Summary:
AU/One Shot. Everyone is totally OOC.
Pairing: Kag/Sess
Kagome gets to know Inuyasha's older brother, who likes to sit behind a computer screen and on the whole is a weird guy. And somehow ends up liking him a lot.

A/N: Gathering Rain seems to hate me, but I'm still trying. Meanwhile, these odd One Shots seem to pop up from nowhere. I should go on vacation. --; Virtual biscuits to the person who finds out where the Shakespeare-quote is

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And I don't own The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Wish I did, of course.

Kagome had been in love with Inuyasha forever. Of course, she told herself, I am not in love with him. This is just physical.

When he went 'I don't want anything with you, I like it that we're friends only, isn't that great?' she would sigh and say nothing. What could she say? 'I may be plain, but please, be my boyfriend? I happen to fancy the boxer shorts off you.' Never would she do that. Besides, she did have a boyfriend. His name was Hojo and she loved him. Well, she loved him in a way. Actually, she only went out with him because he gave her the feeling that she was special. Something that Inuyasha never did, no matter how nice he was to her. It was just the friend thing between them. She could have screamed in frustration.

If she were as cool as her sister, Kikyo was, maybe Inuyasha would have liked her more. However, Kagome never got the hang of coolness, no matter how hard she tried. She wore black, lots of it, and she was bright and sarcastic and had a good humour, but she just wasn't cool. Not the type of cool person who would pack their bags and go to India to 'find themselves' and come back with loads of photos of themselves eating foreign food with their fingers and drinking beer with some guys from Norway and Holland they met on the way back from a small trip to Nepal. This was the type of 'cool' that Kikyo was.

Beautiful. She was beautiful. She wore whatever she found on the bottom of her chest (that she bought in Australia…) and still looked good, and, even worse, cool. Kagome's attempts at coolness usually ended in wearing black trousers and a black blouse with a dark purple tie. You're not even a goth, Kago, Kikyo would say. Why are you wearing all that black? Kikyo was the bane of Kagome's existence, or so she felt. Go to India, Kikyo said. Go anywhere. Travelling helps loads with personality issues. Sitting behind a computer all the time doesn't.

"I haven't got a personality issue!" Kagome said aloud and suddenly the lecture room was quiet, everybody looking at her. She blushed. "Sorry, "she said. The professor tried to hide a grin and, after a second, continued with her lecture.

Afterwards, she met with Hojo, who was talking about his new CD-player. Am I interested in his CD-player? I think not. Do I need someone to worship me as he does? She bit her nail, hard.

"Stop that, Kagome," he said. "You are ruining your nails."

Yes, I need someone to worship me, she decided. However, this just wasn't it. He is not the one who should be worshipping me in this way. He and I, we should be friends only. Her sight went fuzzy for a moment. This is what Inuyasha is saying about me. It's so cruel.

"I think we should take a break," she said, suddenly. Hojo stopped talking instantly and swallowed hard, before he spoke again.

"I have been thinking this, too,"he said. Kagome's lower jaw connected with the floor. "I think we should be friends, not lovers." Her eyes began to look suspiciously wet, so he hurried to add: "How about we talk about all this tomorrow? I don't want to lose your friendship, ever, but I am glad to see that we both think that… 'us' was a mistake in a way."

He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek, before he left her side and walked over the lawn to his car.

So he beat me to it, she thought.No big deal. Tears started running down her cheeks. Slowly, she made her way towards the parking lot, where her car was waiting.

"So this is where our favourite part-time-vampire was hiding,"a voice said. She did not look up. "Hey, what's with you, Kago?" he said with concern. Inuyasha was a sweet boy, he really was. It wasn't his fault that he was as dumb as a brick.

"Nothing," she said. "I'm on my way home."

He bowed down to her and managed somehow to look at her face from below. "You were crying?"

"I am fine," she said. "Don't worry about me." It was just her bad luck seeing a person she was cheating on her boyfriend with … well, ex-boyfriend that is, now… in her head only, of course… just after said boyfriend dumped her, before she could dump him… this day was the pits.

"Well, if you are fine, would you mind giving me a lift home?" Oh yes, he was definitely not the sharpest crayon in the box.

