another pile to be put away."

"Simple enough."

"Then I shouldn't be expecting any questions from you." There it was again that attitude.

Kikyo calmly opened the first file on one of the sheets she grabbed. Without looking up at him she started to skim the file, "Tell me. Were you this passive aggressive towards all your secretaries, creating a hostile environment that they couldn't prosper in? I guess that explains the lack of retention in your office."

The question caught him off guard, "That's a pretty bold assumption of you. Twice now, you've forgotten your place. There is nothing passive aggressive about me. I simply state what I see and I state what I'm thinking. I expect nothing less than the best from my office. If they can't meet the standards and take everything personally, then I guess it's best they've let the pressure get to them resulting in the termination of their job. It's no different than you. You speak your mind freely, and to me of all people."

Kikyo still continued to keep her eyes on the file, flipping through the documents, "You seem defensive of your actions. It was just a simple question; you shouldn't take it personally."

She spoke with such a calmness, that it was almost difficult to hear the sarcasm at the end. Typically, he'd be irritated at this point that anyone had the gall to speak to him this way. He had fired for less, yet, with her, he found it amusing. "I wouldn't take anything a secretary says personally," he replied with the same calmness and lack of emotion she had given to him.

He was hoping it would have solicited a reaction from her that was opposite of this nonchalant professionalism she always kept in character. Instead she just chuckled under her breath and continued to browse her files. It was clear she wasn't going to continue the conversation any further so he grabbed all the files on the sheet he had to take back to his desk.

An hour had passed in which they sat in silence. When Sesshomaru had finished the sheet he was working on, he went over to the completed piles that Kikyo was creating besides her. He grabbed the corresponding sheet and one of the files to double check her work. He continued to check five of them. Everything done correctly as he suspected, "What are you going to school for?"

"I am in law school currently. I know typically you're not allowed to have a job during your study, but I've worked extremely hard to make sure my grades haven't been affected. I'm in my second to last semester, but I don't have a full load."

It all made sense to him now; why someone as efficient and smart as her would be a secretary at a law firm. Taisho law was the best place to work if you wanted to become a lawyer, and she seemed like the type to take any opportunity it took to get her foot in the door. This way she could learn and sometime soon start to gain experience while she was in school. It put her ahead of the game, since majority of all students don't work while in law school.

"What field?"

"Family law."

"There's not much money to be made in family law." It's not like he cared for the money either, but he had this solid opinion that women only wanted three things: money, sex, and love.

"I'm… I'm not in it for the money," her voice wavered slightly as if she was trying to contain the anger she felt. Despite her efforts, she couldn't mask the anger in her voice, intrigued he finally looked up from the documents he still had in his hands.

"I see, then what? Reputation? Divorced men? T-"

"Children." She cut him off before he could finish whatever cruel thing he was going to say about her character. "I want to be able to represent the children who have no say in it themselves."

"Children? How noble of you."

She slammed down her papers on the table and forcefully pushed herself up from the couch. She angrily stomped over to him getting closer to him than any woman has without his permission. She snatched the papers out of his hands, "What is your problem with me?! I've never once disrespected you, I've done everything you have asked and have not asked of me perfectly without issue. I see how you treat other employees around the office, and other women. While you're no little miss sunshine, you're definitely not this pretentious ass to them like you are to me."

He could hear everything she was saying but was so captivated by how adorable she looked screaming at him. Her nose crunched up causing her brows to furrow, and her lips were moving incredibly fast. She was using her arms to speak wailing them about around her. Everything about it gave him a strange feeling.

"Are you even listening to me?!" This time Kikyo poked him in the chest rather forcefully, catching Sesshomaru off guard and resulting in him giving this very confused look at her. He grabbed her hand to stop her from poking him again, if he had a pet peeve it would be people touching him, but this wasn't irritating and he hadn't even realized he grabbed her.

When he grabbed her, it caught her off guard as well. It wasn't hostile or rough, and that was what took her by surprise mostly. He was gentle. And the way he was staring down at her made her feel uneasy. His eyes were unreadable, but he made no effort to speak, look away, or release her. Her angry face softened underneath his gaze and she could feel her face start to blush. Quickly she snatched her hand away so she could turn from him to hide her embarrassment. Kikyo kept her back towards him and stepped away going to grab her things.

"I will not apologize for sticking up for myself, but I will apologize for poking you. I don't tend to put my hands on people without their permission, and regardless of how upset I was, I didn't have the right."

"You're different." It was all he could manage to say while he looked at the spot where he once held her. He was confused of his own actions, and in awe of her anger.

Kikyo turned to look at him and brushed away some of the hair that fell into her face, "Excuse me?"

It was as if her words broke him from a trance and snapped him back into reality. His softer facial features quickly hardened into his normal façade, "We still have a lot of work to do. I would at least like us each to finish one more list before we call it a night. No more small talk, and then continue our work this weekend."

Kikyo knew very well about Sesshomaru even before she started working here. He carried himself above others and treated everyone like they could never begin to compare. He was good at what he did, and he never apologized for how he acted. Yet, she couldn't help but feel as if him telling her they could work in silence was his way of apologizing. Giving in, she let out a long sigh and let her purse slip back onto the couch and her body followed shortly after.

She grabbed the work she had slammed on the table, "One more list in silence."

