There were times when a girl needed a stiff drink.
Glancing around the almost empty bar, Kagome slid onto the tall stool in front of a long counter with a sigh. Today just so happened to be one of those days.
"Kagome," a cheerful male voice greeted her with the usual sense of camaraderie. "It’s not often that I see you here on a Wednesday afternoon. What brings you?"
Head falling to bang against the granite surface, she reveled in the cold, slightly tingling feeling that echoed over her face before responding. "My life is a complete and utter wreck."
"Is that so?" He chirped, pouring a glass of something strong and holding it out for her perusal.
Without sitting up, Kagome swiped the tumbler from his hand. "Thanks."
One raised eyebrow was her only response.
Growling into the countertop, Kagome leaned back and took a large gulp. A look of pain washed over her normally soft features at the heavy taste of unhindered alcohol. "What is this?" she gagged, quickly downing the remaining liquid.
"Enough to make you forget your troubles." Miroku assured her.
Fiddling with the empty glass, the young woman frowned. "Today was supposed to be a good day."
Miroku nodded. "You went to see the publishers, right?"
"Yeah," an amused expression twisted her mouth. "They wanted to change everything but the title."
"So, I’m guessing you didn’t sign, then?"
"No," Kagome huffed. "I’m not willing to let anyone mutilate this. This is my story. It has to be perfect."
"Kagome," Miroku reached across the bar to take her hand. "I understand your dedication. Don’t get discouraged. Someone will bite, eventually.”
Passing the glass over the counter, she smiled and stood. “Thanks, Miroku.”
“Anytime,” he returned.
- - - - -
The door to her apartment ‘clicked’ softly behind her as she laid her bag on the table and flipped on the kitchen lights. Ignoring the small stack of dishes in the sink, Kagome sorted her way through a week’s worth of mail and headed toward the bedroom door. After four drinks, she was more than ready to collapse.
"Inuyasha?" Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the hanyou rifling through her dresser drawers.
"Um," the aforementioned hanyou froze.
Eyes narrowing in anger, Kagome gritted her teeth when she questioned him. "Why are you going through my underwear?"
"Um," he repeated.
"Yeah, I got that part," Kagome raged. "Now, I’m waiting for the explanation."
"I need… I need… uhhhh," Inuyasha frantically sought for an excuse.
Grabbing the baseball bat she kept by her nightstand, Kagome cornered the whimpering dog. "I suggest the truth, Inuyasha. Today has not been a good day."
He stood suddenly, his own anger rising at her intimidation tactics. "And just what the fuck do you think you’re going to do with that thing?"
"You broke inside of my apartment!" She retorted. "That’s illegal! I’m defending my property!"
"What the hell would I want of yours, bitch?" Inuyasha barked back.
Throwing the bat onto her bed, Kagome gave into the urge and stomped her foot once to relieve some of the tension that was building deep inside of her body. "This is ridiculous. What are you doing here?"
"I’ve got to get something with your essence on it," he grumbled.
Kagome felt a heavy blush rise up from her neck to cover her face. "What the hell! You’re a dirty pervert!"
"What?" Inuyasha paused, temporarily confused until she moved to retrieve the bat. "Wait! No! That’s not what I meant!"
"Listen," Kagome hissed. "I don’t care how much you hang out with Miroku. That doesn’t give you the right to start digging through my underwear and looking for… for… Just get out!"
"Oi!" Inuyasha yelled, dodging her wild swings. "That’s not what I meant! Would you just listen to me for one second?"
"Fine," Kagome spat out the words and leaned the bat against her shoulder. "Speak."
"Geez, Kagome you’re such a… hey! Watch were you aim that thing!"
"I was," she growled in response. "If all you want to do is insult me, then I’d suggest that you leave now."
"All right, all right," Inuyasha ceded. "Can we sit down or something? It’s kind of complicated."
Kagome resisted the urge to laugh. "Nothing with you is ever easy, Inuyasha."
- - - - -
"How can you be a god?"
Out of all of the things he had expected to be her first question, that had not been one of them. Inuyasha shrugged, "I did some good things a long time ago. This was their form of a reward."