"Yeah, get in." And so she drove him home. Inuyasha's home was a huge flat in the downtown area that he shared with his big brother. Kagome had never met his brother, and did not wish to, either. According to Inuyasha, he was a big bully and a complete nerd who spent all his time with computers. And since Kagome loved Inuyasha… pardon, she lusted after his body; she did not want to meet his brother. However, she was curious about the flat they shared.

"Are you sure you will be fine?" he asked, and she knew he only asked because he was a good boy with fine manners, not because he was concerned about her.

She sniffed. "Hojo dumped me, "she admitted. Inuyasha's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"What? I thought you two were getting on fabulously. How long have you been together, four, five months now?" He opened the door of the house. Kagome scowled slightly and started to rub her eyes.

"Um, wanna come in?" he asked. "I don't have much time, but we could have a cup of tea together or something."

"I don't want to waste your time, "she said. "Since you're busy…"

"Nah, its fine, "he said generously. "I've got an hour or so. We're friends, after all."

Kagome closed her car and followed him upstairs. The flat was huge, with bits of pieces of furniture everywhere. Nothing matched anything else, and everywhere she could see Inuyasha's things; balls, boxing gloves, a baseball bat, swords. Swords?

"My brother's,"Inuyasha explained. "He does kendo. I used to do it, too, because our dad wanted me to. That's my sword over there. But I haven't been practising for a year or so. Didn't have the time because I had other hobbies." Kagome knew what his time-consuming hobbies were. Their names were Miki, Karen, Makoto and such. Inuyasha went to make tea and soon came back with two mugs. His mug said You Don't Need To Be Weird To Work Here But It Helps, and Kagome's mug said Sex Kitten. Inuyasha blushed.

"Sorry about that. The mugs are from my mum's collection of weird mugs. These are the ones she didn't like."

"That's okay, "Kagome said. "I've got a whole collection of Hello Kitty mugs."

He grinned. "Who would have thought that you would like something like that?"

"What do you mean, me?"

"Well, you're so untouchable, you know, so cool, and wearing black and look so intellectual, well…"

Kagome froze. There it was. The word. Cool. Was she cool? Am I cool? Her head screamed at her. Does he think I'm cool? Oh my goodness! He thinks I'm cool! But then her other personalities intervened. Yes, but is 'cool' a positive term in his lexicon? Does he think that you are cool as in cool or as in reserved, cold, nerdy? Does he think that you're cool like someone he would like to be with and eventually ask their hand in marriage from their dad or just someone who can be his best female friend? Or maybe not even the best friend, just some friend? Would you please stop being a compulsive thinker?

When Kagome came to, Inuyasha was setting off towards a mysterious corridor to an equally mysterious door. She remembered that he had said something about taking a shower, so she thought that the door might be the one leading to the bathroom. What was she to do? Sit around and sip tea? She saw a computer on the desk. It was a nice, flat, silver laptop, and she walked over to have a look at it. It was on, so she checked her mail and pushed a few buttons.

"I hope you know what you are doing," a cold voice said. "Tell me your name before I remove your head from your shoulders, so we know what name to put on your grave."

Kagome turned around and saw the 'big, nerdy bully' and she immediately realised that the man she fancied was a big liar. Inuyasha's evil brother was standing right behind her. If her brain hadn't stopped working the very moment she saw him, she would have noticed that he was not in a very good mood. But so, she only saw the most beautiful creature on earth and, for the second time that day, her lower jaw connected with the floor.

"Sorry, "she said. "I was just checking my mail."

"And you were pushing buttons randomly, "he added. "You could have ruined everything." He sighed and ruffled his perfect white hair. Kagome sighed. "I have no idea why my stupid brother keeps bringing his bimbos over here when he cannot control them and keep them from touching my stuff. Would you please stop touching the computer already?"

Kagome was deeply insulted.

"Excuse me, but I would like to log off and close the browser, if you don't mind."

"Wow, "he said, sarcastically. "The bimbo knows what a browser is. Now don't tell me you're an intellectual? I didn't know Inuyasha had friends with brains. Where did he find you, Sex Kitten?" he said with a look at her mug.

This man was plainly insulting her, but Kagome's day couldn't get worse, anyway, so she decided that her pretty future brother-in-law deserved a clear word or two, just to set some things straight.

