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Chapter Text

FRIDAY

《Customers confirm that 6 people were involved in the brawl, one of whom had verbally provoked the other 5 before phisically assaulting them》

She already knew the script: once every kinda 4 months, he would do that; however, this time it had happened in the pub where Kagome worked; her "onii-san" really couldn't hold back to pick a fight with humans, and his bail always being paid by his father was of no help at all.

The young bartender took her phone and messaged her boyfriend; nothing detailed, since she was growing used to this: she only wrote "He did it agian. 🙄"

Chapter Text

When he read the message, Inuyasha was working: he had recently been hired as a caretaker by Miroku Kanagawa, heir to a fair fortune who ended up paralyzed after a severe car accident years before.
His employer, with whom Inuyasha had developed a bond of mutual trust in the last weeks, quickly noticed that something was off.
"What troubles you, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.
"Mh? Oh, nothing, seriously: it's all good."
"You sure?"
"Yeah." the half-demon repeated, slightly annoyed.
"Really really sure?" Miroku insisted.
"Are you deaf too? Yeah, I already told you!" Inuyasha cut off.
"Come on, don't be shy: it's not like I'm going to run around with my wheelchair for everyone to know..."
"The fuck, is minding your own damned businesses too difficult for you? This is a private matter, nothing your stupid paralyzed ass should stick the nose in!"
Miroku didn't seem affected in the slightest by Inuyasha's outburst, and waited for him to calm down; the half-demon, who acknowledged that he had exaggerated, tried to apologize and softly mumbled.
"Sorry, didn't want to rage this way, it's just…"
"It's okay, I didn't take it personally; I know you will talk about it when you will feel in the mood: no problem."
The half-demon nodded, and the room went silent again.

10 minutes later, Inuyasha's phone rang, and his father's face showed up on its display, with 'Dad' at its bottom. He answered.
"Hello, dad? I'm working now, what about we have a call later?"
Miroku beckoned in his direction as to reassure him not to worry, since he didn't need his assistance in the near future.
"As unsaid, now I have some time: tell me." self-corrected Inuyasha, leaving the room.
"Have you already heard about the brawl that happened at Kagome's pub?"
"You mean that press report about those customers who ended up beaten and hospitalized because they pissed the wrong demon?"
"I'll take it as a yes."
"Dad, Kagome is my girlfriend: it's obvious we talked about it."
On the other end of the phone, he heard a heavily annoyed sigh.
"Let me guess…"
"You should pay him a visit and…" cominciò Toga
"No!" Inuyasha blurted out "There's no way I'm going to do that: you perfectly know that he can't stand me, and the feeling is mutual! Let's just leave him to cool off in his cell."
"This is exactly what I want you to tell him."
"I told you that I don't…wait, what?"
"Yes, that's right: I've grown fed up with this attitude of his, he can't keep on behaving this way." Toga said, his voice slightly faltering.
"Dad, are you alright?" although he was initially caught off guard, now he was growing worried.
"I love him, my son, it's just that your brother is an authentic…"
"Pain in the ass?" Inuyasha suggested.
"Yes." Toga sighed "I really don't know what to do with him."
"Don't you worry, dad. I'll be on my way in a minute."
"Thanks, my boy!" Toga took his leave and closed the call.

The half-demon entered the living room looking for his coat, and met his employer's gaze.
"Sorry again, Miroku, I need a couple hours of leave: there are some mandatory family problems, and I'm needed elsewhere."
While Inuyasha was about to leave, Miroku called him.
"Wait, I think I can help!"
Inuyasha was about to cross the door.
"It's kind of you, and I appreciate your interest, but you don't have to bother yourself with it, for real."
"Well, I think that I should: I just want to help your brother."
The half-demon stiffened.
He never told him anything about Sesshomaru, so how could he possibly know? Did he eavesdrop? Did he deduce the whole thing thanks to some Sherlock-Holmes-like trick? However: did it even matter? He took a chair and sat near Miroku's wheelchair.
"Tell me more about it." Inuyasha invited him.
"I've heard about last night and that violent brawl which happened; maybe I know someone who could solve the problem."
Inuyasha frowned at him, and Miroku misunderstood.
"Nothing illegal, don't worry, and I will not bail him out, rest assured."
"I wasn't thinking about it, but ok; what I want to warn you about is that he doesn't want to be saved: he's continuously enraged with everything and everyone, all he can do and enjoys is beating up humans." Inuyasha explained.
"You know, there's an anger management program which is directed by a friend of mine: her name is Kagura Kazehaya, think you may have already heard about her."
Maybe?! That woman was on every tabloid: some presented her as a stunningly beautiful philantropist fighting on the front line to guarantee a peaceful convivence between humans and demons, others just as the daughter of Naraku Kazehaya, a really powerful information mogul.
"Yes, why? How is she supposed to help him?" it wasn't like he was sincerely interested, but his father would have never forgiven him, if he had just straightly refused without knowing all there was to know.
"In this last period, she has begun a collaboration with the police in order to help violent racist convicts and those with anger issue with anger management and initiatives with the aim to improve tolerance toward demons and humans; she may find a way to have him in this program."
"Miroku, seriously: you don't have to trouble yourself to help that asshole."
"Inuyasha, just look at me!" Miroku protested "I don't claim to know your brother better than you, but at least allow me to help you, ok? You're helping, and now I want to help you. I may be on a wheelchair, but this doesn't mean all I can do is helplessly attending what happens in front of me, you get it?"
Inuyasha was at a loss of words: so that was the way he felt? Scared by the thought to be pitied and used as a mere confidant for everyone to pour out their discontent? Hell, he wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.
"Fine, Miroku." the half-demon accepted, even though he still felt a little uneasy "Thank you."
"No need to." Miroku reassured him.

After a brief silence, Miroku bursted out laughing:"May I tell you about a thing nobody knows?"
"What?" Inuyasha's ears perked up.
"She was my first female friend, which is pretty curious, given that when we met I slapped her butt and she punched me in the face; black eyed at our first meet, isn't it funny? Ahahahahahah"
Inuyasha couldn't believe his own ears: he was laughing too.
"You are incorregible, Miroku!"

Chapter Text

"Taisho Sesshomaru, there's someone for you!" the police officer said.
The convict, who had been laying on the cell cot face to the ceiling, lifted to seat and looked for the cop and sent him a mocking grin.
"Wow, bailed out in record time, don't you think?" he asked.
"Shut up and get over here, slowly with your hands behind your back, for me to see them!" was the answer he received.
Sesshomaru wasn't stupid, and proved himself collaborative; however, he couldn't miss the opportunity to tease the guard.
"What if I didn't, puny human? Will you beat me up?"
The huff he received from the cop, who was handcuffing him in that exact moment, made clear enough that he was managing to annoy him.
'Such an unbearble, conceited ponce!' the guard thought while securing the handcuffs and hoping it would hurt the convicted wirsts.
"I'm attached to my equipment, and you aren't worthy for me to get a disciplinary warning."
"Why do you care? You filthy humans don't give a damn about rules and refuse to acknowledge your place: obeying those who are superior to you." was the demon's provocation "Come on, I swear I won't even try to defend myself: we'll be even, you'll be able to vent a little...obviously, just in case you'll catch me."
"Seriously, you should really shut up: nobody likes snooties, so I suggest you to learn respect, if you wish to be spared by both guards and your fellow inmates, wheter they are human or demon."
"Oh, no: look at me, I'm shivering…eheheheheh."

Surprisingly, it was his half-brother who was paying him a visit, not his father…and he was not alone: there was also a woman he remembered he saw on TV.
"The fuck are you doing, here, where is your pathetic father?" he asked Inuyasha "And who is she?" he added, while squaring the intruder off.
"Father won't be here to solve your shits: not this time, and never again."
Despite all the expressions Sesshomaru's face was assuming to make him explode in anger, Inuyasha kept calm and going "However, Kagura Kazehaya is here to let you out."
A pleased grin formed on Sesshomaru's lips, just before he moved his gaze in the direction of Kagura, sure it wouldn't have taken more than some sweet word to bring her to his feet: maybe she would have proven herself useful, who knew?
"There's only on condition I'm going to ask you to follow" she started "which is following, everyday during this next two months, starting tomorrow, an anger management and tolerance/acceptance program."
The dog demon's forehead knitted: was that a joke? Was somebody jesting with him? What the hell was the meaning of that? Some foolish attempt to control him in order for puny humans to sleep sound?
"During this period, you will be followed by a human sponsor I'm going to introduce to you: it's my opinion that spending time with someone the exact opposite tha themselves can be fruitful for both parties...in the end, aren't demons and humans two sides of the same coin?"
True to his dog-demon nature, Sesshomaru growled against Kagura, who didn't seem scared at all, and even curled her lips in an amused smile.
This annoying behaviour was growing him annoyed. A sponsor? Even more, a human one? Who the hell did she think she was talking to?
"Most important: you just have to dare being late one minute, even just on a single day, and I'll make sure myself that you are sent back here; if you don't like considering her as your sponsor, well, think of her as your probation agent."

Chapter Text

SATURDAY

"Mr. Taisho, let me introduce Rin Noto: she's going to be your sponsor during the following, and personally insisted to follow your case."
The demon gazed the petite, smiling woman in front of him: black New Balance with half-worn soles, long jet black jeans tightened by a belt which exalted her waists, an orange shirt with floral and butterfly patterns, first and last button loose; dark purple glasses adorned her face, and a hair elastic, purple too, kept her hair tied up in a lovely ebony pony tail; to complete the sight, a 32-teethed smile and lightly reddened cheeks.
'They must be seriously convinced that I am stupid, otherwise there would be no explanation: how do they think this tiny Lilliputian may be able to manage me and guide me during my rehab?' Sesshomaru wondered, annoyed 'At least there's a bright side, she looks pretty…what?! The hell are you thinking? Do you know you sound ridicolous? She's human, her smell is disgusting, just like her akins.'
"Good morning, Sesshomaru" the tiny little woman said "I'm happy to meet you personally, at last; really hope we will get along during these 2 months"
The demon only replied with an annoyed nod; Kagura, who was still there to be sure nothing bad happened, left briefly after, so now it was just the two of them.
"Before we start, Sesshomaru…"
"I would be really thankful, if you avoided to use my name, silly girl." he interrupted her.
"Using each others' names will help develope trust, in the context of interpersonal relationships; this is the reason why I am encouraged to do so, and I think you should, too." She explained.
"This is because you think I am interested to know you, but I am not, in the least."
Rin, as an answer, flashed him another big smile: Sesshomaru was beginning to think she was retarded.
'At least she's way sexier than those Neanderthals I beated up days ago.' he thought 'What did you just call her? Sexy??? You called a human woman SEXY? Pull yourself the fuck together!'
"If you were so kind to follow me, I'd like to begin our day with one simple exercise." she said, before reaching the adjacent room.
Sesshomaru followed her, and was surprised to notice that his eyes were staring at Rin's curves.
'Give yourself an attitude, idiot, and look away.' A little voice in his head scolded him 'These must be our father's influence, trying to come to the surface.'
They reached their destination, getting inside what was, at a high chance, Rin's office: the wall opposite to the entrance was covered with posters, spacing from Katy Perry's album covers to tooth rotting rom-coms posters; however, there was also a stranger element: ENEMY, by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve; the wall behind her deskboard was, instead, covered by cork boards on which there were lots of documents and memos, many of which were decorated with little notes and cute faces; the door wall was way less decorated, with just a bin and a coat hanger; and last but not least, the wall opposite to the desk had a great closet.

"Take a seat, please." She invited "Let's get comfortable."
Sesshomaru reached the desk, and sat on the chair meant for him: they hadn't even started and he was already bored.
"Well, before we get to the serious part, about anger management, I'd like to play a game with you."
The demon's patience was growing increasingly short, even 'cause he didn't even know what else should he be expecting.
"From now on, everyday, we are going to ask each other one question: I'm going to answer yours and you are going to answer mine, then we will be able to create our daily program. Would you like to ask first?"
Sesshomaru thought about it for a while, then he asked:"Only one question?"
"Only one question."
Then he had to ask one good question: he only had one shot, so he had to be sure to deliver the maximum damage with it…this way, he hoped, she would have shut up and would have not annoyed him.
"Kagura called you my sponsor, just as in Anonymous Alcoholics." he began "Then I suppose that you too have had an anger management issue, but honestly" he was trying the hardest not to burst out in laughs "I can't fathom what brought you over your limit: you don't seem to be older than 26, so what happened? Your parents didn't buy you a dog?"
He saw her tightened in her seat, and took the signal as a good sign, an invitation to proceed on that path.
"Well, if that's the case, I will gladly reserve you all the attentions you should wish for." he kept going, although he was disgusted by the thought of it: loads of women had fallen bewitched to his charme, and more men than those who would have admitted it, so Sesshomaru thought it was worth to give it a try; however, it seemed he wasn't succeding in hurting her more, she looked like a freaking statue.
"Or is it your friends who stood you once too much for a concert of Katy Perry's? Or maybe, I don't know, it's my fault because I'm asking you too many questions at once? Come on, I'm dying to know."
His assault was over, but the results were way scarcer than what he would have expected. His over-sensitive smell made him sense a single tear on her face, but it was not felt, it was like she had put an effort to make it come out.
Rin wiped it out with extreme nonchalance: was that little bitch making fun of him, by chance?
"Damn, Sesshomaru: you were so close, when you nominated the dog" she laughed "But if you really want to know what was it that made a cute little angel like me - she used the back of her hands to raise her cheeks and fake a smile - to lose her temper, well it was the drunk driver who caused the car accident in which my parents were involved: they have been recovered for six months, just to die in there.
I've found myself stuck in a vortex of hope, hatred, and, in the end, rage. I only found relief after feeding that drunkard's cavalier king three chocolate bars: an unfortunate accident, let's call it this way."
Sesshomaru was confused: he wasn't expecting this, this wasn't the kind of stuff for which humans tended to fight both phisically and verbally.
"Now tell me, Sesshomaru, it's my turn, fine? What's the reason that makes you despise human beings so much that you end up beating them up? Do you fear you would end beaten up, should you face other demons? Or, maybe, is there a human who stole a woman from you? In this case, come here big boy" she provoked him, arching sensually across the desk and tickling the underside of his chin "I'm ready, wet ready for you."
How dared she, sassy female? He wishing her? Never, even in a thousand years; however, she was being honest, he had to acknowledge this...and he would have reciprocated, even if through gritted teeth.
In the meanwhile, Rin returned to her seat, knowing perfectly well she had won the round.
"I don't fear anyone, keep this at mind: if you wish to know, my family too has died because of a human."
He saw the young woman glooming, but kept on.
"Not literally, don't you dare crying" now he would have wished to stop, but his lips felt like possessed and added "my father remarried, and my mother's business booms, when she…" now STOP: that was enough.
In front of him, curious Rin was inviting him to keep talking .
"This is not your business, okay?" he snarled.
"Don't worry, I know the end of the story, I gathered some informations about you and your mother: your were about to say 'when she doesn't try to kill herself', weren't you?"
Sesshomaru's eyes went red, and Rin yelped when she felt herself lifted and slammed against the poster wall, the second after; her face was right beside Jake Gyllenhaal's, from whose head a whole city came out.
Sesshomaru was pressing her against the wall, his hands on her shoulders; he brought his lips to her right ear and hissed:"It's humans' fault if she's suffering right now: one of you corrupted my father and convinced him to leave the woman he loved...and now, you all will pay for her error!"
When he raised his gaze, the poster caught his attention, and he began to hear his mother's voice inside his head.

Chapter Text

6 years ago

"Feeling any better, mother?" Sesshomaru asked, while placing the tray on the living room table; breakfast menu comprehended: a mug of coffee, a glass of water with an aspirin and a little dish with salted plums.
His mother was laying on the sofa, and still feeling the leftovers of a really hard migraine.
Kimi Gobodo had the enviable skill to look splendid even after the greatest of the hangovers; this was the reason that brought Toga to nickname her 《Nekimi》, for she always landed on her feet, just like cats.
When she noticed her son so intent in taking care of her, she felt at unease, and attacked by guilt; however, she decided to hide these thoughts with a grateful smile, so as for him not to worry.
"Thank you, Sesshomaru: you are a true bliss for all womankind."
"If you keep repeating this, I'll start believing it." he chuckled, managing to hide the picchi of gloom in his own voice.
"But that's true: I'm sincerely astonished that my baby boy still doesn't have a girlfriend."
"I have opted for a pause: I have grown tired of shallow quickies and embarrassing trivialities" Sesshomaru explained "Also, this way we can spend more time together, aren't you happy about it?"
"No, I'm worried, Sesshomaru" Kimi denied "It's not fair you waste your best years taking care of your stupid, alcoholic mother: you should make new experiences, hang out with your friends and have as many shallow quickies as possible, while you still have time."
There they were: it was now time to face the elephant in the room!

It was now 9 years, since the day Kimi and Toga's divorce had been made official, and while everybody had now managed to move forward, he didn't.
Not at all.
He would have never forgiven his father for what the pain he had caused to his mother, neither if Kimi had prayed him to do so.
Indeed, Kimi, feeling totally broken because of the divorce, had fallen into the vortex of alcoholism; this made so that he was placed in his father's custody, and raised in the same house as his half-brother and step-mother: he would have harshly despised every single day from the following two years, in which her mother followed rehab.
In the exact moment he had had a chance to ask for it, he asked to be placed in his mother's custody, since, in the meanwhile, she had proven herself suitable to fill her guardian role once again.
At long last, young Sesshomaru felt he had found some happiness.
However, university proved to take him a great amount of time, not allowing him to spend as much as before with his mother.
This fact influenced Kimi, who began to exceed again, hoping it would have eased the burden of loneliness...however, this time Kimi wasn't succeding in getting out from the tunnel, and Sesshomaru couldn't help but indicate his father as the one and only responsible for this situation.

"You are letting alcohol speak for you: get some rest, now, okay?" she heard her son reprimanding her, while he was heading to the kitchen. "When you'll wake up, you'll understand this is just nonsense."
"Sesshomaru, w-wait!" her mother begged "will you listen to Ah-Un's tips with me, please?"
Sesshomaru felt his movements freezing, at her request: she had to be feeling really awful, if she was talking about his beloved two-headed plushie dragon from his childhood.
"Mom…" he had a hard time, pronouncing that word, which had become so rare for him to use.
"Now, my sweet little boy" Kimi began, trying to gather as many memories as possible in order to replicate that clumsy and just a bit awkward voice she once made to make her little boy smile "When you will fall in love with a woman, be she human or demon, be sure she loves as much as you love her: don't be like your mommy and daddy, because you deserve better!"
Sesshomaru smelled tears, and immediately reached her mother and hugged her tightly: he hated watching her suffer because of a marriage which had ended since several years.
"I swear I'll do" he did promise "Just, please, don't cry, don't worry. Now, I'm taking a movie and we are watching it togetherVado a prendere un film e lo guardiamo assieme, ok?"
His mother sobbed and nodded her head yes.
"Kevin Spacey?" Sesshomaru proposed.
"Jake Gyllenhaal, please: ENEMY, by Denis Villeneuve."
"Be it! Going to get it! And again, please, don't cry anymore, ok? It makes you ugly." he smiled her, benevolently.
"Cross on my heart." she promised, and made an uncertain sign with her hand; then she brought herself seated and stretched in the direction of the mug, the glass and the plums.
A few minutes later, mother and son were watching the movie.

The movie went smoothly until the very end, when Kimi let a comment slip; a comment Sesshomaru would have remembered for many years:"Anytime I watch this movie, I think about you...and your father: one left, and the other one took his place." she bitterly laughed.

Chapter Text

"Let her go, now!" a brunette police officer yelled while pointing her taser gun against him "If you don't stop I'll be forced to use force against you, is that clear?"
"Sango, keep calm: I'm fine, don't worry." Rin intervened, when she began feeling her shoulders were not being clenched by Sesshomaru.
Time froze for about ten seconds, after which Sesshomaru removed his hands from Rin's blouse and said:"Finally, I understand" he put a hand on ENEMY's poster "I used to have a great esteem of you, father...but you've proven yourself weak."
He turned and got over the woman who had been shouting at himere seconds before; she felt a cold shiver running through her back, even if she perfectly knew she had the upper hand. Two more police officers were waiting for Sesshomaru at the entrance, two wolf demons on whose uniforms were their last names, KISHIO and YOSHINO; the dog demon lifted his hands and brought them behind his head, so as to allow them to handcuff him and bring him back to his cell.
Sango run to Rin, to make sure she was actually fine:"Is it alright, Rin, has he hurt you?"
"Don't worry, Sango: I purposedly provoked him to see his reaction, eheh" she said with a laugh "I'm having another visit with him, tomorrow."
"What the f...?! Has your brain rotted after you were smashed against the wall? You so badly wish to get yourself killed?" Sango's words showed sincere concern, which brought Rin to calm her friend down.
"Sango, please, listen to me: he stopped, he's become aware of something and let me go...this is a chance we cannot lose."
"How are you so sure there's going to be《one more time》?"
"He's too prideful to accept unfinished businesses: he will accept, I'm sure of this."
Sango stared at her, and for a brief moment she felt suddenly thrown back 8 years before, when she was no more than a recruit answering to the complaint of a drunkard who swore somebody had poisoned his dog with chocolate: initially, she couldn't believe it, but she had to change mind when a young teenager reached her and her partner Shiori to confess she wanted to turn herself in the police for the poisoning; Rin was deeply repentant for what she had done, and confessed she was having problems to take control of her own emotions since her parents had died in a car accident caused by the drunkard who had called them.
Sango had remained speechless in front of such a show of responsibility, and she soon began to bind with Rin, while she was detained.
Now, that little rascal was a grown up woman, who had fully repaid what trust Sango had given her and was praying for trust one more time.
"Are you dead sure about doing this?" she asked Rin.
"With every fiber of my being…are you with me?"
"Of course I will, Rin."

"No, no and no, Rin: I won't allow this, period!" Kagura declared "It's too dangerous, I mean, look at yourself: you barely reach 110 pounds and 5' 3, what do you think would happen if I leave you with him and he decides to assault you again? You would have no chance, he would just smash you against that wall, just more violently!"
"Okay, Kagura, I exaggerated, you're right about it, but you have to trust me, when I say that he will talk again."
"I recruited agent Yamaguchi in this project because I trsut you and Kohaku, I can't believe that now I'm having to resort to her in order to bring YOU back to reason!"
"To be honest, I'm with Rin." Sango admitted.
Kagura looked at her confused, before she added:"I trust her, miss Kazehaya."
"Oh, may I be damned: you are just two human women, are you at least aware of this?" Kagura thundered again "It's not I don't have faith in you, but that demon has already been arrested 9 times for brawling: he's not the kind of man to feel at unease with the idea of beating a woman!"
"We will be ready to face this possibility!" was Sango's answer "Kagura, please, listen to me: I've been working as a police officer for years, now, and I know for sure that tenacity is what leads to success: in my job there is no such thing as a draw, so we have to be perseverant."
Kagura now had her face in her hands and murmured about how bad the situation was right in that moment and that she would have lost support from the police, which she had put so much effort to convince.
"Kagura, no need to be desperate" Rin conforted her "Kohaku has managed to convince the chief of police to support your project, which will bring advantages to our city, he won't be discouraged by some minor inconveniences."
Miss Kazehaya's eyes come out from behind her hands, and met Rin's and Sango's gaze:"You really believe this, Rin? I've just endangered you two, today."
"Of course she does, my brother would be able to sell ice to Eskimos; also, he knows me well enough to know my limits: he won't let blood influence his decisions."
"That's a really good thing to hear." the wind demon said "See you tomorrow, then: great challenges awaits."
"See ya!" Rin greeted.
"Have a nice evening!" Sango left.

The day after, Sesshomaru was waiting in his cell at police station, when he heard his own name being called by a policewoman: her uniform had 《YAMAGUCHI》on it, but her face more likely was shouting 《FUCK YOU》.
"Come on, get up: we are gonna be late for the program!" she ordered
"Let me guess, is it you who is going to follow me, sweetie? Am I right, spitfire?" he teased her.
"You're not half as scary as you think you are: Rin isn't frightened at all by you, and has requested to have another visit with you da te, insistently."
Seriously? These were really great news, fun was in sight.
"Well, it looks like she won't give up…she deserves some praise, for proving me she has nothing but air between her ears"
"Don't even try to touch a hair from her, or I'm going to put a hole in your head...are we crystal clear?" Sango threatened him.
Sesshomaru didn't see the need to answer her, and just laughed in amusement for her display of anger.

Chapter Text

He would never have expected such an intrusion from his own family: yet they were there, in front of the entrance gate of Miroku's villa.
"I can't believe it!" Inuyasha cursed from behind the curtains on the second floor, hoping that his father, mother and girlfriend hadn't seen him.
"Any problems?" the friendly voice of the host rang out.
The caregiver turned away irritated.
"There is my family, outside the gate, and..."
"I know: I invited them."
Now the half-demon was speechless and wide-eyed.
"How do you mean 'I invited them?', Miroku?!"
"Today is Saturday, I assumed that none of them would have plans for lunch, so I thought I'd invite them here: I must have got it right, don't you think?"
This was the response of the quadriplegic young man.
Inuyasha grunted annoyed, but relieved.
"Next time you should let me know when you take certain initiatives, ok?"
"And where would the surprise be, sorry?" the other laughed in response.

Toga, Izayoi and Kagome were allowed into the house by Kaede, the housekeeper, and Miroku had them called shortly afterwards.
When the three guests entered the living room to meet the host, they were pleasantly surprised to see the care of the furniture and the arrangement of the paintings on the walls: Miroku must have been an art connoisseur, since the paintings followed a meticulous chronological order of throughout the twentieth century.
Their son and his boss were waiting for them.

"Mom, dad, Kagome, meet..."
"Miroku Kanagawa, very nice to meet you; Inuyasha didn't tell me he had such a cute girlfriend!" the host winked smilingly, getting two red cheeks in response.
"I want to thank you" began Toga "for the possibility you are offering to my son, Sesshomaru: I hope that at least Inuyasha is not a source of worry for you."
"Thanks, Dad!" snorted Inuyasha.
"Ahahahah, don't worry Mr. Taisho, your son is a good friend; now, I want all of you to feel at ease...don't let anyone say that I was rude to movie producer Toga Taisho and his wonderful family, right?"
"Ahhh, of course: nothing could be further from truth."
“Okay, young man,” Izayoi agreed, “but we want you to know that we owe you a lot.”
"Exactly" Kagome echoed, a little saddened "We are very worried about my onii-san."
"Kagome!" her boyfriend scolded her "I already told you that I don't like it when you call him that way."
"I know, darling, but he's still family."
"Unwillingly, as he wanted to imply the last time."

The discussion continued in the dining room, where Miroku and his guests were able to enjoy a delicious roast turkey, with a side of carrots and baked potatoes, accompanied by a rich vinaigrette to satisfy all preferences.
The first curiosity from Inuyasha's family was expressed by Kagome: "Why are you confined to a wheelchair?"
"Kagome!" Inuyasha admonished her.
"Don't worry, Yasha, it's not a problem for me: I've been in this condition for almost 8 years, and it's entirely my fault." explained the quadriplegic "When my father died, I was broken: Mushin, my current secretary, as well as my father's friend, was worried that I would do something stupid, and when they called him at 3:00 in the morning from the hospital to inform him of a 'car crashed at 100 km/h into a cherry tree...well, he realized he was right: the same conclusion I had come to, at a high cost."
"I'm truly sorry for your loss, Miroku" Toga commented "I can't imagine the pain you must have felt."
"But you can imagine how Mushin felt, right?"
"Why do you say that, Miroku?" Kagome asked, a little taken aback.
"Listening to you, I noticed that all four of you have a different opinion about Sesshomaru: I would like you, if you would grant me, to help me understand what kind of person he is."
"AN absolute asshole…ouch, why did you do that?!" Inuyasha asked his mother, who had just slapped him in the head.
"This is not the way to approach the issue!"
"As it turns out, Izayoi is genuinely worried about her stepson; you, Inuyasha, don't seem to have the slightest hope of a change on your brother's part."
"And can you blame me, after he spent his whole life insulting me simply for my existence? Belittling me every single day because in his eyes I am and always will be a 'mongrel bastard'? Accusing me of ruining his life? Next time that we will see each other, I hope it will be in the morgue to recognize the body."
Toga slammed her fist on the table and jumped to her feet.
"Inuyasha, that's enough!" thundered like a cannon shot. "I understand your frustration, but he is and remains your brother, so don't you dare say those words ever again!"
"Why do you expect me to respect him if he has never respected me?"
"Inuyasha, calm down please." Kagome tried.
"No, I don't calm down at all! In fact, I hope they throw away the key to the cell where he will rot, so we can live peacefully and without him."
"Don't you understand, that it won't be like this for your father?!" the young human replied.
Inuyasha stopped to elaborate what he had heard, and let out a laugh.
"Don't talk nonsense, you imagine things, this is absolutely not true, right?" He asked turning to the parent.
Toga didn't say a word, he simply lowered his head and sat down again.
"Right?" the half-demon repeated, thinking that maybe his father might not have heard him.
More silence.
"Dad?" he tried again, half impatient and half dismayed.
Toga looked up at her son: a deep sadness radiated from her eyes, and this was enough to arouse Inuyasha's indignation.
"I can't believe it!" he blurted out.
"Son, listen to me..." the parent tried.
"How can you believe all the bullshit he has fed you over the years? How can you still want a bond with that ingrate?"
"Because parents will always love their children, no matter how much they will disappoint them."
However, it wasn't Toga who spoke: everyone turned towards Miroku, the author of that speech.
"Mushin did nothing but repeat it to me, the first month after the accident: even when we grow up and start making decisions on our own, and inevitably make mistakes, those who took care of us will always hope that we can learn from our mistakes and it will help us get up when we fall; because that's what family is for.
"And as for Kagome: I'm convinced that she wants to see Sesshomaru change more than he hates her humanity...am I right?"
"Yes: even though he never accepted me, I don't lose hope that something can change; and who knows, maybe this journey will be his big opportunity."
Everyone nodded and went back to eating, even though Inuyasha wasn't entirely convinced.

"Nooo, really?" Miroku exclaimed.
"Inuyasha never told you before?" Kagome was surprised.
"No, never!"
"And there must also be a reason, my love." the half-demon pointed out resignedly.
The roast and the dip were now a distant memory, and the guests were still chatting amiably over a sip of wine and a sphere of profiteroles.
"After a few dates, we decided to spend an evening together watching movies at my house: and one of these was WALL•E, which he had never seen... it was very sweet, I was moved by seeing him moved to tears by those little robots."
He wanted to die: how could he let it be known that he had cried watching an animated movie?
“I didn't know you had such a romantic side, Yasha.” Miroku told him.
"Our son has a kind soul, even if he is quite gruff at times." Izayoi stated beaming.
"I can confirm that." admitted the young man in the wheelchair before bursting out laughing, infecting the whole table.

After the meal, Miroku and Inuyasha said goodbye to the Taishos and Kagome, who for a moment had managed to find their smile again, despite the recent events.

Chapter Text

SUNDAY

"Summa cum laude degree in Medical Bioengineering." recited Rin while browsing through the file "And according to his high school professors, an otherwise perfect student, given his grumpy and arrogant nature."
Her gaze lifted, searching for the demon's amber eyes, but she couldn't meet him.
"I never expected that you would put so much effort into making your life difficult, Sesshomaru: in short, you would have all the credentials to be a surgeon, but with all the fights you started or took part in ..."
On the other side of the desk, the demon replied with profound silence.
"Displaced fracture of the ulna and radius of the left arm following a road accident" he looked up again at the interlocutor "ironically, it seems that the two 'fragile humans' responsible for the collision did not suffer significant injuries." she let out a laugh.
Annoyed, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and opened his mouth: "You're way more foolish than I thought: I was convinced that yesterday's demonstration had been enough to make you understand that you shouldn't make me angry."
"There's little to be done, all my friends say I'm pretty thick." the small woman behind the desk replied, giggling. "And then I would like to return the favor I owe you."
What news this was was beyond Sesshomaru's understanding.
“I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, so explain yourself or put that little mouth to good use.” the tone was meant to mask curiosity and surprise, but Rin knew he had hit the mark.

2 years before

"Hey, are you okay?" the girl asked the demon whose head was lying on the counter, just next to her.
The latter, lying with his left cheek on the counter, was peering at the girl through the shot glass while passing the pad of his right index finger over it in the hope to produce a little sound, and humming Louis Armstrong's version of LA VIE EN ROSE.< br /> 15.
“Don't worry about that poor drunk, darling.” said another customer, a human, placing himself between her and him "How about you and I have some fun instead?"
Rin was uncomfortable with the new, unwanted attention, and tried to extricate herself from the situation.
14.
"No, thanks, I wouldn't be good company: I just came by to chat with the bartender, who is a friend of mine." he tried.
The young man at the counter smiled at the dude.
"I'm his friend too, you know? So, we can be friends too, by osmosis, right?" that annoying customer came back to charge.
Sesshomaru hated ridiculous and wrong displays, they got on his nerves.
12.
“That's very kind of you, but really: no, thanks.” insisted Rin, whose body suggested the desire to escape from that situation which was no longer just annoying, but also frightening.
But his admirer did not give up.
"Come on, don't be shy with me!" he began, before patting the little woman's bottom, which made her jump up in embarrassment; suddenly, a hand grabbed the wrist of the annoying customer: a clawed hand, attached to a demon with a grim and threatening look.
"She told you no, what's not clear to you, microbe?" interjected Sesshomaru, whose patience was coming to an end.
10, keep calm.
That buddy had to put a lot of strength before the demon let him go.
"And what do you want, scrap?" the human blurted out "Mind your own business!"
Two other customers approached him, at the counter, while Sesshomaru returned to his seat.
"Is something wrong, Shigeru?" asked one, stoutly.
"No, it's okay: he's just a shitty drunk." he replied, rubbing his wrist.
8, the situation was degenerating.
"Hey!" thundered the bartender, whose nameplate displayed the name BYAKUYA "No foul language in my place!"
"You better shut up and make us a drink, you little pussy..." barked the fat man's friend, who had a sparse blond hair; his yelling was interrupted by a stomp on the foot.
"Don't disrespect my friend," Rin said firmly, stomping her foot.
9, maybe the girl could handle herself.
"Slut! Make sure you treat my friends well, or you might regret it." Shigeru threatened in a hiss, showing the knife on his belt.
Now, Byakuya and Rin were alarmed: a knife? Would he really use it against her?
"Calm down, okay?" the bartender tried to persuade him, "Be careful with that thing."
Sesshomaru didn't like this way of doing things.
6.
He straightened up on his stool, feeling a little unbalanced from the 9,000 yen worth of shots he had been served, and spoke to the molesters: "You are true cowards to pick on women and those who are serving you."
He quickly glanced at the bartender as if to say 'thanks for the alcohol.'
"Fuck off, you piece of shit!" One of Shigeru's friends barked.
5.
The demon approached the three, but a worried Rin tried to stop him.
"Look, there's no need to start a fight here, okay? We can go outside if you'd like."
"No, I can handle the situation very well", moaned Sesshomaru "And I need you here."
"What, excuse me?" the young woman asked, her eyes widening.
Her interlocutor put his mouth close to her ear and said: "Exactly: I need an excuse for what I'm going to do."
After that, he turned his attention to Shigeru and his friends, leaving Rin stunned.
"Do your mothers know that you spend your evenings bothering poor girls?"
"Hey, boy scout! Did I already tell you to get the fuck out?" the larger man chuckled.
4.
"You have to understand, Suneo: he must have had his eye on that tidbit too, except that Shige moved first." The third sneered.
3.
"You say, Takeshi?" the man with the knife added "Well, in that case I'm very sorry to give you the news that she's mine now, aren't you pretty?"
Rin looked back and forth between the trio and the tall, drunk demon next to her, unsure of what to do.
"Now stop it, okay?" Byakuya blurted out although his tone of voice still betrayed a certain insecurity "Get out of here or I'll call the police."
"Do it already, and call an ambulance." Sesshomaru urged.
"Clever move, man: you already know how it will end for you." Takeshi teased.
2.
"If you think a woman can be taken or left, you must be very stupid indeed...not that I expected much from a pathetic human like you" the demon sneered.
Suddenly Shigeru pointed the knife at him with an amused look.
"We are three against one, and I am armed: why do you want to harm yourself so much?"
1.
"This day has made me mad, and I don't think you understand how much this can be bad..."
His interlocutor exaggerated a laugh and spoke up: "You rhymed, haha: I didn't think this son of a bitch was a fucking poet! Come on, do another one, I'm really curious!"
0.
Now the trouble would begin.
Sesshomaru knew it was a silly insult, but he couldn't accept such an insult towards his mother, and he would make that imbecile regret having uttered the insult.
"Without that spoon you're just a coward" Shigeru began to tease.
He thought he would have more fun once he got that idiotic laugh out of his face, so he wanted to do it.
"Get over here, you useless bastard!"
The offense infuriated the human, who rushed at him, waving his blade; Sesshomaru grabbed the wrist of the hand with which he was holding it, squeezed and twisted it, making the attacker cry out and drop the knife to the ground. He pushed the weapon away with one foot, taking advantage of the movement to provide more energy for a knee to the testicles, followed shortly by an uppercut that threw Shigeru at the feet of his companions, two meters behind him.
Suneo and Takeshi launched their attack together, to his left and right respectively; Sesshomaru moved to the right and delivered a powerful slap to the semi-bald blond, then swept his legs with a slash at the ankles, causing him to fall to the ground.
Only Suneo was missing, who swung a punch that missed; his opponent grabbed his arm and pinned it with his own, then dragged him towards the counter and forcefully slammed his head against the shot glass once...twice...thrice: making sure he was stunned, he finished him off with an elbow to the muzzle.< br /> Slumped on the ground, the three customers were still confused by the speed with which everything had happened.
Sesshomaru, fatigued, plopped down on a stool and signaled to Byakuya that he was ready to pay. When the police arrived, accompanied by an ambulance, the patrons and the bartender were questioned, and everyone pointed to Sesshomaru as the one who solved the brawl.
"You took part in the fight, right?" Sergeant Koga Yoromizu asked, receiving a nod in response from the dog demon.
"You'll have to follow me to the station: you have done them up pretty bad, and I can't turn a blind eye; take your coat and follow me."
"Wait, officer!" Byakuya pointed out Shigeru's knife "That's the weapon the man with the broken jaw had: the gentleman he's talking to simply tried to defend himself."
“Do you have any footage to prove it?” he asked
The policeman.
"Yes sir!" was the bartender's response.
Meanwhile, Koga looked at the blade, then looked back at the demon he was talking to.
“Is there anyone who can confirm this?” he asked.
"I can, Mister Sergeant." stammered a small woman who the officer recognized.
"Rin, I didn't notice you."
"Ihih, don't worry, Koga; rather, say hello to Sango when you see her, ok?"
"Okay" he took his leave, then looked back at Sesshomaru "Your presence is no longer necessary, we will ask the owner to provide us with the surveillance footage: we will let you know if we need you."
He handed him a note. "You know what to do."
The demon snorted, grabbed his business card, picked up his coat and sighed.
"I'll have to go to another place" he darkened.
He was just in front of the door, when something pushed him to turn towards the girl named Rin, and talk to her.
"Hey Rin!" he waited for the person concerned to meet his gaze to ensure his attention "Go home: your mother doesn't deserve to worry about her little girl."
'How the hell are you talking? Maybe you are drunk for real, after all!'
Rin was shocked by the demon's words, but it only lasted a second: she responded with a full smile and promised that she would, even if he couldn't have known that she no longer had her parents.
Once through the door, Sesshomaru realized that he had just given himself excellent advice.