"But the god of love? I can’t believe you would accept something like that. I would’ve thought you’d be more geared toward the god of war or something."
"I didn’t really have a choice," Inuyasha revealed. "They said this is what I was suited for, and it hasn’t been all bad."
"Oh yeah," Kagome smiled, blowing the heat away from her tea before taking a tentative sip. "How many couples have you matched?"
"Well… you’re actually the first one."
"What?" Kagome balked. "Why me?"
He shrugged again. "They said it was always good to start with someone you knew. You have to be able to form a concept of the person before you can create a match."
"And you picked me?" She visibly twitched. "That’s just great."
"Are you happy with things as they are, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, seriousness wrapping around his tone.
Kagome frowned. "My life hasn’t been so great lately."
"It’s time to change." He revealed. "It’s time for your life to move in a different direction, and this is the beginning."
Looking down, Kagome hid the tears that arose, unwanted. "But how will I know that it will be better?"
Inuyasha snorted and stood. "This isn’t the Kagome I know. The Kagome I know always liked adventures."
"That was a long time ago," she weakly smiled.
The demi-god shook his head. "You’ve never disappointed me, Kagome. Don’t start now."
Feeling a lump in her throat, she swallowed hard and stood. "Okay. I’ll do it."
- - - - -
Inuyasha stared at the bottled blue light and wondered what came next. As a miko, Kagome had been able to help him gather up a piece of her essence, but the gods hadn’t exactly defined a clear path toward discovering the match.
Opening the jar, he dumped the power into his hand and spread it over his fingertips. Not long ago, he would have thought himself to be the best option for Kagome, but it just wasn’t in the cards anymore. There was too much heartache between them.
Growing up, the two were inseparable. Living only two houses apart, they shared a form of friendship that could only be forged by years and years of dedication. However, when high school began, they were divided at last, and feelings began to change. It seemed they were doomed from the start to fall in love, but the timing was always wrong.
Manipulating the thin, almost liquid substance, he formed the perfect picture of Kagome in his mind. All of her strengths and weaknesses. All of her quirks. All of her bad jokes. Everything was poured into her essence; Inuyasha freed one hand and closed his eyes.
Palm up, the half demon snapped his fingers shut around a thrumming soul. Opening his eyes, he examined the long green thread with a curious glance. This was the one. Here, in the Hall of Souls, Inuyasha had found the person who was meant to be Kagome’s soul mate.
"It could’ve been me," he whispered into the empty room. With a swift knot, he tied the two together and released them. "It’s up to you to take care of her now."
- - - - -
Kagome sighed. ‘I don’t feel any different. Is there some kind of incantation that I’m supposed to say to make him appear?’ Mumbling under her breath, she watched the cracks in the sidewalk pass by beneath her feet. "This is all Inuyasha’s fault. Stupid Inuyasha-."
Tripping over a hairline fracture in the bulky concrete, Kagome felt herself falling. She watched the books which had been tightly clutched between her arms sprawl out across the ground and waited for the impending impact against her face, but it never came. Instead, she stumbled, haphazardly, into a hard chest.
Staring at the clean, black sweater covering the chest of the man she had bumped into, Kagome scuttled backward and hesitantly peeked up to see a somewhat perturbed expression smeared across his face. "I’m so sorry."
"Watch your step, Miko," a baritone timbre resonated from the lips of the creature she now recognized as a demon.
A frown tugged at her face, and her response was out before anyone could stop. "Hey, don’t be a jerk! I said I was sorry!"
Golden eyes narrowed and appeared to stare right through her. "You are in my way."
"Well, I’d move if you’d ask nicely," Kagome retorted.
The silver-haired youkai took three steps forward, until he was only a few centimeters away, before continuing. "Move."
"No," she scowled.
His nose raised in the air as if to prove the extent of his arrogance. "You will move."
Kagome stamped her foot defiantly. "Listen up, you. I don’t care who you think you are, but I don’t take orders from anyone."
"Lord Sesshoumaru," a small, green monster squawked from behind the glaring pair. "I’ve found him! Inuyasha is this way!"
