A/N- This story was originally posted to FF.net back in July 9, 2008. Thought that you might like it here. It's my only attempt as a Sessh/Kag main character fic. ~Jai
Sitting at a lone table near the window of the small café, Kagome read the personal ad one more time ‘Single Male seeks Single Female with similar interests.’ Her eyes scanned the paper as the big bold letters ‘Must Love Dogs’ finished the ad. With a sigh she refolded the paper for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. “Must love dogs… I wonder what that’s about?” she thought. Kagome had always been a cat person with her own beloved orange and white Bouy at home curled on her bed.
She glanced around the café, noticing that although it was small, the place seemed to be packed. It was one of her favorite places to eat, a little Italian bistro off the beaten path that had the best Panini Sandwiches in town. Her best friends Sango and Miroku had encouraged her to answer the ad, calling the number for her since she was too scared to call herself. Basically this had turned into a blind date. All that Sango had told her about her mystery date was that ‘he’s the one with the dog.’
Sighing yet again, Kagome looked through the café window out onto the busy street as she scanned the crowd for any one with a dog. “Why do I get myself into these types of things?” she thought as a waiter passed by, asking if she’d like a refill on her drink. With a slight smile, Kagome asked for a refill, her third since she sat down an hour ago.
Glancing at the clock near the bustling kitchen Kagome saw that it was well past the 1 o’clock meeting time that she’d been promised and most of the lunch crowd had thinned, leaving her by herself with just the waitresses and waiter her only companions. With a sign once more, Kagome looked over the menu that she’d held onto, waiting for her mystery guy to show up. “May as well get something to eat since he most likely stood me up,” she thought.
With her head buried in the menu, Kagome failed to notice a tall striking figure walk past her window. A pair of dark sunglasses covered his eyes, contrasting sharply with his long silvery locks. He turned his head toward the restaurant, his nose twitching slightly at the wonderful smell of grilled sandwiches. “This must be the place,” he thought as he moved toward the door.
The bell rang, announcing another customer walking in as Kagome perused the menu yet one more time. Finally having decided on what she wanted for lunch, Kagome put the menu down, and began to look for the waiter that had helped her before. However, a tall figure, dressed in dark slacks blocked her view. As her eyes settled at the waist of the gentleman, taking in the exquisite and rather expensive looking leather belt, Kagome’s breath hitched in her throat, causing her to nearly choke as her eyes wandered up the midnight blue sports jacket and white button down shirt to gaze into the rather serene face.
Upon hearing the slight gasp of the woman before him, the gentleman smiled kindly as he asked, “Kagome Higurashi I presume?” as he extended his hand toward the young woman, removing it from the handle on the harness of the majestic German Shepard that sat patiently at his side.
“Why yes… yes I am. May I ask your name? My friend failed to mention it when she set this up,” Kagome replied, taking the firm hand and shaking it gently. Looking toward the rather obedient dog at his side, unable to resist the urge to pet it, she leaned forward, her palm extended when she stopped suddenly as a hand was placed upon her shoulder.
“Her name is Patience, and I’d appreciate if you would not pet her. She’s still rather young, as well as she’s a Seeing Eye dog in training,” he replied, feeling the nervousness through his hand upon her shoulder.
Moving back to her previous position, Kagome looked at the handsome stranger taking in his blackened glasses that settled against his high cheek bones. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know. All that Sango said was that you’d be the only guy with a dog, she never mentioned that you were blind,” she replied.
“That’s okay, I don’t see being described as such a problem, for that is what I do for a living, train dogs for others whose eyesight has either left them prematurely or that they never had in the first place. Oh… by the way, my name is Sesshomaru… Sesshomaru Taisho,” he said as he moved carefully toward the seat opposite Kagome. Seeing that her trainer was sitting down, Patience moved toward his seat and laid down at his feet, looking around intently incase her services were needed.
Kagome looked at the rather dashing young man across from her, she silently thanked Sango for setting up this blind date as she watched him motion for the waiter. Once the waiter arrived, he asked, “Are you ready to order?”
Sesshomaru turned slightly toward Kagome as he said, “I’ll have the special and you?”
“I’ll have the same,” Kagome replied, pushing both menus toward the waiter after he jotted down the order.
As Kagome gave her order to the waiter, with a hint of a smile, Sesshomaru’s eyes wandered over Kagome’s slender form from behind the dark sun glasses, drinking in her raven locks that had been pulled back into a bun and adorned with two stylish chopsticks. They moved to her elegant and graceful neck, where his eyes stayed momentarily wishing to lick the tender spot where her neck and shoulders met. The light mint green top accentuated her natural color perfectly, with enough of a V-neck to give the demon a generous view of her creamy breasts.