Chapter Text

Today,

"So you insisted on following my case because you feel indebted after that evening."
Rin nodded her head.
"I understand, and I don't care; I think I'll spend the next few..." he looked for a clock in the room, but was preceded by his interlocutor.
"35 minutes?"
"Exactly...engaging a nice staring contest with you: you won't get anything out of me, just know that."
The girl couldn't believe it: how could this childish side belong to the same person who she had seen until then? She was really curious about it, which is why she decided to start digging.
"You know we're not two elementary school kids in detention, right Maru-chan?" she addressed him, remembering that comic he had recently finished reading, something like…
“FROM ME TO YOU?” The demon recognized the reference and chuckled "Yeah, after all it's not like I expected anything different from such a naive girl."
"I would ask you not to treat me like a child, okay?"
"I have to, since the only way to make you understand me would be to treating you like a 4 year old girl." Sesshomaru retorted.
"That role would actually fall to me."
What? And what did this mean?
"I'm afraid I don't follow you." admitted the dog demon, somewhat perplexed.
"You quoted Denzel Washington from PHILADELPHIA, but in that movie he wants to help the protagonist, even if he is initially reluctant."
Now his interlocutor was silent, and Rin understood that he had the situation in control again.

"You like movies, so what do you think if, instead of asking a question a day, we started with a movie to decide the theme of the day?
For example, looking at yesterday..." she nodded to indicate the wall full of posters in the direction of ENEMY "You saw that movie, right?"
Sesshomaru knew that the young woman would not believe his denial...and slamming her against the wall would not be beneficial for his own self-esteem.
So all that remained was to play along.
“I appreciate Denis Villeneuve, and I had read Saramago's work, so I was curious.” was his response.
"Do you think Adam and Anthony are the same person or two different people?"
"Two: why would anyone change their diet for the sake of someone else?"
"That's all? I didn't think you were so superficial, Maru-chan." Rin laughed softly. "What did your father have to do with it?"
Sesshomaru had always been very jealous of his private life, but with his demonstration the day before that woman had earned a bit of his respect, although he would never have admitted it.
"When I saw that movie I was with my mother, helping her recover from a hangover: during the closing credits, she told me that a man" she didn't intend to repeat the mistake of calling him 'father' "had left her life, but that another had taken his place; only yesterday I fully understood what she meant."

Never before had Rin felt so happy to have taken the risk to continue with the recovery, and it was obvious that Kagura should never know that she had doubts about the dog demon.
"So you're saying you inherited your father's role in your mother's life, is that so?"
Sesshoumaru's expression hardened, and his voice came out as a threatening hiss: "Don't call him that, do you understand? That wretch is not my father: he's just a worm who didn't keep the promise he made to the woman he loved. He had sworn loyalty until the end...the only good thing I ever did was bring into the world someone with a little more backbone, who truly understood the value of that woman."
"But that's not what you want, is it?"
She saw him in position to reply with an indignant grimace marking his face; However, Rin was known to everyone for her unstoppable gab and quickness, both in understanding and in speaking, which is why she anticipated him.
"I'm not accusing you of being a degenerate son, okay Maru-chan?"
In response, a half-hearted growl.

"I'm just saying that you still haven't talked about anything that concerns you directly" she explained "or that defines you deeper than 'son' and 'student'...at that age kids think about making friends, not to look after an alcoholic parent: it's natural that a part of you wants that time back, to experience the pleasures you deserve."
Sesshomaru listened to the young human's words, and was surprised to hear his own mother in them.
"I would like that today, once you leave this study, you would try to put yourself in the foreground: the only question that should cross your mind must be 'What do I want to do for fun?', and then do it!.. ." she explained, realizing that she had to underline "...obviously within the limits of legality, of course."

"I would like to go to an arcade - I've always wanted to try air hockey." the dog demon admitted through gritted teeth after a pause of a few minutes.
"So let's go, Sesshomaru: it's time for you to have a little fun"

Chapter Text

*DRIIIIN*

Kimi took her time getting out of bed and putting on her slippers, but she got to the door before the visitors could ring the intercom again.
Once opened, remaining leaning against the door, she found herself in front of her son's father and his new partner.

"Hi, Kimi!" began Toga "Izayoi and I thought about it; and we came to the conclusion that we should talk about Sesshomaru..." a short pause, as if he didn't feel yet ready for what was about to follow "...the three of us, together." p>

The landlady straightened up and shifted her gaze towards the other woman, who was trying to keep her smile despite her sadness: she didn't know if she was doing it for her or for herself... but did it really matter? p>

"Come in, come in." she invited them, neutral "it's good to see you are faring fine...yo-yo? Was that the name?" she laughed awkwardly at Izayoi.

"Yes, Ki-ki, thank you. And you are as beautiful as ever." she replied, relieved.

Toga had no idea how her consort had managed to form such a bond of trust with the woman who would have had every reason in the world to hate her; he tried to convince himself that it was due to Izayoi's solar personality, which, in some way, was complementary to Kimi's《lunar》one...
'Ok, maybe that's too corny, though' he thought.

"You must excuse me, if I didn't prepare better to receive guests; you take a seat, don't worry, I'll go get《SWEET SIXTEEN》, ok?"
By that name Kimi was referring to a bottle of 11-year-old Talisker dating back to 1997, shortly before Izayoi became pregnant with Inuyasha and Kimi and Toga's tumultuous separation began.
She had wanted to nickname the bottle that way in order to pay homage to the Billy Idol song, which she and her ex-husband had wanted to be played at their wedding.
There would never have been an opportunity to uncork it, and it would have remained with her, after the divorce.

The two spouses sat on the spacious white peninsula sofa in the living room; shortly thereafter, the landlady joined them with the bottle and glasses, which she placed on the table just in front of the sofa; she, however, took a seat in a comfortable armchair the same color as the crescent that stood out on her forehead.

"On the one hand I have to thank you: I felt like I was going crazy without alcohol" admitted the stylist, a little embarrassed, as she poured drinks for herself and her guests "but now that you two are here to keep an eye on me I can have a nightcap and drink responsibly, right?"

Despite the many years that have passed since he, she and Sesshomaru were a happy family, Toga still knew how to distinguish his ex-wife's signals very well; he therefore decided to break all the delays.

"You would like to hear what we know about Sesshomaru first, I know, Kimi." smiled.

"He got in trouble again for a fight, right?"

"Unfortunately yes, Ki-Ki, but things are different, this time" Izayoi hastened to say, fearing that if she had delayed even a single second, her poor interlocutor would have gone mad "you know Kagura Kazehaya, that young philanthropist, daughter of Naraku Kazehaya? She is fighting to carry out a rehabilitation project with collaboration from the police, aimed at improving interactions between humans and demons and has accepted Sesshomaru among the participants."

Kimi was listening to the words coming from Toga's woman, but she couldn't be relieved by them, knowing her son's nature.

"She must be either very brave or stupid, if she has accepted such a tough nut to crack."
She chuckled, to avoid being enveloped by an overwhelming wave of discouragement; in her heart she only hoped that Sesshomaru had listened to her when she told him that Toga only had part of the responsibility for the situation she was in.

"Do you remember, Toga, when he spoke proudly of his father who fought courageously so that we could all have good movies to see?"

Izayoi's imagination and Toga's memory recalled the tender image of the child Sesshomaru had been.

"I miss my baby." Kimi hesitated, before taking the glass as if calling for a toast "if you're still here, give it a call, ok?"

"I'm sure it's still there, somewhere deep inside your Maru, Kimi." the other woman consoled her.

"I will do everything in my power, I will not rest until I can bring our son back... it's the least I can do for you, Nekimi." echoed Toga

Hearing the old nickname, the ex-wife found herself smiling despite herself.

"To those who don't give up!" dedicated.

"To those who don't give up!" the two spouses joined.

A couple of hours later, the three said goodbye with good wishes and a newfound sense of serenity, confident in what the future would have in store for them...

...because denying yourself hope is the worst suffering you can inflict on yourself.

Chapter Text

After a fifteen minute walk, Rin and Sesshomaru arrived at their destination: Bowl n' Chain.

"You'll see that you'll like it: there's always a lot of people, and the atmosphere is fabulous when you let yourself go."
This is what his sponsor had promised him, before they entered the building to be welcomed by the air conditioning.
As proof of her words, there was already a good queue in front of the bowling alley booking desk.

"You can go and find an air hockey table: I'll join you later, when I manage to free myself." the petite young woman smiled at him.
“I wasn't going to bowl, that's not what we set out to do.” replied the demon.
"Oh, come on! Give it a chance: if you win, we'll do as you want later."
Sesshomaru hoped that this time she wouldn't go back on her word last minute, but he didn't count on it so much.
"Ok" he took his leave, before heading to the game hall indicated by a small sign a few meters ahead.
Taking care not to bump into other customers, he recognized the arcade machines and the corner of the basketball shooting, only to then realize that the game hall had an L-shaped development, compared to the corridor he was coming from; now, before his eyes, the various 'whack-a-mole', 'wheel of fortune', 'punching ball', and many others stood out.

What caught his attention, however, was a station called 'Hole Bomb!': behind the protective case, a long transparent tube was positioned just above the edge of a wooden disc full of holes marked with numbers; while this disc continued to rotate, on the screen behind it a little man indicated the button to press to play;
Sesshomaru watched as a young boy tried his luck at pressing the button hard; a ball fell from the tube and started bouncing left and right, only to then begin to roll along the edges and fall into the hole marked with a 10.
As many tickets came out of the station.

While the boy continued his game, the demon went to check where the token dispenser was; once he found it, considering it advantageous, he decided to buy 15 tokens for 800 yen.
In this way, when he returned to the station he found it free, and decided to go for it.
The only thing that mattered in this game was timing, and Sesshomaru knew he had a lot of it.

"Sorry if it took me a while, but the tail didn't seem to want to hear about..." Rin tried to apologize when he managed to reunite with the demon, but stopped when he noticed the long tongue of notes coming out from the 'Hole Bomb!' station.
"Ah, you're here, at last." the demon noted.
“W-w-w-how the hell did you do that?” the girl stammered, amazed by the scene before her.
"Just a matter of timing." her interlocutor simply replied, even though he seemed happier than when they entered. "What were you saying before?"
"Huh? Oh, right: the rink will be available in 20 minutes, so we'll have to wait; shall we go to air hockey?"
"Okay, I already got some tokens."
"Ok" the girl brightened.

If that was the beginning...maybe it wouldn't have been so terrible after all.

Chapter Text

2 tokens for 3 minutes of play - this was the fee for the air hockey table.

"Come on, let's get started!" was the incitement that came from Rin.
The coins slid into the slot and Sesshomaru pressed the button to start the game.
The scoreboard pinged, and the disk popped out of a slot on the side of Rin's table.
She picked it up and showed it to her opponent, then dropped it on the playing field; once she noticed that the air was coming out of the little holes, she took the first shot.

"Hi-yah!"
The puck shot straight towards the opponent's goal, but hit Sesshomaru's mallet; he was still getting familiar with the instrument.
The impact sent the puck back into the girl's half of the field, and she arched up until she was almost lying on the table to hit it with all the strength she had in her arm; as she did so, Rin laughed like a child, a detail that did not go unnoticed, indeed, and perplexed the other player, still intent on calibrating the strength to use.
The puck bounced off one side of the table, then the other, approaching Sesshomaru's goal in slow diagonals; the demon wanted to take the opportunity to strike a blow while his opponent got back into position... if he had hit her, well: what fault would have he had, had she put herself in that situation?
Luckily no one was hurt, but the puck bounced off one of the corners of Rin's goal and returned to Sesshomaru's half of the field, in a wide zigzag motion.
The latter tried to hit it by predicting the trajectory, but realized that it was too late to stop it.

1-0 for Rin, 2:36 to go.

"Yes, one point for me!" she exclaimed, accompanying the celebration with a little celebratory dance, while the player on the other side put the spot back into the field.
"Wait to sing victory!" he addressed her, in a slightly too serious tone; he couldn't help it, he didn't like self-satisfied scenes like Rin's, which didn't make sense to him.
"Don't worry, Maru-chan: you just have to get the hang of it, it won't take long."
He said this and prepared for his opponent's attack; Once the puck was positioned, he let it slide a little on the field, to evaluate, in the meantime, what the best shot might be.
"So? What are you waiting for?" the young human at the other end of the table teased impatiently.
Thinking he had found the best trajectory, he landed a deadly diagonal shot, and Rin heard the sound of the puck hitting the goal and falling down.
"One moment of distraction from you, and here it is!" Sesshomaru grinned amusedly.
Rin was astonished for a moment by the speed of the blow, and admitted that she had been fooled like a rookie.

1-1, 2:00 to go.

He was getting the hang of it, little by little.
"Well well, I admit that was a good shot, but it's just beginner's luck, you know?" she said, returning the challenging grimace that had been thrown her way.
Putting the puck back into play, the young human gave it a horizontal bump, confusing her opponent, after which she sent it forward avoiding direct shots, to test the reaction of the other player, who, in response, tried to replicate the shot with whom he had scored.
This time, however, Rin knew where to hit...although, perhaps, with a little too much force, as the puck bounced off the plastic mid-court divider, then spun lopsidedly in front of her.
The crash made her jump a little.
"Ups, sorry" he chuckled as he sent the disk away.
This arrived in front of Sesshomaru, who parried it, however, giving it a very pronounced lateral deviation, so that it now bounced horizontally, almost parallel to the door.
In an attempt to ward off the small circular threat, the demon moved the mallet too quickly, and when the puck hit it ended up in the goal, giving the opponent a point.
Sesshomaru growled in annoyance, and grabbed the disk to put it back into play.

2-1, 1:02 to go.

"Be careful, Maru-chan: timing is the key to everything, you know?" Rin smiled at him.
The demon went on the attack again, with regained concentration, and managing to put his opponent in difficulty, who, at a certain point, made the puck fly off the field, hitting a girl on the forehead.
"Ouch!" she exclaimed, in a mixture of pain and surprise.
"Oh, dear: I'm so sorry, I didn't see you; forgive me if I hurt you." the sponsor rushed to apologize, a little trembling.
In response, the other girl started laughing and reassured her that it was nothing, in fact he had really brightened her day with this unintentionally comical scene.
Sesshomaru, no longer interested in the match, which among other things was now just a few seconds away, was dismayed by the girl's behavior towards her supervisor.
She was slightly shorter than her, but from the way Rin was acting, she looked at least 2 inches taller than Rin's 5'4".

A boy approached at two, a little angry.
He must have been 5' 10" tall, and therefore towered over both of them.
“Hey, look what you did to my girlfriend!” he started, indicating the redness on the 'victim''s forehead "Be more careful, understand? Otherwise..."
"Calm down, Hiroshi, she didn't do it on purpose." she laughed, to divert his attention from Rin.
"I don't care, you have to be more careful, understand?" he continued menacingly.
Sesshomaru, noticing the argument, approached the three, and decided to use his 6' 5" for a good cause.
“She told you it was just an accident, okay?” he asked, struggling not to lift the boy off the ground.
The latter, terrified by the difference in height and size, seemed to blanch and stammered that, ok, it was nothing serious, before walking away with his girlfriend.

Rin watched them go and then turned her gaze to her patient: "Thank you for defending me, Sesshomaru."
He just snorted, almost as if the thought offended him.
"Want to try some more games? There's still 15 minutes left before the floor is ready."
"Yes, okay...now that I think about it: remember to take the points to the machine, so you won't have them with you for the rest of the day."
Approving the idea, the two headed to the point eating machine, receiving back a piece of paper certifying Sesshomaru's 807 points in the game.
"Well, what do we do now?" Rin asked.
Before Sesshomaru could answer her, the following message was heard from a speaker: "Reservation Rin and Maru-chan, please go to the cash register."

The demon's gaze fell on the tiny human woman, and, if he had been able to, he would have incinerated her on the spot, for that joke in very poor taste.
"Come on, don't worry: are you or aren't you a dog demon after all?" she asked, trying desperately to remain serious.
Aware that objecting would accomplish nothing, Sesshomaru walked towards the cash register.

"What size are you?" the cashier asked.
"14"
"5.5"

Two minutes later, the two of them were on the floor, next to one occupied by six middle school kids, who were looking at them as if they were a couple... ah, how far from reality they were.

"I'll start!" Rin trilled.
In fact, despite the reservation name, both first names appeared on the board, without stupid and unlikely nicknames.
The girl grabbed a green bowling ball with a big black 7 printed on it, moved to the front of the lane and prepared to shoot; after a short run-up, he threw the ball, which zoomed towards the pins with a slight curve to the right.
Unfortunately, the curvature proved to be too much, and denied her a strike, but left open the possibility of a 3-6 spare.
Needless to say, the second shot hit.

"Now it's your turn." she urged him.
Sesshoumaru evaluated the ball that he thought was easier, went to the floor and prepared to shoot, when a melody caught his attention: he turned, to discover that it was coming from the phone that a laughing Rin was holding in her hand.
"May I know what you're listening to?"
Caught, the young human tried to answer, but her voice was cracking with laughter.
"No, nothing, sorry Sesshomaru: I just wanted...hahaha...I just wanted to see how you would look in Jesus Quintana's place.
Sesshomaru had seen THE BIG LEBOWSKI, but had never understood how it was possible that it had achieved so much success, given the criticism it received upon release.
Yet, in that moment he found himself hoping for a good strike, just like John Turturro's in the movie.
He took a running start, threw the ball and waited for the crash; once it was gone, the ball had taken all 10 pins with it.
"Woo-hoo!" Rin lit up "Well done, nice shot!"
“Wasn't it beginner's luck?” Sesshomaru challenged with his gaze.
"Oh, I'll show you now, my darling darling!" she replied.

Now Sesshomaru had no more doubts: things were going to get interesting.

Chapter Text

It was Rin's turn again, and the girl was about to throw the ball, but she stopped when she recognized the song that was resonating in the bowling alley: LA VIE EN ROSE, which the previous month had made her decide to learn French.
'Although, perhaps, it would have been better to master English well first,' she chided herself good-naturedly; 'But you have to admit that Latin languages ​​are so passionate, ihihih!' another small voice spoke up.
And with this thought in mind, she improvised a little dance that left his opponent somewhat confused.
Finally he shot, and the ball hit 9 pins, leaving number 10 as the only survivor.
"Yay!" she squealed. “Another great shot, don't you think?”
"Better than before, for sure." Sesshomaru replied neutrally, as they waited for the ball to return to their lane.
He didn't understand what was going through his sponsor's mind: when he talked to her about the game room during the session, he didn't expect in the slightest that she would drag him to that place...and yet here they were, with her happy as a child on Easter day and him watching her as she tried to replicate the spare from the previous round.
Unfortunately, this time Rin had bad luck, and the ball reached the end of its journey without meeting that one lucky pin.
"Good, now it's your turn, Maru-chan!"
Sesshomaru approached the court and picked up a ball, then moved to the front of the track.
He threw, but immediately realized that he had tilted his arm too much, and the ball must have suffered as a result, since it ended up in the left sideline.
"Fuck!" he hissed softly.
But not enough.
"Mistakes happen, Sesshomaru."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Don't worry" the girl approached "This is not a test, there is no need for perfection."
Intrigued by this prospect, the demon decided that he would allow himself a little lightness.
Every now and then, it was nice to know that you didn't have to prove anything to anyone.

The rounds followed one another, between good and bad shots, passing through strikes, blunders and a scary split from Rin.
The result, in the end, was 142-116 for her.
"So, do you want a rematch?" Rin challenged him, radiating enthusiasm from every pore.
"Are you really sure you're allowed all this?" the other asked her, arousing perplexity in the young human.
"What are you talking about, Sesshomaru?"
"If, as you say, this was not a test, then what would be your use here? I can't believe that your job is to be my playmate, so what is the test I have to pass, and which gives a meaning to your presence?"
The demon's tone didn't reveal any nuance, as if that side of him that Rin had seen in the last hour and a half had been nothing more than a mask.
"I never intended to test you, Maru-chan."
“I would prefer you to call me by my first name, am I clear?”
She was surprised by the direction the conversation was taking: until a few minutes ago they had been having fun, with challenges, encouragement and laughter (the last two, only from Rin).
“How long has it been, how much have you been thinking about?” she asked a little hurt.
“Don't answer my question with another, who cares when I started to suspect your behavior?” Sesshomaru urged.
"Just answer, Sesshomaru: how long have you thought you were under scrutiny?"
The dog demon rolled his eyes, unnerved by the lack of an answer to his question and by the sponsor's attitude: if he wanted to get out of this, evidently, he would have to answer.
"Since when you decided to take me to this place, okay? Are you okay with this?"
Rin nodded.
"So and so. Is it really that difficult for you to imagine a scenario where you aren't being observed under a microscope?" she asked him, worried.
As he finished asking, he realized what he had seen at the 'Hole in One' station: all those tickets were not the result of an experience of entertainment, but of an insatiable desire for competition, which shouted from the rooftops 'I am the smartest, the best of all! Nobody is on my level!'.
"Even before, during the bowling game, were you harboring this doubt?"
"Obviously, and I'm never wrong on this front: don't beat yourself up, I almost fell for it, but now you can stop pretending that-"
"KAZUMA!!!" a female voice boomed at the entrance of the alley, and one of the kids on the court next to Sesshomaru and Rin's turned around, his eyes wide and with a confused expression.
"Mom, what are you doing here???" he asked.
"What am I doing here? WHAT AM I DOING HERE??? You didn't warn me you were coming out, you made me have a fit!" the woman continued, furious "I was so worried that something had happened to you...now get in the car straight away, let's go home!"
"What? No!" contested his son "Me, Tota and the others wanted to play another game!"
"And instead you come with me, little kid, and immediately!" concluded the mother, taking him by the arm.
"Mom, stop it, you're embarrassing me!"
"You should have thought of that before you forgot to warn me...now let's go!"
"No, I'm staying here: you go away, I don't want to see you anymore!"

Watching the scene, Rin felt a little sorry for the woman, who had every reason in the world to feel angry.
"Poor lady!" she whispered, before catching movement near her out of the corner of her eye: Sesshomaru was walking towards Kazuma and his mother.
"Sesshomaru, wait-"
"BRAT!!!" he exploded.

At that moment, all the patrons of the place turned toward the man with the stentorian voice from whom that yell had come.
The boy named Kazuma suddenly turned in the direction from which he had heard himself called, and saw what, for him, there was a mountain coming towards him.
And this mountain was angry with him.

“How dare you speak so disrespectfully to your mother?” Sesshomaru asked angrily, slowly approaching, until he was half a meter away from him.
"S-s-sorry, sir!" stuttered Kazuma.
"How, please?"
"Sorry, sir, I beg you, don't hurt me!" he repeated in a panic, crouching down and covering his head with his arms.
The scene the demon was facing was pathetic, but he wasn't about to let it go.
"Get up, and quickly." he ordered, in a more contained tone, so that the boy would feel less threatened.
The latter slowly got back to his feet, peeking to make sure no slaps or cuffs were about to hit him.
"Look at me and listen really carefully, little brat" continued Sesshomaru "The woman you just disrespected is the same one who has always taken care of you, without ever demanding anything in return: she accompanied you to training, she allowed you to invite your friends at home and always helped you when you needed a hand.
She just asked you to text her, to let her know where you were, and you talk to her like this?”
Kazuma felt himself sinking, but not because he had been scolded by a stranger among many other strangers, but because he couldn't reply in any way, seeing as he was completely right.
"You should really be ashamed of your behavior and apologize to your mother" Sesshomaru concluded, turning his gaze towards the woman. "You never know, how long she will be able to stay by your side, so never, ever dare to disrespect her like this again, have I made myself clear enough?"
It took a couple of tries before the boy managed to compose himself and find his voice, but in the end he did it.
"Yes sir!"
Sesshomaru snorted.
"Now get out of my sight, get in your mother's car."

Everyone watched the scene come to an end, and after a brief reflection, everyone went back to what they were doing before.
All of them, or almost, at least.
Rin was shocked by what she had just seen: she kept pinching her arm to make sure that it wasn't a hallucination, and that what she had seen was actually Sesshomaru scolding a boy in a...well, 'exemplary' manner would have been a bit excessive, but still 'very acceptable'.
Even Kazuma's friends were stunned by the scene they had witnessed, and decided to say goodbye there, to return home to their respective families.
Finally, Kazuma's mother approached the dog demon and, a little embarrassed, thanked him.
"I apologize again for the inconvenience my son caused you, I thank you very much."
"I didn't do anything special: respect toward parents is due."
Sesshomaru knew that wasn't entirely true, but he knew he couldn't say that at that moment.
"Instead you did much more than you think, I assure you." the woman insisted "Now I'll let you go back to your girlfriend, I'm sure she would like her boyfriend back." she smiled at him.
A few feet behind them, Rin covered her mouth to absorb the squeak that escaped her when she heard those words.
Sesshomaru, however, put his hands forward without ceremony.
“That girl is not my girlfriend, ma'am, but my supervisor,” he explained to the woman, who now looked confused, “I'm on probation, to put it simply.”
The woman changed her expression and took a step back, halfway between embarrassment and discomfort.
"Oh, I-I see...have a nice day, okay?" she hastily took his leave.

Rin approached Sesshomaru.
“You were incredible, you know that?” she asked him.
"Really?" he looked at her "It seemed like you didn't want me to interfere, or am I wrong?"
"I was afraid you would take this opportunity to make fun of that woman, but I'm happy I was wrong."
“Does this mean I passed the test?” the demon questioned her.
"No, you lost that when you started doubting me; but don't worry: you are a good person, and you have proven that." she replied.
"How can you be so sure?"
“Let's just say I know, okay?”

Chapter Text

At the end of her conversation with Sesshomaru, Rin decided that it was late enough for both of them, so she invited her companion to exit the Bowl n' Chain.

"What can I say? I fear we have to stop here, Sesshomaru: it was a very fruitful day, but I'm sure that the best is yet to come!"
The dog demon rolled his eyes, but only a little, because he knew well enough that Rin could turn that gesture of impatience against him.
"You're not going to give up at all, are you?" he couldn't shy away from asking her "I'm warning you: this is a lucky day, something you'd better not get used to."
His interlocutor gave him a playful smile and passed a hand over her head, rubbing her left temple.
"You know, Maru-chan: in my opinion, deep down, you're even more enthusiastic than me!" she teased him "Now it will be better to go back to the study, so as to declare the day over" he concluded.
They walked towards the program headquarters, and Rin, at a certain point, remembered an important question.
"Ah, I almost forgot: your personal effects...?"
"I picked them up this morning, before being brought to you: I was sure your friend, Agent Yamaguchi, already notified it to you; she was so angry when she came to get me."
"Sango is a very protective person, it's normal for her to react like this; I'm just asking you not to make her nervous, do you think you can handle it?"
"If she does the same I might consider the hypothesis...also, after a while, teasing her completely loses its taste."
Rin knew she wouldn't get much more, but it was enough for now, so she nodded.
Silence accompanied them for the rest of the walk.
The two said goodbye and returned to their respective homes.

--‐‐‐-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once she the threshold of her house, Rin deeply inhaled the scent of the apartment which she rented: a nice two-room apartment only on a twenty minutes walk from the headquarters of the recovery program.
Once she had placed her bag on the kitchen table and taken her phone out of a side pocket, she rushed onto the sofa and opened the Duolingo app to try to collect enough points to avoid relegation: she had fought like a little dragon, to reach the Obsidian league, and would not allow anyone to chase her away, not even ChillieBeanie219, the cause of so many sleepless nights; no matter how hard Rin tried, she could never get rid of it, one way or another this user was always after her, like Javert with Jean Valjean.
'Come on! You better get a life, damn it!' she found herself thinking several times.
Around 6pm, when her stomach began to growl, the girl decided to start cooking; the recipe she would prepare was a savory spinach and ricotta pie that she had found on an Italian cooking site: just looking at it made her mouth water.
Preparation wasn't complicated, especially for someone as good as Rin, but it took time, and it might not be the best thing, especially at the end of a long day of work.
Despite everything, the result was truly satisfactory, and Rin could only thank nature for inventing pine nuts.
"I can't wait for tomorrow, Sesshoumaru" she found herself thinking aloud "You are a good person, I want to help you understand that, and I will, rest assured."
The promise was as much to him as to herself, and the words of that day came back to her.
"Your mother doesn't deserve to worry about her child."

———————————————————————————————

His father had wanted to buy that apartment so that travel would be more convenient during university, and Sesshomaru had stayed there afterwards as well.
The rooms must certainly have seen better times: in the kitchen, next to the refrigerator, laid a bottle of beer that was at least a couple of weeks old; he said he would throw it away, one day, but never told when that day would come.
In the bedroom, the chair on wheels was bent under the weight of the clothes placed on it, and the desk was an indistinguishable mess of socks, papers and pennies.
Sesshomaru's first concern was to check if there were any pretzels left in the cupboard: he didn't feel like going shopping, or even wasting money on a meal that he knew would arrive late.
Unfortunately for him, not even a shadow of those, but there were some focaccias, which would have been fine anyway.
Along with the bread, the demon decided he wouldn't mind some alcohol: a nice bottle of Jack Daniel, and there wouldn't be a trace of the bread left.
'You should avoid certain bad habits!' he heard his father address him; however Toga wasn't there, and Sesshomaru knew that it was a part of himself that had spoken.
"I can stop whenever the hell I want, okay? And if I say I can take it, then that's it, period!" he exclaimed, then took a generous swig.
'Our mother said so too, and look what happened to her!' growled his little and really irritated voice of reason 'But I understand you, you know: the apple never falls that far from the tree, is that what they say? Huh?'
The sentence hit him like a bucket of cold water, bringing to mind the only fight he had ever lost: an argument he had with his father the morning after a hell of a hangover; to make everything worse, that time that little bastard Inuyasha was also present.

Chapter Text

6 years earlier

As if controlled by a switch, Sesshomaru's eyes opened to the world…or at least that small, comfortable corner in it, better known as 'his college apartment'.
The day before, after spending the evening laughing (embarrassed) and joking (so to speak) with some classmates in a pub, he had decided to slip away silently and return home, and then end on a high note, getting drunk on his sofa in happiness and solitude, two concepts that he believed could overlap without any problems.
Of course, he could have accepted the advances of those skinny girls from the night before, who, in skimpy tops, had used the excuse of the cold to flash their tits in his face and whisper promises of succulent rewards in his ear; but that evening all he wanted was to stop feeling everything, to turn off the switch.
At that moment, he much preferred the company of Jack, Jim and Johnnie, rather than that of a possible Ritsuko, Ayumi or Kimiko.

With his senses still dull, he didn't immediately realize that someone was knocking on the door, and he dismissed the annoying noise with a moan of total disapproval; Disappointment began to mount when the troublesome visitor resumed his assault.
"I'm not interested, get away!"
The intimation seemed to have had its effect, because silence reigned again on that confused Saturday...by the way, what time was it?
'For information only,' the demon said to himself.
He rolled his eyes and reflexively felt his pockets, which, incredibly, he found: good, he had drunk enough to forget to undress, things happen.

The phone was on the table half a meter from the sofa, but he barely had time to grab it when the call alert went off: number not saved in the address book, suspected spam.
'Fuck you!' he cursed, closing the call.
He was starting to get really nervous, and it wasn't yet…10:00…10:01…1 new message.

He pressed the notification and found himself in front of an already open chat, which helped him understand who it was: Inuyasha, the cause of all his ills.
'SESSHOMARU, OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!'
The usual foul-mouthed one, there was no denying it.

He dropped the phone on the couch, stood up, making sure his clothes didn't fall off, and headed for the front door, where he leaned to look into the peephole: and the day was ruined.
"What are you doing here, what do you want?" he growled, once he pushed the door aside.
His interlocutor seemed to have even less desire than him to be there.
"I came with dad, but trust me I would like to be anywhere but here."
Here, exactly.
"And where is he now?"
"He's coming." the half-demon explained "Do you have the slightest idea how worried he was about you?"
"I've always said it hurts him, worrying about strangers." Sesshomaru retorted, in the act of closing the door.
“Strangers???” a voice boomed from behind the door, which the young demon reluctantly returned to its place.

"Sesshomaru, I don't remember raising such a scoundrel!"
"Of course you don't remember, Toga, since you preferred having fun with a slut and leave that task to my mother." the firstborn son replied.
"Hey, how dare you, you f…!" a furious Inuyasha exclaimed, as he prepared to throw a punch, which never landed.
"Inuyasha, be calm." Toga admonished him.
"But, dad..."
"No buts! Now's not the time, understand?"
"Ufff, Okay." the second son agreed.
'Who knows, maybe I can have a little fun.' mused the eldest son.

"My son, we were so worried, we didn't know what happened to you." Toga said in a grave voice.
"I assume you're referring to you and Izayoi, right?" Sesshomaru asked, putting a hand to his forehead: the headache hitting like a time bomb.
Toga was dumbfounded for a moment, aware of the direction his son wanted to take the conversation to.
"You know, your mother is going through a rough patch, but that doesn't mean…"
"So she wasn't upset?" Sesshoumaru interrupted.
"She didn't let it show, no."
"So she wasn't worried, but don't worry, it's not a bad time: she simply knows me, and she's definitely smarter than you and that naive partner of yours."
The eldest's gaze fell on his stepbrother, who was exuding irritation from every pore; after which it returned to rest on the parent.
"It's amazing how a half-breed who despises me knows me better than the one who brought me into the world, isn't it?"
Toga was trying hard to stay calm, but his son was making his job impossible.
Inuyasha, impatient, entered the apartment, throwing open the door and passing an annoyed Sesshomaru.

"Well, make yourself at home, right?"
From behind him, the young demon heard coughing.
"Holy shit, it's worse than a distillery in here!" Inuyasha exclaimed from the living room "I mean, if there had been a woman, at least I could have given you a high five, but this is really sad!"
Meanwhile, Toga had entered and was trying to overcome the discomfort that the stench of alcohol aroused in him.
Once everyone arrived in the living room, Sesshomaru, annoyed, did not miss the opportunity to respond in tone.
"Don't worry, next time I'll let you watch, half-breed."
Patience had a limit for everyone, and Toga had reached his.
"Enough is enough, Sesshomaru!" he thundered, "Apologize to your brother immediately!"
"Otherwise... what? Hmm? Will you grab me by the ear? Will you kick me out of this apartment? Will you disappear from my life again? I assure you that this would be a wonderful gift from you."
Wanting to give credit to the words from Washington Irving, according to which tongue becomes sharper the more it is used, Sesshomaru's mouth had to accommodate a damned razor; a razor with which he was ruthlessly stabbing his parent.
Toga remained petrified, hearing his son's words, and felt a deep sadness surrounding him.
Inuyasha walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go home, dad."
"No, son, we can't leave now."
"Do as he tells you" insisted Sesshomaru, who went to lie down on the sofa "The migraine is starting to make itself felt, and I don't want any more hassles under my feet."
The half-demon had had enough of being talked down to, so he decided to confront him.
"Looking like this you look more and more like your mother, Sesshomaru" he began "But I suppose it's normal: after all, the apple never falls too far from the tree."
"Inuyasha!" Toga burst out.

"What did you say?" Sesshomaru hissed threateningly.
His hands curled into fists and a guttural growl began to rise from inside him.
In his unconsciousness, Inuyasha repeated those words.
"Are you deaf, by any chance? The apple never falls far from…ugh!"
Before he could finish the sentence, he felt the ground slipping from under his feet and his back hit a wall.
His half-brother was pressing his left arm on his throat, but it was his gaze that terrified Inuyasha: red sclerae and blue pupils, fangs-like canines and a frightening growl.

As his prey tried to relieve the pressure on his throat, Sesshomaru punched Inuyasha square in the face.
A second followed, and so did a third.
Not happy, he pulled out the claws of his free hand and would have scarred his half-brother if his father hadn't intervened to stop him.
"SESSHOMARU, STOP, PLEASE!"
The son, still blinded by fury, dropped his half-brother to the ground so he could focus on the other target.
The latter had managed to block his right arm, so it would have been enough to wait for him to attack with his left and stop that too.
So it was, but even with his fists blocked Sesshomaru knew he was more resistant than Toga: it would have been enough to take him through exhaustion and he would have won.
However, in a stupid twist of fate, the migraine hit him, causing him to stagger backwards and cause him to rub his head.

While Inuyasha struggled to get up and ran a hand over his wounds, Toga approached his other son and took his shoulders.
"Son, are you okay?" he asked him, worried.
Despite this, Sesshomaru pushed his parent away and resumed attacking.
"Don't touch me!" he panted, feeling more weak and abandoned by the demonic aura.
He tried to catch his opponent, but he grabbed his wrists.
Then he began to flail his arms to try to free himself, yelling.
"You're just disgusting…" he began. "…a traitor…" he was almost there, he was sure of it. "...and a whoremonger!" and his hands were free again.
But Toga was quicker than his son, and punched him full in the face, making him fall to the ground.

Sesshomaru wanted to get up, but it was as if his body had been emptied of everything; he felt heavy and soft, and in addition to the blood he felt other drops running down his nose.
'Why am I crying?' he asked himself in shock.

Toga went to her other son and helped him get back on his feet.
"Are you okay, Inuyasha?"
“I've been better, Dad, but thanks,” his younger son reassured him.

Once resolved on that front, the man returned to the other son, sprawled on the ground after the blow he had received.
"Are you happy now, bastard?" Inuyasha teased him "Don't get up, or I'll give you the rest."
"Inuyasha!" Toga admonished, receiving a snort from her second born.
He then turned his attention to Sesshomaru's attempts to get back on his feet, before noticing the smell of tears coming from his direction: he felt as if his heart had been crushed.

"Sesshomaru, what's happening to you?" Toga asked in a small voice.
Trying to mask his tearful voice to preserve what little pride he thought he had left, Sesshomaru replied.
"You abandoned her, and look what happened: I will never forgive you, even if she begged me to."
"My son..."
"Stop calling me that" a threat that almost sounded like a plea "we two stopped being father and son when you left and destroyed everything."
Listening to the words of his firstborn, Toga felt his soul being torn apart.
He wanted to comfort him, but how could he do that if Sesshomaru believed he was the cause of all his ills?
"Sesshomaru, I'm sorry you're feeling this way, and I hope we can talk about it again when you've recovered; remember that I'll be there for you, if you'll let me."
The young man's breathing had become more regular, and his strength had returned enough to allow him to sit up.
He looked at his parent and invited him to leave without any particular inflections in his tone of voice: they had all had enough, it wasn't worth continuing.
The two visitors took their leave and closed the door.

When father and son reached the car, Toga spoke.
"Please, Inuyasha, drive the way back."
The boy turned and met his parent's gaze, streaked with tears.
Inuyasha's phone rang and lit up: 'Mom.'

"Hi, mom." the young man replied, his voice dull.
"Hello, my darling. How did it go, at Sesshomaru's?" Izayoi asked worriedly.
The boy took a deep breath, hoping not to worry his mother too much.
"Despite the cheekbone and the black eye, I think I came out better than anyone."
"What?!" the woman on the other end of the phone shouted. “He has you…”
'And good idiot: nobody reassures the way you do' he mentally reproached himself.
“Mom, let-, wait-, wait-, wait: let me explain the situation, okay?”
"How can I stay calm if you tell me he gave you a black eye?! And your father didn't do anything?"
“Mom, listen to me: I'm fine, I've been in fights before, and I can assure you that the marks won't stay long, okay?”
Izayoi nodded, letting his son continue the explanation.
"I gave in to Sesshomaru's taunts, and ended up insulting his mother." the half-demon explained.
What he would say next, his half-brother should never have known: he didn't want to give off the idea that he cared about him.
He would find out in due time.

Chapter Text

She would have spent that night too, in the office: the preparation for gala dinner aimed at promoting the project would not be completed by itself, after all; However, Kagura didn't have much else to do in the evening: she wasn't engaged in a relationship because, as she often repeated during high school and university, she wanted to be free as the wind; Kanna, her younger sister, had scolded her for this, but had also offered to be her 'tender sidekick' in case she found the right guy.
The two sisters were very close, and Kagura was very happy about it.
She decided to give her a call, hoping she wasn't busy studying.