Sesshoumaru gave the mortal woman one last intense stare before pivoting on his heel and walking in the opposite direction.
Kagome balked at the now empty spot in front of her. Confusion set in as the words screeched by the ugly toad echoed through her head. "Inuyasha? Why would this guy be looking for Inuyasha?"
- - - - -
“Where is it? Come on,” Kagome heaved another stack of books to the side to examine the bottom of the crate. “It couldn’t have just disappeared.”
“What are you looking for?” Inuyasha’s unexpected voice caused her to jump from her knees to her feet in one nervous motion.
Spinning quickly, she flushed at the sight of the demi-god. “Inuyasha… how did you get in here?”
“It’s one of the perks of being a deity,” he smirked. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for a book,” Kagome muttered, returning her attention to the haphazard pile.
“Oh,” Inuyasha’s interest waned. “That’s boring. Why don’t you ever do anything interesting?”
“Interesting?” the miko mused. “I need to find that book!”
Sighing, he pushed away from the wall and leaned over the stacks. “What’s it called?”
“What?” Kagome blushed, fiercely.
“What,” Inuyasha slowly repeated, “is it called?”
“Uh,” she felt the entirety of her face being swallowed by the brightest shade of red. Managing a nervous giggle, Kagome pushed his searching hands away from the mess. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ll find it later. Why don’t we have some tea instead?”
A devious grin worked its way onto the hanyou’s mouth. “You’re not telling me something. What is it? What’s the book called?”
“Nothing!” Kagome fervently denied. “Come on, I want some tea.”
“Oh no,” Inuyasha grabbed her arm to stop her escape. “You’ve got to tell me now. What is it? You aren’t reading the Kama Sutra or something, are you?”
Flapping at him like a bird in mid-flight, she managed to break out of his hold just long enough to put the kitchen wall between them. “Pervert! Of course I’m not reading that!”
“Then what is it?” He asked again.
Kagome huffed, aware that he would pry the answer from her one way or another. “It’s a romance novel.”
“A what?” Inuyasha questioned.
“A romance novel,” she nearly screamed.
Inuyasha chuckled. “So you are reading that stuff.”
“I don’t read it for that stuff,” Kagome denied. “It has a really great plot.”
“Sure it does,” the demi-god grinned. “I never knew you liked porn, Kagome.”
“It’s not porn!”
- - - - -
Sesshoumaru stared at the ugly stain on his coffee table. The horrendous pink background splashed with a seaside love scene mocked his superior tastes and begged to be melted by a single drop of the corrosive poison contained within his hands.
To think, Jaken had assumed the garbage to be a part of his property when he retrieved the few papers scattered on the sidewalk from the mishap with the miko. One thought echoed through his brain as his narrowed gaze continued to rest on the paperback romance novel. ‘It is hers.’
It was a travesty to think that anyone would dare to buy such a thing, but the fact that it belonged to the unruly character from the street put part of his mind on edge. There seemed to be something about the woman that was different.
‘Troublesome,’ the demon lord thought. She was most definitely troublesome.
Inuyasha had supplied her name as soon as he entered the hanyou’s residence. He scented the miko the moment Sesshoumaru was in the door. That fact rested in the back of his mind to be examined after the troublesome miko and her atrocious book were taken care of.
Internally debating, Sesshoumaru considered handing the object over to Inuyasha, but something gave him reason to pause. That undefined something. Decision made, the demon lord rose from the couch and prepared to retire for the evening.
Tomorrow he would resolve the issue of the indeterminate something.
- - - - -
Inuyasha examined the thin red line exiting Kagome’s chest with a careful eye. It’s appearance was more than a little disturbing. He had only tied the miko’s soul to her match two days earlier, and the subtle hint of the String of Fate meant that she had encountered him.
He was close.
Under the table, the hanyou demi-god felt his claws flex, involuntarily. It was too soon. Soul mates, often times, took years to even make that initial contact, and it was more than a little disheartening to know that her exit from his life was now inevitable.
Someone was going to come and take her away.
