Hello everyone! I hope you've enjoyed everything this far. I have up to Chapter 9, and I'll post them as quickly as I can review and edit them to my satisfaction!

The first thing Kikyo noticed was Naraku in Sesshomaru's office. He was back from whatever vacation he was on. She was disappointed, it was easier to work when he wasn't around harassing her. It almost seemed like he was never working. She'd have to ask one day how he even got hired. He barley took any cases, but always wore the most expensive clothing.

As usual, once he spotted Kikyo he made a beeline straight to her desk. "Ah, what a sight for sore eyes. It's great to see you again Kikyo. You're looking as lovely as ever."

"Hello Naraku, welcome back from your break. I'm sure you have a lot of work to catch up on. I'd hate to distract you from your clients." She was hoping she could convince him to leave on his own, but he clearly didn't catch the hint.

"I rather enjoy being distracted by you, my dear. I did have a question for you though. All those files in Sesshomaru's office, what are they for? He usually keeps me in the loop about cleaning house."

"We are just organizing them, nothing crazy that you need to be worried about. Is there anything else you need? I have some emails I really need to get to."

"No, thank you Kikyo. I will let you get to work, but I'll be back by later." He leaned in close over her desk, "We have lots to catch up on."

In that moment Kikyo's intercom on her phone beeped, "Kikyo I need to see you in my office." She had never been more grateful to Sesshomaru, "Excuse me Naraku." Kikyo slid past Naraku who didn't move out of her way. He enjoyed having her squirm around him, and then watching her from behind.

"Is there something you need sir?" Kikyo stood at the door to his office.

"Come in, and shut the door." Naturally, he didn't wait for her, "I need you to clear out the files we did this weekend that have no issues. Before you start that, I want to go over your new schedule-"

"My new schedule? I thought I was clear about what I was able to do, and I thought you understood since you've offered to help me."

"It's very rude to interrupt. You may be good at your job, but your lack of manners is appalling." His resentment towards her was different today than it usually was. He was typically just passive aggressive in harmless ways, but this seemed different.

"I'm sorry, please go on." She wasn't going to push back today.

"Every Monday and Wednesday night expect to stay until 8, possibly 9 PM. Saturday and Sunday you will be here 8 AM to 5 PM. My main concern is these files, getting organized and divvyed out to be reviewed. I am planning five to six weeks of going through the files and one week of getting them reviewed by the attorneys. If we have gotten enough done where we can spare the time, we can begin to go over the expected material on the bar. I expect your full attention to this and to take it seriously."

Seven days of nothing but work and school. It was asking a lot, and she wasn't sure if it was smart accepting this position or his help. She was grateful, but that was a lot of hours to ask from her. If majority of the time was committed to work, then when would she have time to study before being burnt out from work.

"That is all, you may leave."

{...}

Sesshomaru was serious about the schedule. Every day for the last two weeks she spent it either here late at the office or at school. The first few days were rough as he was more indifferent towards her lately than she was accustomed to. It made the days feel longer when she was forced to focus the whole time, scared to even start a conversation with him. Once the rumor about Manten and her started going around, his attitude became worse. Naraku wasn't happy with it either, and since then he had given Manten piles of work that kept him from socializing. Kikyo would've objected to the rumors, but she didn't mind being his cover. They were friends and she'd have his back.

Eventually, Sesshomaru calmed down. He broke the silence first, talking to her about school and how she managed only to have one class her last semester. It hadn't put them back on track to the way things were before, but it was a start. She didn't let it get to her that much. It helped her mostly forget about the mini obsession her mind had about undressing him. Coming to work in the mornings was getting increasingly harder every day. She couldn't remember the last time she was this exhausted. When she came in, Sesshomaru was with a locksmith working on the door to his office. Before she even sat her things down, she noticed he was giving her a look to come join him.

"Why is there a locksmith here? I could've scheduled that for you and taken care of it, if you needed it done."

"Last night someone tried to break into my office and damaged the lock in the process. The only badges entering the building last night were the cleaning staff. But I have a feeling someone just followed behind them onto the floor. They probably ran for it when the alarm went off. Security footage will be ready tonight to look at."

"What would they be after? You don't keep anything important in here."

"It's obvious we are going over past case files, but not what we are looking for. I'm sure whoever is causing the problems for accounting is worried we are going to catch on if they don't already know that we did. We are going to have to find somewhere else to put the files and go over them. I need your badge to update your access to my office."

Kikyo grabbed her badge off her key ring and gave it to him, "Where are you thinking of going? Your house?"