"Hi big sis, how are you?"
"Hi Candy Kanna, I was thinking about you and decided to give myself a little respite from organizing the gala: how's university going?"
"Straight to the point as always, I see; if you're worried about my exams you can rest assured..."
"No, no, I wasn't referring to those" the older sister stopped her "Are you with friends now?"
"Let's say I'm the third wheel with Shippo and Soten, but they are very nice to me, and always invite me to spend evenings with them: today we went to the karaoke, and they spent the whole time listing reasons after reasons why anyone would be lucky to be engaged with me."
“Let those two know that I fully support their points!”
"Big sister, you too?!"
"You are a beautiful, thoughtful and nice girl: I would sign it too, if I weren't your sister."
"You say that as if, instead, you were..." Kanna began.
"...fell from the ugly tree, hitting head on every branch." her sister interrupted.
A hearty laugh erupted from the other end of the phone.
"But it's true: you also have a wonderful laugh!" Kagura insisted.
"Stop it, and think about finding yourself a boyfriend!"
"You know how it is, work takes up a lot of my time." Kagura justified herself.
"I wonder how you like it: didn't you say you wanted to be free as the wind? This project seems to chain you and absorb you completely." Kanna mused.
“Let's just say I see it as a chance to make a name for myself, without dad in the equation.”
"Ok, then. Now I'll say goodbye, I'll go back to the others. Don't worry too much, please!" Kanna greeted her.
"Okay, Kanna, I promise. Goodnight."
She really needed that phone call.
And now, back to work.

---------------------------------------‐-----------------------------------------

"I'm home!" Sango announced herself in the entrance corridor of her father's house.
"Hello, my joy! Come into the kitchen, so we can finish the preparations." her father invited her.
Sunday dinner was a special moment for the Yamaguchis, who gathered to share their weekly (mis)adventures and discuss work-related problems.
While Sango had followed in her father Tsutomu's footsteps and joined the police, Kohaku had attended the faculty of communication.

From time to time, Sango's partner Shiori also accepted her invitations and attended the dinner.

This Sunday was Kohaku's birthday.
"Sorry for the delay, but bakery made a mess with the cake and spelled the name wrong."
Instead of the ideograms for 'amber' they had used those for 'white tiger'...but perhaps the mistake would have been welcome, given the latest book his brother was reading, by Henning Mankell.
"Don't worry, Sango: Kohaku will understand."
Traditionally, it was established that dinner on the Sunday following a birthday would not see the participation of the birthday boy.

"Here's your favorite dish, little brother: Tokyo Monjayaki!"
The birthday boy opened his lips in a big smile and began to thank his sister and father.
"You are fantastic, for real!" he complimented "How was your week?"
They began to eat.
"On Thursday, at the station, two officers came to blows because one of them reported incorrect behavior by the other, who, in response, showed him four fingers." said the father, captain "I cannot accept that among my men there are such ignorant and undisciplined individuals, so I will have to take measures. And you, Sango?"
The young woman sighed and spoke.
"Miss Kazehaya's project is progressing, but a part of me can't stay calm, thinking about Rin: Friday a patient slammed her against a wall, and I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for me, Ginta and Hakkaku...I have faith in her, but she needs to be more cautious."
Kohaku started chuckling.
"Says the girl who usually walks on eggshells."
Tsutomu let out a loud laugh.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! How funny we are" commented Sango, before glancing at the kitchen "Who knows who will be left without a cake for their birthday?"
"Ugh, how touchy we are!" teased Kohaku "Even after I managed to convince the police chief to support the reclamation project, big sis?"
"Don't let it go to your head, not yet: we only managed to gain a little time, but there's still a long way to go."
"Like the coffee you like, right Sango?" her father asked.
Actually, the question was pertinent, given that the plates were now empty.
"Yes, dad" confirmed the woman "while you prepare the coffee, I'll bring the cake and some saucers to the table."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" his father and sister finished singing.
Kohaku blew out the two candles, and the evening continued peacefully, until it was time for everyone to go home.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It sure has been a while since our last motorbike ride, don't you think?" Ginta noted.
"You're right, Ginta: you even managed to surpass me a couple of times, so...a good three months." Hakkaku confirmed.
The first one tugged him a little, in playful disagreement.
“Thank goodness the biggest problem turned up spontaneously this week.” he thought "I hope that girl is okay."
"Sango must have eaten him alive" Hakkaku commented "By the way, do you want to go to Byakuya?"
"I really want to...whoever comes last pays for a drink?"
"Obvious!"

-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------

"Ayame, are you there?" called Koga "Ayame?"
He continued from the living room towards his companion's study, and found the door ajar, and heard two voices.
Her attention was then caught by a sheet of paper on the door: 'extraordinary session with a patient, I will be busy until 7pm'.
Kouga looked at the clock: 6.50pm...he wouldn't have died, waiting 10 minutes...and the new sofa was really comfortable.

"Hello, honey! Have you been waiting long?" the girl apologized, before sitting down on the sofa.
"No, don't worry, I just arrived" Koga reassured her "Rather, how are you? If they call you on Sunday it must be serious stuff."
Ayame crouched next to her boyfriend and nodded her head.
“I'm glad he called me on time, but it makes me feel bad: I feel like my work was all for nothing.”
His eyes had become dark, Koga understood the situation: working as a psychologist for adolescence, especially for such a sensitive girl, could prove trying.
"Don't say that, you always do what you can to help your patients, but you can't always follow them: their parents have to take care of that."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I do, puppy." he planted a kiss on her forehead "I'll start cooking, okay?"
"It's okay. We love you."
"Me too"
Koga stood up, and was already in front of the kitchen door when he stopped and turned around.
"W-wait: you and...who love me?"
Ayame rubbed her belly and gave her boyfriend a big smile.
"I think it wasn't indigestion, that one at the Italian restaurant."

Chapter Text

MONDAY

"Good morning, Sesshomaru! Are you ready for the day ahead?" was the welcome Rin gave him when she saw him walk through the office door.
Without uttering a breath, his interlocutor took a seat and approached the desk.
He had been upset when the memory of his father's punch had resurfaced, and had decided to drink a little alcohol, but nothing to worry about, just enough to ensure a dreamless sleep.
"Hey, is everything okay?" the sponsor asked curiously, noticing that the dog demon's response was slow in arriving.
Sesshomaru met his gaze for a moment, confused...then he understood.
"Ah, yes, yes, I'm fine," he began, before being overcome by a strong urge to yawn; despite having covered his mouth with his hand, the young man understood that he had better put on some mouthwash, because Rin's gaze was throwing knives.
"Have you been drinking?" the petite woman asked.
Analyzing the situation, Sesshomaru decided to take the opportunity to joke a little.
“The water ran out, and…” he chuckled.
"Sesshomaru, this is nothing to laugh about, do you understand? An addiction is always serious, it cannot be ignored."
"The problem with always wanting to pry into other people's lives, Rin" Sesshomaru retorted "is that you often risk appearing superficial due to hasty assessments: I'm not an alcoholic, I simply like alcohol, but I can also stop today."
His interlocutor rolled her eyes, and decided that she would not insist further... at least, not directly.
“If I have your attention now, I wanted to ask: have you ever had a pet?” he asked.
"Counting Inuyasha, only him."
“You know this cheap humor won't save you from my questions, right?”
"But I answered you, so don't lecture me." he replied.
The girl had to admit that her interlocutor was actually right.
"Okay, then: have you ever seen A STREET CAT NAMED BOB, Maru-chan?" he asked.
"I have vague memories, what is it about?"
Perfect! Being able to count on this fact, she could have turned the situation in her favor, omitting some details that would have warned Sesshomaru: Rin knew he wasn't very loyal, taking advantage of it to advance her own position, but she didn't intend to give up, towards the Sesshomaru's addiction...well, someone would have to address the elephant in the room, sooner or later.
"One evening, a young man, a street artist, receives an unexpected visit: a red cat, without any medal or indication of any owner; at first he gives it a drink and something to eat, thinking that then it would go away, but this cat has now decided that it will always remain close to him, whatever happens. So the boy starts taking it with him to 'work', and people start paying more attention to him than usual, bringing a little more joy into his life. "
From across the desk, the dog demon looked at her with a very unconvinced expression, and Rin feared she had made a misstep.
Finally, he spoke.
"Are you really convinced," he began, "that I would feel better if I had a cat? Or a canary, or an aquarium with fish?"
"Well, it's worth a try, right?" the young woman replied, relieved at not having been discovered.
"Your naivety would be almost endearing if it didn't get on my nerves."
Rin found herself holding back a giggle.
"There are still 58 days left, beyond today: we still have a long journey ahead, Maru-chan."
A snort arose from the interlocutor.
"It only takes 58 minutes to die," he muttered.
"What did you say?" the woman asked.
"Nothing, forget it."
"Well then: get ready, because we're about to go out."
When she reached the door, seeing that the demon was still sitting in his place, she knew she had to explain herself.
"What are you waiting for? They're already waiting for us, come on!"

__________________________________________________

"Inuyasha, I finished the book, would you be so kind as to put it away with the others from Lorenz, please?"
The sound of footsteps from the living room intensified, and five seconds later Inuyasha was at Miroku's side.
"Where's the spoon?" he asked.
His employer, due to the accident that had left him paralyzed, was unable to even move his arms, and therefore even reading a book required a certain amount of imagination: the solution came with a lectern that could be mounted on the wheelchair and a wooden spoon, the only utensil that didn't bother his mouth in the long term; obviously, however, this meant that he had to put the cutlery away, so he could talk...or spit it out.
“By the hydrangea pot, I think I broke my last record, hehe.”
Inuyasha headed towards the shelf with the flowers, and after picking it up he turned towards Miroku, evaluating the distance.
"Mh" he mulled, before reaching a conclusion "There's no denying it: it's a record!"
The caregiver's triumphal tone brought a laugh from the host.
However, more important matters needed his attention.
“Did Mushin warn you?” he asked.
“For the visit this afternoon, at 2.30pm?”
"Exactly, Kagura wants to keep me updated and discuss Sesshomaru's progress."
"Would it be a problem if I left you alone during the interviews?" Inuyasha ventured.
"I think you could help her on some points, actually; after all, you didn't argue that much last time."
"So I can't really refuse?"
"If it causes you such discomfort that you can't carry on the conversation..." Miroku began.
"It's just that I don't think I can be useless to her; this, and above all because I have already done everything I could to help her, but it was useless."
With a look, the host let him know that he understood the sentiment.
“Can I ask you as a favor?” he asked.
“I'll leave when I've had enough, okay?”
"Okay."

Chapter Text

"Well, this scoundrel is Roku: he arrived here with his jaw reduced to a disgusting mess due to the beatings he received from a coward."
The big black cat in his interlocutor's arms was eyeing him, grim, with a challenging air.
Sesshomaru stared back, feeling that if he hadn't done so it would have been worse: Rin's initiative, this visit to the feline oasis, had caught him off guard... and he would have to vent it on someone, sooner or later .
The feline began to growl, prompting the volunteer to tame him.
Rin did the same with his patient.
"Don't worry, Sesshomaru, it's just a kitten: I assure you, you'll like it." she reassured him.
In response, the dog demon gave her a glare, which only had the effect to make his sponsor burst in a laugh; There was no point in insisting, the result wouldn't have changed anyway.
"So, um...Rin warned me that she was coming with company." the woman began, intent on placing the cat on the ground, leaving it free to roam around the lawn.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Rumiko" she introduced herself.
“Fine, what do I have to do?” was Sesshomaru's short response, just to get the pleasantries out of the way.
"Well, it would really help me if you kept an eye on Roku, as he has a tendency to fight with other cats; when he was brought to us we noticed that he only had one testicle, and it turned out that the other one is undescended, but for sterilization..."
Before being dazed by the torrent of words that laid ahead, the demon took advantage of a short pause from the volunteer to silence her.
"Roku, as in the cat you just put on the ground and which immediately ran away?" he asked her in a somewhat ironic way.
The confused look he received twisted into a grimace, after Rumiko realized the situation.
"Oh, sorry, you're right: I really don't know where my head is today, you have to forgive me."
"Don't worry, Ru, we all get a little distracted from time to time" Rin reassured her "I'm sure that Sesshomaru will be able to find Roku again; after all, as a dog demon, it will be easy for him... "
So, she turned towards the convict.
"Right, Maru-chan?"

Not even 15 minutes had passed and he was already tempted by the idea of ​​leaving.
'What do you think you'll get by playing for probation? Toga has no intention to pay you another bail.'
"Shut up!" Sesshomaru hissed as he looked for the exit.
'I am a part of you, you just need to want my silence to get it.'
How annoying, the annoying voices of those two weren't enough, now his subconscious was also involved?
Luckily that annoying voice was drowned out by some cats, among which a large black one stood out.
Suddenly, he headed towards the furry mess to push Roku away from the others, and when he grabbed him he felt first one and then another paw planted in his forearm.
Not that it hurt him, but it was still annoying to feel scratched, which is why Sesshomaru growled in the direction of the feline, making it fall silent.

The cat, however, was not scared: that big man had something that intrigued him.
He retracted his claws and stopped flailing as he was slowly lowered to the ground.
"Do we understand each other?" he heard Sesshomaru say, before he walked towards the two women.
There was something behind it, and Roku wanted to find out... but it would be better to eat first: food time was approaching.

"Everything okay, Sesshomaru?" Rin rushed.
“It's just a cat, you don't really think it could hurt me?”
Immediately they were joined by Rumiko, all agitated.
"Damn, I'm really sorry Sesshomaru, I'm dismayed."
"Well, I would have gladly avoided it." he replied.
"Sesshomaru, she's apologizing, don't be so hard on her." Rin took it back.
"So what? I already told you it's nothing serious." he replied annoyed, before turning his gaze to the volunteer "So, if we agree, now I'll start keeping an eye on the cat."
And as soon as he finished speaking, he took his leave, in the direction of Roku.

__________________________________________________

"How are you, Miroku? I see your caregiver lowers the average age of his predecessors."
Kagura was his best friend, and Miroku liked to think the feeling was mutual.
"Hahaha, what can I say, I got tired of being around a mummy who was more of a mummy than me!"
The two friends laughed, forgetting for a moment about the other two people in the study.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Inuyasha Taisho, and I'm..."
"Mr. Kanagawa's caregiver, I imagine."
"Yeah" confirmed the half-demon while scratching his ears "What can I say? Not the best introduction, don't you think?"
"Well, don't worry, I've heard worse" admitted his interlocutor "I'm Sango Yamaguchi, and I had the, shall we say, 'pleasure' of meeting your brother."
"Ah, don't worry: I know from experience how much of an asshole he can be when he gets down to it."

"Inuyasha, would you come give me a hand, please?" the host called "Kagura and I were thinking to bring the conversation to the living room."
"Coming, Miroku!"
"Sango, join in too." was Kagura's invitation.
“Oh, right, I haven't had a chance to introduce myself yet.” echoed the quadriplegic "You know, miss, I'm always happy when a new face shows up. Miroku Kanagawa, it's a pleasure."
The officer approached and returned the greeting, albeit with a hint of coldness, which he noticed.

Once they reached their destination, the host cleared his throat.
"Okay, Kagura: I guess we can move on to the main topic now, don't you think?"
"I agree: you gave me a big problem, I hope you are aware of that."
"Correct me if I'm wrong: I had the opportunity to do a good deed, you needed candidates for your project... and here we are: I call this collaboration."
"You better stop mocking us here and now, okay?" Sango interjected "That bastard almost killed Rin, do you understand that?"
"Sango, calm down..." Kagura tried to soothe her.
"Not a snowball chance in Yomi: he must know that his actions also have consequences."
"I know very well, miss..." Miroku began.
"Officer, for you!" the policewoman corrected him forcefully, with a vigor that Inuyasha could only admire.
"Officer Yamaguchi, I apologize; what I'm trying to say is that I was made aware of what happened to Miss Noto, as well as the fact that she decided to continue following Sesshomaru Taisho, despite everything.
"But I am not deaf to your concerns, which is why today Inuyasha agreed to discuss with Miss Kazehaya to offer her as broad a picture as possible about her brother."
He turned his gaze towards the half-demon.
"Am I right, Inu?"
"Stepbrother." was the answer "but yes: for the rest you're right." After a short pause, the caregiver spoke again.
"But, could I ask you for a favor, Miroku?"
"Say it."
“I would like this conversation to remain between me and Miss Kazehaya, with permission.”
Trying not to be noticed by the policewoman, he winked at his employer.
Kagura noticed it too, and had to struggle to contain an amused grin.
"Well then you better get me out of the room first." Miroku invited.
"Sango, wouldn't you mind taking care of this, please?" Kagura asked "After all, you should go out too."
For a fraction of a second, the agent's eyes widened at that small betrayal, but he composed himself so as not to attract too much attention, and nodded.
"Okay, I'll do it."

Once they were alone, Inuyasha and Kagura locked eyes and started arguing.
"I know, it's not your favorite topic, it was clear the first time we discussed it; for this reason, Taisho..."
"Inuyasha is fine the same, there's no need for so much formality." Toga's second son reassured her.
"Okay, Inuyasha...what I was saying is that I'm going to let you do the talking: I want you to be free to say what you feel."
The half-demon indicated that he understood, and let himself go into a pause for reflection.
Once he gathered his thoughts, he cleared his throat and began.

Outside the living room, Sango had found a chair and sat down, trying to keep her distance from Miroku, but not enough to make it obvious.
They remained silent for a few minutes, when the host decided to speak.
"So your name is Sango, is it right, Officer Yamaguchi?"
His interlocutor mumbled what should have been a yes; then he snorted, and quiet reigned again.
"If I'm not being prying, how many years have you been working for the police department? You know, I've always admired your work, but I know that TV series aren't always completely reliable, so..."
"Look, we don't have to talk if we don't want to."
"That's true, Sango," he said, "but even you will admit that someone here has gotten off on the wrong foot, and I would like to remedy this little inconvenience, if you allow me to."

The policewoman met the gaze of the man in the wheelchair, and her face softened...

"So you're saying you acknowledge that you made a mistake before?"
Miroku looked at her, confused, but quickly realized.
“I was actually talking about you.” he replied naturally.

...but for a moment only.

"ABOUT ME???" Sango blurted out in disbelief "So it would be my fault?"
"How can I say...?" the young quadriplegic tried.
"It was to be expected from a rouged braggart like you, without a modicum of respect for those around him and ready to hide behind his own disability to say whatever he wants."
"Look, you misunderstood, dear Sango..." Miroku tried to reply.
"Oh, what would I have misunderstood? And let's hear, what would I have misunderstood about you saying that it's me who started off on the wrong foot?"
At that moment, Miroku bowed his head downwards, inviting Sango to follow his gaze: why did his interlocutor suddenly begin to contemplate his own... oh, my.
"Because I can't move."
Silence.
"You're not seriously going to tell me that you prepared this, are you?" she asked incredulously.
With an amused smile, his interlocutor spoke up.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for a suitable opportunity."
And Sango, who until that moment had wanted to break a chair over his head, found herself having to contain her laughter at that truly silly scene... but she decided to let herself go. And Miroku followed suit.
“You really are stupid, you know that?”
"To see a beautiful woman smile, that and more."

They spent the rest of the time getting to know each other better, with Miroku listening with extreme interest to Sango's sports stories and her adventures on the motorcycle and on the surfboard.
At a certain point, the door opened, and Inuyasha and Kagura came out.
"Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye, Sango. It was nice chatting with you." Miroku took his leave.
Sango said goodbye and headed towards Kagura, but not before leaving Inuyasha a business card.
"It was nice for me too, Miroku. See you."
"Of course: I really hope to see your smile again."
The policewoman felt her cheeks heat up, and she turned to Miss Kazehaya before the man in the wheelchair noticed.

When the two women were gone, Inuyasha approached Miroku.
"Her smile, hm?" the carer teased him.
"Absolutely, my friend: your insinuations hurt me."
"Look, I know you, you ugly pervert: do you think I didn't notice all those fleeting glances at her backside? Not to mention your excitement: I'm sure Kagura noticed it too."
The host chuckled, admitting he had been caught.
"But you still love me, right?"
Inuyasha patted him on the shoulder.
"Of course, you dirty bastard."

"I see you and Miroku were very into your conversation."
"Don't get any strange ideas, Kagura" Sango put her hands forward "I was just a little too quick to judge."
"Look, it doesn't bother me in the slightest: he's a good man, even though he may appear frivolous."
"But I'm telling you it's not like that!" the policewoman insisted.
"Yes, yes, I know...then, I would go now: the preparations for the gala require my presence."
"We will see each other."

__________________________________________________

The day had continued without a hitch, after the claws received from Roku: Sesshomaru had helped the volunteers with feedings, visits and baths, managing at the same time not to let too many words get out of his mouth.
Soon it was 4:30 pm, and Rin called him to tell him to say goodbye to Rumiko before returning to the office.

"Thanks for your availability, Ru! I knew I could count on you."
"You never turn down one more hand, let alone two." and turned to Sesshomaru "I hope that, despite the small inconvenience with Roku, the day went well."
The demon gave her a look full of boredom, before asking her: "Where is the cat?"

That man was different from the others, he understood this, but he wanted to see clearly; during the day he had tried in various ways to get closer to him, but for one reason or another he had always been thwarted or rejected.
Now he was near the entrance, so he was about to leave: he couldn't let such an opportunity slip away.
The plan was simple: drop from the roof of the structure and land in front of him; perfect...if only another woman hadn't noticed him.

"STOP, NO!" he heard her shouting "stay where you are, be a good boy, okay?"
Rumiko and Rin rushed in the direction of the scream, and Sesshomaru joined them shortly after, annoyed by that unexpected event.
To his great surprise, however, the one responsible was the very feline he was looking for.

"Easy, Roku" ordered the volunteer who had shouted "Don't be stupid, okay?"
The cat peered down, and recognized his target...it was time to pounce.

"What the hell is wrong with that cat? He seems crazy." Rumiko commented.
Sesshomaru's amber eyes met Roku's, and he knew what was happening.
"He wants to impress me."
Both the volunteer and Rin turned towards him.
"He's been buzzing around me all afternoon, hoping to receive my attention" he explained "I admit that I wasn't expecting this one."

The feline, not caring much about other humans, jumped from the roof in the direction of its 'prey'.
Once he landed, completely unharmed, to the amazement of the volunteers, he headed towards Sesshomaru.
"But how...?" Rin stammered "So cats really always land on their paws."

While the cat was purring and rubbing his pants, those words hit Sesshomaru.
The memories linked to his mother resurfaced, in particular the one in which she explained to him the reason for her nickname, to which he was very attached.

Sometimes, nostalgia can be a really bad scoundrel, but when it wants it is able to make you smile starting from the most singular situations.

Chapter Text

"What were you thinking about, earlier?" Rin inquired during their ride home.
"Mh?" the dog demon grumbled as he raised his head from the window and looked at his sponsor.
“When Roku jumped off the roof and came over to purr at you…what made you smile?”
To say or not to say?
After all, in the last three days they had gone from her being slammed against a wall to the feline oasis, through a day at the bowling alley and a naughty boy angry at his mother; so the answer was obvious.
"How silly such displays are: I won't come back here, he will have already removed me, and soon it will be as if nothing had ever happened."
Perplexed, Rin tried to continue the conversation.
"Don't you think it's a little demanding, burdening an animal with such complicated reasoning?"
"No," he replied tersely, "in fact, I think you should start giving them more credit, instead of wallowing in your arrogance."
“Strong words, here: Did I make you angry about something I said, by any chance?”
"Not more than usual, luckily for you."
Sesshomaru looked out the window again, hoping that his interlocutor had decided to throw in the towel.
Poor deluded man.
"If this is the situation, why do you keep putting on a good face, Maru-chan?"
The passenger shrugged.
"I don't seem to have much of a choice: either I adapt to this program, or I go back inside, and the company there isn't exactly the best" he explained, explaining the situation, "not that the one I find myself in now is that much better, but at least it's more pleasing to the eye."
The driver let out a small laugh.
"Well, thanks: it's comforting to know that I'm more beautiful than a bunch of big men and rough, sinewy demons."
"It wasn't meant to be a compliment, don't get any strange ideas."
'You are doing this on purpose, aren't you?' his subconscious broke in, 'you could have been talking about how nice it is to stroll around the city, or swig whiskey from the bottle, and instead you wanted to praise her and her nice ass.'
Irritated by that annoying insistent voice, Sesshomaru snorted resentfully.
"Don't worry, I know: you only report the facts, and you're not the type to indulge in such frivolities...one little step at a time, okay?"

Once they arrived at the program venue, it was 5:15 pm.
Once out of the car, the two said goodbye.
"So...same time tomorrow, I guess." Rin began.
"I'm afraid so." shared Sesshomaru "Hoping it won't be like today."
"Come on, don't sulk: it was a nice day, and at the end you even smiled... it was a day worth living."
"Why do you say that, my little nuisance?" he addressed her, standing at 6' 4".
"No, because Charlie Chaplin said so" she replied, amused "And know that I might be taller than that, but if I have to choose between stiletto heels or keeping my low 5' 3", then I prefer to safeguard my feet."
After that, she approached the demon, inviting him to bend down, and, on tiptoe, whispered in his ear: "And then... you like me better this way, don't you?"
Sesshomaru stiffened: how the hell had such an idea crossed her mind?
Immediately he heard her start laughing.
"Ahahahahah, look at the face you made!" she pointed out, before bending over laughing, holding her stomach.
This had truly been an affront, but what worried Sesshomaru most was the saliva he felt in his mouth.
Recomposing himself, he gave Rin a final farewell before returning home.
"It's not funny, okay? Don't do that again." was the warning with which he took his leave.
"At your orders, Maru-chan!" the woman replied amusedly, staging a military salute.

Once in the office, Rin got to work filling out the forms relating to the day which had just passed; she took a coffee break when a phone call came from Kagura.
"Hello, boss! Need anything?" she trilled.
"Hello to you too, Rin. No, anyway, I just wanted to ask you a favor."
"Shoot."
"Write down the number I'll send you via message, I thought it might come in handy." Kagura instructed.
“Can I have a clue about that?” Rin wondered.
"No," said the other shortly.
"Please?"
"I already gave it to you."
"I would need many things, starting with a nice boy." said the sponsor before sipping the coffee from the machine.
"What, a boy? I was sure that you and Kohaku..."
"No ma'am: let's just say he made it very clear when he told me he had two sisters, an older one and a younger one."
"And now I would like this call to end up digging a grave for me, eheh." Kagura giggled awkwardly.
"No, don't worry, I don't feel bad anymore...and then don't you have to prepare the gala?"
"Look, don't tell me about it: this evening I brought my work home, at least I'll be able to take a shower, because I need it so much." he complained "And then I miss my bed."
"I understand you. Now I'm going back to write up the day's report: until now everything is going well, but I'll keep you informed so as not to add to your worries."
"Thank you, Rin, I wish everyone was so considerate."
And so the call ended.

The number was from Tokyo: (03) 7053-9146
It wasn't too late, 6.15pm, so she could try calling.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Maybe the owner was still working, who knows.
Four.
Rin was already about to end the call when he felt her phone vibrate.
"Hello?" a female voice replied, most likely belonging to a woman in her forties, the young woman ventured.
"Yes, hello, my name is Rin Noto, and..."
And now how could she continue? Kagura hadn't told her if she had also previously spoken to the owner of the number, informing her that she would receive another call.
"Don't worry." putting hands forward could have been a good start "I have no bad intentions, they just told me to call his number because it could help me."
'My goodness, how embarrassing, this is not like me' she thought, uncomfortably.
On the other end of the phone, however, the woman was laughing.
"Don't worry, Miss Noto: Inuyasha, my son's half-brother, warned me that you would call me."
WAIT.WAIT.WAIT.
'I-s-st-st-am I talking to Kimi Gobodo? That Kimi Gobodo? Kimi-fucking-Gobodo herself? Ok, Rin, calm down and stay calm: you are a professional, first of all, not a little girl in the throes of shopping mania...but those clothes: designed by Daedalus, woven by Arachne, worthy of Aphrod...'
"Excuse me, are you still online?" the stylist asked.
'Rin, for heaven's sake: focus!'
"Mh? Yes, yes, excuse me. First of all, I wanted to tell you that I love your clothing lines...but that has nothing to do with it, excuse me again...so, so, so...right, your son, your son: is there anything you would like to know?"
A short break.
"Yes, like any worried mother." admitted Kimi "But first I would like you to accept my apologies: I learned that my son attacked you, and you have no idea how ashamed knowing this makes me feel."
Rin felt touched by the exchange she was having, a feeling made worse by the fact that she had yet to recover from the shock of talking to a real celebrity.
"Mrs. Gobodo, thank you, really, but you don't have to worry, I'm serious" and, to dispel any hesitation "To be honest, your son got me out of a bad situation, years ago."
"What are you talking about?" the interlocutor asked, confused.
"We were in the same bar one night and he saved me from a slimy guy who wouldn't take NO for an answer."
Kimi felt sad: Sesshomaru had never told her about such an episode.
Meanwhile the girl on the other end of the phone started talking again.
"You know, your son cares about you a lot, far more than he cares about himself or anyone else."
"I know, but it doesn't do him any good: I tried to explain to him that he has to move on, but he doesn't want to listen to me; it's as if he's stuck, but I'm afraid I don't know when it really happened."
This could be interesting: if she wanted to help Sesshomaru, Rin needed all the necessary clues, ones that the person concerned would never have been willing to confide in her.
"Why do you say that? Not to be nosy, but Sesshomaru talks very little about himself, and when he does it's always in relation to you or his father, so..."
Kimi exhaled a sigh of disappointment.
"He has been like this for years, ever since the juvenile court recognized his father as the most suitable parent to take him into custody: he speaks little, and when he does he is suspicious, repulsive."
At that moment, an epiphany flashed through Rin's head.
“What if we looked for some ground where he could feel more comfortable?” she suggested.
"I don't follow you, miss." recognized the stylist.
"By any chance, could you tell me if one of your boutiques is looking for staff?"
A simple plan, but very promising: much of the salesperson's job is based on communication, after all.
The young woman couldn't have known it, but her interlocutor was now smiling: it was rare for Kimi to find an understanding so quickly, but that girl knew how to do it, she had to admit it.
'Not everyone can come up with such a plan with so few elements...it's worth a try.'
"Of course, I'll let you know." she replied.
"Seriously?"
"Mothers would do everything for their sons, Miss Noto: you better remember that."
"I don't doubt it." Rin agreed.
Checking the clock, it was almost 6.30pm.
"Then I greet you, Mrs. Gobodo, thank you for your availability."
"No, young lady: thanks to you"
And she hung up.

Chapter Text

What the hell of reaction was that?!
He couldn't remember ever having his mouth watering for a woman; the opposite had always happened for as long as he could remember.
Back home, he headed for the fridge in search of alcohol, but his more rational side stopped him: if he drank again, Rin would notice, and it would be hassles he didn't want to deal with.
'Hey, Maru-chan! What's wrong with you? Are you ashamed to say that you appreciate a nice bottom? It's natural to make compliments, you won't have no eternal damnation.' his subconscious taunted.
"Shut up!...fuck! I don't want to listen to you."
'What are you afraid of? We both know you're no longer a horny high schooler, no one thinks otherwise.'
And in that moment a sweet memory of revenge resurfaced in his memory.

_______________________________________________

Gravure magazines had never aroused his interest, neither in the past nor now, and this had intrigued his high school friends, some of whom were convinced that he might be homosexual.
When this rumor began to circulate in the institute, the other students began to look at him with suspect: a fair portion of the female population complained about some kind of divine injustice, envying their male peers, who, on their part, were more than happy, facing the prospect of no longer having to fear interference from a rival such as him.
Sesshomaru had never been the type to pay attention to gossip, and the situation would have continued like this, if only someone hadn't said it out loud.

During a chemistry class, the teacher called Funakoshi, his kind and awkward classmate and a bat half-demon, to answer.
"What is the name of the simplest organic compound belonging to the ketone group?"
With her characteristic hesitation, the girl cleared her throat to prepare her answer; after thinking for a few seconds, he replied.
"It's Propanone, Professor Asaba!"
The teacher frowned, confused.
"Could you please, repeat the answer, miss?"
"P-p-pro-propanone, Professor Asaba." the student repeated.
Then the teacher shook his head in denial.
"It's Acetone, young lady; you'd better start studying, or you risk ending up on the street."
The student felt embarrassed and wanted to bury herself.
From the center of the classroom a laugh arose that Sesshomaru identified as that of Horikoshi, a decidedly chatty fox half-demon.
"You must f-f-forgive you, professor: it is known that bats sleep during the day."
Her joke was followed by those from other students in the room, except one.

“Since when is there a need to correct right answers, Asaba?” Sesshomaru asked, earning the teacher's attention and a look from his classmates.
"It's PROFESSOR Asaba, Taisho; you better remember that."
So profoundly naive: he thought he could bring Sesshomaru to give up with such a pathetic tone; even his mother's feigned threats as a child were more fearsome.
"Why don't you start by helping me remember it?" he retorted, "What chemistry teacher worth his salt can afford to forget the IUPAC nomenclature, according to which the name reported by Funakoshi is correct?"
The professor was about to reply, but it was as if the words had gotten stuck somewhere on the way to his mouth.
He checked the textbook, and he didn't like what he saw at all: he had made a mistake, and Taisho's intervention had made it clear and exposed; he had been exposed, and his student was unassailable.

"Oh, look, Sesshomaru defending someone!" Horikoshi pointed to him, speaking loudly "Did you see? I told you he is not gay at all! Everyone celebrating or despairing because they believed this nonsense, but in the end I was right!"
All the students found themselves speechless, while the professor was still searching for a way to recover the situation with dignity.
The student who had corrected him in front of everyone began to chuckle, raising his tone enough for everyone to hear.
'Why is he laughing?'
'It's not like him!'
'Aren't you feeling well...?'
"Hey, may I know what amuses you so much?" Horikoshi snapped.
Sesshomaru stopped, reached down towards his backpack and took out a piece of foolscap paper and two small files; after which he got up and began to read one of them.
If they wanted war, he would give it to them.

Price list:
¥1,200: shorts and crop top (3 photos)
¥1,800: Lace underwear (3 photos)
¥2,000: panties only (3 photos)
2,200 yen: how mom made me and how you dream of me (2 photos)
+300 ¥/photo: if you want to see me in a particular pose, leave a request, and I will fulfill it, ;)
...
What can I say? Not bad at all, Horikoshi: your organization is absolutely remarkable, congratulation!"
“You have no proof: I could be the victim, from what you said.”
"I suspected it, since this paper fell out of Kusanagi's backpack, but you see: on the first side there is the price list... on the fourth there are the customers... and on the second and third, which you joined with a stapler, there is a 'goal list'... and I highly doubt that Kusanagi would want a floral bikini from the Cotazur-Gobodo collaboration, am I wrong?"
The boy questioned tried to show calm and confidence, but he didn't understand that it would be of no use.
"I just found it on the floor, I wanted to give it back to her, but I never bought these photos, I swear!"
Sesshoumaru laughed.
"You're right, you never bought those photos; after all, who needs to pay when you can blackmail?"
He resumed reading.
"It is written in your handwriting:
'I managed to wrest 15% of the revenues from Horikoshi.
She and those who pay her are pathetic: they are dissatisfied with their girlfriends and then settle for a few photographs... if only they knew that a hand under her skirt is enough to make her wag her tail'
How do you explain this?"
Sesshomaru was angry, and had learned very well to be ruthless.
He began to list the names on the fourth side, one by one; at the end of the play, only two students and the professor, who had disappeared, were innocent.

The fox was speechless with embarrassment and red as a ripe tomato.
A buzz began to arise around her, with those laughing at her, those commenting on the story and those judging her as no good.
"Enough." she begged in a low voice, cringing in her desk "Stop it, stop it!"
However, no one seemed to listen to her.
"Actually, you're not that much better than her," Toga's son commented.
Leaving the paper aside, he began to leaf through one of the two booklets: GIRLS REVIEW
"Keiko doesn't have any qualities at all: she's tall, flat as a table and keeps her hair short; she looks like my brother, unlucky whoever ends up with her as a girl." read "signed: Ryuji"
Everyone's gaze turned towards him, who denied having ever written anything like that.
"That little bitch Futaba thinks she can beat me with Taki? We'll see, after I destroy her beautiful hair" the dog demon started again "signed: Sachi"

"TAISHO!!! Come with me to the principal, now!" Professor Asaba exclaimed, accompanied by the principal himself.
Silence had returned in the classroom, but young Taisho had other plans: he took the two booklets, GIRLS RANKING and VARIOUS SLAWS, and threw them in the middle of the classroom.
"Happy reading everyone!"
the other students threw themselves at the targets, and Sesshomaru took advantage of the chaos generated to grab Funakoshi and exit through the other door of the classroom; the girl was a little disconcerted, but followed her 'kidnapper'.

"We escaped them" was the reassurance that Sesshomaru made to his classmate.
"So, t-they're not following us anymore, r-right?" she asked.
Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder and confirmed her.
"Thank goodness" was the last word he heard before receiving a loud slap on his left cheek.
"What the hell were you thinking? Why would you do something like that?" he heard the bat girl shouting at him while she was trembling like a leaf "A-am I there too, among those gossips?"
"You have received the most of all, but you have never written a single one... why?"
"Because I don't like talking bad behind people's back; and saying mean things has never made me feel better." the girl replied.
“Now answer my question: Why are you risking a suspension for me?”
Sesshomaru looked away.
"I'm not doing this for you, you vapid half-demon." he attacked her. “I just wanted to see how you would react to hearing what you really think about each other.”
"Then why did you take me away? Shouldn't I be there listening now?"
He had to grant her that she was right on this point.
"You're not to blame for your stutter and shyness, that's all." a short pause "just as I'm not to blame if models in magazines pose for Kimi Gobodo."
He never told anyone, both to avoid appearing weak and to avoid worrying his mother, but that was the reason why he wasn't interested in those magazines.

Those words, as simple and already heard as they were, made Funakoshi very happy: even if Sesshomaru would never admit it, she understood that he had worried about her, and now he had also shared a secret with her; she wanted to thank him, but at the same time make him feel better, yet no ideas came to mind, except maybe... come on, where did she think she was, in kindergarten?
She reached for the cheek she had hit, but before she could give it a peck Sesshomaru had turned to her, surprised; and now, instead of magenta stripes, his lips were in his path.
That day would have rightfully entered the list of the most embarrassing days of the bat-demon's life.
It lasted a breath, because Sesshomaru was gone in a flash.

“What the hell are you doing, you fool??”
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to," Funakoshi stammered, "I was m-m-aiming for your cheek, and you t-turned around, and-and then I...ah, I'm really sorry, just pretend, f-pretend it didn't happen, okay?"
Sesshomaru hated this kind of initiative, but a part of him just couldn't be angry with that cute and shy half-demon girl.
He hugged her, reassured her one last time, and said goodbye.

_______________________________________________

Over the years he had forgotten that girl's name, but perhaps it was for the best: it would certainly have driven her mad, given the bad habits he had then developed; and also, bottles of alcohol are less susceptible than people.

_______________________________________________

"It's been a while since we went to the cinema last time, right Yashy?" the girl said on tiptoe, before planting a kiss on his lips.
"Yeah, honey. Are you ready for the movie?"
Miroku had wanted to give Inuyasha the evening off, reassuring him that Kaede would take care of him until the next day.
Then the two lovebirds wanted to have a night at the cinema, and watch the new movie that Izayoi had recommended to them: THE WHALE, by Darren Aronofsky.
There was still half an hour left before the start, so they had decided to go and get some snacks at the theatre bar.

"Good evening, we would like..." Kagome began.
"I couldn't care less: my shift is over, wait for my colleague to arrive." the cashier interrupted.
"Huh?"
"I said I'm off duty, sweetie: either you and your boyfriend wait for my colleague or you can leave, as far as I'm concerned."
Inuyasha had never been a champion of patience and calm, but he had had the opportunity to study the situation, and he made a decision.
Once he found the container full of corn kernels, he lifted it up and dumped it on the head of the idiot who was disrespecting Kagome and him.

