Chapter 5: Foreshadow

I tried my best, to focus on my work, but I couldn't. I was exhausted. I had cried all night. I had never cried like that in my life. I couldn't stop thinking about the things he had said about me. Has he always felt that way? We'd been friends for that long. How could he treat me like that? I balled up my fists. There was an ache in my chest, and no matter what I did I couldn't get rid of it. I was grateful that Sesshomaru hadn't asked me why I didn't come back to study. I probably would have started crying if he had. He snapped his fingers in front of my face, and I snapped out of it.

"I have been calling your name for almost a minute straight."

I swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," I said quietly.

I tried to get back to work, but he slid the papers away from me.

"What is wrong?"

"Nothing Is wrong." I lied.

"Do not lie. You do not do it well. Besides, you cannot focus on your work with whatever is on your mind."

I bit the inside of my cheek, to try and stop myself from crying, but it didn't work. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I didn't want to repeat the things he had said to me. It was too embarrassing and hurtful. I was trying and failing. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I buried my face into my hands and bawled. What he did next surprised me. He hugged me and held me like that while I cried. I clung to him, soaking his shirt with my tears. We sank to the floor. He stroked my hair, switching back and forth between that and rubbing circles on my back. I wasn't sure how much time had passed. I just laid there, curled up in his arms. I felt like a kid

"If you do not tell me what is wrong, I cannot fix it," he said.

His voice sounded so soft. Not his usual deep monotone voice that I was used to. Again I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I only cried more.

"When you are ready," he said quietly.

I stayed like that for a while. I didn't want to move. I was afraid that I would fall apart if he let me go.

"What is wrong?" he asked again.

"Inuyasha." I whispered.

I heard him exhale deeply.

"What has he done now?"

I nuzzled closer into him and took advantage of our closeness. I told him all of the things that he had said to me. I had to relive it all over again. I could feel his hold tighten on me, while I told the story. It took everything in me not to cry again. I could feel his chin rest on top of my head. It surprised me; how comfortable he was with touching me. When I started crying he hadn't even second-guessed consoling me again.

"Kagome."

"Please do not tell me I told you so."

"What I was going to say was that we should get up before someone sees us this way."

I quickly moved away from him. I could feel my face get hot. We were in his office. It hadn't even crossed my mind about what people would say if someone saw us like that. He stood up brushing himself off.

I looked away from him and wiped my face.

"Oh God. I'm sorry."

I stepped away from him and he grabbed my wrist, looking me in the eyes.

"Stay away from him Kagome. He is not good for you. Let this be a lesson to you."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that it wasn't an order. I nodded. He dropped my arm.

"Take the weekend off. I will see you next week," he said, grabbing his things and leaving.

There was a loud knock on my door. I shot up frantically looking around. My heart was pounding. I looked over at the clock. It was seven in the morning, on a Saturday. Who the hell could that be? I rolled out of bed and trudged over to the door. It was Sango. She barged right in, kicking off her shoes. She plopped down on my bed, smiling at me.

"Hey girly, where have you been?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Well, I haven't seen my best friend in a while So, I came to make sure that you're still alive."

"Well, I am alive. So please leave so I can get some sleep."

I walked over to my bed, dropping onto it face first.

"So?" she asked.

"So, what?"

"Where have you been?"

I yawned. "Working as usual."

"Oh, a new job? Where?"

"With Sesshomaru. He's the new professor we heard so much about. I'm his TA for the semester."

"Oou what's that like?"

I shrugged. "It's a job, and I needed a job. So, it's better than nothing."

"Oh come on Kagome. Look at him. He's gorgeous. You're telling me that you've never even once thought about it?"

I looked at her funny. "Thought about what?"

"How gorgeous he is."

"Well, I can see how good-looking she is. It's a given, but that's about it. I haven't given it much thought." I said.

"You've got to be joking. So there's no steamy office romance between you two? No forbidden student-professor relationship?"

"Sorry to burst your delusional bubble Sango, but no. He's my boss/teacher and that's it."

She looked at me long and hard. "No. I don't buy it. Something happened. It had to."

"Nothing happened Sango."

"No touching, no hugging?"

I paused for a second remembering what happened in his office. That little bit of hesitation was all Sango needed.

She grinned. "I knew it. Tell me everything!"

"There's nothing to even tell. Inuyasha was being a jerk. It hurt my feelings. So, Sesshomaru was… consoling me."

She moved a little closer. "What do you mean by consoling?"

"You know… he held me and comforted me until I stopped crying."

She smirked. "Mhmm, how long did he hold you for?"

"I don't know… a while… I guess."

She scoffed. "Did he give you a pat on the back, a hug? Or did he hold you?"

"Does that even matter?"

"Of course it does. The way he did it is extremely important."

I rolled my eyes.

"He held me Sango. He rubbed my back a little too, but that's it! Stop trying to pull something from nothing.

"Was there any other kind of physical contact between you two?"

I thought about it long and hard. "He held my chin between his fingers once, like this," I said, showing her.

She looked surprised. "Well then, that settles it. He's into you."

"What? You're crazy, he is not. He is just caring I guess."

"He definitely wants you. Since when is Sesshomaru caring? He's always been cold and standoffish. He didn't just become that way overnight. He's got a thing for you. Next thing you're going to tell me is that he told you to drop Inuyasha and go with him."

"Well, he didn't exactly say that."

She grabbed the slides of my face, bringing me closer.

"Tell me what he said!"

I swatted her hands away, rubbing my cheeks.

"He just said that Inuyasha doesn't deserve my love, or me and that I shouldn't give him access to me, because he doesn't care about hurting me." I sighed. "It's not like he isn't right."

She had this sly smirk on her face. "I see."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

That was a lie. Sango didn't just think. She schemed and plotted. It may not be today or tomorrow, but there was no telling what she was going to do.