One on One by Luna

Partners

Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own it people.

Summary: It was supposed to just be a study session, yet ended in something so much more!

Rated mature because of a few choice words from Inuyasha. No lemons in this story!

This is an AU, without all the dramatic age differences, but as much in character as possible. Please remember to review!

One on One
By: Luna

"Higurashi-chan, your partner will be Taisho-san."

There was a collection of gasps, followed by a certain Higurashi suddenly losing all the blood in her face. Whispers followed the gasps as every student turned to the one beside them and immediately started gossiping and making bets on how fast Taisho can chase poor Higurashi away.

Sesshoumaru Taisho was the schools Student Body President, and Kagome Higurashi was the schools Valedictorian. One would think that meant that they would have spent a lot of time together but… not so. In fact, odd thing was, Sesshoumaru seemed to make a point in avoiding everyone, but Kagome in particular. Kagome decided that he probably just hated her, so she strove to avoid him as well. Because of that the two have rarely if ever met, much less spoke to each other.

Their following encounters equaled thus:

Kagome rummaged through her book bag, getting frustrated that she couldn't find her pencil. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." She said to herself, her whispers sounded loud in the silent library, and blinked when a pencil was thrust unceremoniously underneath her nose. She blinked again when she recognized the clawed hand that handed her said pencil, and took it with a muttered, "Thanks."

Or:

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side and listened to the fast tap-tap-tapping of running feet, and he breathed in deeply the smell of flowers and sunshine. And, just to be perverse, stopped exactly where he was and simply waited. He didn't even flinch when the small body rammed into his chest after barreling around the corner without looking where she was going, and merely raised a brow at the girl sprawled out on the floor with various books and papers scattered around her. When she only blinked up at him, he sniffed and stepped over her to continue his way down the hall.

And:

"Good job on yesterdays quiz everybody! Everyone passed with flying colors!" The teacher called out, and since Kagome was the class president, handed her the tests for her to distribute to the class.

Kagome handed Sesshoumaru his test.

Sesshoumaru took it.

And that was it.

Kagome looked over at Sesshoumaru, but he didn't even seem to be paying attention; just stared out the window with his chin cupped in his palm while the other hand absently strummed his claws against the desk. She gulped and stared down at her hands and waited for the class to end. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

It wasn't as if she hated Sesshoumaru. Quite the opposite, actually. She was quite desperately in love with him, and had been since the second grade and he kicked Inuyasha in the shins for making her cry.

But Sesshoumaru hated her, and if he didn't, then he certainly didn't like her. Kagome didn't know why, exactly, but she wasn't about to ask. It was an unspoken thing between them that had never really been spoken about, and she wasn't about to break the cycle simply because she wasn't exactly sure of how to go about it. Sesshoumaru could be quite scary when he wanted to, after all. Or even when he didn't want to. In fact, it was safe to say that Sesshoumaru was just plain scary all the time, and he didn't have to work at it. She wondered why their teacher made them partners; everybody knew that they weren't exactly on speaking terms.

The assignment was the class's final project before they all graduated high school and went on to university. It would be the last time students would be able to work together; the partners they were given now are the partners that they will be stuck with until graduation. And Kagome was stuck with him.

It would be a painful experience. He was doubtless not to say a single world. It would be horrible. It would be awkward.

It would be wonderful.

And also the last time Kagome would be able to even see him before he went off to whatever university he had chosen to attend.

It was true she was best friends with his younger brother Inuyasha (who was a junior; Kagome skipped a year due to high academics and a genius IQ of 140). She was the second highest ranked student in the school (the first being Sesshoumaru, of course) and had made Valedictorian her freshman year and had kept the title throughout her years in school.

People wondered why someone like Kagome, who was widely liked and respected, was best friends with the schools most delinquent student. Inuyasha was the exact opposite of Kagome, his grades were barely even high enough to let him pass high school. It was rumored that he was in a gang (which he was, but Kagome would never verify), and he hung out with an eclectic group of people that were both feared and envied.

It had started out as just Kagome and Inuyasha. In middle school Inuyasha had done what he normally did and rattle Kagome's bedroom door open in the middle of the night and sneak inside, only this time he wasn't alone. He held a bloody bundle in his arms, and grunted something like, "Fuck!" And dropped it in bed with Kagome.

Its name was Sango Kimura, and she had literally fought for her freedom from an all female gang and was barely hanging on to life. Inuyasha had wanted to keep it quiet, but Kagome went to get her mother anyway. She had stayed with the Higurashi's until she was able to walk, and one day simply disappeared from the Higurashi household without a word. A few months later she showed up at their school as a student, her face once again holding stitches and sporting two nasty black eyes and a demeanor that scared all the students away. She was mean, and she was tough, and she had stuck to Kagome's side like glue.