"HEY, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING???" the cashier bursted out.
Inuyasha looked at him and replied.
"I'm wearing a cob!"
The other customers started laughing, and the cashier must not have taken it well, because he tried to hit Inuyasha with his fist.
Unfortunately for him, the half-demon stopped his punch and slammed his arm against the counter to block it; finally, to make his opponent give up, he showed his teeth, as if to ask 'would you like to take the risk?'.
The answer, as expected, was NO.

After 2 minutes, and with applauses from the other customers as a soundtrack, Inuyasha and Kagome had finally managed to get their popcorn and drinks.

The movie flew pleasantly, between happy moments and other melancholic ones, but the ending left all the spectators moved.
Kagome knew her boyfriend, and knew that his nose must have been filled with the smell of tears from the other people, but he was unusually quiet (not like her, who resembled a fountain).

"Everything okay, Inuyasha? You seem far away."
"No, no, don't worry: I was just lost in my thought."
"Is it about work? Miroku gave you the night off, remember?"
To be honest, the man was thinking about his father, for whom watching this movie must not have been easy.
But the atmosphere was so beautiful that it would have been a shame to ruin it.
"Hehe, you're right, love. Shall we go home?"
"Okay, but I'll drive." Kagome announced.
"Not even jokingly: first of all, your eyes are still teary, and then..."
"Then what?" she asked curiously.
"Nothing." the boyfriend quickly replied.
"Nonono, now I'm curious." he protested, playfully grabbing one of the canine ears. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"
Toga's son burst out laughing: when his girlfriend threw herself into these childish scenes she was absolutely adorable, and had a lot of fun.
In an instant he moved to her ear and whispered.
"You know that I love you like crazy, right...?"
"Mhm, yes?"
"...but you drive like a snail."
"How, please?" she attacked again.

The next morning, as beautiful as both sex and cuddles had been, Inuyasha found the strength to break away from Kagome and get out of bed.
Once he got ready and had breakfast, he took out his phone and sent a message to one of his contacts: TODOKE.

"The film was very good: it was a bit about me and a bit about you. XO"

Once he had sent the message, he headed to Miroku's house.

Chapter Text

TUESDAY

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rin Noto." she introduced herself to her interlocutor, a small green kappa with big yellow eyes, sitting at a desk.
"Ah, right: Mrs. Gobodo said that you would be coming today; give me your CV, I'll take a look at it when I can, okay?"
The young human woman's confused expression and the prolonged silence after her request puzzled the little demon quite a bit.
"Excuse me, miss, is there something you don't understand?" he tried.
"Um, actually mister..." Rin's gaze wandered around the office, looking for some clue to the kappa's name; convinced she had found it, she decided to check "...Jaken, right?"
"Jaken is my name, but to you It is Mr. Rokudo." the little demon pointed out.
"My bad, Mr. Rokudo; I'm not actually here looking for a job, but I'm sure Mrs. Gobodo has already explained the situation to you, right?"
"She said to remove the job advertisement for this shop and to wait for Rin Noto, nothing more" explained Jaken "Even though twenty years have passed since I started working for her, as a secretary, I must admit that her instructions are always reduced to the bare bones, without ever giving any explanation; in the end I decided to rely on my intuition, and I must say that I have become quite good over time."
Rin was trying not to laugh, partly because she found him funny and partly because she was sorry to have to disappoint him.
"Well, you see: I'm actually here just so as to supervise another person, who is the one who will have to work here today." she expounded, before turning towards the door "Come on, come along: it's not polite to make people wait."

A few seconds later, the door opened and Sesshomaru entered and greeted the kappa, albeit with a rather listless tone.
"Good morning." he said, practically exhaling, that one word.
Jaken didn't need introductions to understand who he was in front of: those long white hair, those stripes on the cheeks, those amber eyes,...his boss's son had grown up, it seemed.
"Sesshomaru, how much you have grown." he couldn't help but say, "What brings you here? Are you by any chance going to help the lady take care of the business on the financial front?"
“F-f-financial?” Rin interjected, confused by the little green demon's words "Nono, he will be here today as a clerk; was Mrs. Gobodo really this cryptic?"
"The wolf loses its fur, but not its vice." Sesshomaru commented, disconcerting the others in the room "Don't worry, Jaken: I have some memories about my mother talking about how much fun it was to torment her secretary."
The little kappa swallowed, worried.
If the advert for the position of financial advisor was still needed and he had canceled it, it would have been a long day, spent racking his brains over what death he would die.
“But you obviously know how to do your job, if you haven't been fired after all this time, then cheer up.” he heard Sesshomaru's continuation.
In fact, it made sense...and Jaken was already feeling better.
"Yes, er, so: to be a sales assistant you need to know how to inform customers, be willing to lend them a hand and know which items are in stock or not."

Rin shifted her attention from the kappa to the dog demon.
"We could start with customer support, what do you think Maru-chan?"
If a look could kill, the woman would be in trouble.
Jaken noticed it too, commenting with a nervous laugh.
"Well, I'd say you inherited toughness too, from your mother." he began "But they say practice makes perfect, right Miss Noto?"
The woman confirmed, and assured the little green demon that there would be no problems.
"I hope so; now, if you would excuse me, I have to take care of all the paperwork behind this initiative, so you can go."
And so it was.

Once out of the office, Sesshomaru had the expression of someone who expected an answer...an answer which had to be convincing, at the very least.
"When were you planning to tell me, Noto?"
"What?" she asked.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, so don't try to play dumber than you already are, is that clear?"
"The smart one spoke." Rin whispered.
"What?!"
"Nothing, just a thought out loud."
Sesshomaru attacked again.
"Who gave you permission to call my mother and organize this foolish antics?"
"I didn't know I needed your permission to make a phone call" the human woman taunted him "And your mother was perfectly free to refuse my call, but she made her choice and accepted it; is that enough for you?"
"Not at all; also because may I know how you got my mother's private number?"
"Does it matter?"
"A lot, to me." Sesshomaru insisted.
"Kagura passed it to me: she must have organized a meeting with your father..."
At those words, the dog demon began to growl menacingly, giving her a ferocious look.
"...with Toga Taisho, you're right, and he will have probably given her his phone number; I don't know, anyway, she didn't tell me and I didn't ask."

After a brief pause, his interlocutor decided he had had enough, and began walking towards the exit.
"I'm leaving, I'm not going to lend myself to this pathetic little show; come up with something for Jaken and..."
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Rin interrupted.
"You set me up."
“I didn't set you up, I did you a favor,” she corrected him.
Sesshomaru stopped and turned around.
"We both know that you know the Gobodo catalogue like the back of your hand: your mother seems to be the only person in this world towards whom you can feel sincere affection, and I won't believe it for a spare second, that you care so little about her work."
He couldn't contradict her on this.
"I brought you here because I wanted you to feel more comfortable, to feel closer to home; so please," Rin begged, resting her clasped hands on her left cheek, "Help me help you, okay?"
After careful consideration, Sesshomaru came to the conclusion that, if he didn't accept, this annoying little pest would still bother him for the rest of the day... and the prospect didn't excite him in the slightest.
The best solution was to give up and bear it.
"All right." he huffed, before heading to get his uniform.

Two human women, in their mid-twenties, entered the shop and were fascinated by the numerous kimonos, shirtdresses and shirts on display.
The dancing begins.
"Good morning, ladies, how can I help you?" Sesshomaru asked them.
One of the two, with an olive complexion and black curls, giggled at the sight of the handsome demon, and responded playfully.
"We came here to shop, but now we're more interested in your number, cutie."
It's true that the customer is always right, but there are times when it's right to put your hands on things.
Some frivolities he just couldn't bear.
"I appreciate the try, but you are not my type." she looked at the other woman, slightly shorter and with long blond hair "And the same goes for your friend."
The two looked at each other, and for a moment it was as if they had forgotten about him... only to return to the charge.
"Oh, I see: your boyfriend must be very lucky."

Sesshomaru didn't know whether to be surprised, disappointed or resigned; it was true that several of his male peers had expressed appreciation towards him, but he wasn't convinced he was giving the idea away that much. He didn't expect his interlocutors to understand what he meant, this was also true, but at least they didn't start from the assumption that not finding them attractive necessarily meant disgusting women.
"Maybe you're right." he tried to dismiss the topic "Back to you: were you looking for something in particular?"
The first, the one with the olive complexion, spoke first.
"I'm looking for a kimono that would be good for a night out, but that doesn't scream 'ostentatious' from the rooftops, if you know what I mean."
Sesshomaru had no idea, but he still felt sufficiently relieved, after the comment about his hypothetical better half; therefore he decided to make an effort to be polite.
“Help me understand, please.”
"Oh, of course: you see, the truth is that I have a gokon with my friend, and I would like to appear elegant, but without giving the impression of being unapproachable." the customer explained.
"Maybe I know what you're looking for." the demon replied, in a neutral voice.

Before walking towards the dress he had in mind, he turned his gaze towards the other woman, the shorter one.
"And what about you? What would you wish for yourself?" he asked.
“I-I would like…” she trailed off, unsure how to proceed, “is there anything you think would valorize me?”
Why had she asked him such a question? Did she really want to entrust the fate of her evening to a clerk who, even if she didn't know it, despised her? Sesshomaru didn't really want to believe it, but he couldn't say he had no idea either, because he knew full well that it wouldn't be nice to say, and Rin, who was pretending to sort out the piles of clothes, would throw it in his face.
“I'm not the right person to ask, but I can tell you're petite, which is a good place to start, and you have a delicate appearance, which is why a floral pattern would suit you too.”
He hoped this little flurry of words had kept her busy enough for him to check to see if there was still an S-size example of a blue shirtdress he'd glimpsed on the way in.

To Sesshomaru's immense relief, both items were there, each with the right size for their respective customer.
The first was a black floral kimono with red roses, white camellias and lilies; he remembered seeing his mother draw it, and he was pretty sure she had called it PERSEPHONE, like the wife to the Greek god of the underworld. Size M.
The second was a blue shirtdress covered with flowering branches; the name of this other one, if he wasn't mistaken, was STENDAHL. Size S.
The women tried them on, were satisfied and thanked Sesshomaru for the assistance given to them.

The day continued, among more or less kind people, until closing time, and Jaken was happy that nothing serious had happened, given that he had probably already miraculously saved himself from a warning from the boss.

"I'll let the lady, your mother, know that your day went well." he greeted them, before getting back to work to settle the last issues.
"I saw you very dedicated today; you see that you had to trust me?" Rin teased him in the car.
"I've only helped a few people choose a dress that they will wear two or three times and then treat as a relic, leaving it to gather dust in a closet, or as a dressing gown to sit at home and doing some binge watching; it's nothing to be proud of."
"You know, you almost sound sorry, from your tone."
"The aspect I least appreciate about clothing is the sale: there is no longer the magic that distinguishes the moment of creation; in its place I only see the discomfort in seeing one's work end up in the hands of someone who believes they deserve it just because they can afford it." Sesshomaru replied.
A few minutes passed before Rin broke the silence again.
"Why did you drink last night?" he questioned "And don't try to say you were bored, okay?"
"Do we have to broach the subject? I've been good, as you and Kagura want, and in all of this I still haven't received an apology."
"Again? I already told you that I...wait, hey: don't change the subject!"
"And you better learn to trust me: trust can't be one-sided, right?" retorted the dog demon.
"But I have to report something like this, do you understand?"
"But you won't do it, because you should have already done it yesterday, but it wasn't like that."
"We're talking about your good here, Sesshomaru, this is no joke."
"Oh, come on, you say it as if anybody cared."
“Why do you say such a sad thing?” Rin asked.
“Because that's the way it is, don't try to psychoanalyze me.”
"Sooner or later we'll have to talk about it, whether you want it or not; or would you rather go back to prison or abandoned by yourself? You said it yourself, that you even prefer my company rather than theirs."
Without them realizing it, they were already in front of the project headquarters.
In the parking lot in front of the building, besides them, there was a police NISSAN GTR.

"Hi Rin." Shiori greeted.
"Shiori, what are you and Sango doing here?"
"Well, we were on this way, she was worried about you...and I decided to humor her, this time."
Sesshomaru got out of Rin's red Opel Corsa and went to her, who was in the company of a half-demon, from what his nose suggested.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru: sorry if I ran away without saying goodbye; oh, by the way: Shiori, he is..."
"Taisho, is that you?" the woman whispered.
Rin was silent.
Sesshomaru cocked his head to the side and asked, "Do we know each other, by any chance?"
The half-demon's cheeks blushed: had hee really forgotten? Or would a little input have been enough?
"Do you remember Funakoshi, the one who stuttered and who once slapped you?"
It was at that moment that, without even expecting it, the dog demon found himself at a loss for words and could not articulate anything more intelligent than:
"Oh, fuck."

Chapter Text

When Sango finished asking Kagura what updates she had received from Rin, she headed towards the exit; she was pleasantly surprised to see Rin conversing with Shiori, but the smile disappeared from her face when she noticed the presence of the asshole with too long and too white hair, who was approaching them.
She decided to quicken his pace, and when she reached them she had time to hear the dog demon curse.

"Oh, fuck!"
Rin was stunned: how small did the world have to be for her patient and her best friend's colleague to know each other?!
It was a matter that absolutely should have been investigated...for purely professional reasons, that's obvious.
Shiori, quite amazed too, let out an embarrassed laugh and lowered her gaze trying not to meet Sesshomaru's.
"Eh eh...er, well, I don't know what to say: Long time no see, right?"
Why did she only wish to run and hide, in that moment? How was it possible that a meeting like that was making the bullied and insecure little girl of the past resurface so easily?
"To my great misfortune, I'm afraid so." the dog demon tried to dismiss her, but a detail caught his attention: agent Yamaguchi was approaching, showing off the most pissed off face in his repertoire.

The policewoman stood between her colleague and Toga Taisho's eldest son, standing firm and looking him straight in the eyeballs.
"Are you looking for trouble, you bastard?" she growled in the direction of his interlocutor.
Behind her, a hand rested on her shoulder and brought her closer: Shiori reassured her, saying not to worry and that anything else she did would only make the situation more awkward.
“I'll explain everything to you later, okay?” Sango heard her whisper.

Having reached the limit of endurance for that day, Sesshomaru walked towards the nearest bus stop, leaving the three women behind.
"H-hey, wait, Sesshomaru!" Rin tried to call him back "I must know what this all means: you can't just leave like that, without saying anything!"
"Oh, he sure can, and he's doing it, the asshole." Sango interjected, tempted as never before to shout the insult out loud.
The hand on her shoulder tightened, and the woman turned to her colleague.
"He's not a bad person, but he has a hard time showing it." were the words of Shiori, who had meanwhile recovered from the embarrassment of the 'repatriation' just before.

"Everything okay, Shiori?" Rin approached her "I'm sorry, I had no idea that you two..."
"Of course, don't worry, you couldn't have known: I never told you."
At that point, it was Sango who added something.
"Me neither, you never said you knew that scum." she began, "What do you have to say in your defense, Shiorin?"
When she used the diminutive, Shiori knew that her colleague wanted to make fun of her, and that she wouldn't stop until she gave her a satisfactory answer, that is, the most complete possible one. And this, for her, could represent a problem.

"Well, you see..." was the hesitant beginning of her confession "...do you remember the question you asked me this morning?" he continued cautiously.
Rin, perplexed, looked at Sango, who also looked slightly confused.
"What does the renovation of the common area have to do with the center now?"
Shiori realized that her friend hadn't understood, and tried to get her back on track.
"No, later, during the lunch break, near that McDonald's, a stone's throw from the invisible thief's Konbini."
The other policewoman considered the new information she received, but soon found herself admitting that she couldn't follow it.
"Again, how can what I told you about Kohaku's relationship status be relevant?"
This time, as the half-demon's cheeks caught fire, Rin didn't have time to contain the squeak of surprise at hearing such news: she had always sworn that Shiori had feelings for Sango's brother, but now she had confirmation...and also the ¥1,800 that she had bet with Sango.
"For heaven's sake, Sango, this way you embarrass me...I mean before, just before that moment."
Her interlocutor began to think about these last inputs and, once she was convinced that she had understood, her eyes widened in a fit of disbelief mixed with terror.
"YOU GAVE YOUR FIRST KISS TO THAT BASTARD???"
Now Shiori was hiding her face with her hands, repeating that it had been an accident, her voice cracking with embarrassment.
Rin started laughing, happy for her friend...even if something inside her had made a rumble.

______________________________________________

The phone was ringing, but she didn't understand which sofa cushions it had ended up between: what nerves!
When she managed to find it, what's more, she received a missed call alert.
A few minutes later, the phone rang again, and this time she answered immediately.

"Good evening, Mrs. Gobodo!" Jaken exclaimed, nervously "H-how can I help you now?"
“Jaken: Did you by any chance remove the ad for the financial advisor position for the company?”
Well, the moment had come: there were two options, either climb the ladder and lose any remnant of dignity, or admit the mistake and prepare for life as an unemployed person.
"If so, thanks: I forgot to do it myself, and it would have been a problem if it had remained."
The kappa was so worried that, at first, he didn't realize the thanks he received.
"Duty, ma'am!" he stated "As for today: is there anything you want to know about Miss Noto?"
On the other end of the phone, Kimi became serious.

"What impression did it make on you?" she asked him.
His interlocutor took about fifteen seconds to think, at the end of which he had to admit that: "Despite a small initial inattention, I must say that she has the air of someone who knows what she's doing"
He continued: "I overheard a conversation they had after leaving my office...and she showed that she can stand up to your son, my lady: it takes a lot of courage."
The expression on Kimi's face relaxed: if Sesshomaru couldn't get rid of her, then she must be on the right track.

______________________________________________

She was doing a good job, she had to admit.
Preparations for the gala were progressing: she had already written the project presentation speech, consulted an interior designer and organized an alternative with catering for both vegetarians and vegans and meat lovers.
For the time being, no one had canceled their availability, and she had not yet entered the phase of obsessively double-checking all the details...so she felt satisfied.
She would have liked to treat herself to a nice glass of red wine, but something more important came to her mind.
She picked up the phone and dialed her brother's number.

"Hi Kagura, haven't spoken in a while." was Byakuya's greeting.
In fact it was true: due to various commitments and a real absence of topics to talk about, the two did not have a bond comparable to the one that each of them shared with Kanna, the little one of the house.

"You're right, Kuya, work..." she admitted, regretfully "Maybe we should listen to Kanna and take a nice week off every now and then."
Her brother chuckled.
"Yeah, it's strange to think that she would have to come and instill some sense into us."
A smile formed in Kagura, which brought back some serenity.
And a not-so-bad idea, too.
"Would you like it if I came to visit you at work?"
"What???" Byakuya asked bewildered.
His sister had never been a clubber, so his reaction was, at least partially, justified.
"Come on, don't say that: we're both still young, right?"
"Really? I was convinced that, in my heart, you were our father's age, you know?"
Now it was Kagura who had to hold back her laughter.
"What an idiot you are!"
Once she finished tidying up his desk, she stopped for a moment and looked at her phone; she set a reminder for the next morning, and then, very strange behavior on her part, she turned off the phone: for that evening, she didn't want any hassle.

Ah, if only she hadn't done so: she might have noticed a very important email, in which the governor's office informed her that, due to numerous unspecified commitments, the launch of the project would be...brought forward by three weeks.

________________________________________________

As soon as he crossed the threshold of his home, he slammed the door angrily.
"This must be a joke, no doubt about it; and in very poor taste, too!" Sesshoumaru complained.
'Oh, sure: so Funakoshi showed up today where Rin works because she wanted to tease you...but do you ever listen to yourself when you talk?' came the little voice in his head.
"Why the fuck are you still here? I told you to disappear, because I'm not going to listen to you."
'Oh, really? You know how to silence me, so go, do what you have to do!'
The demon checked to see if there was anything strong left, but to his chagrin the answer was NO.
"Go away, leave me alone!"
'Ok, champion, but I invited a friend, and it seems rude to me, kicking him out like this.'
Now what the hell was he talking about?
Suddenly, his legs could no longer support him, and Sesshomaru was grateful to be near a chair; he leaned back, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he saw someone in front of him for whom there was not the slightest sense to be there.
"Hello, Sesshomaru" the figure said, before taking another chair and approaching him "You know? This professor's outfit is really a hit: Denis and the crew had a good eye."
Noticing that the dog demon was unresponsive, the figure gave him a questioning look.
"Aren't you feeling well, by any chance?" he asked.
“Why is Jake Gyllenhaal in my apartment?” was all Sesshomaru could utter at that moment.
A mocking laugh came from the actor's mouth.
"Well, if you don't know either, we might have a big problem, you know?"

Chapter Text

"Is it always this cheerful during the week?" Kagura asked, playing with the lime slice on her margarita.
It was 8:35 PM, and yet the place was already full of people with a beer in their hand or a shot between their fingers.
"Cheerful? This is still the 'booooring' level, if you really want to know; to find a 'cheerful' place you should wait at least until 10:00 PM: that's when you start to see some crazy stuff."
Actually, it was around that time that, a couple of years before, he had witnessed the fight between a dog demon and three annoying customers; it was a story he repeated every 2-3 weeks to entertain the customers at the bar, those who usually didn't have or didn't seek the company of anyone other than the bottle.
But that's just the way Byakuya was: he loved talking to people, with the idea of ​​cheering them up and laughing with his customers (and sometimes at them too, but just around closing time, at the end of the evening).

"For example, have I ever told you about that time a customer saved me from being stabbed?"
From another seat at the other end of the bar, a head rose and replied in an annoyed tone: "Yes, Byakuya! Yes, Byakuya! Damn, you keep bringing up this story every time I come here!"
"Thanks for your input, Atsushi..." the bartender smiled "...and anyway, it's been three weeks since I last told it."
The customer tilted his head, puzzled, and after a few seconds he snorted.
"So, as you can see, I haven't been here for three weeks...I'm making progress, don't you think?"
Byakuya wasn't entirely convinced of this: while it was true that Atsushi was now to be seen less, on the other hand he couldn't ignore that he had started to stay longer, when he happened to be around the place, and that he drank as if he had to make up for the other absences.
He had read an article on volcanology that said that, in Italy, there were two very well-known volcanoes: one much more active than the other, but with eruptions of lesser magnitude than the second; however, the latter, Vesuvius, had gone down in history for the power and damage related to its events, rarer, but more devastating.
This was the biggest change he thought he had noticed in the customer who had interrupted him.

"Next time, let's try to get to a whole month, what do you think?" Byakuya suggested.
For a moment, it seemed like his interlocutor was thinking about it seriously, but he laughed.
"You sell me your worst beer, and I'll make sure you won't see my ugly face for a month, hahaha."
Having said that, he went back to chugging the bottle he was holding in his hands.

"You were saying?" Kagura called him back.
"Mh?" was what her brother replied.
"The story of the stab wound that you avoided."
"Oh, right, I almost forgot." There was a short pause, in which the bartender went over all the details carefully, so as not to miss the juiciest ones.
"It was around 9:30 PM, when this demon sat on the stool where you are now," he said, pointing his finger at his sister's lap, "a big guy, almost 6' 5" tall, but not the exaggerated kind, with the body of Braun Strowman." Noticing the perplexity on Kagura's face, Byakuya realized he had to rephrase.
"To give you an idea, this guy had the body of Tom Hiddleston."
A nod of understanding: mission accomplished, he had recovered her.
"And nothing, he orders a shot of whiskey with a voice that to call bored seems reductive: not the 'bad day at work, knock me out with something strong' one, but more 'let's get this over with, come on' one...you know what I mean?"
The woman shook her head.
"Maybe it would be better to shorten the preamble, don't you think, Kuya?"
"Oh, but that would waste all the energy." he protested.
"Trust me, it's not like that."
Brother and sister looked around for the person who had spoken, and found her: Kanna, the youngest in the family, was in front of them, and in the company of Shippo and Souten.

"Kannamon Roll, how nice to be able to hug you!" Kagura greeted her, holding her tightly in a hug.
"Big sis, are you sure you haven't been to the gym lately? You have a killer grip."
The two began to giggle, happy to see each other.
Once the hug was released, the eldest turned to the other two university students.
"Nice to meet you, you are my sister's friends, Shippo and Souten, right?"
"Yes ma'am!" the two answered in chorus.
From the other side of the counter, Byakuya couldn't help but comment.
"What a cute couple, can I offer you something to drink? Cocktails with two straws, how about that?"
"Almost..." Soten began
"Good idea, little one: maybe in three days you'll have worked it off and gotten sober again." her boyfriend teased her.
Gentlemen, the bickering is over.

"It's nice to see you two together outside of work on a day which isn't Golden Week!" Naraku Kazehaya's third daughter exclaimed. "So, Kagura: Byakuya was telling you about the drunk hunk who knocked out three customers, right?"
"Well, he was getting there veeeery slowly, yes, about him."
Her brother, with feigned resentment, looked away.
"You don't appreciate my oratory skills."
"Okay, Kuya, but now Kagura would wish to know how the story ends." said the youngest.
"Okay, then: after his tenth shot he was slumped over the bar, playing with the rim of the glass, when Rin came in; another customer, a human, started hitting on her, slapped her on the ass and this demon almost broke his wrist." he imitated the movement "when the friends of that pig with the knife approached they started insulting him: he responded to the provocations with others, and when they threw themselves on him, it was absurd; 15 seconds later and all three were on the ground and in pain. When the police arrived, Sergeant Yoromizu wanted to take him to the station, but luckily I managed to save him from a night in jail: this and more, for my savior, even if I think he wasn't particularly interested in me, but in Rin."
Now that he manage to draw attention from the four of them, including the couple, whose bickering had finally finished, the bartender continued.
"You should have been there: he looked like a big guard dog with long hair."
Kagura's eyes widened and turned to her brother.
"A big 'dog', you said?"
"Yes, exactly: he had all the appearance of a dog demon, why?"
"Oh, nothing, just out of curiosity, really."
'Please, Rin, don't tell me that's what I think it is, or you'll make me clean the floors with your face.'
But why couldn't she have some quiet co-workers, for once?

____________________________________________

*BRRRRRRRR*
*BRRRRRRRR*
*BRRRR*
"Hi Ki-Ki, anything good happen today that you'd like to tell me about?"
Even though they spoke on the phone quite frequently, every time Sesshomaru's mother answered her calls, Izayoi felt a strange enthusiasm fill her, which she couldn't explain, but for which she didn't even care to have an answer.
On the other end of the phone, the famous stylist spoke up.
"Gonna tell you, Yo-Yo: Jaken gave me a very good reason not to fire him this year either."
"Oh, really? What did he do?"
"I can say that he gave me some hope, similar to how you and Toga did by visiting me... but tell me about yourself, now: something that put you in a good mood?"
"Well, actually nothing that sensational, but I hope it's okay anyway: My carnivorous plant is finally starting to grow again, I almost gave up hope, after this crazy winter."
Silently, Kimi's lips curved into a smile.
"Well done: despite these challenges, you continued to watch over it, and that 's something to praise."
The other woman chuckled, accepting the compliment.
"That's very sweet of you, but the truth is that I just realized I was in trouble, and so I turned to someone more prepared than me, that's all."
"I assure you that asking for help, in some situations, is much more difficult than it seems...especially when you're as proud as I am."
The silence that followed made Izayoi understand which plant was crowding her interlocutor's thoughts.
"Do you believe in him?" he asked.
The stylist didn't hesitate.
"Of course."
"Then you have nothing to fear, neither you nor him." was Izayoi's reassurance. "I'm sure that Miss Kazehaya left him in expert hands, and that you will get your son back."
Another silence.
"Thank you, Izayoi: I needed it."
"Happy to help."
It was getting late, they should probably both go to sleep.

Chapter Text

WEDNESDAY

After all those surprises from the forgettable day before, and without the slightest trace of ethanol in his pantry and fridge, Sesshomaru had been unable to sleep.
Partly because he didn't need to, given his demonic nature, partly because he was destabilized by the crazy vision he had had, and by the movie star who had started wandering around his apartment dispensing comments left and right;
"Holy shit, dude: all alcohol and not even the vaguest hint of sex; are you sure everything is okay down there?"
Rolling his eyes, Sesshomaru tried to ignore the annoying presence, which however showed no signs of disappearing.
"I'm only in your head, I'm only in your head,..." he had been repeating like a mantra, with the simple intent of being as annoying as possible...and he was definitely succeeding.
To make himself presentable for the day's activities, Sesshomaru got into the shower, where he hoped to find peace and quiet.

If Rin had found out what was happening to him, she wouldn't have given him a break until she could drag him to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting...but that would have meant losing the chance to get away, since he would end back in prison, so that was out of the question.
"IF is the right word, IF" Jake Gyllenhaal confirmed.
While he was speaking, Sesshomaru was rinsing his face, hoping to make him disappear as soon as possible...but after getting out of the shower and drying himself, he still found the actor in front of him, but this time a hand's breadth from his nose, and with a sly smile plastered on his face.

"Can you tell me for what stupid reason you don't want to disappear, damn it?" the dog demon growled.
His interlocutor, not at all intimidated, looked him over carefully, and let out a whistle of admiration.
"You're even sexier when you get angry," he commented, amused. "Like Heath once told me: watch your nose, my dear!" He leaped forward with his feet to try to close the 4" gap that separated them, but Sesshomaru avoided him, and left the bathroom to go get dressed.

"You're going to lie to her, aren't you?"
"Why, don't you know? You said you're in my head, remember?" the demon asked.
"Of course I am, but you know, ideas change, and..."
"Listen carefully, if you want to lecture me on why I should be honest with her, you've got the wrong person, okay?"
The star raised his hands, but not as if to say 'You found me out', but more as if...
"No, no, I agree with your idea."
Yes, just like that.
Toga's son felt a little more relieved now.
"That's the first thing we agree on," he said, before buckling his belt.
"Nah, I wouldn't say: I want you to lie because I don't like being in prison; you'll do it because you don't have the courage to admit how miserable and pathetic you are."
Ignoring the insult, Sesshomaru headed for the bus stop, where he checked the time: he had enough time to get there calmly.

No way: some idiot tourist on a go-kart had decided to show the world his imbecility, and, in doing so, had crashed into the bus.
At this rate he would be late, and that was not good news.

When he reached his destination, he was quite surprised not to find Rin waiting for him, and decided to check to see where she might be.

_______________________________________________

"Is there any reason you wanted to see me before I started today with Sesshomaru?" Rin asked.
Kagura was standing to the side of her desk, one hand on a pile of papers.
"Rin, you know I need my co-workers and employees to be transparent with me, right?"
Rin was puzzled, but answered.
"Y-Yes, without a doubt," she said quickly. "Has something happened, by any chance?"
"Well, I don't know, you have to tell me that: do you think it's just a coincidence, that you insisted on following Taisho's case and that a phantom dog demon persuaded some idiots from laying hands on you, a couple of years ago?"
At that, the younger woman's face went white.

'How could she possibly know that?' she thought, 'I've never told this story to anyone: the only ones who know about it are Sesshomaru, Koga and...oh, damn, I forgot about Byakuya! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID! How do I get out of this now?'

"Well, I mean," she began, but stopped shortly thereafter in the grip of a nervous giggle.

"It could be, right?" Rin ventured, without having the slightest idea of ​​how to get out of this terrible situation "I mean, it's not like Sesshomaru is the only dog ​​demon in the world."
In the meantime, Kagura had left her desk and was now face to face with Rin, glaring at her.
The other one noticed, and began to regret never having mentioned the episode; she could try to divert the conversation in the hope of gaining time.
'You can do it, Rin, don't worry, Kagura won't eat you.'

"Anyway, I'm glad you managed to carve out a free evening for..." she began.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't even think for a second that you can get away with this, do you understand?"
"Boss," Rin tried, hoping that the knowledge of being in charge would calm the awakening beast, "I swear, I can explain..."
"No, no, I'll explain something to you now; listen carefully and look me straight in the eyes, okay?"

'Panic!' Rin thought. 'She said the sentence: she's not angry, she's furious!'

"Not only I did get an email from the governor's office saying《Oops, we don't like the program launch date anymore, we need to move it up》, now I have a co-worker who thinks she can use this project as a dating site?"

'Let's run, let's run, before she eats us alive: I'm too young to die!'

"Why do you have to make me regret the trust I placed in you, and for what? A Bryan Glowman, mixed with Loki?"
"You mean Braun Strowman, by any chance?" Rin suggested.
"Yes, what I said. Are you trying to sabotage me?"

'Okay, Byakuya has a certain imagination, but this is too much even for him; Sesshomaru is closer to...I don't know, Drew McIntyre, maybe? So cool, in his kilt! And without a beard he'd be even more...eh, what am I saying? Now Kagura is angry, how can I, in such a delicate moment, think of Sesshomaru in a kilt? HUH??? Wha-, no, not Sesshomaru, Drew McKnight, I mean McIntyre, what does LA Knight have to do with it now? Oh, my, what's all this mess? What a mess! What do I do? What do I do?'

"Rin, are you listening to me?" asked her interlocutor.
The young human, however, was in a state of mush, and was trying in every way to regain at least a decent level of reasoning.
"GO ASUKA, EMPRESS OF TOMORROW!!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
The entire floor had probably heard her, but at least now she felt her mind was clearer.

"Sorry, Kagura, I'm so sorry, but I'm here now, look" was the reassurance she gave her boss before slapping herself on the cheeks to reinforce the concept "So, what were you saying?"

"I want you on the ball, fully focused, because we only have 3 measly weeks, before the project launches, do you understand?"
"3 WEEKS?! What do they think we do, miracles? I can't concentrate 9 weeks' work into 4, it doesn't work like that!"
"Well, you'll have to find a way, because this project can't afford to fail."

Before they could go any further, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Kagura conceded.
The door opened, revealing Sesshomaru.

'Come on, tell the bullshit.' Jake whispered in his ear.
"I was in the waiting room, but no one showed up." he explained in a dry tone.
In all fairness, he had just arrived, but that detail would not have been in his favor, so it was better to avoid it.
The demoness looked at Rin and motioned for her to go.
"Yes, right away." she hurried.

After leaving the office, they headed towards the sponsor's office, which did not dare to breathe.
"I didn't think you were a WWE fan, Miss Noto." the dog demon chuckled.
"Shut up, Sesshomaru: you've just cost Kagura a huge outburst."
"Where has the chatty and energetic girl who showed up to me 3 days ago gone?" the albino inquired.
The human looked at him in surprise. Had he paid her a compliment?
"For the record: I prefer Becky Lynch."
'Well, no one's perfect.' Rin thought.

Another day awaited them. All that remained was to find out what it would have rewarded them with.

_______________________________________________

"Okay, all clear, I'll call you later."
Of course, this was the mother of all jokes, a clear winner, there was no denying it:
The gala had already been organized and the preparations were almost complete, and now it turned out that everything had to be brought forward?
He could well understand why Kagura had called him with the tone of someone who seemed to be having a nervous breakdown.

But when time is short, solutions have to be found quickly.
Thinking for a moment, he knew he couldn't call Rin, since it would disturb her while she was attending to her patient.
Judging from the phone call that had just ended, he wouldn't have gotten anywhere with Kagura.

There was only one person left.

"Hi Kohaku, is this an emergency?"
"Actually, yes: Kagura is panicking, so I need you to make a call; she told me you have the number of a certain Miroku Kanagawa, is that correct?"
Sango was pleasantly surprised to hear that name, and felt her worry fade away.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miroku had called her the night before: their conversation had been a bit strange at first, because it seemed like he had a potato in his mouth; shortly after, the man in the wheelchair revealed that she was almost right, and that it was...a spoon with a stylus attached.

"Excuse me, wait: don't you pay a lot for a valet who can, among other things, hold your phone while you talk?" he had asked.
"Eheheh, you're on speakerphone, Sango." Miroku informed her "The valet wants you to know that you have greatly offended him."
She tried to suppress a laugh, but decided not to.
"Hi, Inuyasha!" she greeted "Is Miroku too proud to ask you for a help?"
An amused snort could be heard from the other end of the phone.
"I'm the one who wants to talk to you, so I'll make the calls."
It had been a pleasant evening, and that phone call had been worth giving up some sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yes, I have his number, what does Kagura need?"
"Probably an anxiety medication, but I hope my intervention will have an even better effect." his brother replied.
"So what do YOU need?"

"Hello, who's speaking?" Miroku asked when Inuyasha brought him the phone.
"Hello, is this a bad time?"
"No, not at all, how can I help you?"
"I need to speak to Inuyasha, please: it's about Kagura's project."
"Present," greeted the half-demon on the other end of the phone "Has the asshole messed up again?"
"No, not yet." Sango reassured him "I need to know his mother's phone number, Kimi Gobodo."
"But I already had it sent to Kagura."
"I know, but she's in a very delicate moment, her nerves are on edge, and disturbing her would do more harm than good."
"All right," replied Toga's youngest son, "Then I'll tell you."

"Thanks for your time, have a nice d-ah, wait Inuyasha: put me through to Miroku, please." the policewoman corrected herself.
"Yes, officer," she obeyed, bringing the phone close to her boss's ear, but not before whispering "You've hit the jackpot, little bird."
"Hello again, Sango; what else can I do to keep you a minute longer and enjoy your voice?"
His caregiver rolled his eyes, amused.
"Damn, this is the new frontier of swooning, you know?"
"As long as I can get a smile out of you, I'll know it was worth it. Shall we talk to each other tonight, or will you be busy until late?"
"I'll let you know as soon as I know. Have a nice day."

"Holy cow: now I see what you can do as a quadriplegic, but I don't dare to imagine how successful you must have been, before the accident." the half-demon commented.
"Oh, from that point of view, I don't think it's changed that much: the time I used to dedicate to physical exercise, I now spend trying to perfect my talking skills." Miroku explained.
After a short silence, Inuyasha chuckled.
"I imagine it must have been painful for you, saying goodbye to Leg Day."
At this point, his boss joined him.

_________________________________________________

"Hello, who am I speaking with?" asked Kimi Gobodo.
"Good morning, Mrs. Gobodo, my name is Kohaku Yamaguchi, I am contacting you to discuss the program your son, Sesshomaru Taisho, is involved in."

Chapter Text

"So you and Shiori, I mean Agent Funakoshi, know each other, don't you?"
The dog demon on the other side of the desk was slumped in his chair and had his legs on the table, one on top of the other.
"Apparently, yes." he replied.
Rin pouted, annoyed by this vague answer.
"What do you mean, 'Apparently, yes'? I can't believe you can't remember a girl whose first kiss you stole."
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes: the day hadn't started off well already, given the annoying presence he hadn't managed to get rid of yet; if his sponsor was really going to waste both of their time prying into such a silly and insignificant episode of his life, he wouldn't have it.

"Hehehe, you're in trouble, my boy: she wants to know about that kiss because, deep down, she's jealous, and she's dying of envy." whispered a male voice in his right ear: fucking Jake Gyllenhaal.
"I didn't steal anything from anyone, is it clear enough for you to understand?" was the warning Rin received "I simply turned towards her, who would have expected that that vapid half-bat demon would have it in her empty head to kiss me?"
Rin coughed twice to warn Sesshomaru.
"I would like to point out that she is a dear friend of mine, so I would invite you to show her respect, okay?"
"Of course she is, like everybody apparently." snorted the dog demon, annoyed.
"Excuse me, what did you say?"
"This whining of yours is starting to become repetitive: listening to you talk it seems like everyone in this world is or has been your friend, in one way or another."
"So what's so strange about that?" the human asked. "I mean, I'm a sociable person, a lot of people tell me that."
"You are, and that's where we start to have a problem, because I have no intention of becoming your friend. That's why you insisted on being entrusted with my case and following up on it after my attack, right? You're not suited for this job."
He was getting defensive, Rin noticed, who immediately intervened.

"Why does this bother you, Maru-chan?"
"Can you stop with that fucking nickname? I never said I liked being called that."
The sponsor, unperturbed, raised her hands in mock surrender and retorted: "I'll do it when you've answered my question, what do you think?"
"Holy moly, the chick is showing her teeth: her strong character makes her much sexier, don't you think?"
Completely ignoring the woman and the ghost's last words, Sesshomaru wanted an answer to his own question.
"Why do you want to know so much? You're more interested in this than I am: until a couple of days ago I didn't even remember she existed."
"So meeting her again after so long doesn't raise any little interest? Because from your reaction it wouldn't be that obvious, you know?"
Maybe if she poked the dog demon a little more she could get something useful out of him; according to Kagura's latest news, they were desperate for it, so she had to try.
"Do you seriously want to approach this session like the host of some insipid fourth-rate gossip show? Because if this is the case, I can just go to sleep and ignore you for the rest of the time I'm forced to spend with you."
Okay, screw being subtle; if he wanted to be difficult, she'd have to resort to artillery.

