InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride & Predjudice: A Sesshomaru Tale ❯ The Sweeper of Your Egg Shells ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Eleven: The Sweeper of Your Eggshells

Kagura squeezed her eyes shut with such force tiny fireworks exploded behind her lids. “What…are you asking?”

Sesshomaru frowned for a moment then his lips fell slightly apart and he confessed in a rude tone. “I guess I'm offering you the exalted position of being my girlfriend.”

Her voice was a hint of a whisper. “You expect me to change for you?”

Sesshomaru hung his head. “No, I'm staggered by every aspect of you. Nothing else could ever do.”

The complement while sincere was given in a cold and cutting tone. Kagura felt her concrete stoop turn to quicksand and swallow her whole. Can't he see he's insulted me? He doesn't want me and wishes to be rid of his love. He's ashamed of himself; no he's ashamed of me.

Finally she found her voice and answered his sarcastic question. “Oh really? And does this new position come with a daily insult or do I have to pay extra?”

He grimaced. “You don't know how hard this is for me or how far I've come just to meet you half way. Please just give me a chance.”

He's simple unbelievable! Kagura raised her hands.“How dare you insult me then ask me to concede. How can I love you when even your feet are too good to touch the ground? You aren't any better than I am; I don't care how blue your blood is or if you are king of the dog people.”

Sesshomaru blinked at her description of him. “Well then I guess it's a good thing that I am only crown prince of the dog people.”

Kagura fell back against the door. “Huh?”

Sesshomaru leaned over her, his hands on either side of her head firmly planted on the front door. “I am the head of our family. I am in charge of our wealth, our lineage and our social standing. That is why Rin came to me after the death of her parents and Inuyasha defers to me.”

He closed his luminous golden eyes. “I cannot have half breed children and betray us just as my father did with a human woman. But here I am. Here with you and no better than he, suffering for want of a stronger will and self control. I have put my feelings for you above my family duty. This is a blood sacrifice for me and that should mean something to you.”

Kagura was filled with a sudden and horrible understanding of his world. It was old, feudal and so different from hers. Her voice caught in her throat. “You don't want just a date or a girlfriend do you?”

His breath caressed her face and his eyes were heavy with intention. Sesshomaru whispered, “No I want so much more.”

Now she was pissed. How dare he blame her for things that were out of her control? She never asked him to pursue her. “I cannot abide a man to whom I am not an equal partner. I'm sorry but marriage is a partnership not a gilded cage. I cannot be with you because I will always be second best and a constant reminder to you of your failure to your family.”

Sesshomaru pushed himself off the door and stood back. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his black dress pants. He turned and looked up at the moon. Kagura caught her self comparing the full moon to the crescent one that graced his forehead. His voice trembled with a quiet power.

“Is that truly how you feel? You cannot bring yourself to over look my short comings?”

Tears welled in Kagura's eyes and she willed them back. “If I said yes then I would become one of those short comings. That is too much for one weak mortal woman.” She looked at her shoes refusing to meet his eyes. “You can't ask people to feel sorry for you because you made the unfortunate mistake to fall in love with them.”

Sesshomaru dropped his head in a curt bow. His long silver hair swung across the breast of his black tux jacket. “As you wish. And thank you. You are stronger than I and have made the right decision.”

He turned and she heard the sound of his feet as he strode down her steps to the driveway. She stood as the engine of the Rolls turned smoothly over and he pulled out of her drive and her life.

Kagura pulled open her door but the damned lock was stuck. She threw her purse down and pushed on the key in the dead bolt lock with all her weight. The lock tumbler began to turn, then the key bent and the top of it broke off in her hand. “Damn it! Why does this always happen to me at the worst times!”

She hiccupped and leaned back to kick the door out of spite. She glanced down at her new black Steve Madden strappy pumps and paused on one leg with her right foot in the air. The shoes didn't deserve this. She brought her foot back down and bent down to retrieve her pure. Damn it all!

Kagura walked to her back gate and stood in the shadows of her bushes. She tossed her shoes over her fence then looked around to make sure none of her neighbors were out for a late night jog. She shimmied her dress over her hips flashing the neighborhood with her huge black panties. Kagura hoisted herself up and over the fence where she promptly slipped in a mud puddle and fell on her face.

She lay in the mud and thought about the irony. Here I am in the mud just as Sesshomaru has no doubt predicted. She pulled herself up to her feet and stumbled to the back door which opened easily.

Molly came rushing at her but stopped when she realized something was wrong. Kagura held the door open and Molly slipped past her to the back yard. She dropped her shoes on the kitchen floor and pulled of the dress. I can't wait to see what Mr. Wong at the cleaner's is gonna say about this. The dress fell into a puddle on the tile floor. Kagura pulled herself up the steps to her room.

She turned the shower on and stripped off her matching black bra and panties. She watched her self in the mirror and soon her reflection was obscured by the steam from the hot shower. Kagura pulled her hair down and climbed under the hard spray of warm water.

