Okaa-san

A/N: Sorry. Long wait and shorter chapter. You'll see what's up with Sesshomaru and more.

So, read and enjoy.

NOTE: *'means Sesshomaru's beast'*


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Chapter 6

So What Now?


Sesshomaru shut the door to Kagome’s bedroom behind him, allowing her the necessary privacy to get dressed and made a hasty retreat down the stairs.

He could not believe that he had almost taken the girl against the wall of her very own bathroom. After so many years of being in control of his beast, he could not restrain it the moment her scent had hit his nostrils. It had inflamed his senses and made his blood boil with the heat of arousal and nothing he could do would stop his inner inu from claiming the vixen who released that wonderful scent.

Sesshomaru had merely wished to draw the girl out of her bath after having faced the loud-mouthed boy who claimed to be her brother at the front door. The boy had not allowed him entrance into the house even with a crying Rin in his arms and so Sesshomaru had taken matters into his own hands. Having been drained of what little patience remained from the search for his mysteriously disappeared father over the past two days, Sesshomaru refused to deal with the boy and so had knocked him into unconsciousness with a swift blow to the temple. Sesshomaru then had proceeded to step over the boy’s body and into the kitchen where he had placed Rin in her carrier on the kitchen table and then had begun to search the house for the vexing woman known as Kagome.

It hadn’t been hard to determine her location considering she was the only other remaining individual within the home, and so Sesshomaru had followed her trail up the stairs and into her childhood bedroom. At her lack of occupation of the room he had quickly scanned for any signs as to clue him in on her whereabouts and had found her bathroom door to be closed with steam rising from the crack between the door and floor.

He had briefly thought about giving her the time to finish her bathing but a distant wail from Rin reminded him that he no longer had the time to indulge anyone. This had to end now and she was the only person he knew who would have an inkling as to what to do.

With that thought fresh in his mind, he had brusquely opened the door to her bathroom, not even thinking to knock, and had stepped inside.

The scent of sakura and moonflowers had been the first thing that he had noticed. It was strong; a mingling of the two delicate flowers in one essence with the underlying hint of a power that had yet to be fully released. The strength of the scent had called to him – enticing him to taste the forbidden fruit of their blossoms and discover just how delicious it truly was.

It had proven difficult for him to cage his inner beast once it had awoken to the alluring scent. There was something within the aroma that had caused his beast to stir and refuse to be subdued.

Sesshomaru, in an attempt to prove to himself that the wondrous fragrance was not coming from Kagome, had stepped into full view of the tub only to find the most erotic sight his eyes had ever had the pleasure of seeing.

She lay there fully exposed to his eyes; everything that she had secreted away and kept hidden from the unworthy eyes of men was now laid bare before him. Never before had he felt so honored at the very sight of a woman’s body as he had in that moment.

Through the clear water he could see her ivory skin, gently caressed by a rosy hue from the heat of the water. Her cheeks were flushed and lips slightly parted in an invitation to be kissed as a dark halo of raven tresses floated aimlessly about her. The tops of her breasts breached the surface of the water – the nipples hardened by the exposed air. He had to physically withhold himself from taking a pebbled peak into his mouth so that he could suckle like a nursing pup.

His gaze lowered to the womanly curves of her hips and then down her long, elegant legs that he imagined wrapped around him as he passionately took her. Her toned calves tapered off to slim ankles and then onto a pair of petite feet with pink painted toes. He craved to take one of those plump digits into his mouth and then slowly kiss, nip, and lick his way up her defined legs and onto the nest of dark curls that rested at the crest of her thighs.

Sesshomaru had groaned at his own thoughts and had attempted to reign in his beast, scolding it for desiring an annoying human woman, but it was fruitless. For too long he had denied himself what he truly wanted with the excuse that he would never take a human, but his beast knew what it wanted and it wanted Kagome; nothing he could do would stop his inu from taking the woman.

*’A sample,’* it begged. *‘Just a taste.’*

Pain swept through his body when he had denied his beast. It pleaded relentlessly with Sesshomaru to dive into the maiden’s bath, sweep her up in a sweet embrace, and discover just how divine her body was. But he refused to allow the creature power over himself simply because he wished to get laid. To lose control over a woman - a human woman at that – was humiliating to the great taiyoukai lord.

