Distinct Differences by DragonFly

One

The day to day bustle and hustle always seemed more congested during the holiday seasons. From October 31st to mid-November one could feel rising tension in the atmosphere, but the first hour of the last weekend in November really signaled the end of all that, and the beginning of an all out rush to the finish line: December 25th.

What started as a mostly local celebration had become an all out global phenomenon by the end of the 20th century. People in lands that didn't even know who Jesus was took time on Christmas to celebrate his birth. It had turned out most interesting and, for anyone ever caught in the holiday rush, extremely annoying.

Even more upsetting was that she had to spend the time alone. Yes, she, Kagome Higurashi, hadn't spent the glorious 25th of December in the presence of another being, human or otherwise, in close to three years. Her last holiday companion, a playboy by the name of Takaski InuYasha, had been an apparently faithful and wonderful hanyou, her best friend and near lover, up until three years past.

That was when she came home early from a business trip to find him and her own cousin doing things that went beyond 'friendly' in many different ways. She'd kicked him out the door with her cousin close behind. Within the week Kagome had manage to sever herself completely from InuYasha with the one exception that his half-brother was her distant boss. But even that had changed.

Taking one final inventory of her desk, Kagome nodded to some of her co-workers that passed by on their way to the party being held in the largest conference room, two floors up. Considering Takaski SesshouMaru owned the entire building, and employed everyone in it, it was a considerably large conference room.

More like a movie theater, Kagome thought to herself, since she had seen the room recently and knew of the full screen projection system that was its newest main feature.

Three years ago, though, she would have only heard about the addition from InuYasha. As the second son's tentative girlfriend she rarely had left the floor she used to be stationed on, four down from her current position in the executive suites. InuYasha had brought her up to tour the gym on the top floor only once and to enjoy a brief lunch in the VIP Cafeteria that occupied the entire floor directly above. She took a second to reflect, as she did ever holiday season, on how amazed she used to be; how naïve.

Behind her, Kagome's boss stepped out of his office, leaving the door wide open as though without a care in the world.

"Going to work through this year's party again, Kagome-chan?" Mirosaki Miroku, head of the Takaski Legal Detachment, leaned heavily on the back of Kagome's chair, causing it to tip in his direction.

Kagome gave him her 'I'm not interested' look, which lasted maybe 30 seconds against his infectious smile, then grinned. "Nah, I thought this year I might actually go home and hang with Hojo instead."

His look of mock-horror said it all. "Absolutely not! Kagome, you need to get out of the self-imposed slump. It's not healthy to spend so much time by yourself." Not to mention it's starting to make working with SesshouMaru almost impossible, he thought.

Miroku wasn't blind and even if he was, as justice was wont to be, he certainly wasn't stupid. Four years past, when his boss had first met the wonderful, beautiful, and oh so scrumptious Kagome, he'd immediately disliked her.

Now, that in and of itself was nothing monumental except for the fact that the only other female SesshouMaru felt anything beyond indifference for was his adopted daughter Rin. In Miroku's mind, dislike indicated interest, and being that the object of his boss's interest at the time was with a certain hanyou, the lawyer deduced that the dislike SesshouMaru held for Kagome was actually jealousy towards InuYasha. In disguise, of course.

A year later when Kagome was 'without hanyou', as the gossip pool liked to put it, Miroku noticed an almost immediate change in his employer's attitude. That Kagome had been promoted by said employer, not a month after her split with InuYasha, to a position that put her in a more accessible place to SesshouMaru, was no surprise to Miroku. If there was one thing that held true about the youkai founding fathers of Takaski Enterprises, they knew what they wanted and always found a way to get it.

Kagome huffed and sat forward, effectively pulling Miroku's perch out from under him. "I'm not alone, didn't I just say I'd be with Hojo."

"You're gay neighbor needs to get a boyfriend and let you do the same," Miroku mumbled. Kagome heard him loud and clear anyway and playfully popped him one in the shoulder.

"Maybe you're right... I just don't feel all that festive right now though."

She was going to cave. "Well, a little champagne, a few cream puffs, and maybe some of the wonderful crackers with the lobster stuff on them will cure that. Did I mention the champagne," Miroku raised an eye-brow at her indignant look before slipping an arm around her waist when she rose.

She looked skeptical for a moment then shrugged. "Sure, though, I'm not really dressed for it."

Giving her the once over, Miroku's face near split in two. "You look fine," he reassured her, silently continuing, he'll be thrilled to see you regardless of how you're dressed.

With one final glance at the neat desktop, Kagome gathered up her coat and purse, allowing Miroku to escort her up to the party, still secretly unsure if it was a good idea.