Simply Business Chapter 12, an inuyasha fanfic

A.N: How's this for an update? Less than a week and I already got this one out. I should get a medal (kidding).

Dedication: I have three very special dedications today! First to TAJE for being one of the biggest reasons I'm up and posting (I recommend you go and read her story Maturity & Sacrifice! It's starting off strong and it's bound to be an awesome read!) Second dedication goes! Sesshomarugrl for supplying my 400th review! And Finally, Kanazawa for reviewing every chapter with smiling inducing reviews! You guys rock!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. However, I can completely without hesitation say I own Sesshoumaru ('s plushie). He lives on a shelf in my room.

Simply Business

Chapter Twelve-

(Tsuki)

Kagome was more than glad to be home. During dinner, Sesshoumaru had made very uncalled for barbs at her hair… very seductively.

The notebook in her hands was wrought in Kagome's remembrance.

She had been called everything from a troll to well…she really was not willing to bring it up again. It made her boil.

The raven haired woman picked up her pen and jotted an answer down. Sango looked it over and smiled in agreement. The brown haired woman then backed away again as Kagome clenched her fists and growled.

Sango laughed nervously behind a hand, "Calm down, Kag-chan…I'm not Sesshoumaru…no need to get hostile on me…"

Kagome scowled, "That man just pisses me off sometimes!"

Had it been anyone else she would have laughed. But Sesshoumaru! No…what he did that night was unforgivable.

It was the way he had insulted her hair… He could have just straight out been, "Oh you look like a troll tonight. Go fix that…" Maybe even point and laugh…

But no.

Instead, he would subtly and lean over to her and get way too close for comfort and smirk. He would then pick up one of her many frills of hair and remark, "Rin had a troll with the same hair. How coincidental."

It made her blush just thinking about it.

She buried her head in her hands and groaned.

Somehow they had ended up sitting at the same side of the dinner table. Usually it was her and Rin far away from him across the table, but Rin had decided to liven things up that day.

She and Shippou, though she was happy for their friendship, had been the cause of Sesshoumaru for an hour, being able to torment her. (It would have been shorter, but Rin and Shippou had refused to eat—they were probably in on the attempt to abuse her). Every once and awhile, he would reach over her for the damn salt shaker just to tease her.

And tease her he did.

Kagome's pen poked through her worksheet and dented her notebook.

Sango raised a brow.

His voice was so velvety and deep and his cologne smelled faintly of— 'Think kittens Kagome! Damnit, kittens! You're supposed to be mad! Don't think of his sex appeal!'

She rolled her eyes at herself. 'I'm so helpful…But I am mad! I'm super mad in fact…No…I'm pissed!'

She put away her sheet. It was the only thing that went undone for that night's homework, but she could do it in the morning.

She was not looking forward to handing in Swiss cheese.

Kagome stomp her foot abruptly, as she mimicked him, "'Ask you to pass the salt? No thank you. I might upset your hair and I don't quite want to be attacked tonight.'"

She was adlibbing just a tad, but that was beside the point, "And after he was done adding one tiny ass grain, he'd reach over again and put it back. I damn near shoved the salt shaker up his ass!"

Sango tried to keep in her laughter, "I guess you had fun…"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Don't even start with me!" she suddenly became menacing, "But I'm going to get him back though…Tomorrow, I'm hiding his underwear and replacing them with thongs! It'll be the best twenty dollars I could ever spend."

Sango let out a laugh, "That's absolutely priceless!"

Kagome grinned, "And we'll be away Saturday, so I won't have to worry about him getting pissy on me. And Sunday night, he'll probably have forgotten all about it."

Sango snorted, "Unlikely…but I'm glad you're so optimistic."

Kagome laughed and after that, for a few minutes it was quiet. The only noise came from their living room clock.

Tick…

Abruptly both girls turned to each other.

And then began the battle of unison…

"Eh… Sango…" / "Um, Kagome…"

They blinked.

"You first." / "You go first…"

"No it's fine!" / "I can wait!"

"So this is what happened— I didn't expect…" / "Well you see I wasn't planning to but..."

"Oops…!" / "Sorry!"

