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Keeping Up Appearances	By : TheKaytla Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 3545 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the series Inuyasha, nor its characters.They are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 4
- 5
Chapter Five

A few weeks had passed since the debacle with his mother's indulgent spending, and things had settled into a kind of calm in Sesshomaru's life. With Inuyasha's help, he was managing to keep control of his school life and maintain a good average in his grades. He was able to keep up in class without feeling like he was scrambling for understanding, fretting about how little he'd managed to study.

He admitted, albeit grudgingly, that he owed the hanyou a great deal. Even if Inuyasha brushed it off, he had by no means been obligated to help his classmate, especially when one considered how at odds they'd always been with each other. Sesshomaru could swallow his pride enough to be grateful for it... even if he never admitted it to Inuyasha himself.

Perhaps that was the reason things were relaxing between them. That wasn't to say they were suddenly best friends, but more and more, Sesshomaru found himself just... talking to Inuyasha. About all kinds of things he'd never before imagined discussing with him. It was getting easier and more comfortable to just... be around him. He no longer felt irritated by Inuyasha's mere presence as he'd done just a short month ago.

Honestly, he was a bit concerned about the whole situation. Did that mean they were becoming friends? Or was he relaxing because he felt like he could rely on Inuyasha now to help see him through this rough patch? He honestly couldn't say.

The bell rang just then, and Sesshomaru resolved to think about that later. Now, it was time for lunch, and some study time on his own if he could manage to find a quiet spot for it and avoid Kagura.

He packed up his geography textbooks and joined the queue slowly spilling out of the door and, to his dread, spotted Kagura clearly waiting for him with her gaggle of friends. It was petty of him, but he opted for pretending not to have seen her, merging with the flow of students down the hall, only to have his elbow caught as he was about to make his escape. Surprised, he turned around to see the face of the person raising so much confusion in his life: Inuyasha.

He allowed himself to be pulled aside, but extricated his arm quickly. The last thing he needed was for people to start looking at them and alert Kagura to his presence... and a quick look round ensured him that was exactly what had happened. He couldn't help but sigh.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked, slightly dejectedly, already seeing his study time slipping through his fingers.

"It's about tonight," Inuyasha explained, either not noticing or plain ignoring Sesshomaru's tone. "I can't study with you. My dad called this morning... mum's decided I'm not seeing them enough since I moved into the apartment, so she's insisting we all go to dinner tonight."

Sesshomaru's expression must have betrayed how he felt about his news, because Inuyasha quickly continued.

"I know, I know, I tried to get out of it. I don't want to go. But since dad still pays my rent, I can't exactly tell him to get lost. So... yeah. Have to take a rain check 'til tomorrow night."

It wasn't ideal news, honestly, but it was manageable. He was caught up enough that he could manage to study on his own for an evening. He'd done that plenty before he discovered how useful Inuyasha was, so he was sure he could do it again. It was just a shame to lose having someone right there who could quickly explain anything he didn't understand.

Sesshomaru paused, and sighed again. He was starting to rely on Inuyasha too much, wasn't he?

"All right, that's understandable," he said. "I shall see you at school tomorrow, then. Enjoy your dinner this evening."

"Yeah. Thanks." Inuyasha didn't sound too enthused. "Oh, one more thing," he added, as Sesshomaru turned to go.

"Yes?"

"I think your girlfriend thinks I'm hot. Just so you know."

For a moment, Sesshomaru's brain stuttered. Kagura? Attracted to Inuyasha? Over him? No, no, that wasn't possible. Inuyasha was mistaken. Or baiting him. One of the two.

He frowned at the hanyou. "Kagura is not attracted to you."

"Oh, yeah? Then why does she always look at my ass when I come talk to you?"

"She's lip-reading," Sesshomaru returned without missing a beat.

Inuyasha laughed. "Ouch. That's just rude."

Before Sesshomaru could tell him it was also well-deserved, Inuyasha's phone blasted out some sort of aggressive guitar solo and he cursed as he fumbled to pull it out of his pocket. He checked the caller ID.

"Ah, that's Koga. I gotta run. See you tomorrow, yeah?"

Without waiting for an answer, Inuyasha took off running down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the main flow of people traffic, leaving Sesshomaru shaking his head after him as he watched him dodge and weave. No matter how he looked at it, he simply couldn't reconcile the two different sides of Inuyasha.

Deciding to put all that aside for now, he checked his watch. There was still plenty of time left to sneak in a decent amount of studying. A quick glance at Kagura showed she was giggling with her group of friends, and Sesshomaru seized the opportunity to melt back into the crowd, successfully making an escape.

---

Sesshomaru hated this job. The hours were long and, while the pay was nice enough to make up for that, it certainly didn't counter having to serve the kind of people who had not long ago been his social peers. He resented the way they looked down their noses at him, when they'd all be first in line to schmooze and rub shoulders with him if they had any idea who he was, and he'd certainly developed greater sympathy for the working class than he'd ever had before.

