What Was Expected

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA AND CO., NOR DO I MAKE MONEY FROM THIS.

Thank you to Possessed for beta-ing, I claim all remaining mistakes.

Chapter 5: Tired

Monday was a nightmare. Oh and Sunday, Kagome decided never happened. Unfortunately, there were many things that occurred on Monday that forced her to admit that Sunday was real.

She had been happy in her denial of the kiss until her first class had finished on Monday morning. Kagome had been heading to the library with her friend from middle school, Ayumi, when a person she never wished to speak to approached her.

Sora was not necessarily a mean person, but the girl thought that she was the greatest thing to grace the campus. Well, if this just wasn’t what she wanted to deal with.

“Kagome, who was the gorgeous man yesterday?” Sora slightly sneered.

Apparently, there was no need for a polite greeting. Oh, and also they were now close friends meaning Sora was allowed to pry into Kagome’s personal life. Nevertheless, it was not these two things that truly upset Kagome, her real problem was how to address the question.

What was Sesshoumaru? No, Kagome had already decided that particular question was never to be asked again.

What was she to Sesshoumaru? He had left the fan, then he had kissed her, and he was taking her to some sort of important business function; all steps in the direction of becoming man and wife. Would it be safe to say that he was her boyfriend?

“We have recently started seeing each other.” Kagome watched the jealousy flit across the other woman’s face.

Sora could not believe it. How had this mouse managed to attract the attention of such a male? “Interesting.” Smiling sweetly, she continued, “Where did you two meet?” Maybe there was a surplus somewhere of overly attractive men.

Kagome did not want to answer, but she could also see the curiosity on Ayumi’s face. Oh well, it was not as if this was not going to be kept from the rumor mill for long. “Omiai.”

Ayumi gasped, she had known that Kagome’s family was desperate to bring her friend out of her depression, but Ayumi never believed that they would go to such extremes. Yes, arranged marriages were still relatively common, but how could Kagome not rebel against her elder’s wishes. Ayumi would never go to an omiai, especially not at this age.

While Kagome watched the horror and concern wash over Ayumi, she was subjected to Sora’s cackles. Really, did anyone cackle in public? Apparently, Sora did.

Choking the words out through her sadistic mirth, “I knew you would never be capable of such a feat on your own.”

Kagome narrowed her eyes, “True, our meeting was arranged. However, that does not change the fact that he was interested enough to leave the fan. Nor does it change the fact that he spent the afternoon with me yesterday and has asked me to accompany him to an important social event in his life.”

Sora’s happiness faded halfway through Kagome’s speech. “He must be desperate,” she spat at the little girl in front of her.

“Really Sora? While I cannot claim to have as much experience with men as you, there are few who can.” Kagome heard Ayumi’s stifled giggles. “Did he look like he was lacking for feminine attention?”

Sora’s face was beyond red; her jaw opened and closed much like a fish. Kagome turned on her heel and left. She had no time for this petty girl’s remarks. Kagome was too busy trying to suppress the memories of yesterday.

Denial worked so much better when others cooperated or at least lent a conducive environment.

Ayumi quickly followed after her childhood friend. Apparently, they had a lot of catching up to do.

Once they were within the small confines of the study room, Ayumi released all the built up questions. Albeit, not in an eloquent manner.

“Kagome, an omiai?”

“Hai.”

“Kagome?”

“Hn.” Kami-sama help her, now she was sounding like him.

“Kagome!” Ayumi was not going to be ignored.

“Fine!” With a tortured sigh, Kagome looked in the cinnamon hues of her long time friend’s eyes. “My mother and grandfather approached a nakodo, and I was told that I was to go to the miai. I was to be the dutiful daughter that they had raised and I was to be on my best behavior.

“I am no longer to waste my youth in mourning or depression. That is unacceptable, but I should rather live my life in a loveless marriage. At least then I will be giving back to society through my children.”

The sharp intake of breath, told Kagome that she had spoken too bluntly. “Did they really say that?”

“The first part, the second part is my interpretation of things.” She was too tired to hide her feelings on the subject anymore. Besides, what was the harm in confiding to one her oldest confidants?

“Kagome, you can’t do this.”

“What else am I to do? Should I dishonor my family? Leave myself alone and without their guidance and support? Ayumi, if you see a way out of this, then please tell me. If all you are going to do is bemoan my situation to me, then I have important studying and research to do.” She did not want pity. It did no good, it only served to make her angry.

When had her friend turned so cold? Where was the always-happy Kagome? “Do you even like this man?” Maybe, there would be an ever after for her friend.

“I don’t know him.” Kagome stopped going through her notes for a minute to watch her friend. “Look Ayumi, he has some qualities that have my mother thrilled. As I am sure, you figured out from Sora’s reaction, he is very handsome. His family is affluent; they run a consulting and investments firm. And if he turns out to not really have any sort of personality at all, divorce is not that shameful of an option.”

