Tweaking Fate by Akaisurayasha

Chapter One: Tweaking Fate to Fit

-Chapter One: Tweaking Fate to Fit-

"Kagome-chan, what's wrong?" Sango asked while they bathed in a hot spring. "You seem upset about something."

Kagome sighed, and sank lower in the water.

"I don't know...I mean, InuYasha like me and all, but...it feels wrong. I still feel like I'm missing something." Kagome replied, making circles in the water with her finger.

"Or someone." Sango added. "What if InuYasha's not your true love?"

"I already know he isn't. He's still seeing Kikyou." Kagome looked up, into the sky. "At any rate, we should finish up here. InuYasha, Miroku-sama, and Shippou-chan are probably ready to eat."

Kagome's stomach growled.

"...As am I." She laughed lightly and climbed out of the water, the towel around her lean frame.

"Kagome...there's something among the trees." Sango said in hushed tones.

Kagome turned and saw something in the trees as well.

"Come out." She commanded in a strong voice that was unusual for her.

"You presume to order me around?" It asked. Sango could've SWORN it was glaring at them, and she couldn't even see it!

"Come out." Kagome repeated in the same strong voice.

A rustle, and then out of the trees stepped the last person she thought she'd ever see there – Sesshoumaru.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked. Something inside her felt warm, and her knees were as weak as hour-old kittens. She glared at him, though weakly.

That's when InuYasha came running.

"What are you here for?" He demanded.

"I have not come for the Tetsusaiga, if that's what you mean." Sesshoumaru replied calmly. "I have come for something even more powerful."

"You can't have the Jewel Shards either!" InuYasha snarled.

"You idiot. I have come for an uncorrupt power." Sesshoumaru sneered. "One that is sought by those who don't fit in."

"That would be an emotion, wouldn't it?" Kagome inquired curiously. She didn't really know what he was talking about.

"That's the human term for it." Sesshoumaru spat the word 'human' as if it were dung.

"...We don't have it here." InuYasha growled.

Sesshoumaru eyed Kagome.

"Very well then." He turned and walked away. The feeling Kagome had left, and her knees regained their stability.

"Why was he eyeing Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, looking at Kagome.

"I dunno." InuYasha ran back to the God Tree, where he sat and waited for ramen.

Kagome donned her usual schoolgirl outfit and walked back with Sango, who had dressed behind a tree while Sesshoumaru was talking. However, the encounter with Sesshoumaru left her wondering.

'What was that feeling that crept up on me when Sesshoumaru appeared? Sure, he's what my school friends would call 'a hunk', and ' ', but...' Kagome's train of thought crashed when InuYasha demanded to know when the ramen would be ready.

Kagome sighed.

'Why do I stay here? InuYasha's only using me to get the ramen...Surely Kikyou could find the Jewel Shards just as well!' With that thought, she began to boil the water for InuYasha's ramen.