A.N. Feel so good to update so quickly! Thank you all for reviewing and following this all the way 'til now!! I love you guys tons!
IMPORTANT: I have up to chapter 25 written. I'll update immediately after every 20 reviews (to give time for a second editing). So review please.
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Simply Business
(Tsuki)
Chapter Twenty-Two
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(Tsuki)
"What epoch did I suddenly step into?" Sesshoumaru asked sarcastically, cringing a bit. With raised brows he took in Kagome's appearance once he stepped into the kitchen. He had just come home from work and it was a bit past five. "I feel as if I was suddenly hurled into a stereotypical American 70s era."
He looked up and down at Kagome's attire with disbelief and the girl grimaced. Never again was she doing that ingrate a favor. She had refrained from using his apron despite the fact that she was planning on going out later and this was the thanks she got!
'But maybe adding the headband and the peace sign necklace had been too weird,' she mused as she mentally went over her appearance. She had taken a wide brown headband and used it to push back her bangs so that she could pull her hair into a high ponytail.
The new piece of bijoux was the aforementioned necklace. It was a long and dainty affair with a fist sized peace medallion hanging off of it. "Sango said I looked cute though…" Kagome murmured with a pout. The comment was more to herself than the silver haired bane of her existence that was currently slipping off his coat.
However it seemed Sesshoumaru caught wind of what she said for he snorted though he strayed from saying anything sarcastic. But that minute sound was more than enough to convey what he thought.
Kagome stuck out her tongue, "Well it doesn't matter what you think since I certainly did not dress up like this for you!"
Sesshoumaru went to the fridge, with a ready retort, "Then I pity whoever you did wear that for then." He stooped down to grab a bottle of water.
Kagome rolled her eyes, "Stop being mean or I'll decide not to feed you." She was surprised that that was enough to quiet the man's urge to say anything snide about how she looked. But she had to admit, she outdid herself today, the snack cakes in the oven were baking nicely, and what was on the stove was also fairing well.
The man strolled over to where she was and peered into a saucer that she was using to cook. Kagome blushed as he came within centimeters of her person. He was so close that she could catch the scent of his cologne.
Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side and his eyes narrowed a bit as he saw a gray and yellow mass that was speckled with bits of pink. Though it smelled intoxicating, it looked absolutely revolting. "What do you call this exactly?"
Kagome hurriedly pushed him away with a giggle, "None of your business until it's done! It's going to be a surprise since I'm in a pretty decent mood today."
Sesshoumaru smirked, "I see." He allowed himself to be pushed out of the oven (and Kagome)'s proximity. But before he exited the kitchen entirely, he asked, "When are you leaving, may I ask?"
Kagome looked at the kitchen clock, "Um…six-ish. Maybe six-thirty, depending on when my friend picks me up."
Sesshoumaru nodded, "Would you be as kind as to alert me thirty minutes prior to dinner?"
Kagome smiled, "Sure, where will you be?"
"In the gym. I've been feeling a bit sluggish lately."
She bit down on her tongue to keep down an incredulous 'what?!' from bursting from her lips. Kagome tried not to imagine Sesshoumaru working out, so as to keep her face from flaming up. It took all of her composure to muster a steady, "Okay, will do."
Sesshoumaru thanked her and left.
It was only after he left that Kagome allowed her cheeks to turn a bright rouge. She covered her face with her hands.
If this wasn't treading in dangerous territories, she did not know what was.
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(Tsuki)
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Kagome sat curled up with her MNU laptop on the couch in the living room. She had brought a knapsack with her so that she could do a bit of work while she waited. It was a miracle in itself, though that she was able to work considering Shippou and Rin were watching an animated comedy film. Since it was Friday night and Kagome set them up to brought a DVD from her collection and had supplied them with snacks.
Since Sesshoumaru was a Sodium Chloride Nazi, instead of chips and popcorn, the snacks consisted of chewy granola bars and sliced fruits that had been sprayed with lemon juice so they wouldn't brown.
However, maybe she had been working a bit too well. Before she knew it, the oven timer she set for Sesshoumaru went off.
Kagome started and nearly flung her laptop off her lap. Thankfully, not only was her little outburst undetected by the two young ones in front of the television, but the laptop, which held four years worth of school work, was also safe.
Shakily she stood and hurried to quiet the beeping alarm. She placed her laptop on the counter top, took in a deep breath and murmured, "You can do this, Kagome. It's not like he exercises naked."
