What Was Expected

DISCLAIMER: I DON’T OWN INUYASHA AND CO., NOR DO I MAKE MONEY FROM THIS

Thank you to Possessed, Mamasama and ktshabatie for beta-ing.


Chapter 6: Vaseline Smiles

Why had time not stopped like she prayed for? It probably had to do with her not being the center of the universe.

A smile, and quick nod in thanks as Kagome recognized that Ayumi had finished her hair. Kagome had to call her friend to help her prepare because her mother still was not willing to forgive until Kagome apologized. Apologizing was not something that Kagome was going to do any time soon.

Her mother’s mood had actually darkened when a package arrived yesterday afternoon for Kagome from Liam’s family. A pair of decorative coral combs and a note stated that they had just discovered this present Liam had bought for her among some of his things. They were delicately beautiful and Kagome had made the comment that they had arrived just in time for her to use.

The uneasy feeling within her increased as Ayumi gushed how beautiful she looked. Smoothing the planes of her gown, Kagome graciously accepted the flattery of her friend. He would be here soon and she did not want to have to make some grand entrance.

Reality and Kagome’s wishes yet again clashed, leaving reality the victor.

Sesshoumaru arrived earlier than expected. Welcomed by the younger brother, he stepped in and his focus turned towards the stairs as Kagome made her decent, followed by another female he did not recognize. The dress was stunning and obviously an attempt by his father’s second mate to entice him further into taking this female.

The full-length gown was a symphony of blues that hugged her curves. The petite waist was emphasized forcing all to notice how proportioned her bust and hips were. While sleeveless, the dress was modest in what was not covered by fabric.

Sesshoumaru was pleased to note that her neck remained bare. However, the scent emanating from her forced him to suppress a growl. There was a faint scent of kitsune. Quickly he scanned her, trying to determine where the scent originated. His amber orbs settled on the coral hair combs.

“You look exquisite this evening,” his rich baritone extended into the home. As he debated on how to broach the subject on the combs, Kagome drew closer to him and her mother appeared from the back part of the house. He noted how the brother and mother both seemed to be more formally attired than he presumed they would be for simply being in their own home. There was also the strong odor of scents that did not belong within the home. Curious.

“Thank you, Sesshoumaru.” Kagome’s timid voice was laced with nervousness. She had seen a picture of him in formal attire, but the photo did no justice to his actual presence. “You look very distinguished and…” What would the right word be? “Commanding.”

“Thank you. You should wear your hair up more often. The combs are interesting. Where did you get them?” Sesshoumaru noticed the scowl deepen across her mother’s face.

“They were a recent gift and seemed to match the dress perfectly.” Kagome’s head bowed slightly as she felt her mother’s judgment bore into her from behind.

The petite woman in front of him again had that distant look in her eyes. “Hn.” So, the kitsune thought to meddle in affairs that were no longer their own. The problem is that he could not insist that she change her hairstyle without seeming unreasonable. Add to that his own scent mark was fading; the inu-youkai’s instincts were becoming hard to fight.

“I took the liberty of finding you appropriate jewelry for the evening. Izayoi had mentioned you claiming to not own any.” With his statement, he pulled an oblong jewelry case from his inner breast pocket of his tuxedo coat. Inside lay a simple white gold choker with a large teardrop sapphire.

A shiver ran down her spine as he placed the necklace on her. It was not the gentle scrape of what felt like lethal claws, but rather it seemed that he was pushing something deathly cold under her skin. As soon as he was finished, she reached up for her throat, gently caressing some of her inner warmth back into the tender flesh.

Perhaps he had used too much youki, yet it had been unavoidable. It took all his cultivated self-control not to rip out the offending adornments in her hair. His instincts demanded that his claim dominate the interloper’s.

“Thank you,” Kagome hoarsely whispered. Moving to distance herself from the imposing male, she covered her retreat up using the opportunity to place on her shoes. Once she had finished re-straightening her gown, they made a silent retreat. She was reminded why she did not often wear heels on the stone steps; fortunately, she made it to the bottom without incident.

Kagome was suffocating in the silence as Sesshoumaru drove. Knowing that her scent would only become more laced with anxiety, the youkai quickly came up with a subject to talk about.