‘No. She is human,’ Sesshomaru had argued. ‘I refuse to shame myself like my father. A human is not worthy of this Sesshomaru’s attentions.’

*’Can you not smell? Power exudes from her very scent. She is strong – stronger than you give her credit for.’*

His inner beast refused to let the argument go and Sesshomaru’s ire continued to grow. ‘It does not change to fact that she is still human. She will one day grow old and die. Nothing this Sesshomaru does can change that.’ He decided to take a different route in reasoning with his beast. ‘Imagine what pain we will go through if we attach ourselves to her. Her death would ruin us if we were to make her our mate.’

*’It would be worth it. With the pleasure we could derive from her body, I would gladly do it a thousand times over if it meant being with her in this very moment.’*

That had not been the response Sesshomaru was expecting. He counterattacked. ‘She has been with the ookami. I refuse to defile myself by laying with a woman who is tainted by that foul creature.’

His beast roared at the insinuation. *’She is pure! You dare accuse her of mating with another? The ookami did not deserve her and she made sure to keep him at bay. She is still untouched and you know it.’* He growled then, irritated at Sesshomaru’s fruitless stalling. *’Now let us claim her’*

Sesshomaru was about to start another rant but his words died in the back of his throat when he caught a dark scent that had not been present before. He turned to the still unconscious Kagome and realized that she was releasing the scent. It was faint, but when he took another deep breath he discovered what exactly the smell was.

His eyes darkened at the implication of her arousal. The heady scent was playing havoc on his mind and he could not prevent the darkening of his golden irises to a deep crimson. Sesshomaru no longer had the will to withhold himself nor his beast as the earthy aroma slithered through him, calling to him in the most base of ways.

Sesshomaru’s beast had officially gained the upper hand but there was still some protesting on Sesshomaru’s part. He proved to be thorn in his beast’s side as refused to give up control of his movements. His body was effectively paralyzed for Sesshomaru, although dramatically affected by Kagome’s arousal, denied his beast the satisfaction of being able to step forward to claim the woman.

It was as they were fighting for control that they heard their name being called from the delectable woman resting in the tub. They both turned shocked to hear their name come from those cherry lips in a breathless manner. It was as if she was imagining Sesshomaru in her dream and he was the cause for her arousal.

The very thought sent a tingling sensation throughout his body and he couldn’t help the possessive snarl that escaped his throat.

The last thing he remembered clearly before he fully lost control to his beast was the angry look that graced her countenance as she jolted awake. When her stormy blue eyes met him in a rage at having been disturbed from her pleasant dream, he could no longer hold his beast at bay. The very sight of her heaving breasts, the droplets of water clinging to her like a lost child, and the glazed look that was slowly ebbing from her eyes was too much to bear.

Everything had been hazy and somewhat blurry after that but he clearly remembered when she kissed him. Her soft, pliable lips against his own nearly made him groan, but as he had been about to delve further into her heat, she had suffused their kiss with her miko powers, effectively pulling him out of his beastlike state.

As difficult as it was for him, he was able to play it cool even though Kagome’s supple body and naked curves proved to be a challenging distraction. It took all of his will to ignore his hardened arousal and pull himself away from her heated body when she asked to be let down. Her blushing face and starry-eyed gaze let him know that he had not been the only one affected by their proximity.

He had been glad to leave the room so that he could regain his composure and no longer be tempted by the sight of Kagome’s goddess-like body. Which left him where he was now: slowly making his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen where a very vocal Rin awaited.

When Sesshomaru stepped into the kitchen he was welcomed by the amusing sight of Kagome’s obnoxious brother frantically waving his hands in the air in a comical motion in an attempt to console the crying Rin.

“Please stop crying,” Souta begged to no avail. He raised his hands behind his head and started wiggling them, yelling over the wailing, “Look, I’m a moose. You like moose, don’t you?” Rin only cried louder, and Souta collapsed in the chair in front of her, defeated.

“If I have tried and failed to silence the child, then what makes you think that you could do better?”