"No I couldn't bring it there; we wouldn't be able to work peacefully. We need to be able to leave it so we don't waste time lugging the files back and forth between wherever we store them." He started to think about the fit Kagura would throw, especially about Kikyo. She was an extremely envious woman.

"You could leave it at my place. If you're comfortable with that? I wouldn't mind if we worked there. I must warn you, it's probably not as nice as you're used to."

Kikyo's house. Would that be appropriate? Did he care if it was appropriate? His behavior towards her since finding out about Manten wasn't appropriate. It didn't stop him from taking out his disappointment on her. She didn't seem appalled to the idea of bringing it to his house. If she had a boyfriend and was comfortable with either, then it mustn't be crossing a line.

"Grab some boxes to pack them in today. I'll bring them to my car to make it seem like I'm taking them someplace else. After work I'll drive to your place. Does that work for you?"

"Yes I don't mind at all. It would be nice to be in the comfort of my own home anyway. Your office is nice and all, but your décor isn't meant for long hours of work."

"Very well, just leave them there when you're done packing and I'll worry about the rest before I leave. If anyone asks where I took them, just tell them you don't know anything."

"Of course sir, I'll have this done right away." As she promised, she delivered.

Kikyo watched the clock on her computer all day. Her mind kept racing about having Sesshomaru in her apartment. He was going to wait thirty minutes after she left before he did, which gave her enough time to make sure nothing embarrassing was lying about anywhere. This was something she just did on impulse; she didn't even think of the ramifications of her decision.

5 PM came and Kikyo delivered his coffee as she habitually did since she's been hired. She wasn't good at sneaking around, and this situation was cause for sneaking around. She knew it meant nothing and he knew it meant nothing, but they were both well aware of how it would look. Neither addressed the issue but it didn't have to be discussed. Next to his coffee she placed a sheet of paper with her address and phone number written on it.

"Have a goodnight sir, I will see you tomorrow morning." Her voice was on edge, and she hurried out without waiting for him to reply.

He looked down at the paper and couldn't help but chuckle to himself how she was trying to act cryptic about it. She certainly wasn't good at it, but that didn't stop her from trying. He almost couldn't wait the full 30 minutes to leave. If that wasn't how long it took just to load his car, he was sure he would have left the second she did. His brain urged him to proceed with caution. Sesshomaru being excited about anything was something to be wary of. As odd as it sounded, he started to see Kikyo as an answer to his life. He dreaded and complained about how mundane his life had gotten; then suddenly Kikyo clawed her way into his life breaking all these bias's he developed growing up. She had been a breath of fresh air.

He was surprised at the apartment complex she lived in. They were the studio apartments within walking distance of the university, but weren't usually rented out to students. They were overly expensive, and most certainly didn't fit in a college students budget. Let alone a law students budget. Kikyo must have been waiting for him to arrive. She was downstairs shortly after he parked offering to help with the boxes.

"I'm sure you're probably used to high-end living, however, that's not what you're going to find here. I'm rather simplistic. With that being said, I hope you don't develop any prejudices against me for my apartment."

She lived up on last floor, where the penthouses were. There was no way could she have afforded this. When she opened the door to her apartment he was expecting it to be decorated in high-end luxurious furniture, considering everything up to this point. It was far from the truth. She was simplistic in her very nature and her apartment reflected that. It was an open floor plan and only had the bare necessities, such as a couch, kitchen, chairs, etc. Up the stairs leading up to her bedroom loft, he could see more detail to it than the rest of the place. There was one stretch of wall the was just glass from the first floor to the second floor of her bedroom, it looked out towards downtown Tokyo.

"Just drop it around the couch, and I'll start unpacking them in the order we had at the office."

"How did you get this apartment?"

"Oh," Kikyo stopped for a second to look around her apartment. She didn't consider it to be anything crazy nice, but she knew that most college students didn't have anything like this.

"My father's best friend, who was a past professor of mine, owns it. He rents it out to me at an incredibly cheap rate. I will admit, I was lucky in that aspect."

"I see…" Sugar daddy was the only thing that came to his mind. Either Kikyo paid "rent" in other ways or this man was going to expect something later down the road. He couldn't imagine any reasonable man wanting to rent out a place like this affordably just because his friends daughter needed a place to stay.

"Please, make yourself at home. If you need anything just let me know."

"Moving everything over took up a block of time, we should get done as much as we can before 8."

Kikyo didn't know why she almost expected him to act any differently in a more private setting. Maybe she hoped he would be kinder away from prying office eyes, but he just was always going to be an ass through and through.

"Do your parents not live in the city?"

They had been quiet for so long it startled her to hear him talk, "My parents? No, they don't live in the city."

"Your father doesn't find it odd his best friend rents a place like this to you?"

