My username changed, guys! Don't worry, it's still me. :)

And at loooong last, tLWH is back in action!

CH 5

The moment it was over, Sango wanted to take it back.

Of course, it had been amazing. God, it had been mind-blowing. It had been all she had hoped for and daydreamed about… and more. But as she pulled on her clothes, she frankly felt like shit. After years of jealous yearning, now that she'd finally gotten her wish, she was counter-wishing that it had never happened in the first place.

Figures. Life just couldn't stop itself from screwing her over.

She pulled on her shirt on her way to the door and took a moment to redo her ponytail so it bounced sleekly down her back. As her hand brushed against the shiny golden doorknob, she hesitated, fighting the urge to look back at Sesshomaru. Behind her she could hear swift taps and thuds as he put his desk back in order. What should she say? ...Should she say anything? What could she even say?

Thank you. No way. She wasn't some kind of beggar.

Good-bye. Hmm. Maybe. But he probably wouldn't answer. It did have a good dramatic sound, though.

I'm sorry. No. As much as she regretted this, she couldn't show him that. Sesshomaru hated weakness.

Let's not tell Kagome. Duh.

She decided on good-bye, but even as her mouth formed the words, she couldn't speak, couldn't make the sound jump from her throat. She struggled for a moment, then gave up. Shaking her head, Sango stepped out of the soundproof study without a word and closed the door softly behind her. Almost instantly, she heard an unmistakable click as it was locked. She spun around, her hair lashing out behind her like a whip. Staring at the formidable expanse of dark wood, she felt with an aching heart that she had never felt so abandoned in her life. She had betrayed her best friend, and now her partner in crime had locked the door between them, both literally and figuratively. She was alone.

And all of a sudden, upon her slender shoulders came crashing down the tremendous weight of what she had done.

Oh, Kagome… How could I have done this? What kind of best friend am I, to have betrayed you so very thoroughly?

She had had sex with her best friend's husband. She chuckled bitterly. That sounded like something right out of a television show. Reaching up with shaking hands to cover her face, Sango leaned wearily against the study door, wishing she could turn back time. She managed to block out the world for one blessed moment before the tranquility was broken most unwelcomely.

"Pathetic," mocked an adolescent female voice.

Sango's eyes flew open, and she quickly leapt to attention, assuming a pose of confidence that she didn't feel. Her cheeks flushed with the embarrassment of being caught in a moment of weakness. "What do you want, bitch?"

"Aww. You don't look too happy. Did he not want your sorry, flat little ass?" sneered Rin, who had been camping out in the hallway with Essie and OPI for company. She had no idea what had happened in the study, because its walls were reinforced to lock in sound, but she could happily guess. Situations like this were standard fodder for her gang's gossip, after all. Standing up, Rin caressed her small, pointed chin with the tips of her fingers, showing off her nails, painted in gorgeous shades of amber and gold.

Recovering her composure so quickly it was doubtful she had even been caught off guard at all, Sango leered down at the spoiled teenager, her mind whirring to find the most hurtful things to say. "Sorry, but not everyone has a one-track mind like you… slut. So you can just forget about Kohaku. No brother of mine will ever look twice at a whore." Her cheeks reddened further as she was struck by the irony of her words. Stalking past a pair of wide brown eyes with a faltering smirk, she made her way to the front door. At least she had roasted that little bitch well.

But with every step, her glee over finally having the last word over Rin-bitch Takahashi diminished, to be replaced with the stabbing regret of her actions, until she reached the doormat with slow step and teary eye. She looked back, now without a trace of a smirk on her face, half expecting, half hoping to see Sesshomaru gazing down at her from the landing. She wanted, no, needed him to be there; she needed him to tell her that it was alright, no one would ever know, that it was okay what they did, it happened all the time. But only blank wall and an ornamental vase met her eyes, and with a stifled sob, Sango walked slowly to her car, salty pearls slipping unbidden from her downcast eyes. She could just feel the scornful gaze of her father scorching the back of her neck.

Weak. Pathetic. Worthless. Shameful. Unworthy of the family name-

Stop!

She slammed the radio on and blasted the music loudly to block her father out. She drove home just like that, 'nothing but the hits' pounding through the car's interior.

Her father didn't speak again.

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Sesshomaru sat down at his desk after locking himself in his study. Absentmindedly, he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt for his comfort, which he had refastened much too tightly. Hands dropping to rest flat against the desktop, for several long minutes, he stared with unseeing eyes at the various papers that littered the dark wood, begging for his signature.

Whatever had possessed him to indulge himself with that woman?

He knew better than this. Even with his resolve of years ago, this was off-limits. To take a woman who was not Kagome had never been part of his plan.

Never.

Which brought him back to the question; why had he-renowned throughout the world for his control over his body, emotions, and exceptionally vicious soul-youkai- committed such an atrociously unfaithful act?

Inside him, said exceptionally vicious soul-youkai raged, as It had since the moment his wife ran out the door. For the ongoing length of his plan, several years now, It had always been restless, trying to wrest control, but now It snarled and snapped as if struck insane. Its furious barks and howls were so feral as to be unintelligible, even to Its other half. But the meaning was clear.