Souta nearly jumped out of the chair at Sesshomaru’s coldly intoned question. He started hesitantly, unsure whether or not Sesshomaru was still lost to his beast but at the sight of his lucid eyes, he replied, “I didn’t know that you had tried. She was starting to annoy me so I tried to calm her down. I think she might be hungry or something.”

Sesshomaru gracefully seated himself across from the boy. “And how do you propose we do that?”

“We?” Souta questioned with eyebrows raised. “We are not doing anything. She’s your kid. Beside, why would I want to do anything for you after what you did to my sister upstairs? You almost raped her.”

Sesshomaru growled at the accusation. “This Sesshomaru did no such thing. Your sister is fine as well as am I.”

“You didn’t seem fine. You were practically feral up there.” Souta crossed his arms over his chest and sent want he hoped was an intimidating glare towards Sesshomaru. “I don’t care who the hell you are, but you don’t treat my sister like that. I may not have been able to do anything up there but now I have my bearings, and if you as so much speak badly to my sister, I will punch you so hard you won’t even be able to remember your mother’s name.”

Sesshomaru snorted. “You are but a human – one without holy powers I might add. You can do nothing to hurt me.”

Souta was unfazed by his declaration. “I don’t care what I am. All I know is that if you hurt my sister, I’m gonna do everything in my power to make you pay. I may not have holy powers like she does but I do have other resources. Don’t discount me just because I’m a kid.”

Sesshomaru ignored the blatant threat and turned his attention to Rin. He passively stared at the crying child hoping that soon Kagome could pose a solution to this problem.

“So why did you bring the kid here?” Souta asked out of curiosity. With his clear distaste for the youkai now made known to Sesshomaru, Souta no longer had a need to continue his threats. He was sure the inu got the point and besides, he was genuinely interested in the kid.

Sesshomaru met the boy’s brown eyes with a cool glare. “I know nothing of children. I was under the impression that your sister could enlighten me. She is a woman after all.”

“Psh. Yeah right. Just ‘cuz she’s a girl doesn’t mean she knows how to care of a baby.” Souta waved his hand in the air in dismissal. “It doesn’t matter anyway. She does know how to take care of kids. Kagome pretty much took care of me when I was little and she did a lot of baby sitting back in the day. You just lucked out is all. I wouldn’t make the assumption that because she’s a woman she knows how to do something again; it might piss her off that you stereotype women like that. She’s into women’s lib and stuff.”

“Hn. I do not care for her interests, only that she could take care of the child.”
Souta’s eyes widened minutely as his inquisitive streak kicked in. “Just what exactly do you want my sister to do?”

Sesshomaru looked at the boy as if he had grown a second head. Was the answer not obvious? “To take care of the child when I am unable, of course. What else would I use her for?”

Souta rolled his eyes. “Well, I don’t know,” he replied sarcastically. “She did work for you as your personal assistant for two years. Maybe you could rehire her for her old position. Just a thought.”

Sesshomaru shook his head. “She made it quite clear that that was a position she no longer wanted. I personally know that she cannot get a job at this time, and so I will graciously offer her this postion.”

Souta laughed at the oblivious youkai. “Good luck with that, buddy. I’d like to see her bite at that one.”

Sesshomaru was about to make the boy explain but was halted by the entrance of Kagome.
As she pulled her damp hair into a loose bun at the top of her head she asked, “Why haven’t either one of you stopped her crying?”

“We can’t,” Souta answered. “I think she might have colic or something.”

Kagome gave her brother a reproachful look. “Doubtful. I’m sure she just wants some attention.”

She approached the table and turned the baby carrier around so that she could finally see the child that had been plaguing Sesshomaru.

“Oh, she’s so cute!” she gushed at the sight of the baby.

Kagome had never seen such a precious looking baby before. The tiny girl’s dark curls and innocent brown eyes made something within Kagome melt at the sight of her. Although the child was crying hysterically, the girl’s tiny fists curled up in anger still made for an endearing sight. And not to mention her plump cheeks: they were so pinchable!
“Sesshomaru, she’s absolutely adorable.” She reached into the carrier and pulled the crying child out and to her chest. “You are just the cutest little thing I have ever seen,” she cooed.