"Now, look you git, I was just checking my mail. I didn't touch your downloads, I didn't touch your calculations and I didn't touch your editor. I don't even think I slowed down anything, since you've probably go the biggest RAM I've ever seen in my life on a laptop. On any computer, to be honest…" She stopped talking. No way was she complimenting this person on his computer any more.

"You really are intellectual, "he said with an evil grin. "So you must be Kagome. Inuyasha was talking about you."

"He was?" Kagome beamed involuntarily. "What did he say?"

"He didn't say anything much, just that he has a friend who is bright, but clumsy around people. He said he thought you fancied him." Kagome blushed. His evil grin deepened.

"He didn't say that, did he?"

"No, actually I just read his mails, and this is what you said about yourself. I don't think he thinks that much about you. Or anything else, for that matter."

"You what?" Kagome was shocked. This beautiful person was reading his brother's e-mail?

"Hey, sometimes it's fun. No need to tell him that, though." Kagome felt the urge to get hold of the baseball bat in the corner and beat him up, but somehow she had the feeling that he would be faster.

"You what?" She was still shocked.

"I'm getting bored," he said. "How about you keep me amused? This way you could keep me from wringing your neck for touching my computer. No one touches Isuzu without my permission. Actually, no one but me touches my computer at all."

"The computer has a name?" She looked at him more closely. He had beautiful yellow eyes, just like Inuyasha, and this beautiful face and a nice body, and he was dressed casually in jeans and a black T-Shirt saying: Battle Royale - been there, done that.

"Yeah, so?" he said. "Doesn't every computer have a name?"

"Your really are a nerd, right?"

He sat down on the sofa and pulled the laptop closer to himself. For a moment, he listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom. "I thought you liked computers?"

"I do," she said. "But I like other things, too. Shopping, for example. I might like travelling, too. I have a life, you know."

"I have a life, too,"he said. "Just because I don't spend it with chasing girls and going out all the time like my brother…"

"He is a nice guy," Kagome said hotly.

"Yeah, well, could be," he said carelessly. "Who cares? He hasn't got a brain." He was cuddling in the sofa cushions like a lazy cat, slowly caressing the touchpad of his silver machine. Like a lover, Kagome thought. Like he had an intimate relationship with the computer.

Kagome did not say anything. She felt that she should defend her friend, but what this person was saying was the plain truth and exactly what she also felt from time to time. His hands were still playing with the smooth surface. She felt curious how the long pale fingers would feel on her skin. So much like Inuyasha's fingers, yet still different.

"I have no idea why you fancy him," he said. "He will never like you back, anyway. He likes normal girls. Whatever this 'normal' is."

Deep down, Kagome knew that it was the truth. Still, there was no need for him to put it so bluntly. She said nothing and sipped her tea.

"You know what? I'll give you my e-mail address and you can write me mails," he offered suddenly.

"Why should I write mails to you? You're awful. And I don't even know your name," she added.

"It's Sesshoumaru. And you want to write to me because I'm funny and I like awkward girls with brains and I can spell." Kagome scowled when she thought of all the e-mails she wrote to Inuyasha mocking his spelling. Mails that Sesshoumaru obviously knew about. Great. Nevertheless, she pulled out her mobile phone and handed it to him.

"You'll have to enter your name and address yourself. I can't promise I'll write to you. Actually, I probably won't. I have noting to say to you."

"Yeah, whatever." He shrugged and pushed the buttons of her phone. "Nice phone you have here." He took a photo of himself with the integrated camera. "This is to remind you of me."

Kagome took her phone back. "Thank you oh-so-much. Now, what is keeping that man?" She listened for the bathroom. No sound.

Sesshoumaru got up and went to the bathroom door. He opened it, only to find the bathroom empty. There was a puddle on the floor, though, to show that Inuyasha indeed had been there. Kagome's phone rang. It was Inuyasha, calling from the underground station around the corner.

"Sorry, I completely forgot you were there. I was in a hurry. Is Sesshoumaru there?"

"Yes."

"Oh, good. Make him cook for you."

"Okay."

"Right then, I'll talk to you later. Got to meet up with friends."

"Okay."

"See you."

"Okay."

"Bye-bye."

And he hung up.

"That was Inuyasha, right?" Sesshoumaru's cool voice reached her ears. "He forgot you were here, right?"

Kagome looked at her phone for a moment and then looked at Sesshoumaru. He looks so nice. Why does he have to be such an insensitive idiot?, she thought. Why do all the good-looking guys have personality flaws?