A ray of light played over her mouth, causing the pearlescent lip gloss she wore to sparkle. Her hands waved wildly as she put her entire soul into a simple story about Souta’s latest college antic. Unbound waves of ebony hair danced around her shoulders in a style that was completely her own. The light blue sweater she wore only seemed to enhance her lithe figure and stormy, gray eyes, and Inuyasha felt his breath catch in his throat.
Sometimes, he thought of how easy it would’ve been to love her forever.
Unexpectedly, the thin red line thrummed and grew in the smallest amount. Inuyasha’s eyes widened as he followed the path of the thread into his own body. Snapping around, he felt his heart drop at the sight of the continuing tie disappearing into the rush of Tokyo’s afternoon traffic.
Sometimes, there was just this something about her that made him wish - that made him want.
- - - - -
Sesshoumaru ignored the fact that the heinous article still rested within his briefcase. Catching sight of her at the restaurant, he was momentarily stunned by how different she appeared. In place of the frown he had received, there was a smile. It had been like watching another person.
Then he had taken in the complete scene and noticed Inuyasha.
Inuyasha.
That something was trying to speak again, but he ignored it as well. There was business to take care of, and the trivial matters could be handled at another time.
- - - - -
Kagome scanned the shelves, an expression dripping with contentment that only a fellow booklover could truly understand. Her fingertips danced along the second shelf to their own unheard tune as she attempted to select the perfect new novel for her collection. Lately, she’d been straying toward pieces of the more romantic nature, but today she felt like dallying in a bit of mystery.
The author’s names dissolved from her mind’s eye as she examined the titles, looking for something catchy to pop out from all the rest. So involved her foray, Kagome failed to notice the rather tall male selecting a thick volume from one of the higher ledges. Bumping into him, her gaze shifted to watch in horror when the tome slipped from his hand in her direction.
Kagome managed one last thought before being clunked on the head by a rather large book. ‘What’s a book on history doing in the mystery section?’
- - - - -
Sesshoumaru watched her drop to the floor like a dead fish and almost winced. Her body lay in what would have been a very awkward position, had she managed to stay awake. Muttering something short under his breath about miko and concussions, the demon lord swung the unconscious woman over his shoulder and moved to leave. Pausing, he stooped to pick up the forgotten book and wondered whether he should thank it or reprimand it for rendering her comatose.
It had saved him from a very uncomfortable conversation her. However, there was sure to be an even more unpleasant one once she woke up.
Now, the only question that remained was what to do with an unconscious miko.
- - - - -
Her head hurt. A lot.
Like hell, actually.
Groaning, Kagome shifted against the soft suede of the couch and allowed her fingers to seek out a rather nasty bump hidden beneath her hair. “What in the world?” she wondered, hissing in contempt when the slightest contact sent bolts of pain skittering down her spine.
“You were injured,” someone informed her from the corner of the room.
Suddenly opening her eyes at the sound of a stranger, Kagome pushed her body back against the cushions and tugged a quilt up around her shoulders. “Who are you and what you doing here?”
“I am Sesshoumaru,” the silver-haired demon that she now recognized from her sidewalk run-in informed her. “And this room is not your own.”
Dazed, she examined her surroundings and released a soft gasp. “Where am I?”
“You are in my home,” he enlightened her.
“What?” Kagome frowned, pulling the coverlet tighter against her. “How did I end up here?”
Sesshoumaru nearly sighed. The book definitely needed a lecture from clumping her. This was worse than any discussion he could have imagined occurring in the bookstore. “You were incapacitated.”
“What’d you do,” her voice raised in anger. “Hit me on the head with a rock and drag me back to your cave, you Neanderthal?”
“I did nothing of the sort,” Sesshoumaru fumed and stepped up to the end of the bed. “I brought you here to-.”
“You know,” Kagome continued. “It’s against the law to rape women and pillage villages now and days.”
“I brought-.”
Grabbing one more point, the female nearly yelled her next remark. “I could have you arrested for kidnapping!”
“You will cease your nonsensical ramblings, woman.” Sesshoumaru leaned on to the back of the sofa and growled, “or I will be forced to help you attain silence.”
