Tease by Resmiranda

Tease

Title: Tease

Genre: Humor/Drama/Hentai

Summary: Deception. Desire. Great hair care.

Pairing: SessKag

Rating: NC-17

Author's Notes: This was a porny little gift for Suriyel, to whom I owe a substantial proportion of my soul. It was supposed to be quick and funny and dirty, but it appears that I am utterly incapable of writing PWP, so it's funny and dirty with a dash of seriousness. My brain is insisting that there is a larger story here, so any characterization anomalies are a result of this. Once my brain tells me exactly what is happening and my pornmuse stops being tempramental, there will probably be little continuation porny one-shots. Then again, maybe not. HA! Either way, enjoy the smut.

He was naked.

Even worse, he knew he was naked.

Well, okay, of course he would know if he were naked or not, but he knew that she would very definitely Not Approve of his nakedness, and that she would know that he would know that, and was therefore naked only for her benefit. Which, ironically, did not benefit her at all because she most definitely did not want him to be naked because she would never think of him in that way in a million years!

Never.

Now if only she could stop staring at his ass.

Higurashi Kagome stood waist-deep in the water of the hot spring, staring at the finely sculpted - if disappointingly submerged - backside of Sesshoumaru, and tried to think calmly about the situation.

It was not going well.

Kagome took a deep breath. She loved Inuyasha, right? That's why she was doing this, right? She loved Inuyasha and she wanted to be with him! Obviously this was why she was alone in a hot spring with Inuyasha's naked brother, hands tangled in said brother's pretty hair, and admiring said brother's extremely nice butt.

Extremely... extremely... um...

Like... marble, she thought dazedly, but squeezable!

Her fingers twitched.

Very quietly, in the part of her mind that wasn't engaging in strange and titillating thoughts about demonic buttocks, Kagome decided she was going to kill Yuka.

After all, it was Yuka's stupid fault that she had even considered doing this in the first place.

"Why don't you try doing something different with your looks, Kagome? Maybe a little make-up?" she had said after school a week ago.

Kagome, who had been inspecting her hamburger with more than the usual amount of interest, looked up, startled.

"What?" she said intelligently.

The two of them, along with Eri and Ayumi, were sitting in WacDonald's and attempting to have a nice, relaxing conversation. Unfortunately, as Kagome tore herself away from contemplating the Meaning of Burger, she realized that her friends were looking at her strangely, as if they didn't realize how fascinating a sandwich could be when one was so close to death at the tentacles of a crazed, world devouring hanyou who, against all logic, also gave birth a lot.

Clearly she was bringing everyone down.

Yuka sighed and huffed at Kagome's miserable oblivion. "Oh, you know," she said, "you just seem so down lately. You should do something to perk yourself up!"

Kagome frowned. She was indeed feeling more unhappy than usual, but she had assumed it was because the end was drawing nigh, and soon the time would come when the fate of the world would rest on four teenagers, a fire-cat, and a kitsune. And maybe assorted others. And they would win. Or lose. There was no way to tell, but everyone could feel it coming. Tempers were running high, and Kagome found herself thinking more and more often of the things she wanted and needed to do before... well, just before, but the future was uncertain. Perhaps she would live. Perhaps she would die.

Either way, impending doom seemed to put her in a funk for some reason.

Trying her best to be patient, Kagome set her hamburger down. "I don't think that would help, Yuka - " she ventured.

Eri cut her off. "Yuka's right," she interjected. "Go shopping. Eat ice cream... Oh! I know!" she said suddenly, waving her hands spastically and flinging accidental french fries into the air, "you should go to a movie with us! It's Saturday, we're almost done with junior high, and we haven't gone in ages."

No good, Kagome remembered unhappily. I have to go back to the feudal era today.

At the thought she almost groaned in... well, not in despair, exactly, but almost in defeat. She loved her friends in the past, was happy to be with Inuyasha, but she had been in the past so much lately - had even been trapped there twice without shikon shards - that she was almost sick of it. She liked her home, and she liked her friends in the past. She was feeling stretched thin and in danger of breaking, and when she snapped she didn't know which side most of her would end up on.

She wanted to be there, she wanted to be here, and she was getting tired. Perhaps it was good that the end was coming, if only afterwards weren't so in doubt.

Kagome cast her eyes down, back to her burger that didn't look quite so fascinating anymore. "I can't," she said. "I have to go somewhere."

"You always have to go somewhere!" Yuka snapped. "You need to stay in one place for a while or you'll wear yourself down."

"That's right," Ayumi chimed in, "If you keep running around you'll just get sick again!"

"Eheh," Kagome laughed nervously, waving a hand as though to brush off their well-meaning but misplaced concern. "Don't worry about me, guys, I've been feeling better lately."

The narrowing of Yuka's eyes told Kagome that her friend was not buying this. Abruptly Yuka stood, sending her chair skittering backwards, and placed her hands on her hips. "Kagome, you are depressed and you need a makeover." she announced firmly, as if new lipgloss were enough to cure all malaises of the soul.

"But I don't have time!" Kagome protested.

"There is always time to be prettified!" Yuka cried, stabbing a finger into the air. "You'll feel better, I promise!"

"I can't, I really do have somewhere to go; I don't have the time. And anyway - "

"What does that boyfriend of yours think?" Ayumi asked suddenly, as if she hadn't been listening to the conversation. Kagome turned to look at her, only to find her friend with one finger on her chin and staring off into space as though concentrating on the complexities of getting tarted up.

Blinking, Kagome frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?" she demanded.

Ayumi shrugged, smiling sweetly in that annoying way that set Kagome's teeth on edge. "I mean, does he want you to be sad? I bet if you spruced yourself up just a little bit, stuff would get a little better between you two."

Kagome stared, but the other girl had such an innocent look on her face that it was almost possible to believe that she had not just insulted her in a roundabout way.

"What makes you think we're having problems?" she said, snatching up her hamburger and holding it up to her face as though it would shield her from the conversation. This sort of dialogue never went anywhere good or helpful, and she could almost see the conversation's flaming, downward trajectory stretching out in front of her.

All three of her friends blinked, nearly in unison.

"Well, isn't that always what the problem is?" Yuka said finally. "You want him to treat you better, don't you? Ayumi's right, you need to start taking better care of yourself and he'll start paying more attention."

"But I'm not depressed about that - " Kagome began, then stopped as a thought struck her.

If she was possibly going to die soon, why not try to further her relationship with Inuyasha?

I don't want to die a virgin, she thought. I've never even been kissed! ...God, that's even more depressing.

"Oooh, I see you are beginning to understand the wisdom of our ways," Eri cut in on her thoughts. "You should make yourself look really special for him. He might get the hint."

Any other time Kagome would have doubted Inuyasha's ability to recognize a hint even were he to be forcibly sodomized by a big, spiky hint named Hinty Hintsalot, but right now it didn't seem like such a bad idea. It was just a little gamble, right? It couldn't hurt, right? What was the worst that could happen? Only that he would reject her, her self-esteem would plummet so low as to become a purely theoretical concept, and she would die cold and alone without ever having known love or the touch of a man.

Oh yes, this is a plan that couldn't possibly go wrong, she thought.

On the other hand...

What if it succeeded? It was a big 'what if,' but Kagome was nothing if not a girl who had a remarkable inability to discern recognizable patterns of behavior and to learn from past mistakes. Besides, she was used to being walked all over, so any progress at all could be considered a net gain.

She set her burger down on the table. "Well," she said reluctantly, "what do you guys suggest that I do?"

Yuka clapped her hands. "Oh, this will be fun!" she exclaimed. "Hmm... your face is fine, so there's no need to do anything about that, and you've gotten really skinny lately... oh! I know! You could spruce up your hair a bit! You know, use a treatment or something on it. Guys like girls who know how to take care of themselves," she added with a self-important nod.

"Why would they like that?" Kagome asked. She'd always thought guys liked girls with big bazongas.

Yuka gave an impatient huff. "Because it means you'll be able to take care of them, too!"

While she wasn't entirely certain Inuyasha really wanted anyone to take care of him - his constant desire for various food-like substances aside - there was a certain inescapable logic to the idea. Unfortunately, she already spent a lot of time on her hair. Ever since that stupid Yura had insulted her over it, Kagome had very deliberately paid attention to what she put on it, brushed it frequently, and tried as many expensive products as possible. While it was hard to get regular baths in the Sengoku Jidai, she still did her best. She thought she had made an improvement.

Miserably Kagome stared down at the table in front of her. "I already use treatments," she said. "And deep conditioners, and hot oil and wide-toothed combs and extra-shine serums - "

She looked up and trailed off. Her friends were looking at each other, embarrassment writ clear on their faces.

"...Well," Yuka said finally, "if you do all that, I'm not sure what else you can do. Maybe go to a salon, or ask someone with really great hair what they use...?"

Oh, yes. There. That was where it all started to go wrong.

Kagome didn't really give her friends' suggestion much consideration; she had other things to worry about, like her grades, her family, and her increasing sexual and emotional frustration. In all honestly, she had never really given her sexual needs any serious thought, but for some strange reason the thought of dying a virgin - of dying without ever having been kissed, even! - kind of made the issue more pressing than usual.

For the rest of the afternoon she tried to put the conversation from her mind, but by the time Inuyasha came up through the well at dinnertime she couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Oi, Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled from the kitchen. Her mother's muffled voice could be heard.

