Welcome back!

I'm so excited to post this chappie. Honestly this feels like I started riding a bike again and while I didn't forget, I needed to use some training wheels for a lil. But now the training wheels are off and we've moved from riding around the neighborhood to around the park lol.

This chapter is where things progress a little. We get some sess kag interactions! I really hope you guys like it. Please tell me how it is, I'd love to hear from you all.

This chapter makes us on par with my updates on Dokuga. There will most likely be an update this weekend, but we'll be going to the regular updating schedule…..that isn't really determined lol but it won't be daily anymore. I've been updating every other day so I may stick to that.

General Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any brand named below. Nor do I make any profit from this work of fanfiction.

Chapter 3

It had been a few days since her move into the Takeda Estate, she took her time reminding herself of the layout of the home, and quickly figured out a loose daily routine. She barely saw Touga or Sesshoumaru, both men working heavily on a new business venture and that kept them in the city for long hours.

She was able to spend some time with InuYasha however, happening upon him once in the gym and finding out they had a fair few things in common while they worked out together. She could easily see why her cousin was smitten with him and he her. He seemed to have been hesitant around her, but when she confided that she had no intention of coming between him and her cousin, a weight lifted off his shoulders and he came out of his shell.

When she wasn't spending time with InuYasha, she was working on her own business ventures, figuring out time zones and meeting with colleagues. She also spent time with Izayoi and her mother. They spent a lot of time chatting while doing other things, but she knew they were indirectly trying to groom her for Clan Head life.

She was in the sunroom on the floor when InuYasha found her that afternoon. She had her laptop on a chair beside her playing what sounded like a yoga class and she was dressed in tights, a sports bra and a loose-fitting top, fiddling with a potted plant.

"You're supposed to be doing the moves, not the plant." He called, walking towards her, she jumped, startled, before scowling at him.

"I know that! But this is more interesting." she claimed while pausing the video.

"What the fuck are you even doing?" he asked, sitting on a nearby chair, brushing an errant leaf from resting on his face.

"Well, I started trying out this new yoga channel and got distracted by this diffenb- this plant." she amended when she saw his eyebrow raise. He clearly didn't care about the name of the plant in question. "I think it needs to be repotted, so I was about to check the roots when you came and scared the shit outta me." she finished lightly.

"Ok, sure. I'm not even gonna ask what made you run to try yoga again. Didn't you tell me you don't have the attention span for it or something?" he grumbled, shaking his head.

She smiled at him, "I did, you were listening to that ramble? I'm determined to try….and I'm supposed to review this video for my blog." she said sheepishly.

He shook his head, "You don't look like you're getting much farther here, and I'm bored. Leave that plant alone and let's go find something to do." he said standing up.

And that's how they found themselves in a spare room painting and drinking. He learned that she was a really good painter, but only did it once in a while. She learned that he liked to buy paintings from young artists he found online. Her phone rang, a video game theme chiming through the room.

"Isn't that from Final Fantasy?" he asked, surprised. He didn't think a girl like her liked video games like that.

"Oh yes, FF7 is one of my favourites, I love FFx too and I know everyone hates that one since it's so girly." she gushed, seeing the predicted look of disgust on his face when she mentioned the second game.

"Figure's you'd like that dumb game." He shook his head. "I remember I got that game for my birthday one year, I played it the entire time we were home on vacation, I was hooked. You know, I don't even know where it came from, I just found it in the gaming room and it had my name on it." he took a sip of his beer.

Kagome watched him quietly, "I got it for you." she stated quietly. His head swung in her direction as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth ready to call her out in a lie, but he stopped short as what could only be described as sadness shuttered over her blue eyes.

"H-how?" he choked out.

"My dad and I bought it for your birthday when I found out you guys were coming home. I was excited to meet you, and wanted to do something to break the ice. Then my dad died before you came home, and I felt horrible, I didn't want to meet you anymore, didn't want to give up the gift we picked out together. But I guess that didn't really matter because you didn't want to meet me either." she finished softly with a shrug.

InuYasha was speechless, remembering the afternoon in question. He hadn't wanted to be there, his father telling them not long before that she was their betrothed. They hadn't reacted well and determined that there was no way they were going to get married. So as soon as he had left them in the room, they bolted, she came in right then and InuYasha forced himself not to stop to talk to the girl in the black mourning kimono.