Kagome adored her.

Sango was a tomboy, and she was mean… to others. And she had the nasty habit of cracking her knuckles and rotating her neck in such a way that you could hear the snap-crackle-and-pop of her neck and scaring off every boy from Kagome that she didn't approve of (she must have gotten that habit from Inuyasha) and had given Kagome the reputation of being Untouchable. Normally it would make people stay away, but it had the opposite effect, much to her friend's displeasure. Kagome didn't really mind. She had been in love with Sesshoumaru for her entire life, and wasn't interested in other boys.

Next was Miroku Inoue, a transfer student from the outskirts of Okinawa, and when everyone heard he was coming they assumed they'd get some country bumpkin, and instead they got a sleek, handsome guy with a special eye towards the ladies. Sango hated men in general, but for some reason she seemed to hate Miroku more than the rest, yet oddly enough tolerated him more than any other man with the exception of Inuyasha.

Miroku's acceptance in the group happened like so:

Kagome absently swept the broom across the floor, her mind only partly on her task. It was her turn to clean the classroom up after school was over, and yet her mind was focused on her gardening club, her eyes dreamy as she imagined her flowers blooming in the coming moonlight. Her club had tried to create a hybrid from morning glory seeds, trying to make the flowers hardier. Some members tried to change the bloom colors from blue to violet, or pink.

They were set to bloom any day now. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, and at first only thought she imagined the brush across her bum, but once she realized she hadn't she had opened her mouth to scream and the door burst open all on its own accord, and her mouth snapped shut and she blinked at the infuriated faces of Inuyasha and Sango.

"You!" Sango hissed.

"Fucker!" Inuyasha howled, lunging towards the boy with death in his eyes.

"Maa, maa, excuse me Inuyasha-san, but I was only brushing lint from the lovely Kagome-sama's skirt, honest!" But the twinkle in his eyes bellied his words.

And, for no reason at all, Kagome had started to laugh.

He had been with them ever since, Inuyasha's tutor in the art of wooing the ladies.

There was Bankotsu and Jakotsu, who were part of Inuyasha's gang (not that it existed, Kagome would assure everyone) but Kagome didn't really talk with them much. Bankotsu was always a gentleman with a strict code of honor, and was fiercely protective of Jakotsu, his adopted brother. Jakotsu, on the other hand, didn't exactly like women. In fact, Kagome would say that he quite dearly hated them.

He was always polite to Kagome, but that probably had more to do with the fact that Bankotsu claimed to be in love with Kagome, and since Jakotsu was in love with Bankotsu, he wouldn't treat Kagome in a way that would displease him. Kagome didn't think that Jakotsu knew that she knew his secret (since he claimed he held affections for Inuyasha and Miroku) but the love was in his eyes every time he gazed at his brother, and Kagome couldn't help but notice. Probably because it was a look that she wore on her own face every now and then, during the times that she allowed herself to gaze on Sesshoumaru. The times she thought that no one else could see.

She thought that maybe he actually knew of her love for Sesshoumaru (how, she didn't know, but she just got a feeling sometimes…) and that was also part of the reason he was civil to her since he knew that she wasn't interested in who he was interested in. They were both extraordinarily good looking men, Bankotsu the ruggedly handsome one and Jakotsu running on the (almost girlishly) beautiful side, and often hung out with her little ragtag group.

Kagome trudged her way home after class without even trying to speak to Sesshoumaru about the assignment, and went straight to her room to plop face down on her bed. Predictably, she heard her window rattle and waited for the creak it made when it was opened. Then the light sound of Inuyasha's feet as he walked to her bed side. She felt a finger poke her side. "Mrphl."

"Wake up, bitch! Why are you sleeping in the middle of the day anyway?" Inuyasha demanded, and plopped down on the ground after kicking his shoes off. He hated the damn things. He eyed Kagome again before dropping down to sprawl on the carpet, his ears swiveling for any sound of life coming from the girl on the bed. "What's got your panties in a twist?"

Kagome turned her head just enough to allow one eye to glare down at the sloppy hanyou, then buried her face in her pillow again. "Um dalg ah Sehomalu."

"Eh?" He idly dug his pinky finger in his ear and wiggled it a little. Kagome had turned her head enough to catch that action and stared at him in disgust. He blinked up at her. "What?"