The diehard romantic that lived within Ayumi ached at her friend’s declaration, but she knew better than to broach the subject of love. She knew that Kagome believed in love, had felt it and longed for its caress again. But when Kagome used that tone of voice, it meant that there was no talking her out of her decision. There would be another ema hanging from the Goshinboku.

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Eyelids descended over amber irises. It had been three days since he had last been in the presence of the miko and the inu-youkai was finding it hard not to think of her. Her reaction to him had been so innocent, it was bordering on insulting. Maybe he would have to rethink his near Kami like status among the female populous. The raven-haired female had sent off no signs of arousal, only confusion and regret.

It was quickly becoming apparent that this human understood and valued loyalty, she even valued it beyond the grave. What had the kitsune done to acquire such loyalty from her? It was obvious that the two had never been intimate, because there was no way she would have left such an encounter without bearing a permanent mark. Also, he was certain that she had other males vie for her attentions. The amount of notice which she received during their time together on Sunday made that conclusion a certainty.

A low growl slipped passed his lips. He was Sesshoumaru, heir to the West, victor of uncountable battlefields. He was a dai-youkai for Kami’s sake, not some young pup fawning over his first infatuation. This amount of thought devoted to one human female was well below his status.

Damn, and work was not providing enough of a distraction. Fine if he was going to think about this then he would lend it all of his attention. With that goal in mind, the stoic inu-youkai did the one thing that none with in the office had ever seen, he left work early.

In the mid afternoon hours of the middle of the week, Sesshoumaru found himself sitting alone in his living room with a cup of clear liquid. His present line of contemplation was to compare the female he would soon claim as mate with the very liquid he was drinking.

On its visual appearance sake looked very similar to water, the substance of life, but for many sake held within it numerous vices. He had watched them fall victim to its charms, only to realize their mistake too late. The innocent looking liquid promised bountiful things, but all was never further from the drinker’s grasp than when they imbibed the warm alcohol.

Would the miko be the same? She held an air of innocence and promise. Would it turn out, however that the promise was empty? True, she had the power that they had searched for, yet her compliance was not guaranteed. If Sesshoumaru were honest with himself, then he would have to admit that he did not have much experience in the art of wooing females.

All his mates had been through arrangement. Sexual conquests had proven no harder than a simple glance in the female’s direction and she bent before him. The miko was different. It was almost as if she had no idea what arousal was, for not once did he smell it coming off her.

That was probably the reason why he had decided to kiss her in the well house. There was no reason to have such an intimate encounter so soon. The scent mark he placed on her could have simply been placed on a hand, the location did not matter, importance was placed on the frequency with which the mark was renewed. Now, because of his impetuousness, he would have to continue to mark the throat of a woman that was timid of his touch.

Instinct. It was not impetuousness, but instinct that demanded such contact. There was something about the petite blue-eyed beauty that called to his baser self. She was such a walking contradiction, so much of her screamed for protection and reassurance while at the same time challenged his dominance, demanding that he prove his worth.

As if he should have to; most bowed at his feet due to his looks, his money, and/or his clout. The damned infuriating human seemed to see these things as more of a reason as to why he should prove himself.

This was getting him nowhere. How to woo the miko when she was not enticed by things that made all other females became starry-eyed. Was she a feminist, maybe?

No. There was absolutely no way a feminist would agree to an omiai. It would not matter how much of a sense of familial obligation she felt, to agree to such would betray so much of one’s sense of self.

Kami help him if she was a romantic waiting for her fairytale ending.

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It was now Thursday and Kagome was running out things to do that had nothing to do with Sesshoumaru. In fact, she was going to spend the entire afternoon with his mother, shopping. Joy.

“Kagome, hurry up. You do not want to keep Mrs. Sato waiting.”

“Mama, Mrs. Sato is not even here yet.” Kagome was hitting her limit for being able to deal with her giddy mother. She would not disobey, but she did not know how much longer she could take this with a smile on her face.

Hiromi was tired of her daughter’s sullen mood. Yes, Kagome had lost someone very important to her and she had a right to mourn, but her daughter had been so brilliant before she left for foreign soil. This shell that replaced the happy girl her mother remembered was more than Hiromi could take. “You should try to be happy. I know that many of your friends look down upon the omiai practice, but an arranged marriage will not be the end of your life.”

“Mama, how can you ask me to be happy with this? You want me to promise the rest of my life to a man I barely know. Maybe it would be different if I did not know what passion lived within love, but I do mama.”

“Kagome, your father and I loved each other and we were brought together through the omiai.” Hiromi knew that her daughter deserved a chance to voice her fears and she wanted the closeness back that she and her daughter had shared.