Kagome scowled at her own face in the bathroom mirror. She had just spent fifteen minutes scrutinizing her appearance and had decided, at the end of that time, that she was passably pretty and that Inuyasha should have let her know that by now. He cared about her, in his own rough teenage boy way, but weren't teenage boys supposed to be raging balls of hormones? Didn't he feel any... urges... at all? Oh no! What if, due to being a half-demon, he were impotent? Or was that sterile? Sterility might be good in the short term for birth control purposes, but the other was bad in any term, and it was a very very important distinction.

Taking a deep breath, she chewed on her lip.

Inuyasha hollered for her again, this time from the foot of the stairs.

"Just a minute," she yelled back through the bathroom door, then returned to the mirror.

Inuyasha, she knew, was emotionally stunted. Crippled, even, what with all the hate and the rejection and the lack of society or family - frankly she was surprised he wasn't suicidal or crazy. There was always a twinge in her heart when she thought of the things he had gone through, and she knew she shouldn't push him.

That didn't mean she didn't want to, though.

He'd have to think it was all his own initiative, or he might feel trapped. How was she going to make him do that, though? Being herself hadn't worked as well as she would have liked, and since she was apparently so bad at being herself being someone else was out of the question.

...Was it really all a matter of appearance? It seemed so... shallow.

Then again, the bond they shared wasn't shallow at all. Maybe he did just need a little nudge.

Kagome ran a hand through her hair and brought a lock of it in front of her face, inspecting the fragile ends. It was looking more and more frizzy and frazzled these days, and she found this distinctly unfair; if she was going to die, she had better be overtaken by a consumptive and magnetic beauty! It was the least the universe owed her.

The sudden loud banging on the bathroom door caused her to jump about a foot in the air. She barely heard Inuyasha's voice over the pounding of her heart.

"We gotta go!" he was saying. "We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow!"

More and more often, Inuyasha seemed to want her to go back to the feudal era earlier and earlier. She dreaded the day he came to abduct her from school, though the way things were going they might all die before that day came.

How... optimistic.

She opened the door to see him standing there, hand raised for another pounding, looking startled.

"Dammit, Inuyasha," she said. "Can't a girl get a little privacy in her own home?"

For a moment there was a flash of guilt across his features, but then it was gone, shut down behind his rough facade.

"Keh!" he said crossing his arms and sticking his nose in the air. "If you were ready when I told you to be I wouldn't have to knock on the door, would I?"

"No, but - " she began.

He cut her off. "Are you ready? It's getting late and we're all hungry."

Hungry.

Kagome bit her lip, thinking. "Inuyasha," she said after a moment, "do I take good care of you guys?"

"What?" he said. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing," she lied. "Don't worry about it."

He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay," he said. Turning around, he stamped down the hallway and cleared the stairs in a single leap.

Maybe - maybe - Kagome thought, her friends had a point.

That night, after going through the well, Kagome stared at the starlit sky above her and tried to formulate a plan.

Unfortunately, it seemed there was little she could do. Oh, sure, she could waste all her nonexistent money on a top class stylist, but clearly the absence of any salons in the Sengoku Jidai - which, of course, was where she spent all her time when she was not busy failing her classes - was going to severely hamper those efforts.

The problem was the fact that actually asking someone with great hair seemed to be far more difficult than it had any right to be.

Kikyou had great hair, of course, but asking her was right out of the question. Not only was she nearly impossible to find, but her body was kind of fake, so whatever she used - extra clay? - was probably not going to work. Not to mention that the dead miko occasionally tried to kill her. It hadn't happened lately, but Kagome couldn't help but feel a bit leery.

She also thought of asking Sango, but knew that it would be a dead end. As far as she could tell, Sango used youkai-gut setting lotion, and even though Kagome really wanted Inuyasha to stop being all confusing with his divided attention and possibly make her a woman before they all got killed, she wasn't quite ready to start piling youkai-liver pate on her head on the off chance it would make her extra-sparkly. She liked to pretend that she had some dignity left.

And that pretty much wrapped that up; peasants had terrible hair, and himes were unlikely to indulge in girl-talk with a commoner in a sailor fuku such as herself, so she had to do what she could with what she had. Which hadn't worked yet.

It was so depressing.

Kagome spent the next few days in a funk, sneaking peeks at Inuyasha from the corner of her eye, avoiding thoughts about being skewered by tentacles, and trying in vain to smooth her hair, enhance her breasts, and show enough leg - though considering how much she normally showed she wondered what, exactly, could possibly be 'enough' - to capture Inuyasha's interest. Nothing, not even the 'accidental' flash of her shapely schoolgirl behind, made any difference. Instead of seeming to take an interest, he instead turned bright red and sat as far away as possible from her when they slept, cuddling Tessaiga as though the sword would defend him from sexy schoolgirls looking to get laid.

By the middle of the fourth day, Kagome had wracked her brains for a solution - or at the very least, a viable someone who could tell her how to be prettified - but she came up empty handed. There seemed to be little else she could do but await death with both split ends and her virginity intact.

Until, that is, they crossed paths with Sesshoumaru. Or Sesshoumaru's retinue, to be precise.

It was quite by accident, and Kagome knew that if he had been there they never would have seen the little girl he kept with him. Rin, she said her name was. She was small and cute and effervescent and apparently spent a lot of time either alone by herself, or with Jaken.

Kagome couldn't help but feel that constant, repeated exposure to Jaken was not good for a little girl's constitution. And, perhaps, it wasn't good for Jaken either.

She never thought she would feel sorry for the little imp, but when they had stumbled upon the little encampment Jaken had been looking greener and more melancholy than usual, and Rin had been bugging him to play a game with her. He looked for all the world like her grandfather did whenever she or Souta failed to take the proper amount of interest in shrine history or whatnot - dejected and in despair over the state of the world and his place in it.

Kagome took pity on both of them and had waved her hand, calling out.

After the initial period of squawking and confusion had passed, they were able to determine that Jaken was once again relegated to babysitter - something that apparently happened often - while Sesshoumaru had wandered off to do whatever it was that snobby inuyoukai lords did. Maybe he needed to mark his territory or something; Kagome knew that she would definitely want privacy for that, and quickly banished the mental image it produced.

"Perhaps Rin-chan would like to play a game with me instead?" she suggested. The little girl's eyes had lit up at this, but, as always, someone had to register a complaint.

"What?" Jaken cried. "The great Sesshoumaru-sama would not countenance his lowly hanyou brother's presence near his servants! Outrageous!"

"What?" Inuyasha had barked simultaneously from behind her, also clearly not wanting to be any closer to older-brother-related people or activities than strictly necessary. "We don't have time to play kiddie games!"

"But - " Kagome started as Rin ran to Jaken to placate him. Inuyasha cut her off.

"What do you want to waste your time like that for? We have to find Naraku, right?"

"But - "

"And the sooner we do, the better it is, 'cause I'll kick his fucking ass!"

Kagome was beginning to get angry, but Inuyasha was saved from his customary sitting when Sango intervened.

"Oh, for god's sake, Inuyasha, we've been all over this forest and there's no sign of him," she exclaimed. "I, for one, would like an excuse to rest." At this she swung Hiraikotsu from her shoulder and rammed one end firmly against the ground, a sign that she really meant business.

Inuyasha looked pleadingly in Miroku's direction, but the monk merely gazed off into the distance, doing his best impression of Buddha-like contemplation as Shippou jumped down from his shoulder and scampered over to Kagome, clearly eager to join in whatever games they had in mind. Jaken was still squawking a little, but it was clearly only for show. Rin was already running back to Kagome as the imp stomped off, presumably to find a spot where he could keep an eye on Rin and still be as far away as possible.

"Keh!" Inuyasha said finally. "Do whatever you want, see if I give a crap!" With that he had leapt away to a tree at the far end of the clearing and slumped down in its branches, closing his eyes as though he didn't care.

Kagome bit her lip as her heart sank; this was the opposite of what she wanted happening, and if she didn't get some kind of positive signal from Inuyasha soon, bad things would happen. They always did when there was too much sublimated desire going around, and this round was particularly potent. It was doing... things to her, and quite frankly she was surprised he hadn't picked up on her clear signals. And... well, she thought about it so often she must be sending some kind of signal subconsciously! At the very least he should smell it. She was extremely frustrated. She didn't want to distance him from her.

...Well, she supposed she was also sorry that she seemed to have hurt his feelings, but the sight of Miroku and Sango stretching out and finding their own patch of grass to occupy reminded her that her other friends had feelings too, which needed attending. And of which she was not at all jealous. At all.

"Right!" she cried with a little too much force as she abruptly shot from her crouch to a standing position. "What do you guys want to play? Tag? Hide-and-Seek?"

Wrinkling her adorable face into a confused expression that inspired the urge to make little Rin plushies, Rin asked, "What are those games?"

"Tag is where you chase someone or someone chases you, and hide and seek is where you hide!" Shippou graciously explained to her.

"I don't like getting chased," Rin informed them emphatically, "but I'm good at hiding! I want to play that!"

"Yeah, let's play that!" Shippou agreed. "I'm good at hiding, too!"

"That's because you turn yourself into something else!" Kagome said. "We call that cheating."

