A/N: So glad by all you guys' excitement about this story. Thanks for the reviews Lalidra102 and Ember Reverie. Light citrus warning ahead.

Part 5: Pride: "Plays Little Mix's Joan of Arc"

Little Mix's Joan of Arc was blasting from the store speakers and Kagura gently tapped her foot to the beat. Pop music was one of her guilty pleasures. She felt as if the song was speaking to her. Indeed, she was amazing. She knew she was. The past two weeks she had managed to seamlessly juggle being Rin's nanny, Sesshoumaru's lover and the twins' surrogate mom. Just a few days ago she had had to go knock some sense into the head of the headmister of Kanna's school. He had tried to sign her up for behavioral improvement classes after a parent had complained that she did not smile enough. A good talking to and the threat of wind blades had set the old man to rights. Nothing was wrong with her sister, Kanna was just fine. Fired up from the fight, she had gone straight to Sesshoumaru's home office where he had helped her work most of the tension out of her body. After a nice bath she had gone to play dolls with Rin. Yep, she was living the very definition of having it all.

"Miss Kagura, I can't find the costume I want!" Rin was flying all over the store aisle. Her school was hosting a Halloween day in a few weeks and all the kids were allowed to trade their preppy uniform for a costume. The child had been so excited that she had wanted to buy hers straight away.

"We just have to be creative. We'll mix this." Kagura held up a witch costume complete with a large black hat and a broom. "With your orange leotard and pink tutu." The little girl had recently been signed up for after-school ballet and as Kagura had expected she was loving it. Most days her nanny had trouble making her take off her dance gear once they got home. "I'll do you hair in a nice bun and you'll be the best ballet dancer witch this Halloween." Who was she to judge Rin's taste? If the kid wanted to be a ballet-dancing witch, then Kagura would make sure she was.

"Yes, this is perfect! Can you put a feather pin in my hair too?" At her nanny's agreement, Rin's smile grew.

From the corner of her eye, Kagura noticed an outfit that was perfect for herself. She quickly slipped it in the cart.

"Are you also dressing for Halloween?"

"Nope, going to a private party." Kagura answered Rin's innocent question.

She knew exactly how she would put the 'sexy water nymph' costume to good use. Something involving Sesshoumaru and the hot tub in his backyard that she had yet to try out. Her thoughts started straying to the previous evening. Guess he had really enjoyed the roasted chicken because he had barely put his fork down that he practically dragged her to bed. He might have initiated, but she had taken charge and given him a taste of his own medicine by riding him long and slow.

"Rin wants to go to the party." The child's statement brought her out of her thoughts.

"Nope, it's only for grown-ups."

"Why?" The child pouted. "Is Jaken going?"

Thoughts of the annoying kappa had the effect of a cold shower. Done with her sexy daydreaming, Kagura decided to focus on finishing their shopping.

"You know what you need to be a great witch? A new pair of shoes!"

"It seems you do not fear all types of water."

As Kagura expected Sesshoumaru had enjoyed her little surprise. She had been too curious to see his reaction and had not been able to keep it until Halloween. With some directions pulled from the internet she had readied the jacuzzi and had slipped into her costume by the time he made it home. She now found herself immersed in the bubbling water, securely settled within the cradle of Sesshoumaru's arms. Her back was pressed tightly to his chest and every time he spoke, she felt his breath fanning around her ear, causing little chills to run down her spine. A chilled bottle of champagne and a plate of fruit were just within reach. Rin had been put to bed hours ago, so this moment was just for the two of them. Pure perfection.

"A jacuzzi isn't the same as a river inhabited by an angry spirit who hates wind demons." She had to tilt her head to the side to look at him, but she wouldn't move from her current position. It felt wonderful to be in his arms. "Besides, tonight I'm not a kaze youkai. I'm a water nymph, have you forgotten?"

"Not at all." He tugged gently on one of the strands of the blue wig she was wearing. She heard the satisfaction in his voice. She knew he would enjoy her costume. She did enjoy wearing it too. She knew she looked fabulous. She wasn't being cocky, she knew she was super sexy.

"It's almost the full moon."

This moment was supposed to be relaxing and fun, but from their spot in the backyard she could see the glowing moon taunting her. Ever since Sesshoumaru had told her about Rin, she had worried about the kid. The internet had been pretty useless in giving her actual information on her particular type of half-demon.

