Chapter 7
Sesshomaru...

.

For the first time since she was a child Kagome felt very... small.

Sitting in the large chair, her fingers playing nervously with the hem of her skirt, if it wasn't for Inuyasha's constant presence next to her, she would have gone into full blown panic by now.

"Get this over with Sesshomaru, unlike you the rest of us don't have much free time."

Sesshomaru sat back down on his chair, leaning far back so he could smirk down at the frighten being.

"Very well, Miss Higurashi, please share with me your night of hero-ship."

'Find your voice, speak, before he loses his patience!' Kagome kept this chant going in her mind, but her mouth continued to gap on like a fish out of water.

"It's okay, Kagome." Inuyasha reached over to stroke her locked hands with his thumb, it was only one stroke, yet he immediately had her full attention.

She looked up, but he didn't meet her eyes. His gaze was still locked with the sophisticated man, taking the brunt of the confrontation, "Take your time."

This well refined man sat with a poker face, but there was a conversation being had without her knowledge.

All it took was his raised eyebrow, Inuyasha's hardening eyes, and the tension had doubled as if it had been a verbal fight with shouts and curses to match.

Finally, the words came in a hushed whisper, frightened but coherent.

"I- I saw him, Inuyasha that is, he was being a-attacked."

Sesshomaru set his elbows on his desk, his attention switching to her now, and it was a terrifying thing.

"Go on."

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip, she hadn't prepared for this part, so when the words came, they tumbled out unbidden. "Naraku, Inuyasha said his name was Naraku, he said some stuff about wanting revenge. I wasn't paying too close attention, Inuyasha was hurt, that seemed like enough to step in."

"Yes... very noble of you, you wouldn't then mind recalling the night for us, only if you're willing, of course."

"Why wouldn't I be?" She said this but could do nothing to stop the pull of her nerves, like a whispering voice telling her they knew all of her secrets.

.

The smug smirk on the cold man wasn't of any help either, for it seemed like there would be no escaping those searching dark eyes.

"Tell me, how did you come across him on such an unsuspecting night?"

'Breathe, Kagome.' She told herself this, taking deep calming breaths to steady her. Kagome kept her eyes on her hands, afraid she might lose her wit if she stared at the intimidating creature before her.

'Inuyasha said don't lie, so I won't.'

"I was out on the streets, not far from downtown, when I ran into him."

"Hm. Why, I wonder, were you out on the streets? Very unsafe for a young girl such as yourself to go about into the city, alone no less."

"I can handle myself just fine"

"I'm sure you can. Yet, I don't see a reason as to why you would."

Kagome tightened the grip on her hands, concentrating on her words rather than his ice front, "I left my notes... I was just trying to get them before the streetlights came on, my friends offered to come, but I didn't want to inconvenience them."

"Interesting... these notes of yours?"

"For my upcoming finals, can't pass if I don't study, ya know?"

His attention shifted then, away from her and onto the monitor on his desk, allowing Kagome to have a peek up at his form. His fingers typed quickly over the cordless keyboard, eyes scanning the screen before him quickly, before they were back on her.

"Your finals are not schedule until the end of the month, isn't that correct."

Her eyes widened, dropping to the black piece of technology in horror, "Y-yeah..."

"I was- unaware there was a school in the downtown district."

"There isn't..."

"Yet, you found yourself there all on your own. How curious."

His tone told her it was not curious at all...

He either new everything already or...

.

"Yes, well... I got distracted, I sort of decided to go out looking around, peeked my head inside a few shops too." Kagome felt the panic rise as he leaned in closer, eyes studying her form as if he could see everything, knew everything.

Breathe.

"Funny, how these notes were so important, until they weren't, and then you were suddenly deep within the city."

Kagome shrugged innocently "Don't get me wrong, I really did need those notes, but when you get the urge to go exploring, a girl can forget anything after that..."

"You didn't realize the streets were dwindling before you as you shopped?"

Scratching the bridge of her nose, if only to distract herself, Kagome gave him a none-committed shrug of the shoulders.