Shippou merely grinned at her and twitched his fluffy little tail before grabbing Rin's hand. "Come on!" he said to her. "Let's go hide! Kagome, you start counting."

Tricksters, Kagome grumbled mentally, but she couldn't repress the smile that crept onto her face as she turned to a tree, closed her eyes, and began to count.

Nearly an hour later all three of them were dirty, a little sweaty, and feeling at least marginally better. Kagome was the cleanest of the three, and at least the occasional running had worked some of her frustration down to more manageable levels. Shippou had a wild mess of twigs and leaves stuck in his hair, as did Rin. She had also managed to get mud all over her face but not her kimono.

"How did you do that?" Kagome wanted to know.

Rin smiled up at her. "It hides you better," she said. "Here Kagome-sama, try some!"

"No, no, that's quite all right!" Kagome squeaked, dodging as deftly as possible the handful of mud the little girl proffered. "Don't you think you should get washed up?"

With that Rin nodded. "There's a hot spring just over there," she said happily, gesturing in a vague direction leading into the woods.

"Oh good," Kagome said with no small amount of relief. There was no telling what Sesshoumaru would do if he came back to find his little girl not only cavorting with his hated brother's human group, but messy as well. She couldn't imaging that Sesshoumaru had ever been messy in his life, unless, that is, it had been on purpose.

She let Rin lead her through the forest to the hot spring. The sun was sinking a little into its late-afternoon torpor and the branches high above them caught the golden light, filtering it down to the forest floor. The patterns of light splashed over the ground, illuminating patches of grass or mushrooms or dirt, and in the middle of the clearing they came to was a lovely spring shadowed by an enormous overhanging tree, crooked and rambling, rooted deeply in one of the rocky walls. It was very peaceful.

Feeling better and better about the world and her place in it, Kagome stepped to the edge of the spring and dipped her handkerchief in the water. "Come here, Rin-chan, let's get you cleaned up."

"Okay!" Rin chirped, and for the briefest of moments Kagome could see why Jaken looked so downtrodden from time to time. The cheerfulness was almost creepy; no one could be that cheerful without something to hide, and Kagome wondered what it was.

It didn't really matter right now, though. Kneeling down she gently wiped the mud from the girl's face as Rin stood there dutifully and chattered about nothing.

"Okay," Kagome said as she wiped the last bit of mud away. "Now turn around and sit down so I can get this stuff out of your hair."

Rin obeyed and Kagome reached up and ran her fingers through the girl's glossy black locks, marvelling at it as it slid easily through her hands, falling lightly into place.

Hair, she thought. Stupid hair! Why can't my hair look like this? She travels around with a dragon and an imp and is being raised by a guy whose major occupation is practicing his angry face, and she still manages to be adorable and well groomed and have great hair. This is so unfair! What am I doing wrong?

What...?

At that thought, her hands nearly stopped moving, but autopilot kept them going as she was suddenly hit with the realization that here was what she had been looking for.

Rin-chan lives in the wilderness, but she still has beautiful hair, Kagome thought, feeling slightly dazed. How does she do it?

Well. There was only one way to find out.

Kagome swallowed and licked her lips. "Rin-chan," she said, endeavoring to sound nonchalant, "you have lovely hair. How do you keep it looking so pretty?"

She could almost see the little girl wrinkling her nose in confusion. "How do I...?" Rin repeated. "What do you mean, Kagome-sama?"

"I mean, is there anything you use to wash your hair with?" Kagome tried again. "Some kind of flower or plant you use on it to keep it clean?"

"Oh!" Rin exclaimed. "I see. Yes, I do!"

There was a pause.

"And..." Kagome prompted as she plucked a few bits of leaf mould from behind Rin's ear. "What is it?"

"I don't know."

Argh. "Then how do you use it if you don't know what it is?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama knows what to use!" Rin said happily.

Of course. Sesshoumaru also had beautiful hair, but for some odd reason the notion of asking him how he kept his locks silky and smooth had never even considered crossing her mind.

Right, she thought glumly. Sesshoumaru? Awesome. That will go over well. 'Hey, Sesshoumaru, tell me what hair treatment you use, I know that can't be natura - oh, god, my body, my precious body, what have you done to it!'

"I see," she said out loud, still combing Rin's hair even though it was almost perfect anyway. Privately her brain was clicking into overdrive as she tried to think of ways to broach the subject with Sesshoumaru, assuming she ever actually saw him without Inuyasha lurking nearby and caught him in a good mood, which would be never. Technically, she supposed, it was purely a mental exercise.

Let's see: how to get to a demon who cares about only himself? Only himself, and swords. Only himself, swords, and revenge. Only himself, swords, revenge...

...and a little girl.

And conversely, the little girl cared about him. Maybe if she could convince Rin that nothing in the world would make her happier than learning the secret of demonic serum, the little girl would ask the demon ever-so-earnestly and innocently for her newfound friend. She would probably do it if Kagome had just asked, but it would be better if Rin possessed some kind of enthusiasm for championing her cause. And the way to Rin's heart was very obviously through Sesshoumaru.

Kagome bit her lip. She wasn't used to using people, and it was a wicked thought to have, but... she wanted to push Inuyasha in her direction. They were in this stupid forest looking for Naraku, who might kill them all, and she needed to do whatever she could, before -

"Does Sesshoumaru-sama use the same thing as you, Rin-chan?" she heard herself say. She hadn't meant to say it, but clearly something was overriding her circuits to get the job done. And frankly, at this point she didn't have much of a problem with it. If her subconscious knew the right words to say then so be it.

In front of her, Rin was nodding. "Yup!" she said.

"Wow," she replied. "He has beautiful hair, doesn't he?"

"Oh yes!" Rin said, and Kagome could almost see her shining face, full of adoration and hero worship. It was a good thing she was only able to imagine it as actually seeing it might force her to commit seppuku from the shame of manipulating such a cute little girl.

Kagome swallowed. "I agree," she continued. "I'd... " - don't say give an arm, don't say give an arm! - "...give quite a lot to learn his secret."

"But you already have pretty hair, Kagome-sama!" Rin piped.

Oh man...

Vaguely, Kagome wondered if there were a hole nearby she could crawl into, because she had definitely hit a new low in her pursuit of Inuyasha; the entire endeavor was not good for her self esteem nor her moral fibre. With a small sigh, she decided to abandon this little plan. It wasn't like it would work anyway.

"Not as pretty as Rin-chan's," Kagome told her. "Okay, all done!" she added, waving her hands to free them of any remaining detritus.

Rin turned around. "Thank you, Kagome-sa - "

Kagome saw the little girl freeze. Then her face lit up as though Christmas, her birthday, and Cuddle Jaken Day had all arrived at the same time.

Kagome's heart plummeted down to unmentionable places.

This, she concluded, can only go badly.

"Rin," Sesshoumaru said from behind them.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cried as she ran past Kagome, clearly having forgotten her existence.

As surreptitiously as possible, Kagome glanced behind her to see Rin latching onto the demon's leg like a particularly affectionate barnacle. Any other time she might have thought the picture they made was tooth-achingly adorable, but right now the only thing she could think of was how long he might have been standing there, listening to her oh-so-subtle manipulation of the only other living being he seemed to give a crap about.

She felt sick to her stomach.

Sesshoumaru was looking down at the little girl hugging his leg with a strangely puzzled expression, as though he couldn't figure out how he had arrived at this point. He didn't seem upset or angry or even particularly concerned about the little girl's effusive display, simply vaguely befuddled.

"Did you behave?" he asked.

"Yup!" Rin beamed up at him.

"Hm," he said.

In truth, the whole thing was rather bizarre, and Kagome nearly forgot to be freaked out until Sesshoumaru, still looking a little confused, nodded at Rin. "Go find Jaken and tell him I am back," he told her.

"Okay!" Rin sang and immediately let go of him.

This is my chance to escape, Kagome thought. I can go with Rin, right? Please please please don't let him talk to me please please please -

Quickly she rose and took a step towards the direction Rin was heading, and she was only a few steps from the edge of the clearing when -

"You will stay," Sesshoumaru informed her.

Asshole, Kagome thought, but she stopped since running would have been stupid. All she could do was watch forlornly as Rin bounced off into the underbrush without her, oblivious to the fact that she was abandoning her newfound friend to a terrifying though unspecified fate.

When Rin was at last out of sight, Kagome bit her lip and turned around. She took comfort in the fact that Sesshoumaru probably wasn't going to kill her, but that solace was pretty much voided by the dread of what he might do instead.

Awful things. Horrible things. Things too terrible to imagine, as evidenced by the fact that she couldn't imagine them.

He was looking at her with that same puzzled expression, but this time he was scowling ever so slightly. For a guy with three facial expressions, he certainly extracted as much mileage from them as possible.

Nervously Kagome reached up and scratched her head, endeavoring to look innocent. "Um," she explained.

His frown deepened. Then he began to walk toward her.

Inside her head, Kagome was shrieking at the top of her lungs and running around in a panic, but outwardly she just felt herself tremble a little. Her breathing picked up as her brain attempted to feed oxygen into her system for the inevitable fight-or-flight decision.

But he stopped a few feet away and stood still, as unthreatening as a deadly demon could be.

"You would pay for the information," he said suddenly.