"I'm sure my father would be very grateful to him." There was a slight somberness to her.

"Would?"

"Both of my parents passed when I was younger. My father's friend has done his best to look out for me, and this is one of the ways he feels he can honor my father's memory."

In an alternate universe, Sesshomaru maybe would have felt bad about calling him a sugar daddy. "He must have been close with your father to help you out like this."

'He's opening up a bit more to conversation…' it was a good sign that he was asking about her life once again. She didn't know what had made him so angry before, but she was relieved it seemed to be ending. Her phone started vibrating against the table. She saw Maten's name pop up on the screen, "Oh…"

"What is it?"

"I am really sorry about this, but Manten is on his way over. He comes over occasionally, and I forgot tonight was one. He should be here a little after 8. I don't mind that you're here, but did you want him to know you were here? I planned on putting up all the files so he won't see them."

Any, and all, excitement he had about being in her apartment and learning more about her disappeared. Kikyo stayed at the office until 8 PM and because he experienced it, he knew it took her at least 20 minutes to get home from work, without traffic. If Manten was getting here a little after 8 that means he's been to her home before and she's been letting him come without her being here.

"I expect to work till 8 PM and not be rushed out 15 minutes early because you are more concerned about meeting your boyfriend than working. This is something that no one can know about and that doesn't excuse him. I expect this to never happen again."

All their progress just flew out the door, "I said I was sorry. I forgot and it won't happen again. I am in no way rushing you out, but I don't understand why you're so upset."

Sesshomaru was already up and walking out of her apartment. Kikyo cursed him under her breath. At this rate, he probably was going to back out of helping her. She couldn't win with him.

{…}

The following time they met, he stopped starting the small talk and whenever she attempted to start he would ask her how many files she had gotten through. If she tried to pry about how he was treating her, he kept saying it was him being professional towards her and not giving her any special treatment. His behavior continued through the weekend.

She was in the break room starting the coffee pot for Sesshomaru's daily 5 PM coffee while she was reminiscing the weekend. Manten walked into the break room stretching his arms to the ceiling and yawning. "That felt good. Hey Kikyo! How was your day today?!"

"It was decent. You seem rather chipper than usual since Naraku started over working you."

Manten put an arm around Kikyo's waist, "Oh my dear, when you've had a night of crazy intense, passionate sex like we did last night, you'd find it hard to be anything but in a good mood." Kikyo knew who 'we' was, and it was the only way he could openly talk about his partner without causing suspicion.

"I don't think I pay you to be bothering my secretary every chance you get. Perhaps I shouldn't hold Naraku back any longer from firing you. It's 5 PM, clock out and leave."

Manten and Kikyo jumped at the venomous tone and aura emitting from Sesshomaru, "Yes sir. I apologize. Kikyo have a good night. Sesshomaru, goodnight." He quickly ran out of the breakroom before getting fired was back as an option.

Sesshomaru grabbed the coffee cup from Kikyo and stormed off to his office. After collecting herself, she ran out after him, barging in full of contempt, "What was that about? Bothering your secretary? It was 5, he was getting ready to leave work. I was just fixing a cup of coffee."

"Who you date is your concern, but when he is in this office causing distractions and talking about how well he fucked you, it becomes my concern. I told you I expected your full attention and commitment to this, but you've been a disappointment."

"How well he fucked me? That's enough from you. Manten isn't even my boyfriend, and isn't fucking me, as you so eloquently put it. The men in this office have said much worse aloud and to the women of this office. Still, I have never seen you threaten them. I've sat here while you griped about me every day, and I just let you despite if it was true or not. But I've had enough. We will not be meeting tonight. I will pack all the files and bring them back to your office for you to work on yourself. This will be my two week's notice."

Kikyo stormed out of the office. To her surprise she ran into a rather tall man who could have been Sesshomaru's twin. His silver hair was tied up in a long ponytail, and his face shared similar markings to Sesshomaru. She knew right away who it was, "Oh Mr. Taisho. I apologize for running into you. I was just on my way out, and wasn't paying attention."

Toga had a strange look on his face, "Who might you be?"

Kikyo bowed to him, "How rude of me. I am Kikyo Hatake, Sesshomaru's secretary. We've spoken on the phone and through emails a few times. At least now you finally can put a face to the name."

"Please stand up my dear, I don't need you to bow to me. It was nice to meet you. You may head home now."

Toga's scrutinizing look left Kikyo to stare back at his son who was watching them from his office. Once she excused herself, Toga shared a questionable look at Sesshomaru. He had forgotten the true reason for his visit now that he had met Kikyo. Sesshomaru retreated further into his office to his desk waiting on his father.

