The rest of Saturday passed quickly. Sunday, however, dragged. Tossing herself back on her bed, Kagome sighed. Michelle had gone home for the weekend as usual, leaving Kagome in the room alone. It was private time Kagome usually relished, but this weekend it was maddening. With no distractions from her room-mate, all Kagome had to think about was Sesshoumaru and their little 'date,' though the word made her shiver with something that she couldn't really put a finger on. Setting her computer aside, she tip-toed down to Katy's room and knocked on the door. "Katy?"
When there was no answer, Kagome knocked harder. "Katy?"
"Mmf… C'min!" came the muffled reply.
Pushing the door open, Kagome stuck her head in. "Katy? Are you awake?"
"Y'm 'wake…" Katy raised her tousled head from her pillow and blinked bleary-eyed at Kagome. "Sup…?"
With an affectionate smile, Kagome walked in and shut the door behind her, perching herself on Katy's desk chair. "I'm sorry for waking you. I was…well, I just wanted someone to talk to me and keep me company."
"Mm, no. No problem," Katy replied, sliding off of her lofted bed and heading towards her closet. "What's the story?"
"Well…" Kagome was suddenly shy as she dropped her eyes and shifted on her feet.
"Woah," Katy exaggerated, seeing her in the mirror. "I know that look. You met a boy! Who was it! What happened? What's the—you have to tell me the whole story!"
"Woah, woah, woah—Katy! Don't just… don't jump to conclusions!" Kagome protested. "This isn't—"
"Don't you lie to me." Katy cocked her hip and gave her a look. "You need to tell me the whole story. Don't tell me that isn't why you came in here. You're just bustin' to get it off your chest."
Almost shocked by the amount of perception the girl was capable of, Kagome gaped at her. "Wow."
"I know, I'm awesome, right?" was Katy's sly reply. "So. Spill."
Giving an exaggerated sigh as if Katy were pulling the information from her, Kagome rolled her shoulders and her eyes. "Fine, fine…"
"Pop a squat and spill, sister!"
Kagome couldn't help but laugh as she followed the other girl's advice. "Well, you're going to…not be too happy with me, but—"
Katy gaped. "No. Way. You didn't. You… Did you do what I think you did?"
"Yeah, probably. I saw Professor Inukami." The false name suddenly didn't seem so putrid in her mouth.
"Alone!"
"Yup. Alone. We met yesterday. At Jacob's. We had mushroom burgers. It was very strange to me."
"Strange? Why? He's not that old."
Kagome nearly choked. Old didn't even cut it. Sesshoumaru was ancient.
"You okay?" Katy queried.
"Um… fine. Yeah. Fine."
"So what did you talk about?" Katy grabbed a brush and dragged it through her hair. "I said I wanted to hear all."
Shrugging, Kagome continued, "Well, we talked about… the past, I guess; by which I mean our stories, you know, how our life went and stuff like that."
"Wow, deep stuff on a first date!"
"Don't call it that. It wasn't really a date. It was more of a meeting. It turns out that, since he's from Japan, we actually had mutual acquaintances. Small world, huh?" She wrapped her arms around herself, chills creeping down her spine. Small world indeed. Fate was cruel. "And then we went to Dairy Queen for dessert. He dropped me off after that."
"Ooh, now he knows where you live! How scandalous!" Katy exclaimed, grinning.
"Yeah…"
"Man," the girl said, leaning back over her bed "I'm so jealous! Lucky you! You've got the attention of the most gorgeous guy like… ever! I'm surprised he isn't an actor! I'd go see his movies even if they were horrible!"
Kagome laughed. "No you wouldn't."
Katy replied blandly, "If I got to see that face on the silver screen? Heck yes! I'd probably see it more than once. Guh, he's gorgeous!"
The last part was true. Undeniable, in fact, but it didn't change that he was Sesshoumaru. Which was just weird. "Yeah, but he's our professor."