Taking the menus with him, the waiter left. Kagome turned back toward the tall handsome mystery man as she asked, “The ad stated you were looking for some one with similar interests, what kind of interests do you have, Sesshomaru?”
Drawn back to the red plump kissable lips adorning Kagome’s angelic face, he replied, “I enjoy walks in the park, taking in a good movie or show and reading classic books, as well as a huge love for the great outdoors. How ‘bout you?”
Kind of shocked at the mention of reading and a good movie, Kagome replied, “But how… how do you enjoy such things when you’re…”
“What? Blind?” he finished. A slight chuckle crossed his lips as he replied, “I’m not blind, and I only wear the glasses to help protect my eyesight when I’m out and about. Besides, it gives the same effect as if I were blind while training dogs, such as Patience here.”
Feeling kind of foolish, a blush crossed Kagome’s cheeks, making her even more irresistible to the young demon as she replied, “I’m such a fool, assuming with the dog and the shades that you were blind. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
“Nonsense, besides that I’d forgotten to take them off myself,” he replied, moving a hand to the aforementioned glasses. Once he removed them, Kagome looked at his closed eye lids, waiting on baited breath to catch a glimpse of his hidden eyes. As he slowly opened his eyes, revealing the amber orbs for her chocolate gaze, Kagome melted heart, body and soul into their amber depths. Never had she seen such a color.
Seeing the way that her eyes devoured his very essence, Sesshomaru asked, “I take that you like what you see.”
Nodding slightly, Kagome replied, “You have gorgeous eyes.”
“Thank you,” he replied, taking a sip of his iced tea as Kagome got her emotions under control.
Readjusting her seat at the booth they were sitting in, Kagome’s foot brushed against the soft fur of the dog under the table, reminding her of the second part of the personal ad. Turning toward Sesshomaru she asked, “When the ad said ‘must love dogs,’ was that because of what you do with the Seeing Eye dog program?”
Putting down his iced tea, Sesshomaru looked deeply into her chocolate eyes as she replied, “It was partially because of my work with the dogs, although I only have one trainee at a time, but the other part I’d have to show you… say tonight after dinner?”
Kagome glanced nervously toward the clock over the kitchen as she thought about a really quick second date with this stranger with whom she’d just met. As a bit of a welcomed distraction, the waiter arrived with their Monte Cristo Sandwiches that had a combination of deli sliced ham and turkey with slices of provolone and Swiss cheese on Sourdough bread that had been dipped in a batter and then fried. They were served with a small side salad with raspberry vinaigrette.
Both parties delved into their meals, as if neither had eaten in a very long time. Kagome thought about his request for a second date, carefully weighting the pros and cons of such a feat. As for Sesshomaru he watched the play of emotions cross her face, knowing that he was taking a risk with his feelings on this girl, showing her a part of him that he’d never shown another before, not since the passing of his wife, Kikyo.
Once all the food had been eaten and the plates cleared by the every present waiter, Sesshomaru turned once more to Kagome as he asked, “Would you grace me with your presence tonight?”
Looking real nervous, Kagome looked at her hands as she replied, “I’m not so sure that I can make it tonight, Sesshomaru.”
Hearing the nervousness in her voice, understanding that he was being a little forward, he replied, “If you’d like to do this another time, I can wait,” as he took her hands into his larger ones.
Feeling his hands massage hers tenderly, Kagome looked into his amber orbs, seeing something in them that she’d never seen in another’s eyes before, save for when she saw the same look in Sango’s as she looked toward her beloved Miroku. With a surge of confidence at how that look made her feel, Kagome replied, “No… I’d like to see you again tonight, say my place at six.”
“How about my place at eight instead,” he countered as he continued to hold her hands.
Not wanting to break the contact of his hands on hers, Kagome reluctantly pulled them from his grasp as she reached for her purse to get a note pad and pen to write down the address. As she looked up, a business card had appeared on the table before her. Unsure of where it came from, Kagome picked it up as Sesshomaru explained, “My home address is on the back, feel free to give me a call at either home or work if you can’t make it.”
Quickly as he slid from the bench seat, Patience moved to be next to her trainer as his hand eased down the side of his pants to where the handle from her harness would be located. After taking a firm grip on the handle, Sesshomaru turned back toward Kagome as he said, “Thank you for meeting me here like this, Kagome. I know that this was as much of a shock for you as it was for me. Please accept this as a small token of appreciation.” He quickly, almost in the blink of an eye, leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers before moving out the door and out into the busy street.
Kagome just stared at the spot that he’d just been standing, completely unaware that her jaw seemed unhinged as she tried to recall exactly what had happened before her date had left. Once she regained her composure, Kagome quickly put the business card into her purse and went to pay for her lunch.
As she approached the cashier, she said, “You dinner has already been paid for, ma’am. Your date covered the cost for both meals.”