"Rin will be fine. She is now with people who know how to handle a hanyou."

"You mean unlike when she was with her mom?" Her question made his body tense up. Strange. Sesshoumaru had a complete mastery of his body, but her simple question had caused quite an unexpected reaction. Since she had him in a good space, might as well go dive deeper. "How was she like, Rin's mom?"

"A woman who got in over her head by getting involved with youkai." He paused. "However, I believe she is much happier with her current lifestyle."

"Wait she's alive?!" Kagura startled. He tightened his hold on her, keeping her in his embrace.

"She is very much alive, but has no wish to see her daughter."

Now it was Kagura's turn to tense up.

"Before his death father had made provisions in his will to have the family estate pay for her living expenses and make sure that Rin would be taken care of. However this was not enough. She was a young human who had expected her older lover to spoil her for years to come. After father passed gone were the trips, the jewelry and all the gifts. She was left with a hanyou child to raise and this was not as much fun. After a year, she came to me with an offer to pay her off in exchange of her signing her parental rights to Rin to me. I cut her a check, she signed some papers and this was the last I ever saw of her. Last I heard, she married a human lawyer."

"What a bitch." Kagura couldn't imagine Rin being abandoned by her mom. She herself who had given up on her dreams to raise her younger half-siblings was disgusted by the unknown woman's behavior. "I could wring her neck if I ever met her."

"Not everyone is as dedicated as you." Seshoumaru's statement surprised her. She wondered then if her decision to raise the twins had been the reason why he had decided to hire her.

"No way we're celebrating her birthday next year. To think that I almost drowned because of that." Kagura plucked some fruit pieces from the plate. Stuffing her face was a great way to cut the tension.

"Good thing you did not." He gently cupped one of the decorative shells that made up the bikini top of her costume. At the moment she wished he would discard the cold plastic covering her breast so she could feel his warm palm on her feverish skin.

She turned to the side to give him better access, and at the same time slipped a strawberry between his lips. Non content of savoring the fruit, he took advantage of the situation to gently nibble her fingers, to her delight.

"Master Sesshoumaru."

The squeaky voice of the intruder made Kagura jump. The brisk movement almost made the light blue wig of her costume come off her head.

"Fuck Jaken, can't you see we're having a moment?" She growled angrily, sorting out her wig. She was sure glad the churning water and his tiny height made it impossible for him to see her revealing outfit.

"Master, you received a letter from the Lady Mother…"

"Place it in my study, and do not interrupt us again."

With this freezing order, Sesshoumaru dismissed his retainer. Kagura blushed red then when she noticed he had not dropped his hand from her breast. He must have sensed her discomfort, but did not move.

"Yes master, of course master." With a bow and an angry glare at Kagura the kappa left.

"Can you believe that…"

Kagura never had the chance to finish her sentence. Sesshoumaru grabbed her face and turned her towards him to give her a long sensual kiss. In a heartbeat he reached under the water to undo the strings of her tiny bikini bottoms. Jaken's interruption was now long forgotten. Kagura went along when Sesshoumaru turned her to face him and helped her settle herself over his lap. With a simple tug on his swim trunks he unveiled himself. She had full intention of taking advantage of this invitation. She threw her head back in ecstasy when she sank fully on his length. Sesshoumaru used a single claw to cut the stings holding her shell bra. He immediately leaned forward to press kisses all over her bared breasts. At this rate, she was sure she would grow to enjoy being immersed in water indeed.

"I warned you not to sleep with him." Kanna gently sipped on her tea. It was her older sister's day off and she had decided to come check on her. "Need I remind you that you have the worst track record when it comes to relationships?"

Kagura growled as if she needed her sister's reminder. Sure, she had never had a long-term committed relationship, but could she be blamed if men were stupid and insecure and could not handle being with a woman as fabulous as she was? Sesshoumaru was different. He accepted her as she was without judging her nor trying to change her. He recognized that she was as amazing as Cleopatra, Joan of Arc and the Queen of Hearts all rolled into one.

"Have you not thought of the consequences if you break up?"

Kagura put down the cookie she had been about to bite into before her sister killed her appetite. "We are not dating. Only having fun."

"He is your employer, you live with him…"

"Thanks for the useless reminder." Kagura suddenly regretted coming to check-in on her sister. "It's no big deal. Besides I have no intention to keep being Rin's nanny forever. I just do this temporarily. You guys need me, so I just wanted a job that pays well while allowing me to be free." No way was she going to let Kanna know just how desperate she had been for a job.