At first she stood there allowing the downpour to drench her hair and body. Then her feet slowly slid out from under her. Her back slipped down the tile wall and her butt hit the shower floor. She hugged her bare legs and pressed her face to her knees.

Kagura sat wondering how everything had changed. Two or three days ago this man meant nothing to her but here she was. She hiccupped and the back of her head bounced back against the tile wall. Kagura pulled her soaping hair from her face and her hand brushed her throat where he'd kissed her. Her perfectly ordered world came crashing down and she broke into great heaving sobs. Her chest shook with the force of her tears and her mascara flowed down her face and mixed with the water pooling at her feet.

Saturday was a day of dark reflection. Kagura dead headed her roses chopping of the brown blooms. She threw the ball for Molly then installed her new set of solar landscaping lights. Spring was official and there would not be another cold and icy night for many months. The humming bird feeder hung empty and the tiny feathered darts followed her about the yard squeaking until she filled it with sugar water.

Kagura was on her back porch sitting in a teak Adirondack chair with sunglasses under her wide brimmed straw hat. Molly lay at her feet. Her tiny porch radio began a Josh Groban song and she stuck out her leg and kicked it over the yard where it struck the fence and broke.

At this point she was passed tears and just filled with bitter disappointment. The strangest part was she hadn't grieved this hard over her last boyfriend of two years. Shit this isn't fair. Damn him down to his demonic pointy ears.

Her mind went back to the loss of her parents. The moment she realized she was truly alone and responsible for Kana. With that in mind she could see how Sesshomaru felt responsible for the Inu-yokai clan but it didn't forgive what he did. She reached beside the chair and found her luke warm bottle of Corona. She lifted it to her lips. When it was empty she dropped it to the concrete patio and found the sound of shattering glass oddly satisfying.

Then Kagura remembered Molly. Freaking hell! She's so gonna cut the pads of her paws if I don't clean this mess up. She pulled herself out of the chair and hobbled into the house for the dustpan. She grumbled as she dug under the sink for a brush to get the glass up and heard a loud banging on her front door.

Who in the hell is that? Kagura stood and went to the peephole. Kagome stood gazing back. Her bright eyes were red with tears and she was wearing her old Guns N' Roses T shirt inside out. Kagura winced and opened the door.

Kagome squealed and threw herself into her arms. Kagura hugged her. “Babe,” she forced herself to sound upbeat.

“What's the matter?”

Kagome's nose was running and she wasn't wearing a smidge of make up. Her long black hair hung over her shoulders in a great uncombed mass. Kagura caught a whiff of her breath and almost keeled over. “Sheesh, what have you been eating? Ever hear of Listerine?”

Kagome snatched one of Kagura's best dish towels then wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She was hiccupping and reminded Kagura of herself just twelve hours earlier.

“Okay tell me what happened?”

Kagome sat at the breakfast bar and dropped her forehead onto the counter. Kagura winced at the sound of her skull hitting the hard surface.

“He's gone.” Kagome whispered.

“Inuyasha?”

She nodded as best she could with her cheek pressed to the cool marble.

“Where'd he go?” Kagura was incredulous. There's no way? They haven't come up for air in two weeks. Surely his heart didn't turn this fast?

“He came to my condo this morning and told me….” She closed her eyes.

“Told you what?”

“He can't be with me.” Her tears broke free and pooled on the marble countertop around her face. “We weren't working out. He's going to Charleston for a couple months. He has an office at Meeting Street and will work from there until July. He didn't want the pressures of a long distance relationship and opted for a clean break.”

Kagura thought back to how he cared for Kagome when she cut her foot. He was so angry that someone just left a broken glass on the floor that he'd growled.

Nothing made sense. She looked at her friend and felt her heart ripping all over again. Something's rotten in Denmark.

“Kagome you were together last night. Did Inuyasha behave any differently?”

She shook her head and blushed. Kagura sighed, that was almost too much information for her. Then Sesshomaru's voice spoke to her.

`I am the head of our family. I am in charge of our wealth, our lineage and our social standing. That is why Rin came to me after the death of her parents and Inuyasha defers to me.'

It doesn't take a genius. Sesshomaru went home and told Inuyasha to dump his human bitch or else. I can't believe this! To go after me is one thing but he purposely spoiled his brother's happiness. Maybe Naraku is right. I should have heeded his warnings.

Kagura ground her teeth as she tried to decide what if anything there was to do. Let's just chalk this weekend up as a complete loss and start afresh Monday morning. No more self righteous yokai.

Kagome watched Kagura head to the fridge. She turned and announced. “I don't know what to tell you. But I have some friends who might help.”

Kagome folded her arms on the counter and rested her chin. “Who?”

Kagura opened the freezer. “We have Ben & Jerry's and Tequila. Where do you want to start?”

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Notes:

I personally don't recommend mixing Ben & Jerry's with tequila it can only make things worse.

“I might as well enquire,'' replied she, ``why, with so evident a design of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I was uncivil?” …Eliza Bennett to Darcy. Pride and Prejudice. J. Austin.

Bridget: “I choose Vodka. And Chaka Khan.” ...Bridget Jones's Diary 2001.