Wake Up Call
He'd been up since five o'clock, writing emails and leaving messages, making all the necessary arrangements that would allow him to be out of the office on leave until further notice. Clients were assigned to other partners in the firm; secretaries notified that he would not be taking on any new projects for the time being.
Sesshoumaru had just sat down with the paper prepared for a relaxing morning read while waiting for Kagome to wake when his phone rang, piercing the morning stillness. He'd barely flipped it open when his hearing was assaulted by a frantic female voice. Holding the phone away from his traumatized ear, he waited for the woman to pause for breath.
"Sango, calm down. She's here."
"Oh, thank heavens! I'm sorry to call so early, but…"
"Sango," he interrupted, unwilling to wait through her relieved rambling, but the woman continued as if he hadn't spoken.
"…when she wasn't here, I freaked and…"
"Sango!" he raised his voice over Kagome's friend to cut her off. Glancing at the bedroom door, he hoped he hadn't woken the girl sleeping in the next room. "Can you pack a suitcase for Kagome and bring it over? Enough clothes to last at least a week."
"Umm… sure. Can I ask why?"
"I'm keeping her with me for a while."
"Wha-? Sesshoumaru, I don't …"
"Sango, just bring her things. I'll explain when you get here."
"You sure about this?" Sango asked rolling her now-empty Coffee Bean cup back and forth between slender hands as she sat at Sesshoumaru's dining table.
"Yes. The accident was months ago. I'm not going to play this game with her any more."
"I knew she was depressed. God, who wouldn't be? I guess I just thought she would eventually pull out of it, you know?"
Sesshoumaru stood, relieving Sango of her container and depositing it in the waste bin. Visions of the lost and frightened look in Kagome's eyes the previous night flashed across his memory. She had become nothing more than a shell of the vibrant woman he'd once known and it tore at him that he'd let her become like this.
"I do know. I suppose a part of me was in denial about how bad she'd gotten as well, but it's time things changed. Kagome needs to be shown there is still a full life to be lived."
Sango remained quiet for a few minutes, contemplating everything he'd said. Sesshoumaru's reasons for keeping a closer eye on Kagome all made sense, but Sango couldn't help but feel that she'd let her best friend down. She'd tried to help Kagome through the crippling loss of Inuyasha, but with so many hours devoted to helping Miroku through his own lengthy and painful recovery, she hadn't been able to spend as much time with the other woman as she'd needed.
"Alright," she finally said, standing as well. "But you call me if…"
"She'll be fine, Sango," Sesshoumaru replied, escorting the woman to his door. "Focus on Miroku; I'll handle Kagome."
On impulse, Sango hugged the stoic man, whispering her thanks before dashing out the door. She knew Kagome was in safe hands. Her only worry now was what the two of them would do to each other. Sesshoumaru was about to change the rules on her friend and Sango knew well that when the elder Taisho put his mind to something, he played for keeps. The only problem was, so did Kagome. Sango only hoped the two of them survived the ensuing battle intact.
A/N: Written for the LiveJournal Community, dokuga_contest, and their oneshot prompt, For Keeps, this bit clocks in at 590 words. Originally posted May 6, 2010.