If - no, when - he attained wealth and position again, he was certain he would not be, to borrow a phrase from Inuyasha, such an ass.

Sesshomaru sighed, and turned toward the kitchens. Now wasn't the time to think of such things; his shift at the restaurant was almost over, and he still had to hurry home and squeeze in as much studying as he could. Even if he couldn't spend the evening bouncing questions off Inuyasha whenever he needed, he could still make some decent progress on his own. He hadn't fallen so far behind that he was entirely useless.

He hadn't taken more than five steps before a voice called out behind him: "Oi, Sesshomaru!" A horribly, terrifyingly familiar voice.

Going ramrod straight, tension flooding his body, Sesshomaru turned. Sure enough, strolling towards him in a charcoal grey suit with red shirt, no tie and top button undone, was Inuyasha. His stomach dropped to his shoes.

The older youkai did not have the capacity to be shocked at how odd it was to see Inuyasha in a suit, nor at how surprisingly well he cleaned up. All he could feel was the thread of mortification running through him now that his secret was out.

Inuyasha, seemingly entirely oblivious to the minor scene he'd caused in a very upscale restaurant, drew up alongside Sesshomaru, a lopsided grin on his face.

"You're here, too, huh? What are the chances? Dinner with your folks, like me?"

Sesshomaru blinked. Inuyasha hadn't noticed his clothing wasn't a suit, but a uniform? For once, he appreciated, even fully welcomed this side of the hanyou. If he could just excuse himself, he could get away and Inuyasha wouldn't be the wiser...

"My dad gives me an earful earlier," Inuyasha continued, denying him the opportunity to make an excuse and disappear. "Told me I'd better not be late, but who's the only one here on time? It'll be my mother's fault. It took her an hour just to choose an outfit sometimes, let alone all the rest of the fluffing women do..."

The hanyou trailed off into a sigh, and Sesshomaru seized his chance.

"Inuyasha, I have to go --"

"Sesshomaru?" came the second interruption, and he winced as he recognised the voice as belonging to his supervisor. "Is something wrong?"

"No, there isn't, so --"

"No, nothing wrong, sir," Sesshomaru put in quickly, interrupting and turning firmly away from Inuyasha, correctly guessing he was about to say something less than complimentary. "This is just a... a friend." He ignored how he could suddenly feel Inuyasha staring pointedly at him.

His supervisor, a tall, blonde youkai, frowned down his nose at the pair of them - another thing Sesshomaru hated about this job. "You may have finished your shift, Sesshomaru, but that doesn't mean you can chat to your friends here. We have an image to uphold. Wrap it up quickly."

With that, the supervisor glided away to go and attend to some patrons at a table nearby. Sesshomaru settled for beaming a murderous gaze after him over bludgeoning him to death with the tray he'd been carrying.

"You... work here?"

Sesshomaru's tension swamped him again, his neck all but creaking as he defiantly held his head high, turning back to the hanyou.

"Yes," he admitted reluctantly, voice tight.

Inuyasha appeared genuinely surprised. "Doesn't your family have more money than God? What's going on?"

Sesshomaru's jaw clenched, painfully. He had no desire to discuss his family situation here - or anywhere, for that matter. It was his own, strictly private business, and he didn't want Inuyasha, or anyone else, prying.

"I have to go," he said flatly, but as he turned to leave, Inuyasha caught his arm in a firm grip.

"Here, take my keys," the hanyou said, pressing them into Sesshomaru's hand while the older youkai looked askance at him. "I've clearly said something I shouldn't have; my bad, ok? Go to my place and chill out, watch TV or study or whatever. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Why would I do that? The only purpose for going to your apartment is to study with you. Without you there, it has no merit."

"Look, I've been getting the feeling for a while now that things aren't great at home. You never look thrilled to be leaving and I know you still don't like me enough to miss me. Didn't want to say anything because it's not my business, but... I noticed. I may be wrong, but if I'm not, you can hang there until you've calmed down and shit. Or if I am wrong, you can just drop the keys off and go home. It's up to you."

Sesshomaru looked at the keys in his hands. On one hand, the idea of not having to go home to his mother, and to the house itself that was fast becoming a reminder of what he no longer had, was very tempting. On the other, being with the hanyou, who clearly had questions he didn't want to answer, wasn't much of an improvement over his mother.

"Ah, I think my parents are here, so I've gotta go meet them. Look... just do whatever you want. And I'll see you later, yeah?"

Sesshomaru finally nodded. "Fine," was all he said, not really sure which part he was agreeing to, if any. He hadn't made a decision yet when Inuyasha waved and started weaving through the tables.

There was no point hanging around here, at any rate. He could make his decision on the go. Sesshomaru resumed his journey to the kitchens and beyond, to get changed just in time to catch the bus.

---

Sesshomaru... I'm sorry. I'm being so mean to you, huh? D:
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Keeping Up Appearances