"We count to three and then spill, okay?" / "How about we both spill on the count of three?"

They sweat dropped.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

"I accidentally invited Sesshoumaru's boyfriend over to watch a movie!" / "I wasn't thinking and invited Mirouku over for tea!"

Sango's eye twitched, "Sesshoumaru's …gay?"

Kagome clasped her hands together, "Really! That's so great! You and Mirouku have really gotten so close!"

Sango mused, "I'm kind of not surprised though… His hair is just too nice." Not that all guys who ran a comb through their hair were gay… Sango stroked her chin. But there were guys with nice hair and then there was Sesshoumaru.

Kagome waved her hand dismissively, "Sesshoumaru's not gay, but the guy who is coming over is. He completely fell head over heels for the ass. I told you about him. The one from Burger King…what's-his-face?"

Sango laughed, "Okay. I'm lost. What the hell have you guys been doing all week…?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Hey! I've been doing all the storytelling tonight. It's your turn."

Sango sighed, "But I'm so curious!"

Kagome responded airily, "Well if you're so curious, then you'd better tells yours quite so I can get to mine."

Sango stuck out her tongue, "I just don't know why I'm friends with this chick…"

(Tsuki)

Shippou suddenly jumped into Sesshoumaru's lap. Rin was making them finish the rest of the movie together.

It was such, such hell for him.

A grown man watching The Little Mermaid. How the mighty had fallen. And what was even sadder was that he had the option of saying no. However, the look of disappointment on Rin's face had completely made him dismiss such.

In the subconscious of his mind he heard the crack of a whip.

"Hey old man…"

Sesshoumaru cringed and narrowed his eyes, "What did you call me?"

Shippou bounced a bit, "See, you are getting old! Your hair's gray and you can't hear good!"

Sesshoumaru's brow rose. "Well."

He blinked, realizing something, 'My hair isn't gray….' He scowled.

The red head cocked his head to the side, "Well what?" Rin promptly shushed them. Sesshoumaru rubbed his temple. "Your sentence was incorrect. It is 'you cannot hear well.'"

Shippou furrowed his brow, "You don't explain things good. I don't get it."

Sesshoumaru's eye brow twitched and he remarked wryly. "I suppose I don't. Now what did you want."

Rin threw a pillow at her father, her eyes glued to the screen. "Shh! Papa! It's the best part!"

There was a slight twapping sound as the pillow bounced of his head.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes trying to think of what he had done to offend whatever god was cursing him.

Maybe it was when he had nearly run over that priest the other day…

Hmm…

Shippou bounced once again on Sesshoumaru's lap, "Old mannnn!"

Sesshoumaru glared at the boy and asked coldly, "What?"

Shippou smiled brightly, "Can I take a bath with you? Me and momma do that all the time…Hey maybe you, me, and Rin can all do it together!"

One certain section of Sesshoumaru's face began to commence twitching.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, reminding himself that Shippou was only a child. It did not help that much.

He picked up Shippou and placed him down on the floor.

Sesshoumaru turned around to leave, Shippou staring at his back in confusion, "Old mannnn! You never answered my question."

In a low tone, Sesshoumaru smiled tightly and responded, "You will bathe alone and like it."

Shippou turned to Rin who was squealing about how wonderful the ending was and asked, "Hey Rin…did Uncle Sesshoumaru reach menopause….Is that why he's so cranky?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed.

Just what in the name of all that was concerned with childrearing, was Sara teaching the damn kid?

He scowled and left the room.

On second thought,…he did not want to know.

(Tsuki)

It was a little past seven when Sango and Kagome had started prepping for bed and eaten dinner (Or rather, Sango ate while Kagome nibbled on pretzels). By eight, they had begun finishing up their homework-of course the sole concentration on homework had not lasted long.

It was now nine, and they were not even considering thinking about going to bed.

Sango had just finished her tale and was about to set into hearing Kagome's recap of her week—something she was completely looking forward to.

"And don't skip anything…I want to hear it all."

Kagome rolled her eyes fondly, "I'm getting there, don't worry!"

"I told you about the Burger King thing, but I guess I left out the cashier. I might have vaguely talked about him, but—"

Sango looked frustrated, "Go on!"

