Alcohol by Miss Elinor

Chapter 1

Sesshoumaru put the empty glass back onto the bar and waited for the old bartender to come around to refill it. What a day this had been, he felt like depression would be a welcome improvement over how he was feeling at the moment.

He reached into the pocket of his black suit and pulled out the money for the extra drinks he planned to have. The funeral had been awful. He had not been sad at the loss, no, it had been the condolensces that had pushed him close to the breaking point, and he needed plenty of alchohol to cheer him up.

Another double and he was starting to perk up into that depression he had found so appealling.

As he took another shot he heard someone sit in the seat that was next to him. Odd, he thought, the people at the bar usually gave him a wide berth of at least three seats on either side. He looked up to see the bartender cleaning a glass and watching his reaction to the newcomer. He looked to his right at the person in the seat and took in their appearance.

All he could see was an oversized sweater and jeans that was leaning its head on the counter. Dark hair was in disarray and he simply turned back to his drink for lack of interst.

"What's the strongest stuff you've got?" a female voice came from under the mass of hair. The bartender chuckled amusedly, "I've got something strong but you might not like it."

"I'll take it." came the confirmation. Without lifting her head from the counter, she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a ten. She held it up over her head and the bartender took it, placing a glass with a tar-like substance in it beside her on the counter.

She grabbed the glass and finally lifted her head. Taking a whif of the offending substance that had already assaulted his own senses, she shuddered and held her nose. Then she downed the entire glass.

After setting it back down, she shuddered again and adjusted the glasses on her nose. Her hair went in every direction as she rested her head on the counter again.

The bartender came back and took her empty glass.

""What on earth was that?" she asked him, hearing him take the glass.

"Old family recipe." the bartender chuckled, "It'll cure anything you've got."

"Are you sure it wasn't just tar?" she asked. At this, the bartender laughed out loud as he walked away without giving a reply.

"He didn't answer me. Maybe it really was tar." the girl said to no one in particular. Sesshoumaru forgot himself and chuckled darkly.

The bartender returned and leaned his elbows on the counter in front of her. He stared at the back of her head and didn't say anything.

"I don't want to talk about it." she told him without looking up. The bartender chuckled again, "But Mr. Taisho looks very curious." he stated. Said man raised an eyebrow at him and frowned, he didn't want to be noticed. For all intensive purposes, he was too miserable to acknowledge the outside world.

"Is that his name?" the girl replied, sitting up. She turned her glasses toward him and looked at him for the first time since being seated.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Taisho." she said.

"Sesshoumaru." he corrected her, giving a short nod before turning back to his drink. The bartender raised his eyebrows at the man, this was an unusual reaction from him, he thought. He turned to talk quietly to the girl, "Why did you sit next to him?" he whispered. Sesshoumaru almost snorted, they were talking as if he couldn't hear them.

"Because he looks just as miserable as I am." the girl said, giving him pause.

"I didn't think I was that obvious." Sesshoumaru said seemingly to himself. The girl laughed softly at this, amazingly still sober after the glass of tar.

"Well, I've gotta go," she suddenly said, getting up and putting a few extra dollars on the counter, "Thanks for the bile, Myoga."

"See you tomorrow, Kid." the bartender said with a chuckle, watching as she walked out the door, and then turned his attention to the man still at the counter, "Feeling talkative today, are we?"

Sesshoumaru said nothing and ordered yet another glass of Bourbon. The bartender shrugged and refilled his glass. Sesshoumaru downed that one too, and thought about the girl that had just left. Her day had to rival his own to drink the concoction that was set in front of her. It made him curious. He liked the drinks here, so he would come back again tomorrow. If he happened to see the girl again, so be it.

Said girl walked down the street to her apartment and unlocked the door to step inside. She threw herself onto the bed and let all the bones pop into place as she relaxed. She sighed happily and set her glasses down on the nightstand by the bed, not bothering to change into her pajamas. She pulled the covers over herself and turned off the lamp. Soon, she was fast asleep, thinking briefly about the handsome stranger that drowned himself in Bourbon.

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Sesshoumaru opened the door to the restaurant and walked inside to confirm his reservations. This particular restaurant was adjacent to the bar he had been in only last week. His work had prevented him from frequenting the place or even going the next day as he had planned. Therefore, he had reserved a quiet dinner in the highly rated Italian restaurant owned by the same man. He planned to stop at the bar for a drink after he ate, of course.

He was seated and given a menu. Before the waiter left, he ordered a glass of wine. When it was brought, he sipped it contentedly and perused the selection on the menu in front of him. As he was ordering, he heard music start to play. Looking up, there was a band now set up in a scenic corner of the restaurant and a group of exceptional musicians was playing. Finishing the order, the waiter walked away to have it filled.

