Something More by Notes-and-Photographs

Something More

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I believe that this is the part where you, the rich businessman, offer the poor street urchin, that is me, a piece of pocky so as not to appear like you are taking advantage of those less fortunate than you are. Usual time and spot?

Happy Valentine's Day,

Kagome

Inuyasha paced slowly in front of the door to his brother's office. After receiving the flower and the candy, he was very confused. He didn't know this Kagome and since it was addressed to his brother, he figured that the mailroom had mistakenly sent it to him. But then again...who would send Sesshoumaru anything on purpose? The way he saw it, he had two options; option one, go in and present him with the Valentine's Day gift that had just arrived and consequently get killed or option two, leave the present outside of his door and do a "ding dong ditch", in a sense, and then consequently get killed for "littering" the office with paltry trifles.

Things were not looking up for Inuyasha.

He went back to pacing, ignoring the strange looks that he was getting from Sesshoumaru's secretary. He raised his hand to knock before shaking his head, deciding better of it. Back, forth, back, forth. The woman at the desk was not only confused as to why Inuyasha was pacing outside his hated brother's office with flowers and candy but getting dizzy.

Putting an end to the madness, the secretary pushed the button on the intercom and spoke, "Yamamoto-san, your brother is here to see you." Inuyasha's eyes widened and he rounded on the secretary.

"What are you doing?!" He screamed, panic filling his body, "Are you trying to get me killed or somethin'?"

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru's voice cut through his tirade. "That is enough." Slowly, Inuyasha turned around to face his brother. "What is it you want?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

"Oh, uh...here!" Inuyasha shoved what he was holding into Sesshoumaru's hand. Sesshoumaru stared at it curiously, taking in the pink carnation, pink box of strawberry pocky and a card in a pink envelope all tied together with a pink ribbon, before looking back up at his brother.

"I never knew you cared, Inuyasha" he remarked scathingly. Inuyasha felt his face turn red in embarrassment.

"It's not from me, you idiot" he grumbled, his eyes glaring holes into the carpet.

"Oh? Then who exactly is it from?" Inuyasha shrugged.

"Dunno, got sent to me on accident. I thought I'd make sure it got to you." Sesshoumaru glanced once more at the package before nodding at his brother.

"Is that all?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Sesshoumaru turned around and entered his office once more. Inuyasha stared after him, annoyed with the way his brother brushed him off. Working up his courage, he opened the door and stepped into the office. "Who's Kagome?"

"I was under the impression that you had accomplished what you had wanted to," Sesshoumaru bit out.

"Almost. Just tell me who the chick is."

"It is none of your business Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru placed the unopened package on his desk and turned back to his work.

"You're not even going to open it?"

"I am not here to open presents; it is nothing but a distraction. I am here to get work done. And I cannot get work done while you are badgering me." Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but dropped the subject.

"Fine, whatever, go back to your boring work. If you ask me, you could do with a few distractions in your life." Inuyasha left the office, making sure to slam the door hard as he went out. He sniggered as he heard his brother yell out his name in frustration before he walked back to the elevator and went back to his own pile of work.

As Inuyasha had left, Sesshoumaru turned his attention to the Valentine that he had placed on his desk. Slowly, he undid the pink ribbon and separated the flower and the pocky. He slowly opened the card, noticing immediately that the envelope had already been opened. He frowned, but was pleased to see that, even though his brother had read the card, he would never understand the message. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that he still had a few more hours of work before he could leave and meet up with Kagome in the park. Turning back to his computer, Sesshoumaru forced himself to put his upcoming meeting with Kagome out of his mind.

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"Secret agent man, secret agent man, I don't know the rest of the words, but this song makes me feel cool" Inuyasha sung softly, and rather off key, as he trailed followed his brother down the street. Just because Sesshoumaru wasn't going to tell him who this "Kagome" woman was didn't mean that he wasn't going to find out. A couple blocks ahead, Sesshoumaru turned into a small park and Inuyasha stopped. What in the world was Sesshoumaru doing in a park? He wasn't exactly the person you'd expect to see converging with nature.

Turning into the park, Inuyasha peered curiously from behind a tree as Sesshoumaru sat down rather unceremoniously next to a beautiful woman, dressed head to toe in the colors of the holiday. On her head was a white fuzzy hat with her red coat and pink scarf and gloves. Inuyasha could see a smile on her face as Sesshoumaru handed her the flower she had given him and laughed at what he said. Creeping closer, Inuyasha tried to hear what was said, but with no luck. He couldn't get any closer without being seen. Disappointed slightly that he couldn't hear what they were saying, he leaned back against the tree and watched the two.

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"Well hello there stranger" Kagome greeted Sesshoumaru as he sat down next to her.

"I should have known that you'd be the only person on the planet to dress obnoxiously for a holiday created by the greeting card company." Kagome rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"I dress all in green on Saint Patty's day too, and I'm not even Irish." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. Sesshoumaru placed the Valentine on his lap before removing the carnation and presenting it to her.

"I have no use for a pretty weed." Kagome chuckled.

"I know. Valentine's Day isn't about what you have use for. It's the gesture that really makes the impact. And I wanted to send you a flower. I almost went for chocolates, but I figured that pocky had more of a significance between us."

"I'm curious, do you send packages like this to all your friends?" Kagome shook her head.

"No, that would get too expensive. I just send them to the people that I feel are the most important." Kagome rolled the flower back and forth between her thumb and her index finger before taking her other hand and plucking one of the petals of the carnation.

