Kagome called after school was let out to let Sesshoumaru know that they were going to the mall for Sango's birthday. He didn't much care that they were celebrating something, and was wary about letting Inuyasha out into public. Sure, today had gone fine and he hadn't had any problems, but they came on sudden and unexpected and in the worst kind of places.
But he didn't feel like listening to Inuyasha's attitude if he had refused him going, so he just said "Okay" and let them go. Besides, there were three people with him. They'd probably be able to stop him.
Anyway, this gave him some time to get some rest. Even looking through his reading glasses, his vision was starting to blur and thus studying at this point in time was redundant. So he unbraided his hair and shed his clothes and took a shower. The hot water pounded on his scalp and shoulders as he shut his eyes. It felt glorious. All of his muscles ached and being able to close his eyes was wonderful.
When he started to doze off standing up, he got out of the shower and crawled into bed naked. He didn't even bother getting under the covers or even brushing his hair like he used to do before going to sleep. He lay his head on the pillows and almost immediately surrended to the dark.
Three hours went by. Three beautiful, dreamless hours. And then his cellular rang. He was used to interruptions by now, but they still irked him. He checked the clock then answered the phone.
"Inuyasha is..."
"Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be there."
He was also used to dressing quickly. He pulled on a pair of blue jeans, a tight black, long-sleeved t-shirt, a pair of old grey sneakers, and propped some sunglasses on his nose. He paused at the door, looking at a worn baseball cap, before leaving it and locking the door behind him.
Sesshoumaru got into the stylish and expensive car he had inherited when his father died (he still didn't even know what it was, as he wasn't interested in the brand or the name-they weren't made my his clan, after all) and backed out of the garage and driveway and sped his way to the mall.
It was exactly fifteen minutes past that he pulled into the parking lot and saw Kagome and Inuyasha sitting on a bench waiting for him. Nothing seemed to be amiss, except for the fact that he was being excessively clingy to her and laying his head on her shoulder.
He rolled his window down. "...What's wrong?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"He's not talking, and he seems to be afraid of everything."
A stranger walked between them to the parking lot and, as if to prove her point, Inuyasha flinched and pushed his face further into Kagome's shoulder. She absently stroked his hair with that arm, which was wrapped around him. Her eyes looked a little hollow in the fading sunlight.
"...Get him in the car."
Kagome helped Inuyasha over to the vehicle and strapped him into the backseat. He looked at her with wide eyes. Her hand unconsciously went to the patch of shirt above her heart and gripped it tightly.
"Do you want me to stay with him?" she asked.
"It's fine."
"He's not getting any better, is he?"
Her comment about his condition was blunt as they always were. She didn't find it offensive that Inuyasha was having problems and always talked about it seriously.
Sesshoumaru said nothing.
Kagome closed the car door and backed away from it.
"...Do you need a ride?" he asked just as she was turning away.
She paused, blinking, before smiling. "It's fine. I'll take the bus." She took another step and paused again. Sesshoumaru had been in the process of rolling up his window, but stopped midway. "Can you let him know when he wakes up that Sango and Miroku don't even know? That they'd gone off on their own before it happened?"
He just looked at her over his sunglasses, pale blue eyes blank.
"...Thanks," she said with a smile before leaving.