Kagome grunted a little before sitting up, grabbing her pillow to hug to her chest as she sat Indian style. "Suzuki-sensei paired me with Sesshoumaru for the senior project."

"No shit?" Inuyasha sounded bored. Kagome glared at him a moment before throwing her pillow at his face.

"Don't you even care? You know how I feel!" Kagome growled and leaned forward so her hands could curl along the ends of her mattress and glared fully down at her best friend. "Go away." She hmphed when she got no reaction, then fell back down on her mattress.

They both laid there in companionable silence. They've been doing this ever since they were kids and Kagome beat up a bunch of bullies in kindergarten for throwing rocks at the hanyou child. Youkai were well integrated into human society, but there were still those who either didn't like them or didn't feel entirely comfortable with them around. They had become friends quickly afterwards, despite the fact that half the time all they did was argue.

He was her closest friend, and Kagome would do anything for him, and she knew the feeling was mutual. They had stuck together like glue, a delinquent and a child genius, and at the tender age of four Kagome had thought that someday they would get married. Of course, then she met his brother and those dreams were promptly forgotten.

He had gotten into the habit of sneaking into her room on nights that his brother Sesshoumaru and their father got into fights (youkai fights meant lots of fists and blood sans screaming) and even after Sesshoumaru moved out into the guest house on their estate and the fighting stopped, Inuyasha still snuck into her bedroom. It turned from a sanctuary to a place to hang out, a place all their own. Sango knew about it, but only after spending the night and almost beating the crap out of Inuyasha when he had snuck in during the middle of the night.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome's fingers twisted together, her voice tight with nervous tension. "What am I going to do?"

Sighing, Inuyasha rolled over and sat up. "Just go with it. He's going to graduate, thank God. You're going to graduate and leave me, you bitch. So just go with it! Besides, I thought you'd be happy being paired with the bastard."

"I am!" Kagome said automatically, but her fingers still twisted anxiously together.

Inuyasha snorted, clearly not believing her. "Whatever. Just make sure you don't beat up any of the harpy's that are gonna be gawking at him."

Kagome blushed. Only Inuyasha knew her tomboy ways (nicely hidden behind her straight A's. But seriously. Would a girl who couldn't kick ass hang out with a bunch of delinquent students and gang members of questionable virtue?). "I'm just… nervous."

Inuyasha snorted. "Don't let him know that. He's the kind of guy that would take your weaknesses and turn them against you."

As it turns out, Kagome didn't actually have to tell him she was nervous. Actions seemed to work a little better than words.

The first day went like this:

"Are you ready to start, Higurashi?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice low and husky and sending shivers up Kagome's spine.

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, squeaked, and then promptly fled from embarrassment.

The third day didn't fare much better (she used the second day to avoid him like the bubonic plague):

"On what subject do you want to do the project on, Higurashi?" He wasn't even looking at her, which of course meant that Kagome was looking at him, which of course meant that she didn't really hear a word he said.

"Higurashi?" He turned and stared at her, and Kagome's heart simply fluttered. His eyes were so golden, so beautiful, and there was something in them that she couldn't quite name. She sighed, leaning her chin into her hand. Then Sesshoumaru's brow crinkled and she leaned forward and waited to hear what he would say…

"Are you ill?" He even sniffed the air a little as if to confirm it himself.

The question was so absurd that Kagome blinked, then flushed so red that it went down past the collar of her shirt and she squeaked and, because she couldn't think to do anything else, ran away again.

The fourth day Kagome decided to act like a normal girl, not like a crazy idiot.

She saw Sesshoumaru sitting in the schools library studying, and she started in his direction with the intent to speak a normal sentence to him… and for some reason her feet just kept walking until she passed him entirely, and she stopped at the nearest book shelf and picked up a random paperback.

"Stupid!" She muttered to herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She glared at the hapless book without really reading it.

"Is this a normal occurrence for you, or are you just cursing your reading material?" She jumped when she heard Sesshoumaru's voice, and jerked around to face him.

"Huh?" She said intelligently.

Sesshoumaru simply watched her face for a moment, then his eyes slowly dropped down to stare pointedly at the book she was still holding. Kagome automatically looked down too.

Sex for Dummies

She dropped it like hot coals, then jumped at the sound it made as it slapped against the tiles. When people started looking over at the noise, she dived for it before jamming it unceremoniously onto the shelf. "I don't even think that's an actual library book!"

"Then why did you put it on the shelf? You should turn it into the front desk." Oh, sure, sound reasonable, Kagome grumbled. She eyed the book, blushing a little, and nearly squeaked again in embarrassment (a horrible habit, that) and looked away from the shelf entirely.

