AN: This tumblr prompt is a modern AU with demons

Vitriol

The prospect of meeting her best friends' parents proved nerve-racking when it really shouldn't have been. She and Inuyasha had met in university, briefly dating for a few weeks before deciding to break up. Staying in halls together, they'd bonded over crappy lecturers, strangely getting on despite their frequent arguments and clashing personalities. Like oil and water.

Stepping through the threshold of the house, Kagome tried not to flinch at the loudness of her heels clicking on the marble floors. He hadn't exactly sold his family to her very well, grumbling about them frequently and complaining about his father. Now he'd practically dragged her there to spend a few weeks at their summer home.

"I'm gonna go sniff em' out. Wait here," Inuyasha left her side, not seeing her wilt and chew her lip. The mansion swallowed her up, looking very Western in decor. She kind of preferred more traditional Japanese inspired mansions since the wide-open spaces and modern influences felt a little more impersonal.

Hearing something, Kagome frowned, glancing at the door on her left. Approaching, she cracked it open a sliver to peer inside, before walking in.

Long white hair caught her attention, ensnaring it. Broad shoulders shifted, the demon turning to pin her with a frosty gaze. Two magenta stripes painted his cheeks, a powder blue crescent moon adorning his forehead.

Freezing, her heart fluttered. Slowly, those golden eyes changed, shifting into something more considering. They then dragged down her form- causing Kagome to bristle.

'My Dad looks young for his age. He'll also probably hit on you.' Inuyasha had said.

This is probably him. Kagome bowed. "H-hi, I'm Kagome Higurashi. You must be Inuyasha's father," she said. "It's nice to meet you."

"His father?" Amusement coloured a deep baritone, soon plummeting into a sneer. "If I were the sire of that whelp I'd live in disgrace."

Jolting, Kagome straightened quickly- only to hear Inuyasha growl from behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here, bastard?"

Bastard? The only one who Inuyasha referred to like that was...

Kagome swallowed, mildly mortified as she stared at his half brother, the light coming in from the windows behind his regal form bathed the cruel demon in an ethereal glow. Slowly, an imperceptible smirk tugged his lips up.

And that was how she met Sesshoumaru.

As it turned out, Inuyasha had a somewhat more complicated family tree than she'd first assumed. His actual father had a weathered look about his brass coloured eyes. Former General Touga motioned to his left and introduced a dark-haired, beautiful human woman as his wife. He'd then motioned to his right and introduced a white-haired, devastatingly gorgeous demoness as his wife as well.

Kagome had stared. Inukimi's tinkling laughter rang out from behind her fan. "Poor little human, did Inuyasha not explain to you that he had two Mommys?"

"You're not my Mom," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Aw, love you too~"

The entire thing had made her feel like a fish out of water, but she'd smiled and stepped forward to greet them. All the while as she chatted to Izayoi, Kagome felt a pair of eyes burning into her back.

They'd held a party a few weeks later, Kagome tugging at her dress. The clothes were a little too fancy for her tastes but she rolled with it. It was nice of them to even treat her, she couldn't complain.

Somehow though, she'd begun to feel claustrophobic. Wanting to escape from the bright, burning lights in the hall, the crowds- the perfect faces of the demons as they'd chatted business around her had made Kagome bump face-first into Sesshoumaru's chest.

After steadying her with a raised brow, he'd escorted her out into fresh air, finding a secluded balcony and nursing drinks.

"Why do you dislike Inuyasha?" She muttered quietly after catching her breath.

Things had been weird. Really weird. Running into the demon had become a habit over the weeks. In the mornings they were both early birds, meeting in the kitchen. In the evenings they'd both sought the comfort of the library. Baking food for the family and asking his opinion on the taste, sitting next to him at dinner, thighs almost touching. Making her way from the shower to her room dressed only in a towel, her skin practically feverish when he'd stared after her bare shoulders...all of it was getting to be too much.

"He has obtained many things over the years that I feel he was undeserving of."

Kagome frowned. "Like what?"

Sesshoumaru sipped his drink. "Father cut me off when I reached a certain age in order to build my business from the ground up. Inuyasha has not. Father bequeathed him an heirloom the eldest should rightly have, Father-"

"Those are all things Inuyasha isn't responsible for. They were all your father's decisions, not his. You can't hate him for that, it's not fair."

"Fair," Sesshoumaru chuckled, fangs flashing as golden eyes narrowed. "You know nothing about it. Do not speak to me about fair."

Disappointed, Kagome pushed off the railing, intent on rejoining the party- when a hand encircled her wrist.

"He has also obtained you."

Her lungs constricted, heat inflaming her cheeks. "Let go."

"Miko-"

"Please," she said quietly, not looking at him. "I can't stay here with you— I just, when I'm around you, I can't think. You make me dizzy… you make me weak." Sesshoumaru tugged, causing her body to turn- her feet planting firmly to stop just shy of touching his chest. The heat rolling off him felt like a physical caress. They were nose to nose. She hadn't realized, had moved without thinking, had been so focused on his gaze that she hadn't registered him moving closer.

"Such loyalty...to one so heedless of it," hot breath fanned over her lips.

Kagome grit her teeth. "Inuyasha and I might not be dating, but I'll always have his corner."

"What did you just say?"

"Huh? I said Inuyasha and I aren't dating but-"

Long fingered hands came up then- tangling in dark hair and holding her face as firm lips slanted over hers. Kagome gasped into his mouth, squeezing her eyes shut. Despite herself, rosy lips moved of their own accord.

Sesshoumaru kissed her with fervour, rolling youki out along her skin and electrifying her nerve endings. Kagome dragged painted nails over his chest, tailing reiki in their wake. He shuddered all over and she felt it, swallowed his quiet groan.

Ripping herself away then, Kagome seethed. Touching her smudged lipstick, she glared. "I hate you."

He laughed cruelly. Leaning away from her - and then leaning in again unexpectedly, his thigh pressed her legs apart, and she felt everything inside her freeze, and shift, and want. "No, you do not," Sesshoumaru uttered softly. He then released her, walking towards the party like she'd been intending to. "If you decide to favour a superior corner, miko-" he glanced at her over one shoulder. "This one would be glad of it and accept you readily."

Watching him leave, Kagome growled and glared daggers at his back.

Turning to the railing, she downed her drink, letting out a huff. Noticing something on the table nearby, she reached down and picked up a crisp white business card. A red and white honeycomb design patterned the edge.

That jerk.

Her fingers tightened around the pristine card, crumpling the edges. When it came to actually tossing it back onto the table however, she hesitated. Swallowing, Kagome frowned and slowly, carefully tucked the card into the safety of her purse.

Maybe one day, if he learned to be less of a jerk, she'd call him. But not a day sooner.

"I shouldn't hold my breath," Kagome grumbled, touching her burning lips and sighing.

Damn it.

End