"So he left you at my mercy." Sesshoumaru finally closed his computer and cracked his knuckles. "What shall I do with you, then?" His face lit up, and for a second, she imagined that he would make her dress up like an iMac-Girl. Speaking about nerdy tastes. Stop that, you pervert!, she thought. It's just you. He would never… well, he probably wouldn't… hopefully.

"I could cook, and you could do the dishes afterwards, how is that?"

Kagome released the breath she didn't realise she was holding. "Don't you have a dishwasher, nerd-boy?"

"I have, nerd-girl. But since you were fingering Isuzu, I think I should punish you, don't you think? Be thankful that I didn't come up with something else. I could still make you dress up as an iMac-girl and sell the photos on e-bay. What would you prefer?"

Kagome coughed. "I'll wash the dishes."

"Thought so." He tried to look disappointed.

He was a good cook. If one liked vegetarian food. Which she did. And he was surprisingly easy to talk to, since he seemed to understand her ideas. He wasn't laughing, but he grinned a lot. He was pure evil, but fun. Sometimes at two in the morning, he let her touch his computer, and she confessed that her computer had a name, too. Then he let her out and walked her to her car.

"Write to me," he ordered. "I want a fresh e-mail from you tomorrow morning."

"I'll think about it."

"I would never have thought that one of Inuyasha's bimbo friends could be funny," he said.

"Thanks for the compliment, nerd-boy. Dream of me tonight."

"You are such stuff as dreams are made on ..." he quoted, quite freely and put on his trademark look. "'Though I think it will be you dreaming of me."

"Yeah, right. See you around." And she drove off.

Next day her phone woke her up. It was Inuyasha's brother.

"Wake up, nerd-girl," he said.

"You are quite forward for someone who is destined to be my brother-in-law only."

"I knew you fell in love with me at first sight, my dear. We will have a fatal affair, you and I."

"What do you want?"

"Well, I thought since you said it wasn't good for me to hang in front of the screen all the time you wanted to save me from myself and go for lunch with me. It's noon already, if you haven't noticed, and I haven't received any mail from you."

"Were you waiting for mail the whole time?"

"Of course I wasn't."

"O-kay, so you were not. Where did you get my number from, anyway?"

"I looked up Inuyasha's phone registry. I'll pick you up in half an hour."

"Wait, I…" But the line was dead already.



A month later, her phone rang. It was Inuyasha.

"Hey, Kago, I haven't seen you for a while so I thought I'd call you," he said. She waited for the inner meltdown that usually was the result of Inuyasha's voice on the phone, but it did not come.

"Yeah, well, you could have called sooner. Or mailed or something. I was busy, somehow."

"You've been hanging out with my brother," he said, in a speculative tone. "Well, at least I know he is in good hands with you. Don't know if you're in good hands with him, though."

"Don't worry about that," Kagome said. "I can take care of myself. We are just friends. He helped a lot with the whole Hojo-situation. I feel better now."

"Yeah, well, he has been weird lately. Weirder than usual, that is. But I also think that you're not his type. Well, never mind. I was hoping to see you around sometimes. How about cinema tomorrow?"
Kagome looked at herself in the mirror on the wall of her room. Where was the smile she usually wore when Inuyasha invited her to join him?

"Good idea. See you, then."

Sesshoumaru's features manifested in front of her inner eye. He was frowning. Why would he frown if she were going out with his brother? As Inuyasha had said, she was not Sesshoumaru's type. She had seen some of the hidden files on his computer and, well, he liked his girls more… perfect. And he knew that she liked Inuyasha. There was no reason why she shouldn't spend time with him.

So they went to cinema together and had fun. She could not help thinking that Inuyasha was sweet, but he just did not have the edge that Sesshoumaru had. Maybe it was the thing with older guys. Or maybe it was just the thing with Sesshoumaru. She sighed. When they left the building, her eyes went to the nice red car and the man leaning on it with his arms crossed and a stormy expression on his face.

She knew exactly how bad his mood was, for he looked positively cheerful. He never smiled except when he wanted to intimidate her. And she felt intimidated by his smile right now.

"Well, hi, good evening, Kagome and brother dear. What a coincidence, meeting you here." He smiled even more, until goose bumps started crawling up Kagome's arms. Behind him, her sister came out of the dark. She took Sesshoumaru's arm. Kagome stared at her.