"I'm not going to touch that book with a ten foot pole." Kagome said with a sniff, edging away from the book as if it were contagious. Then she eyed Sesshoumaru warily. Did his lips just twitch in amusement? It was so hard to tell seeing as how he never actually showed emotion.

"That's too bad." He said, making Kagome give him a double take. Did she not hear him correctly, or did he really just say what she thought he just said? "I was planning on doing our project on the dynamics of relationships. How they start, and where they usually end."

Kagome blinked, and then told her over active brain to shut up. The assignment. He was talking about the assignment. "That's a pretty broad subject. I wasn't even going to consider it, but if you want to do it, I say lets do it."

She blushed at how the words came out, then narrowed her eyes quickly on Sesshoumaru's face. Now she knew she saw the twitch; he was laughing at her! She straightened and tugged at the hem of her school uniform shirt and cleared her throat. "Yes, well, we should get started."

"I agree." Sesshoumaru led her towards the table he had been sitting at, gesturing towards the chair next to him. He waited until she sat before sitting down, and Kagome blushed at the courtesy. He was so much more polite than she had thought…

"So." She cleared her throat when Sesshoumaru stayed quiet. "Where should we start?"

He shrugged, making the gesture look somehow eloquent on him. "The dynamics, I suppose." He paused, then slid his eyes over to her to watch her from under his bangs and ridiculously long eyelashes. "Or, more importantly, what a woman expects to find in her life partner."

The phrase "life partner" wasn't exactly one she would use. Soul mate. Husband. Lover. Life partner just sounded so… sterile. Then she shook herself and almost rolled her eyes. This was Sesshoumaru speaking. "Well…" She leaned back, relaxing a little as her eyes drifted to the ceiling in thought. "If it were me… I'd say I would want someone who is kind and caring. Likes music, children, has a job, loves his mother… someone willing to put up with my crap even when he doesn't have to. Likes to cook, I guess, but it wouldn't be a requirement."

Sesshoumaru just stared at her. "We are talking about a man, aren't we?"

She lifted her chin defensively. "We all have different ideas on what we want in a partner. What do you want in a woman then?"

His eye lids drooped a little, staring at the desk a moment before slowly bringing them up to Kagome's face. He gave that little shrug again and said, "Kind. Beautiful. Not an idiot. Loyal." He watched her carefully, something dark in his eyes. "I do not abide unfaithfulness."

Kagome dropped her eyes. She was one of the only ones that knew the real story behind that particular detail. To the world, Inu no Taisho and Lady Taisho had an amicable divorce and he married a human shortly after. But Kagome knew the truth. She knew that Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's father had cheated quite dreadfully on Sesshoumaru's mother for years with a human aristocrat and even had a bastard hanyou child before Sesshoumaru even reached his second year of life. Knew that he flaunted the affair in the lady's face, making her the topic of ridicule among their associates. And she also knew that Sesshoumaru hated his father because of it.

Because after the divorce, no had ever seen the lady again. Not even Sesshoumaru, her only son.

It was a sad story, and Kagome didn't blame Sesshoumaru for feeling like that. Besides, she tended to agree with him. She cleared her throat again and picked at the table top. "That's understandable. But is that it? It doesn't seem like a very demanding list of qualities."

He didn't move, but he had a shrug in his voice. "I'm quite open to suggestion."

Pursing her lips, she picked up a pencil and opened her note pad, scribbling down a few things that both of them said. "Well, I don't know. I guess it really does depend on the guy, but… what about love? Doesn't that matter to you at all?"

Sesshoumaru stayed quiet for a moment, staring into Kagome's suddenly wide, oddly endearing blue eyes. "It would be preferable." He stated simply. "But not expected."

"Why?" Kagome asked, flabbergasted. "If I were to marry someone, I'd certainly want them to love me." Probably as much as I love you, she thought silently, but didn't say it.

He didn't say anything, merely shrugged. Kagome stared moodily down at the desk and jumped a little when he spoke. "What is your ideal date, Higurashi?"

She frowned at him. "This isn't based on about what I want." When he merely raised a brow, she rolled her eyes at him and said, "Well, I don't know. The usual things, I guess. He picks me up at my house, maybe brings me flowers."

Sesshoumaru frowned down at a spot somewhere over her shoulder. "Is this how you humans usually declare your affections?"

"Yes." Shrugging, she started to relax again. "Or, at least to me it is. I'm not exactly an expert here, you know."

He raised his eyebrow again and looked at her almost bemusedly. "From what I gather, you are quite popular."