Kagome snapped her mouth shut and stared at the light red tint lining his bright, golden eyes.
Pushing away, the demon lord leaned back and examined his prey once more. That something was trying to speak to him again. It wound a way around his body and pulled tight, hoping to show him a depth that his soul had never before known.
But it was easy enough to ignore when there was a storm brewing in the forefront of his mind.
This woman was proving herself to be nothing more than a nuisance. She grated on his every nerve any time his mind wandered to the gaudy romance novel still hidden away in his satchel - which was happened to be oddly frequent as of late. The youkai’s thoughts seemed to stray, unwanted, to her appearance at the diner, and how differently she had appeared on the sidewalk.
The run-in at the bookstore had been unexpected, but Sesshoumaru was not above using it to his advantage.
He would rid himself of this nagging creature, once and for all.
“I brought you here to allow the doctor a place to give you a proper examination,” he explained, his bristled feathers soothed by the blush that rose to her cheeks. “It was unlikely that you sustained a concussion from the book. However, I thought it best to make sure, and, as I did not want to go through your personal belongings, my residence was the only available option that did not involve traipsing through greater Tokyo with a cataleptic female.”
Kagome bit her lower lip but did not say a word.
Sesshoumaru stared at her for nearly an entire minute before he realized what she was doing. “You may speak now.”
“I didn’t realize,” Kagome started. “I forgot about the bookstore, and I didn’t realize it was you that I bumped in to.”
Her hands twisted in the sheets as she began to fidget.
“Hn,” Sesshoumaru replied.
Taking a deep breath, she looked him straight in the eyes and apologized. “I’m sorry. Sometimes my mouth manages to get ahead of my brain.”
When he didn’t reply, Kagome pushed the blankets aside and moved to stand. “I didn’t mean to impose on your hospitality, Sesshoumaru, but thank you for seeing to my health. It was very considerate of you, and, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get home before it gets dark outside.”
Sesshoumaru nodded briefly, but called after her before she had even made it to the foyer. “You will walk home?”
“Yes,” she replied, trying to locate her shoes in a neatly arranged row in the hallway.
“No,” the demon lord denied. “I will drive you.”
Kagome shook her head. “It’s really not necessary.”
“It is,” Sesshoumaru returned, pointing out the proper pair and selecting one of his own.
Kagome frowned once more. There was something in the way he spoke that made his every sentence sound like an order that could only be followed and never question. She wanted to continue and insist that he allow her to walk, but her sensibilities protested arguing with someone who had obviously went through a great deal of trouble to make sure that no harm came to a veritable stranger. Swallowing her comments, she slid into the loafers and followed Sesshoumaru outside.
- - - - -
Kagome gritted her teeth as the squeaky wheel on her shopping cart twisted into an unmanageable position and attempted to force it down the aisle. There were days when it seemed like everything was out to get her - including the non-living. With a quick jerk, she reversed her direction and sighed in relief when the troublesome wheel corrected itself.
“There,” she gratefully patted the chrome handle, “was that so difficult?” Humming cheerfully, the woman took a few more steps backward to pick up a few items she had missed before trying to move forward again.
The aggravating wheel refused once more, complaining with a loud, metallic screech that drew the attention of several fellow shoppers.
“Not again,” Kagome blushed, pretending to duck down and fiddle with the obstinate contraption for a few minutes until the other patrons shifted their gazes elsewhere. “Now, you and I can get along just fine if you don’t do this again. I’m warning you.”
Giving the cart what she considered to be an icy stare, Kagome lightly pushed the handle bar only to reel back in contempt at the first hint of a squeak. “This is ridiculous,” she mumbled halfheartedly. “There’s no way I can carry all of this stuff to checkout.”
“Do you require assistance?” a low voice drawled from behind her, causing Kagome to nearly jump into the rebellious cart.
“Gah,” Kagome held a hand over her heart. “Don’t do that. You’ll give someone a heart attack.”
Sesshoumaru raised one neatly manicured brow in response. “I did not offer to be insulted, woman.”