Kagome jumped, confused. "What?" she asked, then remembered that she wanted to know what he used on his hair. It seemed like such a ridiculous desire now, confronted with him, but she couldn't take back what he'd overheard. She wasn't entirely certain what 'payment' might mean, and was quite happy she hadn't said she would kill - or die - for it.

He was still staring at her. "Er, I did say that..." she told him, trying to leave herself a little wiggle room.

His golden eyes were mesmerizing, and Kagome was suddenly put in mind of a snake hypnotizing its prey. She shuddered.

At that, something very faint flickered in his face, causing her heart to seize up, but he merely turned away from her and stared off into space.

There was a long moment of silence. Somewhere high above them, a bird twittered.

There was more silence.

That was followed by silence.

In fact, Kagome was just beginning to think that Sesshoumaru had forgotten all about their conversation and was about to do her best ninja impression out of there when he turned back to her.

"Here at midnight," he said abruptly. "You will be prepared to bathe."

Kagome's brain promptly exploded.

Her mouth dropped open.

No sound came out.

Apparently satisfied, Sesshoumaru walked past her and into the woods towards his entourage, leaving her standing there for nearly five minutes, dumbly working her mouth and trying to form a coherent thought. When she finally did, it was a disappointment.

"Bathe?" she said out loud. Then, because she wasn't certain her incredulity had been properly expressed, she added, "Bathe?"

This did not sound like a good idea. It sounded like a very, very bad idea, especially the part about bathing in the moonlight with the psychotic half-brother of her True Love. It was the sort of thing that weepy women wrote in to advice columnists about, the sort of bad decision that she was so very good at making.

On the other hand... it would be innocent, right? He wouldn't do anything... indecent, right? He didn't like humans.

Except for one.

That she knew about.

Oh, hell.

And what payment? She didn't like the sound of that, either. It sounded downright ominous when she considered the source. What would he want? Not Tessaiga, surely. He'd given up that pursuit long ago...

...Hadn't he?

Not that it mattered, because she would have to be insane to do this, and since she certainly wasn't insane there was no problem!

...Right?

Fretting, Kagome walked slowly back to camp, only to find Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru having one of their brotherly fights that by now she was almost certain were obligatory. Neither really cared, but fighting at least gave them an outlet. Plus, Inuyasha looked really good when fighting. It was a guilty pleasure to watch.

Long white hair, brash voice, defiant gold eyes and flying red clothes - a familiar affection arose at the sight.

And as she watched Inuyasha boldly stand up to the odds, she found herself actually considering Sesshoumaru's offer. Inuyasha was just so endearing; he stirred up a flutter in her chest and a curious twist in her belly. However, underneath those feelings was the knowledge that, as things stood now, nothing would happen and seeing as how the final battle was looming large, she might not live long enough for Inuyasha to get his head out his ass. It left her feeling depressed and a little nauseous.

Perhaps, contrary to her protestations, she had gone temporarily insane. She had to be insane because she was actually considering showing up at a hot spring, alone, to bathe with their most ambiguous ally. As if perfect hair had ever gotten anyone laid, ever!

After a little bit both brothers seemed to lose interest and Sesshoumaru, complete with retinue, left shortly thereafter; only Rin bothered to say goodbye. After finding themselves alone in the field it was discovered that Sango and Miroku had actually fallen asleep in the grass, Shippou sandwiched between them, and only after much nudging with toes and loud coughing did Kagome manage to wake them up so they could make camp.

Kagome was distracted all evening, and when she went to bed she tossed and turned, watching the moon climb in the sky and running over the pros and cons in her mind.

Pros: good hair and increased sex appeal. And... the things that come with increased sex appeal. Like sex. Mmm-hmm.

Cons: Sesshoumaru.

And that seemed to be about it.

She chewed her lip and stared up at the sky.

Finally, when the moon reached its zenith, Kagome slipped out of her sleeping bag as quietly as possible. Inuyasha was fast asleep in the tree branches above and didn't even stir, but Shippou, who slept in her sleeping bag with her, cracked a groggy eye.

"Where you goin'?" he mumbled.

Kagome bit her lip; she hated lying. "I can't sleep," she whispered to him. "I'm going to go take a bath. If Inuyasha wakes up, don't let him follow me, okay? I need to be alone for a little bit."

Shippou just nodded sleepily and turned over, and Kagome felt her karma sink just a little lower.

This really is a very bad idea, she reaffirmed as she grabbed a towel, some soap, and her bathing suit. Her cheeks flared at the thought of being even partially nude around Sesshoumaru, but she ruthlessly quashed her maidenly sensibilities. She wanted to rid herself of those, not coddle them. They'd overstayed their welcome by a lot.

As soon as she was certain she was far enough from both her origin and destination, she slipped out of her clothes and into her swimsuit, though her modesty compelled her to wrap the towel around her waist. Baby steps.

The night was mild and very quiet, and her footsteps were too loud. She was certain everyone could hear her from a mile away. God, she hoped that Inuyasha wouldn't wake up and perk his little ears, only to find out what she was up to. Ugh.

After far too long she had finally emerged from the woods into the clearing to find Sesshoumaru already there.

He was in the water, lounging with his back against the craggy stone wall beneath the tree.

Also, he was very shirtless. Kagome found her gaze shying away from his missing arm - it made her uncomfortable as her brain wanted to fill in what was missing but couldn't - and instead stared at his chest. His very nice chest.

This is unexpected, she thought.

Sesshoumaru was looking at her, his head tilted to the side, seeming both confused and cruelly amused at the same time.

Without thinking, Kagome snapped, "What are you looking at?"

Contrary to all expectation, he entirely failed to disembowel her. Instead he simply lifted one elegant eyebrow. "What," he said slowly, his eyes sweeping over her body in a way that made her feel disturbingly fluttery, "is that?"

Still struggling to deal with the situation as a whole, Kagome was less than gracious in answering his question. "It's a bathing suit!" she said defensively. "It's so I don't have to... so I won't be..."

He looked even more amused.

Kagome stamped her foot. "Well!" she cried. "I would have though you'd appreciate it!" She couldn't imagine him actually wanting to see her naked. It was ridiculous! The man had the sexual awareness of a French fry.

As far as she knew, anyway.

Unbidden and unwanted thoughts poked her, rather too intimately for her taste.

Eeeek! her brain helpfully pointed out at the thought of Sesshoumaru's sexuality. This was not a subject she should pursue in any fashion - not because the thought itself was disturbing, but the fact that she was failing to be disturbed at said thought was disturbing. She'd been thinking of sex far too much, obviously, and she should stop since she was now having difficulties discriminating between the boy she wanted to be with and... well, anyone else. It had nothing to do with Sesshoumaru's attractiveness, that was for sure! She was just a bundle of hormones because of her recent preoccupation.

...No, this really wasn't such a good idea after all.

Sesshoumaru had gone from looking amused to looking distinctly less amused. That was probably not a good development.

"You know what?" Kagome said suddenly, averting her eyes for fear that he could see what she was thinking. She stepped back, preparing to turn and walk swiftly away from this whole debacle. "Never mind," she continued. "I was just being silly, so you don't have to go to the trouble of all this. It's not worthy of your attention, I'm sure, so let's just forget this happened, okay? I'll go back to my sleeping bag and you can hang out in a hot spring and everyone's happy, okay?"

"No," Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome stopped in midstep, certain she had heard incorrectly. She turned back to him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked as politely as possible.

"I said no," he repeated.

Kagome blinked, trying to comprehend his words.

"Oh," she said after a moment. "Er..."

"I have been anticipating this," Sesshoumaru continued as though she had been silent, which was what, in Sesshoumaru World, had probably happened. "We shall discuss before you make any rash decisions."

Kagome really didn't like the sound of 'rash decisions.' Rash decisions had bad consequences, and as far as she was concerned the quest for the right hair conditioner should be significantly less dangerous than, say, brushing her teeth. Or scratching her armpit. Or... bathing.

Right.

"What do you mean?" she demanded, a little bit of fear working its way into her voice. Silently she cursed; she didn't want him to hear her fear of him. He could probably smell it, but that was beside the point. She wanted him to respect her, dammit, not push her around like one of his underlings. She didn't need to bow to him.

His mouth quirked. "I mean," he said, "that I was looking forward to your payment. It has been quite a while..."

Aaaaack! No no no no no, I don't care how pretty you are, no no no -

Sesshoumaru seemed to push out from whatever rock he had been sitting on and moved to the center of the steaming pool. Then, quite suddenly, he disappeared below the water. For a split second Kagome toyed with the notion of running, but as before, she knew it would be useless. He moved fast enough to vanish; there was no way she would be able to outrun him.

She wouldn't have made it very far anyway because almost immediately he surfaced again, his one remaining hand running through his long hair.

It really was quite beautiful.

"Come," Sesshoumaru commanded, and Kagome tried not to think about the double entendre. Nervously she set her accoutrements down, dropped her towel, and stepped forward to lower herself with exaggerated caution into the warm water. She inhaled sharply at the heat. It felt good on her tired muscles, but seeing as how her nerves were standing on end she just couldn't force herself to enjoy it.

Sesshoumaru was looking amused again. Gracefully he turned from her and moved to one of the rocky side-walls.

"Here," he said, picking up a bundle of herbs she had failed to notice due to his bare chest. "These are the plants used. They are simply covered in three fingers of water and left to ferment for two cycles of the moon."