Kagome laughed, "Okay, okay. But I thought he was this flirty woman-hating guy, who kept passing these sexual innuendos at Sesshoumaru. I hadn't expected him to show up with our pizza tonight. Rin and I had ordered out and—"

Ring!

Kagome and Sango jumped, neither expecting the phone to start ringing. Sango put a hand over her heart, "Jeeze! That scared the crap out of me!"

Ring!

Kagome nodded a bit and stood to pick up the receiver, "Hello?"

"This thing will not shut up."

Kagome stared at the phone, incredulous, "Sesshoumaru?! Do you know what time it is?" She sputtered a bit, going over what he had said before, "What thing?"

She could just see him cringing, "I am well aware of what hour it is. Unfortunately Shippou is not..."

Kagome furrowed her brows together and Sango whispered, "What's he saying?"

The raven haired girl put a hand over the mouth piece, "Shippou's…not "shutting up", according to Sesshoumaru."

Sango's face mirrored Kagome's confusion.

Kagome turned her attention to Sesshoumaru, "I'm not really understanding. Is he talking too mu—"

Abruptly the sound of Shippou, bawling, replaced Sesshoumaru. Kagome held the phone from her ear.

"Sesshoumaru! What the hell did you do to him? …You don't really have a gun do you?" the last question came out tentatively.

Sango squeaked, "What?"

Sesshoumaru sighed clearly frustrated, and Kagome felt a little bad for him, "I'm sorry. I'll be over in a bit. Try not to overdose before I get there," she joked lightly.

Kagome put the phone down and kicked off her slippers. She searched for her keys and stuffed her feet into her sneakers.

Sango handed her her jacket since Kagome could not seem to find hers, "We'll continue tomorrow, but for now, I'm guessing Sesshoumaru is having kid problems."

Kagome smiled gratefully, "Thanks Sango-chan. I'll be back later. Don't wait up for me, if it gets to late. Good night…"

Sango helped her out of the door, "Bye Kago-chan, g'night."

As Sango closed the door behind the other girl, she yawned.

"I hope she's okay with being out in her pajamas…"

(Tsuki)

Kagome knocked on the door furiously, almost afraid to ring the doorbell. Sesshoumaru opened the door, however, after the second set of rapping.

He ran a hand through his hair, obviously at ends, "As soon as he fell asleep, he turned into a banshee."

Kagome frowned a bit, and followed him upstairs, "Did you try waking him up?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a look, "I may be male, but I do have common sense even when it comes to children."

Kagome rolled her eyes and jabbed a finger into his back, "I'm here to help, not take your crap, Sesshoumaru. I'm still mad at you for dinner. Don't mess with me." The sound of whimpering came from one of the rooms and Kagome went ahead of Sesshoumaru into it.

Rin was looking worriedly at Shippou, a teddy bear in her arms.

Kagome patted her head and Rin seemed more at ease, "Is Kagome-nee-chan going to make Shippou better?"

The raven haired girl merely smiled. There was no need in making empty promises.

Kagome approached the bed, where Shippou tossed and turned, his faced flushed and twisted in pained.

Kagome's heart wrenched and she carefully pulled back the blankets. She sat down on the bed next to him and put a cool hand on his head, "Calm down, Shippou."

Shippou gave a pitiful whimper and continued to cry.

The sound was enough to break her heart.

Kagome cupped his face gently, but he was refusing to wake up, "It's alright, Shippou.. You don't have to cry." She bit her bottom lip, not really knowing what to say.

He was no longer fretfully rolling about the bed, but he was still noticeably upset. Kagome brought him into her lap. "It's all okay, Ship-chan."

Rin pulled the edge of the lengthy coat Kagome wore, "Kagome-nee-chan, Ariel made Prince Eric all better when she sung to him."

Kagome blushed, "I don't sing." She gave a glance at Sesshoumaru and blushed further, 'Especially not in front of smiley over there.'

It wasn't that she was horrible…she wasn't Utada Hikari either, but she just did not like to sing with an audience.

Sesshoumaru was seated against the wall near the door. Rin scampered from Kagome and sat down in Sesshoumaru's lap.

