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Of Butterfly Wings

Chapter Fifty-Four: Ice Breaker

Touya shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The moment Kagome, Sesshoumaru and Rin had returned to the manor the man had requested his presence in his study. Now that they were here an uncomfortable silence filled the gap between them.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Touya tried to break the tension.

He'd seen all sorts of movies and shows where the future father-in-law would try to intimidate his daughter's fiancé as a show of force. Sesshoumaru had never once given him that sort of vibe so he was rather confused by his sudden request to talk.

"It's come to my attention that we have not had much of a chance to talk." The other man's tone was stiff. "So I would like to… talk."

The very word sounded strained coming from his mouth.

Touya wasn't sure if he should laugh or simply bury his head in his hands in defeat. Clearly Kagome must've said something to Sesshoumaru about them getting to know each other more. Honestly he couldn't imagine a more awkward conversation if he tried.

"Well you already know that I'm applying to the Police Academy after this. I actually just took the entrance exam last week. We'll know the results before the wedding." Touya began. Although he was quite confident that he'd passed the exam with flying colors. He'd spent weeks preparing for it and training his body for the physical exam. It'd been hard work but he was sure it'd pay off for him in the end.

Touya continued, "You know, I don't know anything about you at all. Like how you ended up choosing to become a lawyer of all things or why you chose to work with All Might's Agency." It wasn't much but maybe he could get Sesshoumaru to talk first. He pushed forward, "Why not start with that?"

Kagome's guardian sat back in his seat, "So you wish to know about me?"

"That's what I asked." He shot back with a bit more attitude than he'd intended.

To Sesshoumaru's credit, he only gave a small sort in response.

The other man began to speak, "My father originally had me to ensure the continuation of his lineage. I never had a close bond with him but he wanted me to continue down the same career path as him." Sesshoumaru's tone was flat, as if he were discussing the day's weather rather than his family history. "By the time I was an adolescent, I'd realized that I had no desire to follow in his footsteps. I wouldn't say that I had an affinity for criminal justice, it was just that I discovered that I had a special talent for law. In the end I went to college and focused my efforts on becoming a lawyer. There was plenty of work through hero agencies that needed law fare to protect them, so that's where I narrowed my focus."

Touya rested his cheek against his curled fist, "Kagome mentioned that you worked with the Silver General for a while before you had a falling out with him."

He was mildly curious to know what exactly caused the two to cut ties with each other. Based on the dates, it was prior to when Inuyasha pursued Kagome.

A silver brow twitched, "There was a particular case that'd been levied against my father. Due to the brevity of the allegations, I couldn't sweep them under the rug. They had to be forwarded to law enforcement to be investigated."

Touya shivered.

A hero being overly touchy with the public wasn't unusual. The Silver General had amassed a reputation as a womanizer and had quite the following behind him. There'd been rumors of him acting inappropriate with female fans but nothing that'd ever resulted in a lawsuit or criminal investigation as far as he could tell.

Sesshoumaru continued, "To make a long story short neither of us saw eye to eye on my decision to allow law enforcement to do their investigation. He was able to keep things quiet and the case was closed due to lack of evidence. Afterwards I sought employment elsewhere. As luck would have it, All Might was facing a slew of paternity lawsuits so we settled them with paternity tests. All of which came back negative. They keep me on retainer as the requests are never ending and I help them fight with the insurance over damages incurred in battles with villains."

Touya fought the urge to laugh, "So you went from working for a womanizer to working for a guy who's only crime is being the number one hero. That's a hell of an upward trade."

For just a moment, he thought he saw Sesshoumaru smirk.

"It was indeed."

Touya then peered up at him curiously, "You know, you and your dad both look like you're the same age. So just how old are you exactly?"

The man's smirk widened, "Our quirk has granted us the gift of an elongated youth. We've lived through many decades although I'm hard pressed to give you an exact age."

"So older than dirt, got it." He threw back at him.

He didn't miss the subtle twitch of his future father-in-law's brow.

What? He couldn't call himself a good son-in-law if he didn't give the man some measure of shit. His own dad wasn't someone he could screw with like this.

Touya folded his arms behind his head comfortably, "Just so you know, Kagome has been fussing about showing you the house. She wants you to head out there before the wedding. We've got to get the furniture next so we'll be going to furniture stores today." He threw him a quick glance, "I have a sneaky suspicion that she'd be thrilled if you came along. She seems to trust your sense of taste."

He'd let Kagome have this win just once. If she wanted him to have a positive relationship with her guardian then he would put his best foot forward. What better way to get to know someone than to buy furniture with them?

Touya took to his feet, "Well the invitation is there if you want to join. I'm sure she'd be happy if you came along."

He didn't have to look back to hear Sesshoumaru stand and follow after him.

He felt his lips curl up into a smile.

Somehow, this family was entirely too predictable but he still loved it all the same.