"Oh, hi Kago," she said. "Hope the film is good. We're going in now. See you later." They left, arm in arm. Kagome shivered violently. Inuyasha looked after Kikyo thoughtfully.

"Hey, is that your sister? She is cool. Too bad Sesshoumaru got to know her first." He shrugged. "Well, let's go, shall we?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome said. "How long have we known each other?"

"Dunno. Couple of years, perhaps? Why are you asking?"

"Do you think I'm attractive?"

He was clearly embarrassed by the question that she asked in the middle of the parking lot of their local cinema.

"Well, I guess so, I mean, how would I know?"

"Are you gay?"

"Me? No!"

"Okay then, kiss me. Right now."

"Oh, um, Kago, are you really sure…"

"Of course I'm sure. Go on." With a step, she closed in to him and lifted her face to his. Inuyasha obeyed with a red face. After a minute or so, she took a step back and carefully wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

"Thank you," she said, very calmly. "Just wanted to know something."

"Gosh," he said. "That was really scary. Don't make me do that again, will you?"

She rolled her eyes. It was just like him to be totally insensitive in moments like this.

"Do you need a lift home?" she asked.

"Good idea, yes. Thanks. Now," he went on, as if nothing had happened. "Would you mind introducing me to your sister?"

"I thought you wouldn't want to get in Sesshoumaru's way?" she asked.

"I have the feeling he won't be standing in my way," Inuyasha said with a sideward glance at her face.

At two in the morning, she was still sitting in the garden behind her house. Was it normal not to feel anything when kissed by the man of her dreams? Was it normal to see someone else instead when she looked at him? The bench was getting colder and colder every minute, but she couldn't bring herself to move. I hate you so much, Sesshoumaru, she thought, and as if she had called him with her thoughts, a heavy hand landed on her shoulder. She gasped.

"Don't touch me."

He removed his hand, but took place next to her. She moved to the outer edge, so they wouldn't touch.

"So, are you going to have lunch with me tomorrow?"

"No."

"Actually, I should have said: You are going to have lunch with me tomorrow." He put his arms around her and drew her closer. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let her go.

"No."

"You went out with my brother."

"So what? We are friends. I like him."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"Well, maybe you like him, but you don't love him."

"You went out with my sister."

"Well, I knew her from high school and we happened to meet and then somehow ended up going to cinema together. No big deal."

"Well, it was no big deal me going out with Inuyasha, either. I've known him for ever."

"You kissed him." Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, and there it was, his creepy smile. She shuddered.

"You saw that?"

"Why did you do it?"

"I wanted to know if I still fancy the boxer shorts off him."

"And?"

"That is none of your concern, nerd-boy."

"I thought that it actually was very much my concern since I happen to fancy the boxer shorts off you. Well, I would if you had any."

She said nothing.

"And since you are so dumb not to notice that you have been craving my body since the first moment you set your eyes on me, I thought a shock therapy would work wonders. Your stubbornness is a problem, you see."

She kept quiet.

"Okay, and since you are saying nothing, I will proceed with my plan of action. What is required in situations like this, that is, after a confession of love, is a kiss. What do you think about that, nerd-girl?"

Kagome opened her mouth to argue, only to be stopped by a kiss. After a while he stopped kissing her.

"This would be so much better if you didn't smell of Inuyasha's aftershave," he said.

"You're so sensitive," she said.

"Shut up," he said. "How am I supposed to seduce you if you talk nonsense all the time? Of course I am sensitive. I can see right through you. The only thing you're thinking about now is how to rip the shirt off me."

"How to rip the head off you, you mean."

"That too, yes," he admitted with a hidden grin. To her relief, he was his usual self again. "So, how about inviting me to your room?"

"In your dreams. You went out with my sister. I will have to push myself very hard to forgive you at all."

"I will make a website to praise your charms. I will write a dating game for you. I will repair your CD-burner, if only you will forgive me," he sang.

"If you put it like this, I don't know how to stay upset with you."

"Well, you can't. You love me. Of course you do. And I love you, too. So, how about I cook lunch for you tomorrow, my love?"

"Deal," she said. "And you will worship me like a goddess. And for honey moon we go to India."

"Deal," he said.

The End