"Kagome, I'm so sorry. I-" He started, but she cut him off.

"It's fine, it-it's in the past and we clearly didn't get very far from under our parents' thumbs" she smiled, trying to diffuse the awkward air.

"I honestly really thought we got away, but those old farts were just biding their time", he took a swig of his almost empty bottle of beer.

"You have any plans later?" she asked suddenly, "I'm supposed to catch dinner with Kikyo and Sango. Come with, I'll tell Sango to bring Miroku."

"You should invite the prick too, Mom got on his case about working all the time and avoiding you so he should be home earlier tonight." he said, killing his beer.

"Sure, why not? Can you extend the invite for me? I don't really have a way to contact him" she said after a beat.

She was suddenly a little nervous. Last she spoke to Sesshoumaru, there was some flirtation there. They didn't take it much farther than that but there was an attraction. This also was before they found out they would potentially be engaged to each other. 'No pressure' she thought.

"Dinner is at 8, I'll text Kiki and Sango, can I ride with you?" she asked, looking at her watch, it was after 5 and she needed to start getting ready soon. Normally she would take a bit of time finding the right outfit after a shower and then take her time putting on makeup, but now there was the added pressure of prepping for a night of sexual tension and anxiety, she'd have to start her process a little earlier.

Sesshoumaru came home in time for dinner at the behest of his stepmother. Not liking her idea that he was using work to avoid talking to his potential betrothed, he also didn't care to argue with her about it. He was also informed by InuYasha that they would be dining out with 'Kagome and the girls'. He wasn't sure if he was up to a social evening, that would no doubt be a later night than he intended, but he also wanted to see if there still was any attraction to Kagome, now with the additional family pressure.

Now he found himself driving behind his brother to the restaurant, he had changed, dressing down in a simple black turtleneck and jeans to match the occasion of a casual dinner at a fusion restaurant. He also found himself thinking of the woman sitting in the passenger seat beside his brother. She wore a pair of jeans that fit snug on her legs, and only emphasized how in shape she seemed to be. InuYasha seemed to be impressed with how heavy she could squat apparently. She also wore a loose-fitting silk tank with thin straps and an oversized sweater to fight the cooler air.

He specifically noticed her blouse because he watched how her breasts bounced as she trotted down the stairs in her heeled ankle boots. He couldn't tell exactly if she wasn't wearing a bra, but he knew that that was a bounce he would like to see repeated in front of his face, with no pesky shirts to disrupt their journey.

He focused on the drive and they arrived at the restaurant with no incident and he met them inside as he pocketed the valet ticket for his car. The table was bigger than he assumed which facilitated the idea that this became a little bit more than just dinner with 'Kagome and the girls'.

He sat on the long table across from Kagome as she was sandwiched between Kikyo and Sango. This was fine because while they waited for the rest of their guests, he saw the tell-tale sign that she was not wearing a bra. He smirked into his beer glass and she met his eyes through her hair when she turned to give her attention to Kikyo on her left.

He raised his brow in question, still feeling out if the attraction was still there. She bit her glossed lip in response and turned her eyes to her cousin. 'That wasn't a no' he thought, maybe she was looking to him to lead, 'maybe she's still innocent' the thought floated through, it wasn't unheard of, but he wasn't sure how he felt about being someone's first. That came with its own drama.

'I guess we will have to see, the night is still young.' And it was.

After dinner, they all found themselves in the lounge next door at the behest of Kouga and Miroku. The dark eyed man saying they should celebrate but never really saying what. Kagome supposed it was just an excuse to stay out longer. This is fine for her because it gave her more time to get closer to Sesshoumaru, she was determined.

She sat beside him on a couch that lined one of the walls, her sweater off and laying on her bag, to keep them both together and to keep people from reaching for her handbag.

"Thanks for coming out tonight, I didn't know if you would." she said on the table in front of them for her double gin and tonic, with lime. She crossed one leg over the other and leaned closer to him, turning her chest in his direction. A clear sign that he had her direct attention.

"I almost didn't" he responded truthfully, resting his arm behind her on the couch.