“Assistance,” the female raised her hands in defense. “Assistance would be nice. Thanks, erm…”
The demon lord felt his jaw tick slightly. “Sesshoumaru.”
“Right!” Kagome exclaimed. “I knew that.”
“Is it often that you forget the names of your saviors?” he caustically questioned.
Grimacing, she irritably replied while filling his arm with her groceries. “Oh, I don’t know. Is it often that you assault women with overlarge books that don’t even belong in the mystery section?”
“Once,” Sesshoumaru gave her a bland look. “I am not finding it to my liking.”
“Is that so?” Kagome struggled not to laugh as she collected the rest of the items and continued to the checkout line. “Maybe it’ll go better next time.”
“I do not wish for a repeat,” the demon lord informed her, studying the way she smiled at the elderly cashier and struck up a useless conversation while they bagged her purchases.
Kagome picked the foodstuffs and household supplies out of his arms one by one, placing them on the conveyor belt in a specified order while she spoke with the lady and younger man at the counter. However, when her eyes slid across one particular box, a bright pink blush swelled upward from her chest and tinged her cheeks. Yanking the cardboard out of his grasp, Kagome shoved it behind her back onto the table and stared up at him with a wavering smile.
“What was that?” Sesshoumaru questioned, having only caught sight of a blurred purple rectangular object.
Waving her hands in front of her face, Kagome gave the cashier a grateful nod and signed the receipt. “Thanks.”
Sesshoumaru frowned, unwilling to be ignored. “What are you hiding?”
Picking up the bags, she headed for the door, hoping to make a clean getaway without anymore awkward questions.
The demon lord allowed her to take three steps before he scooped the paper sacks out of her arms and headed toward the parking complex next door. “Where is your car?”
“I didn’t drive,” Kagome pouted, watching the bag containing her ‘special needs’ item like a hawk. The only thing blocking them from his view was a roll of paper towels and two cans of chicken noodle soup.
Sesshoumaru cleared his throat, carefully. “I will drive you.”
“That’s okay-,” she attempted to fend off his offer, but he would not be persuaded.
“You live too far away from this market,” the demon lord concluded. “It is necessary.”
Kagome sighed; she was beginning to see a pattern.
- - - - - -
She bit her lip in contemplation. He really had been quite nice today, and she felt odd dismissing him on the sidewalk like this. “Would you like to come in?” Kagome felt the words exit her mouth without expressed permission from her brain.
Instead of verbally responding, the youkai slipped out of the car and took the bags from her once more before starting up the walk to her apartment building.
Kagome smiled and shook her head. There were just some things that she was beginning to expect from Sesshoumaru. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
The lobby was decorated in a simplistic style, emphasizing the colors of yellow and orange in an odd striped pattern on the far wall that caused his overly sensitive eyes to ache. At a small desk beside the elevator, a sleeping old man rested his heels while leaning back in an overstuffed office chair.
The female at his right laughed softly as she pressed the call button.
“You have a very keen watchman,” Sesshoumaru smirked.
Kagome’s smile nearly took his breath away as she stepped into the elevator and selected the appropriate floor. “Obviously. His wife makes great cookies too.”
The soft music stopped briefly to echo a chime, letting them know that the twelfth floor had been reached.
Kagome felt her earlier sour mood slipping away as she entered her homey apartment. There was something about the soft blue walls and rich hardwood floors that always managed to revive her spirits after a trying day - evil shopping carts included. “Just put the bags on the counter,” she directed Sesshoumaru, reaching for a kettle to prepare some tea. “I’ll get them as soon as I’m done with-.”
“Ack,” Sesshoumaru made a very awkward, and very un-Sesshoumaru-like noise while jerking his hand away from the seemingly innocent bag. “Woman,” he met Kagome’s questioning gaze. “You will warn me when there are such tidings in your groceries.”
She frowned, not understanding what creepy crawlies could possibly be hiding in a brown paper bag - until she recalled the rather large, super-absorbent box of tampons buried beneath soup and paper towels. “Oh,” her face subtly shifted colorings as she removed the other, kitchen appropriate, items from that particular sack and ran to the bathroom to stow the rest.