"Sesshomaru, if you were to open up a little more, I wouldn't have to act like a wannabe Oprah Winfrey, you know that, right?"
Sesshomaru felt himself shaken out of the torpor that the discussion had caused him up to that point.
"I've already had a hard time getting you to talk about yourself without your sarcasm or outbursts of anger, and now I have to find out details about your past because, by chance, we ran into Shiori? Why do you have to make this so difficult? Why can't you conceive that there could be someone who would actually want to help you?"

"Help me?" Sesshomaru repeated. "And how, pray tell? By treating me like a child, to be distracted at the arcade? By insisting that I have a drinking problem even when I've told you straight up that I don't?" From behind Rin's back, Jake looked at him with a grimace of sadness worthy of the meme AM I A JOKE TO YOU?, to which the dog demon responded with a very annoyed expression "Or by organizing a day behind my back with the complicity of my very mother? You don't want to help me, none of you, you're just manipulating me in an attempt to make me more docile."

Rin lowered her eyes, disappointed and saddened.
"Is that really what you think? That I don't care and that I'm just here to make fun of you?"
Toga's son nodded that yes, he believed it: "To you, I'm not that different from James Bowen, am I right?"
The young woman's eyes widened, hearing the name of the main character from A STREET CAT NAMED BOB.
"Did you really think I wouldn't look for the movie you told me about?" he asked as he took his feet off the desk and composed himself "About that disgusting drug addict and his flea-bitten cat?"
He stood up from his chair and arched up to look her in the eyes.
"Why don't you just tell me straight out? That you feel pity for me? That you think I'm pathetic and feel pity for me?"
His appearance was becoming disturbing, and the woman in the room with him was shaking.

Before Sesshomaru could continue any further, Rin had to try to calm him down, even though fear was blocking her.
"Sesshomaru, listen to me..."
"I. DON'T. HAVE. ANY. PROBLEM! DO YOU GET IT?"
'Emotions are strange stuff' Rin thought 'one moment you are scared and the very next one you are annoyed and angry.'
"If you're here, it's obvious that you're wrong, have you ever suspected?" the human replied, strangely invigorated by that sentence.
"I'm here because someone is convinced that this path will make me more docile and less problematic."
"That someone is your father, he does it because he cares about you, not because he considers you a nuisance; and I bet the same goes for your brother."
"I can assure you that neither of them cares about me at all" he put a hand in his pocket and took out his phone; he unlocked it and brought it closer to Rin "If you want, you can ask the half-breed yourself, he will gladly answer you."

It hadn't gone as she had hoped at all, and at this rate they wouldn't have been ready in three years, let alone weeks.
'But...' whispered a little voice in Rin's head, which she recognized as her instinct.
'What?'
'It might be risky, and it might seem absurd, but... maybe you should really make this call.'
'WHAT?!?!?!'
'And don't scream, damn it!'
'But if we're in my head, no one's screaming!'
'Trust me, I can hear you, but now focus, okay?'
'Why would I do that? And I doubt he'll even let me touch his phone?'
'JUST DO IT!'
The woman reached out and put the phone to her ear, before realizing that... she hadn't made a call... and now the phone was on standby again.
Embarrassed, she looked up at the dog demon and stammered, "W-would you please unblock it again?"
In disbelief, Sesshomaru could do nothing but grant her request...
"Here...don't take too long"
...and watch her while she waited for an answer.

While Rin waited anxiously, Jake had decided it was time to return to the scene and make his annoying presence felt by the unfortunate demon.
"Wow, she is really tough, atta girl, don't you think?" he commented, while caressing the woman's shoulders.
'Enough' was the warning that Sesshomaru only had to think, remembering that a single breath could ruin him.
"It's not like I have much of a say in the matter, remember?"
Damn, he was right.
"I'm just a figment of your fervent imagination... Maru-chan" he said, tapping his right temple with his index finger "So, there's only one way to keep my tongue in check, and that's to use yours."
Finally, a vibration informed that the call had been accepted.

_______________________________________________

Was he dreaming or was he awake?
A call from Sesshomaru?
What kind of prank did he have in store for him?
Anyway, the event was more than rare, so it couldn't have been something silly like a phone prank; however, arrogant and stubborn as he was, his stepbrother's call was definitely not a cry for help.
"May I, Miroku? It says it's Sesshomaru."
"Sure, no problem: I'll take the opportunity to go for a run to Sango's."
'This is my boss, gentlemen!'
"Thanks, I'll be right back."
And he left the living room.

"What do I owe this immense disappointment to, hm?"
He had to admit that he was surprised by the call, but he absolutely didn't want that asshole to even think that he cared; for this reason he had decided to use an unpleasant tone, but not too much.

There was no answer from the other end of the phone: Inuyasha thought that, stupidly, he had hoped too much; and was about to hang up, when-
"I'm speaking with Inuyasha Taisho, right?"
He would never have expected to hear a female voice answering from Sesshomaru's phone.
However, thinking about it, Miroku and Miss Kazehaya had talked about a certain Noto, so it could be her: it was worth a try.

"Unfortunately, yes, and I'm sorry for the tone, it wasn't intended for you." he began.
"It's okay, I understand the confusion." he reassured his interlocutor "My name is Rin Noto, and I need to ask you and your boss something, are you there with him?"
'And now what does Miroku have to do with it?'
"Um, yes, just a moment and I'll join him." he replied, walking back into the living room and pulling the phone away from his ear to talk to the man in the wheelchair.
"It's for the both of us," she explained, before putting it on speaker.
The look he received was the dictionary definition of CLUELESS.

"Okay, Miss Noto: she's on speaker, we hear you."
Before continuing, he decided to send a message to the fourth element as well.
"We hear you too, Sesshomaru." he announced in the calmest and most even tone he could muster.

"So, Miss Noto, what do you have to inform us about? It must be important, since you requested both of us to be present. Am I wrong?"
"And why are you calling us from that bastard's phone? Did you confiscate it from him like an unruly student?"
Rin, worried about the effects that Inuyasha's intervention could have, took a long time to respond, and Miroku took the opportunity to defuse the situation.
"What my assistant wants to know is whether this call is your personal initiative, or whether Kagura will join the discussion soon."
Rin cleared her throat, more calmly.
"So, to answer Inuyasha's question: no, Miss Kazehaya is not aware of this call, but I will notify her as soon as I can.
As for yours, instead: I would like to know if there were any problems for you, in case I were to...how should I put it..."
The call was put on hold.

"You were to...? Miss Noto, are you okay?"
No answer.
Inuyasha was perplexed, but something told him that Sesshomaru was behind it. And it was starting to worry him.
Before he could say anything, the call resumed... and the half-demon's heartbeats normalized when he heard Rin's voice again.

"Sorry, I got a call from the other phone; um, I mean, mine, yeah, not this one, it's not mine, eheh."
'She's really weird, the girl' was the thought that must have crossed Inuyasha's and Miroku's minds, who were exchanging a perplexed look.

"Back to us, Mr....Kanagawa, right?"
"Right." replied the person being questioned.
"Thank you. Mr. Kanagawa, would it be an insurmountable problem for you if I had to take Inuyasha away from you for an hour, an hour and a half in the next few days?"
The person concerned had understood the direction the discussion was taking...and he didn't like the implications of that invitation in the slightest.
So his obvious response would have been:
"No way, I have no intention of wasting my time with someone who despises me."

Sesshomaru gestured with his hands as if to say that the result was a foregone conclusion, and that the only one who hadn't gotten it was Rin, who had now brought her right thumb to her mouth to bite off a cuticle.
"Please, it will only be for a couple of days, I can assure you, I promise." she was pleading into the phone.

"I'm sorry, Miss Noto, but Inuyasha has already expressed his opinion, and we must respect it.
Thank you for calling, send my regards to Kagura, please."
On the other end of the phone, a defeated Rin couldn't help but accept the answer.
"I understand, but if you change your mind, I would ask you to call the center, or Miss Kazehaya herself, please. Have a nice day."
And she hung up.

"Such an intense call, mh?" commented Miroku "Since you don't want to talk about it, how about helping me with my training?"
The half-demon thanked his boss for the courtesy, but a small voice warned him: 'Sooner or later the truth will come out, and you will have to deal with it.'

_______________________________________________

The eyes she met were judging her, and it made her feel very small.
However, she didn't expect to hear what Sesshomaru would say to her.
"You surprised me, Rin: I didn't expect you to actually do it; to take up my challenge with such determination."
That was definitely a compliment, and the butterflies in the stomach that the young woman felt at those words further confirmed it.
'FUCK!!!!!! This can't be possible!'

_______________________________________________

"So, Mr. Yamaguchi, the day for your presentation gala was suddenly brought forward and this has thrown the entire organization into disarray, do I understand correctly?"
The amount of information Kimi received could be summed up like this.
"Alas, yes, Mrs. Gobodo: the situation is as you described." Kohaku confirmed. "And I am deeply sorry to give you such news, but I thought it would be at least fair to you to inform you."

'This young man really knows what points to make, when he speaks.' Kimi thought, 'even though this bowing is absolutely unnecessary: ​​I know, it may seem like a cliché, but I'm a mother worried about her son and money is not an issue, so...'
"Don't worry, I'm grateful you thought of me; do you think I could be of any help to you, in one way or another? I could make my maison available for the gala, if it could be useful to you...what do you think?"

'I think we have an agreement, that's what!' Kohaku rejoiced, convinced that he had added another well-executed scam to his list of successes.
However, caution first: if he had accepted right away it would have been very suspicious, a sign of desperation, and he knew well that he could not afford to show weaknesses.
"Are you absolutely sure that it would not be a bother to you, Mrs. Gobodo? We would never forgive ourselves, if we were to find out that we were abusing your generosity."

"I can assure you that I do not feel exploited in the least, in this situation."
The words reached his interlocutor's ears like a spoonful of honey...
...which, however, hides a bitter medicine.
"You know, it's a shame not to have someone like you under my command."

Kohaku froze: was it just his imagination or had he just been exposed?
For now, since he wasn't entirely sure, he had better tread carefully.
"Excuse me, I'm afraid I don't follow you, could you explain?"
Music to Kimi's ears!
"A sharp tongue is the only cutting instrument that, with use, improves the edge." she replied, quoting the story RIP VAN WINKLE "I think the same is true of flattery, and I must admit you're good at it, Kohaku; but you should be careful not to overdo it, and weigh every word with goldsmith's scales."

There was no doubt about it: he had found someone who could not only hold his own, but beat him by experience.
Hell, if he had had a shovel he would have used it to bury himself.
"First Washington Irving and now Marcus Terentius Varro? I must have completely underestimated you, ma'am.
Please accept my sincere apologies for this disrespect."
Before he could finish, he heard a laugh.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to know that there still are young people who read such little-regarded authors."
Kohaku couldn't believe his ears: after all, anyone in the demon's place would have hung up on him indignantly (before or after calling him unflattering epithets).

"In any case, if you were wondering, know that my support will remain: your boss has achieved something that few others can boast of, and that is to arouse my admiration."
Those words brought the interlocutor back to reality, even if it took him a few seconds to fully realize what had been said to him.
Still flustered, he attempted to reply as composedly as possible.
"Of course. Then I will pass your answer on to Miss Kazehaya as soon as I can.
Thank you for your availability and for the tip: I will try to keep it in mind.
I hope you have a good day."
"Good day to you too, Mr. Yamaguchi."
And the call was hung up.

Chapter Text

That evening, Kimi started to browse through the messages from the last few days, and found herself smiling as she read the last one she had received from Inuyasha:

"The movie was really nice: it was a little about me and a little about you. XO"

If she remembered correctly, it must have been that movie about the obese man who desperately tried to mend his relationship with his teenage daughter...THE WHALE, that was the name.
She herself had gone to see it, just months earlier, at Venice Film Festival: Shizu, an old acquaintance from when she still worked as a costume designer for movies produced by Toga, had found herself without a companion when her husband had been struck by a bad intestinal virus; despite this, he had insisted that she deserved to go, knowing that it was an important experience for his wife's career; and so the second ticket had been passed to Kimi.
She remembered having heard that the Venice canals, alone, could be enough to justify a trip to Italy.
Only it must have been said by someone who was, without a doubt, happily married and not yet hardened by married life.

The sun had already set and it was starting to get dark, but Tokyo had no intention to go to bed.
The night had the virtue of bringing a new life, full of experiences, risks and gambles, where composure gave way to debauchery and the yoke of social conventions became looser.
Kimi herself had been there, and she remembered those days of revelry and adventure with a cheerful and satisfied smile.

'I'll write to him now.' she decided before her imagination wandered too much and she ended up forgetting about it.
She returned to the chat with Inuyasha and began to write a reply, but soon realized that she had written a treatise on theoretical physics, rather than a message between step-relatives.
'Think that, until a few years ago, I would have bitten my tongue rather than call him one of the family.'
That thought made her uncomfortable, but she quickly managed to chase it away and not think about it too much.
After all, Inuyasha and Toga's family had been there the last time she needed them.

Looking back at the scroll written on the phone, and knowing that her stepson (could that be a good way to describe him?) wasn't much of a reader, she convinced herself that a phone call would take up less time.

_____________________________________________

"I'm home, Kagome! Are you okay?"
A hairdryer could be clearly heard from the shower, so she probably hadn't heard him.

"FINE!!! ASAP, TAKE THE RICE OUT OF THE KETTLE, I NEED TO FINISH DRYING MY HAIR!!!"
As if unsaid, the message had come through loud and clear.
And the answer even more so.
Sometimes Inuyasha wondered if his sweet half wasn't actually an eagle demon in disguise, because there was no way that little body could hold so much breath.

As he headed to the kitchen, his second favorite room after the bedroom, he heard the phone ring and took it out to answer, even though he didn't remember expecting calls from anyone.
Who knows, maybe he had forgotten a doctor's appointment?
He had almost managed to answer, when the missed call notification from TODOKE appeared.

'Argh, not for long; well, I'll call you back after I get out of these clothes and get the rice out of the kettle.' he mused, and headed for the bedroom.
The phone laid propped up next to the sink.

When Kagome came out of the bathroom, clean, perfumed and dressed, she went to look for her boyfriend.
She didn't find him in the kitchen, and the kettle didn't show any signs of having been emptied.
'Ah, is it possible that he listens to me once in a while?' she muttered annoyed.
She started to carry out the task she had entrusted to Inuyasha, but her attention was captured by the phone, which had lit up for a notification and indicated a missed call.
And now another one coming.
She picked it up to see who it could be at that hour.

"Kagome, the phone, please!" said the half-demon before grabbing the phone himself "Leave it alone, done!"
His girlfriend, quite confused by the situation, nodded towards the appliance, thus reminding him of the unfinished business.
"Oh, sorry I haven't emptied the kettle yet, but it was so hot today, and the sweatshirt smells like shit, so I put it in the hamper first."
He had gotten to work, and in no time at all he was done.

*smack*

He hadn't done it since he got home, so he kissed Kagome on her forehead.

"I can't wait to taste what you've prepared, I bet it will be delicious, even if my tongue melts from the spiciness; now I have to answer, but I'll be quick, I swear!" he said, before retiring to the bedroom.

It was all very strange.
Inuyasha was certainly not a boor, but this attitude was definitely suspicious, given his typical temperament; could someone have managed to mitigate this trait of his character?
She absolutely had to know, or she wouldn't have slept that night.
For this reason, she left the bowl aside and headed towards the room on tiptoe.

______________________________________________

"Hi, sorry I didn't answer right away, but I just got back." Inuyasha greeted.
"No problem; in fact, if I bother you I can call another time." Kimi replied.
"No, no, don't worry: I have a few minutes free, so go ahead and tell me."
How lucky indeed: she would have been sorry to interrupt his evening, after a long day of work.
"Okay, then." she began "Today I received an interesting call from Miss Kazehaya's staff."
"A girl with a shrill voice even when she stammers?" ventured the half-demon.
"No, it was a man." revealed his stepmother "but, from what you say, it seems like you met Miss Noto, am I right?"
"I can't hide anything from you, huh?"
A laugh was heard from the other end of the phone, which the young man joined in with pleasure.

"She asked me if I could stop by their place in the next few days, for a couple of hours." he continued in a more serious tone.
"Let me guess: you refused without the slightest hesitation?"
"I'm too predictable, aren't I?"
"Don't be upset: I'm the one who's very good."
Well, really, who could blame her?
"Hahaha, always bragging, I see!"
"What do you want me to say: I really suffer from ego tickling!"

______________________________________________

Kagome had gone up the hall and reached the bedroom door, from where she could hear Inuyasha's voice, who was talking to someone.

"I know, I know, but we can't keep hiding it from him: he has the right to know."

What was he talking about? And, most important: with whom? Surely it had to be someone her boyfriend knew, because she couldn't think of a context in which such a sentence didn't imply complicity.

"Do you think I don't know or can't imagine how betrayed he will feel by you? You are the only woman in his life, after all."

Kagome's eyes widened, incredulous at what she was hearing: Inuyasha had a friend she didn't know and had never even mentioned? And a very close one, to boot, listening to the discussion.
This hurt, but not as much as the words that would follow.

"We've managed to keep this secret for years, about the two of us, but now we have to take responsibility and tell the truth, okay? I'll be by your side every step on this way, so don't be afraid, okay? Great."

A stab in the heart would have hurt less. MUCH less.
THE TWO OF US?
Did this mean that her boyfriend had been having another relationship for years?

"I have to leave you now, Kagome and I are having dinner together tonight.
She's finishing making the rice and curry, so I better get going before she comes looking for me."

All her strength began to abandon her, giving way to sadness and a pit in her stomach.
But soon two other much more powerful emotions came: anger and the desire for revenge.
She turned the doorknob.

"Here I am, darling! Sorry to keep you waiting." Inuyasha said after hanging up the phone and hearing the bedroom door open.

A slap landed on the half-demon's cheek, leaving him completely shocked by the sudden gesture.

"YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE! A PIG AND A TRAITOR!" Kagome yelled at him.
"B-but-but what are you talking about, may I ask?"
His girlfriend's face barely contained indignation.
"And you even have the nerve to ask me that???" she continued "Who was on the phone?"
"What?" Inuyasha attempted, trying to stop that sudden assault and understand the reasons behind it.
"Who the hell was that slut you were talking to on the phone?"
"But no one, Gome..." he began, being abruptly interrupted.
" 'No one Gome' my ass, don't you dare avoid my questions! Who was on the phone?"
"It was just someone who called me for a piece of advice."
"So you're saying that you screw anyone who asks you for advice?"
The half-demon turned Ferrari red with embarrassment.
"What are you talking about, Kagome???"
"Ah ah ah!" she replied, wagging her index finger, "don't think I misunderstood, because I heard everything."
Unluckily, she really had misunderstood.
"I know that you and the woman on the phone are having an affair."
No! No, he couldn't believe it!
His girlfriend thought he was cheating on her.
But explaining it would be too difficult, so it would be best to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"Honey, you got everything wrong, and if she could, she would tell you too." Inuyasha asserted.
Kagome saw Inuyasha's phone and challenged him.
"Then why don't we ask her directly? What do you say, Yasha, are you okay with that?"
Then she reached out and grabbed the phone.

"Come on, stop being a child! What, you don't trust me?"
"And how could I, when you say there's no one here, and then you refuse to give me an explanation?"

In his agitation, Inuyasha didn't do much to stop her from taking the device, but he tried to make it difficult for her by moving away.
In the end, however, she managed to take it and turn it on, considering that, between the two of them, she was the one who remembered the pin and password better.

"Please, Gome, don't do it: don't call her."
But it was all in vain: when Kagome Higurashi got something into her head, no one could hope to divert her from her goal.
She searched through his calls and pressed the mysterious contact, TODOKE.
As soon as the call was accepted, the young human went on assault mode.

"Listen to me, you dirty bitch: for you to know, this half-demon already has a partner, and that's me, is that clear? So you better not let me hear from you again, because otherwise, for you, there will be trouble, serious trouble; and trust me, you don't want to know what I'm capable of, you really don't want to know."

A few seconds of silence followed, during which Inuyasha's thoughts alternated between how embarrassing that scene would be and how sexy his sweet half was when she was furious.
Finally, a response came from the other end of the phone.

"Good evening to you too, Kagome." Kimi giggled.

Her interlocutor froze.
Of all the voices she expected to hear, never, not in a million years would she would have thought of her boyfriend's stepmother.

'For heaven's sake, there is a category of porn specifically about that, but...but what kind of thoughts are these, now? You found out that your boyfriend is NOT cheating on you and you're trying to prove otherwise? Kagome, come on: rewire your brain and try to give a semblance of intelligence.' she urged herself mentally.

"Um, it's-it's-it's nice to hear you, Mrs. Gobodo." the very embarrassed human stammered.
"Me too: it's nice to see that there are still spirited people; Inuyasha should learn from you."
In the background a rather offended HEY! could be heard.
"Now it's better if you have dinner, I've taken up too much of your time. Enjoy your meal and goodnight."

"It was really..." she began.
"Embarrassing? Humiliating?" he suggested.
"A relief: at least now I have confirmation that you are not cheating on me."
"Well, in addition to the intention and courage, I assure you that I would not even have the time to do something stupid like that."
'Touchè!' Kagome thought.
"So I guess I have to thank Miroku, is that it?" she teased him.
"Oh, come on: and when will there be thanks to me?"
At that point, Inuyasha felt himself being pulled by the hair, and shortly after Kagome's lips found themselves on his.
A kiss full of love and affection...and also a little bit of the residual anger, which gave him strength.
"Is it better now?"
And was there even a need to ask?
"Come on, let's go eat." his girlfriend invited him.
"Hopefully the rice isn't overcooked." the half-demon considered, feeling like the luckiest person on the face of the Earth.

_____________________________________________

The couple was on the couch in the living room, with their only other company being an annoying silence.
"Toga, you look different these days, are you sure you're feeling okay?"
The person concerned was shaken out of his thoughts and turned his gaze to his wife.
The expression she read there saddened her, more than worried her: it was the one he showed when he wanted to avoid people worrying about him.

"It means we'll have to book an eye exam for next Saturday, don't you think?" he replied, trying to hide the uncertainty of his smile as much as possible.

"Toga, seriously: you look distant, as if you were a million miles away, and I don't like it."
Realizing that his gaze would only betray him, the dog demon decided to hide it, and he did so by burying his face between his partner's left shoulder and the base of her neck, where he knew she was ticklish and where he hoped to distract her from that annoying, yet necessary, discussion.

"No, stop. Stop!" she stopped him "I swear I'm going to bed and be closing the door, if you don't tell me what's bothering you, do you get this?"
His eyes widened in surprise and dismay, and he immediately intervened.

"It's only ten minutes left, and you've been wanting to watch this for a long time..."
"I don't care if I have to watch it with someone who isn't honest with me." she cut him off.
"Izy, please: I don't feel like talking about it right now."
"Well, you may not feel like it, but that doesn't mean you can avoid the subject forever, because I'll make sure it doesn't happen."

"But it's nothing, Izayoi, I mean it...just that..."
"...Just that?" she questioned him.
And it was at that moment, knowing he had no alternatives, that Toga gave in.
"Do you remember that day, about 6 years ago, when Inuyasha and I went to look for Sesshomaru? And then we came back with Inuyasha driving?"
His wife nodded.
The dog demon's voice became more serious.
"I can't forget what I saw that day." she explained.
Since that fateful day, the film producer had never addressed the subject, which caused him an immense sense of guilt; but now the feeling had become so intense that it would have exploded, if he hadn't spoken to her.

"He was...crying?" Izayoi asked in surprise.
"Yes, and he kept repeating that it's all my fault, because I'm the one who destroyed everything that Kimi, him and I were: the one who split our family."
The woman, seeing her husband in difficulty, rested her cheek on his shoulder to get close to him and try to cheer him up.

"Sesshomaru harbors a lot of resentment, but this shouldn't discourage you; I know you're already aware of it, but I'd be sorry if you were to forget it."
Toga stroked her hair, relieved by Izayoi's words of support and comfort.
Now all that remained was to reveal to her what had triggered the recent change in his mood.

"There was a moment, while I was reviewing some projects, this week, in which I felt terribly guilty." he revealed.
He then turned his gaze to his wife, who nodded at him.
"As I told you, among his many thrusts, Sesshomaru also said that I could give him a wonderful gift by disappearing from his life."
Those words saddened Izayoi as if she had received them herself (which, in a certain sense, was true).
"Yes, but you've always tried to connect with him, darling, that can't be denied." she pointed out.
"I know, Izy, I know; but now, for the first time, I've seriously thought about granting him." he admitted, letting all the difficulty he felt in pronouncing those words shine through.
"For a moment I thought that if this can bring a little light back into his life, then I have to try...and I felt like the worst man ever to be blessed with children." he continued "And I can't help but think that Sesshomaru could probably be right, and that..."
"No." he was interrupted.
"Honey...?"
"This is not you: this is not the Toga Taisho I know and married!" declared Izayoi "my Toga is not a coward, and he does not get disheartened in the face of any challenge, even the most insurmountable ones."
The expression on her husband's face told her that she had hit the nail on the head.
"You're right, honey: the man you fell in love with does not give up so easily."
Not only had the discouragement receded from his face, but a renewed determination had also appeared.

"You are watching: HIGH NOON, by Fred Zinneman" was the announcement that came from the television.
And now the couple could enjoy the film in an atmosphere of newfound serenity.

_____________________________________________

If anybody had asked Ayame how she would have preferred to spend the evening, she certainly would not have said:

'In the bathroom of my apartment, pouring on the toilet while my boyfriend holds my head to prevent the vomit from ending up in my hair.'

And yet there they were, in that exact situation, with her having tears in her eyes from the effort.
It had been going on for 10 minutes, but it seemed like it would last much longer, given that the intensity of the retching had only increased.

"Good heavens, wasn't that called 'morning sickness'?" Koga exclaimed.
*Uww-uhwww*
Another regurgitation.
"Anf...That's a big...grah-"
Again.
"Big-big bullshit!" she managed to finish with the little breath she had left after her last retch "They're spread out all day, anf...they reduce you to a rag...and-and they can go on for months, and with the luck I have...and I'm also a demon, shit!"
She paused in an attempt to get back to breathing properly, a skill she seemed to have forgotten in that brief but intense tour de force.

Another 10 minutes later, maybe, just maybe, some benevolent deity must have noticed her and taken pity, because Ayame was finally starting to feel her stomach recovering.
Both she and Koga breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, my little wolfie, only heaven knows what I did to deserve you." exclaimed the pregnant woman, before throwing herself into her companion's arms "Will you give me a kiss? I was good, I think I deserve it."
The boyfriend, sensing the threat posed by the young wolf demon's pestilential breath, dodged her just in time to give her a kiss on the cheek.
'I saved myself last minute, luckily.' he thought, relieved.

"Nawww, come on: why don't you give me a kiss?" Ayame whined.
"Puppy, try to understand me: you just finished vomiting your soul; your breath doesn't exactly smell like little roses." Koga tried to defend himself.
She pouted.
"You're mean," he declared, "I'm facing a little xenomorph that's devastating me from the inside and you can't find the strength to overlook this insignificant detail?"
"How is it《insignificant》? The irises in the living room have started to wilt." he replied, trying to defuse the situation. "How about this: first you brush your teeth and then I'll give you that congratulatory kiss, okay?"
Ayame thought about it for a moment, and then replied.
"But I want you to brush mine."
What was this, a joke?
"Come on, baby..." Koga protested sweetly.
"You have to take responsibility, isn't that what they teach at the police academy and what you always tell your agents?"
"Yes, but I have no say in your physiological and/or hormonal imbalances, don't you think?"
"But it's your fault, if I feel so broken." she accused him, starting to playfully slap him on the chest "It's your fault, and your bad and nasty sperm."

Faced with such a scene, the police sergeant couldn't help but laugh, full of gratitude for what universe was reserving him.
However, he was distracted from those thoughts by the ringing of the phone: the riff from THUNDERSTRUCK suggested him that it had to be Agent Yamaguchi, but what could Sango want at 9:00 PM?

"Wait for me here, Ayame: I'm getting a call from Sango, I'll be right back!" he explained.
"Be careful not to cheat on me with her just because I'll get fat." she teased him.
"Ahahahahaha, I don't even think about it; and then you know I only have a weakness for redheads..."
"...named Ayame! It's true, you always say that."
'But he never says anything about my breasts, which are my strong point.'

As he went out to answer, she looked at her belly and caressed it, then whispered: "You're going to love your daddy, you're going to be a really lucky girl."
Yes, in her heart she was convinced that it would be a girl.

"What do I owe such a late call to?" the wolf demon asked curiously.
"I may have discovered an inconsistency in the statements about that domestic violence case from last week." Sango responded quickly.
"There's a signed confession, the husband gave a false alibi, and acquaintances said he was attending an anger management course, so I don't see where there could be any inconsistencies... are you sure of what you're saying?"
"Of course I am, since there's another person being questioned with an alibi that doesn't hold up."
This news caught Koga off guard.
"What? Who is it, and why wasn't I informed?"
"The son: the officers in charge of the case must have overlooked him, after the woman told them he was in class, but I checked, and none of his teachers saw him, and so did his classmates."
"Damn, this will be a real pain in the ass. Did you inform the people directly involved?"
"That's the first thing I did, and I also got insulted... dickheads."
"We'll see if they're being as bold tomorrow morning." commented the sergeant.

"That's all, I hope I didn't interrupt anything, but you should have been warned."
"Absolutely not. Anyway, no: it took me a while to answer because I was taking care of Ayame, who hasn't been feeling well all day and stopped vomiting like 5 minutes ago."
Sango was stunned: from the few times she had seen her, she had given her the impression of being the living picture of health.
But who knows, maybe she was wrong.
"Wow! I'm sorry. I wish her a speedy recovery, then, okay?"
"I'll let her know." Koga said "I, on the other hand, advise you to avoid the Italian restaurant IL GIARDINO DELLE PAROLE for a while: Ayame's case could be food poisoning.
But now I have to say goodbye, I'm needed elsewhere.
Bye Sango, have a good evening and thanks for calling."
"You're welcome, boss: duty."

After the call, the demon went back to the bathroom, to his girlfriend, armed himself with a toothbrush and toothpaste and began.
"Now, be a good girl: open your mouth and let's clean these adorable little fangs."
Ayame smiled at him and obeyed.
What more could he ask for, from life.

_______________________________________________

Sango didn't know what or why, but something was off, she wasn't entirely convinced.
She had heard of that Italian restaurant before, and not just in cooking magazines or on television; but where, then?

'Think, think, think,...'

Here was the illumination: the name had come up at the coffee machines in the precinct while Shiori was talking to Rukawa, a colleague who had asked her for advice on a date, and she had said that an acquaintance of hers at the anti-sophistication department had given her a wonderful review, saying that she had checked it out personally.

'A healthy young demon, a date, and a 5-star restaurant; so either Ayame was incredibly unlucky..." she mulled it over for a while, and for a while...until the realization struck her!
"...or she's pregnant!!!" she concluded, jumping up from the couch.
But she soon fell back, giggling.

'Such great news!
And what a great job of investigating, no doubt about it,
but above all such great news!'

"Get ready, Koga Yoromizu: you have no idea how much I'm going to tease you; you'll regret not telling me, leaving me to find out on my own."
And with this promise, she got into the shower, after which she texted a bit with Miroku and prepared for the next day.

Chapter Text

THURSDAY

The race against time had officially begun, but not in the way Rin had hoped: the previous day had brought no result, except for the ever-growing awareness of developing a strange feeling for Sesshomaru.
'And now what do I do, what?' she tormented herself.
'We have to tell Kagura, right away!' her more rational side suggested.
'ARE YOU MAD? What's wrong with you these days, you're coming up with all these crazy ideas?'
'Kagura already suspects...oh, what am I saying, she KNOWS that something is wrong, so we might still be in time to save her from further worry; think about it, Rin!'
'But I've already made some progress: if I left now we wouldn't be able to find someone who can complete this journey in barely 3 weeks.'

"...rocking children?"
That sentence shook her out of the chaos of thoughts that were troubling her... leaving her stunned and with the same alert expression of a freshly caught fish.
"Huh?"
Her interlocutor snorted loudly.
"I'm not stupid, Rin, I know you have something deeply unpleasant in store for me."
Why the hell did that deep voice of his send a shiver down her spine? Of all the reactions she could have had at that moment, this was definitely the least appropriate.

"Yesterday you were so disappointed by your foolish attempt to bring me and Inuyasha closer that you didn't even find the strength to drag me here and there in Tokyo to some bizarre acquaintance of yours, to do who knows what in an attempt to prove to me that humans aren't bad, that doing good brings good back and so on, so on. I wouldn't be surprised at all if today you wanted to make up for the time wasted." In fact, after the phone call made to the half-demon, the woman had seemed to have lost all the vitality that animated her, and had limited herself to asking him a few questions about when the fights had started, and what he found so stimulating in wasting time with those that he, first and foremost, considered "inferior creatures": it turned out that it had been about 5/6 years now, and that, not to boast, of course, he had always come out unscathed, from every single situation.

Throughout the conversation, Sesshomaru had to restrain himself from responding to the provocations that Jake's ghost addressed to him:
"Good job, big boy; I find it quite incredible that this little mouse can seize all the blood from your brain, but you know what they say: de gustibus..." he teased him from behind Rin's back.
As they continued with the questions, his hallucination in the form of the Hollywood star undid her hair and played with it, made it fall on her shoulders and brought its hands dangerously close to her two breasts, with a derisive grin.
"Before you forget it again, you big dog, I'm only in your head: stop thinking dirty thoughts and you'll see that I'll stop being dirty too; not that I mind, don't get me wrong, but I say that's she's too old, for my tastes. Haha!"

"I actually don't know what to do, Sesshomaru: you've made it more than clear that you don't intend to let me help you." Rin began, before taking her face in her hands "Good heavens, it's worse than I could have imagined: the person I'm trying to help rehabilitate doesn't want to know about collaborating, there are twenty days left until the presentation of Kagura's program" a short pause "and as if that wasn't enough at this rate I'll have to cancel the karaoke for my birthday, in two weeks." She immediately covered her mouth, but by then it had escaped her; Not that it was any big secret, for heaven's sake, but she was afraid of what use the dog demon might make of it in front of her.

"You're finally old enough to drink alcohol?"
Exactly what she feared.
"I doubt you'd be much company, but at least I'd have a laugh listening to you slur after your first drink."
Rin knew she shouldn't give in to the provocations, but at that moment she didn't care.
"You'd be surprised how well I can handle it, Maru-chan."
Before Sesshomaru could reply, there was a knock on the door, catching both of their attention.
"If the mountain won't go to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain; this time you're bringing someone here?" the demon asked.
Rin ignored the comment, walked over to the door, and opened it, but stopped halfway to prevent Sesshomaru from seeing: in front of her was a human in a wheelchair and his half-demon caregiver.

"So you must be Rin Noto." Miroku concluded after carefully observing the pretty young woman before him.
The surprised expression she gave him and Inuyasha was accompanied by: "How do you know my name?"
The two visitors nodded at the badge she wore hanging around her neck like a necklace and the nameplate on the office door.
"And you are Miroku Kanagawa and his caregiver, right?"
A nod of approval was their response.
'I desperately need another coffee, and I need it ASAP.'

"I would love to shake your hand, believe me, but we just finished a jog, so I think it would be better not to."
Despite having understood the humor of her interlocutor, Rin couldn't help but ask: "Who won?"
"Do I even have to answer?" Miroku replied, feigning disappointment in front of which the young human froze "Of course I did; although I must admit that this big boy gave me a hard time."
Oh, my, another prank.

As much as she wouldn't have minded, if this little intrusion had lasted a little longer, Rin had a job to do and couldn't afford distractions, so she wasted no time in questioning the two about this surprise appearance.

"What brings you here, Mr. Kanagawa? If I may ask, of course."
"No problem asking; I actually didn't expect to pop in here either, at least not until half an hour ago, but there was a change of heart about your proposal from yesterday, and this place was on the way, so..."
He looked at the half-demon, who spoke up.
"We came here to find out if you still needed me for your project."
From that moment on, as if it were an unmentionable secret, Inuyasha lowered his voice.
"I've had a chance to think about it a bit, and looking at it carefully, I think there's a way I can contribute too...not that I care about that bastard, mind you, I just want to give you a hand, because I know how difficult it can be."

"Inuyasha, what ominous storm brings you to these parts?" Sesshomaru greeted, appearing behind Rin and opening the door completely.
The demon ignored the woman and his stepbrother, and studied the third member of the group, who was looking back at him.
It was curious for him to notice how that human, despite the obvious vulnerability, seemed perfectly calm, and indeed, almost curious to see him.
"I see, so now you make a living wiping the ass of a quadriplegic? That's even worse than I would have expected for you."
"Sesshomaru..." Rin started to scold him.
"No problem, Miss Noto: I'm used to it, you don't have to worry."
After that, he returned his attention to the dog demon.

"What a shame, I expected something more scathing from you, Sesshomaru: from what I've heard about you, you've never been the type to mince your words."
The demon's expression hardened.
"I don't waste time with those I don't consider worthy of my attention...especially if they're human."
Inuyasha wanted to point out, and that was the right opportunity.
"You have to thank this human, if you were given this opportunity."
A mocking laugh emerged from Sesshomaru's mouth, who met his stepbrother's gaze.
"And so that traitor has been reduced to this? Begging for favors around, like a poor stray?"
"Truth be told, it's my initiative, and to tell more, Inuyasha didn't even want to know anything about it, at first" Miroku corrected "but he also said that your father wouldn't have forgiven him for letting such an opportunity slip away."
Toga's eldest son's eyes narrowed, giving him a menacing expression.
"Toga Taisho is not my father, I'd be immensely pleased if you remembered that."
Miroku nodded.
"When you wish you can prove yourself polite."
Sesshomaru glanced at Inuyasha, before continuing.
"What did you mistake me for, some kind of bastard?"
Rin, fearing the tension that was building up, decided to intervene.
"OOOK! Introductions over, very well, now I would ask you to clear the door and take your seats, and...what can I do for you, Mr. Kanagawa?"
"Don't worry." Inuyasha and Miroku replied in unison, which left them both speechless for a moment.
"I brought my headphones with me and I have an audiobook on my phone. The ones for blind people are very useful for those who can't move, too, I've discovered."
The caregiver took the headphones and put them on the man in the wheelchair, then patted him on the shoulder and headed to Rin's study.

"Please, Inuyasha: use my chair, I'll get another one out of the closet," Rin invited.
"No, really, there's no need, Miss Noto," the half-demon attempted.
"I insist." she replied.
"Then, if you insist..."

"Very well, I admit that I didn't expect such a surprise today, but I want you to know that it is very welcome, Inuyasha."
"Speak for yourself," Sesshomaru intervened, clearly annoyed.
"By the way, I see that nothing has changed at all: you are always on the front lines worrying about those who are even more pathetic than you...just like your father." he added.
"Be the change you want to see in the world, as Gandhi said, also because it would have taken him less time to sprout a third eye, rather than you treating me like one of your family."
"That would have been great news, at least we would have had proof that your mother framed Toga, in the purest form of human nature."
Inuyasha clenched his fists to contain his nerves.
"I don't even know why I thought this could be a good idea."
"I'm already surprised that you thought of it, I didn't think you were capable of it." Sesshomaru retorted.
"Stop it."
"Be gone."
A throat was cleared, and the two stepbrothers turned towards the source of the noise.

