Chapter 3: It will pass

It felt strange to be on campus on the weekend. It was my first time doing this. I tried to keep everything on the weekdays; work, and school. I wanted the weekends just for myself. Yet, sadly here I was. It was so empty and quiet. I mean it beats working a crappy retail job t an outlet mall. So I had to be grateful. I looked down at my clothes. I was dressed pretty casually, but still appropriately. A blouse and jeans with flats. I hope it was okay. I did not know if he wanted me to look professional. I waited and eventually, I saw him pulling up in his car. 8 A.M, he was right on time. He parked and stepped out of his car. I felt relieved. He was dressed pretty casually too.

"Follow me."

"Yes sir," I said the following after him.

"Mr. Taisho," he corrected.

"Mr. Taisho," I repeated.

I followed him into his office. It was so neat. Not a thing was out of place. He did not look like the type of person who would work in a messy office anyway. He handed me a small stack of papers.

"Read these essays and grade them. I trust that you will grade them properly. I have other work to do."

I nodded while sitting at the desk beside him.

"Are these the essays from the first day? There are barely any here, and it's such a large class."

He nodded. "It seems your classmates do not take the class as seriously as you do. Hopefully, the majority of them will withdraw, so I will not have to waste my time. Teaching those who do not care. This is not a class you can easily pass without trying."

I bit the inside of my cheek.

"I have noticed," I mumbled. "Ah, do you have my essay?"

"I do."

"Did you happen to read it by any chance?"

"I did," he said, not looking up from his laptop.

"Okay, was it any good?"

Why was conversation with him, like pulling teeth?

"There is a reason I am allowing you to grade those papers Ms. Higurashi." he finally looked up at me. "I trust your judgment. Seeing you understood what it was you were writing. You understood the assignment. So, yes. It was good. Better than good." he said, turning his attention back to his laptop.

I smiled, I had never gotten a compliment from him before, but it was nice to be complimented for my brain for once. Especially since that essay was kicking my ass. My phone pinged but I couldn't find it. He slid it over to me. I checked it and saw it was a text message from Inuyasha. I just flipped my phone over and kept reading. I went on like that for the next few hours. Reading and grading papers… and ignoring Inuyasha. It was the first time I had done that; I ignored him and it felt good. He could wait. If it was that important he could ask Kikyo.

I stacked the papers together. "All finished."

I looked over at him. He quietly just tapped away at his laptop keys.

"Is that all you needed me to do?" I asked.

He nodded. "For now."

"Are you always like this?" I blurted out.

"What do you mean?" he said, not looking at me.

"So quiet. It's different."

He stopped typing and finally looked at me.

"From Inuyasha you mean."

"Yes, well no, but it is just different in general," I said trying to save it.

"He and I are related, but blood is all we share. He and I could not be any more different."

Obviously.

I shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with your quietness. It is very comforting. I'm just not used to it at all."

"Hn."

He was looking at me strangely, but I couldn't tell what that strange look in his eyes was.

"You are still clinging onto him."

I felt a knot in my stomach. "Who?" I said, playing stupid.

I couldn't do this right now, but unfortunately. There was nowhere to run.

"Playing dumb does not suit you, Ms. Higurashi."

"You can call me Kagome."

He folded his arms. "I prefer Ms. Higurashi. It is appropriate, and do not avoid the subject."

"I am not avoiding the question. I am not clinging to him. We've always been friends. We've been this way for years."

"Hn. Friends?"

"Yes. Friends." I repeated.

"He sees you as a friend, but you see him as more than that. He does not see you the same way. Not in the slightest. He has never once looked at you the way you have looked at him. It took a little under an hour for me to realize that. I noticed how you looked at him that night at dinner Ms. Higurashi. So, again. Do yourself a favor and move on from him. The quicker the better. Your feelings are wasted on him."

I could feel my eyes starting to sting.

"I don't know what to do with it," I whispered.

"With?"

"All of this love that I have for him. Where am I supposed to put it? Am I supposed to forget, like it never happened? I've loved him for so long that I don't know how else to act. Much less how to love anyone else."

I hadn't meant to spill my guts like that, but he opened this door and I gladly walked through it. I was too afraid to look at him. I was too ashamed. I didn't want him to pity me. I hear his chair rolling towards me. I couldn't stop myself from crying now. He took my chin between his fingers, tilting my head upwards; making me look at him. He was looking me dead in the eye.

"Get rid of it. Purge it all. He does not deserve your love. Nor does he deserve you. Do not waste your tears on him. Your love is one-sided; remember that. Is that a love you truly want? Do not give him access to you or your time. Little by little you cut him out. Remove every part of him from you. It does not matter if it hurts him, because he is hurting you and does not care. Even if doing this hurts you…it will pass."

Why was he helping me like this?

"Why is it so hard?"

"It will pass." He repeated.

He looked me in the eyes a little longer.

"Do you understand me?"

I nodded. "Yes," I whispered.

He let me go, leaning back into his chair.

"Good. That is all for today. I will see you on Monday."

I woke up stretching my limbs. I wrapped myself up in my blanket. It was the first time I had slept so well in months. My savings were dwindling, and I was starting to panic. Getting this job was my saving grace. If I had asked Inuyasha's father he would have done anything for me, but I didn't like handouts. It felt like I would owe him something. This little studio wasn't much, but it was mine and I worked hard for it. It was cheap too. Five hundred a month was all I could afford. I had to pinch every penny just to get other necessities. When I saw the posting for the TA position I just had to get it, I hoped that I would be good enough for Sesshomaru that he would keep me around.