Kagome bounced up and down with Rin gently in her grasp: an arm under her bum and a soft hand at the back of her head. She soothingly began to hum in an attempt to calm the irate baby, remembering what had used to work on the children she babysat for when in high school.

“Shhh,” Kagome hushed Rin. “Nothing’s wrong now. That big bad youkai won’t hurt you. No he won’t; not while I’m around.”

If Kagome wasn’t currently being so successful at subduing Rin, Sesshomaru would have scolded her for her words but the fact was that Kagome was doing a remarkable job at consoling the babe.

Soon Rin’s cries became less frequent until they stopped entirely and the baby tiredly rested her head on Kagome’s shoulder and fell into a peaceful slumber. Kagome made comforting motions with her hand through Rin’s tiny locks of hair. Hopefully, if she continued it would be enough to keep the child asleep while she got what information she needed out of Sesshomaru.

She silently slipped into the chair next to him, careful not to wake the sleeping Rin, and faced him. “So, how did you get her?” She quietly inquired.

Sesshomaru was still in shock at the aptitude that Kagome showed in being able to silence Rin. For two days straight the child had cried and nothing Sesshomaru or the women he hired to assist him with Rin had been able to make her stop. “How did you do that?” he asked, temporarily discarding her question.

“How did I do what?” When Sesshomaru pointed to Rin, Kagome merely smiled and gently shook her head. “Oh, it’s nothing. Sometimes after being separated from their mother, a baby just needs the presence of a woman. All children crave attention no matter how old and most of the time it’s their mother who they want. I guess in some base way I resemble her mother.”

“But none of my female employees were able to stop her. How is it that you are any different?”

Kagome shrugged. “I guess I’m special. Besides most of the women who work for you don’t have any experience with kids. Most of those women got their job because they have a rich background and their parents pulled some strings with you.” When Sesshomaru was about to deny her statement, Kagome swiftly stopped him with a raised hand. “Don’t deny it, Sesshomaru. I worked for you; you can’t hide these things from me. Besides, you gave them pretty useless desk jobs to make their parents happy. And I know for a fact that they didn’t pay you off. You would never accept a bribe.”

For some reason Sesshomaru was pleased that Kagome thought so highly of him. She was right of course: he didn’t accept any bribes, but the threat of blackmail from highly influential stockholders had forced him to give some of their children jobs. He would never give them anything above a simple pencil pushing job unless they proved that they were in all actuality capable of handling more.

“Any way, my question: how did you get . . .?”

“Rin,” Sesshomaru supplied. “Her name is Rin. My father is the one who gave me the child. He tricked me into signing a document that I believed to have been concerning my inheritance, but it was in actuality, Rin’s adoption papers.”

Kagome raised an eyebrow incredulously. “Didn’t you read the papers before you signed them?”

“Obviously not,” Sesshomaru retorted, aggravated at her demeaning tone.

“Well, why didn’t you? Even if it was about your inheritance you should have read it anyway. What’s the matter with you?”

Sesshomaru growled lowly at Kagome’s insult. “My father had assured me that there was no sort of trickery involved and this Sesshomaru had been too busy to read the document. I had been under the impression that the papers were concerning my one day reign over the Western lands.”

Kagome sniffed. “Whatever. What’s done is done.” She turned her head and smiled at the sleeping Rin. “Besides, you now have a beautiful daughter.”

Her eyes widened when she felt something cool and wet slide down her shoulder and she instantly turned to her forgotten brother at the table. “Souta can you grab me the dishrag from the sink?”

Her brother didn’t question her and did as he was asked. Souta handed her the rag and watched as she tenderly shifted Rin to her other shoulder and wiped the child’s drool off of her left shoulder. Once finished she placed the rag on her bare shoulder and moved Rin back into place, making sure that her head rested on the rag. Rin gladly snuggled into Kagome and fisted a small hand around a loose lock of Kagome’s hair.