"Yeah, that was weird, it did freak me out a little."

"And yet you soldiered on... how brave of you."

Was he mocking her? Kagome felt the first prick of her annoyance, pushing against her fear and high nerves, she couldn't help raising a brow at the man who had seconds ago intimidated her so.

"Oh yeah, I put my big-girl pants on and strolled down town, crossed the street all by myself too."

The only indication that her little remark was not amusing, had come in the small 'V' that formed over the dangerous man's face, there one second and gone the next. "Such a big mess to have stepped into, all because of- notes, as you say.

She shrugged again, unconcerned with his distrust of her, "I really needed those cram notes."

"What happened once you discovered the incident?"

The girl shivered before them, her arms coming up to hold herself, it was as if she were back there all over again.

"I wasn't sure what I had found at first, it was dark, and cold... so very cold." Her gaze fell to the floor on its own, her mind taking her back to the purple eyes that haunted her dreams since the incident.

Remembering the look Inuyasha wore when she first saw him, she shuddered when thinking back to the pain he had been in, "Inuyasha was hurt, really hurt. I could see blood even in the dark, and that- that Naraku guy had a gun.

He was going to do it, I saw it on his face, he was going to kill Inuyasha."

Sesshomaru watched the girl shudder with suppressed fright, he studied her face, took an inconspicuous whiff of the air, aside from the fear that still clung to her in waves, there was nothing.

But he was no fool, and she was simple to read, it was far too easy to see the discretion she tried to hide.

"Tell me what this man, Naraku, looked like to you?"

Such a simple question, yet there something behind it that gave her pause.

"He was... just wearing a white suite, looked nice, but he was defiantly not a nice guy."

"What else?"

What else? Was there supposed to be something else... he didn't mean the- no, don't think about that.

"He was tall, much too pale, and his hair was very long and black. I could talk to a sketch artist if you'd like-"

"No need, . Please, go on, what else was there about him that stood out to you."

Kagome tucked her hands under her lap, failing miserably to hide their trembling "Nothing else, that was it, he attacked Inuyasha and I intervened. Isn't that enough?"

"I wonder..." Mr. Takahashi leaned back on his chair, examining her from across the cherry wood.

'Breathe Higurashi!' Kagome squirmed under his intense stare, "Wonder... what?"

The smile that graced his features chilled her bones, for some reason the smile was far more frightening than any nasty glare thrown her way.

"How you assumed he wasn't a 'nice guy' as you say, to warrant such response. A girl such as yourself does not strike me as a blind shooter, it's a wonder at all you hit your target"

Either he was looking down at her or he didn't believe a word she was saying, either way didn't bode well for Kagome.

"Seeing as I don't go around handling guns every day, I did the best I could, he wouldn't have stopped if I hadn't done what I did."

Sesshomaru's smile grew, a beautiful smile that only succeeded in pulling her into further unease.

"This is why some people should never be allowed to handle weapons, your judgement is as poor as your wit."

He was mocking her! Or at the very least playing with her, this was a head game and maybe she had already lost.

Maybe it was these things that had her nerves switching to self-defense, her tempered flaring, the fear that had left her meek and subdued, was snuffed out as if it were never even there.

"Well seeing as he shot Inuyasha, yeah, I'd say my actions were warranted."

Her tone came as a sharp bite, his eyes narrowed further on her form, the only sign her attitude was not welcomed. Yet, the girl before him kept her glare, even as the air still scented with her nerves.

"Interesting. You've never thought to question if Inuyasha was perhaps deserving of Naraku's wrath, you acted as though you were there to save a law-abiding citizen. Yet; the thought of you attacking the wrong person never crossed your mind?"

Kagome blinked a few times, flustered beyond words, leaving her gaping on like the fool that she felt.

"Either you knew exactly what you were doing, or you are far too simple minded for your own well-being Miss Higurashi."

Did... Did he just... Insinuate she- and that- OH!

If her anger was any more tangible, it would burn a hole in the expensive leather seat she sat on, Kagome grinded her teeth together to keep a scream from breaking loose.

