Enchanted by kidoairaku

Prologue

The kitsune danced around him, trying very hard to catch his attention, to tempt him to her. Yet, the demon lord would not move, would not even spare her the smallest of glances as he continued to walk through the forest. He still couldn't believe the fact that he had lost to his half-brother, that sad excuse of a demon. To say he was in a bad mood was an understatement. And here, to add to his aggravation, was a lustful kitsune. Biting back a sigh, he continued on his way to the village in which his brother resided.

She was angry, to say the least. Usually, she got everything she desired, whether it was materialistic or not. The angry kitsune, Hanako, as she was called pressed her luck and began to walk at the demon lord's side.

"Lord Sesshoumaru," she drawled out seductively.

He didn't answer, didn't even blink. It was as if she was never there, as if she never existed. It only angered her more, as well as fueled her desire for him. Her tail began to wind around his, creating a clash of sienna brown and creamy white. Hanako's arm wrapped around his as she leaned closer to him.

"Do you not ever feel lonely?" she asked, almost purring.

Sesshoumaru's temper flared. She dared to touch him?! With a low growl as her only warning, Sesshoumaru threw her off of him. Forcefully, she struck a tree and landed at its base, her already revealing outfit slipping farther. Surprised, yes. Angry, yes. And she was going to do something about it.

"I will not be denied," she snarled, pointing at him.

He stared at her blankly, fury flashing in his attractive golden eyes before he turned and left. Hanako bristled. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on him and chanted out a spell, a spell that would leave him utterly powerless against the first female he saw. Once she was finished, it would take a full ten seconds for it to have effect. She smirked, she must be the only female within a ten-mile radius, and after all, he wasn't aware of her anymore anyways. She was going to get him one way or another. Smirking wider, she laughed full and long.

Sesshoumaru was getting very irritated. Growling, he turned around and lunged at her, claws extended. Three seconds flat, and she was torn into tiny pieces. A look of horror and defeat was plastered on her face before it, too, was allowed passage to the spirit world. He smirked. Worthless bitch. He suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. Shrugging it off as just a reflex, he continued on his way to the village.

~*~*~*~

Kagome sat against a tree trunk close to the edge of the forest. Shippou hopped up into her arms, snuggling up against her.

"Hey Shippou!" Kagome greeted, hugging the kitsune close.

"Hi Kagome!" he chirped, eyes shining brightly.

The girl looked skyward, closing her eyes and letting the sunlight wash across her face. Shippou, seeing that his 'mother' was not in the mood to play, gave her a quick hug before scurrying back to the village. A slight breeze rustled through the trees, and then Kagome shivered. She could faintly sense a familiar demon aura coming closer, at a very slow speed, for him at least. Rising hurriedly, she ran towards the village, where Inuyasha was bound to be.

Sesshoumaru quickened his pace. No doubt, Inuyasha would soon sense him. Blood pounded through his veins, thirsting for battle. His eyes began to tint a crimson shade. This time, his brother would not win.

"Inuyasha!" was the ear-piercing scream as she neared the village.

"Oi, wench! What do you want?" he demanded, rubbing his abused ears.

"It's"

"My brother, I knew already," he said monotonously. Inuyasha looked at her like she was an idiot.

As if on cue, Sesshoumaru appeared before them and clawed at Inuyasha immediately. The hanyou suffered a gash on the shoulder, poison seeping into his veins.

"You...you never learn, do you?" Inuyasha growled, lunging at the demon lord.

Dodging the blow, Sesshoumaru noticed Kagome, that human wench Inuyasha kept with him. He almost froze when he saw her. An imperceptible shudder ran through his body. Inuyasha took the opportunity to claw at his brother.

"You!" Inuyasha called, slashing again at the shoulder, protected by armor. "What's wrong with you?!" His claws took off a chunk of the armor.

The hanyou was puzzled. His brother seemed to be...out of it. Waving a hand in front of the dazed youkai's face, he found that his brother would not respond. Following the demon lord's gaze, Inuyasha found he was staring directly at an uneasy Kagome.

What's wrong with me? Sesshoumaru was totally and completely confused by his actions. He was frozen by the image of Inuyasha's wench, Kagome, she was called. The innocent blue-gray eyes captivated him. She swayed with uncertainty as his gaze bore through her. Sesshoumaru took in all the details of her body, her long legs, her narrow waist, the long black hair that cascaded down her back. Everything, he wanted to memorize everything about her. Vaguely aware of what was going on, he took a step towards her, causing him a deep cut in his shoulder. Falling out of his dreaming, he growled and swiped at Inuyasha. The hanyou was greeted with another gash in his shoulder. Sesshoumaru, knowing he couldn't focus with the girl around, he leapt off, a deep frown painted on his regal features. Another time, brother.