"Psh. Girls have had affairs with professors before! And he's not married. I haven't ever seen a wedding band. And trust me, I've been keeping close watch. If you track , there's no mention of it ever." Katy giggled. "And the issue has been of hot debate."
Of course that made sense. He'd never be able to keep a wife and his secret. "Ew. That's just gross. We're definitely not having an affair. Ugh. Never." She never would, either. The idea of sleeping with Sesshoumaru gave her chills. Part of her mind wondered curiously at the idea of sex, sex with him, but most of her fiercely rejected it as unnatural. Kagome was in love with Inu Yasha, and it hurt to be close to Sesshoumaru when she knew that he knew him after she did. "Oh!"
"What's up?"
Shit. Sesshoumaru hadn't told her about Inu Yasha, speaking of him… "N-nothing. I just forgot an assignment that I need to remember to do. Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." She gave Katy a weak smile.
"No problem. So." Her grin gave Kagome cause to worry. "Are you going to see him again? Can I come along?"
"Yes to the first question, and definitely no to the second."
"Kagomeeeeee," Katy whined. "Can I sneak and spy on you guys like you're a celebrity couple?"
"What!? Definitely not!" Kagome stood. "I think I have to get back to my work. Thanks for listening, Katy. If you sneak on us, I'm going to have to…" Kagome couldn't think of a good enough threat. "I'll do something."
"Okay. Thanks for telling me. I want all the juicy details, don't forget." Katy waved to her as she left the room.
Bringing up her email as soon as she was back in her room, Kagome typed quickly, Sesshoumaru, You never told me about Inu Yasha. You promised. When can you tell me? Kagome. She pressed the send button and then sat back, returning to her reading. That didn't stop her, however, from obsessively checking her inbox every ten minutes for the rest of her weekend.
Sesshoumaru returned home. He dropped his bag next to the door. He had, oddly enough, enjoyed keeping company with the girl. She was… entertaining. And he could, for the first time, be himself. That, Sesshoumaru knew, was the all-important clincher. It was a relief, for the first time in many many years, for him to finally be able to be himself and let some of his barriers down. Sitting down in his chair in front of his TV, Sesshoumaru grabbed the remote and flipped it on, the background noise pleasant. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar.
His apartment was sparse, Sesshoumaru noted somewhat with regret. It was all out of necessity, really. He moved around too often to really acquire furnishings and knick-knacks. Shuffling over to the refrigerator, he pulled out a beer, pausing to gaze at the box of things that he kept with him, sitting on top of the fridge. A bitter smile curved his lips as he popped the lid off his beer and took a swig, returning to his chair, the light glow of the TV reflecting off his already pale skin. Sesshoumaru propped his feet up on the low table in front of him. He sliced through the tape with his nail. Sesshoumaru paused. Shit. He'd forgotten to tell Kagome about his brother, he realized as he leaned back and pulled out the fuzzy black and white photo that he had. He could easily have it touched up, but he liked the original. He pulled out another black and white frayed photo that had Inu Yasha next to Kouga, both in some absurd western-type clothing that hid most of their demon features. Kagome would like to see them, he imagined. He would show her the next time they met.
He took another swig of the beer, melancholy insistent when he picked up one of Rin's hair clips. There were also belongings from Hikari in the small box as well as other small tokens that meant so much of him. There was a scrap from his trademark kimono. The rest had all but fallen apart.
Tossing back the rest of the beer, he stood, feeling uncharacteristically impulsive. He kicked off his shoes and pulled the navy socks off, curling his toes against the concrete-like carpet before pushing the resistant door open to the small balcony of his apartment. The night air was refreshingly cool against his skin, but not too cold. Sesshoumaru flicked the tie back into the room and shed his shirt. A manic grin crossed his lips briefly moments before he leapt from the balcony and soared through the sky like he hadn't done in ages.