After the spring semester, I would be golden. Then all I would have to do is find a good job and start my career. That was easier said than done, but at least things were going in the right direction. I felt my phone vibrate. I grabbed it to see who it was. It was Inuyasha. It was the most he had ever texted me. Part of me wanted to respond, but the other just wanted to pretend he did not exist. I chose the latter. It was easy to ignore him if he wasn't around. Just as I was about to toss my phone. I'd gotten another text message. I knew who it was the moment I read it.

"Good Morning Ms. Higurashi. Come to the house. There are a few things we must discuss. As well as a few things you need to sign."

I groaned, slowly rolling out of bed. "And here I thought I was going to have a day all to myself."

I had hurried over here. I parked my car. I groaned when I saw that Inuyasha's car was there. I didn't want to run into him. I didn't know how long I could hold up this tough girl act. I ran up to the driveway. The door opened as usual. The butler greeted me and I stepped in. I was about to start walking and I realized I had no idea where I was about to go. I turned to him to ask but he beat me to him.

"At the top of the staircase, make two rights. He is in his study waiting for you" he said smiling.

I smiled back. "Thank you Totosai.."

"Hey Totosai, who is that?" I heard Inuyasha yell from the other room.

I sprinted up the stairs. It seemed like he hadn't smelled me yet. I quickly walked down the hallway making two rights. God, this house was huge. I saw a large pair of wooden double doors at the end of the hallway. That had to be it. I walked up to it pushing it open. He was sitting there, tapping away at the same laptop. His study looked like those grand libraries in the movies. The walls are lined with bookcases and fancy furniture all over the room.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Taisho?"

"Come," he said, not looking up.

I went over to his desk and sat down. He slid papers towards me.

"Read these over. Then be sure to sign them," he said.

I scanned the papers over. It was a contract. I looked up at him wide-eyed.

"You want to keep me on for the rest of the semester?" I asked in disbelief.

"You sound surprised."

"I just didn't expect you, to would make a decision so soon." I'd said.

"I read the way you graded the papers. You graded fairly and pointed out things that I would have. You have a proper head on your shoulders."

I smiled so hard my face hurt.

"Thank you so much. I won't let you down." I said signing the papers.

He slid an envelope over to me. I took it and opened it. There was a check for 472,404 Yen. My heart almost dropped. Things were finally starting to look up.

"What is this?!"

He looked up at me.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell. This just surprised me."

"You will be paid monthly. You will receive the same amount on the first of every month. I am paying you for your time and work. Weekdays, weekends. Some nights will be long and I expect you to keep your phone close. So this amount of pay is adequate. Since I expect your schedule to be flexible."

To hell with weekends, if it meant this kind of money.

I held back a smile. "Of course. Is there anything you need from me today?"

"Not today. I will see you tomorrow in class."

I smiled. "Okay. See you tomorrow, Mr. Taisho."

I took the check and put it in my bag. I left the room all giddy. This money was going to help so much. I finally had some breathing room. I could save up to get my car fixed. Maybe even get a bigger place. So long as I played my card right. I turned around stopping in my tracks. I nearly jumped out of my skin and saw Inuyasha standing there. He was soaked.

"I've been trying to reach you," he said.

"I've been busy."

Stay strong Kagome. Don't break. It'll pass.

"With Sesshomaru?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to keep it short and sweet.

He made up his face. "Doing what?"

"Nothing important."

He scowled.

"I'll see you later, Inuyasha," I said brushing past him.

I was surprised that I'd brushed Inuyasha off the way I did yesterday. I had to sneak into the house again today. I wasn't sure if he was home, but I wasn't trying to find out. It felt good. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to miss him.

Did I cling to him?

I pushed it to the back of my mind, trying to focus on my work. It was easy to do my work for class while doing other things for Sesshomaru. I finished in just under six hours. I looked out the window. It was pouring hard. I was just there listening to the sound of the rain with my eyes closed. It was so relaxing.

"If you are finished you may go home." I heard him say.

I looked over at him. "I don't mind sitting here. Besides, there might be something else you need me to do."

He pulled his hair tie from his hair, running his fingers through his hair. I had never really taken a close look at Sesshomaru until now. He was very handsome; gorgeous really. I'm sure he was a man that got a lot of attention wherever he went. Tall, chiseled jaw, beautiful hair, and perfect skin. The whole package. It'd be safe to assume women threw themselves at him.

"Is there something wrong?"

I had been caught staring. I could feel my face get hot.

"No nothing. The office seems emptier." I said, trying to change the subject.

"I am moving," he said without breaking eye contact.

"Oh, permanently?"

He nodded. "I have finally found somewhere that is enough to my liking. I will still occasionally visit my family."

I nodded. "Where are you moving to?"

"Takanawa, Mita." he said.

One of the most prestigious areas in Tokyo. Like I said; crazy rich.

"What happened to your family?" he asked.

The question had caught me off guard.

"I have never heard you speak about them. Nor anyone else."

I fidgeted with my fingers. "I don't have any. I grew up in foster care, and I'd been there for as long as I can remember. I never knew what happened to them. The agency never told me. So I didn't feel the need to ask. I've been working since I was fourteen and saved every penny I could before I aged out of the system. Life was a little easier after I met Inuyasha. Your family has always been so kind to me. So I've always been grateful for that. I didn't want to be stuck in that life. I'm working hard because I want better for myself."

He looked like he was hanging on every word.

"Hn."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

The question seemed to surprise him. Just as he was about to answer the door opened. It was Inuyasha standing there. He was soaking wet.

"What the hell is going on here!?"