Besides, she doubted she could ever see more of Sesshoumaru than what she saw during that whole thong incident...
With a new bravado, Kagome ascended the stairs.
Maybe he exercised in one of those baggy foil suit things that old women jog in…
Or a winter coat and sweats maybe?
Kagome rubbed her temples as she reached the door of his gym. The door was closed, and she suddenly felt revitalized. Who said she had to even go inside? She knocked with gusto and with a clear voice she called, "Sesshoumaru?"
She was chagrined when she received no answer. She knocked a bit louder, feeling alarm. "S-Sesshoumaru?"
Still no answer. She tried calling him a third time, but got the same result. That bastard really was intent on making her go in there wasn't he?
She groaned as she turned the knob with her eyes closed, "I'm coming in…"
Kagome had intended on keeping her eyes closed the entire time, by as soon as she entered, her foot knocked into a stray hand weight and she was forced to open her eyes.
She spotted Sesshoumaru instantly.
The silver haired man was seated on a triceps-targeting machine. His form fitting gray wife-beater covered chest was pressed against the padded cushion of the machine and his sneaker clad feet were resting against bars at the sides.
Kagome almost fell into a mystified daze as she watched his muscles contract with ever pull of the weighted handles in towards his body.
She snapped out of her trance immediately though and after mentally chiding herself, she gingerly walked up to him. As she got closer, she could see that headphones were plugged into his ears.
She almost laughed. No wonder he couldn't hear her. The girl gently tapped Sesshoumaru on the back and he instantly stopped his reps. He took the earpieces out and turned to her.
Kagome smiled a bit awkwardly, "Thirty minutes until dinner, Sesshoumaru."
He nodded and Kagome gave him room to get off the machine. He stretched a bit before turning off his mp3 player. The rectangular device was tucked between the waist band of his darkly toned sweats and his hip. "Alright."
Kagome could not help but watch his every moment. She had truly forgotten how toned he was. As he started slipping off a pair of fingerless palm protecting gloves, he drawled, "If you want, you can watch me take a shower, as well."
The raven haired girl blushed a crimson color, "I-I didn't mean to stare, I just—I—" she groaned. "I should go."
"Right. After all, I'm sure your boyfriend would be quite unhappy to learn that you were—"
"Finish that sentence, and I swear I will get you back using edible means."
He chuckled huskily as he picked up a small towel and wiped his forehead. "Then I suppose, if your hormones will allow, I'll be off to take a shower."
Kagome resisted the urge the flip him off and huffily exited the gym, muttering about obnoxiously arrogant, stuck up businessmen with chiseled abs.
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(Tsuki)
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Rin insisted that Kagome join them for dinner since she had not done so in a long while, but the raven haired girl was not sure what to say. Neither Sango nor Mirouku, or even Kouga had called yet. She wasn't even sure what the plans were for that night anyway.
Sango had not really specified and 'taking us out,' perhaps would not mean going to a restaurant.
In the end, Kagome decided eating a little would not harm her. Besides, who could say no to that face?
Though she wished she had when the seating came about.
While Rin seemed so enthusiastic about having Kagome stay for dinner, once Shippou asked her to sit next to him, she instantaneously went over to the red head's side.
The raven haired girl could not help but feel hurt. Especially seeing as how that meant that she was right next to Sesshoumaru.
'Why do I always set the table like this?! I should have put plates at the heads of the table. Damn my lack of foresight!' She cursed her Kyoto habits. Since it was just her, Souta, her mother, and her Jii-chan, she simply fell into the rhythm of setting the places in parallel.
Sesshoumaru smirked when she took a seat next to him and she tried to send him a not so pleasant, 'fuck you,' through a telepathic means. And if that failed, the fact that she was glaring daggers at his skull probably could do the job.
He simply asked her a clearly feigned solicitous question. "You seem upset, are you alright, Higurashi?"
Kagome grumpily slunk into her seat, "I'm not talking to you." She rolled her eyes. Well…that would probably be a failed resolution. She tried not looking at him yet she knew that his long hair was in a lengthy braid and it was a darker color since it was damp. She had also noted that he had changed into a loosely buttoned white button up and a pair of deep blue jeans.
Noticing that he was wearing jeans was perhaps the saddest part of that feat. Not only since he was, of course, seated, but also because of the lengthy table cloth that adorned the table. It covered a good portion of the occupants' lower half.
But hell if he moved about three centimeters to the left she would be able to tell anyone what the brand of his socks was.