Blushing, Kagome laughed a little in embarrassment. "I guess so. But when you are friends with members of people who may or may not be in a gang, people tend to be more scared of you than anything. Especially when you have Inuyasha and Sango scaring off most of the admirers, and then some of the actual admirers themselves scaring off everybody else, dates are usually few and far between."

"This displeases you?" He asked quietly. For some reason he didn't sound very pleased himself.

Kagome lifted a shoulder and didn't meet his eyes. "Not especially. Besides, none of them are who I really want."

"And who is that?"

"Oh, you know." You. She couldn't say the word. "The One."

"Have you found this person yet?"

Kagome huffed and finally glared at him. "Are we going to work on this project or talk about my nonexistent love life?"

They worked quietly on their project after that.

The next day Kagome went to school, there lay a flower on her desk. It was a daisy. Simple, durable, and so very sweet and lovely. Kagome adored daisies, and when she picked up the simple bloom she looked around the room no one was there except Sesshoumaru, once again staring out the window and looking tense, and pretending she didn't exist. Couldn't be him, she decided, and wondered if maybe it was placed there by mistake.

Suzuki-sensei shuffled in and started taking out papers from her brief case, and didn't even glance at her two best students. "Higurashi!" She said abruptly, lifting her head to find Kagome. "I'm leaving you in charge. Just make sure everyone works on their assignments today, okay?"

It wasn't unusual to have study days, since it was so close to the end of the year, so Kagome just nodded. "Yes, sensei."

The teacher hustled back out the door, looking a little harried, and students slowly started to show up after that.

She tucked the flower in her ear and didn't answer to her friends teasing, and dismissed it from her mind thinking that maybe it was an accident. Except that, after lunch, there was another flower on her desk. As she was twirling the flower absently with her fingers, she looked up when Sesshoumaru was suddenly standing at her desk. The bell was about to ring, but the class was curiously silent.

"Higurashi." Sesshoumaru practically barked out, sounding imperious. "I will drive you home."

Kagome could only blink up at him, dumbfounded. "Uh, okay." What else was there to say?

The bell rang, and the rest of the students shuffled out to the lockers, their heads ducked and mouths moving in furious whispers.

Kagome followed Sesshoumaru out of the school after class, and couldn't really think of anything to say to him. The ride home was silent; she didn't have to tell him where she lived because they had once been childhood friends. Well, until he realized that she was friends with Inuyasha first. She was surprised that he still remembered…

"Thank you." She said quietly when he pulled in front of her house.

He nodded. "I will pick you up for school tomorrow morning."

Kagome didn't bother to mask her surprise as he pulled away. How odd!

For the rest of the week it went like this, Sesshoumaru both picking her up for school and dropping her off. They worked well together, Sesshoumaru asking oddly personal questions now and then, even occasionally dropping a few tidbits about himself as well. Like how he would prefer love, but not expect it.

"Why?" She had asked again. A loveless marriage was what his father had with his mother. She didn't expect Sesshoumaru to want a union like that.

Sesshoumaru stared down at his hands a moment before shrugging and meeting her eyes. "This Sesshoumaru is not always an agreeable person."

Kagome gave a startled laugh that she was pretty sure went unappreciated. "So? Not all of us are, you know. At least not all the time."

He only raised that single eyebrow, a gesture she was getting quite accustomed to, and said, "You seem to be."

She had blushed, stammered a little. "W-well, I'm not always agreeable." At his look, she gave a huff and crossed her arms. "Well, I'm not! Honestly! Ask Inuyasha. He says I'm the most annoying thing since peanut butter."

When he coughed a little in his fist, Kagome could only stare at him with wide, suddenly delighted eyes. That was a laugh, she was sure of it. She could make him laugh! She went on, elated, even if it was about a list of all her flaws. "I hate mornings, which is why you never see anyone really talking to me except after ten a.m., mostly because I have bed head and I look horrible."

"Yes," Sesshoumaru agreed, a light look in his eyes that made Kagome's heart flutter. "I can see how that can make one disagreeable."

Kagome coughed, blushing a little. "I guess that leans more towards vanity, but vanity can make one disagreeable. Take you, for example."

He looked startled at this, then narrowed his eyes a little and leaned forward a bit. "What about me?"

Charging on, Kagome indulged her eyes a long, slow sweep of his form. "Well, look at you." She watched Sesshoumaru frown and stare down at his clothes, which had her swallowing back a laugh. "We all wear the school's uniform, it's true, but you wear yours with such precision."

"Meaning?" He was still frowning, seemingly not pleased with the direction of her thoughts.