"So, if you're done with your bickering, I'm going to ask you to tell me about the two of you and how your relationship has evolved over the years." Rin announced. "For example, Inuyasha: what is your first memory of Sesshomaru? I'd say you're 4 years apart, am I wrong?"
The person being questioned grimaced to indicate that she was close, but she was wrong.
"We're 6 years apart, 24 and 30," she explained concisely, "and to answer your question: I was about 4/5 years old, and I was in my..."
He turned to his older brother, who paid him no attention at all, intent as he was on excluding himself from the conversation.
"...our room, and I was trying to climb onto the bunk bed, where he slept; on his pillow there was Ah-Un, a two-headed stuffed dragon to whom he had always been very attached..."
Sesshomaru remembered that episode well, and he knew that Inuyasha wanted to play it to convey a very specific image: that of the child mistreated by his jealous brother.

_________________________________________________

About 20 years earlier

The stairs that his big brother Sesshomaru used to climb to his bed scared him a little: they weren't like the ones to enter kindergarten, with wide steps where you could rest your entire feet, but what his mother called 'ladders'.
However, if he wanted to reach that stuffed toy on the pillow, he had to take courage and climb them.
First his hands, then his feet, calmly and with composure, as the policemen said on television.

Having reached the halfway point, the child began to feel a little dizzy, and stopped in fear, also because he had heard a creaking sound.
'Just two steps, just two steps' he began to repeat to himself, and reached the bed with a final sprint.

The scene in front of Sesshomaru made him angry.
"What are you doing up there?"
Inuyasha, taken by surprise, turned and met his brother's gaze.
"I-I wanted to play with Ah-Un: can I please?"
"No, it's mine: put it back where you found it and get out of bed."
"But you never use it! Why can't I play with it?" insisted the younger one.
"Because it's mine, and I tell you that you can't."
"But that's not fair: you're the meanest brother in the world!"
"Stop throwing tantrums: give me Ah-Un and come down, immediately."
"Ugh!!" was the child's response, who threw the doll to his brother and leaned out of bed to get out.
But he froze.

"What are you waiting for, come down." Sesshomaru urged him.
"B-b-but I'm so high up." the little guy protested.
"This is not true, you're just a coward."
"THAT is not true, dad always tell me I'm a brave boy!"
"So what are you waiting for? Come on, come on!"
Inuyasha wasn't having it: he was going to show his big brother that nothing could scare him, certainly not a stupid ladder.
He put his foot on the first rung...and the ladder tipped backwards.
The little half-demon tried to regain his balance, but he only managed to push the ladder back, and now he was falling at the foot of the bed.

Sesshomaru, dropping the puppet to have his hands free, grabbed Inuyasha at the height of the belly to stop the fall; unfortunately, in doing so, he made him hit his head, and his little brother started to cry because of the blow.

"Waaaaaah" he started to cry.
"Stop it, you didn't really hurt yourself." his older brother scolded him, before looking at the affected area.
'Luckily it didn't leave any marks.'
"You won't even have a bump left."
"That's what you say. You are evil."
At those words, Sesshomaru began to tremble with rage: even though he had saved him from a trip to the emergency room, that brat still had the strength to complain? He couldn't take it anymore: they weren't even real brothers, so it already meant a lot that he was worrying about him; driven by this flow of thoughts, he began to pull Inuyasha's ear, making the child scream.

Once he got close to his face, the eldest began to speak.
"Listen to me carefully, microbe: you were lucky today because I was here, is that clear?"
The half-demon nodded his head, scared.
"Very good, because the next time you do something stupid like that I will stay still and let you fall."
The door to their room opened, Toga entered and did not like what he saw at all.

"What are you doing, Sesshomaru?" he exclaimed, scared.
"He was throwing a tantrum, that's why I was pulling his ear."
The parent approached the youngest child to check.
"Are you hurt, son?" he asked, worried.
"He's not hurt, dad, don't worry." the eldest reassured him, stepping aside.
"I didn't ask you, Sesshomaru!"
The tone scared the boy, more than he wanted to admit.

"I just wanted to play with Ah-Un, papa!" Inuyasha whined.
Toga looked for the stuffed toy, and found it near the feet of his other son.
"I can't believe it, it was you?!"
The accusation hurt the eleven-year-old.
"No, it was an accident." he defended himself.
"Don't lie, kid, I'm not stupid."
"But it's true!"
"Sesshomaru, don't make me angry."
"I'm telling you the truth, why don't you listen to me?" the young dog demon protested.
To prove that he wasn't a liar, he grabbed the stuffed toy of the two-headed dragon in one hand, and with the other he pointed to the top bed.
"Inuyasha went up there because he wanted to get Ah-Un; when I saw him I told him to give it to me and come down, but the ladder wasn't fixed, and he lost his balance and fell."
Sincerity always paid off, Toga and Kimi had taught him.
What they had never told him, however, is that there is little reasoning, with a frightened parent.

"Why can't Inuyasha play with it?" his father questioned him, his voice betraying an accusatory tone.
"What?" Sesshomaru asked, confused.
"Why can't he play with that damned stuffed dragon?!" Toga repeated, shouting.
Intimidated by his father's shout, the boy hugged the stuffed dragon tightly.
"Because it's mine, and he didn't ask my permission." he replied with a trembling voice.
"Permission? Sesshomaru, you're 11 years old, you're too old to sleep with dolls."
"That doesn't mean anything: it's a gift my mom gave me, and no one can have it, but me."
His father was getting nervous, he could feel it, but he felt absolutely helpless.
"But Inuyasha is your brother, he can make an exception for him."

Oh, no no no no no, he couldn't accept this: the stuffed dragon was only his, and had an immense sentimental value; Inuyasha would only dirty it and ruin it, and then abandon it when he got tired of it.

"Can't you buy him another stuffed animal?" the eldest tried to suggest.
"Come on, Sesshomaru, why all this selfishness?"
"Why do you want to force me, dad?"
"Now you're the one throwing a tantrum," the second-born interjected.
"You shut up!"
"SESSHOMARU! Apologize right away!" his father ordered.
"Why? You know I'm right."
"Because I said so, and I don't accept you talking to your brother like that."
"He is YOUR son, not MY brother." the son corrected him.
"It's the same thing."
"NO, IT'S NOT!!!"
He had just raised his voice at his father, but despite that he was not afraid at all, so he kept going.

"You wanted another child, but I never wanted a brother," he looked at the boy, "and certainly not one like you."
Before he knew it, Sesshomaru found himself on the ground with a strong stinging sensation on his left cheek: Toga had slapped him; and judging by the expression on his face, he must have realized it too.
The boy was very angry, but he also felt betrayed, which is why he decided to show this side of himself.

"Sesshomaru, I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to." his father tried to apologize.
"Stay away from me!" he retorted, stretching out an arm while massaging his cheek with the other hand "Why do you hate me?"
The question sent Toga into panic, as he had absolutely not expected such a situation.
"No, that's not true, I could never hate..."
"Then why don't you trust me?" he interrupted him.
The silence was an eloquent answer, and the eleven-year-old stood up and ran to the entrance, where he picked up his wallet.
"Wait, stop! Where are you going?"
"To Menomaru and Garamaru's: at least they're still okay with me."
"Sesshomaru, please wait!"
But the door had already been opened and slammed shut.

Sniffing the air, Inuyasha, who had recovered in the meantime, smelled salt.

_____________________________________________

"It must be hard, knowing that your first memory of someone so close to you is that you are not wanted." Rin said, after Inuyasha had finished his story. "And I have to admit that what you said on the phone yesterday is much more understandable now."
"See?" said the half-demon. "The only one who doesn't seem to understand is this idiot, sitting next to me."
Sesshomaru was summoning all his self-control not to break his brother's teeth; and it wasn't easy, especially since his Jake-fucking-Gyllenhaal 'daemon' (ironically, right? A demon with a daemon) had now shrunk and was perched on his stepbrother's right shoulder, making idiotic expressions to annoy him.

"And you, Maru-ch...ehm, I mean Sesshomaru: what is your first memory of Inuyasha?"
To be honest, there was no right answer: he just knew that he was better before that nuisance came into the world.
But he knew that, if he answered like that, he would have no peace, so...
"I would say when..."
"Woah, woah, woah, slow down, slow down!" he was interrupted by his stepbrother "Wait, wait, before you go any further: how did you call him, Rin?"
The woman blushed, taking on the shade of the blouse she was wearing.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" she said, showing off a considerable set of deaf ears.
"You know what I mean: that was a pet name, and don't think I'm going to buy the first lie you feed me, okay?"
Why did he have to insist on such a trifle, Sesshomaru thought.
"I don't think it's relevant, for our work, so..."
"Oh, it is: there's one thing everyone knows about him, and that is that he can't stand nicknames."
She turned to the person in question.
"What are they to you? Frivolities? With him, it's like talking to a character in costume, sometimes."

Rin sought her client's gaze, who rolled his eyes, a gesture she interpreted as permission, albeit resigned, to reveal the origin of that silly nickname.
"It would be Maru-Chan, like the little dog in FROM ME TO YOU, but I realize that's offensive, and also embarrassing."
Inuyasha started laughing, hearing the name of that manga.
"You know, it's a comic that my girlfriend loves so much, so much so that she forces me to read it with her, dividing male and female lines."
Rin was moved.
"How cute!"
"Absolutely not, I'm the victim of torture: I'm fed up with all these Shota, Ryu, Kento..."

While the two of them were lost in a less than serious discussion, a part of Sesshomaru, the most annoying one to be precise, made itself heard again.
"Damn, your brother really knows how to irritate you: now I feel threatened, the competition has this effect on me."
'Shut up, damn it!' was the demon's threat to the actor.
"You're starting to be boring, you know that? I like the sound of my voice, I really do, but I'm starting to get tired of having to repeat the same old spiel about how I'm a figment of your imagination, that you have to blame yourself, or stop your bad habits."
"If you came here to make me impatient, you can leave at once."
It took him a moment before realizing it: he hadn't just thought those words, he had also said them.
Fortunately, even though Inuyasha and Rin were now staring at him, they didn't seem surprised.

"It's a little hard to prove you wrong, since I only have to open my mouth to make you lose your temper."
Sesshomaru replied with a threatening growl.
"THIS! You see it?"
From the other side of the desk, the woman took control of the discussion.
"Sesshomaru, let's not argue, please. I'd like to know your answer."
"I had to take a blood sample," he obliged, "And I saw his name in a nursery while I was following the nurse."

________________________________________________

About 25 years ago

Number 143, it was their turn.
"Are you ready, honey?" Kimi asked.
"I think so," the boy hesitated.
"Remember what I told you."
"Smile and you won't feel anything?"
"That's right," she confirmed, "Now follow the nurse: I'll go to the bathroom and then get back to you."
"Okay."

As they walked down the long corridor, Sesshomaru glanced at the nursery and noticed that one of the babies in the cribs had a curious set of animal ears.

"Hey, little one! Is there something wrong?" the nurse called back, seeing him with his hands on the glass divider. "You're not scared, are you?"
"That boy has the same last name as me, Taisho."
The woman followed the boy's gaze.
"Oh, that must be the baby from last week. He's half-demon, which makes him quite rare."
"A half-demon?" Sesshomaru inquired.
"That's right. Mom human and dad demon." Kaede explained (as the tag read). "Now let's go. The doctor is waiting for us."

A patient in her thirties with long black hair and eyes full of sweetness was making her way towards the nursery; the medical staff had given her directions, and now that she had received permission to leave the bed she couldn't wait to admire her little bundle of joy.
She started looking for him with her eyes as she went up the corridor, but she was so busy that she didn't notice the little boy she bumped into.

"Be careful, lady!" the little boy scolded her, and when she looked into his eyes she blanched: it was without a shadow of a doubt Toga's son; but if he was there with her, then that could only mean 'serious trouble'.
"Excuse me, little one: I didn't mean to hurt you." he replied.
"Are you looking for someone?" asked the nurse.
"My boy, the half-demon dog that has been talked about for days, in here."

'Dog?' thought Sesshomaru.
The dinging of a pager distracted him.
"Oh, it's mine!" the new mother declared. "Have a nice day, both of you."
When she thought she was a safe distance away, she cursed, but kept her voice low.
"Damn, Toga! We're in deep trouble now!"
She had no idea that three pairs of dog ears were nearby.

The demon child was confused after hearing the woman mention his father's name: maybe she was a colleague of his? He wanted to find out.
"Hey, kid! Where are you going?"
"To the young lady from before: she's a friend of dad's."
Or at least, that's what he thought and hoped.

Kimi strained his ears and looked around, to understand where that voice was coming from.
Luckily, the woman was muttering, which would have made it easier to follow and find her.

The tailing led her to the hospital hall.

"Izayoi, what are you doing out there?" Toga began, alarmed.
"I'm fine, honey, I'm fine, but listen to me..."
"You know what the doctor said: it takes more time to recover after giving birth to a half-demon, you could have hurt yourself."
"Yes, you already said that, but it's important that you let me talk, okay?"
"Absolutely, but what's going on? You seem worried." the demon stated.
"I was going to see Inuyasha in the nursery, and I came across a child who looks like you, with a crescent on his forehead: we're in trouble."
Her companion tried to invent a reassurance for her, but before he could utter a word, someone else spoke.

"Dad, who's your friend?" Sesshomaru asked.
The question made his throat dry, and another voice added to the situation.
"What does all this mean?"
Kimi had arrived, and her eyes were wide open: whether it was wonder, blind rage, horror, or a mix of all three, it didn't matter; Toga would have much preferred not to be there.

"Sesshomaru, come to me!" his mother ordered him. "Hurry!"
The child ran to her and hid behind her back, frightened both by the timbre of Kimi's voice and by the scene before him.

"Dad, why is there a child with our same last name?" he asked, hoping for an answer that would clarify everything that was happening.

"Yes, Toga: why don't you tell your son what you did?" his wife suggested, looking the miserable human woman up and down. "I'd love to hear it too."

The unfaithful man knew they all deserved an explanation, but the words died in his throat, they just didn't want to come out.

______________________________________________

"I'm so sorry, Sesshomaru. I can't imagine how you must have felt, in front of this scene." Rin said.
"And yet, since you've started following my case, you've done nothing but try to convince me to appreciate the possibilities that the coexistence between humans and demons brings with it."
He arched towards the woman.
"But you must know that this nonsense doesn't work, with me."

From the other side of the desk, Miss Noto's gaze oscillated from one brother to the other, and had an idea.
"Could you please turn the chairs so we can look each other in the eye?"
She received a skeptical look and a disgusted one in return.

"For heaven's sake, don't make me keep my eyes on that ugly mug," the half-demon began.
"What do you hope to achieve?" the full demon asked boredly.
"I'm just asking you to indulge me, to give it a try."
Not at all confident, but with no valid alternatives, they obeyed.
'So damnedly annoying,' Sesshomaru reflected.
'If only I could slap you!' Inuyasha thought.

"The truth is, Sesshomaru, you are looking for answers, the ones that no one could give you when you needed them; but you looked for them in the wrong place, from someone who knew even less than you. Do you really think that Inuyasha ever wished for any of this? Are you really so naive as to believe such a thing?"

Rin's provocation stirred Toga's eldest son, who began to speak.
"I never cared what he wanted and what he didn't want." he replied, before turning to his stepbrother "I only know that your birth did nothing but create problems."

Even after years since the last time he had heard this, the youngest could not deny that he was hurt...however, in the meantime he had also learned to fight back.
"When there is a problem, you look for a way to solve it together, you do not use it as an excuse to justify insults and bullying, like you did."

Perhaps Sesshomaru should have clarified a point or two.
"That opportunity was granted to him, but Toga refused to let you go, and in doing so, he made his choice."
The thought made his blood boil.
"And knowing how stubborn he can be, I knew no one would change his mind...except, perhaps, you, who thus became my new target."

Inuyasha didn't expect anything less from his stepbrother.
"If you wanted to get rid of me and my mother and distance us from dad, well the plan must have backfired, since you were the only one who distanced yourself."

He hated it when that insolent half-demon made fun of him, so he certainly couldn't stay silent.
"I didn't have much choice, since I was no longer welcome."

Inuyasha couldn't accept this, because it simply wasn't true.
"Why do you do this?" he asked.
"What?"
"Lying to yourself: it's not true for shit, (excuse my French, Rin), that dad, or my mother have left you aside; you're the one who always refused to meet them."
"And why should I have? To give in to you? So that you felt good about yourselves? Is this what I should have done, silently accept a change that was and is absolutely wrong?"
"And taking it out on me seems like the right solution to you? I had no idea why you were such an asshole towards me, you never deigned to answer me."

Rin was enthralled by the conversation, and was writing down the ideas and considerations offered by the two brothers.

"Because you've always had the answer right before your eyes, and yet you don't even realize it now."
Inuyasha's irritation was growing.
"Then give me a hand, because I'm a poor fool and I don't get it!"
"Then you admit it."
"Sesshomaru, this is truly mean." Rin interjected, trying to contain a giggle.
"Stay out of it, you!" he ordered her.
"What did I do to you to deserve all this?" her stepbrother called back.
"You destroyed my family."
"It wasn't my fault, what's my fault if I was born?"
"YOU STOLE MY LIFE!!!" the dog demon exploded as he jumped to his feet.
His roar silenced the others present.

"What you lived was supposed to be my life: I deserved a happy family, not Toga; and neither did you, you disgusting half-blood!"
That's enough, though.
Inuyasha jumped from his chair, and immediately pounced on his interlocutor.
"Now I'll kill you, bastard!"

Rin took a whistle from a desk drawer, put it in her mouth, blew...and made no sound.
Or at least, that's what it seemed to the humans nearby.
The two arguing, taken aback, put their hands to their ears and began to look for the source of that infernal racket. The small human woman standing behind the desk.

"I don't want blood in my office, am I clear?"
After a short pause for confirmation, she turned to the half-demon.
"That said, I want to thank Inuyasha for making himself available for this meeting: it was very enlightening and fruitful."
After that, she shifted her attention to the other.
"Sesshomaru, I'm glad you were able to share something so intimate and personal."
Finally, to both of them.
"I hope that this meeting has allowed you to better understand each other's point of view, and that it can be a first step towards, if not reconciliation, at least an understanding."

________________________________________________

'Sindre Fauke. Gudbrand Johansen. Daniel Gudeson.'
As the audiobook reached a new chapter, the door to Miss Noto's study opened, and her caregiver came out, wearing a neutral expression.
"How did it go?" Miroku asked.
Inuyasha could have answered 'good' or 'bad', but for some reason he wasn't convinced.
"I was surprised."
Now, that was definitely better.
"Do you have to come back tomorrow?" his boss asked.
"Yes, but tomorrow is another day. Let's go now."

Chapter Text

Kagura remembered when she had listened to a radio broadcast on her way to work: one of the guests had launched into a rich and detailed discussion about so-called 《shitty unexpected events》, with plenty of insights into the chain reaction that these events can trigger in everyday life.

1) their presence disrupts your plans, and this will certainly make you nervous and angry (but Kagura would have always denied having imagined a thousand and one ways to strangle Yuriko Koike);
2) any delays will have generated anxiety and worry, which will be reflected in your way of dealing with problems (is it normal for a single cup of coffee to represent all of a person's fluid intake from 8:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.?);
3) in trying to remedy these situations, you will come out exhausted, impatient and not very inclined to dialogue (poor little thing, the secretary of the police chief whom she had railed against, and whom she had reduced to tears by asserting that the job had been given to her only because they had run out of places in vice team);
4) people around you will notice this attitude, but they will not have the slightest intention of coming to your aid because they too will have had unexpected events. They too were expecting a quiet day and got a bucket of cold water thrown in their face. And they couldn't care less about the urgencies other people have.

"I've already paid a large deposit for your damned catering, so I demand that you do everything you can do and also what you can not, given how much I pay you, damn it!" she growled before hanging up the office phone; although very small, it was still a satisfaction that cell phones did not allow you to take away...unless you were willing to spend 80-100,000 yen to buy a new one.

Speaking of which, hers was ringing: she never managed to enjoy more than 15 seconds of consecutive pause, in this hectic day.
Without even checking who it was from, she brought the phone to her ear.

"Yes?"
The caller was greeted by a voice as terrifying as the ancient goddess Izanami, but he didn't sound intimidated...more amused.
"Having an awful day, today, are we?"
"Don't tell me you need something too, Kohaku, or I'll come over and stick a fan in your eye."
The human on the other end of the phone did his best to keep from laughing.
"With all the scorching heat these days, do you really want to sacrifice such an important asset of yours to beat me?"
He couldn't be blamed: by the end of the week, Tokyo would be experiencing temperatures of 92 ºF, which, combined with the high humidity, meant no black dresses for the foreseeable future.
But she had air conditioning, so it didn't matter.
"Thanks to the air conditioning in the office, let's just say that the prospect couldn't be cooler" she commented.

If she managed to make a joke (even if it was just a pun, it was still valid), then it was a good sign, because it meant that she was no longer completely preoccupied with the anticipation of the event; yes, the worry remained, but she was lucid enough to joke.
So, why not cheer her up even more?

"I wanted to call you because I managed to find a solution for the location of your gala."
The silence that greeted him made him understand that he had the demoness's full attention.
"Keep going." she ordered.
"Kimi Gobodo has agreed to make her saloon available, and she says that you have managed to earn her admiration."
Excellent news, perhaps the first ones of the day.

'Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!' Kagura mentally exulted.
"Great job, now you have to tell me what magic you used to convince her, or rather, I'll make some time for myself and go thank her personally: anything, just to get away from this claustrophobic office."

Overwhelmed by his boss's quasi-monologue, Kohaku struggled to find a crack in which to squeeze in.
"Actually, she offered to do it...she understood what I was trying to ask her and beat me to it."
This admission made his interlocutor smile, and she replied: "Let this be a lesson to you, Kohaku, let this be a lesson to you. Now I'm off, have a good evening."
"Thanks, boss, I'll do it."

_________________________________________________

While Kagura Kazehaya was racking her brains to resolve the issues with the gala, Officer Sango Yamaguchi was in Sergeant Koga Yoromizu's office to discuss developments in a domestic violence case from the previous few days.

"The couple's son has been arrested, and will be questioned soon," was the woman's update. "Unfortunately, Morikawa and Miura had to make things difficult, and we're going to need blood and sweat to paper over their cracks."
Her superior nodded, so as to say that he understood; immediately after, he leaned back in his chair and let out a groan of disappointment.
"I should kick them in the ass until my legs fall off; how can someone do such a crap of a job?"
"They put a lot of effort into doing a mess out of it, otherwise it can't be explained."
"Yeah, too bad It's me the one who will have to give an explanation, and I'm not really in the mood to do it."
Hearing that word, Sango found herself forced to stifle a giggle, which Koga managed to catch despite everything, thanks to his heightened senses.

"What's so funny?" he asked her, partially masking his annoyed tone.
Sango, hoping that he would react like that, decided to come towards him...one small step at a time.
"Mh?"
"I heard you, you were giggling." the wolf demon repeated "Did I say something that made you laugh, by any chance?"
Sango mentally reviewed how she had structured that conversation in her head, and began to answer.

"No, it's nothing like that, just...I remembered one of those silly trivia about American celebrities: did you know that Beyoncé liked to eat bananas with ketchup during her first pregnancy?"
The last word made Koga's hairs stand on end in alarm, as if he were on an undercover mission and had been told there were suspects of a mole being among them.

"Is there something you're trying to tell me?" he asked to test the waters.
"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Sango turned back to him.
"No, there's nothing I should tell you about."
"Okay, same for me."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
In the brief silence that followed, the two studied each other, reaching the same conclusion.
Something didn't add up.

The first to speak was Koga, who seemed worried.
"Okay, spit it out, what do you know that I don't know?"
Sango shrugged.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I know a liar when I see one, and you're not telling me the truth." The sergeant went on the attack.
"I don't know what I did to give you this impression, but I assure you I'm not hiding anything from you..." Sango replied playfully. "...what about you?"
"Oh no! Don't even try that, okay? We're talking about you, right now, not me."
"The first hen that crows has laid an egg, sergeant; and I find this insistence rather suspicious."
"And what are you implying by that? That I'm hiding something from you?"
"Absolutely not."
Hearing the answer, Koga felt more relieved.
"Good, because I'm not hiding secrets from anyone, you get this?"
"Got it." Sango confirmed.
"Perfect."
They exchanged another look, and the wolf demon pointed a finger at her and added, to reiterate: "No. Secrets."

Since his superior kept repeating that he didn' have anything to tell her, Officer Yamaguchi decided to insist.
"Why did you get so heated so quickly? That's not like you."
"What are you talking about, I've never been patient."
"With me, yes: you've never raised your voice in the whole time I've known you, and it's been 5 years, at least, so I know what I'm talking about."
Sergeant Yoromizu waved a hand to dismiss the discussion, hoping that this would suggest that his interlocutor should stop; but no way, it seemed like there was no way to make her stop.

"The only events cataclysmic enough to make you lose your temper with me are a North Korean invasion, which doesn't seem likely; an earthquake like the one 14 years ago, which is a bit more realistic, but no suspicious activity has been reported yet; or, least likely of all, you got Ayame pregnant, she told you, and you, for all the happiness that comes with it, are still processing the news."

As Sango was presenting the last alternative, Koga had put the pens in the container next to the computer, stood up, and came to stand in front of her, staring at her with worried eyes.
"Do I really let it leak that much?"
'VICTORY FOR SANGO!!! HE ADMITTED IT' the woman exulted to herself, hiding it all with a congratulatory smile.
"Nah, it's just that I'm a phenomenal agent."
Enter: Captain Modesty!
However, the wolf demon had to admit that he had been discovered.

"Damn, also, in my entire answer there was not a trace of a lie."
"Ah, but I never said that you had lied; that you was hiding something from myself yes, but never lying." Sango explained.
"Well then, how did you find out the truth?"
Striving for the right balance between humility and pride, his colleague launched into her response, gradually raising her voice.
"When you suggested me to avoid IL GIARDINO DELLE PAROLE, something told me I had heard that name once before, recently, and boy was I right, I have an iron memory...!"
"Okay okay okay, fine, stop, stop!" Koga interrupted her "The explanation and all is fine, but could you, I beg you, could you continue without shouting? You are more or less the fourth person who knows about all of this, so I imagine you understand the situation, don't you?"
Sango nodded and continued, lowering her voice.
"It's also partly thanks to Shiori: a week ago she recommended Rukawa a restaurant that had been well reviewed by a guy in the Food Fraud Squad, and it was, guess what? That's right: IL GIARDINO DELLE PAROLE."
A short pause, so that Koga could absorb everything.
"And last, but not least, it's also thanks to you, if I came to the solution, since you introduced me to Ayame, and from the little I could understand, she is always health embodied."
The wolf demon looked at her with admiration.
"So, combine a top restaurant and a demoness with iron health who, strangely, isn't feeling well...and the most likely answer is that."

Sergeant Yoromizu felt more at ease, now that he had another trusted person to share his joy with.

______________________________________________

*PIYO PIYO*

Hallelujah, someone at the intercom (Yes, she had decided to have the intercom set up with the chirping of chicks as an acoustic signal)!
The Amazon deliveryman had finally decided to show up and deliver her order?
Kimi had been waiting all day for those damned new curtains for the living room, and the app said they were due in the morning, not at 5:00 PM.
She looked out the window, but didn't see any van; so she went down to check the intercom, and noticed from the camera that it was an elegant woman, and without a doubt a demon.
And not just any woman, but the one Toga had decided to entrust with the recovery of their son, Sesshomaru.
Although she was very curious, the sight annoyed her, and she let out a snort of disappointment, a behavior that anyone who knew her would have sworn wasn't her thing.

"Listen, Miss, I understand that this must be a big deal for you if you felt it was necessary to show up at my door, but without first making an appointment I have no intention of discussing anything. Nothing personal, believe me: I would tell anyone else, given the current state of things."
She was about to hang up the intercom when the woman spoke.
"Excuse me for bothering you at this hour, but let me tell you something: one of my co-workers called me today and said that you would support us, so I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for accepting and saving my day."
Even though she knew that such behavior could only be described as 'petty', Mrs. Gobodo remained listening, waiting for Miss Kazehaya to take advantage of her silence to continue speaking, and, perhaps, satisfy her ego by thanking her further.

"I understand that you have every right to feel annoyed, since we are undoubtedly not living up to your expectations, and you will think that I am little more than simply naive, given what I am telling you, but I want to express my sincere gratitude."

In the silence that followed, Kagura's cheeks began to redden, and Kimi's lips curled into an amused smile.
The gate opened abruptly, and this surprised the young woman quite a bit.
"What are you waiting for?" the stylist asked. "Come in."

Upon reaching the front door, Kagura found herself face to face with Kimi.
"Even if it's not the courier I've been waiting for all day, there are a few things I'll tell you, because you need to know them; please, follow me and sit down on the armchair."

Once she reached the living room of the house, Kagura couldn't help but notice how her host had stretched out on the sofa, and that she was motioning for her to take a seat with her hand.
This didn't make her feel at ease at all, because she knew very well that it was a ploy designed specifically to destabilize her.

"First of all, I would like to make one point crystal clear," Kimi spoke up. "The simple fact that you have decided to have my son followed has already caught my attention; I'm still not entirely sure whether you are aware of the undertaking you have embarked on, whether you are driven by strong determination or are too scared at the idea of ​​backing out of such a project..."
She met her interlocutor's gaze, who was doing her best to appear unperturbed.
"But I must admit that it takes tenacity to carry out such an initiative, and you are demonstrating that you have it."
In this way, she would help to calm Kagura's nerves, who seemed to be on the edge of a precipice.
But it wouldn't have been right to reassure her too much either.
"Tell me: am I doing the right thing place my bet on you?"

Kagura knew she had to respond by showing character, but at the same time she couldn't afford to expose herself too much, so she forced herself and spoke.
"Mrs. Gobodo, I fully understand your doubts, and I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to show you that you can trust us."
A raised eyebrow? Well, it didn't matter, that wasn't going to stop her now.
"But I also want you to know that giving up is not an option in our plan: I have agreed to help your son, and I won't stop until..."
"Stop!" Kimi stopped her.
Kagura felt her blood run cold; had she said something wrong? Had she annoyed her? An answer, please, an answer.
"I have no doubt about your person, Miss Kazehaya, I've already told you."
The younger one was confused now...very confused.
"I was also referring to your assistant, Miss Noto: I had the chance to talk to her, I imagine you shared my number with her after Inuyasha gave it to you...or am I wrong?"

It took Kagura a moment to connect the dots, but once she did, she became more serene again.
"So it was her, you wanted to talk about? Miss Noto?"
Kimi nodded.
"I think she's on the right track."
"Do you want me to make an appointment with her, so you can have a talk face to face?"
As she stretched her arms and sat down on the couch, the stylist replied, "Yes, it would be a real pleasure."

*PIYO PIYO*

"Ah, it must be the Amazon delivery man, at long last!"

________________________________________________

Shiori entered Koga's office, where he was still discussing with Sango.
"I hope I'm not bothering you, Sergeant, but I really need Sango for that case of theft in the Jinbocho district."

The person concerned exchanged a look with her superior, who nodded that yes, he would be able to handle the other case on his own, from that moment.

"Do you have any news?" Sango asked for an update.
"Did you know that collecting the insurance on a theft can bring in a lot of money?"
Okay, she thought she understood where Shiori was going with this.
"Are you telling me that the owner is defrauding the insurance by robbing his own shop? That doesn't seem like a very ingenious plan to me."
"It becomes ingenious when his nephew is a physical education teacher who the school has entrusted with purchasing the equipment for the lessons."
Her colleague wasn't sure she had understood correctly.
"Take me for a second: the nephew is entrusted with the money for the sports equipment; he steals the items from his uncle's shop, and then pushes for the theft insurance to be collected as soon as possible; it's a simple plan, but it works, and it doesn't attract too much attention."
Sango couldn't help but agree.
"We should visit him, don't you think?"
Shiori agreed.

As they reached the patrol car, a vibration was heard from Officer Yamaguchi's uniform: it was Kohaku, calling her.
"Hi, big sister, how are you? I hope I'm not dropping by at a delicate moment, but I wanted to thank you again for the help you gave me, and to let you know that Kagura seems to have recovered."
Good news, in short.
"Good to hear, Kohaku, but I have some bad news."
"Don't tell me..."
"I don't think we'll be able to meet for lunch tomorrow: I think I'm getting a stomachache."
It wasn't true, Shiori was sure of it, but why was she lying?
"Would it be a problem if Shiori came in my place?"
ALERT! ALERT!
'What the hell are you talking about, Sango??? Are you crazy??? No, no, no, this is a nightmare, I have to find a way to escape this situation, or Kohaku...'
"Okay, that's fine with me: just, give her the address...and take something, please!"
Sango giggled.
"Okay, little brother." she replied "You're adorable when you worry about me. Bye-bye!"

Angry!
How angry? Furious!
And by furious she meant, REALLY FURIOUS!
How dared her friend play a prank like that on her???
"What did you do, Sango?!" exclaimed Shiori, whose legs had started to shake.
Her colleague, in response, smiled in her direction.
"I set you up on a date, have you noticed it, by chance?"
"But why?!" she said, trying not to fall apart.
"Because I'm not feeling well, and the occasion was propitious."
"You were lying, don't hide it: you're not feeling bad at all, and you did all this to frame me."
"So? What do you intend to do now?" Sango teased her.
"I'll explain the misunderstanding to Kohaku and apologize to him for your behavior!"
"And what will you tell him, when he asks you why I did it?"
Shiori didn't know what to say: if she told the truth she would confess her attraction to him, while if she lied she would never forgive herself.
"Ugh! You're mean when you do stuff like this!"
The human laughed and gave her a hug.
"I know, but you love me anyway, right, fella?"

________________________________________________

"Ugh, where are those peanut butter mochi?"
Kagome didn't have a great sense of direction, that was true, but it wasn't her fault: the shelf of the semi-deserted konbini dedicated to sweets was empty.
She looked around to make sure they hadn't changed shelves, but found nothing; finally she noticed a plastic bag with three extra-large packages sticking out: azuki beans mochis, matcha tea mochis and...PEANUT BUTTER MOCHIS!
From the same direction, however, the sound of crying also came.

Kagome seemed to be the only one concerned about the scene, since the cashier was checking his cell phone and the other customers seemed totally absorbed in their shopping.
She crossed the aisle carefully, and when she turned the corner she found herself in front of a young woman with beautiful red hair who was sobbing and holding her face in her hands.
"I'm stupid!" the woman cried "I'm stupid, nobody can rely on me!"
Kagome approached her, and decided to calm her down, noticing the woman's agitated state.

When she put a hand on her shoulder, the other woman turned around and apologized.
"I'm sorry if I'm loud."
"Oh no, don't worry, it's all right; my name is Kagome, and yours?"
Pushing through her stuffy nose and hoarse voice, the other woman introduced herself.
"My name is A-Ayame. *sniff* th-those are my groceries."
The human turned around and saw that she was referring to the bag she had spotted earlier.
She went to pick it up and noticed that it was made up entirely of mochi packages: 10 of them, all as big as the ones sticking out.
'You greedy thief, what do you do with all these sweets?' she mused, giving her a second look. 'And she has a perfect figure too! How lucky-'
A flash of lightning passed through her, and she guided her eyes to Ayame's belly; It didn't take long for her to come to the now obvious conclusion.
"But...Ayame, are you-?"
"Yes," she sobbed, shaking her head to reinforce her answer.

'Poor creature, she's in the grip of cravings.' Kagome thought.
'Okay, but that doesn't give her the right to ransack every single package in the store!' protested a touchy little voice.
'How can you say something mean like that? You want to deny a pregnant woman her cravings? You're heartless!' the more rational and benevolent part of her scolded her.
But, honestly, one wondered how she could find room for all those sweets.

"And you know what's even worse?" Ayame said. "Demons have much more insistent cravings."
Ah, that's how.
'And that's why I just gave up on stealing a pack of mochi from her.'
'What? Did you seriously think about it?'
The battle in the human's head had begun again.
'Come on, try to understand me!'
'SHAME ON YOU, Higurashi! I declare you an enemy of the female gender!'
🤪

"I was here, I just had to go pay and...and..."
'And?' thought Kagome.
"I left my bag at home: I'm a disaster, I'll be a terrible mother."
Not finding the right words, the other woman caressed her shoulders and let her vent.
"I just wanted the mochi!"

Touched by that scene, Kagome made a decision.
"Listen, Ayame," she said to the demoness, "Let's go to the cash register together, okay?"
"But...but I don't have any money."
"No problem, these are on the hous-, I mean 《on me》, professional deformation."
Ayame's eyes lit up, but a little uncertain.
"Are you sure? You don't have to do it." she stammered.
"But I don't have to not do it either, right?" the other replied.

Ten minutes later, the two women were outside the konbini, and Ayame had recovered from her moment of demoralization.
"Thank you for supporting me, before, you really are an angel." she said, but not before squeezing Kagome into what looked more like a iron grip than a hug.
The human was taken aback.
"What? No, of course not, that's what everyone should do."
"Yeah, but only you did it, in there: everyone else ignored me, from the first to the last."
In fact, the sight that had presented itself to her had been decidedly disheartening: seeing a person in tears and doing nothing had really become acceptable behavior? How sad!

"For this reason, I want to give you a gift." Ayame declared.
Kagome, confused, watched the demoness rummage through her shopping bag...and handed her a package of mochi filled with peanut butter.
"Go ahead, take it!" she heard herself exhorted.
"Me?" she asked incredulously. "And your cravings?"
"My grandfather taught me that anyone who is willing to give their time to console you is a good person; I know this package won't give you back the last quarter of an hour, but I would like you to accept it."
Kagome felt her heart warm, and decided to return Ayame's hug.
"And don't you dare say that you'll be terrible, okay? Never again!" she warned her "You'll become a great mother, you can stay assured!"
"Thank you" the other laughed "Do you come here often?"
"Yes, even to go shopping."
"Ahahahah, you're nice: would you like if we exchanged contacts on Line?"
"Of course, this is a really good idea!"

Sometimes you can find friends in the most bizarre situations... you just have to be willing to welcome them.

Chapter Text

FRIDAY

After the fight he had had the day before, Inuyasha didn't know what to think.
On the one hand, not much had changed from his usual fights with Sesshomaru, but on the other hand, he had to admit that he hadn't expected such an outburst: the last time he had seen him so furious, his whites were red, his irises were teal, and he had a hand wrapped around Inuyasha's throat.
But what had surprised him the most was another detail, absolutely disconcerting, considering the kind of asshole he was dealing with: his words revealed something that the insult hadn't completely covered; he wasn't entirely convinced, he wouldn't have put his life on fire, but the thing intrigued him, and he decided it was worth trying to investigate.

"Good morning, Inuyasha, come in." Rin greeted him, with a smile.
The half-demon smiled back, but his kind expression was short-lived as he looked first at the slouched form and then at his half-brother’s amber eyes, looking up at the sky.
“Right, I almost forgot you were here,” he muttered as he took a seat.
The full demon gave a snort of contempt.

"If it's okay with you, let's start-"
"No." Sesshomaru interrupted her, leaving her speechless. "I want to warn you right away: I don't want to lend myself to another of your stupid attempts at rapprochement, okay? I was more than clear on the first day: even though its members can all still breathe, my family remains dead."
He moved his feet from the desk, letting them fall to the ground, used them to push himself and stood up.
"So, with your permission, I really think I'll go buy something to soothe this immense pain, and..."
His advance towards the exit stopped when Inuyasha stood in front of him.

"Get out of my way." Sesshomaru ordered him.
"I don't even think about it, you owe me an answer."
Concentrating for a moment, the half-demon smelled a discordant note in his stepbrother's perfume: he seemed to be wrapped in a mint-scented halo around his head; he hadn't noticed it the day before, considering he had noticed the air freshener dispensers scattered throughout the building, but now the aroma was stronger and more circumscripted.
"I don't owe you anything, and you have no chance against me; you should step aside." Sesshomaru insisted.
"Do you really never stop drinking?" Inuyasha asked, completely ignoring him.