Kagome dejectedly put a spoon of her surprise dinner into her mouth. She was unable to revel in the taste of baked chicken stuffed with a cornbread and diced shrimp mixture.
Halfway through the dinner, Kagome's resolve to not talk to Sesshoumaru broke down. She suddenly leaned over to him, "I suddenly feel a bit left out," she murmured and pointed her fork in the direction of Shippou and Rin who were animatedly discussing the movie they just watched. "Engage me in conversation."
Sesshoumaru snorted, "Engage you in conversation? What happened to your silent treatment?"
"I think you've learned your lesson, so punishment is over."
"I was on punishment? What ever for? After all, I was the one who was visually violated in my own home."
Kagome pouted, "Violated?! I think not! I am the victim here…Why were you parading your body in my line of sight? You asked me to go in there anyway; I didn't go there of my own free will."
Sesshoumaru looked as if he was about to retort but he abruptly stopped himself. He looked at her for a few seconds, before he inquired, "How is it that I always end up arguing with you?"
Though the man had been questioning himself more than the girl in front of him, he ended up receiving a response. Kagome huffed in answer, "Well you usually start it, Sesshoumaru."
Sesshoumaru seemed a bit thrown off by that fact.
He had accused her of being unprofessional the other day, and yet here he was acting so juvenilely. Rin suddenly asked Kagome a question and Sesshoumaru took a closer look at the girl.
What was it about her that made him lose his normally composed demeanor? That tiny pixie of a girl… Why was he so quick to fall into her unrestrained air?
He rubbed his temples, perhaps tonight was the wrong night to think about this. He could already feel a migraine forming at the sudden realization of this conundrum.
Suddenly Kagome reached over and grasped Sesshoumaru's hand in hers. She stared at the palm and looked intent on comparing her own palm with him. She seemed relieved about something. "Phew! The number of palm lines doesn't match up…"
Sesshoumaru simply stared as the brown eyed girl briefly stuck out her tongue and him. It was a brief action because at that point, he had smiled at her.
All expression had died on her face from the sight and she sat entranced by his visage, his warm hand still encased by hers.
Sesshoumaru gently took his remaining hand and removed her hands.
'At this point I can only wonder….With this year…How will this girl use it to entrench herself into our lives?'
It was then that the doorbell rang.
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(Tsuki)
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Oddly enough, Mirouku chose a night of games and chocolate drinks at a local arcade as his idea of stress relieving. Called the Crown, it was an ornate and bright building with the latest brain rotting, seizure causing, and noise-spewing arcade games in the city. A counter at the front of the arcade was there to serve everything from Banana Splits to Yogurt Parfaits.
Mirouku grinned as he got them a comfortable red booth in a corner, sharing company with two fake plants. Sango and Mirouku took one side, while Kagome was then left to slide into the other side along with Kouga. "So how's this for a stress reliever? It's a bit lame—"
"Are you kidding," Kagome cut him off incredulously, "I'm loving this! I've always wanted an excuse to come in here but I always thought I'd look idiotic if I came in alone." She pierced Sango with a dirty look and drawled, "Since a certain roommate of mine refused to go in with me after all…"
Sango huffed, "Sorry for not wanting to feel like a huge giant among midgets, Kagome."
Kouga chuckled, "I feel a little too old for here, I'll admit, but with a group it's not so bad."
Mirouku rolled his eyes, "We definitely are not the oldest people here! I doubt anyone would know that we're in our twenties anyway."
As the words left his mouth a group of young boys passed them, groaning, "Ew… who brought their parents here?", "Don't they realize this is a place for kids?", "The owner should just kick them out of here…they're ruining the place!" and other annoyed phrases as they dredged passed.
Mirouku face flamed up and he cleared his throat. "On second thought…Maybe we should change our location…"
Sango stared at the raucous group and said in an equally loud tone, "Why should we leave? I mean after all I'm sure we could kick their asses in any of these games!" She was more than a bit enraged by the fact that they thought she was old enough to have a teenage child.
The four person group stopped their joking and headed back towards the booth they had passed.
Kagome was about to calm her friend down, when one of the boys called, "Which one of you said that?"
Before Sango could answer, a stocky brunette pointed at Kagome and sneered, "I think it was the ugly hag with the headband."
Kagome clenched her teeth, "Hag?! Son of bitc—!"
By that time, Kouga had already shot to his feet and Mirouku slammed his hands on the table before the other blued eyed man could manage to throw a punch at a snickering fourteen year old. "Let's settle this without our fists, Kouga."