She smiled sheepishly at Sesshomaru. “A common hazard with babies.” With that, Kagome returned to her line of questioning, not satisfied with what Sesshomaru had given her. “How did your father get her? Do you know where she came from? How old is she?”
Sesshomaru decided to answer her questions in the order she asked them. “I do not know where my father got her hence I do not know where she came from. However, I did receive a copy of her birth certificate yesterday and it states that she was born here in Tokyo on April 1.”

Kagome nodded her head. “I figured she was somewhere between four and six months. I guess that makes her five months and one week. She is a little small for her age though. Rin should weigh more than this.”

“I know nothing more than you do.” His eyes rested on the slumbering babe. “I do not know what to do with her. My apartment holds nothing suitable for a child and I do not know what she needs. It is difficult for me to admit, but I am lost in the area concerning child rearing.”

Kagome laughed lightly. “Sesshomaru, all first time parents are. Don’t worry though; I can help you get everything you need and show you how to take care of Rin. I would highly recommend getting a nanny, however.”

Souta coughed and quickly leapt out of his seat, drawing both Sesshomaru’s and Kagome’s attention. He pointed to the door leading outside and said, “I think it best if I left now. You don’t need me and I still have some chores to do before Mom and Gramps come back home.”

Surprise registered on Kagome’s face. “I didn’t know they were gone. Where did they go?”

Souta stealthily made his way closer and closer to the door, taking soft steps backwards as he faced his sister. “Uh, well, they left to go grocery shopping while you were in the tub. Trust me, if they had been home, your youkai over there would have been covered in sutras.” Answer given, Souta practically ran out the door, trying to get as far away as possible from the explosive confrontation he knew was to come.

“Huh. I didn’t even notice that they were gone.” Kagome turned back to a seemingly uninterested Sesshomaru. “That actually makes me wonder about another thing I don’t know.”

“And what is that?”

“How did you know where to find me?” She was curious to know how Sesshomaru discovered that she was no longer living in her apartment.

“It was simple,” he replied. “Upon arrival at your former apartment, your landlord told me that you had been evicted. So I merely went through your records at Shiroi and discovered that your emergency contact was your mother and underneath her telephone number was this address. I assumed that since you were no longer on your own, that the most logical place for you to take up residence would be your childhood home. And I was correct in my thinking.”

“Huh. I guess I’m not as elusive as I had hoped to be. But then again I never expected for you to show up on my front doorstep. Well, actually, more like my bathroom.”

Sesshomaru directed the conversation onto another topic; he did not want to talk about the events that had happened earlier. “My problem, miko. I cannot take care of a child full time. I run a multinational company – it is not within my capability to balance the needs of child with that of the demands of my company.”

Kagome was wondering where he was going with this. The answer was obvious: he just needed to hire a nanny. Why was he getting worked up about it? It wasn’t like she could do anything.

Or could she?

‘He better not be thinking about what I think he is. There is no way in hell I would ever work for him again.’

“You have worked for me before. I admittedly trust you more than any other human. I want you to take care of Rin when I cannot.”

If she did not have Rin in her arms, Kagome would have slapped him across the face. “Are you kidding me?” She whispered hotly. “I quit, remember? I wouldn’t work for you even if hell froze over.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed at her. “Are you denying this Sesshomaru? If I remember correctly you could not get a job after you stormed out of your position. You have been jobless for the past several weeks. If I were in your position I would leap at this opportunity.”

“They only reason I have been without a job, you arrogant prick, is because you’ve blackmailed every single company I applied at. It’s not because I couldn’t get one, it’s because you’re a vindictive bastard.”

Sesshomaru growled at her. “Do not call this Sesshomaru names. You were well deserving of my treatment. You believed yourself to be in the right and you were not.”

“No, Sesshomaru. That’s not true and you know it.” Her voice had risen in volume with her anger and when Rin began to stir, Kagome reluctantly lowered her voice. “I was the best person for that position and you refused to give it to me most likely because you were too reluctant to search for another personal assistant.”

Well, Sesshomaru conceded, she was partially right. “It does not matter any longer. What matters now is Rin’s wellbeing and I refuse to turn her care over to just anyone. I know you, Kagome, and I know that you are the best person for this.”