Shippou let out another form wracking sob and Kagome bit down her embarrassment and softly sung out the only song that could come to mind.

Her cheeks tainted pink as each word left her lips.

"Go on and close the curtains,

'cause all we need is candlelight,"

Shippou calmed himself down a bit, much to Kagome's relief.

"You and me…and a bottle a bottle of wine—

Gonna hold you tonight."

She smiled a bit as Shippou sniffed and reached small pudgy hands into the air.

Kagome grasped them gently and hugged them.

"Well we know I'm going away.

And how I wish, wish it weren't so…"

Kagome pulled the covers over him and carefully got off of the bed.

"Take this wine and drink with me—

Let's delay our misery."

Kagome stopped the song there as Shippou's breathing eased and it looked and sounded more as if he were sleeping. She gave him a light kiss on his forehead and he smiled a bit.

Kagome smiled and looked over at Rin. She was surprised when she saw both her and Rin sleeping.

She let out a soft laughed at the sight.

Kagome carefully walked over and carefully picked Rin up. She knelt next to Sesshoumaru and gently tapped him, "Come on, big guy, time for bed for you."

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open and Kagome grinned.

He gazed at Shippou, "It's off?"

Kagome stood and whispered stifling a laugh. "Shippou's not an it! Now come one and help me put Rin to sleep."

Sesshoumaru rose and took Rin from Kagome and let out a soft chuckle, "Quite the attire, Kagome."

Kagome looked down at the puffy over the shoulder black sweater that was a few too many sizes too big, that she had thrown over a red tank top. Coupled with the heart covered boxers, Kagome felt ridiculous underneath Sango's pink trench coat.

She blushed and hit him across the head, "Don't start with me, Sesshoumaru."

Kagome opened the door to Rin's room and Sesshoumaru carefully carried her to the bed. He set her down softly and Kagome tucked her in.

She grinned and asked in a low, but playful voice, "Don't cha feel like a couple of parents."

Sesshoumaru stated bluntly, "I've felt like a parent for years now."

Kagome let out a laugh and patted him on the back, "Yeah yeah. Your turn buddy."

He looked insulted, "I'm more than capable of getting into my bed, by myself. If anything needs help, then it is your singing…"

Kagome snorted, "Okay, first—yes you do. And secondly you can not talk until we go out for karaoke. Besides, Shippou seemed to like my song." She ended huffily.

"Now come on," she continued.

She gave a quick peck on Rin's forehead, mumbling quickly about treating both fairly. Afterwards, she herded Sesshoumaru out of the room and towards his.

Kagome practically pushed him into his bed, grinning.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and submerged himself under the blankets before Kagome could. He smiled slightly, "Thank you for your assistance. I was honestly…at a loss for what to do—as hard as that is for me to admit it."

Kagome laughed and sat down on the edge of the bed, "Wow…a rare event has occurred tonight, hasn't it? But Rin helped too, so I can't take all the credit. Now get to sleep. You probably have to wake up at some ungodly hour I've never heard of, so rest up."

Sesshoumaru snorted, "Six does not get qualified as 'ungodly'…Now good night."

Kagome laughed, "Yes, it does. In fact it defines the word."

Sesshoumaru rolled his amber eyes at her. Kagome merely grinned. Sesshoumaru eyes drifted close against his will and Kagome kissed him on his forehead as soon as he closed his eyes.

Before mentioned eyes popped open and Kagome laughed. She made the victory sign, "Good night."

She skipped out of his room laughing, as she gently closed his room door.

"That was for the pajama comment."

However, if she had waited a few seconds more, she would have seen Sesshoumaru put his hand on his eyes as he let out a loud chuckle.

(Tsuki)

Lol. That counts as a nice kissy-kissy right? (Of course not.) But I did have fun writing it. This is more of a filler chapter, though. Not too much action, unfortunately, but there's always never chapter where I get to have my (sadistic) laughs.

Relationships are progressing nicely, but poor Shippou. Can anyone guess the name of the song I used? This isn't the first appearance in my fics.

It's such a catchy song lol.

Review, review, review, cause they are the gas to my car (aka my ability to dish out chappies)! And this was a long, long chapter too! Over 3,100 words.