He watched as a girl stepped in front of a small microphone that was set up in front of the band. She was a very attractive young woman with large, blue eyes, full lips, and wavy brown hair. When she opened her mouth, he discovered that her voice was as lovely as her face.

She was singing a bouncy song as Italian as the restaurant itself. He listened contentedly and curiously.

"Ma comme bali bella bimba, bella bimba, bella bimba." she sang, "Ma comme bali bella bimba, bella bimba, bali ben!"

Her blue eyes swept over the crowd, and right over Sesshoumaru, too. He was surprised when they came right back to him though, and she smiled at him as she sang. He scowled. The audacity to smile like that at a stranger in a restaurant. For the benefit of the doubt, he looked behind him to see if someone was there that she knew but, of course, there was nothing but a decorated wall.

He thought he detected a hitch in the melody and looked at her again as she muffled her giggle during the song she was singing. Was she laughing at him? He raised an eyebrow at her and her eyes smiled back at him in amusement.

The song ended, and he did not applaud as she was getting more than enough praise from the rest of the restaurant. She smiled and bowed and the band made their way off the stage.

Sesshoumaru returned to musing over the coming meal and thinking about the messy girl from the bar.

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Another drink was being ordered at the bar in the next room. Sesshoumaru downed it in nothing flat. The same old bartender refilled his drinks faithfully after they'd been emptied and Sesshoumaru was getting more irritated by the minute. So irritated in fact, that his usual berth of three seats on either side had been increased to five seats. The girl still hadn't shown up. He slammed the glass onto the counter and grimaced angrily. Where was she? He had come here specifically to see her again and she wasn't here for him to see.

How dare she?

He was so busy letting his anger simmer that he didn't notice someone sit quietly in the seat beside him. He ordered another bourbon and ran his hand through his hair aggrivatedly.

"Bad day?" a voice asked from beside him. He turned his shocked expression toward the familiar voice and was surprised to find the singer from the restaurant looking at him in curious amusement.

He looked at her coldly and turned to the drink that had appeared before him.

"Okay, ignore me, it's fine." she said and he could practically hear her shrug her shoulders. He saw the bartender walk up, wiping another glass on his worn apron and smiling at the woman.

"Hey there, kid, where've you been? We've missed you on this side of the wall." he told her playfully. Sesshoumaru's ears tuned in at the 'kid' endearment that had been used for the other one too.

"I just had some loose ends to tie up, Myoga. I didn't drink the black plague for nothing last week." she answered, referring to the potent drink she had downed while holding her nose, which she now wrinkled in distaste.

"You know, that's a good name for it. You mind if I use it?" the bartender asked. She laughed that same soft laugh and answered, "I don't think many people would order the 'Black Plague' but go ahead."

Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at her more closely. Her hair was in fact the same color, and he found that he had seen those eyes before, only they had been behind a pair of glasses. He sniffed the air and discovered that it was the same scent, only lighter, without a cloud of depression muting it.

"What on earth drove you to drink that?" Sesshoumaru asked her, purposely trying not to sound as if he had just figured out who she was. She was not so audacious now for smiling at him at dinner.

"A day worse than the one you're having right now." came the reply without hesitation.

"I apologize for my hostile behavior towards you earlier." he said, worried that he had taken too much out on her, when she was indeed who he was waiting for.

"Apology accepted." she said readily. He nodded once and uncharacteristically refrained from ordering another double. The bartender who had seen the whole exchange raised an eyebrow at the man.

The girl looked at the man beside her, cluctching his empty glass in white-knuckled hands. He was, of course, the single most attractive man she had ever seen and he had seen her at her worst. He hadn't even recognized her! It must have been bad. She was glad that he recognized her now, though. But why did he look so angry? It wasn't like she could ask him, so she ordered her drink.

"Hey Myoga, can I have a Smirnoff please?" she asked politely, batting her eyelashes up at him.
 
"Sure thing." he said cheerily, and walked to a different area of the bar to retrieve the soda-like beverage.

The Smirnoff was her favorite drink in the bar, and she always got one when she was in as good a mood as she was now. The handsome demon beside her no longer radiated hatred and so she took that as encouragement.

"I'm Kagome." she introduced herself, holding out her hand but not expecting him to take it. She was shocked when a large, warm hand wrapped itself around hers and shook in greeting.

"I believe you already know my name." he said simply, returning his hand to the counter in front of him.

"I certainly do, Sesshoumaru." she confirmed. She liked his name and the way it just rolled off the tongue. It was nice to say it.

Silence reigned for a while. But it wasn't an overly awkward, 'I don't know what to say' silence. It was a nice, companionable silence of companions.