With quick thanks, Kagome quickly flagged down a cab heading for home. Once she arrived at her upscale apartment, Kagome called Sango, telling her about her date before she took a quick nap. As the hour for her date quickly approached, Kagome took a quick shower before wading through her overstuffed closet to find the perfect outfit. After thirty minutes of indecision Kagome choose a pale pink halter top style dress with an empire waist. The top hugged her breasts like a second skin as the skirt flared out slightly from the waist to accentuate her legs, falling to just the top of her knees. She paired the dress with a matching small almost envelope sized purse for her license, credit cards and car keys and pair of 2” pumps.
Now that her outfit had been decided, Kagome looked at her hair in the mirror, trying to decide how to play with the waist length tresses. Deciding to leave the masses down, Kagome quickly donned the dress and pumps before grabbing up her little purse and heading down to the underground garage for her beloved silver BMW convertible. Once she got onto the road, Kagome headed out toward the ritzier part of town, where all the wealthy entrepreneurs lived.
Sesshomaru prowled around his manner, wondering if he was moving to fast for the young woman, seeing as how she reminded him so much of his beloved wife. She had the same long raven tresses, although Kagome’s hair had more waves to it. The same could be said for her chocolate eyes as well, Kikyo’s could be hard at times, but like Kagome’s showed life and love of the area around her. From the innocent mistake of Kagome believing that he was blind, Sesshomaru could tell that he’d picked the right one for his next mate, he just worried that she’d refuse him once he told her his little secret.
His head turned slightly as he saw the lights of a car come slowly up the drive way. A slight smile crossed his lips as he saw that it was in fact his prey, Kagome as he thought, “I see that she is true to her word, another attribute that I love about her.”
Kagome exited her car, her eyes wide as she took in the mansion that lay before her. She was lost momentarily in her own mind of awe as Sesshomaru opened the front door, moving to her side before she realized that he was there. Once he placed his hand gently upon her arm, drawing her back into reality, Kagome looked deep into the amber eyes once more he said lovingly, “I’m glad that you’re here.”
“I’m glad that you gave me the card with the directions. I would have had a hard time finding this place if you hadn’t,” she replied.
As he led her into her home, Sesshomaru gazed at the appearance of the woman beside him, noticing the way that her dress accented all the right places. Sesshomaru could tell that she’d taken her time in choosing what she was going to wear, the style of her hair, as well as the amount of make-up to use. He rather liked how little make-up and lack of perfume that she used, for it gave way to more of her natural beauty and her natural unique scent similar to the wild roses of his estate. This pleased his nose in more ways than one for it was not the stench of the women that had thrown themselves at him previously. Sesshomaru knew that he had chosen well and hoped that by the end of the night he was to have another mate.
Once they entered the home Kagome was amazed at the sights before her from Feudal Era artwork and pots to ancient weapons. The rugs that adorned the entrance were immaculate, rich and lavish looking. Her eyes wondered from the walls on her left to the immaculate curved stairway in the middle that led to the upper level to more of the walls and their treasures to their right. “My word,” she thought in awe as he led her by the arm toward the dinning room.
“From your reaction, I take that you like my home?” he asked as he led her to the lavish dinner table.
As her eyes wandered over the exquisite and lavish dinner, she replied in awe, “Yes… yes this is a very nice home and looks like a very delicious meal as well. Thank you.” He pulled a chair out for her and pushed her into the table as any well-to-do gentleman would do. Kagome took the napkin from her plate and laid it gently across her lap as Sesshomaru took the seat at the end, on her left so that they could easily pass the different components of the meal.
They ate in near silence, only asking for a platter of food that is just out of reach. He actually enjoyed watching Kagome as she tried to decide which dish she’d have some of. Seeing the look of uncertainty cross her face, he suggested taking some of everything. Now that her plate was full, Kagome delved into the plate of udon noodles, tempura shrimp with some Mandarin Chicken.
Both Sesshomaru and Kagome continued to eat in silence moving from the main course to the dessert. Kagome relished the rich flavor of the Baked Alaska, from the cool layers of ice cream to the lemony, slightly burned outer meringue. Sesshomaru couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who had captivated his heart in such a short period of time. His heart beat a little faster as they moved away from the dinning room once dessert had been consumed.
Taking her hand, Sesshomaru led her gently toward the massive gardens that graced the exterior of his home. Eyes wide in amazement, Kagome drank in the lovely grounds, stopping to smell some of the various tea cup roses of various hues of pink and red. “Oh… these are so… lovely,” she replied as she breathed in the heavenly scent.
“My dearly departed wife had tended these gardens for years,” he replied softly hoping to not scare her away with the mention of Kikyo.
