AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone, glad you all like it so far :)
Kagome examined her reflection in the mirror. She saw a vixen looking back at her. Gone was the young, dumb, and naïve girl she once was. Kagome had long dark hair, fair skin, and deep blue eyes. She had a great body and a pretty face. Her makeup was done perfectly. Not too much was needed though, just some eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. Her hair was straightened and trailed to the small of her back.
"Reina!"
Kagome looked away from the glass and turned her head towards the voice calling out her stage name.
"Why are you in the dressing room?" her manager chastised, "you should be out there making money."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh please Louie, there's no one out there to make money from."
"Well that's because there's no girls on the floor to bring them in."
"Well I've been here all night," she narrowed her eyes at her friend, "so then consider this my break."
"Reina…"
"Look," she pouted, "I've had a long day, and we close in a half hour anyways."
This time it was Louie's turn to roll his eyes. Sometimes he hated his job. He was one of the managers at the biggest club in town. It wasn't that hard of a job, but the dancers could be impossible to work with. Kagome was one of his best girls though, so he decided to give her a break.
"Did you tip everyone out?" he asked the girl, who had already traded her platform heels for flip flops.
She smirked. "Don't I always?"
"Alright then, go home."
"Really?" Kagome's eyes lit up. "Yes! Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled walking out of the large room.
Kagome hurried over to her locker and quickly opened it, to pull out her bag. Taking off her work clothes, she put on a pair of yoga pants and a large t-shirt. Then she took off her jewelry and threw it all into the bag before digging through it for her car keys.
"Got ya!" she exclaimed, holding them in the air.
With the keys in hand she closed her locker, grabbed her cell phone from off the counter, and proceeded to leave the dressing room. She slowed down upon her exit, as the club was dimly lit, especially along her path. She always was cautious not to run into anyone or anything in the dark.
The club itself was very large. There were tables scattered about with small electric candles, and the stage was huge, the pole in the center was very tall, reaching the ceiling it had to be at least thirty feet in length. The club was two stories and there was a grand staircase leading from the second floor to the stage. The second floor was reserved for VIP guests. There were also a few private rooms as well. The whole club was decorated very ornately. Large paintings and mirrors along the walls. Top notch lighting and sound. Statues of beautiful women. This was by far the nicest club within hundreds of miles. One thing Kagome liked about working there was that they also made sure to hire only the best looking women around. That meant no strung out strippers to deal with. The majority of ladies working there were in their late twenties, but the club was such a money maker that some women were dancing in their forties. Although, these women were all healthy and still looked amazing.
Kagome reached the entrance and spoke to the door girl for a few minutes before one of the many bouncers made his way over to her.
"Louie said you were leaving early?" he asked while walking over to her and extending his arm.
"Yes," Kagome answered, while handing her bag over to him.
"Lucky you," he shook his head as they walked outside, "I still have another half hour at least before I leave."
She smiled at him. There wasn't much to say back. She could only agree that she was much luckier to leave than be stuck bored on a slow night. Once they walked the short distance to her car he gave back her bag and she made sure to tip him well.
"Thank you," she said, entering her car. The man nodded as he waited for her to leave the parking lot before he returned inside the building.
Kagome looked at the time on her phone; it was a little after 2am. Her small apartment was not a far drive from the club, and the best thing about late night/early morning was the lack of traffic. It did not take long for her to make it home.
Once she found the parking lot, she circled around for a spot. There was never a good place to park when all of her neighbors were in bed before she was even home. She usually got one of the farther parking spaces, which worried her. There were creeps in the world. She was always paranoid about meeting one of them on her way from the car to the building. So just like every other night, she sprinted from her car to the front door. Did she look a bit foolish? Possibly. Did it matter? No. Not like anyone except the crazy person she's running from in her mind would even see her.
She laughed at her strange paranoia. Did the other dancers also run from their cars to their homes? Probably not.
When she finally made it to her apartment she quietly unlocked the door. She found her roommate, Sango asleep on the couch as usual.
'Does she ever crash in her room?' the woman thought with a smile. She grabbed a throw blanket and placed it lovingly over her best friend.
Kagome then silently walked over to her bedroom and pushed the mostly closed door all the way open. The room was dark, but she knew where everything was supposed to be and dropped her bag near the dresser. She didn't turn on the lights because she wasn't alone in the room.
There was a male sleeping underneath her blankets. She smiled as she lifted the covers and slid in beside him, pulling him close.