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The next week, the scene repeated itself. Sesshoumaru had dinner, listening to the Italian music stylings of Kagome and then went to the bar for a round of bourbon. She always happened to bump into him there and sit in her usual spot next to him. Today was no different except for one thing. On this particular day, she ordered a shot of vodka and threw it down as soon as it hit the counter. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah," she said, "I had a bad day."

He turned back to his own drink, observing that it wasn't bad enough to call upon the glass of death again. He was glad for that.

"What made it bad?" he asked. They were well enough acquainted with each other by now to ask such personal questions. She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment. Did he just ask her something? Yes, yes he did.

She recovered from her shock and replied, "My ex-boyfriend is harrassing me and won't leave me alone." she said with a scowl.

"What is the manner of his harrassment?" he inquired. She was beyond shocked that he kept the conversation going but continued calmly, thinking how she loved the proper way he spoke.

"He calls me at least twice every day, and when I come home, he's always there by my apartment. He tries to follow me up to my room most times but I threaten to call the cops on him and he just stays outside the door. He yells at me when that happens and then it's hard to sleep when he does that." she sighed, "He keeps calling all my friends, trying to figure out what I'm doing and who I'm with. He's basically stalking me until I take him back."

"Will you take him back?" Sesshoumaru asked smoothly.

"Of course not." she answered.

Sesshoumaru was surprised at how relieved he felt at that statement. She was strongwilled and had a backbone, he noted with satisfactory.

"Is he the reason you ordered 'The Black Plague'?" he asked as he arched an eyebrow at her in detached amusment.

She laughed and nodded, "That was probably the worst day of my life. I'm sorry you had to see it."

"Not at all," he reassured her, "You distracted me from my own miseries long enough to put things into perspective, and for that I have to thank you."

She gave him a mock bow, "Glad to be of service." she said with a smile. She looked up to see him observing her intently.

Kagome had planned on ordering at least three rounds of vodka shots to get her blindingly drunk, but thanks to the distraction sitting on her left, she didn't have to. Plus, she was so absorbed in the demon that she completely forgot.

"So what made you so miserable, Mr. Twenty-seven shots in a row?" she asked him playfully.

"My mother died recently, and I had just returned from the funeral." he said honestly. He watched the look of amusement leave her face and be replaced with a more serious look.

"I'm sorry." she said.

"It couldn't be helped." was all he replied.

She shrugged and didn't probe further. A refreshingly opposite reaction from most gushing females. He was very disappointed when she got up and started to place some money on the counter by her empty shot glass. She hollered a goodbye to the bartender who was now on the other side of the room and then turned and told him goodbye.

Kagome almost didn't register in her mind that an arm had reached out to stop her from walking away and was still holding her own arm firmly. She looked at the hand and then to it's owner and a look of confusion spread across her face.

"Sesshoumaru, you're holding my arm." she said, stating the obvious. He released her and stood up, putting his own money on the bar before looking her in the eye.

"I will escort you home." he said simply, and turned to walk toward the door.

"Why?" squeaked Kagome as she walked toward the door he was holding open for her.

"If I understand correctly, there is a very confused man waiting on your doorstep." he reminded her.

"Oh yeah..." she said in realization. He let the door close once they were both outside and he offered her his arm. She took it warily and began walking down the street before he could direct her to his car. He was very much content with walking, though.

"You live close by?" he asked conversationally.

"Yes." she answered. It was harder than she thought to think coherently when the handsome guy from the bar was on your arm. As they walked in silence, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of her small, delicate hands on his arm. Watching her from his seat in the bar, he was able to conclude that she had indeed been raised as a lady with class. She was polite to anyone older than herself while still being impertinent in some way. She never cursed and never pretended to be something she wasn't.

Kagome was counting off his personality traits as well as they walked the four blocks to her apartment building. He was definitely a gentleman, she thought from the way he offered his arm. He didn't speak down to her or belittle her, which scored him major brownie points. It was so easy to just not talk at all when she was with him. Talking was fine, but this quiet didn't make her nervous like she expected it would.

She was more than disappointed when they reached her apartment block and glared at the front door. Her ex-boyfriend wasn't even there for an excuse to walk her up to the apartment. Now he deserved a punch more than he did yesterday.

"Well, this is my stop.." she said reluctantly as they faced the building. Sesshoumaru nodded once.

"Thanks for walking me home, Sesshoumaru." she said and stood up on her tippy toes, using his arm for support, and planted a kiss on his right cheek. She walked up the steps to the front door before turning to wave goodbye and smile at him. His stoic expression made her regret the bold move as she walked into the building.

As soon as she stepped inside and out of sight, Sesshoumaru let a smile turn up the corners of his mouth.

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