"So, I see that the woman Manten went out with was your secretary. It's interesting looking back on that night. It makes sense you were talking about Kikyo. In all the years Manten has been with this company, you've never once showed interested in his life, and yet seemed to be so concerned on how he was dressed for a date. Certainly, it was Kikyo, in fact, who you had an issue with. Interesting indeed."

Sesshomaru didn't want to entertain his father's musings. He wasn't doing anything wrong.

"I won't pretend to know what's going on, but what I do know is that I can't let you fire or threaten to fire Manten over Kikyo."

"Nothing is going on. Manten was being inappropriate, and that is the only reason I gave him a hard time. I assume you overheard?"

"Well, son, the simple fact that you hadn't even picked up I had been in the office, tells me it was more than just Manten being inappropriate. I will remind you just once, that you are a married man. Furthermore, I am well aware of Kikyo and her position in this office. It is pleasant to finally put a face to a name. You've yet to have such an efficient secretary, and we've yet to see such a talented aspiring attorney grace our offices. Not to mention the balls it takes to stand up to you. Is it in our best interest to let her quit?"

"I will say this just once as well, father. I have no relationship beyond her being my secretary. I do not beg or seek anyone out, if she wishes to resign I will not fight it."

Toga smiled eerily at his son, "Of course. Very well. I was coming down to see how the accounting issue was coming along. I overheard enough to know it's still not done. Don't let this setback slow down it's resolution. Keep me updated with the final results."

Sesshomaru didn't have time to fully process what happened between Kikyo and him when his father arrived. With him being gone he could finally contemplate what she yelled at him.

Manten isn't even my boyfriend.

Had she been telling the truth? Lying wasn't one of the traits he mentally noted about her, but how well could he know? The facts were all there, but he had always jumped to conclusions and never heard her mention anything in that regards about him. Could his quick judgments cost him his valuable secretary? He did need to go get the files from her. Now that she put in her two weeks, it wasn't safe to leave the files with her. She could act out as a disgruntled employee and leak information. He would go get them from her tonight. If he happened to find out if she was single in the process, then that would just be an accidental result of going over there. If that cleared up the miscommunication for them, and she rescinded her two weeks' notice, then that would be fine too.

Kikyo had just finished showering and getting into her pajamas when she heard a knock at her door. It wasn't late, but she wasn't expecting company either. It was alarming to see Sesshomaru through her peep hole.

"I thought I told you not to come tonight." She barley opened the door to talk to him, leaving the security chain still intact.

"I don't intend to talk through the door."

"Fine," she undid the chain and opened the door further to allow him in, "What did you want?"

"My father's company is one day going to be my company. As you have seen, whoever has been falsifying records stands to be a big risk for the us. I intend not to let anything interfere with me solving this issue. When it seemed as if Manten was your boyfriend and letting you alter your ambitions with the company; I saw it as you jeopardizing my family's legacy."

That was simple enough for him. It wasn't necessarily an apology, and it didn't let on to anything more than business.

"I have done more than enough to prove myself to you and the company. You've had to have seen that if you trusted only me to help you with the files."

Kikyo's wet hair was beginning to soak the white shirt she was wearing revealing patches of her porcelain skin. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath and it was becoming rather distracting. He turned his back to her and started to walk towards the view of Tokyo.

"If you're not compromising what we are doing then I would accept it if you decided to stay with the company."

"I am not dating Manten. I am not sleeping with him or anyone in the office. I want your trust Sesshomaru."

Trust? Is that something women wanted? Did he even trust Kikyo?

"I will accept that you're telling me you're not involved with anyone. I offered to assist you with studying before, and I'd like to keep my word. If you'd like we can focus on your school work for now opposed to working on the files."

Kikyo felt her frustration fade away. Yes, above anything else she'd love to get some school work to done. Her finals for this semester were next week and she hadn't had much time to devote to studying, "I'd love to revoke my resignation if I could get some studying done."

"Very well, if you that is what you wish."

He wasn't slick. She could read past his words. He was too proud to come here acting like he was apologizing for his behavior or asking her to stay. He always loved to make it seem like he couldn't possibly want something from another being. It was flattering to be someone he could want from, regardless if it was just for her skill.

"I'll go grab the books from my room, please sit. I'll be down soon."

Without thinking, she sat close enough to him on the couch that their thighs were touching. She immediately had opened her books and started talking about her class, that she hadn't noticed her proximity. Sesshomaru instantly noticed the sudden contact. It was the same as the night he grabbed her hand. The connection ignited a fire within him. He wanted more of this foreign feeling. It was clear to him now, that he could only get this from Kikyo…