"Two months?" Kagome blurted, heart plummeting. "That's so long!" She might be dead in two months! Or at the very least so sexually and emotionally frustrated that she might as well be!

"Hm," Sesshoumaru replied, implying that on the scale of things he cared about, her problems were somewhere between hanyous and insects. Which might be the same thing to him.

"That may be," he said suddenly, startling her. "Therefore, you may take whatever is left over with you." Carefully he set the herbs down next to a slender bamboo container.

"Left over?" she asked, confusion running riot in her head.

He arched one eyebrow again.

"Yes," he said, once more extending a graceful hand to pick up the bamboo canteen. He tossed it to her and she caught it clumsily. Sesshoumaru ran his hand through his hair again as he returned to the center of the pool, then turned around, presenting his back to her.

"You will wash my hair," he told her imperiously. "As payment."

For a few seconds Kagome thought she might be dreaming, but no, there he was, in front of her, waiting for her to be his personal stylist.

It was so surreal.

"Why do you need me to wash your hair?" Kagome asked incredulously. "Are you sure you want me to touch it? I mean, I don't know, I don't know how well I'll - "

"This is our bargain," Sesshoumaru cut her off. "Why is not your concern." His voice was strangely stiff, as though the subject pained him in some way, and it made her heart twinge.

Kagome wavered. Touching him would be weird and uncomfortable, but how else was she going to get what she wanted? She bit her lip, then opened the canteen and tipped a little of the sickly-sweet mixture into her other hand -

...oh.

She blushed, feeling intensely stupid.

This... this must be difficult for him to do by himself, she thought, letting her eyes stray to the stump of his left arm. It still unsettled her a little, but it was surely a million times worse for him. He never acted like he really needed it, which in a way made him even more intimidating, but still, it had to be hard on him, even though his pride would never let him admit it. Her foolish words must have seemed like the perfect opportunity to him for regaining a small comfort.

"Hurry up," Sesshoumaru said, voice once again sharp and commanding, and Kagome jumped.

"Um, sorry!" she squeaked, suddenly feeling guilty and a little sad. She set the bamboo on a rock behind her and moved forward. She reached up.

His hair felt just as wonderful as it looked, and Kagome sighed a little at the delightful tactile sensation of it gliding through her fingers. Gently she combed the mixture through it, beginning as near to the top of his head as she could reach - damn, but he was tall - and working it downward. Unfortunately the ends were still submerged in the water and she had to gather it in her hands before she could properly wash it.

It was around that point that she realized that he was entirely naked.

Now she stood with her hands still tangled in his hair, unable to move for embarrassment. Among other things.

Oh, god, his body was incredible. That, she decided, is an ass for the ages oh god why am I thinking like this?

He was a jerk. He had to know that this was just... not good. And she was a bad, bad person. Especially for the urge to do things to him with her tongue that she was definitely not going to think about because no.

"Is there a problem?"

His voice startled her, and she looked up to find him giving her a very calculating look.

Kagome promptly turned ten different shades of red with a very lovely purple thrown in for variety. "No!" she said shrilly. "Nothing's wrong! Um!"

He waited.

Quick, misdirect! Misdirect!

"I mean... you're tall? And... I think I need to be a little higher up to reach all your hair?"

For a long moment he didn't reply, and Kagome was almost certain he was going to call her out - 'dirty human hands are not fit to fondle this Sesshoumaru's glorious buttocks,' she imagined him saying - but finally he turned back and gestured towards the rock he had been sitting on, the one beneath the tree.

"There is a small natural shelf there," he said.

"Oh!" Kagome replied. "Er. Then I'll just relocate. Eheh."

Mortified, she turned around and grabbed the bamboo canteen before sloshing gracelessly across the small pool to the rocky wall. The shelf was indeed small and shallow, and she had to find purchase for her feet. After two misfires she finally managed to get a grip on the slippery rock and haul herself up while wedging her toes into a couple of footholds as firmly as possible. Panting, she twisted on her perch.

Sesshoumaru was less than a foot away.

"Ack!" Kagome remarked. "Don't do that!"

"Mm," he replied. Without another word he turned back around, and Kagome was vaguely gratified to find that she could now reach the top of his head. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she poured a little more of the flowery solution into her hand and then began to massage it into his scalp.

They were silent as she worked, and after a few minutes Kagome was surprised to find herself relaxing. In fact, it wasn't bad at all; Sesshoumaru didn't demand anything except a nice shampooing, and it was nice to work with her hands. Meditative. That her fingers occasionally ghosted over his skin, or sometimes grazed his elfin ears, or that her legs brushed against his once or twice wasn't hurting her state of mind either. It was a safe enough little thrill, and she thought she deserved it; what with impending death and confusing almost-but-not-quite boyfriends looming over her it was nice to just indulge in something tactile and pseudo-illicit. Like ice cream, but with zero percent body fat.

She was enjoying it so much that she toyed with the notion of dragging it out as long as possible, but she was pretty sure that Sesshoumaru wasn't getting the same things out of it that she was. He just wanted clean, hassle-free hair.

"Okay, done," she finally said, feeling a little reluctant to untangle her hands, but he was already moving away so she let go, not wanting to accidentally pull it. Smoothly he slid under the water, long silver locks following him down like a banner. When he rose again, they were shining and waterlogged, and deftly he flicked it into a semblance of its former self. Kagome slid off the shelf, noticing surreptitiously that he had nice arms, too.

Well, arm.

It was still nice.

Sesshoumaru turned back to her and gave her an assessing look that made her squirm a little, wondering if her ogling were too obvious.

He moved closer.

He was only a foot away from her when he stopped, and Kagome found herself a little out of breath at his proximity. She really had to get a grip. It was just hormones, and she wasn't a slave to them, even if he did have that delicious line of muscle tracing down his hips and into the water, leading to other, more unmentionable places.

"Why are you here?"

Kagome started as her eyes flew to his face, suddenly aware that she had been staring at his body again, and immediately she blushed and averted her eyes. "Um," she stammered, gazing intently at a leaf floating in the water a few feet away, "You told me to come?"

She watched as the leaf swirled in a tiny eddy, then skated off, further away -

- Kagome gasped as strong fingers closed around her jaw, pulled her forwards, forced her gaze up to meet his face. Her heart was suddenly beating wildly in her chest, and he was too close, far too close for comfort, far too close for her to resist touching for much longer -

"Hey!" she cried, anger and fear colliding in her chest. "That's - !"

"Be still," he ordered, his eyebrows drawing down into an impressive scowl, and for the first time this evening she was truly frightened of him. He was capable of such brutality. How had she forgotten that?

He gave her chin a tiny jerk. "Answer my question," he said.

Frantically she tried to remember what they had been talking about. "But I did," she told him after a moment. "I told you - "

Imperious, he cut her off with another jerk, and she had to take a tiny step towards him to keep her balance. "Why are you really here?" he demanded. "Why did you come for such a trivial thing?"

She couldn't seem to get her mouth to function properly. For a few seconds she dumbly worked it before he lost patience.

"Answer."

"I - " Kagome squeaked, feeling her face flush. "I swear, I just wanted to know what you used! I didn't have any other motives, really!"

His scowl lessened slightly. Not enough for her taste, but it was a slight improvement. Now instead of cardiac arrest she was merely teetering on the edge of a stroke.

His fingers eased up until they were merely firm instead of forceful. It was a distinct improvement.

They felt disturbingly nice. He smelled good, too.

"Hmm," he said, dragging her attention back to the matters at hand. "Why was such a thing so important to you?" he wondered.

"I..." Kagome started, then stopped. It was so silly. "It's stupid," she said at last. "It's nothing that would interest you, really. I'm sorry I troubled you."

His frown deepened again. "But I am interested," he said. "You will tell me, or you will not receive what you wish."

"What? But we had a bargain!"

"I did not say that would be the only part of the payment," he said. "Tell me."

She was blushing again. "I just... I wanted to look better," she mumbled lowering her eyes. Then, because that just gave her a good view of his finely sculpted throat, she shut them all together.

He was silent, waiting for her to expound.

Kagome bit her lip, hiding in the darkness behind her eyelids. "I wanted to... I mean, we're close to finally getting Naraku - I think - and I don't know how that's going to turn out. I don't know who's going to be left and who's... not. I just wanted to maybe... experience... some things before that happens. I'm afraid I'll die without doing the things that are important to me."

He was silent. The air between them seemed thick.

She opened her eyes and looked up into his face again. "Inuyasha..." she said, and trailed off. She took a deep breath and tried again. "We're not... we've never..."

Am I really confessing my relationship problems to him? she thought. This is bizarre. This can't be real.

But it was. His scent, his fingers on her chin, his golden eyes looking at her so strangely, they were very real. She couldn't read his thoughts, could only listen to the sound of his breathing as his gaze bored into her, unblinking and unflinching as though he were watching each half-realized desire flash across her face, each strangled hope lingering inside her head.

After a long heavy moment, he blinked, once, slowly. "I see," he said finally.

Kagome blinked as well - his voice sounded odd for some reason. Almost as though it were rougher than normal, but it must be her imagination.

Then Sesshoumaru did something entirely unexpected.