Inuyasha watched in confusion as Sesshoumaru left. "What was that?"

Kagome shivered slightly. "Did you see the way he was looking at me?"

Frowning Inuyasha wondered, indeed, why his brother had been staring at Kagome in such a way. "Yeah. Maybe he's finally cracked under all that royal stress?"

Kagome laughed sarcastically and walked into Kaede's hut. That had been scary...

~*~*~*~

Sesshoumaru watched from a distance. The girl walked into the hut after exchanging a few words with the hanyou. The demon lord couldn't shake the strange emotions he was experiencing. All his thoughts were centered on that one girl. He didn't quite feel complete not being near her. In a way, he was quite disgusted with himself. But he couldn't quite hold back the fact that he was drawn to her. He wanted her.

~*~*~*~

Kagome relayed the information about the fight to Kaede. The old woman nodded her head in understanding when the young girl recalled the part about the demon lord's intense gaze. Kagome paused.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say it was lustful," she said, frowning.

Kaede looked thoughtful for a moment. "No, child, it does not seem like the demon lord to gaze at one so."

The information didn't comfort Kagome much. Sighing, she gathered her things to go for a bath. After all, she hadn't taken one since yesterday afternoon, and she felt positively filthy. She looked towards Kaede, who nodded and waved her on. Smiling appreciatively, she left the village for the nearest hot spring.

Sesshoumaru followed her with his piercing eyes. Inuyasha seemed to have left for a while, going where, he did not know or care. Afraid he would, perhaps, scare her away, Sesshoumaru chose to follow Kagome through the trees. Silently, he hopped from branch to branch, keeping close behind the black-haired figure. Even as he followed her, he was still carrying that yearning for her. Impossible, he chided himself, she's scared to death of me. But despite his reason, his legs would not listen and only kept leaping through the forest.

Kagome shivered and looked behind her. I'm just being paranoid. Shrugging, she kept walking and remained totally unaware of the possible threat posed by a trailing demon.

Once she reached the familiar spring, she set down her things and slowly stripped off her clothes. Sesshoumaru, above, watched her, though it now really disgusted, not to mention, disgraced him. Alas, he could not tear his eyes away from her. Every motion she made, a flick of the wrist, the movement of her lips, the smallest gestures, seduced him unintentionally. And she wasn't even aware of his presence. This was not a good sign. In all honesty, he really didn't know what was to happen when she intentionally seduced him. He would probably...no...no, don't think about that. Still, his eyes remained glued to her. If it had not been for his well-practiced control, he probably would have pounced on her already. As it was, he was straining to keep his balance. Sesshoumaru leaned against the trunk of the tree and crossed his arms. He would not lower himself to attacking a human girl because of his lustful mood.

Easing herself into the water, Kagome sighed as the liquid washed away the dull aches and pains of traveling. Really, she didn't know how much more she could take. Her studies were taking a great blow, but she could not excuse herself from her responsibilities here, in the Sengoku Era. She slipped lower in the water. I can worry later. Right now, maybe I can just relax? Nodding to herself, she dove under the water and resurfaced. Small droplets ran down her body and hair, glistening in the afternoon light. Kagome sighed in contentment. A bath does do wonders.

He almost couldn't bear it. There she was, right below him and in easy reach, but all he could do was stand there. Sesshoumaru longed to reach out to her, to have her accept him in some way. But he knew, the only thing his presence would bring was chaos. After all, was he not the renowned Lord of the Western Lands, cold, emotionless, and bloodthirsty? No, he would not be rejected because of that. So, he remained in the shadows, patiently waiting for a chance to strike, like a coiled snake that spotted its prey.

The heat was becoming a little too much for her, she decided. Kagome splashed the steaming water on her face once before she glided out of the water. On shore, she grabbed her towel and went about drying herself. Now that she was clean, she felt much better and more refreshed. The girl tossed her towel aside and grabbed her light blue button-down shirt, slipping it on. Dread seemed to be eminent in the air. Why can't I shake this feeling? There can't be anything in the surrounding area, she thought reasonably, slipping on the dark blue denim skirt she had brought. Sighing again, she ignored the instinctual warnings and began to button up her collared shirt.

If he were capable of doing so, he would have been drooling. Before he knew what he was doing, Sesshoumaru had hopped down from his high perch and was walking towards the girl. Kagome spun around quickly and backed up, just her luck, into a tree.

"W-what do you want, Sesshoumaru?" she asked shakily, pressing her back into the hard bark, as if expected to meld into it.

"You," he stated simply, eyes flashing, "I want you."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat. Scream, girl! Scream for Inuyasha! Her mouth moved but no sound came out. This was just great. Right when she needed it, her voice just had to fail her. Screw Murphy's Law.