"We do not need you. Not the way you think. I have my own life, Hakudoushi is starting his career. I know you gave up Paris and dancing for us, but now what do you have? No matter how many shoes and purses you buy, you won't be able to fill up your life."

Ouch. Her sister's words cut her deep.

"Kagura, we are grateful for all you did for us, but enough is enough now. Instead of worrying about us, it is high time you care about yourself."

Kanna reached into her purse to hand her sister a check. "Here. I am repaying you for the money you lent me to help with my move. Use is to pay some of your debt."

Kagura took the check because she knew refusing would hurt her sister's feelings. However, she had no intention to use the unsolicited advice.

"Thanks kid."

"I am not a kid. Also do not come to my place of employment again. It was embarrassing."

Kagura was annoyed to have wasted her day off to go see Kanna. As if she needed to be lectured by her baby sister. It was her life and she could live it any damn way she pleased. Thank you very much. She parked the borrowed SUV she had requisitioned in the garage and was glad to see Sesshoumaru's car. He and Rin were home early from their weekly outing, good.

"It is a calamity, master."

When she heard Jaken screech from her lover's study she almost turned around to make a beeline for her room, but she wanted to see Sesshoumaru and on top of that she was curious about what had the kappa so upset. She just loved seeing him annoyed.

"Yo!" She popped her head into the room.

"You!" Jaken pointed a finger at her. Great he had something to reproach her, as if her day was not going badly enough. "She took it Master, I know she took it."

"Hold up, you're gonna have to explain what the hell is going on. What did I take?"

"The Lady Mother's necklace is missing. You must have taken it."

"You probably misplaced it on a high shelf and can't see it anymore." Kagura's mocking retort made the kappa turn beet red.

As fun as it was to mess with Jaken, she wanted to cut this nonsense short so she could enjoy some alone time with Sesshoumaru. They had not seen each other since the previous evening, and she missed him. "Alright, since you're so convinced I took it, why don't you go look into my room? Just stay away from my underwear drawer."

Jaken did not need to be given permission twice, he rushed to go in search of the missing jewelry.

Finally alone. Kagura stepped to Sesshoumaru's desk. He was nose deep into a stack of papers and had barely raised his head to look at her when she had made her presence known.

"How you manage to keep working with that toad screeching in your ear is amazing to me." She walked over to the bar to mix herself a drink. Fun time would have to wait until Sesshoumaru was done working.

"You just learn to ignore him." He flipped the page and continued on reading as if she had not just made fun of his closest employee.

Her glass in hand she settled on the armchair opposite from the desk and took out her phone to start playing games. Sesshoumaru was gorgeous and she could spend hours staring at him, but playing on her phone was a healthier and less creepy way to kill some time.

"There!" A triumphant Jaken came running back into the room. "Here is it, it was in her closet. She stole the Lady Mother's necklace." He was holding a large black stone necklace mounted on a gold chain.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a thief." Kagura almost rolled her eyes at the obvious set-up.

Jaken scoffed, his eyes stuck on the glass in her hand. "You've been pilfering the master's alcohol for weeks now."

Technically he was right, but there was a huge step between taking some wine or whiskey and an expensive necklace. She finished her drink and put away her phone. Annoying Jaken was also a great alternative to waste some time.

"No offense to the Lady Mother, but this necklace is just not my style. I would never be caught dead wearing something so dowdy." She trailed a finger over her beautiful jade earrings.

"You may not wear it, but you could sell it for a pretty penny. Seeing your precarious financial situation, it makes sense."

Jaken's statement caused her to pause. This was not so fun anymore. "What do you know about my financial situation?"

"You're drowning in debt." He sneered. "The background check Master Sesshoumaru asked me to do on you proved it."

"You did a background check on me?" She whirled towards Sesshoumaru. To her annoyance he was still looking over the documents in front of him.

"It was necessary to know everything about the person who would be responsible for Rin's wellbeing."

She was ticked off. He should have told her about it, and weren't people supposed to sign release forms to agree to have their employer look into them? More importantly, she was embarrassed.

Sesshoumaru knew? About her family, her past, how she had grown up and how much debt she had? That crushed her.