The figure in her arms stirred, "Mm."
"Goodnight, Kenichi." Kagome whispered and kissed his forehead.
Her only response was the small body snuggling even closer towards her.
She was exhausted and soon drifted off to sleep with him.
"Mommy."
…
"Mommy."
Kagome groaned; she did not want to wake up.
"Mommy! Wake up."
She felt two small hands squeezing her shoulders and opened her eyes half way.
Looking back at her were two golden eyes.
"I'm up." She said, with a sigh.
"Yay!" the child jumped off of the bed.
"Sweetie," Kagome said sitting up, "don't jump off the bed."
He pretended not to hear her as he ran out of the room, fully expecting her to follow.
Kagome shook her head at her son's antics. He was a typical three year old child; Hyper, rambunctious and somewhat of a mama's boy.
She stretched her arms above her head and turned to see how early it was. She hated working a third shift job when she had a child to wake up with every morning.
After tilting her head to each side and taking a deep breath, she got up and left her bedroom to locate her son.
She found him in the kitchen standing on top of a chair that he had pushed against the fridge.
"Kenichi!" she said angrily while rushing over to grab him. "What have I told you about climbing on the furniture?"
He pouted while she placed him back on the floor.
Kagome crossed her arms and looked at him, waiting for his answer.
"No climbing."
"Exactly," she confirmed, "if you want something that's out of your reach, you need to wait and ask me to get it for you."
"I'm sowwy."
"Just remember for next time." She smiled at his apologetic expression.
It was so hard for her to stay mad at him for long. Especially when he was the cutest three year old in existence. Kenichi had the most mesmerizing honey eyes, a cute button nose, and the most adorable pouty mouth. His hair was smooth, silky, and silver. The only thing Kagome disliked about her son was that he looked nothing like her. It was as if he was a clone of his father, and all of her genes were just passed over. Well, except for his smile, that is. Kenichi had his mother's smile and she loved it.
"Now," she pushed the chair back to the table, "what is it that you wanted?"
"Lucky!" he answered while pointing to the red box on top of the refrigerator.
"You want your cereal for breakfast?" she asked.
The boy nodded with a smile that would brighten any day.
Kagome set herself to the easy task of getting the boy his bowl of cereal. He loved his Lucky Charms, which was one thing he got from his mother.
"You know what, sweetie?" She placed the bowl on the table for the boy. "I think cereal sounds like a good idea. I'll have some too."
Kenichi smiled at his mother as she copied his choice for breakfast.
The two spent the morning together watching cartoons and Kagome teaching her son during commercials. He was three years old and thanks to Kagome, he could count to 20, he knew his full name and age, he was able to recognize the names of number and letters, and he knew how to make calls on a cell phone.
Kagome was unsure if he was ahead of other kids his age or not, but she wasn't comparing him to anyone. He would always be number one in her eyes. Thankfully Kagome made enough money dancing that she was able to trim her work schedule to only three nights a week. It gave her more time to spend with her son, and she didn't feel as guilty for having Sango babysit all the time.
Sango worked first shift at a nearby gym; she was also enrolled at the local college for a degree in business. Eventually she hoped to open her own gym. She was very ambitious and Kagome always felt bad whenever Sango would babysit Kenichi with the little free time she had. Sango would never complain though; she loved Kagome and Kenichi very much.
Kagome had recently started saving money for her own educational goals. When Kenichi started school, Kagome would be able to spend that extra free time doing some school of her own. She could take some classes now but Sango would never let Kagome waste money on a daycare and Kagome didn't trust people with her child anyways.
"Mommy," Kenichi, was looking out the patio door, "can we go owside today?"
The sun was shining and the few clouds in the sky looked like giant, white cotton candy. All Kagome wanted to do was relax. She didn't get that much sleep and she was tired. But it was beautiful outside, and she wouldn't let her son miss out on such a nice day because of her.
"Sure honey," she answered with a smile. "Let's get dressed and we can go to the park for a bit."
"Okay!" he clapped with joy.
Kagome followed her son into their bedroom and she went to his dresser to get his play clothes out. A pair of worn jeans, a TMNT shirt, and then his socks. She laid his clothes out on the bed.
"Here Kenichi. Put your clothes on and then you can watch TV while mommy gets ready."
Kagome grabbed a pair of shorts and a lace-back tank top. Then she went into the bathroom to fix her slept in makeup and brush her hair.