A raven haired boy, dressed in a dark hoodie and a pair of deliberately tattered jeans suddenly gain some bravado, "One of you grandmas said that could, 'kick our asses'," he sneered, "so let's see who can whoop who."
Sango narrowed her eyes, "You're on, fetus." The four looked among each other in confusion at the term and there were some murmurs among them.
At any other time, the four would have possibly burst into laughter, but with each on the fringe of anger, none was in a humorous mood.
Kagome held up a hand, "Wait. Shouldn't there be some sort of penalty for the losers?" Again murmurs erupted among those in the group. Kagome did not wait for an answer. "When you lose," she smiled coolly, "and mind you, you will lose, the conditions will be that you have to buy us whatever we want."
Kouga grinned toothily and Mirouku chuckled a bit. Even morally austere Sango could not oppose the prospect of trying to get free drinks from fourteen year olds.
A boy with dyed blonde hair crossed his arms, "Don't be so cocky, ugly! I'm sure we'll win and when we do, I'll eat you out of house and home!"
Kouga growled, "Would you brats stop with the names! It's pissing me off, and if you keep it up, not even that guy will be able to hold me back!" He gestured loosely at Mirouku whose expression was enough to tell the boys that he wasn't going to make a second attempt to hold back his friend.
One of the teens, who had yet to speak, but had simply stood in the middle of the group, suddenly stepped forward.
He said in a slightly husky, cool voice, he said, "Then here are the rules… Four rounds of games. Us…against you. The first team to three wins takes this contest. If we tie, a game between whomever you chose, and myself will determine the final decision. The losing team has to buy their corresponding opponent whatever they wish. Is that fine?"
Mirouku nodded stiffly, "Fine."
The boy suddenly paused and a sinister smile flitted onto his face, "One more thing… If our team wins, I want," he slowly lifted a finger and pointed at Kagome, "a date with her."
The three boys around him gasped, "But she's sooo ugly, boss! Why her? At least the other one has a decent body!"
Sango grit her teeth together. This was ridiculous! Before the night was over she was going to strangle each and every last obnoxious, squeaky voiced one.
Mirouku and Kouga too looked enraged. The gravelly voiced dark haired man spat, "Punk! You snot nose little punk! No way in hell—!"
Kagome interrupted him with a spine chilling laugh. Her three friends turned to look at her and found her calmly staring at the kids. "Whatever your conditions are, we accept. It'll make it all the more gratifying when you do lose."
The leader of the group simply smirked at her and shrugged, "We'll see."
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Sango laughed incredulously, "I can't believe we tied every game…" She suddenly regretted egging those kids on. After all, they probably lived in this arcade once school ended. They on the other hand were either full time college students with jobs and extracurricular activities or full time workers with lives...
Kagome gripped her friend tightly, "I don't want to go on a date with that evil midget, Sango… They're actually good! I didn't expect them to actually be able to play."
Mirouku rubbed her back gently, "They're just a bunch of fourteen year olds who got lucky up until now. We'll win this." In his mind he was thanking the gods for the lack of costumers there to see their clash against the pack of teenagers. Only a scatter of people was in the arcade and though every now and then they tossed back odd looks, they minded their business for the most part.
Only the owner seemed to be watching them closely with what could only be described as a mix of skepticism and amusement.
Kouga scowled and cracked his knuckles, "I second that… I'll take on that little brat, Kagome. I can't beat his stupid face in, in real life, so I'm just itching to find another alternative."
The lavender haired youth, who seemed to command the other boys grinned from across from them, "I'm waiting."
Mirouku squashed the urge to tell off the boy. Instead he gave Kouga a push towards the designated game and murmured a few words of encouragement. Time seemed to slow down as Kouga took a seat in a car shaped booth that he was clearly too big for and the odd youngster took a seat in an adjacent booth.
They both pressed the two player function and as the car sound effects filled the arcade, Kagome, Sango and Mirouku remained holding hands with baited breath. It was longest five minutes of their lives, perhaps.
As a woman's somewhat robotic voice filled the area counting down the last ten seconds. Kagome closed her eyes.
She felt Sango squeeze her hand and then the race finished.
"Ah! Good luck next time Player 1! This race belongs to Player 2!"
Kouga burst out of the booth with a loud cheer and the four boys started groaning, "Told you I would win!" Kagome's eyes opened slowly and Mirouku clapped his friend on the back, "Nice, Kouga!"
