Here you have another chapter. I know, it's sooner than I expected too. What can I say? I felt inspired. Don't expect updates so often, though.

I hope you like this chapter. Tell me what you think.

Now, enjoy.

INADEQUATE

By

Ava365

Chapter 7

Sesshomaru took his phone and dialled Kagura's number.

"I need to see your father again."

"Sure, Sesshomaru. You know where to go. He'll be expecting you."

Sesshomaru parked his SUV and began to walk down the street. Suddenly he stopped and appeared to be interested in a television displayed in a shop window. He stood there for a while and then he began to move again.

A few metres ahead he stopped again. This time he kneeled down and seemed to be tying his shoelace. He stood up again and kept walking. He could smell that foul stench again. Like the dead man he had seen but no more than half an hour ago. Whoever was behind all this knew what they were doing. At least they hired very capable people, so to speak, the stench of death impregnating those bodies made him doubt his choice of words.

However, those sichinin tai couldn't measure up with him. He was a skilled warrior when those despicable creatures were born. He would definitely find a way to get the one following off his back.

He turned around a corner and entered a shop. It was full of costumers; it would be easy for him to "disappear".

That dog sure was tough. He seemed to suspect he was being followed. But he had been a skilled tracer in the past, it would be a piece of cake to follow the demon, no matter how skilled a warrior had he been.

Renkotsu followed Sesshomaru inside the shop, following at a distance to avoid being seen in case the demon turned around abruptly. Apparently he has heading for the mystery novel section, a couple of shelves ahead from him. He got in the section and there he saw him, with a book in his hands, going through the pages. Renkotsu picked a book and pretended to skip through the pages, as if considering buying it.

He saw as Sesshomaru took the book and went to the checkout and stood in the line waiting for his turn to pay. Renkotsu decided to wait and pretend he was interested in the book in his hands while watching carefully for his target to move.

"Excuse me sir"

Renkotsu turned around to look at the person who was talking to him.

"Yes"

"Can I help you?"

"No"

Renkotsu tried to get the shop assistant to move away, he couldn't see Sesshomaru with him in front of him. However Renkotsu's rudeness didn't deter the man, and that made the assassin nervous, he pushed the man and headed for the checkout line. When he got there Sesshomaru was gone, and right in front of him, as if mocking him, there was the book Sesshomaru had held in his hands, on the counter.

Renkotsu cursed as a sailor and rushed out the door, but when he reached the street there was no trace of his target.

"You are late."

"Naraku I presume."

"I am. Kagura speaks highly of you; she says you are a very honourable man. But so far you are proving to have a lack of punctuality."

"I had to get rid of my shadow."

"You were being followed?"

The man in front of him was leaning on the desk, clearly showing how nervous he was.

"Don't worry Naraku, I wasn't followed. I got rid of the man before I even gave him a clue to where I was going." Sesshomaru smirked and that made Naraku shiver, the man was as dangerous as he was known to be. "I lost him very far from here."

And he had, after he had lost Renkotsu in the book shop he had gone back to his car and driven all the way to his meeting place with Naraku.

"Let's talk business, Sesshomaru. Please sit down."

Sesshomaru nodded and sat down in front of Naraku.

"Kagura tells me you are interested in bringing "the pure" down."

Sesshomaru nodded again. "I do."

Naraku put the palms of his hand together and brought them to his mouth.

"How can I be sure this is not a trick, concocted by the same pure you want to bring down, to erase hanyou from the surface of the planet?"

Sesshomaru sighed and made himself more comfortable in the chair.

"I guess there is no way to know for sure , unless I prove somehow that I have my reasons."

"Well, let's hear them then."

"Excuse me?"

"You said you have your reasons. Before I decide if I give you my support I want to know your point of view."

"Very well then, I hope you have no other appointments tonight."

"Go ahead."

This was the end. No more acting like a victim. No more being the weak one who needed every one to take care of her. She was so used to people around her always being there for her, always protecting her, that she unconsciously, had let them. That had to stop. She wanted to become strong and dependable.

So what if Sesshomaru had left her. She would spend no more time mourning the loss. Yes, he had used her. He knew how long she had waited to have sex with him, what it meant to her to give herself to him. He decided he didn't want her anymore, well, worse for him. She didn't need a man in her life. She would keep it in her memory as a beautiful moment shared with someone that clearly didn't deserve her.

Now, in order to move on, she had to stop thinking about him. And she had to focus in finishing her studies. And she clearly had to stop being the good girls. The saying is true, good girls go to heaven, but bad girls go everywhere.

OK, she was not going to become a bad girl in a way that she would begin to have one night stands or smoke. But perhaps she could convince Sango to go out. And she definitely needed to meet new people, spread her circle of friends.

For now she would go to the campus, she needed to go to the library.

She looked at the piece of paper one more time. Where was the damned book? She had the code right, she was sure of it.

She was beginning to get nervous, that area of the library was a bit dark and quiet. No one came to that part because the books there were not usually consulted. If she didn't need the book she had come to get she wouldn't be insisting so much.

Adding to her nervousness was the fact that her senses told her she was being watched, despite hearing nothing.