Kagome sighed. The thought of being with such a cute baby like Rin every day had its appeals. Ever since she was little Kagome dreamed of the day she would be a mother and with things recently not going the way she had planned, she didn’t know if her life was on the track she wanted it to be. Although she would care for Rin, she wouldn’t be her mother and the thought of separating from the child once she was old enough to care for herself was in itself painful. She had yet to form a true attachment to the child, but if she were to care for Rin like Sesshomaru wanted her to, then a bond would be formed and the day he would ask her to leave would undoubtedly be the hardest day of her life. It would be simpler now if she just put her foot down.

Besides, she still wanted to enter the business world. She didn’t graduate top of her class at such a young age to be a nanny. Her MBA had value in this world and even if Sesshomaru had been blackmailing her, there were still places out there that had yet to be tainted by his influence. She could do it if she truly tried. The only thing holding her back was the realization that she would eventually have to choose whether or not she wanted to keep her family or keep working. Ultimately that’s what happened with her relationship with Kouga and look where it got her – homeless, jobless, and loveless. Her dreams were indeed crashing down around her.

“I don’t think I can do this Sesshomaru,” she finally stated quietly. Her solemn blue eyes met his own amber as she gave him her reasoning. “I want a career and becoming Rin’s nanny would squash any hope of that ever happening. I can’t give up my life for someone else’s child. One day I’ll too want a family but my ties with Rin won’t allow me to do that. And what happens if you find a wife? I’ll be kicked out as soon as the vows are said.”

Kagome shook her head sadly. “Everything I do, I do with all my heart. This wouldn’t be any different. I’m afraid that once everything’s said and done, I’ll lose my heart to this little girl. I can’t do that, Sesshomaru.”

Sesshomaru did not understand her sentimental reasoning behind her thoughts but what he did understand was that she was not adverse to the idea of caring for Rin, but more afraid of what would happen should he one day decide that her services were no longer needed.

“Should you form such a bond with Rin, then let me assure you, that I would do nothing to separate you from her. In some way, I will make sure that you remain a constant in her life. But you are getting ahead of yourself. You have yet to truly spend time with the girl. I’m sure that once you have experienced the insidious crying that I have, you would not be so willing to stay.”

Kagome smiled at his words and felt somewhat less apprehensive about the whole idea of being Rin’s nanny. There were still some nagging doubts that reached the forefront of her mind and she had to let them be known. “If I do this, what will you pay me?”

“Double what you made before.” At Kagome’s shocked expression he elaborated. “My daughter is important and this will give you more incentive to take the job.”

Kagome grinned at Sesshomaru’s declaration that Rin was indeed his daughter. It was such a warming feeling to know that on some level Sesshomaru had already formed a relationship with the adopted child. This was the first time that Sesshomaru had acknowledged Rin as being his daughter; whether or not he realized what he said, Kagome was still proud of him.

“You don’t need to pay me that much. I can live off of little and most of the money I make anyways goes to the shrine and my bank.”

Sesshomaru arched an elegantly plucked eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“Well, I still have a lot of student loans, so most of my check goes to the bank each month, and the shrine hasn’t been doing well lately so the rest goes to my mother. When my father passed, I became the sole provider for this family. The government helps out somewhat since the shrine is a historical landmark, but they’re waiting until we can no longer pay so that they can officially take over Sunset Shrine.”

Sesshomaru had been unaware of her plight. If he had known that she barely lived off of her paycheck than he would have raised her pay long ago. He was amazed that not once had the woman complained about what he had given her. If he had been her shoes, things would have been much different.

“How much do you owe in loans and how much is the mortgage to the shrine?”

Kagome was caught off guard by his question but readily obliged him. “Well, in total I still owe the bank fifty thousand dollars and the mortgage we currently have on the shrine is about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. We pay about nine hundred a month for that. And then of course there are the taxes. Okaa-san has some money stored away and that’s what she uses to pay most of the bills, but it’s not enough to last her for long. If things continue as they are, we’ll lose the shrine in about a year, maybe less.”

“I can help,” Sesshomaru offered, surprising Kagome yet again. “If you agree to be Rin’s nanny, then I will not only pay your bank loans, but I will also pay off the shrine’s mortgage.”