Turning her chocolate orbs toward his, Kagome softened as she saw a look of sadness cross his amber gaze. “Oh… I’m so sorry to hear that,” she replied, moving toward him suddenly, wrapping her arms around his waist to hold him as if the mere mention of his dead wife had deeply affected him.
“It was a blessing when she passed a few years back,” he continued, “She had been suffering from a rare form of cancer and lived in near constant pain for the last part of her life. Unable to function much from the pain, she had been unable to tend the gardens on her own and they had fallen into disrepair until recently.” His arms unconsciously wrapped themselves around the young woman who held him in a near death like grip.
With her nose pressed firmly into his chest, Kagome inhaled the calming scent of cedar and something else… something that she couldn’t put her finger on. As his arms snaked around her body, holding her to him, thoughts of being in his arms like this forever crossed her mind. A slight blush crossed her cheeks as her mind wandered entertained the idea of being his one and only.
Knowing that the time had come to reveal his secret, Sesshomaru unwrapped Kagome from his arms, holding her a slight way from him as he eased her onto a stone bench. “Kagome… there’s something that I need to tell you,” he started as he took the seat next to him.
Looking into his amber eyes, Kagome felt her heart begin to pound in her chest, fearing the worst. Feeling the nervousness shiver through her hands that he held, Sesshomaru smiled lightly as he looked lovingly into her face. “Kagome, since the first moment that I saw you, I knew that you were the one for me,” he said softly, lovingly as he gazed into her eyes. Noticing the hitch in her breathing, a smile slipped across his lips as he continued, “I have just one secret that I’ve kept from you and I hope that you won’t hate me for it.”
Kagome’s eyes shined with unshed tears as she listened to his heartfelt confession of love. “Why would I hate you, Sesshomaru? You’ve shown me nothing but kindness and compassion since I’ve met you,” she asked quietly, trying to help him understand that no matter what he was to reveal that she’d love him with all her heart.
Taking solace in her words, Sesshomaru released her hands, moving a few feet away from her as he said, “Let me show you.” As he moved away from her, the features of his face changed, upon his forehead a blue crescent moon slipped through the thin veil of the spell he’d worn to conceal his demonic heritage as the magenta strips streaked across his cheeks. Slowly the whites of his eyes bled red, turning the luscious amber irises to an inky blue. The wind suddenly picked up, whipping his long silver tresses around as his body began to grow and change, lengthening as a low growl seemed to come out of nowhere.
Slightly shocked at the sudden changes that her dinner companion was going through, Kagome gasped, fearing that this was some sort of monster before her that was known to have devoured hundreds of humans in the past. Her heart beat faster as fear suddenly encompassed her being sending thoughts of fleeing into her mind but the excitement of what she was witnessing just kept her riveted to her seat unable to tear her eyes away from the transformation.
Within a few seconds, which to Kagome felt like hours, the transformation was complete and before her stood a white mound of fur the size of a small mountain. As her eyes wandered up the massive legs the size of redwoods, they fell upon his enormous jaws of which a huge pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. Unable to move from the spot on the stone bench, as if she were made of the same piece of marble, Kagome watched as the great white dog lowered its head toward her.
His pale pink nose quivered as it smelt the fear wafting in the air as his head moved down toward Kagome. Sensing that her fear was in part to his sudden change, Sesshomaru moved carefully toward her, showing no outward signs of aggression as he gently nuzzled her. Once the fear of the demon before her slowly changed to curiosity, Kagome raised a hand to the massive muzzle, gently touching the silky fur as Sesshomaru whimpered a bit, showing that he wouldn’t hurt her.
After a few more moments of this, Sesshomaru reverted back to his humanoid form, leaving his demonic markings upon his face and arms as well as his well manicured claws. Kagome looked at him with shimmering chocolate eyes as his amber ones locked on her lovingly. As he enveloped her in his arms, he soothed her with a bit of a growl in his chest, comforting what frayed nerves she had.
“I didn’t mean to scare you my darling,” he said once she’d quit trembling in his embrace. “I doubt that you would have believed me if I’d just told that I was a very powerful dog demon lord,” he continued, holding her as close to him as he could.
Kagome shook her head slightly as she replied in a mere whisper, “I’ll admit that you scared me, but now that I know that you’d never hurt me, I’m not afraid.”
Pulling her face to look into his eyes, he asked, “I’m glad to hear you say that, for now I ask… would you marry me?”
Shocked beyond all belief of what the demon had asked, the only thing that Kagome could do was pull him down to her level, locking her lips with his in a deep penetrating kiss, locking her answer firmly in his mind. As he deepened the kiss, Sesshomaru’s arms slipped down Kagome’s sides to settle at her shoulders and her knees. Gently, almost afraid that if he were to break the kiss that she’d change her mind, the great and terrible demon lord picked up his new bride and carried her to his room, to seal their marriage for all eternity