"Meaning…" She started meaningfully. "That you obviously care about how you look. Perfectly tailored, perfectly ironed, perfectly creased. In fact, I'd say everything about you is perfect." When his eyes jumped to hers, startled, she blushed and stammered out, "Your appearance anyways."

She pressed on, determined to finish her train of thought before she lost it. "Your hair is the object of envy to every girl within a twenty mile radius. Long, shiny, and freaking gorgeous." She sighed a little in envy herself. "Your skin is so smooth and even I'd hazard to guess you cream your face every night, but I know you don't because even you aren't that girly."

Sesshoumaru didn't seem to like that last bit, looking clearly affronted, but Kagome didn't really notice since she was too busy looking at his mouth… er, cheek. At his unblemished cheek. She coughed, and then looked away. "Me, on the other hand… my hair is so ridiculous. It's not even curly, just this long wavy mass of black. I never iron my uniform if I can help it. In fact," She leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered, "My mother irons my uniform. Mends it too." Since she was part of the sewing club, she didn't want to be overheard with such blasphemous talk. "I don't even shine my shoes."

Sesshoumaru nodded gravely, and his eyes were curiously crinkled at the corners. "Yes, I can see how that would question ones valued opinion of your vanity. Or lack thereof. As it happens," He paused, and Kagome got the silly thought that he seemed to be gearing himself up for something. "I happen to like your hair. And honestly, do you really think this Sesshoumaru irons his clothes?" He gave her an amused glance, and over the sudden pounding of her heart she thought that maybe he even sounded amused. "And I don't shine my shoes either."

Since Kagome had lost the point of the conversation when she started talking about him, she didn't really say anything in return except to give him a silly smile. A laugh bubbled out, and she quickly clapped her hands over her mouth when the librarian turned to stare disapprovingly at her.

Kagome and Sesshoumaru just stared at each other, perfectly content, until the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes changed from something happy to something darker, something that made Kagome's blood feel curiously warm and heavy. She leaned forward, feeling as if they were on the cusp of something, when a chair suddenly clattered behind her and Kagome jumped. The moment slipped away before she even knew what it was about, and Sesshoumaru started gathering his papers.

"Come," He said quietly. "It's getting late. I'll take you home."

Kagome nodded, her little bubble of happiness fading as she felt cheated somehow. Almost as if she had lost something she wasn't even sure she had in the first place. When they arrived at the shrine, Kagome's mother was sweeping at the top of the stairs and waved at Sesshoumaru as he pulled away.

"That boy!" She sighed. "He's grown into such a handsome young man."

Kagome sighed too. "I know."

"I didn't know you two were dating," Her mother said chidingly, feeling a little left out. "You should have told me."

Blushing, Kagome looked down at her feet so her mother wouldn't be able to see the disappointment in her eyes. "We're not. We're partners on a class project, that's all."

"Really?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, sounding a bit disappointed herself. "That's too bad. And he had such a crush on you when you were little."

Kagome blinked up at her mother, surprised, and couldn't help but blurt out, "No he didn't!" She would have noticed. Right?

Her mother smiled indulgently and patted Kagome's cheek as she turned to go inside. "Of course he did, dear. It was obvious to everyone. He used to be so jealous of Inuyasha! Lady Taisho once said that he had actually complained that Inuyasha got too much of you, and it wasn't fair. And believe me, Sesshoumaru was never one to complain."

Kagome could only stare at her mothers back. It couldn't be… could it? They had once been friends. The three of them used to play together on the playground, Kagome championing Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru championing her. She used to play with him. She used to laugh with him. Until one day she simply didn't anymore, and she had gotten used to being ignored by him.

She remembered being so hurt by his sudden withdrawal, feeling so betrayed without even knowing why. Inuyasha seemed to know but wouldn't say anything, and now it looked as if everyone knew and didn't say anything. Until now, from one little innocent slip from her mother. Or had it really been a slip?

Kagome looked towards the house, to her mother waiting for her at the front door, watching her with a smile and a knowing look in her eyes. Behind her kind smile and apron and above the heart of gold ticked a crafty mind that never faded with age. Did her mother know of her love for Sesshoumaru? It would seem that she did. But she was wrong. Maybe it was true back then, but it certainly wasn't true now.

Was it?

It was too fantastical to be real.

So crazy that it just might be true.

With hope blooming in her chest, Kagome followed her mother inside the house, feeling as if she had too much to think about but with too much energy to actually get any thinking done. Where was Inuyasha when you needed him?