She wanted him to see her as the confident and sexy woman with impeccable make-up, designer clothes and gorgeous accessories. The woman who knew all about grand cru wine and could guess the price of expensive whiskey by seeing the label on the bottle. She wanted him to think that she could belong in his world. She now realized that he must know she was the daughter of a single mother who had spent her life cleaning other people's homes so she could put a roof over her children's heads and food on their table.

Up until this moment Kagura had been so proud to be able to stand by his side. For years she had worked hard to craft a new, better image of herself. She had invested so much into making herself into a new Kagura. One who no one could have imagined had had to fight for every penny she had, and when that had not been possible, had had to do without. Even years later she still remembered every single meal she had had to skip in order to feed her younger half-siblings. She wondered too if Sesshoumaru knew about how much she had struggled in the beginning when she was left alone to care for the twins. She was embarrassed by her humble roots in a way that she had never before.

What must Sesshoumaru be thinking? That she was just the hired help who he could bang on the side when in need of a fun distraction? A servant he would be able to discard when he grew tirded of her? No wonder Jaken thought he could easily get away with branding her as a thief. That would not fly. She would not let them do that to her.

"You're a thief. It is not surprising, like mother like daughter." The kappa spit out angrily. "Your mother was fired by one of our neighbors for stealing an ancestral ornamental fan, and it seems you decided to take a priceless artifact for yourself. Good thing I Jaken, the ever-faithful was vigilant…"

"What the fuck are you talking about? What did you say about my mom?" Beyond embarrassment and doubt, now Kagura was fuming. On top of everything else, how dare the little toad talk about her mother?

"Your mother stole a fan and she was fired and almost went to jail because of it…"

Kagura ignored the rest of his sentence. A memory of her childhood came back to her. Her mom had taken her along to a house she had to clean. Kagura had gone exploring while she was busy and had come upon the most beautiful fan. She had taken it for herself and to this day still had it. She had been so proud of not being caught neither by her mom, nor by anyone, now she realized that had not been the case. Had her small action really cost her mother such grief? Loss of employment and potential jail? How come she had never said anything, nor confronted her daughter? She must have known Kagura had been the one to take it. Kagura had trained in secret with her newly acquired weapon for months and when her mom had finally seen her with it, the little girl had claimed she had gotten it from a donation box placed in front of the supermarket. To think that she had been so proud of being able to fool her mom back then.

"Your mother was a thief! It is a wonder how she was able to find a job in this town after getting caught, maybe she used her feminine wiles just like you to…"

A resonating slap to the cheek courtesy of Kagura cut-off Jaken mid-sentence.

"How dare you strike me." He cupped his smarting cheek. He clutched his staff in his hand, ready to attack the wind sorceress.

"One more word our of your mouth and I will end you." Kagura fished the fan in question from her pocket and opened it with a resonating snap. She was just waiting for Jaken to say one more word so she would have an excuse to use the fan he had just accused her mom of stealing.

"Oh, so you won't deny it, you're a thief just as I said you were. Even threatening me with violence won't stop me from exposing you for the thieving thief that you are! I will…"

"Jaken, enough."

His master's two words caused the kappa to clamp his mouth shut. He may not like it, but he would not dare defy a direct order from Sesshoumaru.

One who was not as understanding was Kagura. That that was it? She expected Sesshoumaru to speak up on her behalf. After all that they had shared she was shocked to see that he could not even be bothered to look up from his freaking paperwork to address the situation. That hurt. She would not let herself be disrespected like that. She deserved better.

Would he not explain his actions? Would he not tell her about the background check, what he had found out and what he thought about it? She wanted to know, but she was terrified at the same time.

"I am not a thief and I don't give a damn about your ugly ass necklace. Screw you. Screw both of you. And you most particularly Sesshoumaru. I'm out of here." Without letting either youkai time to react, she turned on her heels and stormed out.

She reached into her purse for her car keys and to her annoyance came across the ones for the SUV. She dumped them and reached at the bottom of her bag until she found the keys to her beat up car. It might not be as fancy as the SUV, but it was hers. No way in hell was she going to take one other thing from Sesshoumaru's house. She refused to be branded a thief. She might be a nobody from a poor family, but one thing she still had was her pride and no one could take that away from her.

Now, she just had to figure out where she was going to spend the night.

To be continued...

A/N: Is Kagura a bit too prideful for her own good, maybe. We shall see how things move along in tomorrow's chapter named Sloth.