The hand on her chin moved, up, and then Kagome was shocked to find his thumb against her mouth. The touch was so intimate that she inhaled sharply as he traced the bow beneath her nose, caressed her suddenly trembling lower lip, curiously seeking out her textures, leaving a strange warmth behind.

To her utter shock he slipped his claw between her lips and ran it over her teeth.

She should have jerked away. She should have escaped. But she didn't.

Why was he doing this? Did he realize what he was doing to her?

He had to know. Had to. So why?

"Sess - Sesshoumaru - ?" she heard herself say indistinctly, and then he was running his hand over the high crest of her cheek, wove it in and out of her hair, let one long finger find the sensitive spot behind her ear, and it was as though she were in a fog, in the thick, hot darkness. Her body trembled.

She felt dizzy.

He let his finger wander lower.

"What you fear," Sesshoumaru murmured suddenly, the tip of his claw tracing down her throat, "will almost certainly come to pass. When the final battle is done, it will be too late."

Thinking had become difficult. She blinked, once. "What?" she said, faint, confused. "How do you - "

The sharp almost-pain at her pulse arrested her voice and brought the world into focus again. Fearfully she stared up at him. When he seemed satisfied that she was not going to speak again, the pressure eased and he continued on, dipping down below her collarbone, dragging shivers behind.

"The day is coming," he said distantly, almost as though he were just now acknowledging it himself, and it sent a shiver up her spine, fear and unwanted desire coursing through her body, "and the time for creating our regrets will soon be at an end."

She had to stop this.

"Um..." Kagome pointed out, but he wasn't paying attention. Instead he seemed completely focused on the slow, languorous caress of his finger over her chest, as though he were transfixed by the texture of her skin. The expression on his face was strange - focused, hungry - and he loomed over her.

Her mouth was going dry. She felt heavy and weird, as if she were weighted down by the tips of her fingers, and the blood in her veins felt sharp. She couldn't seem to get enough air.

Snapping her mouth shut, Kagome strove to breathe evenly through her nose, but he was still trailing that one white-hot fingertip against her, stroking over the fragile hollows between her bones, advancing inexorably toward the inevitable, and she couldn't summon the will to stop him.

It felt so -

When he finally slipped his finger beneath the strap of her swimsuit she was dizzy and faint, her neck going limp, her head heavy. She sagged, panting, against the rock behind her, feeling the stone catch and scratch her back as she struggled to stay upright.

His claw scraped lightly against her collarbone as he let the strap fall limply against her upper arm. Kagome bit back a gasp.

He drew his hand back and tilted his head, as if inspecting his work, and she couldn't stifle the sharp, strangled groan of disappointment, squeezed from the base of her throat at his retreat.

No -

Through the fog she thought she heard him laugh, but it was lost as he bent to her before slowly, torturously dragging his open mouth over her shoulder and up her throat - the sharp points of fangs, the dull nick of teeth, soft slide of lips, quick, swirling tongue, darting out, tasting her -

Against her skin his breath was damp and scorching, quick and ragged, just like hers.

Of their own accord her hands found his shoulders, but upon contact she nearly jerked back - his skin was so hot, almost burning - but even that relatively innocent touch caused him to shudder slightly beneath her fingertips, sending a strange thrill through her.

She loved Inuyasha.

She should stop.

And yet... this had nothing to do with him. She loved Inuyasha. But...

...this feeling...

It was as though she were drowning, unable to come up for air, not even wanting to. She should stop this now, right now, but she couldn't form the words, couldn't even find breath enough to make any sort of coherent noise except a long low moan as Sesshoumaru's tongue found her earlobe, his hot breath curling inside her head.

This was... not what should be happening. She would not have guessed this in a million years.

Sesshoumaru doesn't love me, she thought. He doesn't like me. He doesn't even know me.

Why won't he stop touching me?

She'd wanted to make love to Inuyasha before it was too late. Maybe Sesshoumaru, too, feared a 'too late'. Perhaps he was afraid - which in and of itself was terrifying - and wanted to have one last fuck before something happened to him.

He wasn't Inuyasha, but in a way their goals collided.

Was this what she had wanted? It seemed so different than what she had thought it would be, dark and sweet and dangerous, nothing like what she felt when she was with Inuyasha, and it was dawning on her that merely looking prettier, or being nicer, or more understanding - or more like a doormat - was not going to give her what she wanted with him. It would be harder than that. Deeper than that. She had been silly not to understand.

Maybe, if she didn't try to fool herself, this would be okay. There was no love here, but there was... this.

The time for creating our regrets will soon be at an end.

And she was here, and this was now.

If the final battle were tomorrow - if she were to die - what sort of life would she look back upon? Perhaps a pretty little life, full of friendship, and unspoken, muffled love, perhaps an ugly life full of violence and pain -

- but either way there would be no passion, no overwhelming neediness, no mind-bending pleasure like the shivering delight that even now danced down her spine at Sesshoumaru's touch. She could die so quickly and easily, so painfully, and she would have waited -

- for what?

Inside, Kagome rebelled.

I don't want to die without knowing this, she thought hazily as her fingers traced down Sesshoumaru's chest and his hand found her waist. I don't want to die like that.

And she may love Inuyasha, but some things needed to be done for her, and her alone.

Against her belly, Sesshoumaru rubbed his thumb in small, soft circles as he nibbled on her jaw.

Kagome let herself slip under.

Tentatively, she let her fingers wander lower and lower, her hands gliding over his burning satin skin as she marveled at the hard muscles beneath that quivered at her touch. Her index finger gently caught on his navel - she could hear his breath hitch in his throat, so soft and faint that she would have missed it if his mouth weren't right next to her ear - and then her fingertips were trailing further down, sliding into the hot water.

Sesshoumaru's hand ran over her, up and up, skating along the outside swell of her breast, drawing an involuntary squeak from her throat, and then his arm was twining around her neck as he moved in.

Beneath her fingers, his hips moved forward.

Something firm pressed into her lower abdomen.

"Oh," she remarked.

He laughed his low, sharp agreement. Then slowly, languidly, Sesshoumaru rotated his hips, grinding his growing erection against her, as though seeking entrance into her body and eliminating any vague, lingering suspicions as to his true intentions.

She couldn't breathe.

A soft sigh escaped her as he moved his hips against her again, his erection already harder, and the erotic pressure was so distracting that she nearly missed his hand slipping underneath the remaining strap of her swimsuit and pulling it down her arm. It wasn't until the cool air washed over one bare nipple that she realized what he was doing, and then it was too late to protest - as if she would want to - because he was moving lower, kneeling in the water, his hand dragging the strap with him. Kagome felt the slow peeling of damp fabric as it rolled down her body, exposing her to him. As he shifted onto his knees, his arm settled around her waist and he strained upward, trailing the tip of his nose over the sensitive underside of her breast. Then he extended his tongue and slowly, torturously licked her nipple, a long rough drag that left her knees quaking.

"Sesshoumaru - "

He sucked the tip of her breast into his scorching hot mouth, rolling it between his lips, letting it brush against his teeth, and the flood of warmth between her legs was so intense she moaned aloud, soft, needy. She was so empty it hurt. She ached. She needed something - him - needed him inside her, needed him to soothe her desire, needed him to fuck her until she was raw and bleeding and still begging for more -

Her hands were caught in his floating hair, were running over his shoulders, up his arm, feeling the muscles quivering beneath his slippery skin. Kagome bit her lip as he released her nipple only to nip lightly at the other. It was sharp, a tiny pain inside the heat, and she squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered.

His arm around her tightened. There was a rush of water, a suction, and she opened her eyes just in time to see the world tip perilously as he rose from the spring, his firm arm around her waist lifting her with him. Off-balance, she tipped forward, her fingers finding his shoulders as he slowly climbed the rock she had been leaning against, knowing mouth still suckling at her breast and sending sparks of lighting all the way down her body to the juncture of her thighs. Her eyes shut in pleasure.

She barely noticed as he set her down; all she knew was that his mouth had released her and the coolness of the air washing over her made her nipples tighten. It was cold. Without thinking she brought one of her own hands up and ran her warm fingers over herself before covering her breast, the friction making her breath catch in her throat as he backed away from her.

No, she thought, opening her eyes, meaning to plead with him, beg him, tackle him to the ground, whatever it took to ease the horrible, delicious pressure in her belly, but her voice died in her throat when she saw the look on his face.

He was watching her touch herself, nude and wet, his eyes brighter than should be possible in the dim light. They gleamed. Very slightly, very slowly, she watched his lips part, heard his breath pick up until he was almost panting.

Dimly embarrassed but completely mesmerized, Kagome lifted her other hand to her other breast and was fascinated and gratified to see his gaze pulled to them like a magnet. She closed thumb and forefinger around her nipple and pinched, eliciting a gasp from her own throat.

He licked his lips, watching hungrily, like a man starved, as she teased herself.

Slowly she pulled each nipple, biting her lip, and when she whimpered deep in the back of her throat he reached for her. Suddenly his fingers were running over her side, up over her arm, finally covering both her hands with his own, and then he was prying her hands from her breasts, lifting them up above her head.

Confused, startled, Kagome tugged at her wrists, but he growled low in his throat at the movement so she let her hands go limp. She felt his fingers moving over her own, and then they manipulated her hands, closing them around cool, rough wood. Bewildered, Kagome looked up only to see a tree above them and her fingers wrapped around one of its low branches.