Suddenly a hand on her shoulder made her turn around with a gasp. And she saw a man she had never seen before. His long hair was tied in a pigtail and he had a weird tattoo on his forehead, but what had her stomach in a knot were his cold and murderous eyes. She began to walk backwards with the man following every step. For every step she took backwards he took one step forward.

"What do you want?" The words came in a strangled and low voice.

"Someone is very interested in having your corpse delivered to them." He licked his lips. "And I will enjoy very much killing you." She gasped and his smirked got wider. "However it would be a pity to kill someone as delicious as you before tasting you first." His eyes gleamed dangerously and she turned around and ran for dear life. The man chased her, clearly enjoying himself.

She turned her head to see how far her chaser was, she didn't see him. Suddenly her body crashed with a hard surface and she fell butt-first on the floor. She looked and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Sesshomaru?"

Without looking at her she asked if she was alright. She quietly said yes. He offered his hand to help her up and she accepted. He put her behind him just as he saw Kagome's chaser appear.

"You?" The man appeared to be surprised.

"I thought we had an agreement."

"Yeah, right. But I changed my mind. The chick is more interesting."

"The deal is off."

The man shrugged his shoulders. "I guess."

"Go away. And don't get near her. If something happens to her I will kill you."

"I'm not afraid to die." The man laughed. "I'm already dead."

Sesshomaru and Kagome looked at the man with disbelieving eyes.

"Of course, you are a member of sichinin tai." Sesshomaru suddenly remembered.

"You've heard of us? I'm flatered."

The man turned around and left. When he was out of sight Sesshomaru turned around with concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright Kagome?"

Kagome looked at him suspiciously.

"What was that all about?"

Sesshomaru breathed. "We need to talk."

Kagome looked down. "Yes, I guess we have to."

"Somewhere private."

"Of course. Come with me, there are some tables over there. Nobody comes here."

Sesshomaru followed her and held her chair for her. When she was seated he did the same across from her.

Kagome intertwined her hand and kept her eyes focused on them.

"It was never my choice to leave you."

At that blunt statement Kagome raised her eyes to look at him and frowned, not understanding what he just said. Was he mocking her heartache? Had all her suffering been for naught?

"I'm sorry I never offered an explanation, but I needed you to stay away from me. I had tried, but I was incapable of leaving you." Tears appeared in her eyes. "Until I received a phone call the night we spent together." She looked away from those scorching amber eyes. He frowned, did she regret that night? She managed to speak, though her voice sounded hoarse.

"What phone call?"

"Before I go to that part you need to know that there are some youkai that are against mixed couples."

"I know, but that didn't seem to bother you before." She still couldn't look at him.

"IT hasn't always been like that. At some point I too despised humans." She dared to look at him; perhaps he still did despise humans and perhaps that would explain his rejection. "When my father met Izayoi everybody in the youkai community saw it as a form of treachery. All the expectations of my family then, fell over my shoulders. My aunt Hanae is expecting me to mate a full youkai."

"That is why you left me? You had your fun with a human and then you would seek your perfect mate?" She ignored his snarls. "Or perhaps you had just found her after you fucked me?" His snarls increased and his eyes turned red. He stood up and grabbed Kagome by the shoulders and brought her against the wall.

"That is not what happened!" Kagome looked at him with fear in her eyes. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. He scent was helpful; he needed more of it, so he brought her to his chest and hugged her tight. She tried to push him away.

"Don't. Just let me hold you like this. I've missed you so much." He nuzzled her neck. "It wasn't my choice, I swear. My aunt Hanae has been trying to make me leave you many times. But that night I had a phone call telling me that your life was in danger, that some men had been hired to kill you if I didn't leave you. It was true, so I decided to abide for the moment, while I came up with a plan to have you with me forever."

Kagome pushed him gently and he released her from his embrace.

"Why are you telling me now? Why not when I was begging you to give me a reason?"

Sesshomaru looked down, ashamed.

"I needed you to hate me. It would make it easier for you to stay away from me. But I can't stand another minute away from you."

"You should have told me then. You should have given me the chance to understand and to participate in your plan?"

Sesshomaru raised his head and looked at Kagome with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry. But I want you by my side now."

"I'm tired of being treated as some weak little girl. This is not what I want from the man I decide to marry. I want a companion Sesshomaru, someone who treats me as an adult. I want a supportive husband as much as I want to give my support. I would have preferred if you had respected me enough to tell me what was going on. All the lies you told about your aunt being sick, you wanted to make sure I didn't insist on meeting your family, right? All this time together and I only met you brother and your father."

Tears fell down her cheeks. Sesshomaru was devastated.

"I think it's better that it ended between us. I don't think you were really willing to go as far as to confront your family to be with me. You did the right thing. I just wish you had told me of your true intentions so I would have been really free to decide if I wanted to be with you or not."

"Don't say that." It came out as a whisper. "Don't cheapen what happened between us. I'm sorry you feel this way. I hope you will give me the chance to change your mind"

"What for, Sesshomaru? It's over."

"No" He reached to touch her

"Don't."

"Please."

"You refused to hear my pleas. Now I'm ready to move on."

"No! I will not give up on us! I'll fight to win you back."

"Don't bother. Good bye Sesshomaru."

And with that said she walked away.

With rage he turned around and punched a window breaking the glass. He jumped out of the window and orbited as far as he could.

T.B.C.