"Excuse me?"

He waved a hand through the air, dismissing her strained reply, "Either way, it's not as if I could believe a young girl- such as yourself, somehow found her way through the night district. Came upon an injured man, in an unsuspecting alley, and simply decided to step in with no other agenda.

I am a firm believer that coincidences do not occur; which means you knew exactly where you were going, and what you would find once there. Making you an accomplice at worst, and a liar at best, Miss Higurashi."

"Look here you- you- Pompous ass-" the clearing of a throat interrupted her rant before it began; she glanced his way, blue eyes blinking up at him in confusion.

Inuyasha sat back against his chair, arm up, and hand covering his mouth. She tilted forward to see him better, her eyes widen, seeing that smirk of his barely tucked away.

It gave her a moment, one she needed to cool her blood, as she felt an answering smile pulling on her own lips.

Inuyasha barely held on to his restrain, he had feared for her, and when she entered all meek and restrained, he'd worried she'd be just another one of Sesshomaru's prey. But then the bastard had gone off poking and prodding, like a bear, she had one too many.

.

Hearing her starting rant, he hadn't been able to keep the subtle chuckle inside.

Clearly, only Sesshomaru had heard his slip. His eyes had shifted to his own, and in an effort to cover it up, he had cleared his throat. Once she turned to him, eyes wide and sparkling with mischief, he had to cover his mouth to keep the smirk she enticed in him hidden.

He was moments from stepping in, saving the girl from her runway mouth. No matter how much he was enjoying it, when he heard her sigh, he watched as she pulled herself together.

Kagome called back her temper, took a steadying breath before meeting those measured eyes head on, "Look... I saw Inuyasha, barely able to sit up, in the cold and covered in blood... I don't know what you expected, but normal people don't walk away in a situation like that."

Before he could respond, the girl kept going all on her own, "Even if he had prompted the attack, no one deserves to be gunned down like that; no trial- no jury- just an execution? That really doesn't sit well with me, no matter what you've done in the past.

And, if I hadn't stepped in, who knows where Inuyasha would have been now, he was bleeding out as it were. This, Naraku of yours, he didn't even have a mark on him an-"

"OY! Woman, I put a mark on him"

Startled by his interruption, it took Kagome a moment, in which her scent shifted away from that of fear, to answer back.

"Right, cause he looked really ruffed up in that white trench and suit. There wasn't even a drop of blood on him, you on the other hand-"

"He caught me off guard is all!"

She rolled her eyes, arms crossing over her chest as she did so, "Pah-lease. You'd be a goner if I hadn't stopped him."

"How, exactly, did you manage to stop him?" Sesshomaru drew their attention back onto him, aware that the longer the two talked, the scent of her fear dispelled itself from her form; Inuyasha was either doing this on purpose, or he truly was not seeing how his mere presence calmed the girl.

And for his intent and purpose- he needed the girl to fear, needed to push her emotions so she'd slip.

Kagome gave a nonchalant shrug, far calmer than she had been this entire time, she was able to meet his gaze on, "I just kinda ran at him when he wasn't looking"

His polite smile faded, yet his eyes never changed, they were calculating and threatening at the same time.

"Please continue Miss Higurashi, what happened next?"

Something was happening, Kagome inhaled sharply when the feeling of this man became increasingly more powerful. An unnamed feeling rose to hush her bravery, a warning of some kind she was only too happy to heed to.

"I... uh, grabbed the gun. I thought that if I just threatened him, he would- you know, let Inuyasha go. I- I really didn't mean to... I didn't want to- hurt anyone..."

The sophisticated man closed his eyes, simply sitting there, taking deep breaths of air. But in an underlining second, Inuyasha had stiffened next to her, his eyes wide then they narrowed on her form.

In the same second stood, his hands coming down on the desk in front of him, the sound loud in the silent room, making her jump in her seat.

Then those grey eyes opened, he pushed off his chair as he leaned across the desk towards her, smirking an icy smile that had the blood freezing within her veins.

"You lie."