He was waiting for her in her room when she went up, lounging back on the bed with her cat Buyo on his stomach, stretching the poor cat up so he sat on his haunches with his paws in the air while Inuyasha made him dance. "Inuyasha!" Kagome sang, jumping on the bed and both its occupants. "You'll never believe what I just heard!"

Buyo yowled and darted away, while Inuyasha wheezed air back into his lungs. "What?" He gasped out, shifting so that she slid off his stomach to the mattress. With her legs still dangling over him, she kicked her shoes off her feet before pulling them up on the bed. She took a deep breath before blurting out, "My mom says Sesshoumaru has a crush on me!"

Inuyasha stared at her as if she had one too many loose screws. "Well, duh."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shrieked, landing a closed fist against his stomach. "What do you mean, duh? If you knew, why didn't you tell me?"

He rubbed the sore spot on his stomach and inched away from her. "He made me promise I wouldn't tell. Besides, I knew he was gonna try to confess anyways, in his own stupid fashion."

"What do you mean?" Her fist, which she had already balled up in preparation to slug him again, dropped bonelessly to her lap. "He hasn't said anything to me."

Inuyasha sat up and looked at her, his expression oddly sad. "Hasn't he? He's the one that asked to be paired with you. Why else would you be otherwise?"

It was true. All senior year they had the same classes, and not once had they ever been paired together before now. "But… why wouldn't he have said anything?" Her voice was small, confused.

Inuyasha looped an arm around her shoulder and tugged her close. "This is Sesshoumaru we're talking about, Kags. He'd eat spicy curry before ever admitting he has actual feelings."

Thinking back to their study time, she remembered the topic that she wouldn't have chosen in a million years, one that she was fairly certain he wouldn't have either.

"… He picks me up at my house, maybe brings me flowers."

Remembered his oddly intrusive questions on her love life, the ride homes, the mysterious flowers showing up on her desk when he was the only other one in the room to have put it there. And Kagome still hadn't seen. Had been too afraid to see.

"Is this how you humans usually declare your affections?"

"Yes."

She was the biggest idiot in the world.

Of course he wouldn't actually say something. Ever since his mother abandoned him and his father didn't seem to really pay attention anymore, Sesshoumaru had cut off so much of himself it should have been obvious as to what he was trying to hide; a very warm, and very much alive heart, one that probably felt too much, which was way more than what he was comfortable with. Of course he wouldn't have said anything. He was probably just as scared as she was, though she doubted he'd ever be able to say that out loud.

Inuyasha gave her shoulders a squeeze. "You should be thanking me, you know."

Blinking out of her revelations, Kagome stared up at him. "For what?"

"I told him you had decided to go to Kyoto University." Inuyasha said smugly, smirking a little at the memory.

"What? You know that's way too far from home. And you also know I got accepted into Tokyo U. Why would you tell him that?" Kagome demanded, jabbing an elbow in his side.

Inuyasha grunted at the impact, but didn't move. "I know that. But he didn't. I made it sound as if he'd never see you again."

Kagome stared up at her dearest friend, her throat suddenly so closed up that she couldn't speak. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face in his chest. "Thank you." She choked out. "Thank you, thank you…"

He gave her an awkward little pat on her back. "You know I'd do anything for ya, brat. Even let Sesshoumaru steal you away from me." He sounded sad, and she felt him rest a cheek against the crown of her hair. "Besides, I had to make sure someone was there to look after you when you left for college."

When she craned her neck up to stare at him, he gave her a crooked grin. "He's going to TU as well."

She only hugged him tighter. "No one can replace you, Inuyasha." She said fiercely. "And even if things do change, you will always be my bestest friend."

"Keh. I know that." He pulled away, ruffling her bangs a little. "Now stop being so girly! It's freaking me out a little."

Kagome only laughed.

The next day passed by dreamily for Kagome, who only managed to stream together a few sentences when she wasn't busy daydreaming. She couldn't wait for her study session after school! She was humming by the time she sat next to Sesshoumaru at what now seemed like their table, and he was looking at her oddly.

"Something good happened?" He asked her as she pulled out her notebook and pencils.

"Yup!" She chirped, and sent him a big smile. She couldn't stop smiling, it seemed.

He was quiet for a moment, looking at her oddly, before he started pulling out his materials, as well. She was just so happy, and he was just so perfect, that she couldn't believe her luck. She didn't know why he liked her so much, but she certainly wasn't going to ask him why. She might just jinx herself.

"So Sesshoumaru…" She started, determined to get some sort of confession at the end of this day if it killed her. "What university have you decided to attend?"