"Alright," she walked into the living room, "I'm ready, let's get your shoes on."
The little boy ran up to the door and put his shoes on. Then he sat down and stretched his legs out so that his mom could tie them.
"Oh," she laughed for a second, "sweetheart, you put your shirt on backwards."
He looked down and didn't see the picture. "You're right mommy."
"Come here," she pulled him up and the proceeded to pull off his shirt and put it back on him the right way.
"Now we're ready." She said as she slipped her sandals on. "Oh, Kenichi, please go in the room and grab mommy's purse."
"Kay mommy." He ran off to do as she said. That was one of the best things about having a child. You can have them get stuff. Get the remote, close the window, grab the phone; the list goes on and on.
A few seconds later the boy ran over to Kagome with her bag in his hand and handed it to her.
"Thank you Kenichi." She said lovingly.
He beamed up at her. "You're welcome mommy."
"You're such a good helper," she said as she opened the door. Kagome was trying to give lots of positive reinforcement. She couldn't stand when people were always negative towards their kids. No this, no that. Don't do this, don't do that. Of course boundaries and guidelines needed to be set forth. But they would be so quick to call their children out on the bad things and never say a word about the good things.
"Thank you." He smiled, blushing and feeling proud of himself.
Kagome and Kenichi spent a few hours at the park and then Kagome decided to take him to the local shopping area. It was like an outside mall and all of the nicest stores were there. They also had a couple of restaurants and snack areas. There was a pretty water fountain, and an area with chess tables set out for people to play, as well as a giant chessboard that players could walk on, the pieces reaching a few feet tall. They stopped to check out a clothing store so that Kenichi could get some more summer clothes. The season was just starting and the boy had long outgrown all of his clothes from the year before.
Kagome couldn't believe how fast her son was growing. She still remembered her first ultrasound; he was the size of a fruit. Now here he was, outgrowing all of his clothes. After they left the store, she had Kenichi help her by carrying his bag of new clothes. They left with two pairs of shorts and three cartoon themed t-shirts. The boy loved his cartoons. It was starting to get around dinner time and Kagome still had to go home to cook for her son.
On the walk back to the parking garage, they passed a sports bar at the corner. They had to wait to cross the street, and Kagome saw an advertisement for the UFC. It normally wouldn't bother her. Sure it would bring back memories of the person she did not like to think about, but she would get over it. This time though, there was a rather large picture with Sesshomaru's image plastered all over it; along with some other well known combatants.
She frowned at his face as she and Kenichi crossed the street and headed to her car.
Sesshomaru looked like a smug, arrogant bastard. He was tough, just like all the other's he was featured alongside; nobody could mess with them. She felt angered just by looking at his picture. She didn't know anything about the man besides from what Inuyasha told her when they were younger. He was egoistical and selfish; he rarely would have a girlfriend because he was married to martial arts. He acted like he was superior to most people he met. That's why Kagome had seen him a number of times but never actually talked to him, he was too good to socialize with her.
But he didn't seem so bad when they conceived Kenichi. He was a god in bed. Kagome had been with only a couple of guys since then, but none could compare. Neither in size nor skill. He ruined her for life it seemed.
Kagome wasn't surprised when she learned that he had moved west to further his fighting career. What she knew most about him was that he was passionate about it. To Kagome, it was unfair that he was out on the other side of the country living his dream right now while due to actions that they did together, she was the one being held back in life.
Kenichi was the love of Kagome's life; he was her world. She wouldn't trade him for anything and she never regretted her decision to have him. She loved him, and she loved her life but it was a very hard life she was living. Kagome didn't want to be a dancer forever, but the money was great and she wanted to as much for her son as she could. Especially with Sesshomaru living the life of the rich and famous. She would feel even worse if Kenichi had to go without while his father was more than comfortable in the lap of luxury.
Kagome felt very guilty that her son did not have a father. She was a great mom, and she did her best to play both parental roles. But there were things that he would miss out on without his dad, which she could never replace.
She did not regret cutting ties with her family if it meant to provide for her son. She did not regret putting off college to spend time with him. The only regret Kagome had was picking an absentee father for her child.
She dreaded the time when he would be old enough to recognize the similarities between his famous father and himself. Would he hold it against her that he was with the less successful parent of the two? Would he ever get to meet his dad? She hoped that they could someday, but she had no idea on how that would come about, or Sesshomaru's reaction.
Kagome could have never known just how close that fateful day was.
AN: Review please.