“It seemed that I have taken you away from some sort of family event this evening.”

Kagome’s head snapped in his direction, “Excuse me?” What was he talking about? She had been trying to figure out why he had referred to his mother by name instead of title, like over the phone.

“Both your mother and brother’s attire did not suggest that they were having a simple evening at home,” he clarified.

“Oh.” The resoundingly intelligent reply fell from her lips before she could stop it. “It was not important for me to be there. My grandfather had invited a few representatives from local museums to peruse through the items we have in the storage shed.”

“Is the shrine’s financial situation that despairing?”

Well that was blunt, insufferable man. “No,” she replied curtly.

He was holding this conversation for her benefit, the least she could do is participate in it. He despised when he was forced to lead someone through a conversation. “Explain.”

No. “Explain what?” Did he just growl?

“Explain why now.”

“If you must know, the shrine will need to undergo some major renovations in the near future. My grandfather thought to try this method of raising funds before applying for a loan.” Kagome felt like she was developing a twitch in her eye. “My family is not destitute.”

“Hn.” She was definitely no longer anxious about the evening. How had she managed to impress Izayoi so much that the hime could not stop gushing over the miko?

The silence resumed after that and was not broken until the startled gasp from Kagome.

Kagome had never really seen such a commotion before. One would think that this event was being attended by “A-List” celebrities by the number of photographers and journalists lining the walkway. Why all this over a simple business dinner?

“You will be fine. Just do not fall down.”

‘Wow that was encouraging. He should really go into motivational speaking.’ Kagome gulped down some much needed oxygen right before her door was opened by the valet. The flashing of the cameras did not immediately begin; it was not until she had been joined by Sesshoumaru that she became blinded.

The proud male barreled through the walkway, never paying attention to any of the questions asked. He could tell that the small female by his side was barely surviving all the pressure and it would be in both their best interests to get inside as fast as possible.

Once inside the ornate banquet hall, Kagome regained enough of her composure to again fume at her “date.”

“This is not a simple business dinner, is it?” She did not look at him while she spoke for fear of attacking him. How could she have been so stupid as to not research what exactly this business event was?

“It is beneficial, in today’s world, to be seen as socially conscience. Also, there is the added factor of being able to make contacts at these types of events that are otherwise near impossible to obtain,” the calm baritone replied.

The insufferable, insufferable man. “So you are attending this for image?” Kagome was not sure which upset her more; that he did not tell the type of event or that he was only attending in order to promote his company’s image.

“Yes.”

“Well Sesshoumaru, next time you wish to improve the public image, might I suggest not attending the event with a dumbly gaping date. All the entrance proved was to make a fool of myself and you by association.” The hushed words were heated. However, her appearance to everyone else did not reflect her boiling anger.

“Hn.”

That was it. She did not care what her family wanted. She would never be able to find happiness with such an apathetic man. Her thoughts driving her forward, she decided that she would be the one to show him the error of his ways.

“I would have you know, Sato-san that these events are not meant to be used by the rich as image boosters. These events represent very real problems within society and the world. Problems that should be addressed and dealt with,” her voice never rose above a heated whisper, but Sesshoumaru knew that the youkai within the room had heard her.

In his rage at her blatant disregard to his status, he failed to notice that she was no longer referring to him by his given name. “Higurashi, you will-“

“Ah, Kagome it is good to see you,” Toga had moved quickly to defuse the situation between his son and the much-needed miko.

“Sato-san, I am honored to be here,” a polite bow accompanied her generic greeting.

There were compliments to go around about how everyone looked. Izayoi attempted to isolate Kagome in conversation for a while. Then before the raven-haired miko knew what had happened, she was surrounded by the Sato clan. They moved as if they were a pack of dogs, from one group of people to the next, and everywhere they went they commanded attention.

The young college student had been forced to play nice, not allowed to further voice her opinions to her date. She demurely answered all questions posed to her. No matter her anger level, it would do no good to dishonor her family. She had been greeted with smiles, but had felt the hanging resentment in the air. At times, she caught the jealous looks from some of the women in the crowd. She brushed off their foolish notions, as if she truly wanted to have to stand next to this man.