Sesshoumaru was drawing closer by the minute, the golden dusk light shimmering as it reflected off his eyes and hair, practically his whole being. In a way, it made him look like an angel. Yet, the way his eyes flashed belied the notion. Kagome, unthinkingly, scolded herself for not noticing the way the golden orbs flashed malevolently when he wanted something. They had done the same when she had had the Tetsusaiga in her grasp. He hadn't looked at me that way before...why now? Kami, help!

The scent of fear and panic was nearly overwhelming. There was no doubt that she considered him a threat. This fact hurt him a little, just a tiny bit, but he would not retreat now. No, the kill was too close at hand. The summer air was warm as was the breeze that drifted with it. Kagome's natural scent mixed along with all these other things enticed him more. In a swift motion, he had her wrists and was closer than he had ever been to her in his life. A startled gasp escaped her lips as he leaned closer to her.

"What spell have you cast upon me?" Sesshoumaru questioned softly, whispering into her ear.

"Spell?" she answered hoarsely. He was really having an effect on her.

"It matters not," he waved away, inhaling her fragrant aroma. "I have you."

Before she could say anything in protest, her tenacity failed as his lips descended on hers. Surprisingly, Kagome found herself indulging in its sweet taste. Maybe Sesshoumaru wasn't so bad?

~*~*~*~

"She said WHAT?!" Inuyasha roared at the old priestess.

"There is no need to get angry, Inuyasha," Kaede said calmly, looking him in the eye, "The girl was only making an honest observation.

"HONEST OBSERVATION MY ASS!!!"

"How did you say he looked, Lady Kaede?" Miroku questioned, "I couldn't quite hear over Inuyasha's yelling."

"The child said he looked 'lustful'," Kaede offered.

"But," Sango reasoned, looking thoughtfully at the elder, "Sesshoumaru has never looked at her that way before."

"Maybe something happened to him?" Miroku suggested.

"Something like WHAT?!" came Inuyasha's cry.

"A spell, perhaps," Kaede said reflectively.

"What kind of spell is POWERFUL enough to affect my damn brother?!"

"A kitsune's," was Shippou's reply.

All heads turned to him, Inuyasha's accusing eyes boring into him. Shippou caught on before he was pulverized. "No, it wasn't me."

"Tell us about this spell, Shippou," Miroku commanded.

"Well," Shippou said uncertainly, gazing warily at Inuyasha, "there is only one that I know of, but it is really powerful."

Inuyasha looked positively murderous. "Keep talkin'."

Shippou nodded. "Only female kitsune have it. Men who are put under it are totally drawn to the first female they see exactly ten seconds after the spell has been cast."

Everyone looked grave. "Maybe Sesshoumaru met up with some kitsune along the way here?" Shippou suggested carefully.

A slight breeze was felt, and Inuyasha was gone. Sango, Miroku, and Shippou quickly followed the trail of scattered leaves and torn earth.

~*~*~*~

Sesshoumaru was surprised and ecstatic that she had responded to his kiss. Really, he hadn't expected it. He deepened their contact, and his arms encircled her waist. Kagome was totally confused. Am I actually enjoying this??? For Kami's sake, it's Inuyasha's half-brother! I thought he was the guy who would kill anyone without remorse!!! But, he's a damn good kisser... Unknowingly, her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer.

This was the position that Inuyasha found them in. He barely escaped fainting, but Sango was not so lucky. She fell to the soft forest floor with a thud. Shippou was shocked, wide-eyed and mouth gaping open. Miroku was smiling knowingly. His voice broke the silence, thick in a teasing, gushing tone

"Lady Kagome," he started slyly, "is there something you haven't been telling us?"

Inuyasha whacked him upside the head, temporarily knocking him out. Kagome quickly pulled away from Sesshoumaru, who in turn, frowned at that Inuyasha-tachi. He had finally gotten to her, and his brother shows up. Dumb hanyou. Before anything else could be said, he cupped Kagome's chin in his hand and brought a quick, but passionate, kiss onto her lips and disappeared.

The hanyou stared at Kagome. What just happened? Did I see right? SESSHOUMARU FRICKIN' KISSED HER!!! He was just about as confused as he would ever be in his life. His brother, the bastard that he was, just kissed Kagome...his Kagome. Growling, he was about to go find that damned brother of his when Kagome held him back.

"Leave him be," she said softly, eyes pleading.

"Kagome...you don't...really...do you?" he questioned uneasily, looking lost and devastated.

The girl didn't answer, only turned and started back to the village, buttoning up the rest of her shirt as she walked along the forest path. Inuyasha stared dumbly after her. Kagome sighed, and she glanced off to the side deep into the forest. She thought she saw something silver flick through the trees.