"You've been spending a lot of time at work, big venture?"

"We're launching a new company, a marketing/media agency. I've been spending a lot of time securing initial clients and contracts."

She reached over and placed her drink down, "how do you plan to get the word out? Gonna do a soft launch?"

"Yes actually, we're planning a soft launch, and then after a month my father wants to have the big hooplah." he rolled his eyes at that and she giggled. "Father is insisting on traditional marketing and isn't listening to anything about non-traditional media. It's driving me up the wall actually."

"Do you want help; I can try to get through to him for you."

He raised an eyebrow at her, not expecting her to both offer help or even care as much as she seemed to be. "How so?"

"Well, he's not gonna see the point if you just tell him using hypothetical data. He's gonna need to see where and how it's worked out before. I can do that, I've done that." she said easily, confidently.

It was unexpected, but he couldn't ignore how self-assured she sounded. "Alright, I don't see how it will hurt to have you try, I'll set up a meeting."

"Great!" she smiled and leaned forward, her breasts pressed up against his arm, her nipples pebbling against him. "Now, I will admit, I didn't wear this outfit for us to talk business all night," she licked her lips and his eyes widened imperceptibly before his face became neutral again.

"Would you like to take me home? I think I might be socialed out." she offered; it definitely wasn't a 'hint'.

There was a slightly longer than a moment's pause before her own eyes widened and she looked away, brushing her hair behind her ears nervously. "I'm sorry, I should have noticed that you weren't interested. We were having a great night and I fucked it."

She eased away and reached for her drink, taking a sizable sip. He reached for her and pulled her close again, narrowly missing sloshing her drink on them both.

"I'm not uninterested, I just didn't expect for you to throw yourself at me. I would love to take you up on your offer." he spoke to her ear, and she pulled back, her cerulean eyes alight with fire.

"I am not throwing myself at you" she hissed, pulling herself from his grasp, and all but slamming down her glass. "Just because a girl makes the first move, does not mean she's loose with herself."

She got up from the couch and stalked over to her cousin and their group of friends who stood by the bar. The women immediately gave her their attention, he watched, no doubt asking her what he did to cause her ire. He got up to follow her to the bar, the night wasn't unsalvageable and maybe he did put his foot in his mouth.

Sango and Kikyo watched him make an order while Kagome huffed beside them. She wouldn't say what happened but clearly it was enough to make her mad when she was all but hanging onto him not five minutes before.

He walked over to the trio and handed Kagome a glass of what seemed to be a gin and tonic with lime. He leaned over, "you are right," he murmured into her ears. She pulled back and looked at him

"Was that supposed to be an apology?" she muttered, an eyebrow raised.

"You can take it for what you want it to be, I admitted to being incorrect in an assumption. You will not receive any more than that if that's what you're digging for." he shrugged lightly and took a sip from his new glass of what seemed like whiskey or scotch while her eyes narrowed at him.

Beside them, Miroku bit back a laugh and disguised it with a large drink of his beer, Kouga was not so smooth and sniggered into his hand. InuYasha only shook his head, wondering if he was going to have to intervene, Kagome was developing a murderous look in her eyes. Kikyo and Sango were struck dumb but decided to let it play out, Kagome was a big girl.

"You arrogant asshole." She hissed before taking a deep cleansing breath and turning away from him, determined to ignore him for the rest of the night. It didn't help that she was hyper aware of him being behind her.

"That's it? you're going to let a small disagreement ruin a good night?" he leaned forward and murmured into her ear, touching his broad chest to her back. "You're very sexy when you're mad."

She looked up at him behind her, "You know, this can be considered harassment." she was trying to hold onto her anger.

"Are you feeling harassed?" he challenged with a raised brow. Now she was cornered, he used her own bluff against her. Not only did he not move away to prove that he wasn't trying to make her uncomfortable, but he now pulled the ball squarely in his court. If she said yes then that was it, game over. But if she said no, this flirtation would continue on the one hand, but she would be publicly eating her own words.

Deciding to not say anything at all, she brushed past him, intimately and walked back to the couch they vacated, fresh drink in hand. He smirked and followed behind her. Unsalvageable indeed.