Kagome’s draw dropped. There was no way that THE Sesshomaru was actually being nice. “Are you serious? Why would you do something like that? It doesn’t benefit you in any way.”

Sesshomaru crossed his right leg over his left as the edge of his lips lifted in what could only be described as a smile. “But it does benefit me. If I pay off your debts, then you will work for me and that is exactly what I want.”

“But why me, Sesshomaru? If you tried hard enough I’m sure that you could find a more qualified nanny then me. Heck, it’s not like I had kids of my own that I took care of. If I do this, it will be a first me, just like it is for me.”

Sesshomaru shook away her concerns. “Like I said before – I trust you. It is difficult to gain my trust and I’m sure that any woman I hired to take care of Rin would never have my faith like you do.”

Kagome was moved by his words. She found it hard to believe that this was the same youkai she had been fuming about only moments before. Admittedly he had been an asshole to her before, but her hate for him she found to be slowly subsiding and it was difficult to say no to him when he was being so genuine.

She swallowed, pausing to think about how she would word her answer. She was distracted from her thoughts by Rin as she once again stirred in her sleep. Her head turned so that her small lips were only centimeters from Kagome’s neck and Kagome could feel the small puffs of air released by the baby as she slowly inhaled and exhaled. Rin was so delicate and so vulnerable in that moment that Kagome felt a little piece of her heart crack at the very sight of the sleeping child.

Kagome turned her head back to Sesshomaru and finally said, “For one week I will be Rin’s nanny. If I don’t like the way things are going, then you have to allow me to leave with a recommendation for another job. No blackmail. Do we have a deal?”

Sesshomaru smiled, knowing full well that after a week there would be no way he could separate Kagome from Rin. “We have a deal. If you stay I’ll pay off your college debt and the mortgage to the shrine. If you leave I give you a job recommendation.”

Kagome returned his smile with her own glorious beam. “Great. I guess we should get this started as soon as possible then.”

“Indeed,” Sesshomaru intoned. “You should pack your things now so that we may be on our way.”

“What?” Sesshomaru’s words had her reeling. “What are you talking about? Why would I have to pack?”

Sesshomaru gave her a belittling glare. “Are you daft, miko? You are to be Rin’s nanny and that means that you are to come live with me.”

“I’m not moving in with you,” Kagome hotly replied. “I can come in whenever you need me.”

“Which will be frequently. I work late nights often and it would be much easier if you readily available. Taking up residence at my home will allow you to constantly be with Rin when I need you to be.” He looked around the kitchen eyeing in clear distaste her mother’s gaudy decorating. “Besides, I’m sure that you do not to live with your mother for the rest of your life, now do you?”

Kagome could not argue with him there. She gave an exasperated sigh and relented. “Fine. I’ll move in with you. But if I decide to do this for good, then you’ll have to allow me reprieve from watching Rin. Just because I live with you doesn’t mean than you can constantly dump your daughter in my lap when you feel like it. She is your daughter after all and you should technically be doing just as much work as I do.”

Sesshomaru nodded his head in agreement. “That is fine; I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Silence then reigned over the room and Sesshomaru waited patiently for Kagome to once again strike up a conversation. But when he recognized that Kagome’s attention was lost on Rin, he felt out of place. He was not used to the girl not talking.

In an attempt to pull Kagome back in he questioned slowly, “So. . .what do we do now?”

Kagome raised her head with a mischievous smile gracing her lips. A slithering jolt of heat rushed down to Sesshomaru’s belly and he unconsciously shivered at the sight of her luscious lips in such a kissable form.

“Why we go shopping of course, Mr. Taisho.”

And that declaration sent a different kind of shiver down Sesshomaru’s spine: one that was not welcome whatsoever.


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A/N: I already started on the next chapter, so no worries there.

I also want to address some people's concerns over Souta. I know a lot of you are wondering why I made him seem like such a vagrant, but all teens go through a phase and that just happens to be Souta's. Besides, in the anime and manga his idol is InuYasha, so I wanted him to have some of those characteristics even though he hasn't met InuYasha in my story. He's still a good brother though - jumping to defend Kagome and all.

Please don't forget to rate and review.

-Moriyo