Tonight he didn't care that he might be seen. People always thought they saw things that they would later write off as having one too many drinks, or taking drugs, dreaming, or just plain having imagined. Tonight he needed the natural light of the moon to replace the TV's glare. Tonight he wanted to have the wind on his face and not streamlining over his car, creeping in the window. Tonight he wanted it raw like he had all those years ago in Japan.
Touching down on the top of the tallest apartment complex, he perched on the edge of the building, gazing across the night filled with artificial light. He hadn't missed the past this badly in a long time. And as much as he wanted to blame the girl, Sesshoumaru knew that she had only exacerbated his problem. This had been a long time building. True, she had returned those memories to the surface, and she brought up people and places that he hadn't thought of despite teaching the class all week long. It was really just an excuse to blame Kagome.
The cold wind of the upper sky blew through his ponytail, whipping it into his face. He pulled the hair band out and let his platinum blond hair blow about his shoulders. It didn't feel the same. Gazing down at his manicured nails, he curled a scornful lip, once again the surge for the old days flaring strongly. Maybe he would blame the girl. But only a little. He hadn't felt this alive in a very long time.
Throwing caution to the wind, Sesshoumaru lifted the charm that kept his true features hidden and lifted it over his head. Immediately he could feel the once-familiar weight of his hair, his ears, teeth, and youkai power enveloping him. Grinning into the moon, he leapt again. Joining the heavy clouds in the sky, Sesshoumaru bathed in the heavens and laughed through the lightning.
Only when he was thoroughly soaked did Sesshoumaru return to his balcony with a light heart. Wringing his hair out, he stepped inside leaving wet footprints on the way to his bathroom where he took a warm shower. It was therapeutic. Boxers only, he returned to where he'd left the TV on and plopped into his chair, once again returning his feet to their place on the table. Feeling around for his briefcase, Sesshoumaru gave a mild groan of annoyance when he realized he'd left it at the door. He plodded over towards the door and grabbed it only to return to his chair and take his computer out. Setting it on his lap, he flipped the lid open and waited until it powered up before logging into his email.
He grinned to himself when he saw Kagome's email address. Of course she had sent him an email. He opened it.
"Sesshoumaru, You never told me about Inu Yasha. You promised. When can you tell me? Kagome," he read aloud in his silent apartment.
Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair. It would be a while. He was busy with papers for another class, his new manuscript to prep for publishing—he'd gotten the letter while he'd been out with the girl. Not to mention there was a conference coming up. He hit 'reply.'
'Kagome, I regretfully apologise for neglecting to tell that story. I will not, however be able to see you for a bit of a while seeing as I have many responsibilities in the coming two weeks. I will promise you that I will tell you the story about my brother. You do, after all, deserve to know. We should meet again. I will have to let you know my availability sometime in the middle of the week after next. I did enjoy our time together Saturday. Thank you for the pleasant lunch date. Sesshoumaru'
Leaning back after he pressed the 'send' button, Sesshoumaru checked through the rest of his emails and closed his eyes.
It wasn't until his doorbell rang for the third time that he got up. The sun was shining through his window and balcony door. He groaned. Slept in the chair again. That was a bad habit into which to get, Sesshoumaru realized as he sat up and put his computer down on the table.
"Mister Inukami! Hello?" The woman outside his door pounded again.
What did she want? Shuffling towards the door, Sesshoumaru cursed as he saw his wild reflection of a taiyoukai in the mirror. He rushed back to his bedroom and grabbed the charm, yanking it over his ears. The nearest shirt was good enough, he decided, hurrying to answer the door. "Hello?" He pulled the wooden object open.
"Miste—Oh." The woman stared.
"Can I help you?"
She flushed. "I'm your… um. Well. Pardon me. I'm your landlord? You'd put in a request for maintenance. I was here to follow up…"
He stared at her dumbly, running a hand through his unruly hair. "Mainte—oh yes. My balcony door does not lock properly. And it's hard to open." He stepped back and let her in to do the inspection. By the time she left, it was well after noon. Having nothing better to do, Sesshoumaru settled into his work schedule and waited for the new week to start.