How dare you! Unfaithful, cowardly bastard!

It thrashed against Its chains and managed to break free for an instant; in instant during which It manifested in Sesshomaru's eyes, turning the sclera crimson.

His eyes narrowed to scarlet slits, and with a spasmodic jerk, green acid hissed forth from his fingertips, eating away the obnoxious papers, but leaving his desk intact, as he had personally treated it to make it impervious to his toxins; a wise choice, obviously. With some effort, he brought his primal self under control. He would not tolerate any disobedience, especially not from his own soul-youkai.

His eyes slowly returned to normal, and with the beast thrown into the deepest chasms of his mind, Sesshomaru began to sort through his thoughts, slowly tracing himself back to when he had accepted the woman's promiscuous offer, trying to figure out exactly what had happened.

Granted, the woman was not unattractive, in a human sort of way, but truthfully, if he had been acting on lust, there were so many others he could have had that were better.

So why?

Sesshomaru's brow furrowed as something occurred to him. Was it… could it possibly because...? Unconsciously, had he been... ?

His face relaxed into its normal apathy, and he nodded slowly. Perhaps it was better this way. He had been planning to take a slower path, but perhaps this wild lunge over the line would free him from the disastrous decision he had so naively made in marrying Kagome Higurashi.

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Rin got ready for bed silently, her face unusually somber in the golden lamplight. Pulling the green sash around her waist tighter than usual, she flicked off the pink butterfly stained-glass lamp on her white bedside table with a pumpkin-polished index finger.

Is that what I am? she wondered as she climbed into bed, pulling the sheer canopy curtain around to wall herself in. A slut? ...A whore? She snuggled into the plush mattress, eyes staring wide into the darkness.

She remembered herself five years ago, filthy and bedraggled and unwanted, a tiny dreg of society. The daughter of a whore, cast into an orphanage where she had been abused to the point of losing her voice. She had run away countless times, but they always found her. They always took her back to that same place, that same overcrowded hell with the same sneering matrons and same rough boys and same cruel girls. She was always beaten and starved for running away. The children threw sticks and stones at her and hid bugs on her meal tray. She'd been an outcast, even among the other unwanteds. Four years she spent inside that awful orphanage, four years of agony and abandonment. She had been prepared to commit suicide, and even had it all planned out. She would smash the small mirror in the second floor bathroom with a wooden toy and slash either her throat or her wrists with one of the razor-sharp pieces of glass. She would bleed out on the bathroom floor, and be staring up at the cracked ceiling with blank, glassy eyes when her horrified orphanage-mates discovered her corpse.

She blinked, remembering the desperation and despair that had controlled her, then suddenly laughed. What was the use in reminiscing about her old life? This was her world now: shiny black limousines, fabulously expensive clothes, a gorgeous house and property, wild parties, beautiful friends (less so than herself, of course), and crowds of adoring boys, not to mention bottomless credit cards… She had always been meant for this, she was sure of it. What did it matter that her mothers were a prostitute and a gold-digger? It sure didn't make her all those awful things that stupid bitch had called her.

"Yeah," Rin said happily out loud, turning onto her side. "That loser-ita is an old cat who's just jealous because I'm better than her in every way." She ran a hand down her side, enjoying the feeling of her own curves. "My hair, my face, my body… I'm richer than she is, plus I'm the most popular girl at my school. I'm an alpha. She's just a sorry little beta. Haters gonna hate, hate, hate…" Humming cheerfully the tune of Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off," she drifted off to sleep, once again secure in her self-appointed position as the indomitable princess.

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-oOo-

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It is morning. The girl enters the kitchen, immersed in her phone. She's tapping away at the screen, texting her friends, as she sits down at the table. She waits for her mother to say something annoying about breakfast, but no one says anything. She looks up, scathing remark on her glossy lips, and realizes her mother isn't there. She frowns, then smirks, and grabs a nutrition bar from the cabinet. She is turning to leave when her father walks in. For an instant, it is as if time is frozen, and his lithe body is motionless as his eyes scan the kitchen. Then he is moving again, his emotions unfathomable behind a blank mask. Without comment, he starts making coffee, an unfamiliar task to him because it is one his wife usually performs. Still, his slender hands are firm as he brews himself a cup of steaming, fragrant dark liquid.

The girl intentionally wonders out loud where her mother could be; she remembers the huge fight yesterday with a smile on her face. She says that her mother is probably out on the streets with a killer hangover and most probably a baby on the way to boot. That unappetizing comment left to stagnate in the air, she saunters out of the house and hops in the limo with the air of a contented cat.

The father, alone in the house, sits down at the kitchen table and thinks maybe his bitter coffee could do with a little more sugar.

PLEASE READ: Originally I planned Sango to be a loyal bestie, but one review remarking that she didn't seem quite sincere in wanting Kagome to get a divorce made me look back and I was like, you're right! Eureka! I actually rewrote the entire Ch 3 so the betrayal could happen! Now you know how much a single review can affect the story.

Also, I know there isn't much action going on right now, but not all chapters can be as... should I say dramatic? Next chapter will give us a peek in on Kagome and Inuyasha!

And yes, I will try to update sooner than I have been. :)

Cheers!

Philosophy Blue