{...}

The next two days both had kept their distance from each other. If either had something to say they'd communicate through the phone. Any documents he needed Kikyo left on the end table at the front of the inside of his office so she never had to go fully in. Bringing him his coffee at the end of the day was the only time she went in his office, but thankfully he found a reason to leave his desk around that time. It was Friday and Kikyo was packing up her things at her desk, dreading that tomorrow she'd have to be alone with him again.

"Hey Kikyo!"

Kikyo slightly jumped and grabbed her chest, "Oh Manten, you scared me."

Manten sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with a huge grin, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to double check that we are still on for tomorrow night to get drinks."

"Yes, of course. I have to work tomorrow morning. I don't know how long I'll be, but I think it's safe to say we can meet at 7. I have your number so I'll let you know if anything."

"Great, have a goodnight!"

As Manten left her desk she noticed Sesshomaru have been standing in front of his office. He was giving her a dirty look and she could only assume it was because he had such a poor image of her, and her going out with Manten probably confirmed his suspicions.

"Do not be late tomorrow morning Miss Hatake."

Kikyo finally finished packing up her things and started to walk out of the office, "I am never late Mr. Taisho. Have a goodnight."

When she was sure she was in the safe confides on the elevator, and he was in his own office far away from ears reach, she crossed her arms and huffed, "I can't stand that man."

The whole way to class she kept cursing him in her mind. People annoyed her but she's never had anyone get under her skin like this. She had been so consumed in venting to herself she hadn't realized she'd made it to school and was already sitting in class. A young woman about Kikyo's age was waving her hand in front of her face, "Kikyo? Kikyo? I am talking to you."

She curiously looked around the room and then back at the high ponytailed, brown headed girl, "Oh Sango. Sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"Are you thinking about your boss again? If he's causing you that much problems, then you should just quit."

"Quit? I couldn't possibly do that. You know Taisho Law is the best law firm to work in, and I know I can prove myself worthy of a position there once I graduate. I need to be the best I can if I really want to make a difference. Hopefully soon, I can meet with Toga Taisho and impress him enough he'll transfer me up to this level. I just have to deal with working with his hard ass son. Besides, at least he doesn't mentally undress me like Naraku does."

Both shuddered at the mention of Naraku. Sango had never meant him, but Kikyo's stories were enough to give her the creeps. "Very well. I guess you could always do what Kagome says and just sleep with him. That'll make him back off. He can't harass the secretary he is sleeping with, that'd make for one nasty lawsuit."

Kikyo's face turned pink, the thought of being intimate with Sesshomaru made her too embarrassed to even imagine it. She had admitted to herself he was handsome, but she never gawked and participated in drooling over him with the other girls. "You need to stop telling my cousin about my problems. Of course, she only gives such vulgar solutions."

Kikyo considered Sango a great friend, but she knew Sango and her cousin were best friends. It only made sense Sango would share her stories with her cousin. She knew Sango meant no ill will by it, but only a means to somehow connect the three girls. Kikyo and Kagome never grew up on the same terms, there was always fighting and bickering. The older they got, they learned to handle their disagreements more maturely, but Kikyo still remembered all the physical ways they solved their issues. Both dealing about a many of scars to the other.

"Well, by the look of you face you don't seem to think it's that bad of an idea. We all know you secretly have the hots for him," Sango teased Kikyo's increasingly redder blush.

"Sango!"

Everyone in class turned to look at Kikyo when she practically screamed Sango's name at the top of her lungs. Kikyo slumped down in her chair to hide herself, "I'm so sorry." She shot Sango an evil glare, who was just laughing hysterically in her chair.

The professor walked into the room and everything resumed its normalcy as it should. Kikyo started to scribble down notes as her professor lectured, but she couldn't focus. She wrote down what she was hearing but she wasn't comprehending it. Without warning, her mind slipped away; starting to imagine how she'd seduce Sesshomaru into sleeping with her as Kagome had suggested. Every time she realized she'd been fading off into lala land, she'd mentally scold herself to pay attention.

It felt like an eternity, but class had finally ended and all she wanted to do was rush home to shower. Taking late night classes always took its toll on her. This is the life she chose and couldn't complain too much about it. Besides she was just one more semester away from being able to take the Bar exam. She went through her nightly routine as usual and sat down at her home desk to go over the notes she took in class. She had barley paid attention that night and was sure she'd need to catch up on the lessons this week. Flipping to the last few pages her eyes starred wide in horror at its contents. In between law jargon Kikyo had started to write down the fantasies she was having in class. The heat in her face increasingly grew as she read out loud, "HE MAY HAVE SAID NO, BUT I COULD SEE THE BULGE IN HIS PANTS GROW AS I PURPOSELY BENT OVER HIS DESK IN FRONT OF HIM FLASHING MY LACEY BLACK THONG THAT BARLEY COVERED MY DRIPPING VAGINA. BEFORE HE COULD PROTEST ANY FARTHER I BEGGED HIM TO TAKE ME AS I COULDN'T CONTAIN MYSELF ANY LONGER."

Kikyo slammed her notebook shut afraid to read any more. Her heart was racing and she was breathing heavily. Closing her eyes, she clenched her fist and screamed in her mind, 'SCREW YOU KAGOME AND SANGO!'