What - ? she almost said, but the feel of Sesshoumaru's claws running over the sensitive skin on the inside of her arm arrested any thoughts she might have voiced as she dragged her eyes back to his face. Unconsciously she arched into his touch as those deadly claws raked lightly over her breasts, down her stomach, and then he was kneeling again, peeling her damp swimsuit from her hips, sliding it down her legs, tossing it away as his teeth traced lazy patterns over the bones of her hip, his tongue following the crease between her belly and her leg, down, down, down -

Oh god oh god oh god -

Sesshoumaru drove his tongue into the darkness between her thighs.

Kagome cried out, hips rocking.

That must have been the reaction he was looking for, because his hand immediately went to her backside, squeezing a little as he held her in place, his claws pricking her skin, still dragging his tongue against just the right spot in urgent strokes.

Now she knew why he had forced her to hold onto the branch. She hadn't known it would be like this, the shiver in the back of her thighs, the curling of her toes, her whole body going limp at the pleasure racing through her veins like lightening. With each stroke of his tongue she had to struggle to stay upright, her vision blurring, her head lolling on her neck as she tried to stifle her moans, and all the while he traced his hand over her damp skin, dipping into the cleft of her legs, tracing the line of quivering muscle down her thigh.

"More," she mumbled incoherently, and the laugh that vibrated against her made her hips twist. Dimly she realized that there was a pressure on her leg - his hand - urging her to lift it. Shifting, she did so, and he draped it over his shoulder, opening her to him.

Then he tilted his head and did something with his mouth - his tongue, his fangs, his lips, his teeth - and Kagome nearly passed out.

It was too much, too much to endure, but no matter how her hips bucked against his greedy mouth he would not let up, pursued her, made her throw her head back and writhe with agonizing pleasure.

She looked down, hazy, distant, and was startled to find him watching her intently, his eyes so intense they seemed to glow. Flushing, she almost closed her eyes, embarrassed at her abandonment, and she would have if a slight, rhythmic movement of his arm had not caught her attention. What? she wondered, her own thoughts quiet and far away, and then any humiliation she might have felt fled as she realized what he was doing.

Oh.

With a swallow, unable to resist, Kagome tilted her head to watch as he slowly stroked himself. The leisurely pumping of his fist slid his velvety skin over the slippery head of his erection, over and over, and still he watched her face as his knowing mouth dragged soft moans from her throat, pulled her hips forward, made her whole body beg for him.

The knowledge that he was imagining himself moving inside her caused a low, involuntary groan to escape, intensifying each fluttering stroke of his tongue, driving her higher and higher. The fingers wrapped around the branch above her head were going numb as her grip tightened in tandem with the tightening in her belly.

Her gaze locked with his and she struggled to keep her eyes open, to watch him touch himself, to meet his demands with equal fervor, but she was already at her peak, already slipping over the edge, unable to make a sound as she coiled, curled in, as her body grasped at the tip of his tongue, and everything was his mouth, his hand, his eyes, his body, his desire for her -

The fog receded.

Gasping, Kagome sagged, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. Her fingers hurt, prickling as the blood returned to them, and still Sesshoumaru watched her shamelessly, licking his lips, his hand still wrapped around himself. Slowly he stood, moving up her body. He paused, lingered, then pressed a small, heart-twisting kiss to her navel.

Kagome bit her lip.

But then he moved up again to nip at her breasts, to trace his tongue over her skin until he reached her throat, and there he gently caught her in his teeth, as if he wanted to keep her still.

Kagome didn't want to keep still. She felt drugged and free, knowing that this moment would never come again in her life, and she wanted to explore it, to make it a moment to hold close, for her alone.

Boldly she slid away from his mouth, sliding down the tree at her back until she was kneeling in front of him, her eyes drawn to his erection. She blushed a little at the sight, but beneath her gaze it twitched, and as she pressed her thighs together she felt another spark of pleasure, an aftershock or a premonition, though she wasn't sure which. Her hands floated to his hips of their own volition, running over his skin, skating dangerously close to the tuft of silvery fur and the base of his shaft. She snuck a peek at his face as her fingertips ghosted over perilous territory.

The expression on his face was one of surprise. He looked good surprised, his mouth open slightly, his brows drawn into a faint frown, but Kagome didn't have time to dwell on that; she would change that expression soon enough. Right now, she just wanted to try a taste of him, to pleasure him. He had been so attentive that she wanted to return it to him, to make him shiver at her touch, moan and melt in her hands as she had in his. The thought caused the aching fire inside her to flare up again, and one hand went to her own breast as she closed the other around him.

Slowly she leaned forward and lapped up the slick drops of moisture gathered at the tip, spreading them around the damp head before taking it in her mouth. Her tongue swirled lightly over him -

- and Sesshoumaru snarled.

The sound was loud in the calm quiet of the night, dark and grating over her ears, and at the base of her brain primeval instincts fired to life. Frightened, heart pounding loudly in her ears, she tried to jerk away from him but his hand was suddenly buried in her hair, gripping it tightly and keeping her still. Don't struggle, don't struggle, she chanted inside her head as panic shot down her spine, making her legs twitch, but still his iron grasp held her in place. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut.

Her lips were still around the tip of his erection and above her he panted heavily as though trying to catch his breath. The seconds ticked by.

Gradually Kagome realized that he wasn't going to kill her. On the other hand, that still brought up a whole host of questions. Had she hurt him? Had she done it wrong? Should she apologize and try again or just leave? Oh no -

But now his fingers were loosening, letting her move, and Kagome withdrew, meaning to pull away completely.

Sesshoumaru was having none of that.

His grip tightened again and he growled low in his throat, but it was less frightening this time, softer and more nuanced, and Kagome realized with a flood of relief that he had liked what she had done, and probably wanted her to do it again.

So she did it again.

Above her, Sesshoumaru groaned, and his hips moved slightly, his velvety skin sliding smoothly over the steel she held in her hand.

She wondered what it would feel like inside her.

The hand in her hair let her go as he leaned forward to brace himself against the tree. Encouraged, Kagome tightened her lips around him and pressed forward, taking as much of him in as she could; it wasn't as much as she would have liked, but that was okay - the swirl of her tongue over the head as she pulled back and pressed forward again seemed to compensate. The strangled sounds he was making between panting breaths made her feel powerful as well as pleased that her first foray into this unknown territory was so far successful.

The stretching of her jaw was a little uncomfortable, but she continued, bringing a hand up to the soft weight that hung below. Tentatively she cupped it, rolled it in her fingers as she swallowed him again, and the needy, shuddering sound he made sent a flood of heat directly to her groin.

Then he was bending over, capturing her chin in his fingers, tugging her away. She whimpered a little in protest and released him reluctantly, and the hand on her chin guided her up and up until she was standing again in front of him. Blinking she looked up and was vaguely shocked to see the need on his face, to see him lightly flushed and panting hungrily as he moved forward, placed his hand on the wood at her back and curved himself around her.

Kagome squeaked with surprise as he trapped her against the tree with his body, a dark thrill coursing up her spine at his dominant stance. He was incredible in the moonlight - pale skin and shining hair and glimmering eyes - and she almost wanted to pause and drink in the sight of him, but the nudge of his damp erection against her belly reminded her that there were more pressing things to do.

His thighs brushed hers, his nearly-dry hair falling wild over his shoulders. Her hands were on his chest. She didn't know when she had put them there, but now it seemed completely natural to reach up and twine her arms around his neck, tugging him to her as she lifted one leg and hooked it over his hip, tilting her pelvis up as though to capture his body in her own. He lay heavy and hot on her abdomen, his silvery fur almost mingling with her dark curls.

He acquiesced to her insistent pull. Boldly she wove her fingers through the hair at the base of his skull, and, as his eyes closed in pleasure at the sensation, strained up to run her tongue over one long, slightly jagged stripe.

He groaned softly, and then he was crouching before her. For a moment she was confused, but then he reached over and cradled her ankle in his hand. Almost impatiently he tugged her leg over the shoulder of his missing limb, then rose. Kagome's eyes widened slightly in surprise as her leg folded up, her knee latching onto his shoulder for balance as he looped his arm beneath her hips, lifting her off the ground. Steadily he moved forward until she was very slightly reclining, sandwiched tightly between the tree and his body, one leg around his waist, the other over his shoulder. Her left arm clutched at his back as she tried to find the best position while her right rested on his hip.

She could feel the hardness of him flush against her slick entrance.

She shifted. The tree against her back was slightly rough, but Kagome found she didn't really mind or care; all that mattered was the feel of him grinding over that little spot he had so artfully teased to release, the sensation of his hot breath on her face as he pressed her to him.

Then he brushed his lips over her ear and whispered, his voice strange and burning: "Let me in."

Every part of her body contracted, clamping down on nothingness, and oh, she needed to be filled, needed this so badly, and she had to have him right now. A strangled noise clawed up her throat as she nearly sobbed with frustration. Blindly she reached under herself with her free hand until she felt her fingers close around him, eliciting a soft, urgent hiss from between his teeth.

She had never done this before, but she knew she needed to guide him inside her. Running on instinct she twisted, pushing him up as she tilted her hips back, and then he was fitted firmly against her and -

- Sesshoumaru moved forward.

Kagome's breath caught in her throat.

