A Distant Promise – Mini-Chapter # 23
"Friends?" she asked.
As Kagome exited the car, she leaned on the door, bending down to look him in the eyes. Her smile was infectious and he found he did not even mind the fingerprints she was putting on the uppermost corner of the window. Instead his gaze was treacherously drawn toward her cleavage. Any sensible woman surely knew that leaning over like that allowed others to see… Well, it was a rather low-cut shirt.
But then, he remembered that this woman was one of the most oblivious humans on the face of the planet. She constantly made stupid mistakes that worked out for her in the end. Take the shattering of the Shikon no Tama, for instance. Or the way the girl had miraculously survived his toxic poison claws in his Father's gravesite. In other words, she probably had no idea what her shirt was doing, and no red-blooded male would ever tell her.
"Hn." Tearing his gaze away, he stared straight ahead, wondering when exactly his senses had left him. He was a sensible, well-adjusted, mature person. He did not ogle human women's undergarments, even if they were carnation pink and drew the eye.
With one last smile, she shut the car door and walked toward her dormitory with a wave. It looked squalid and tiny, and he conjectured that the inside must be even worse than the exterior. But with low grades and no extra-curricular activities to recommend her, this was likely one of the only universities that Kagome had been able to attend.
Something about the evening disturbed him. Part of his agitation was due to his own stupidity. He had blundered badly, this evening, by assuming the miko and his son had feelings for one another and blindly leaping to a conclusion without ensuring his facts were correct. Embarrassment was not Sesshoumaru's favorite feeling and he didn't like to give apologies. The miko had not demanded an apology; however, this did not change the fact that she deserved one.
But seeing the ramshackle dormitory in which she lived caused him an unsettling feeling, too. The guardian of the Shikon no Tama and the strongest miko to live in centuries deserved more recognition than this tiny little school could ever afford her. Knowing the truth about her past to a certain extent, it bothered him to see such an ending for the priestess. Similarly, Inuyasha should not stagnate in a low-paying position in an inn beside a distant onsen. Whatever else he might think about Inuyasha, his half-brother had earned his respect in battle.
Thus, this woman's cheery declaration that they were friends bothered him. Sesshoumaru had never done anything friendly or auspicious toward the miko or his half-brother, so Inuyasha's anger had been slightly painful but not unexpected. Yet the priestess had simply put the past aside and smiled.
He had never gotten around to asking the fox-demon's ridiculous questions, so he would have to meet with her again, in any case. But if he actually planned to be a friend to her, then he would do this on his own terms. The kitsune's ridiculous scheming was not his style. Sesshoumaru approached his problems in a straightforward manner, and real friendship had to be based in honesty and trust.
Opening the door to the driver's side, he slipped out of the car and tailed the priestess. Surprised, she turned to wait. "The fox-child is plotting against you," stated the taiyoukai blandly, once he caught up with her smaller form. "He seeks to reunite you with Inuyasha."
Kagome only blinked. "Oh, I see," she intoned curiously, "What is your role in all this?"
"I am supposed to ask you about Inuyasha," the dog-demon sniffed, "To discover what you liked most and least about your relationship."
This time she furiously stifled a giggle. The eternally aloof taiyoukai forced to play matchmaker for his estranged half-brother? That was rich. Shippo must have a silver tongue to be able to talk him into such lunacy.
"Well, I don't know if that qualifies as a sinister scheme," replied the priestess, "Shippo is only trying to help."
Raising one brow, her companion expressed utter disbelief. "Indeed, it is," Sesshoumaru answered smoothly. "No one should be forced to date my half-brother."
Never in a thousand years would she have expected to hear a joke from the stoic Lord of the Western Lands. And yet, it was not very difficult to imagine the 'old' Sesshoumaru saying something this. Past and present seemed coiled inextricably around each other in the modern youkai, and she realized she did not know him at all.
Bursting into laughter, she covered her mouth with one hand and tried to tell herself it wasn't as funny as it sounded. But it did no good. The giggling would not stop. "Thanks, Sesshoumaru," she added after a few moments. "I appreciate that you let me know."
His expression never changed, but inside, he was pleased. He had made the right decision.