His pencil paused for a moment while writing name before smoothly finishing. "I'm considering going to Kyoto."

"What? B-but, you can't!" Kagome cried out, not bothering to hide her distress. Hadn't Inuyasha told her he was going to Tokyo U?

"Why not? It's a perfectly adequate school." He said reasonably, still looking down at his paper even though he wasn't writing anything.

"But… the academics are so much better here in Tokyo. Why go to Kyoto when there's a better program here?" She asked, her little bubble of happiness starting to disintegrate.

"You are going there, are you not?" He asked, his voice low, his eyes suddenly on hers.

That stopped Kagome. Inuyasha had told him that, didn't he? Happiness returned in spades, as well as reassurance. He hadn't changed his mind, even after all these years. "No," Kagome said slowly. "I got accepted here in Tokyo. I'd never leave those I love to go so far away."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, and she had the sudden gleeful thought that maybe he wanted to kill Inuyasha, and she could have kissed her best friend for his brilliance. His ploy seemed to work like a charm. But all Sesshoumaru said was, "Hmm." And really, that couldn't even be considered a word.

"You know…" Kagome started, "We've talked about my ideal date. But what about you? How would your perfect date go? Would you like her to stay quiet about her affections, or come straight out and say I love you?"

He shifted in his seat, and he looked briefly away from her to shrug. "Nothing special. Simply being with her would be enough for me."

Kagome's heart started to pound hard in her chest, and she wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it. "So you wouldn't want her to confess to you?"

"That would be ideal. However, as stated before, this Sesshoumaru hardly expects it." He was twirling his pencil in his hand, and when she leaned forward a little, she was delighted when it suddenly snapped in his fingers.

"So…"

"This Sesshoumaru thinks that we should finish the project." He said abruptly, and Kagome blinked at him before smiling. He had the oddest habit of referring himself in the third person when he was nervous. She thought it was endearing.

She stared innocently at him from underneath her eyelashes. "But Sesshoumaru, we are! We've already covered things from a female's perspective. Now I want to know yours."

He looked impatient. "Like what?"

"Like how you'd want a girl to confess. Are words enough? Or would you like a physical demonstration?" She scooted her chair just a tad bit closer.

"I wouldn't know." He huffed, sounding a little snippy.

She scooted a little bit closer. "Haven't you ever been in love?"

"Have you?" He countered, finally setting down his broken pencil to glare at her.

"Yes," She sighed. "Oh, yes."

His eyes jerked back down to his papers, and slowly moved his hands to rest in his lap underneath the table. He seemed to deflate before her eyes, yet not in any obvious way. The light just went out of his eyes, just as all emotion left his face. "I see. And did you ever confess?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I'm still considering coming right out and saying it or giving a physical demonstration."

Slowly, his eyes met hers. The light in them was suddenly brilliant, and his whole face seemed to change. Not in any obvious way, because that simply wasn't his way. The skin around his eyes seemed to relax, and the look in them appeared almost tender. Sesshoumaru was always smart; she was glad he wouldn't make her spell it out for him.

He stood up abruptly and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the book aisles until they were alone in a corner. Then he pulled her closer and kissed her. Softly, gently, his hands framing her face. Kagome melted against him, and could have cried she was so happy. Oddly enough, she thought of Inuyasha. Thank you, she whispered to him mentally. Thank you, thank you…

And then she didn't think of anything, at least not for the next few minutes or so. When Sesshoumaru pulled away, his hand was stroking her hair and he was looking carefully into her dazed eyes.

"Is this how demons usually declare their affections?" She asked breathlessly, her arms thrown around his neck.

He bent his head and nuzzled her neck, his arms sliding down around her waist. "This demon does. It appears human ways are too subtle."

"Oh Sesshoumaru." She sighed. "Why didn't you just tell me? All this time…"

His arms tightened minutely around her. "You seemed very close to a certain brother of mine."

"Yes," She said into his chest, wanting to bury her head there and stay forever. "We are close. But not like that." She paused. "I thought you hated me."

"No." He disagreed softly. "There are very few people in this world this Sesshoumaru cares enough to hate. And you are not among them."

She smiled shyly at him. "I'm glad."

Sesshoumaru pulled her close again, and simply held her until they were disturbed by a student rounding the corner, who took one look at Sesshoumaru and turned on his heel to immediately head in the opposite direction. Kagome pulled away, laughing a little. "Let's go finish this project."

He linked his fingers with hers. "Let's."

Kagome squeezed his hand. This was the best way to end the year!

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I don't know about you guys, but I kind of like this story. Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know!

Luna