“Mama, this is not about you and papa. This is my life and I don’t understand why you and grandpa feel the need to push me into this.”

“We did this Kagome, because you are blindly stumbling around in the dark, unwilling to take any light that has been offered to you. Would you have us watch you stumble?” Her mother’s voice was laced with pain as the elder woman admonished her.

“No,” her tone was harsh, “I would have your help and guidance rather than your high handed condescension. I would have your understanding that the man I love was a good and honorable one rather than your fear of the unknown. I would have your trust rather than your constant reminders of what I should be.

“Mama, I would have a lot of things that were different, but it seems that neither of us are willing to change.” By the end, Kagome was heaving ragged breaths. The tears in her mother’s eyes made the young woman ache.

Before either regained enough composure to speak, there was a call from the downstairs saying that it was time for Kagome to go.

“I’m coming,” Kagome yelled back without breaking eye contact with her mother, “I have to go.”

And such was life. Kagome idly wondered how many more bridges she would burn.

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Shopping had not been what she expected. True it was frustrating, due to the fact that some many things were beyond her grasp, however Izayoi proved to be very pleasant company.

Kagome had been worried when the elder woman insisted on going to the Ginza district, Kagome knew that most of what they would find there would be well beyond her meager budget. Izayoi said that she should not worry about such things, because at the very least Kagome would gain the understanding of what style dresses were flattering on her.

Izayoi had not brought up the subject of her emotionally constipated son; instead, she asked earnest questions about Kagome. At points, it seemed like the other woman wanted to impart truths, epiphanies, or equally earth shattering revelations, but Izayoi always held her tongue.

It was in the small boutique where Kagome found her dress that Izayoi truly became uncomfortable. The question had been innocent.

“What was he like as a child?” Kagome had already told this woman her entire life story as well as her family history; it was time to learn something about the man who was forcing his way to the center of her universe.

“As most children are I guess. Sesshoumaru has always been the dutiful son; his pride and self worth have always lain within his honor.”

Kagome smiled and laughed, “You talk as if you did not know him as a child.”

Kagome watched the horror flit across the woman’s face. How did she manage to look so young with such ancient eyes? Kagome was becoming all too accustomed to the feeling that people were not telling her everything.

“What a ridiculous statement. What mother does not know their own child?” Izayoi had stupidly not foreseen this problem. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to the girl before her, but if she could not figure out a way to distract her that would be her only choice.

“So I guess he has always been so serious. It seems like a lonely life.” Kagome immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. How could she be so heartless as to tell the man’s mother that he seemed lonely? Why not just go ahead and tell her that she failed as a mother as well?

“Sesshoumaru has had many reasons not to allow any too close for a long time. He has done everything that his father has asked, and never outright challenged Toga’s authority.”

“He was expected too? Challenge his father, I mean. From all that I have read, Sesshoumaru has more than adequately proven himself within the boardroom. In fact, I have seen him referred to as ‘Top Dog’ by some foreign companies.” Kagome noticed that Izayoi was having a hard time covering the fact that she was choking on something. “Are you alright?”

“I am fine.” Too quickly did she wave away any concern the college student might have. “Oh, look at that dress; I think it would be wonderful.”

Kagome glanced in the direction the other pointed. She was right; it was a beautiful dress.

It was in the quiet hours of the night that Kagome realized that Izayoi had avoided any attempt on her part to gain insight into the family she might be joining. Every time Kagome broached the subject, conveniently Izayoi would find an adorable dress, pair of shoes, purse, etc.

There were many secrets being held by the Satos. What they were, Kagome was sure she did not want to know. It bothered her the way Izayoi had looked upon her with the hope of a desperate woman, it made her feel as if she was the key to their salvation. It was not a feeling she enjoyed.

Things were definitely off. Izayoi’s speech pattern being one of them. It was odd, but the elder woman spoke with an inflection and accent that was more consistent with the speech of several hundred years ago. Stupid linguistic and myth courses, she did not need to add fuel to the persistent feeling of uneasiness about Sesshoumaru.

The elder woman’s evasiveness had done nothing to calm her fears about this possible marriage. Then she had come home to a cold reception. Her mother had obviously not forgiven her for lashing out earlier. Her grandfather had stressed how beneficial it would be to move into the phase of her where things were more stable. And what is more stable than marriage?

Kagome missed her father. It might have been a young girl’s idolization of her father, but she felt that he would have understood better than her mother or grandfather could have ever hoped.

If he had not gone on the train that morning; if Liam had not decided to walk on the beach, happiness would not be evading her now. When had she lost her smile and replaced it with regret? Her mother was right she would not find happiness in this downward spiral. Cold amber eyes flashed through her mind’s eye. Could happiness be found with one who was already drowning in duty and loneliness?

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AN: Thank you for reading. If you have time please review.