From behind Inuyasha, Jake appeared, as annoying and bothersome as a pimple on his scrotum and who in the last 24 hours had promoted himself to the rank of his new 'imaginary friend'.
"Oh, how annoying, it makes you want to strangle him, when he does that, don't you agree?"
"Shut up, the fuck up." the older brother replied, addressing both of his interlocutors in a manner that did not arouse suspicion.
"What, do you think I don't know what it means when a person uses half a bottle of mouthwash? It's not a very original trick, you know?" the younger one began.
Now all that remained was to inform the last person in the room: "Rin, you may not have noticed, but this complete imbecile has been drinking, no later than last night," he announced to the woman, before sniffing the air again. "And quite a bit, judging by the smell." he told her, keeping his gaze fixed on his stepbrother and giving him a mocking grin.

"Not just yesterday." Rin confirmed.
Inuyasha was taken aback.
"What? Wait, what does that mean?"
Now it was Sesshomaru, who was watching him amused: "He who laughs last laughs best, mongrel."
The younger one avoided him carelessly and came face to face with the young human.
"You knew?"
A positive nod and a slight discomfort were Rin's response.
"No no no no no, wait a minute: are you telling me that you know something like that and you haven't said anything to Kagura?"
The blush was spreading.
"It's a delicate moment for her: she's tense as a violin string and the governor's office has brought forward the presentation of the project in a little over 2 weeks; I couldn't tell her something like that, do you understand?"

"Oh, perfect: are you happy now?" growled the half-demon.
"Never enough, it's so funny." his brother replied with a sardonic laugh: he knew Inuyasha hated that tone, so why not use it?
"Worrying those around you is fun for you, huh? Huh, you bastard?"
Sesshomaru raised his hands and shrugged.
"Guilty, your honor." he declared.
His stepbrother couldn't believe it, he was absolutely dismayed.
"Great, all we needed was attention-seeking."
Strangely, those words touched a raw nerve for Sesshomaru.

"I think I have the right, I deserved it, since I never gave any worries...or do you have anything to say, half-blood?"
It could not be denied that Inuyasha was much more impulsive and hot-headed than his older brother, which is why he had often gotten into trouble during his adolescence; however, it was never particularly serious episodes: mostly it was about copied homework, or a punch to a classmate once in a while, or a curfew not respected. In short, things that happen when you're a kid.
Sesshomaru...well, he liked pushing the boat out.

"Never?" the second-born looked at him incredulously "You really think you've never given any worries to this family? I mean, you must be joking: have you already forgotten about Takuya Onoda?"
Hearing the new name, Rin mentally thanked Inuyasha.
"Who is Takuya Onoda?" she asked hopefully for the idea that had just been served to her on a silver platter.
The half-demon was happy to see the annoyance in his stepbrother's eyes.
"Did you know that Sesshomaru, up until high school, was a judoka?"

________________________________________________

14 years earlier

"On the tatami, for the 81-90 kg male category of Saint Gabriel High School competition, Takuya Onoda of class II A and Sesshomaru Taisho of class II C, both 85 kg."

Sesshomaru had loved judo for as long as he could remember: his parents had decided to take him to a lesson when he was about 5 years old, and in the end he was even more enthusiastic than when he had started: it was love at first sight.
Although it was Toga who insisted that their son start playing sports, he would have been happier if it had been a team sport.
Kimi's reaction was diametrically opposite: initially reluctant because of the fights, she soon began to cheer happily for her child.
However, over the years, judo had not only brought him closer to many of his peers, as his parents had hoped, but it had also served him after the birth of Inuyasha, and during the hardest phases of his parents' divorce he had started to spend more time in the gym than at home.
In this way he had formed a strong bond with his sensei, Magatsuhi, the only one he felt he could trust completely.

"Come on, Taisho, I know you can do it!" was his sensei's encouragement.
Winning was certainly a great feeling, denying it would have been ridiculous, but for him it was not the ultimate goal, but rather to demonstrate that he had put the teachings received to good use, even if they did not guarantee victory.
Greeting to the audience
Greeting to the referee
Greeting to the opponent
Let's begin.

After grabbing Onoda's left lapel and right sleeve, he tested his resistance by trying to unbalance him on his right leg.
His opponent, 10 cm shorter, wasted no time, and attempted to enter Tai Otoshi, bringing his right elbow under Sesshomaru's left armpit; unfortunately, the latter blocked the attack and moved his right hand from the lapel to the collar.
Considering the space that had been created between the legs of the other judoka, it was worth attempting a projection in Uchi Mata.

Onoda felt caged by Sesshomaru, and understood that he would suffer an ippon and lose, if he did not do something quickly; for this reason, before he could be charged, he grabbed his opponent's left side to perform a yawara defense.
Realizing that continuing would have no effect, the young dog demon returned face to face with Takuya, who launched into Sode Tsurikomi Goshi; according to Sesshomaru, it was a rather out of place technique, an unfortunate choice... and in fact he cancelled it without much effort, forcing his opponent to the ground.
From this position, the best choice was to perform a Hairi Kata and trying for a submission.

Onoda had thought of this, and resisted, but he did not expect the enthusiasm with which his opponent fought.
After being brought back to the ground, he tried to grab his right arm with his left to prevent it from being caught in a submission, but he wasn't fast enough: he was now between Sesshomaru's legs.

From the stands, Toga and Izayoi were cheering for him.
"Look, Inuyasha: your brother is asserting himself." Toga pointed out.
"Wow, how good." Inuyasha muttered, trying to hold back a yawn.
"Honey, don't be like that." his mother scolded him. "Today is an important day for Sesshomaru: we have to cheer for him."
"But why? He already has his sensei, cheering him on; to him we mean nothing."
Toga didn't want to hear these words.
"Obey your mother, Inuyasha!" she ordered her second son decisively.
"Ugh!" the boy protested resignedly.

While this conversation was going on in the stands, Takuya, frustrated at his disadvantage, tried to distract himself and his opponent with a bit of trash talking.
He had heard rumors that Taisho's mother was in rehab for alcohol abuse, so why not start there?
"Why isn't your mother here to see you? Is sake more important?" he hissed.
Bad idea, Takuya, bad idea.

Sesshomaru gradually increased pressure on his opponent's elbow, until Onoda hit the ground... but despite having heard it clearly, he did not stop.
When the referee noticed, he called Soramade, the end of the match, but the dog demon did not care, and instead did something crazy: with a dry sound, and the scream that followed, the spectators understood that he had broken his elbow.

"HANSOKU MAKE!" thundered the referee before calling the infirmary staff under the shocked eyes of the public.

________________________________________________

Present

"You broke your opponent's elbow?" Rin concluded, not surprised at all.
"He certainly did: our father had to pay for that guy's medical bills for months, so that his parents wouldn't sue."
Sesshomaru had nothing to say, so Inuyasha continued.
"It's a good thing that Magatsuhi, Sesshomaru's sensei, intervened to stop him, otherwise it would have been waaaay worse."
"Don't you dare mention his name again," Sesshomaru commented.
"Why? Back then, you treated him like a father, as if the one you already had wasn't enough. It's strange that you lost touch; but I have to assume that it's impossible for someone with your pride to truly feel affection or respect for others."
"You don't know what you're talking about, worm."
"What happened?" Rin interjected, looking for Sesshomaru's eyes.
At that moment he wanted so much to strangle his stepbrother, but he was well aware that it was a game that, when all was said and done, wasn't worth the candle.
He had to find an explanation that didn't expose him too much, but was enough to appease Rin's curiosity.
"There's not much to say: he wanted an explanation for what I did, I refused to give it to him and the high school decided to suspend me. I knew he wouldn't understand."
In reality, Sesshomaru knew well that this was only the surface, but remembering made him uncomfortable.

___________________________________________________

14 Years Earlier

Still unsatisfied with his work, young Taisho let go and got on top of Onoda, pinning him down with his legs around his hips, before abandoning all control and starting beating him up.
Luckily, Magatsuhi was quick to pull his student away from his victim.
"Stop. Stop. Stop!" he shouted, making sure he was listening "What the fuck are you thinking, Taisho?! You broke his arm, for heaven's sake!"
Sesshomaru chuckled in amusement.
"He should have kept his mouth shut, so I wouldn't have had to hurt him."
No, that wasn't how he had trained him at all.

"Come with me, away from prying eyes." the sensei commanded, leaving Sesshomaru speechless "Are you deaf, by any chance? Now!"
Annoyed by Magatsuhi's reaction, the high school student followed him anyway, all the way to the locker room.

"I'm not in the mood to argue, sensei, so leave me alone and..."
Before he could say anything else, his teacher, 196 cm and 92 kg, lifted him off the ground by the collar and slammed him against a wall; only then did the student realize that there was still a notable physical difference between them.
What he couldn't understand, however, was Magatsuhi's look: there was no longer the anger he had seen on the tatami, but concern.
"Now you have to calm down, Sesshomaru" he said as he brought him back down to the ground "You won't leave here before you tell me what's wrong with you, so sit down, take your time and spit it out."
"It doesn't concern you, let me go." the young man retorted, heading for the door.
The teacher stepped in and continued.
"Don't even think about it, you presumptuous kiddo: I know Onoda provoked you, didn't he?"
"Really, it's not a matter that concerns you, let me pass."
"Please, boy, I'm trying to help you."
"Then I don't need your help, sensei." Sesshomaru insisted.
"This is already the second time you've used that word: it's been at least 3 years since I told you to stop addressing me like that, with the title, why did you start again? I've seen you grow up, for heaven's sake, all this formality is out of place right now."
The student wanted to walk away, but he was petrified, and although he would never admit it, the fact scared him: if he stayed there he knew he would say something he would regret.

"That's the point, Magatsuhi: you weren't the one who had to watch me grow up!"

From the heated tone of his voice, the teacher sensed the effort those words required of him.
"She's not in the stands, she's not here cheering for me."
"Sesshomaru, we're here: your classmates, your family, and me too, to your dism-"
"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU!!!" the young man shouted "Izayoi and Inuyasha do nothing but remind me every day of what I can't have; and however much I delude myself to the contrary, despite my best efforts, I can't replace my father with you."

'Good heavens, how long has this been going on?' Magatsuhi thought.
"How long have you been feeling this way?" he asked the boy.
"I have no idea, but no one cares anyway."
"How do you know, have you ever talked about it with your family?"
"It would be useless: my mother is in no condition to talk about it, and Toga wouldn't care, since he is happy like this."
"I assure you, he is not at all." the sensei revealed.
He certainly had Sesshomaru's attention now.
"How do you know?"
Even knowing what it would imply, Magatsuhi no longer felt like keeping the secret.
"He told me, boy," he explained, "we met last week, while I was going to visit your mother, and we talked."

No, that couldn't be true: his master had really betrayed him like this? 10 years and more of trust thrown down the toilet after just one unfortunate encounter?
"You promised all would have stayed between us."
"Sesshomaru, listen to me..."
"Go away."
He didn't want to believe it.
"You can't keep avoiding your father forever, you have to face him." Magatsuhi continued.
"No, stop it, traitor!"
"Boy, please..."
"NO! You're a liar!" Sesshomaru accused him, who had backed away in the meantime "How could you do this to me? I trusted you, I thought you were different... and instead you're just one of them: you never gave a shit about me."
"No, that's not true, and you know it!"
He received a shake of the head in response.
"I obviously know less than I thought."
In a few simple moves, the high school student had picked up his gym bag and dashed toward the door.
He dodged the teacher and left.
"Wait!" he heard himself called, but by then it was too late.

As the student was far away, Magatsuhi voiced his own hopes: "One day you will understand that what I did I did it for your good."
Behind him, he heard footsteps approaching: he recognized Toga Taisho.
"Did you see where he went?" asked the worried father.
"No, he has become really fast now," he admitted with a bitter laugh, "but not in forgiving, I'm afraid."
"Magatsuhi, I know that I asked a lot of you, but I want you to know that I am grateful for what you have done."
"I am pleased, but I just need you to promise me one thing, for the future."
"Tell me everything."
"You should never forget the people who are worth fighting for."
With that, he returned to the gym, leaving the dog demon to think.

___________________________________________________

Present

"Have you ever tried to reconnect?" Rin asked.
Sesshomaru barely held back a snort: there was no way to make her stop, when she got curious there was no escape for anyone.
"We didn't look for each other after that episode" which was true "and by the way I wouldn't have had anything to say to him."
Rin thought about what she could have said to keep that thread alive...and something funny came to mind.

"I know it may seem ironic, coming from me, but there are times when words aren't necessary: ​​you just need to know how to listen."
"Keh!" Inuyasha snorted "You don't know how many times we tried, but nothing, he can't do it"
He turned to his stepbrother and continued.
"And to think that it should have come easy to you: I mean, the way you act you look like that blond beast from FARGO!"
"And you're incapable of keeping quiet," Sesshomaru retorted. "Just..."
"...like Steve Buscemi."
The half-demon was surprised, not so much by the answer, but because it came in chorus.
After him, his older brother noticed, and lastly Rin, whose cheeks had taken on color.
'Color?!' Inuyasha thought. 'Isn't that a bit of an overreaction, for a chorus?'
Definitely, as well as the fact that she had made herself smaller behind the desk, almost as if...
'No, don't tell me.'
He met the woman's gaze and swung his eyes between the two, making sure he had her attention without attracting that of his stepbrother.
Shit: despite the young woman's best efforts, the shade of pink had become more intense.

"I'm afraid to ask, but..."
"Oops, it's 11:00, our hour is up: I'll walk you out, Inuyasha, so you and Mr. Kanagawa can get back to your commitments." Rin interrupted him, jumping up from her chair.
"Nono, wait, we're not done yet."
"Really, don't worry, you were a great help again today, but there are topics that Sesshomaru and I can't fully discuss, if you're here too."

When the door to the study opened, Miroku was listening to FAHRENHEIT 451, by Ray Bradbury.
His curiosity about the title had arisen after hearing about a criticized movie adaptation dating back to a few years before, and for the moment it was worth it.

"Thanks again, for today." Miss Noto greeted him. "If I had an assistant like Inuyasha, I don't think I'd share him so much."
"He's got headphones on, Rin." she explained, then warned her boss that she was about to take them off. "There you go."
"You were saying, dear?" the man in the wheelchair asked.
"Only that you have a truly enviable caregiver." And, addressing the half-demon, "How about I walk you out? So you can finish telling me what you wanted to let me know, okay?"
They both agreed.

Once Miroku was loaded into the car, a purple Tesla Model 3, Inuyasha turned his attention back to Mrs. Noto.
"Listen to me, Rin: I may not be the most observant person in the world, okay? And I don't think it's appropriate or respectful to sniff the room when I'm with people I don't know, so I didn't..."
'Oh my, how embarrassing!' the young human thought.
"...but the way I saw you react said it all."
"Everything what? Let's not talk nonsense, please."
"Don't play dumb with me, okay? All you needed was a sign that said..."
"Okay, okay, no need to continue, I got it," she interrupted him, "but what can I do, if you dog demons have top-model genes?"
"So you're admitting that you're in love with him?" he tried again.
"W-what? 《In love》? What a big word, I wouldn't say, it's an exaggeration."
"Do you prefer 《burned》, 《infatuated》, 《did you fantasize》?"
"A little better, but still no: I'm simply a single woman, with all that that entails, and with a vivid imagination, that's all." Rin cut her off
"So you're telling me that you find him attractive?"
"Yes!" but she quickly corrected herself, realizing what she had just said "I mean No... er... I mean... oh, I don't know, why are you confusing me?"
"I didn't do anything, you are doing it all by yourself!" replied Inuyasha.
"Mhhh, I know, and I have to think about it with a cool head; so, if you're done here, I have to go back to Sesshomaru." she said, turning around.
"No, one last thing," he stopped her, "if it's not a problem, I'd like to come back one last time tomorrow to give you a helping hand: there's something I need to tell Sesshomaru, that I've kept hidden from him for years now, and I think it could be useful for this treatment."
"What is it?"
He leaned close to her ear and told her the secret.
"Okay, see you tomorrow, then."

As soon as he sat in the driver's seat, he was greeted by Miroku's questions.
"What did you say to each other? You seemed quite animated."
"We talked about the bastard away from prying ears, but it seems we have different opinions, about him and how to 《interact》with him."
the quadriplegic laughed.
"You the stick and she the carrot?"
Inuyasha thought of an Instagram account that Kagome had sent him: all comics of a sheepdog and a bunny who, after all sorts of adventures and sizes, always ended up curled up in its dog house.
"More or less." he conceded to his boss.
With that, he started the engine and headed for the bank, where Miroku had to discuss his investments.

Chapter Text

It was almost 12:15, and Shiori was standing in front of the McDonald's at the Suidobashi-Sotoboridori Store when she saw Kohaku arrive in a suit and tie.

"Good morning, Kohaku." she greeted him.
"Hi, Shiori, I hope you haven't been waiting long: I said noon and I managed to be late for my own appointment, not many people manage to do that, you know?"
"Nono, don't worry; instead, satisfy my curiosity."
"Do I have the right to have a lawyer, officer?" the human asked jokingly.
The policewoman tilted her head, confused.
"Huh? Oh, no no, not like that, I'm on break..."
"Well, I guess, I haven't done anything illegal or Sango and my father would have grilled me by now, let alone the third degree."
"Oh, was that a joke? Sorry, I didn't get it right away"
Why was her brain playing these nasty tricks on her? It was obvious that he had said it in an ironic way, even a child would have understood it.
'Atta girl, you just made the situation awkward: do something quickly, come on!'
"Um, how about we get inside and put something in our bellies?"
Kohaku gave her a smile of agreement.
"Even right now, I'm so hungry."
Shiori ordered a Filet-O-Fish menu and Kohaku a Big Mac menu from the totems, and they sat down to wait for their order to arrive.

"So Shiori, tell me: what was the curiosity you wanted me to satisfy?" he asked.
"I was wondering: why here? I mean, from the way you and Sango were talking about it yesterday, it seems like a place you are close to, so I was curious."
With his unshakeable cheerfulness, Kohaku began to tell her why the Yamaguchi family used to eat dinner at that McDonald's every Friday, for as long as he could remember.
"When Sango was born, my father was a detective, and although he was supposed to have a working schedule that allowed him to spend more time with his family, he often found himself working overtime or assigned to the night shift; shorter, perhaps, but certainly not compatible with those of the majority of people."
Shiori, meanwhile, listened to him with growing interest.
"When our mother told him that she was expecting me, he decided that things had to change, and he applied to become a sergeant: with the pay raise that would come with it, he could spend more time with us; needless to say, he managed to pass the exam just before I turned one month old."
"Wow, that's really admirable, Kohaku... but what does this place have to do with the story?"
The other continued, because he had rightly not finished telling yet.
"Well, my father wanted to celebrate the promotion, and he wanted to do it with his whole family in the place where he and my mother had met: at the time it was a bar, but a few years later the owners decided to retire and close; and in its place this McDonald's opened."
A waiter with a tray approached them, announcing, "Table 22."
"Thank you," Shiori said, followed closely by Kohaku.

"How are your parents?" he asked.
"Well, both of them. My mother was entrusted with the costumes of a handsome young actor for a TV costume series, and my father decided to model for her because they have more or less the same body type, imagine that."
The scene made him smile.
"Well, if your father still has such an athletic body, I really congratulate him."
"Yes, it's true. When the three of us went to dinner together last weekend, everyone at the restaurant was looking at him. My mother said she thought it was very funny, because it seemed like even the male customers were admiring him, with envy."

'I doubt this is all there is to envy him.' Kohaku reasoned.
It had been a few months since he had started to realize that he found Shiori very attractive: her dark complexion, her big purple eyes, and her long cornflower-colored hair, along with her melodious and delicate voice, formed a combination that had completely bewitched him.
"I don't think they were all looking at him" he ventured.
"What, excuse me?"
"Um, no, nothing, I was thinking out loud." Kohaku quickly backed away.
"Got it." Shiori replied, feeling like she had just missed an important moment.

Despite this, lunch continued pleasantly, and the two were able to enjoy each other's company for a while longer.

__________________________________________________

"Hajime!"

Kanna knew that she was the slimmer among them two, and that this would give her an advantage in speed; however, Soten had the strength in her hands to limit her movements and, consequently, also the repertoire of techniques and throws.
It was for this reason, that she knew she had to remain very alert, or her opponent would try to knock her down.
In fact, a few seconds later came an attack in Osoto Gari, which Kanna blocked thanks to the Go defense, bringing back her right leg and blocking Soten's scythe.
However, looking more closely at the situation, she noticed how the imbalance created by her opponent was largely insufficient; this meant that the other judoka was taking the easy, and therefore wrong, way out.

"You shouldn't rely only on strength, you know that, right?" she asked her opponent.
"You'll see that it will be enough for me, flea!" was Soten's growled response, and he repeated the attack.

As expected, Kanna defended herself, blocking her opponent in an off-balance situation; she only needed to give her a small push backwards with her arms for the lightning demoness to fall to the ground.
However, she managed to turn in time and prolong the fight.

"Mate!" the sensei exclaimed, calling them back to the center of the mat to do the grips and...
"Resume."

"AH!" Soten leaped to the attack, grabbing her rival with the right grips and preparing a throw; unfortunately, not having learnt from the mistake, she opted again for Osoto Gari, which however again resulted in a Go defense by Shiori.

"Really? Again?" Kanna called out.
"You already fooled me once, little midget, but now I will be more careful, so you don't catch me off guard."
As Soten was putting more and more force into the throw, despite it being blocked, Kanna had an idea when she noticed that her other leg was only resting on the mat with her toes: by gradually reducing her Go defense, she would be able to get close enough to throw an Ouchi Gari and put an end to the Randori...and the other leg, caught up as she was in trying to make her fall, wouldn't even notice.

When Soten realized she had been tricked, it was too late: shortly after she had stopped feeling the ground under her feet, she felt the blow on her back, and the sensei announced: "Mate! Soramade! Stand up, both of you!"

"Soten, you have to learn to unbalance your opponents better, and understand whether you should continue or retreat from an attack." the sensei began, addressing the more impetuous student; then, he shifted his attention to the other, more strategic one "As for you, Kanna, you have to try to be more on the ball, active, proactive: you cannot avoid combat."
"But sensei, before attacking I have to study my opponent."
"Of course, but you must not lose sight of your goal, which is the ippon...and above all, you do not have all the time in the world, understood?"
"Yes, sensei Magatsuhi." Kanna replied, still a little doubtful.
"Now, go take a shower, the lesson is over."

After washing and drying themselves, the two friends hugged and said goodbye, since Hiten and Manten had arrived to pick up their little sister.
Those three siblings were a really nice family, despite having to suffer the loss of their parents at a young age.

"Is it a problem if I come in?"
"Come on, Kanna," Magatsuhi invited her. "Didn't we already agree that I would give you a ride home?"
"You're right, that's true, but I didn't know if you still had anything to do before closing time." the girl replied.
Her attention was caught by a photo on her sensei's nearby desk: the judoka depicted was not yet 18, but he was quite tall and had long white hair and amber-colored eyes.
Her attention was caught by a photo on her sensei's nearby desk: the judoka depicted was not yet 18, but he was quite tall and had long white hair and amber-colored eyes.
'Handsome and strong, you could say' she had to know more, also because it reminded her of someone, even if she had no idea where she could have met someone like that before.

"Magatsuhi?"
"I'm almost there, what do you need?" he asked her.
"Who is this boy?" she asked, with the photo in her hand.
When Magatsuhi saw it, he felt nostalgia run through him: almost 15 years had passed since the last time he had seen Sesshomaru, the night of the school championship.
Every now and then he looked at that photo and prayed that the poor boy had become a happy man, that the joy he had not been able to savor during his adolescence had been returned to him and even more.
"He was probably my best student, Kanna: a very skilled boy, who started here as a child."
"And where is he now? Has he retired from judo? Has he changed gym?"
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you: about 15 years ago he stopped coming to train; I tried to contact him, but he was going through a bad period, so I didn't insist too much...and then we lost sight of each other."
The story was making the sensei sad, so Kanna approached him and put a hand on his shoulder to console him.

"Who knows, maybe one day he'll walk through that door again." she said, pointing to the entrance.
"I always hope so, you know?" Magatsuhi replied. "For now, though, we'll be the only ones walking through it: I'll take you home."
"Thank you, Mags..."
The ringing of the phone distracted her from the conversation; it was Kagura, but what could she want, at that hour?

"Hi big sis, how are you?"
"Hi Kannamon roll! Overloaded with work as usual, but I'll continue at home, otherwise I'll end up going crazy, within these four walls... would you like to have dinner together, the two of us?"
"Are you goingo to cook?" Kanna asked, betraying a slight worry.
"What are you trying to insinuate, you impertinent little thing?" Kagura giggled.
"Oh nothing, nothing, don't mind."
"I remind you that when I cooked for you, you always ate my dishes with gusto."
"A 16-year-old's palate is never a reliable indicator, remember that." Kanna joked.
"Ha ha ha, you joker."
"Well, I learned from the best...anyway, okay, it's fine with me: Magatsuhi passes by there, on his way home." She searched his gaze for confirmation, and found it. "He told me he can stop by your place and drop me off in the center."
"Okay, then thank him for me, bye."
"Bye, see you later."
Call ended.

________________________________________________

After Sesshomaru left, Rin had a lot to think about: the secret that Inuyasha had revealed her could have set in motion a process that would either help her patient, or make him even more reluctant to open up.
Then there was that tiny problem that went by the name of 《I might have a crush on one of the patients, who is also an alcoholic》.

*Knock knock knock*

"Come in!" Rin replied.
The door to the office opened and Kagura entered, but she remained at the door.
"Hi Rin, are you busy at the moment?"
"I finished with Sesshomaru about 30 minutes ago, so I'm just taking a look at the progress made, to figure out how to proceed...do you need anything?"
"Actually, yes, in a quarter of an hour I have set up an appointment for you with a mutual acquaintance of ours, namely..."

Kagura stopped talking when she heard a pair of high heels approaching: when she turned towards the source of the noise, she noticed that the heels belonged to Kimi Gobodo, who was being followed by one of the secretaries.

"Please, Mrs. Gobodo, wait: Miss Kazehaya is busy at the moment, I can't accompany you, we'd risk disturbing her."
"Then it's a good thing I'm not here to meet her."
When she recognized the young demoness who had shown up at her house the day before, he greeted her.
"Forgive me for being so early, but I just happened to be here, so..."

"Miku, thank you, but I'll take care of it from here, you can go back to your desk, okay?"
"Thank you, Miss; again, I'm terribly sorry."
"It's okay, don't worry, go now."

When the secretary had left, Kagura turned to Kimi.
"Thank you for coming, Mrs. Gobodo, but in the future it would be desirable if you..."
A curious Rin emerged from the office door.
"Kagura, what were you telling me?"
As soon as she saw the other woman, he felt her breath catch: was that really...?
"Ah, Rin: this is Kimi Gobodo, you had already spoken on the phone, if I remember correctly."
'Oh, Kami! Oh, Kami! I'm not dreaming, am I?' was the only thought she could formulate at the moment.

"Finally we meet, young lady." the stylist greeted her.
'Okay, now I'm going to vomit; no, it's better to faint, it's more elegant.' he thought.
"Good evening, madam, thank you for everything; please, take a seat." she invited her to sit down, maybe then no one would notice that she was shaking like a leaf.

"Well, then," Rin began, trying to keep her excitement under control. "Is there anything you'd like to start with, by any chance? Would you like an update on Sesshomaru's progresses?"
However, Kimi was fascinated by the wall of Katy Perry posters, her lips curling into a tiny smile.
"That girl has character, you know? During an interview, they asked her why in one of her vacation shots she was sporting a bikini from the Cotazur-Gobodo collection, and if she was aware that those swimsuits had become very popular among porn actresses; her answer was magnificent: 《Then it's obvious that they have good taste... and that you should watch less porn.》... oh, wow!"
Rin was confused: on the phone she had sounded like a worried and helpless mother, and now she was hearing a coquette.

"Hehe, I remembered a similar scene, but I don't think you came here to talk about..."
"Did you like that movie too, young lady?" Kimi interrupted her.
Again? Why didn't she want to answer her question?
"It's not my favorite, but yes, now..." Rin tried again.
"True, ARRIVAL is definitely better: if I had had foresight, everything would have been much simpler... and I wouldn't have been such a horrible mother."
Now that was enough, though: Rin stood up from her seat and slammed her hands on the desk.

"Listen to me carefully, if you came here to arouse pity then you can disappear from my sight: you are not a horrible mother, and I know this because I know your son."
Annoyed, Kimi gave her a condescending look.
"A few hours in company does not mean knowing someone."
"Well, these few hours were enough for me to understand that Sesshomaru is a good person."
"A good person does not start fights for the sake of brawling."
"A good person takes care of those who are dear to them even before worrying about themselves." Rin insisted.
"And how come you are so sure that he inherited this trait from me?"
"Because I know that Sesshomaru would not waste his time doing something that was not worth it."
Silence fell.

Rin slowly straightened her back.
Kimi stood up, reached out to her right, and squeezed it gently.
"You have no idea how much it relieves me to hear these words." She confessed in a heavy voice. "It means my baby is still here."
Rin, still reeling from the changes in register, was surprised by those words...and the next ones would be no different.

"Inuyasha was right: you are special, to my son."
Suddenly Rin turned red as a pepper.
"Why that face, didn't you notice?" the demoness teased her. "And yet those are your words: 《Sesshomaru wouldn't waste his time doing something that wasn't worth it.》, am I right?"
In fact, the young woman hadn't even thought about it: she was convinced that he was doing it simply to avoid prison, perhaps driven by fear of prison life.
'But no, Sesshomaru would be fine, with the character he has: a show of strength every now and then and everyone would accept his request to be left in peace.'

"Yes, I suppose you're right; is there anything else you'd like to talk about? More questions about what the progresses have been, the key moments?"
"No, thank you: I read all the answers I was looking for in your face" he approached her ear and whispered "You're in love." Before Rin could react, Kimi placed a finger on her lips and continued speaking.
"Inuyasha told me that he will return tomorrow to speak with you and Sesshomaru...I guess it won't be a problem if I participate too, right?"
How mean! First she was testing her by playing the part of the indifferent mother, and now she was blackmailing her to be able to participate in one of the sessions?
Evidently Inuyasha hadn't told her that the invitation had already been extended to her too.

"Absolutely not, Mrs. Gobodo: just try not to arrive early, please."
The older one laughed.
"It's an effort I think I can make."

________________________________________________

"We're here."
"Thanks again, Mags," Kanna replied. "Look, Kagura is there at the entrance, do you want to give her a quick hello?"
Magatsuhi was about to say no, when he noticed two other women in addition to his student's sister: a young human girl and Sesshomaru's mother.
"Okay: I'll fix a few things and join you."

"Hi big sis, hi Rin! How are you?"
"Hi Kanna Cane, how's college going?"
Kagura barely held back a laugh, while Kimi studied the new arrival curiously.
"You're terrible with nicknames, Rin-chan!"
"Come on, it's not my fault that 《Kannamon Roll》was already taken."
"Hahaha, right; it's okay anyway: the exams are tough, but I'm really happy with my choice."
"Marine Biology, right?"
"Exactly." Kanna confirmed.
"Phew! My memory is still good, thank goodness."

As the two of them talked, Kagura noticed Magatsuhi approaching.
Before she could say hello, Kimi beat her to it.
"Look who we have here: if I had known that judo slows down aging, I would have signed up too."
"If you're interested, there's a beginner's class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:00 PM: it's been a few years, but I think you can still take advantage of the relatives' discount."
Kagura butted in, surprised and full of curiosity.
"Magatsuhi, do you know Mrs. Gobodo?"
"Yes: she's the mother of the most talented guy I've ever had the chance to train. I didn't know you were interested in this initiative, Kimi."
In the meantime, Rin and Kanna had finished updating each other, and were approaching the other group.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Rin."
"Pleased to meet you, Rin, I'm Magatsuhi, Kanna's sensei. I heard that you work with Kagura, is she a very strict boss, by any chance?"
But Rin had stopped listening to him: his name brought back a conversation she had had that morning.
"Excuse me if I'm a little direct, but: among your students was there, by any chance, one named Sesshomaru Taisho?"
Kagura, to avoid whatever scenario was about to begin, interrupted them.
"I think it's time for all of us to return to our respective homes; Kanna and I say goodbye, and I think Rin will join us" she said, giving her a very explanatory look.
"Oh, yes, that's right: I still have to finish preparing tomorrow's session for one of the participants; in any case, it was a pleasure, thank you again."

As the other 3 left, only Kimi and Magatsuhi remained.

"Are you still giving rides to your students, Magatsuhi? Certain habits will get you arrested, one day, you know?"
The demon gave her a smile full of joy.
"I'm happy to see you again, Kimi: I find you much better than last time, but not happier for that: do you want to talk about it?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, but she was reasonably certain that she could confide in him, despite the time that had passed.

"Sesshomaru is part of the trial of this recovery program led by Miss Kazehaya."
"Not as an assistant," he mused.
"Not as an assistant."
"I actually felt like I stepped in some pretty big shit while talking to Miss Rin. Is it that bad?"
"No, I wouldn't say that bad. It's just that he still thinks he has to protect me from Toga and Izayoi, as if he were frozen in time."
"Have you tried to explain it to him?"
"Of course, over and over again, but you know my son...
"Eheheh, yeah. It would be easier to steal the Moon than to make him change his mind."
"Yeah...today I stopped by to make sure he's in good hands, and I have to say I'm happy that Rin is following him. That young lady has character." Kimi acknowledged.

Before she knew it, Kimi felt the demon's embrace envelop her.
After an initial stiffening, she abandoned herself and returned the embrace.

"It was nice to see you again, master."
"For me too, Kimi, for me too."
"Who knows, maybe I could stop by next Tuesday."
"It's never too late to learn something new."

Finally, they said goodbye and headed home.

Chapter Text

SATURDAY

So funny. The short strips that Ayame had shared with her on Line were so sweet and really funny even for her, who didn't understand a damn thing about comics.
In the opening panel of the first one, the protagonist, a small mutant shark with four legs (Ayame had called him Jeff, the Landshark), was happily waddling around wearing a life jacket, mask and fins among many people in bathing suits, probably superheroes; in the following panel, they were showering him with photos, cuddles and sweets; after that, you could see him take everything off and then dive into the pool and swim at the water's edge, with his dorsal fin sticking out; after resurfacing and finding himself alone, he had noticed that everyone, even the bigger ones, were out of the pool, with expressions of fear printed on their faces.

The second strip seemed like a follow-up to the one in the pool: Jeff, at the beach, spots some surfers and starts running towards them to reach them and have fun; Unfortunately, remembering the scare he gave his friends in the pool, he stops and is sad, until he has a brilliant idea: he goes shopping at a Halloween costume shop, and when he tries on his purchase it turns out that it is a dolphin, which therefore will not scare the surfers.

"How cute!" Kagome couldn't help herself. "I'd eat you up with kisses."
"Should I be jealous?" her boyfriend asked her.
"Ahahahah, no honey, it's just a comic that a friend shared with me."
"May I see it? I'd like to laugh too, before I go out."
Kagome showed him the strips, and was happy to see Inuyasha smile.
After Kimi's phone call, he had explained her what they had discussed, and today he would have to reveal everything to Sesshomaru, a prospect that didn't particularly excite him.
"The little shark Jeff is really cute... is he Eri's?"
"What?"
"The message: are you talking to Eri?"
"Oh, no no, it's a new person: her name is Ayame, I met her at the konbini when I went to do some shopping, and I helped her while she was having a panic attack; she's a very kind girl... and greedy, but that's because she's pregnant."
"Hehe, of course you would be able to make friends with a vending machine, if I left you with it long enough" he kissed her on the forehead "And that's what made me fall in love with you."
The smile she returned to him ran down his entire body: now, yes, he had the right energy to face the day.

"Good luck, Inu!" she greeted him.
"Thank you, love."

___________________________________________________

When she arrived at her office, around 9:00, Rin immediately headed to Kagura's office for one last recommendation.
"It seems that luck is smiling on us, so keep your eyes wide open and alert more than ever, understand?"
"Yes, Kagura!"
"Excellent: you should never let your guard down, not even when you receive a gift."
Rin nodded that he understood and walked towards his office.

About 15' later, Rin heard a knock on the door and went to open it: Kimi Gobodo was there...early as usual.
"Didn't we agree that she should arrive at 9:30, along with Inuyasha and Mr. Kanagawa?"
After the faintest hint of a smile, the stylist answered.
"Allow me to share a little piece of advice, from experience: to be punctual, you have to be early."
There was nothing else to add: once again, Kimi had managed to turn the situation to her advantage...and land on her paws with the agility of a cat.
"Also, I really enjoy talking with you, young lady, just the two of us, face to face."
'What a face you deserve,' thought Rin, amazed by the grace with which Kimi was extricating herself from a situation in which, technically, she was in the wrong.
"Have a seat, then; Sesshomaru should be here in half an hour, you have all the time in the world to tell me what you wish."
The two sat down, and began to chat.

When Inuyasha and Miroku showed up at 9:33, Rin greeted them warmly.
"Had any trouble?" she asked, turning to Miroku.
"No, on the contrary: Inuyasha put on a good show for me."
Kimi, frowning, turned her attention to her stepson.
"No big deal, don't worry: I was just doing some service to our community," he justified himself.
"Well, I don't think the other driver thought the same." Miroku chuckled.
"The sign was clear: 《You want my seat? You take my handicap.》, I even gave him the chance to choose, parking or wheelchair?"
Kimi, heartened by this defense, let out a sigh full of nostalgia.
"You really are your father's son, Inuyasha."
"Well, can you blame me?"
Rin, in order to better prepare for Sesshomaru's arrival, called those present to order and invited them to take their seats.

"I suppose it is you, the one I have to thank for setting this whole process in motion, right?"
"Yes, Mrs. Gobodo: it is a pleasure to meet you, but I hope you will forgive me if I do not kiss your hand like a perfect gentleman."
"A man's lips are not as important as the mouth they surround, Mr. Kanagawa: I would rather know what you have to say, rather than your displays of gallantry."
"So be it." Miroku agreed, before turning his attention to Miss Noto "Now, Rin: is there something we should know, for which you requested our presence?"
Rin spoke up.

"Actually, no, I just wanted to give Inuyasha and Mrs. Gobodo the chance to explain me how they intend to proceed, given the nature of today's meeting."
In fact, stepmother and stepson had evaluated different approaches, which would be balanced and calibrated so that Sesshomaru would not decide to leave before they had had the chance to explain the situation in detail, and they had come to the conclusion that, unfortunately, a lot would depend on the person directly concerned, and that therefore it would not be at all unlikely that they could find themselves having to improvise along the way.
"In principle," Inuyasha began, "I will keep on the same track you have seen in this last two days, while Kimi..."
He turned to her to give her the floor, but was invited to continue.
"...well, she will intervene when my contribution is no longer enough."

A thoughtful Miroku, in the meanwhile, was listening to the discussion with one ear every other: he knew he had already done a lot, and that no one would reproach him for not having tried; but he couldn't get it out of his head that, if his intervention had further damaged the relationship between his caregiver and his brother, he would never forgive himself. He had thought about this moment many times, but finding himself there had a completely different effect, and amplified the doubts that, until then, he had managed to chase away with a quick shrug of shoulders.

"Hey, Miroku!"
Inuyasha's call woke him from his ruminations.
"Is everything okay?"
"Oh yes, yes: let's get into the thick of the action, I was preparing myself psychologically."
"Understood."
Rin looked around to make sure they were all focused, and was happy to receive a positive answer.

_______________________________________________

When he opened the door to Rin's study, the scene that stood before Sesshomaru aroused in him a mixture of annoyance, confusion and, above all, surprise: the last person he would have ever expected to receive a visit from was his mother.

"Hello, darling: sorry for the surprise, but I was invited and I wanted to participate."
Sesshomaru was speechless for a couple of seconds, then turned his attention to Rin.
"What have you planned, this time?"
"Me? I assure you that none of this is my own idea."
"Sesshomaru, please: sit down." his mother invited him.
Reluctantly, the demon complied with the request and approached the last empty chair, which he recognized as the same one from other days, but which had been moved so that Kimi was between him and Inuyasha.

