Sesshomaru didn't need sleep, but on the night of his wedding, he thought he deserved it. After gaining a new wife and becoming the legal guardian of a hanyou, he determined that he wanted to sleep. However his new wife in the room next door was tossing and turning so loudly that sleep evaded him.

When Sesshomaru found that he'd had enough of trying to sleep, he rose and began to work on papers for his job. The new responsibilities with his job were large, but nothing that would faze him. He had gained a larger family than he had ever wanted, but before the wedding he had thought he would still have plenty of spare time. Now, though, he was beginning to think he'd gotten more than what he'd bargained for when it came to his bride.

She had surprised him at their wedding. He had sensed her anger when she walked into the church, and he had sensed her fury when she met him at the altar. And while he knew she wasn't the perfectly traditional woman that she wanted him to think she was, he hadn't suspected she would bite him in front of the guests. Even though it wasn't easy to surprise him, she had found a way to do it.

But now, Sesshomaru found that the surprise wasn't entirely unwelcome. By biting him on the lip, she had satiated some of his more youkai desires, proving to his more instinctual side that she was a mate worth pursuing. It was typical for there to be a chase during the courtship of youkai, and a bite was the initiating factor. It had disturbed him when he found that he wasn't angry because of the bite, but had quickly averted his attentions. Sesshomaru knew he was far too above courting or needing a mate, and had already made that clear to his new wife.

As the first light touched the treetops outside his mansion, Sesshomaru heard her wake. Kagome Higurashi was an early riser, he thought to himself, and stored that fact away for later. He didn't want much to do with her, but he had the sense enough to acknowledge that if they were going to live together for the next eighty or so years, it would be helpful to know a few things about her.

For a little while, Sesshomaru let his hand still on the papers he was finishing and thought his new life. After completing a thorough background check on Kagome Higurashi, he had found the source of her large debt. Her father's lands, which needed to be maintained by crew of housekeepers and an even larger crew of gardeners, had a large bill that wasn't paid as often as it was required. Then the hospital bills from various family members including her deceased mother, father, step-father, and now the young hanyou had also been added up into her debt. Lastly, the campaign both her mother and step-father had not been fully sponsored, so the extra money had come off their credit cards, thereby increasing the debt further.

And Sesshomaru had deduced that because of him paying off her debt in full, she had decided to live her life as a quiet wife, exactly what she thought he would like. She was cautious around him, dancing over her own toes trying to make sure he was pleased with her, or at least approved of her actions. The last thing she wanted was to anger him, and he knew why. She didn't want him to stop paying the hospital bills for her sister.

Sesshomaru listened to his bride shower and eat breakfast for a bit, while he finished the last of his papers. He suspected she was up to something, but would wait until she came to him to find out what that something was. And sure enough, a quarter after nine, she arrived at his door.

He waited in stoic silence as she paced in front of his door. No doubt planning how to talk to him, he thought to himself with a bit of irritation. He didn't know quite why he was annoyed that she always acted so formal around him, but dismissed the feeling quickly. He wanted people to be proper around him if they weren't groveling at his feet.

She opened the door and peeked around the corner. He watched her reaction as she met his steady gaze and straightened her posture. She stepped lightly into the room and bowed deeply. He frowned as she straightened and stood with perfect posture.

"I would like to tell you that I will be visiting Rin today. She was transferred into a different hospital yesterday, and I regret not being there with her." She nodded stiffly and turned around to leave.

Sesshomaru kept his face emotionless but felt annoyed with her, yet again. She wasn't asking him for permission, she was simply telling him.

"Return in an hour," he told her, so that he was at least controlling her in some way.

She looked over her shoulder, and without turning around, breathed, "Excuse me?"

His expression remained cool as she glared at him.

"I'm not doing anything bad. I'm going to visit my sister, Sesshomaru," he narrowed his eyes and she amended, "sama."

"You would do well to listen to me," he stated smoothly.

"I will be back in four hours, after visiting Rin and eating lunch."

"You will be back in one hour, after visiting your sister."

She rocked back on one leg and crossed her arms. "I'm not going to be told what to do. I got married to you, not sold. I have my own free will."

He stood up and walked around his desk, using his size to intimidate her. He was pleased that she was able to put up a fight, for most people would have simply followed his first command. He wondered briefly how far he could go until she too would obey him.

"Weren't you bought? Aren't I paying your bills?"

She bit her lip and looked away from his eyes. He waited for a few minutes as she battled herself on the inside. He could sense her torn emotions, and almost felt sorry for making the comment. Almost; Sesshomaru was never sorry, and never had a reason to be.

"As you wish," she bit out, and left his room, her disgust leaving a foul scent after she had left. For a second he was disappointed with her, because she had given in quicker than he had expected. Where was her pride? He thought with his own disgust.

He sat back down at his desk and resumed working on his papers, knowing he had won the battle of wits. Now that his young bride knew who was in charge at the household, she wouldn't try to cross him again. There would be no repeated incidents similar to her biting his lip at the wedding. She would be submissive, just like she should be.

Three hours later Kagome returned, happy and defiant.

I know, I know. It's so typical... Everyone has a scene in their story where Sesshomaru's all like: I'm interested in her but I don't know why! And Kagome's all like: I hate him! But I'll love him soon, because that's just who I am! I'm so loving!

But let me explain why it's so necessary, because it is. (And if you don't like ramblings, just skip this author's note.) Kagome harbors this deep anger towards Sesshomaru for the obvious reasons, his personality, their wedding, etc. But it's also because he has enough power to save Rin, who means so much to Kagome. Without Sesshomaru, Kagome would be living in extreme poverty, crippled by the debts of her family, and she'd be dragging Rin down with her. Kagome couldn't save Rin without Sesshomaru, and she hates him because he can. It's a bit of a jealousy thing, but you didn't hear that from me.

For Sesshomaru, it really only makes sense if he is a bit interested at the beginning. Sesshomaru's opinion is less flexible than Kagome's, and once he has a bad opinion of you, he always has a bad opinion of you. He is more definite when he makes an impression of someone (maybe it's the dog part of him?) but if he disliked Kagome the way she dislikes him, there would be no love in this love story. As it is, the story is going to go from Kagome changing her opinion about him to then loving him, but he must first come to terms with the fact he is hanging around a human, and then loving her. In a way, his side of the love story is harder, because his opinion about humans was formed so strongly with disgust.

So I hope you see that this chapter was necessary. And not totally clichéd. Because it isn't. Sort of.

Please enjoy (thanks for the reviews!)

~Gracie

All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.