Ironic Acquaintances by Forsaken Tenshi
Ironic Acquaintances
Inuyasha characters do not belong to me but to Takahashi Rumiko.
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Drabble/Drawble Night: August 6, 2011
Theme: Garden Variety
Word Count: 100 words each
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Prompt 1: Bachelor
She had only caught glimpses of him, but each time her heartbeat quickened with longing. He was so gorgeous.
Kagome lived in a small but luxurious condo she had inherited from her late childless aunt. Her neighbors were all rather wealthy; she was still finishing up college, and felt frumpy and plain compared to all of them. She sighed longingly. She would never catch the eye of the handsome bachelor that lived next door.
Her doorbell suddenly rang.
I am not expecting anyone, she thought. She opened her door.
It was her neighbor.
“Hello,” he greeted, “My name is Sesshoumaru.”
Prompt 2: Button
Kagome blushed at the sight of her neighbor. “H-hi,” she stuttered, “I’m Kagome.” Her sudden onset of nerves had her fiddling with a button on her blouse.
Sesshoumaru cocked his head. “I don’t see you around all that often.”
“I’m still in college,” she replied, suddenly ashamed she was not yet working.
Her neighbor chuckled, “Well in that case, how about I treat you to dinner? My college days are still fresh behind me, and I know I always enjoyed free food.”
Kagome barely kept from gaping. “But you barely know me!”
Sesshoumaru grinned. “I would like to fix that.”
Prompt 3: Bleeding
They sat in a diner, and Kagome could barely stay awake from studying; her arms currently pillowed her head on the tabletop for a moment.
“Are you all right?” Sesshoumaru asked soliticiously. “Do you need some water to drink?”
“I feel like my brain is bleeding out of my ears,” she mumbled before she snapped upright, eyes wide and panicky. “Did I say that out loud?” she squeaked.
Sesshoumaru laughed heartily. “No harm done. What do you study?”
“History,” she replied. “What do you do?”
“I run an empire,” he replied loftily, but with a teasing gleam in his eyes.
Prompt 4: Heart
Kagome giggled. “Really,” she chided.
“I work as head of a biomedical research company,” he said. “Along with engineering pacemakers, artificial joints, and the like, we also spend a lot on research for various cures for diseases.”
The young woman was intrigued. “What kinds of diseases?”
“Cardiomyopathy, for one.” At her blank look, he expounded, “The deterioration of heart muscle.” Sesshoumaru watched the proverbial light bulb go off. “What time and place of history do you particularly like?” he asked.
“Japan, Sengoku Jidai,” she readily answered, “I think my senior thesis will be about myths and legends from that time.”
Prompt 5: Honey
“What?” Sesshoumaru asked with a creased brow as Kagome scrutinized at him with a contemplative look on her face, her eyes straying to his long silver hair.
“You said you are the head of a company, but you are just fresh out of college,” she accused, pointing a finger at his face. “Just how old are you?”
Sesshoumaru blinked his honey-colored eyes at the finger hovering an inch from his nose. “Eight centuries,” he replied with a straight face.
Kagome gaped. “Pedophile!” she squealed.
“I kid!” he covered hastily, “I’m twenty-five. I inherited the company after my father passed away.”
Prompt 6: Suckle
They ate their dinner with gusto and pleasant chatter. Sesshoumaru had ordered the special of suckling pig tenderloin, while Kagome had asked for steamed tilapia.
Kagome sighed happily, immensely pleased that she had something other than ramen for dinner.
“Do you have any family?” Kagome asked.
“My mother lives out in the countryside, and I have a younger half-brother.” His lips curled slightly in distaste at the mention of his half-sibling.
Kagome caught his expression and was immediately abashed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was a touchy subject.”
Sesshoumaru replied, “You didn’t know.” He huffed softly. “What about yourself?”
Prompt 7: Snap
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said apologetically. “Mama, my younger brother Souta, and my grandfather live on a shrine here in Tokyo,” she said.
“No wonder you are interested in history,” he said, pondering the implications of her seemingly unknown spiritual powers.
Kagome beamed. “I’m particularly interested in stories concerning the Lord of the West—who, funnily enough, was also named Sesshoumaru.”
Sesshoumaru closed his slightly hanging jaw with a snap. Was it coincidence that this young woman was an untrained miko and he the aforementioned youkai lord? He was interested in her, and those times had long passed.
Prompt 8: Dragon
“Tell me about Sesshoumaru, Lord of the West,” Sesshoumaru said. He was curious to know what modern-day humans thought of his former persona.
Kagome’s eyes lit up. “The stories say that he was a strong, formidable taiyoukai that mercilessly protected his lands. He had three followers: a toad youkai, a two-headed dragon, and a human girl—which is weird, because he had claimed to hate humans.”
So far so good, Sesshoumaru thought. “Continue,” he prodded.
“He was known as a power monger, but with the addition of the human child, he learned compassion.”
Sesshoumaru’s heart still ached from losing Rin.
Prompt 9: Cocks
Both of them declined ordering dessert.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said shyly, aware of how much she owed this man.
“Think nothing of it,” replied Sesshoumaru flippantly as he signed the receipt and stashed the copy in his wallet. They left the diner in high spirits, and the stroll back to the complex was quite pleasant at dusk.
The sound of a gun cocking made Sesshoumaru pause, and faster than Kagome could register he had neutralized the thug, knocking him out cold in the adjacent alley.
“Something the matter?” Kagome asked.
Sesshoumaru hummed. “No,” he replied, “Nothing at all.”
Prompt 10: Comb
“I had a great time,” Kagome bubbled as he ushered her to her doorstep. Internally, she felt her heart might burst from happiness.
A breeze stirred, and Sesshoumaru gently combed his fingers through her rebellious flyaway hair. “I had an enjoyable evening as well.” Pulling out his wallet, he slid his business card into her fingers. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Good night,” he said, before heading back for his own condo.
Kagome nearly hyperventilated as she read the name. Nishimura Sesshoumaru, President and CEO of Nextep. I just went on a date with Japan’s most eligible bachelor!