"You could have called me, let me know that you were coming here." he whispered in his mother's ear before taking a seat.
"I'll explain everything to you later, my boy."
Once everyone was seated, Rin began to speak.
"First of all, I would like to thank Mrs. Gobodo for being here with us."
The person directly concerned nodded to indicate that she appreciated it.
"Sesshomaru, since we began this journey, despite your reluctance to talk, you have made it very clear that Inuyasha and your mother are two people who have played a diametrically opposed, antithetical role in your life: they are at opposite ends of the spectrum from each other, but I know that there is something more, and I would like you to share it with me and with them."
The demon gave the impression of having remained unperturbed, but he had noticed that, curiously, whenever Rin investigated his past, he always ended up letting slip details that he absolutely did not want to share.

"Is it really necessary for the human to listen?" he diverted the discussion by pointing to Miroku, who was muttering without losing sight of the scene.
"Mr. Kanagawa asked to be present because..."
"He is a quadriplegic, not mute, nor on trial, he does not need a lawyer to speak for him."
"Honey..." Kimi placed a hand on his arm, to calm him down.
"Or did I miss something?" Sesshomaru continued, turning his gaze towards the human "Did the cat get your tongue? Two days ago you were so much a talker, now your voice is gone?"

His recipient cleared his throat, and spoke up.
"Sorry, I didn't answer right away: I understand that you may have complaints, about the fact that a stranger sticks his nose into your family affairs; however, this is not my intention."
Sesshomaru was still not convinced, and Miroku did not expect otherwise.
"If it makes you feel any better, imagine that this situation is a simple 2vs2: in your corner is your mother, and in Inuyasha's is me."

This answer must have pleased Sesshomaru, who snorted in amusement.
"Oh, what a thankless task you've chosen for yourself...I'd feel sorry for you, if only I cared any little about you."
"Now stop it, Sesshomaru," he heard his mother's welcoming voice scold him. "Didn't I teach you that rudeness is like a stain on your clothes?"
Her son obeyed her, and didn't even reply when Inuyasha gave him a 《Serves you right》 grimace.

"Let's hear it: what do you think you've discovered, Rin?"
The girl's eyes bounced between Sesshomaru, Kimi and Inuyasha, and only after returning to Sesshomaru, a few seconds of silence later, she did answer.
"You expect an apology." she explained. "You expect Inuyasha to apologize to your mother...and I think, in your opinion, he owes her one since he learnt to speak."
Sesshomaru was about to deny this accusation, but he stopped, realizing that, even if not explicitly, this was exactly what he wanted: that apology was due.

"It wouldn't be enough, and anyway it's too late now," he finally retorted. "The only thing he could have done to really make amends was to leave with his mother and never come back."
"My mother is an adult, so she decides for herself, and unfortunately for you I love Kagome more than you despise me, so I'm not moving from here." Inuyasha replied, annoyed.
"Too bad, you should have seen her face when the fight broke out."
He was chuckling. The asshole was chuckling. Didn't he realize how worrying his behavior could be?
Inuyasha's blood was boiling, and if someone hadn't intervened he would have exploded.
"Come on, Sesshomaru, it wasn't an even fight," Kimi spoke up. "Don't you think it's not very elegant to brag about it?"
Thank goodness. His son agreed, and the half-demon regained some calm.

"Are you sure there's nothing else that can change your mind? Or have you decided to persist in not seeking contact with your brother?"
Damn, Rin! He was really working hard today.
"I've already said what I had to say to him, I have nothing else to add."
"And when were you going to do it?" Inuyasha joined in. "I think you've said more words to me these past few days than you've said since I learned to speak."
His gaze met Rin's.
"It took a stranger for me to be able to say something that wasn't an insult or a threat; damn, it was so hard for you to say to me 《I found out about you by chance from a nurse and from that day my world fell apart》? When you screamed in my face that I would steal your life, I think that was the first time you were truly honest with me."
Sesshomaru wanted to put the episode behind him, so he tried to gloss over it, but he couldn't avoid his mother's astonished look.
"I can assure you that my contempt is genuine, from the first to the last word."
"That's not true, and you know it, because even though you refuse to admit it, you are..."
Suddenly, Inuyasha stopped, struck by a realization that had only come to him as he spoke those words.

"Are you... no, wait: are you jealous of me?"
"Don't talk nonsense" Sesshomaru began "how can you even think such an idiotic thing?"
"Prove me wrong, go ahead: you do nothing but belittle me whenever you have the chance, but what do you have to be proud of?"

'Inuyasha...' Kimi thought, curious, but also alert.

"I bet you still live in that squalid, unkempt apartment, and spend your evenings alone with your ego, also because with a shitty character like yours I think it'll be difficult to find someone who wants to keep you company."

'Well, you can always count on me, remember.' Sesshomaru heard Jake whisper in his ear.

"You really stopped growing at 14," he retorted, impatiently, "you talk like you want me to compliment you for having a girlfriend, is that what you want? To know that I'm happy for you too? As if that somehow makes you better than others."
He then arched towards his stepbrother, and continued.
"Why don't you try to ask yourself what drives you so insistently to have validation from others; if you're so proud of your successes, then why all this insecurity?"

Inuyasha began to laugh, making Sesshomaru nervous.

"What's so funny?"
"Isn't that funny? We're talking about successes and your first thought went to Kagome, but it doesn't look like you even have any friends outside of here."

As right as he was, Sesshomaru didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing him in trouble.

"And what good would they do? Unlike you, I'm okay with myself, and as long as I'm okay with it I won't need anyone's approval."
'Except Daddy's, am I right Maru-chan?' Jake hissed.
"Shut up!" Sesshomaru exclaimed, before remembering that he wasn't talking to a real, flesh-and-blood person, but a ghost, a figment of his own wild imagination.

"Sesshomaru, is... is everything okay?" Rin hesitated.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
How could he have let his anger go so stupidly?
And now he couldn't dismiss the matter by refusing to answer, he wouldn't dare, in front of his mother.

"Sesshomaru, please, you have to tell us what's going on." was the plea his mother advanced after placing a hand on his arm to reassure him.

Still stunned by the realization of having made a huge faux pas, and not wanting to be seen as a reckless child, he shrugged her off.
"It's nothing, I've just had enough of this ridiculous charade."

"Look! The great Sesshomaru running away...that's nothing new!" "Inuyasha, that wasn't necessary." Miroku warned.

Before anyone could say anything else, Inuyasha found himself lifted from his chair, grabbed by the collar by his stepbrother.

"I knew I should have killed you that day: since you came into my life, you have been able to do nothing but parasitize and take away everything that was mine; I have put up with too much from you, you useless and pathetic bastard."

After overcoming his initial surprise, Inuyasha understood that the moment had finally come: he looked around for Kimi, who gave him her approval, and answered.

"Not really useless, I would say."
Now Sesshomaru was confused.
"What do you mean?"

Aware that she had to help Inuyasha, Kimi hugged Sesshomaru, with the idea of ​​calming him down enough to reveal the secret that she had been harboring for too long with the complicity of her stepson.

"Please, let him go."
But his grip was still tight.
"First he has to give me an answer." the son retorted.
"Sesshomaru, let go of your brother."
WHAT? Something was wrong, he had never heard his mother call Inuyasha like that.
The shock had made him loosen his grip.
"Mother, what does all this mean? Why are you defending him?"

The words she was about to say at that moment scared her terribly, but keeping them quiet was no longer possible.
"Inuyasha prevented me from making a big mistake," she began.
Rin knew what it was about, while Miroku was sincerely confused, but certainly not as much as Sesshomaru.
"He helped me in my worst moment: he saved me from the stupidest decision of my life."

__________________________________________________

6 years ago

His black eye was getting better, but boy, it did still hurt.
His classmates had asked him how he got it, with some even thinking he had gotten into a fight with a yakuza.

"Taisho-Senpai, are you feeling better today?"

The one who had taken an interest was a freshman named Kagome Higurashi, who Inuyasha had come to recognize for her always-shrill voice and because she participated in a lot of clubs, practically never being able to sit still.
For this reason, the fact that she had taken the time to ask him how he was doing pleased him; the only thing he didn't like, however, was the formality she used with him.

"Taisho is enough, and that's it, Higurashi."
"Oh, yeah, whatever you want," she understood. "So how's the eye? It looked like a bad blow when I saw it."

In fact, Sesshomaru hadn't taken it kindly, but it was a detail he didn't feel he should share; in short, his pride was at stake.

"Well, it could have been worse, you know?"
"Really, how?" she asked, curious.
"You may have not noticed and asked me about it."

When Kagome started to blush and Inuyasha noticed, he realized he had shot himself in the foot, because his cheeks felt hot too.

"Um, sorry, I didn't mean that, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" he stammered an apology.
"No, no, of course not, you have nothing to worry about, you didn't say it on purpose."

The school bell rang, bringing the two high schoolers back to reality.

"Oh no, I'm going to be late for home economics class." Kagome realized "Get well soon, Inuyasha, sorry but I have to run."

"C-careful not to run, you might slip." he greeted her, still trying to recover from the embarrassment.

After the kendo club's lessons and practice ended, Inuyasha took the bus home, but this time he didn't get off at the usual stop, but stayed until he reached the place where his parents had told him his stepmother lived.
When he found himself in front of the gate, he rang the intercom and waited for an answer.

"Inuyasha? What do you want? Go away!"
Not the best of starts, you might say.
"Hell, I have something I need to talk to you about."
"Whatever it is, it can wait for another occasion." Kimi insisted.
But in a contest of stubbornness, Inuyasha would never come in second.

"Come on, it won't take more than 20 minutes: let's get this over with, so I don't show up again, are you okay?"

"No." she replied dryly, and closed the connection.

Refusing to give up, the high school student told himself that he would find a way in...and what better solution, if not climbing over the gate?

Luckily, there was no burglar alarm, and the door was unlocked.

When he crossed the threshold, he found himself in front of a spacious living room, even if the mess may have convinved otherwise: sketches on the floor, yogurt cups abandoned here and there, fabric samples stacked in a pyramid for no apparent reason, and a fruit bowl with plums that had clearly seen better days; all while a strange garlic smell hung in the air.

"I know you said no, but come here: I swear I'll be out in 10 minutes." Inuyasha called her, but she didn't answer.

As he approached the other rooms, the smell that had greeted him became more nauseating, but along with it he recognized a perfume: the same one his mother also used for evening outings on holidays.
Intrigued, he followed the stench, and found himself in front of the kitchen, which seemed fully pervaded by it.
On the fire, on a grill, a steak was cooking, seasoned with what seemed like a mountain of paprika.

A pair of golden eyes, wide open in surprise, met his.

"I told you to leave, kid!" she heard herself calling back.
"And I say no," Inuyasha replied.
"I'm serious, I didn't give you permission to come in, so go away."
"I just want you to listen to what I have to say, there's no need to get upset."

The microwave chirped, indicating that whatever it was heating was ready.

"I was about to start eating," Kimi pointed out.
Inuyasha, annoyed by this excuse, disagreed.
"Judging by the stench in this kitchen, you'll have to do it all over again...what do you need all that paprika for, anyway?"

At that, worry crossed his stepmother's face.

"This is none of your business," she replied curtly.
"Hey, I'm saying this for you," her stepson retorted, as he tried to locate the source of the stench.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you've overdone it; and what is this stench of..."

When he opened the compartment from which the smell was strongest, what he found were not bulbs, but a red package with the image of a mouse and the words RAT&MOUSE KILLER on it.
Suddenly he realized what he had smelled when he entered: the garlic smell was due to difenacoum, a substance present in rat poison.

"What the fuck is going on here? What did you put on that steak?"

Kimi knew she had been caught, but she tried to deny it anyway.

"I was in the mood for spicy food today."

"Kimi, this isn't funny, okay?"

"I think you should go now."

"And leave you here alone with your poisoned steak? You must be out of your mind!"

Inuyasha headed towards the fires, intent on throwing away the poisoned food.

"Stop, what are you doing?"
Kimi lunged at him to stop him, but her stepson quickly reacted; then she tried to take the meat directly, but was pushed away again.

"Stop it, what you're doing is crazy!" Inuyasha shouted at her, trying to hide the shock that the situation had caused him.

In frustration, Kimi changed tactics: the knife block was next to her: she pulled one out; fortunately, Inuyasha noticed it in time, and grabbed his stepmother's arms before she could hurt herself with the bread knife.

"Let me go, Inuyasha!" she cursed him.

"Enough, Kimi: you're not lucid, you don't know what you're doing!"

"That's not true, I know it damn well!" she shouted at him, before a wave of despair hit her.

Her strength was failing her, Inuyasha noticed;

"I know" she sobbed "please, let me do it."

"Don't you dare say it again, Kimi" the other scolded her with a heavy voice "You really don't want this. At all."

"And what do you know??? You show up here, unwanted, and you want to be a hero? First you ruin my life and now you don't even give me the chance to end it...why do you hate me so much?"

"No one hates you, Kimi, no one; now put down the knife, okay?"

"Why, if no one needs me? Sesshomaru will be better off without me; he doesn't need a mother like this."

Surprising them both, Inuyasha hugged her.

"Please, don't say that again: Sesshomaru and I are not yet old enough to lose a mother."

Kimi was moved, hearing these words; she remembered the first years of Sesshomaru's life and all the joy she had felt; now she had nothing but the strength to cry.

"Oh, my, Inuyasha" she sobbed, and she hugged him tighter "I'm a horrible mother!"

'A mother worth giving others a black eye for.' her stepson mused.

Once his voice was back, he called home to say he wouldn't be home for dinner.

__________________________________________________

Present Day

The room was silent.
Sesshomaru's hold on Inuyasha had slipped, as had his concentration. He felt weak, dazed by what he had just finished hearing; after Toga and Magatsuhi, now even his mother had turned her back on him.
His legs felt weak like spaghetti, so he let himself fall into the chair.

"You too?" The strength it took him to say those two simple words was immense.

Kimi didn't know how to respond.

Rin, fearing how Sesshomaru would react in the throes of shock, intervened before it was too late.

"Sesshomaru..."

"What did you do?" he asked, turning to her.

"She had nothing to do with it." Inuyasha defended her. "She just allowed us to tell you the truth."

He wanted to leave, but he was petrified in place, forced to watch.

A feeling he hadn't felt in years completely enveloped him: Sesshomaru was afraid.

"Get out of here." He wanted to shout, but it only came out in a whisper.

"My son..."

"GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

Rin motioned for the three guests to listen to his request.

From now on, she would be on her own.

Once they were alone, she stood up and went to his side.

Before she could say anything, Sesshomaru intervened.

"There's no one left," he said through gritted teeth, "can I still take advantage of your help?"

"Yes, Sesshomaru: I'm still here." Rin reassured him, his right hand between the her two hands.

_________________________________________________

In the parking lot, Kimi said goodbye to her stepson and Mr. Kanagawa.
When they were gone, she turned back to the facility.

"Good luck, little bird. If anyone can bring light into Sesshomaru's life, it's you."

______________________________________________

Kagome's phone chirped: message from INU.

《Survived. Maybe the bastard will get his shit together now.》

'We're rooting for you, onii-san!' she cheered.

Chapter Text

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Miroku ventured.

The surprise he felt as Mrs. Gobodo's story unfolded and revealed a decidedly unexpected backstory about Taisho family far exceeded anything he had expected; After Sesshomaru, he was definitely the most taken aback among those present.

"Well, let's say yes: after all, it happened six years ago, so I think I can say that the thoughest part is behind our back, and that Kimi has truly been reborn after that day."

"That was very brave of you."

"You say so? Compared to you, it's as if I've done almost nothing: I mean, you found this program for him, you invited me and my family to your house to talk about him, and you even put up with his insults; we should commend you and make you an honorary member of our family, hahahaha!"

"I can't disagree with you, but do you remember what you said at that lunch?"

Indeed, yes, he did remember; and while he didn't completely regret wishing Sesshomaru dead, now that he'd learned a little more about him, he couldn't bring himself to hate him with the same intensity.

"Of course, how could I forget?" He admitted, "And even now, after all of this, I can't get it out of my head that we could have had this discussion years ago, if only Sesshomaru had wanted it."

"Fate works in mysterious ways. Who knows, maybe this was the only way it was supposed to be, or maybe it wasn't, but neither the times nor Sesshomaru were yet ripe to address the issue."

"Pfff, the prospect of me being the mature one among the two is strange, but I assure you, I don't mind at all."

"Need I remind you of when Kaede had to scold you for giving me a hot shower?"

"Oh, come on: I did it because the hot water helps circulation, not because I was bewitched like a fool by your insensitivity to pain...I swear." Inuyasha muttered.

Miroku was amused.

"Ah, I was right to choose you, no matter what Mushin said."

"Keh, I managed to get 1,000 yen out of him and get him to hire me!"

"Yeah, he told me."

_________________________________________________

Only the two of them remained in the room, both waiting for someone to finally triumph in the battle between Sesshomaru and his pride.

"I'm here."
Was the demon's reassurance after a few interminable minutes; digesting the revelation he had been made aware of while maintaining his sanity was proving to be a truly herculean task.

Rin studied Sesshomaru, and only after careful consideration did she realize that he wouldn't run away, and that she could ask him all the necessary questions.

"Who were you talking to earlier?"

Yes: all the patience and nerves he had accumulated to pretend that stupid specter didn't exist had been wasted.
But perhaps it wasn't the right time to talk about it, right now.

'Oh, come on, buddy: by now you know I'm here too, we might as well introduce ourselves and address the elephant in the room, okay?' Jake's vision whined.

Actually, he was right; what was the point of trying to continue this charade?
'Fuck it, fine.'

He would never admit it, but since he was embarrassed to be caught like that, Sesshomaru pointed at the ENEMY poster.
Rin followed him to his destination and was intrigued.

"Oh, an old friend, I see."

"Not even kidding." he corrected her.

"Well, anyway, let him know I thank him for our first day on the trail."

"Are you aware that he doesn't exist, and is just an annoying emanation of my altered mind?"

"Aw, too bad: I really wanted to ask him for an autograph, you know?"

"Rin..."

"I'm kidding, of course. But if he didn't stop you, then who do I have to thank?"

"It was just luck."

"You don't believe in luck: you stopped because, deep down, you're not a bad person."

"A mistake I still have time to correct."

"Twice? Two years ago, in that bar: was that a mistake too?"

Again? Sesshomaru didn't remember that episode...

'Or you are just pretending not to?' Jake spoke up again.

"You know what I think? That deep down you care about me."

"It's not the same."

"Excuse me?"

"They were disrespecting you, back then."

Rin was happy to hear that; apparently, he remembered that night, too.

"Sure, but you didn't have to do anything."

"It wouldn't have been right to stay on the sidelines."

"Why you?"

"You almost seem disappointed that I intervened."

"It's just that you don't advertise yourself very well. Your brother makes you sound like a soulless monster who despises humans and half-demons, but since I started following you, I've seen something completely different; so I'm asking you again: why did you put aside your depressing evening alone to bail ME out, a complete stranger?"

Sesshomaru had to admit that she had painted a really good picture of himself; listening to her, he was starting to realize that he could afford to be more honest with her.

"You needed help, and I intervened, that's all."

Rin was afraid he would cut the conversation short, and was about to snort when she heard the demon take a deep breath and continue.

"I know how it feels when you're in trouble and there's no one to come to your rescue—it's a feeling I wouldn't wish on anyone."

Selflessness.
Not that she was surprised that Sesshomaru might have it in himself, but it had taken a whole week to get him to admit it, and even that little result couldn't be ignored; besides, this news would surely cheer Kagura up and temporarily ease her worries.

"You're not a broken toy, if that's what you think, Sesshomaru."

"The evidence isn't in your favor, Rin, and it's even more obvious after this ambush today."

Rin, a little embarrassed at the truth of her client's words, hesitated for a moment, unsure how to proceed, and let her gaze wander around the office; When her eye fell on a Katy Perry poster, she thought she could draw on her discography to help herself.

'Be careful,' her more rational side warned. 'You know what can happen if you upset him.'

'Sure, no problem: and besides, we're bonding, he won't jump on me like an angry wolf if I sing a little.'

After clearing her throat, she began softly:

'Oh, no, did I get too close?' she recited in little more than a whisper.

Sesshomaru didn't immediately understand what his sponsor had said, but decided to listen carefully to clarify.

'Oh, did I almost see,' Rin continued, singing, this time louder, 'what's really on the inside?'

'What are you saying?' the demon asked, perplexed.

"All your insecurities,
All the dirty laundry," the volume gradually increased.
"Ne-ver made me blink one time."

Sesshomaru barely had time to realize what he was singing when Rin began the chorus.

"Unconditioooo-nal,
Unconditiooo-nal-ly,
I will love you unconditionally!" she exclaimed joyfully.

It was unbelievable: what the hell was she thinking now? Breaking into songs after giving him such a shocking revelation? What kind of joke was that?

'But she has a beautiful voice, to her credit,' Jake commented.

'There is no fear, now:
Let go and just be free;
I will love you,
Uncoon-ditionally.

He wanted to react, tell her to stop because she was just making a fool of herself, but it was as if his ghost friend wanted to stop him and stopped his mouth.

Or was it something else?

'Come just as you are to me,
Don't need apologies
Know that you a-are worthy.

'You're not giving up, are you, Rin?' he mused,

"I'll take your bad days with your good,
Walk through this storm, I would,
I do it all because I love you,
I love you"

When Sesshomaru thought he'd found a way to stop this impromptu karaoke, Rin started the chorus again.
What struck him most was the second half, which he had previously ignored.

"There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you,
Uncoon-ditionally"

Fear, that's what it was: after discovering that his mother had kept such an important episode of his life from him, he feared he could no longer trust her, that he was truly alone in the world.
This realization made him give up on stopping Rin.

"So open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart..."

She didn't mean to make fun of him; on the contrary, she was encouraging him, albeit in her own way, at a time when he must have felt shattered.
"Speak, and I assure you I'll listen," her invitation seemed to be.

"Acceptance is the key to being
To be truly free
Will you do the same for me?"

She was holding out a hand to show him that he could trust her even in this delicate moment.

He felt touched; he would never have admitted it or shown it, of course, but in that situation, he felt touched.
So, when Rin indulged in the chorus for the third and final time, Sesshomaru listened with pleasure...and found himself whispering the last words.

"I will love you
I will love you
I will love you unconditionally"

After the performance, Rin couldn't hide the blush on her cheeks, a mixture of effort and embarrassment: who knows what Sesshomaru was thinking now?

So she was surprised when she saw him smile and move forward with the chair.

"Sometimes you're truly surprising: you have plenty of courage." Sesshomaru complimented her.

Rin was pleased and smiled back.

"So how about we talk a little about yourself now?"

"I'm ready."

"What would you like to start with?"

Sesshomaru took some time to think, and realized that in a week he still hadn't shared with Rin the reason he was there, the episode that had put him on Kagura's radar.

"I think it would be right to start from the beginning of this journey, from my last wild night."

Rin nodded, inviting him to tell the story.

__________________________________________________

9 days earlier, the day of the fight

Boredom assailed him and suffocated him like a scarf in the middle of July.

That morning he had called his mother to make sure she was okay and, as had been the case for some time, lately, he had received positive responses but with a subtle annoyance, as if his attentions were unwelcome.

Later, around 11:00, he had gone for a walk and gone grocery shopping, receiving a stern look from the burly cashier who handed over his items, among which were two bottles of Jack Daniels.

"Sorry, the alcohol promotion ended two days ago. I forgot to remove the tags: now they're back at full price."

Sesshomaru understood his attempt to dissuade him from purchasing it, but he ignored it.

The cashier scanned all the items—instant ramen, coffee, a couple of hamburgers, and whiskey—and when he'd finished taking payment, he said goodbye, leaving the customer with a warning.

"Be careful, young man. No matter how fit you think you are, you only have one gut. I wouldn't take that for granted if I were you."

That little man (Sakamoto, judging by the nametag on his uniform) was really getting on his nerves, so Sesshomaru turned to him and told him to mind his own business.

"Think of your heart, you fatso, not my gut."

And he left.

As he put his purchases down in his apartment, he remembered an advertisement advertising 50% off tickets to the Sunshine Aquarium. City.

He checked the website to see if it was still available, and the answer was yes; it could be a good way to keep himself busy in the afternoon.

After eating and setting a dishwasher, he headed for the subway.

To Sesshomaru, Tokyo subway seemed a bit like a game of Go: every time it was a different story. There had been times when he'd seen European tourists hastily wolf down a sandwich and run from one platform to another as if missing their train would mean death; on others, annoying U.S. American streamers filmed and blogged, speaking in the same tone of voice as when you lose sight of your friends in the middle of a Metallica concert.

This time, however, he was surprised by a 5- or 6-year-old girl who had started scampering around the half-empty carriage and tripped at his feet.
Hearing her suppress a moan, he realized she'd hurt herself, probably her knees, so he reached out to help her up.

"Excuse me, ma'am." the little girl replied.

It took Sesshomaru a moment to realize that the little girl was looking at his long white hair and speaking based on it.

When he looked up, he met eyes with a man, clearly her father, who approached in fear.

"Hitomi! Come here, now!" his daughter called in a very worried tone.

"I'm coming, Daddy."

"You have to be careful, darling, he's a demon, he's dangerous."

Sesshomaru snorted resentfully at that comment: it's true that no good deed goes unpunished.

Once he reached his destination, the aquarium, he checked to see if any tanks were closed to the public, and luckily, there weren't any: zebra sharks, giant crabs, penguins—he certainly wouldn't be bored.

In middle school, there were times when he found himself fantasizing about what it would be like to live like a shark: having an entire ocean to explore, with only the occasional food to look for and the occasional bite to eat; It certainly would have been better than living with divorced parents and an unwanted stepbrother, since family ties aren't as important to fish as they are to mammals...or sufficiently evolved demons.

Observing the rapt gazes of the children admiring the penguins 'in the sky' of their dedicated tank, Sesshomaru thought that Skipper from MADAGASCAR wasn't wrong, after all: very often, to get a hand, you have to be nice and cuddly.
The thought made him smile.

"Excuse me, sir," he heard someone call from behind.
The speaker was a woman about his age, accompanied by a man a little behind...did they want a picture with the penguin tank?

"Yes?" Sesshomaru asked, trying as hard as possible to hide his annoyance.

"I would kindly ask you to leave."

What kind of story was this?
Wait a minute, maybe he'd misunderstood.

"What, please?"

"I said,《I'd kindly ask you to leave》." she repeated, more resolutely this time.

Why did he have to have these annoyances once he finally left the house?

"I'd heard that before, but I'm not getting why should I." Sesshomaru replied, his tone a little less calm than before.

The woman took a step back, fearfully, and this prompted the man behind her to intervene.

"Sir, forgive my colleague, sometimes she just doesn't know when to shut up."

"But it were you who told me to..."

"When?" the other interrupted.

"Before, over there: it must have been two minutes at most."

Patience was slipping from Sesshomaru's hands like water.

"《Said》...what?" he interrupted, drawing his attention back to himself.

"Nothing, just nonsense," the man shrugged.

"I'm curious," Sesshomaru insisted. "What did you say to each other that you don't have the courage to repeat?"

"Go away immediately. I've notified security, they'll be here any minute," the woman threatened.

"On what basis?" Sesshomaru questioned her.

"Stay away from the children, you maniac!" she shouted.

Everything around froze, and the faces of the other visitors turned toward them.

"Master Ogawa, why is Master Yamamoto yelling at the man?" asked one of the girls near the penguin tank.

"Ami, stay with the others, don't move! He's leaving now."

"I wouldn't say so, I'm just a visitor, exactly as you."

Suddenly, three security men arrived; Two headed toward him, one toward the lady.

"Sir, please follow us outside."

"I'm not doing anything, you know this—"

"He's lying, don't be fooled: he's a demon, and a pervert. He was eyeing the children and smiling; I'm their teacher, I'm just protecting them."

WHAT THE HELL?!

Sesshomaru was about to reply, but someone cut him off.

"Wait, that's not true at all!" protested a visitor who had been holding hands with his supposed girlfriend.
He was about 25 years old, about 5' 11" tall, with short brown hair and blue eyes.

"Please, don't interfere," the security man who remained next to the woman informed him.

"Sir, all he was doing was watching the penguins!"

"He started threatening other visitors." The security guard continued.

"He's just defending himself from a defamatory accusation."

The situation was going from unpleasant to embarrassing for Sesshomaru: having a human defend him? No way!

"Mind your own business, I don't need your help." But no one was listening to him anymore.

"If he were innocent, he shouldn't need to defend himself," another security guard intervened. "It's clear he has a guilty conscience."

"Just why?" another voice rose: the girlfriend of his improvised defender. "Just because he's a demon? What kind of talk is that?"

"ENOUGH!" thundered the third member of security, who had remained silent until then. "You, Demon! You two! I want you out of here, right now! And don't you dare make a fuss, or you'll be banned from this place, have I been clear enough?"

'Fucking Fuck.' Sesshomaru thought, rolling his eyes.

After being escorted to the entrance along with the couple who had come to his defense, Sesshomaru felt he'd had enough, and began to head towards the subway.

"Hey, wait!" He heard himself being called.
Recognizing the voice of the visitor who had come to his defense, he ignored it and quickened his pace.

Unfortunately, he heard the clatter of his footsteps growing louder, followed by softer ones.

'And today too, I've reached my limit of endurance,' Sesshomaru stated.

Without stopping, he turned and found himself face to face with the boy, taken aback by the demon's sudden change.

"Thank you for stopping by. I just want to say I'm sorry it ended this way: it was truly an injustice!"

Sesshomaru, upset, wasn't interested in being proven right.

"Ah, I didn't introduce myself," the young man continued, reaching out to the demon. "I'm—"

The demon grabbed his wrist and, barely maintaining his composure, replied: "I told you NOT to interfere, and that I did NOT need your help, but no: you wanted to be a hero, show off, and receive compliments...well, you can be sure I won't be the one to give them to you, you pest!"

After pushing him away by the arm, his gaze fell on the girl: she was probably a year or two older than her boyfriend, just over 5'3" tall, and had a long, cascading black hair tied back in her hair with a knot and brown eyes.

"Honest advice: you and your girlfriend need to learn to mind your own business." he scolded them before continuing on his way.

_________________________________________________

"What manners are these?! I mean, we were the only ones who did something to help him," the boy complained, still following the demon with his eyes.

"Taki, relax, there's no need to get angry," his girlfriend reassured him. "She was probably having a bad day before, she didn't give me the impression she was mad at you personally."
With that, she stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on Taki's cheek.
"In any case, you were very brave, no one can take that away from you."
Taki, his anger suddenly gone, turned to her.

"You know what, Mitsuha? You're right: I'm not even angry anymore, just think about it."

Mitsuha smiled and decided to take a chance.

"Does this mean we're going to the cafe from the other day and you'll buy me a Sacher torte this big?" she asked with sweet eyes and her hands in the shape of a heart.

Taki laughed and nodded.

"That and more, for MY Sacher torte," he confirmed as he pulled her into a hug; then he whispered in her ear, "Also because we both know those desserts goes to your lovely buttocks I adore."

"Oh, was this your plan all along, you silly?" Mitsuha pouted, before bursting into laughter and pretending to chase him.

________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru was so nervous he could have ripped somebody in halves. The people around him had been trying to annoy him all day...and it was barely 4:30 PM!

As soon as he saw a subway train approaching, he took it without thinking. To hell with it if it took him to the port or the Skytree, he just wanted to sweat away all the anger the trip to the aquarium had caused him.

He felt around his pockets for his phone, and had a wonderful surprise: in addition to his house keys, in his right pocket were some old earphones, which, however, still did their job.

He opened Spotify and checked the playlist...after five minutes he gave up and decided to leave the choice to Spotify itself, from his liked songs.

First song, WE ARE TONIGHT, by Billy Currington: he remembered hearing it for the first time at a college party, eight years earlier, but the song hadn't been well received by the partygoers, who immediately asked for it to be changed to something more pop, like I DON'T LIKE IT, I LOVE IT by Flo Rida.
He'd picked it up later, and during a drunken session alone on the couch in his apartment, he'd reached the conclusion that the song was ideal for a kiss.
That stupid thought would disappear without a trace by the next morning, he'd thought, but it was still there, popping up every now and then like a spiteful pimple before a photo.

He tried to listen to it all through the end, but by the chorus the image of a kiss set to music had already become too intense.

Next one.

Second song, THE LAZY SONG, by Bruno Mars: he didn't want to do anything that day either, but a nagging little voice was constantly there telling him not to waste his time, to make the best of a bad situation, and all the usual nonsense, and so he let himself be convinced...in hindsight, a big mistake.

Third song, for the first time, a TV series theme song, THE NIGHT MANAGER: it wasn't just the music that he particularly liked, but the entire opening credits sequence, where teacups arranged in a circle on a table became the drum of a machine gun and a cascade of diamonds transformed into a carpet bombing.

For the first time, he managed to listen to a song until the very end (also because it was only a minute long, but those were details).

Fourth song, WHAT IS HAPPENING? by Iselin Solheim: while he was at a bar with other college students, he saw the music video for a song his friends had talked about a lot on TV, but he couldn't remember the name...what remained, however, was the voice of that talented vocalist; she didn't have a particularly extensive discography, but her lyrics had a simplicity that attracted him without him being able to explain the reason.
And then she had a very sweet voice, which reminded him of his mother's from some old videotapes.

His musical journey was interrupted about 40 minutes later, when he recognized a stop not far from a bookstore where he had a membership card.
He remembered spotting a copy of Konrad Lorenz's MAN MEETS DOG a couple of weeks earlier and hoped it was still there.

"Good afternoon!" the cashier, an elderly beaver demon, greeted him "Looking for something specific?"

"Yes, thank you. Do you still have a copy of MAN MEETS DOG?"

He watched the lady check her computer, but he was afraid he knew the answer.

"Oh, I'm sorry, young man. Another bookstore requested it, as they have run out of copies a couple of days ago. But don't worry: if you order it here now, I can have it delivered in three working days at most. Is that okay with you?"

"Thank you, ma'am. That sounds like a good solution. I'll leave you my phone number."

"Braaa-vo, so I can call you when it arrives and you can come pick it up...have a nice day, then." she greeted him.

"Thanks, you too."

Before he knew it, it was 6:00 PM when the subway arrived at the station near his house, but it felt like ten years had passed, ODYSSEY style.

When he reached his apartment, the first thing he did was head for the refrigerator; then he opened the freezer and took out one of the bottles he'd bought that morning.
He poured himself a generous glass, one of those for water, and gulped it down: the day had played some nasty tricks on him, and he deserved that glass! Screw the convenience store clerk!

"Life's too short to waste time being preys to boredom." he toasted himself after his third drink. "I could really use a good fight. I haven't had a proper one in four months!"

An idea flashed through his head: Inuyasha's girlfriend did work in a pub, didn't she?

"Yes, now I remember." he reasoned aloud. "Who knows, maybe she'll be happy to see me. She's always complaining about how little we've bonded, so why not start today?"

The pub where Kagome worked didn't have a particularly homogeneous clientele: it ranged from older patrons, avid card and dart players, to high school students who spent their time at the pool tables, eyeing the beers but knowing they couldn't have them, a bit like Tantalus in his torment.

In short, everyone was welcome, as long as they didn't cause any trouble.

Precisely for this reason, the customer who had walked through the door shouldn't have been there.

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing here?" a worried Kagome asked.

"Reciting Maxwell's Equations to other customers...what's your guess, Higurashi?" he quipped, before gulping down the golden liquid from his mug. "Fill it up again, please!"

"Listen, I felt a wave of ethanol attack my nostrils when you opened your mouth, so I don't think you should—"

"Are you getting paid for what you think, or because you know how to pour drinks?"

"Sesshomaru, this isn't a joke: I swear I won't tell Inuyasha, but you have to—"

"Ah, for fuck's sake, I'll do it myself, then!" he said, reaching over the bar to take the beer tap and refill his mug.

"NO, HEY, STOP!" Kagome exclaimed, drawing her superior's attention.

"Any problem, Higurashi? Any annoying customers?" he asked the woman.

"No, Kotetsu, nothing to worry about, he's just my boyfriend's brother, I'll take care of him."

"You'd better; remind your friend that I'm keeping an eye on him," he admonished her, before returning to his duties.

Kagome followed him with her eyes until he disappeared, then turned to Sesshomaru and asked, "Did you hear what he said?"

Obviously the answer was 'YES,' but what harm was there in teasing her a little?

"Yes, but unfortunately for him, he's not my type; he'll have to deal with it."

Kagome didn't want to believe it: now that he wasn't swearing at her, was he making fun of her?

"Don't make any more trouble, okay? I don't want you to disturb me while I'm working." he advised.

Sesshomaru nodded... and turned his attention to the patrons, specifically the baseball fans, who were engrossed in the game. Things weren't going well for their favorite team, and Sesshomaru knew what to do.

"Come on! How can you do that?!" complained an annoyed patron.

"Foul ball number 20 for us: what a disgrace!" echoed a friend.

"And we're only in the fourth inning! They should be broadcasting this game to Guantanamo, during the interrogations and torture," a third joined in.

Two others were too busy simultaneously facepalming each other to comment.

"A team of loser boys for a fan base full of loser boys." Sesshomaru chuckled.

One of the five friends turned to him.

"What did you just say?"

Sesshomaru shrugged as he played with his hair to keep himself occupied.

"Kiyoshi, it's nothing, forget it." Another member of the quintet calmed him down.

What a drag, voices of reason! After listening to them, he vowed to get all five of his friends to give in to his provocations.

"Hahaha, if you were a racehorse, I'd bet on you at the track. I bet you'd run away like lightning at the first hint of danger."

"Dude, please: we're here to watch baseball, not to have a fight."

He had to change his tack, flex his muscles.

"Too bad, that's exactly why I came here." he said, before turning and giving Kagome a mocking grin. "But it's also true that it wouldn't be fair of me to come to blows with you pathetic humans."

A third fan stood up and walked toward him, his height and size standing at 6'1" and weighing 185 pounds.

He stood within a foot of his face and said, "Listen to me, asshole: either you shut your fucking mouth or—"

But before he could finish his threat, the demon grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head into him.

From then on, everything became hazy, his memory only muffled sounds and blurry images: he'd taken a couple of punches in the stomach; Kagome had hidden behind the bar after the rest of the group of fans had rushed to their friend's defense, mugs in hand; someone had flown onto a pool table, and then they were all on the ground, while Sesshomaru was being carried away by the police.

And his head still felt light as a leaf on the surface of the water.

__________________________________________________

"Not that bad for a day, huh?" Sesshomaru commented.

"Well, that explains a few things." Rin concluded.

"For example?"

"That you're more than decent as a demon."

"That's subjective: I doubt those five guys would agree with you," Sesshomaru pointed out.

"And that brings us to the second point: you need to stop drinking...immediately!"

"I keep saying I can stop whenever I want, but if it makes you feel better..."

"You screamed against an alcohol-induced vision about an hour ago," Rin scolded. "We should talk about your relationship with alcohol, because I'm afraid it's more complicated than it seems: nothing is linear with you."

Touché, he had made a glaring faux pas, and he couldn't keep denying it.

"Okay, but not right away."

"Sesshomaru, time isn't exactly on our side. I don't know if we can keep up with your pace."

"It's not an excuse I'm trying to make, it's just that you'll need..." he hesitated, unsure whether to say it or not.

"I will need...?"

Rin's tone didn't betray annoyance, and this convinced Sesshomaru to continue.

"It's a discussion my mother will have to participate in...and I don't feel ready to face her right now."

She understood the demon's reasoning and agreed.

"Given what's transpired from our meetings in the past few days, I think the best course of action is to confront the most important people from your past. Are there any other names you think I should know?"

Sesshomaru thought about it for a minute or two, but then shook his head.

"I don't even know if these people are still in Tokyo. Maybe Menomaru and Garamaru, but I'm not sure."

Rin nodded, and only then did a name come to mind.

"You know what? I think I know who we should start with."