For the past two hours, she had been looking for a way to distance herself, if only for a few moments, from the Satos, and it was in the gardens that her opportunity arose. Sesshoumaru had not quite engaged in conversation with the new group on whom the Satos had lavished their attentions on, but the others were already occupied.

Seizing her chance, Kagome quietly excused herself and headed for the restrooms. She had never felt more like a whore in her life. Well whore was probably not the correct term, but she felt as if she had been put on display for all to gawk at. She needed the sanctuary the washroom promised. Kagome was so focused on obtaining her goal that she did not notice that she had a following.

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The heir to the West was not having a pleasant evening. The damn miko had done more to rile him in the few minutes of their entry than few had done in his seven hundred year plus life span. Even the deceit of his third mate had not infuriated him so egregiously.

The woman accused him, a dai-youkai, of deceiving her purposefully. That had not been the case. Ever the tactician, he had reasoned that it would be better if she were unaware of the nature of the event. There was no reason to tax her with unnecessary fears; this was a business event for his clan and so she should come to view these events as such as well.

He had been ready to put her in her place, cow her if need be, when his alpha thwarted his attempt at proving his dominance. Since the beginning of the evening they had not been given time to address the growing rift between them, and his instincts were on edge with the number of males showing interest in his female.

Yes, she was his female. Her little displays of resistance would not deter him. As if the light just turned on over his head, Sesshoumaru began to understand. Kagome fought him so hard because if he walked away she would not be dishonoring her family’s wishes. She was probably not even aware of the tactic she was employing.

Hn.

The female would not win. If it might mean a lifetime of struggle, so be it. Sesshoumaru had endured many things in this modern society without ever truly being challenged. Now he was presented with one who offered him nothing but challenges. A small upward tilt of the inu-youkai’s thin lips betrayed the normally stoic male’s passion for conquest. Victory would be relished.

As he watched the last of her midnight tresses disappear into the doorway, he noticed the trail of three females behind her. Sesshoumaru growled, she had just stepped beyond his protection.

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Kagome wanted nothing more than to splash her face with cold water; however, that was not an option if she did not want to exit the facilities looking like the night of the living dead. Instead, she made do with washing her hands. Her back was turned to the door when she felt a chilling presence enter the relatively small room.

Nori narrowed her silver eyes as she sized up her target. There was nothing spectacular or even intriguing about this female. No, it would not be hard to put the bitch in her place, which was definitely not by Sesshoumaru’s side. The inu-youkai female had waited too long to assume her place as Sesshoumaru’s mate, she would not let a human usurp her.

She pushed the full weight of her youki on the small human, not caring about the comfort of the other two females behind her. It was her pride that blinded her to the faint glow around her target.

“You will leave and not come back.” Kagome spun to confront the haughty tone and the woman that was assaulting her.

“I am sorry, but do I know you?” Kagome had not expected to see three women behind her, all of them giving her death glares.

“I am above your status, peasant. Now you will follow this Nori’s orders or suffer the consequences.”

‘Did the lilac-haired freak just refer to herself in third person? Wait… lilac-haired?’ Kagome breathed slow calming breaths as she studied the other two women behind the high and mighty bitch. One looked normal, but the other had pointed ears and ruby eyes.

“I believe that it is time for me to get back to my date.” Kagome squared her shoulders as she spoke.

Nori’s silver eyes tinted with a hue of pink, “You, human, are beneath us. As for Sesshoumaru-san, your eyes should never have been allowed to gaze on one such as him. Leave now before you disgrace yourself.”

The normal looking woman, well she was probably more of a girl still, took this as her opportunity to speak. “Do you honestly believe that you could be welcomed within our society? You, who so obviously do not understand how to live in our world?”

Were those growls? The narrowing of the two “odd” looking females’ eyes told Kagome that they were not necessarily a united front. Kagome aimed to prove her suspicions, “I do not think that they are speaking of my family’s social status.”

Silver orbs that definitely contained red hues now snapped back towards their sapphire counterparts. “How… it does not matter. You will learn your place.”