Returning to the kitchen, she tried to hold back a grin at the sight of a rather disgruntled Sesshoumaru. “You shouldn’t have peeked,” she chastised.
“Hn,” he seemed to agree and shifted his attention to the now screaming pot on the stove.
Kagome played the role of a gracious hostess and poured her guest a cup of tea before unpacking the other bag. “Thank you for helping me today. You saved me from listening to a squeaky wheel all the way down aisle nine.”
“You need saving from the most inane situations,” Sesshoumaru replied, chuckling as he remembered the sight of the tiny woman arguing with a shopping cart.
“Yeah,” Kagome laughed. “I guess I do.”
- - - - -
She laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, trying desperately to remove an awkward and overly large smile from her face. ‘He’s nice.’ The phrase repeated itself over and over in her brain, and, no matter how hard she tried, Kagome could not get her mind off of the hours she spent in the company of the demon known as Sesshoumaru.
After their run-in at the grocery store, and the subsequent trip to her apartment, she spent the most amazing four hours in his company. They shared stories, likes and dislikes, pasts and presents, and even futures. Never had she imagined the possibility of feeling her heart flutter at the thought of this practical stranger, but now as she sprawl against the sheets, Kagome found it impossible to think of anything else.
The invisible red line thrummed happily against her chest.
- - - - -
He was addled, but that was the least of his worries. The cheap, pink novel glared up at him, taunting him with a tacky title and a swooning woman on the cover. ‘You were forgotten.’ His hand tightened around the book, and Sesshoumaru shoved it back in his satchel with the lightest of sighs. Duty and honor tinged faintly behind his eyes, and he knew that the matter would not rest until the book was no longer in his possession.
The troublesome something that tightened in his chest was an annoyance. It bloomed and grew in a way Sesshoumaru wasn’t altogether happy with, and the demon lord had no other choice but to sever ties with the petite woman with intriguing eyes or risk something completely unthinkable.
Unthinkable. Sesshoumaru huffed. ‘She is entirely too troublesome. This will be rectified immediately.’
- - - - -
“I believe this belongs to you.”
Kagome gasped at the sudden appearance of the tall and completely disarming youkai in front of her. Reaching out, she accepted the romance novel with a faint blush. “Hello again. How did you manage to find me?”
Ignoring her question, Sesshoumaru - against his better senses - took the seat in front of her and placed an order with the café waitress. After a cup was placed in front of him, he finally decided to speak again. “It is unadvisable to read such trash.”
“I read it for the plot,” Kagome quickly defended, the light pink on her cheeks morphing into a deep red.
One perfect brow raised in question. “As do all others, I am sure.”
“Really!” She floundered. “It’s a very good book. You should read it.”
Sesshoumaru glared at the novel being shoved in his face. “I would not lower myself to ponder such drivel.”
Huffing, Kagome leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “You were a lot nicer the other day.”
“And how does one judge an appropriate level of niceness?”
It was a question he should not have asked. It opened a window to conversation, and the miko seemed as if she never lacked for words, but he found himself tied to her like a tether, buoying with her smile.
- - - - -
The line was thickening as time passed. They found themselves crossing paths more often - in the grocery store, at restaurants, and on the side of the street. It seemed inevitable that the day would come where he stood in front of her apartment door, once again bidding her goodnight, indecision tearing in his chest when he felt the need to lean in and wipe some of that pretty pink gloss off of her full lips with his own.
Kagome read the question in his eyes and answered in her own silent way. Leaning forward, her small hands grasped his sweater and tugged him down, pressing her mouth against his and smiling when his arms wound they way under her jacket and around her waist. When they parted ways, the miko leaned back against the door and smirked. “You looked like you could use a little help.”
“I suppose,” the demon responded, his hands fall to the curve of her hips, indecisive.
“Need anymore?” Kagome questioned.
Intrigued, he caged her against the door. “What kind of help?”
“You never know,” she answered, leading him into the apartment without turning on the light. “I read things.”
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