Kagome blushed all the way back to her hotel room. She was rarely this embarrassed and what made it worse is that she didn't have to be. Sesshoumaru didn't know what she was thinking. But she did, and it threw her off that she thought some of those things.

Now, she was laying on her bed and soaking in her own embarrassment. After a few minutes of that, she got up and dug around in her bag for her sketchbook. It was her journal, after all, and what was more fun to record than embarrassing experiences? The sound of a pencil on paper filled the empty room as she sketched away her frustration at herself. In between drawings, she would end up doodling geometric shapes in her creative slumps.

The sound of the door opening and people entering made her stop drawing and put her sketchbook away. Her roommates had arrived. One of the girls had blonde hair and she had never seen her before. The second girl had jet black hair and had sat on the same row as Kagome on the plane. The third and final girl had brownish hair and had sat next to Kagome on the bus, worrying about her clothes. Kagome smiled from her seat on the bed and said hello. The three other girls greeted her in return and they were all very soon aquainted with each other.

A knock on the door came, and the girl with the black hair got up to answer it. The others heard her open the door and talk with the person on the other side. When she came back into the room, her eyes were glazed over and her walk was slow. She looked like she was in a daze.

"Who was that?" the blonde girl asked. The black-haired girl sat on the edge of the bed with the others, "It was a teacher telling us it's time for dinner."

"Is that all?" they pressed. The girl stared off into space for a while and then shook her head to clear her thoughts, "He was majorly hot." she said simply, "I think I saw him on the plane over here, but I'm not sure."

A lightbulb went off in Kagome's head, but she decided to keep quiet. No need to have her roommates rabid for information from her about the hot teacher.

The subject passed, the girls freshened their make-up, and they went downstairs to the first floor dining room for dinner. It was a buffet tonight for the hungry jet-laggers. There were tables organized by class, country, and group. Kagome and her roommates seperated to go to their respective tables. She spotted the silver head at one of the tables and went over to claim a seat before getting her food.

Sesshoumaru looked up as she was walking towards the table. She was a welcome sight and a lift from his miserable afternoon. After she had huffed away for some unknown reason, the vultures had descended. They just wouldn't leave him alone. No matter what he did or where he went, they would always find him. Always.

He stared at Kagome, willing her to sit down in the empty seat beside him before a so called 'drool monkey' took it for herself. She looked up, and their eyes locked. She bit her bottom lip embarrassedly before sheepishly pulling out a chair across from him. She took off her jacket and draped it across the back of the chair before going to get her food from the buffet table.

He heard female voices start to come closer and didn't dare turn around to see how many were arguing over the empty chair. She had deserted him in his hour of need. He would not forget this. The voices were upon him now; he was surrounded. He pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned his elbows on the table, where his empty plate sat. Dinners like this were always his least favorite of the functions he had to attend in his human guise. The questions about his lack of appetite were exhausting and made him even more irritated than usual.

He finally heard the victor of the 'battle of the chair' sit down and claim her spoils of war. He turned his eyes and saw that it was one of the head cheerleaders. She was snobby and intimidating, so it was no surprise as to why she won the seat. She asked him a question that he deducted to be yes or no, so he gave her a half-civil nod before ignoring her completely.

It was then that the enemy returned to her seat with a plate full of food. He glared daggers at her as she started eating her meal. They made eye contact and she gave him a confused look saying, "What?"

"Traitor." he accused in a low voice. Kagome looked at him bewilderedly for a second. Then, her eyes turned to the girl sitting happily at his side in the seat that had been empty when she left, and understanding flashed across her face in the form of a smile. She turned back to her food and cheerfully ignored him for a while.

It always made him angry when she did that. He could ignore her but she would not ignore him. He simply would not allow it. So, he started talking to her. Much to the dismay of the girl that had fought so hard for her coveted seat.

Sesshoumaru folded his hands on the table and regarded her cautiously, careful not to let her see his aggravation. "Your book was.. .. interesting." he said.

Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth and she looked at him with wide eyes, "You finished it already?!" she asked incredulously.

"Yes." he said smugly. The fork finished its journey and she took a bite of corn. She still looked wondrous. The rest of the meal was continued without interruption on either side of the table. No one noticed Sesshoumaru casually slip something into his own glass of water before tipping his head back and draining the cup.