Somehow, Nori produced a glass of dark wine. Maybe Kagome should not have been so distracted by their bizarre looks. Yet, that thought only lasted a moment before all hell broke loose.

Nori had realized that there was another in the room that did not know of youkai existence, thereby forcing her to change tactics. She simply threw the wine at the pitiful human that thought she could stand beside her Sesshoumaru, immensely pleased that where the dark liquid landed on the gown was nearly white in color.

Kagome stood in shock for a moment and just as her stupor was wearing off, the door slammed open. The chill in the air increased at least tenfold. It was Sesshoumaru’s aunt and she was a bottle of barely contained rage as she took in the sight before her.

Sayami turned to the human who should not witness her rage, only for the safety of maintaining youkai secrets, “Rin, you will leave now.” Sayami watched the young human exit, and then her golden eyes narrowed on the two bitches before her, “You dare attack one under the protection of the Western Clan?”

Kagome could barely listen; she fought to remove the chill from herself.

Nori had never expected to have to face Sayami, the haughty old bitch was not known for her forgiveness. “The human filth does not deserve the honor of standing by his side. She was told her place and refused to listen.” Silver eyes held the golden ones in an answer to the challenge of the elder.

“Simply because your sister once could lay a claim to him does not mean that you have any such rights. Your actions tonight have put your clan’s standing with the Inu no Taisho in jeopardy,” turning her eyes to the crimson eyed female, Sayami added, “both your clans.”

No, this was not happening. Nori had waited centuries for the great first-born son to overcome his mourning. Centuries that he had denied her subtle hints, and now it was a human he was fawning over. No. “Our numbers dwindle, and after centuries of denying our kind’s need, Sesshoumaru is now allowed to philander with some human whore. I have respected his choice to remain unmated; my father has not pressed the issue. What reward do we receive for our understanding? We must endure the insult that the Western Clan makes no effort to reaffirm familial ties, but instead, continues its fascination with human scum.

“Yes, she carries his scent mark. Nevertheless, she carries the youki of another as well. Should the West endure such shame as to allow its heir to associate with a female that cannot even keep her scent clean?” Nori’s tirade ended in almost a shrill scream. Nori knew the older bitch’s disgrace, and had always wondered why Sayami had not just killed the second mate.

Before any could blink, Nori was knocked to the floor in a telling blow of the eldest female’s power. Sayami would not see her son mated to any more power hungry harpies. As much as she had distrusted the miko, the sapphire-eyed woman had not made demands, or become starry-eyed at the opulence of the wealth she had seen tonight. In addition, for the first time she had seen her son gaze at a female with the hunger of a male enjoying the chase.

“If your pride and greed had not blinded you, you would have seen that she is a miko. We all know the importance of that. Leave now, Nori, and know that punishment will be decided soon.” The crimson-eyed female was now in Sayami’s sights, “You tell my son that his intended is in need of assistance. He is to offer apologies, for he shall be leaving early.”

The two youkai scurried out of the stifling room, surprised to have escaped with their lives. In their absence, Sayami reeled in her youki.

Kagome gulped down air; she had never felt such an oppressive force before. She had only been able to catch a few words here and there of what the other women were talking about. They were not human. It was a truth she could no longer hide from.

“What are you, all of you?” Kagome had retreated back from the advancing woman, pushed into the sinks to the point she was almost sitting in one.

“Those are questions for my son to answer,” came the calm reply.

“Son? I do not know your son. I didn’t even know you had a son.”

“Again, more questions for him, it is not this Sayami’s place to answer. So instead, heed this warning. Never allow weakness to be seen, for in this society it is preyed upon by all.” Sayami smelled Sesshoumaru’s approach to the door, “Try to clean your dress as much as possible. You will be leaving very soon.” With that, she slipped from the bathroom to inform her son and then her mate what had transpired.

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Sesshoumaru stood as sentries of old outside the door, waiting on his miko. It was then that he caught the scent and sight of the kitsune. It had been long since there was another night that called stronger for bloodshed to avenge the transgressions against the Western Inu Clan.

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AN: Thank you for reading. If you get a chance, please review. Also, can anyone guess who Nori is?

emmaren