"He loves me," Kagome announced before pausing and looking at the pale pink petal in her hand thoughtfully. "Okay, so it's more like, he tolerates me." She plucked another petal.

"He tolerates me not." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes at her antics, but a small smirk made its way across his face. As Kagome continued, he studied her face; her smile was wide and her eyes sparkled as she continued with her childish game. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and her hair was unkempt. On her appearance alone, Sesshoumaru would normally never deign to give her his attention, but yet, he did. In fact, he looked forward to it; he looked forward to the time when he didn't have to be Sesshoumaru Yamamoto, ruthless, heartless, emotionless, business man but when he could just be himself. He never had to put a wall up around Kagome because she honestly didn't care how successful or rich or smart or handsome he was; she just wanted his company. Whatever she asked, he knew, eventually, he would answer her.

"He tolerates me" Kagome exclaimed, holding up the last petal between her gloved fingers before turning towards Sesshoumaru. "Since the carnation says so, it must be true."

"Perhaps," Sesshoumaru began, before clearing his throat and starting over, "Perhaps, one could say, I do more than tolerate you." Kagome's smile widened as she gazed at Sesshoumaru.

"I can't quite believe it, but I do believe that you just said that you, dare I say, like me," Kagome announced dramatically. "Le gasp! The world must be coming to an end! Quick, to the bomb shelter!" She leaped to her feet and, grabbing Sesshoumaru by the arm, dragged him up with her. Sesshoumaru wrenched his arm away from her grasp. Never missing a beat, she danced around him like a young child, chanting "Sesshoumaru likes me! Sesshoumaru likes me!" until Sesshoumaru snapped,

"If you keep that up, I might just have to retract my statement." Kagome stopped and laughed.

"Okay, fine, I'll stop." Kagome plopped down onto the bench, and smiled up at him. He sat down next to her once more and opened the box of pocky, presenting her with one of the biscuit sticks. Kagome took the candy eagerly and munched on it. "Why thank you kind sir. I can never indulge in such treats as this because I am but a poor street urchin." Kagome sighed dramatically and Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes.

"There is no need to be melodramatic."

"I know."

"And yet, you continue to act with the maturity of a seven year old." Kagome shrugged.

"Life isn't supposed to be humdrum and miserable. Just because you can't lighten up, doesn't mean that I can't have some fun every once in a while." Sesshoumaru gave her a look before getting up and walking away, towards the exit of the park. Frowning, Kagome jumped up, and ran after him. "Hey! You're just going to walk away from me now?" Sesshoumaru shrugged, but didn't stop. Kagome rolled her eyes, but fell into step with him, looping her arm through his, deciding not to take Sesshoumaru's rudeness personal. She had learned by now that this was just the way he was. About halfway to the entrance, Sesshoumaru stopped, placing his hand on Kagome's shoulder to make sure she didn't keep walking.

"Inuyasha," he called. His brother's face appeared from behind a tree, looking out sheepishly at the two. "You are the world's worst stalker." Kagome stared at him curiously before disentangling herself from Sesshoumaru and walking over to the sibling.

"Hi, I'm Kagome. I've heard so much about you; it's nice to meet you." She presented her hand for him to shake and he stared at it for a moment, slightly shocked and confused before he shook it.

"It's, uh, good to meet you too." She gave him a bright smile before walking back to Sesshoumaru. "It was good to see you again Sesshoumaru. I'm sure I'll catch you around here again sometime soon."

"Have a good night, Kagome." Sesshoumaru said calmly before continuing to walk out of the park, leaving the two people alone in the park.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" She called at his retreating back before turning towards Inuyasha. With a short wave, she left the park as well, Inuyasha soon following.

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Kagome sighed as she walked up the steps of the shrine and towards her home. She was somewhat...disappointed with her meeting with Sesshoumaru. She had expected something more. Sure, she could count on one hand how many times they had bumped into each other since Christmas, but, by now, she had expected that she wouldn't be subjected to his prickly demeanor; she had hoped that he would have loosened up around her and stop the scathing remarks. She chastised herself, knowing that everyone was different and that she couldn't rush Sesshoumaru to loosen up. The fact that he liked her enough to continue conversation with her should have been enough to satisfy her. The friendship would come and the tension would lessen, in time.

Opening the door to her house, she gasped at what she saw. Her foyer had been covered, head to toe, in roses of every color. There were red, and white, and pink, and yellow, and orange in various bouquets that took up all space from the door to the walls. In the middle of the room sat the largest bouquet of red roses and attached on a plastic holder was a card in a white envelope. Stepping forward, she reached for the envelope and opened it:

Being a rich businessman, I do believe I can offer you more than a measly piece of pocky. Happy Valentine's Day.

--Sesshoumaru

Smiling, Kagome picked up one of the roses and held it up to her face. Sinking to the floor, she read the card over, tears entering her eyes. No one had ever bought her roses on Valentine's Day. Back in high school, she would get a carnation or two, but never roses from the few boyfriends she had. Something in her chest pulled with joy and as she continued to smell the rose before resting it against her lips. With a goofy grin on her face she looked up from the piece of paper and giggled at the amount of flowers that took over her house. Perhaps she had been wrong; perhaps, there was something more already building between the two of them.

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A/N: Again, a little out of season. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

As always, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.

The remaining companion piece will be up before wednesday as it's just a short drabble. However, if you're still impatient, fanfiction.net/~notesandphotographs is where it is archived at the moment.

Emily

Notes-and-Photographs