Sango gave Kouga a one armed hug, "Atta boy! I'm so proud of you." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "I seriously thought we'd have to shell out our money to those four jerks…"
Kagome took everything in as if it were all in slow motion. Each second seemed to stretch on for a life time.
But suddenly it was all clear to her.
Right here and right now, she had Kouga. Every moment would be different. Yet no matter what, June was a long way away.
What would happen then…? Well…who cared?
Kagome blinked and everything sped up again. She took a step forward, before bursting into a run to tightly embrace the boyishly grinning man.
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(Tsuki)
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Creakkk….
"…"
"Shippou-chan?"
"…"
"Are you awake?"
"…"
A soft sigh escaped the mouth of the brunette as she stood in the doorway of Shippou's room. An orange pillow was hugged tightly to her body and fluffy slippers adorned her feet, which were nervously toeing the carpet. She turned to walk away when a voice groggily asked, "Rin?"
Rin's eyes lit up and she hurriedly closed the door behind her and padded up to Shippou's bed, "Sorry Rin woke you, but I couldn't sleep."
Shippou rubbed his eyes as he sat up in the dark. He crawled out of the center of his bed and reached over to the wall aside his night stand to turn on a nightlight. He yawned behind one hand.
"Did you have a nightmare?" His voice held a touch of concern and he reflexively gripped the bear his mother had made him.
Rin shook her head furiously, her hair spraying everywhere. She always left it completely down when she slept. "No, no nightmares. What Rin is thinking isn't scary," she trailed off.
Shippou furrowed his eyes together and patted an area on the comforter next to him, "Well you got my attention, so what is it?"
There was definitely something more… tame about Shippou during the night.
Rin climbed onto the bed and whispered, a bit nervously now, "Do you think…" She took in a deep breath, "Do you think that Rin could get a mommy?"
"You mean Kagome-nee-chan?"
"Yeah," she breathed in a whisper. Her cheeks reddened and her enthuse dampened a bit, "But no one has wanted to be Rin's mommy since I could remember—"
Shippou crawled up to Rin and put his arms around her waist, though they did not quite encircle her completely. "Well they're all stupid! Kagome's different!"
Rin returned the hug, "But Papa-Sesshoumaru does not seem to like nee-chan sometimes. And their palms didn't match like you said they should…"
Shippou suddenly scoffed, "Impossible! Nee-chan's as good as that guy will ever get! Momma always said that no one likes menopausal old men," he said in an exasperated tone as he tried to convince her. He nodded, "Don't worry, Momma will know if the old man likes Kagome-nee. They might have failed the palm test, but…" he shrugged and suddenly rubbed his eyes, sniffling a bit, "I like nee-chan… I want to live with you, momma, and Kagome, and Uncle Sesshoumaru forever," his voice ended in a desperate crack.
Rin felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. She fiercely blinked her eyes. "Are we in trouble Shippou?"
The red haired child shook his head furiously, "It'll work! I promise, Rin! I'll make sure the both of us have our mommies in the end!"
Rin smiled suddenly.
Even if Shippou couldn't keep that promise, at least she would have him and her papa forever. And Shippou's momma was nice. Shippou had asked her to join him on the phone a few times.
So while they were no Kagome…
She couldn't finish the sentence. It was too hard to fool herself into thinking that she wouldn't need her Kagome. "Shippou-chan, can I please sleep with you?"
Shippou laughed with a sniffle, "I was just about to ask the same question."
Rin joined in on the quiet giggling as Shippou turned off the lights and they entered a playful battle of storytelling to lighten the mood.
Although each story was different they all shared the common theme of being about Sara, Sesshoumaru, or Kagome.
As the two drifted to sleep almost simultaneously, both had to wonder. What were the odds of such a perfect ending?
Did they even exist?
Yes, what were even the odds of a sick mother recovering from a serious illness? Of two very different strangers falling in love?
At that very moment, a silver haired man was checking his email, checking for notice about his father's living arrangements for his visit. He mentally sighed in relief when the word, 'hotel' appeared numerous times in the body of the message.
Concurrently… that night, compliments of four moping young boys who probably would never call another girl, 'old' in their lives, a couple's second kiss tasted of sweet caramel and vanilla ice cream.
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(Tsuki)
A.N. Somewhat of a cliffie. I mean maybe someone gets disappointed in the end. After all, I am quite the cynical, stressed out, college worrying senior. It would be interesting perhaps if SB took a darker turn, mwuahahaha.
R&R