A pull, a pouring in. Slow, delicious.

Gravity did most of the work as he lifted her and let her open to him, sliding down his shaft, slowly, slowly, letting her adjust to the strange, unfamiliar stretch of muscle as he impaled her.

His firm flesh against her soft breasts was hot, electrifying. The feel of him in her was growing tight, easing and intensifying her want at the same time, and her still sensitive flesh sparked with pain and pleasure. Biting her lip, she tried to force herself to relax, but the feeling was nothing like what she had imagined; he was big, and hot and smooth. An aching alien presence, patching the emptiness he had made inside her with his own body.

She whimpered as she slid to a stop. He was panting in her ear, clearly holding back, and Kagome felt oddly touched even though it probably had nothing to do with her. It was likely a point of pride for him to do everything - including this - well. He was succeeding admirably.

He was so deep inside her she could feel the shifting of her body around his intrusion - it didn't hurt, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling either, and she wiggled a little, trying to accustom herself to it. In her arms, Sesshoumaru groaned at the sensation and brought his mouth to her throat - Kagome jumped when his teeth closed on her collarbone, and the movement forced him deeper.

"Please," she gasped, unaware that she was begging, not even aware that she was speaking, but it didn't seem to matter to him. She felt him shift inside her at the sound of her voice, an involuntary twitch that rubbed her in just the right way - lost, not knowing what to do, she pressed her face into his damp hair, nibbled on his jaw, and the noise he made at that nearly drove her over the edge.

Then he pressed harder against her, pinning her to the tree as he slowly slid out, then pushed back inside again.

"Oh god," she muttered. "More - "

"Yes," he whispered.

He pulled out and thrust again, a delicious roll of the hips, and now he was picking up his pace, faster and faster, his body stroking hers as her toes began to curl and her breath caught in her throat. The roughness of the tree contrasted with the smoothness of his body, with his liquid movements, and the feel of him moving inside her was so intense she couldn't tell where she ended and he began, only knew the push and pull, in or out, it didn't matter, it wasn't enough, she needed more, more, more -

Breathlessly she called his name, her lips brushing over his elfin ear, and he jerked in his rhythm as he moaned out loud and tilted his head, exposing his throat to her. Eagerly she bent her mouth to him to drink in what he offered; she ran her tongue over his skin, seeking out the hammering beat of his heart, tracing the tendons with her teeth. Both of them were slippery with sweat and water, and the clean, salty taste of him filled her throat, so good, so much better than she had ever thought possible. With each swift thrust she felt herself go higher and higher, so tight around him that she thought each thrust might be the last, that he would break her open and she would sing with the revelation of shattering.

Desperately she bit down on his shoulder, hanging on for dear life, and he stuttered again in his stroke before stopping altogether.

Oh, no, oh please, no no no -

"Don't stop!" she cried, but he was moving, dipping to slide her leg from his shoulder to drop around his waist, pulling her away from the tree. His inhuman strength kept them upright and joined as he turned and lowered himself to the mossy ground, bringing her down even more firmly atop him, driving him deeper still -

- she felt him rub over something inside, and her breath caught in her throat as she readjusted her position -

- and then she was moving, and he gave his own soft cry as she increased their pace. Artlessly he fell back, stretching out on the moss-covered rock, his long silver hair spread around him, and Kagome could not contain her sharp gasp at the sight.

He was so beautiful.

So beautiful, spread out beneath her, so strong and vulnerable - he seemed almost amazed, almost confused, his lips parted as he panted in time with her own gulps of air, and she could see the edges of his stripes on his face, on his wrists, on his hips spreading, bleeding in jagged gashes over his skin. Behind her she felt his legs move, bending, planting his feet against the ground so he could push himself up harder. His hand rode her thighs as she rode him, lingering over the taut muscle before tracing up idly over her stomach, then dipping down to the place his talented tongue had found earlier. She felt his thumb brush over her, tracing a slippery circle that caused her hips to jerk momentarily out of her control.

"Sesshoumaru - "

Her voice was soft, a needy, pleading sound; she could almost see it reach through him and pull his back into an arch of want as he moved inside her, so deep she could taste him. Leaning back she braced her forearms on his thighs, and through the haze of his hand and his body in hers, Kagome marveled at how smoothly the rock-hard muscles glided beneath his skin.

His mouth was falling open in pleasure, his sharp, inhuman teeth gleaming in the moonlight, his golden eyes closing as he thrust helplessly into her, abandoned and wild.

The tightening was mounting, deeper this time, and she knew he could feel it too. It felt so good, seeing him lost to her, that she reached down and raked her fingernails over his stomach, wanting, in some way, to mark him as hers, just for here, just for now.

He surged upwards, catching her off guard, and she made a noise of surprise as he tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her head back, dragging his teeth over her throat, over her breasts, sending streaks of white across her vision as she ground against him and buried her hands in his hair. It ran through her fingers like water, fell over her arms like cool silk, and she was teetering on the edge, so close, so close -

"Yes - " she gasped as he nipped at her roughly. "Yes, yes, yes - "

His skin, his hand, his legs, his nose and mouth and hair and teeth and oh god oh god oh god, he was so good, like nothing she had ever known, and she knew nothing else ever again would be like this - it was so sweet, so sweet to feel it just this once, and her toes were curling, her hips grinding against his, and the pull of his body in hers made her sob with pleasure, the erotic sound of his panting breath and fierce groans stroking her as thoroughly as his shaft, and almost there almost there almost almost almost almost almostalmostalmostTHERE -

Kagome sank her teeth into his shoulder as she came hard, crying out her release into his skin, into his bones as around her the universe tipped over and turned inside out -

- and he still plumbed her body, seeking his own release, and oh, he wasn't stopping, was so close himself - desperately she ran her fingernails across his scalp, down his back, over his chest as he bent her back again, rocking his hips with graceless abandon as he sucked hard at her breast, scraped his fangs over her, making her cry out, jerk in their rhythm, twisting over him -

- and then he growled and came, pumping hot and hard inside her as he buried his face in her throat and snarled. Kagome could only run her fingers over him, concentrate on the shocks and sparks still coursing through her, on the feel of him emptying into her, on the feel of him, of just him, and oh, it was all she, all that she...

Their breathing slowed in time together. When their conflagration had finally subsided to tiny jerks and little after shocks, Sesshoumaru slowly released her. Sleepily, Kagome rocked back on his hips, still impaled, and met his satiated gaze. It was sexy, but strange - he had looked so lost only moments before...

"That was... unexpected," she said at last.

He was silent. Then:

"Perhaps," he replied.

"Perhaps?"

He shrugged leisurely.

For a moment she hesitated, then, feeling bold, she slipped her hands from around his shoulders, sliding up his throat until she gently cupped his face between them. Then she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on his brow before moving back.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He cocked an eyebrow, but somehow it seemed less scary when he was still inside her. Kagome let her inner muscles ripple around him, just to see how he would react; she was pleased when he closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.

"That was not charity," he said, as boredly amused as ever.

Kagome gave a small laugh. "I meant the flowers and herbs," she lied, feeling embarrassed.

He looked confused.

Wow, men DO get stupid after sex. "For my hair," she supplied.

"Ah," he said.

His eyes were weirdly soft, and there was a small silence as they looked at each other before Kagome gave him a small smile. "I should get cleaned up and go back," she said.

"Hm," he replied, leaning back. His eyes seemed to focus.

Kagome took this as her cue to slowly lift herself up and let him slide out. Semen dripped down her inner thighs as she stood, and for some reason that seemed to be embarrassing, despite the fact that she had quite happily let him stick his face down there not half an hour before. Quickly she turned away and slipped down the rocks and into the water.

When she was done cleaning up, she slowly dressed herself in her normal clothes before turning back to where Sesshoumaru still lay, staring up at the stars between the branches of the trees, one leg dangling over the rocks, toes nearly grazing the water.

She felt a little strange - not because she was regretting what she had done, but because she wasn't. It had been good. Wonderful. She wondered if she would feel different in the morning. She hoped not; it wasn't something she wanted to regret. It was something for her alone - and him, if he cared to remember it - something private that couldn't be taken away. Something done only for herself and not for anyone else. It felt nice, not to be selfless and self-sacrificing for once.

Also to finally get off. That felt nice, too.

"Sesshoumaru?"

He looked at her. He was still naked, and she was having a hard time not getting herself into a similar state and trying out some of the stuff she'd read in books.

"Um," she said before she was able to find her train of thought again. "Um, what did you mean, 'creating regrets'?"

He gave a little shrug and turned back to the stars.

She wanted to ask if he would regret this, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. "Okay," she said quietly. "That's fine." She turned to go.

"Regrets," he said suddenly, and she stopped and turned, startled.

"What?" she asked.

She thought she saw his mouth quirk. "One should never regret what one has done, miko," he said, "only what one hasn't."

At that she felt her own mouth curve into a smile. "Okay," she said, giving a little nod. "Right."

He closed his eyes.

"Good night, Sesshoumaru." Feeling lighthearted, Kagome turned back to the trees and walked forward.

"Your herbs."

What? Oh, yeah. Those.

She cast a smile back over her shoulder. "Thanks," she told him, "but I don't think I need them any more."

"Hm," he replied.

The quiet of the night filled the space between them again, and she realized he wasn't going to say anything else.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome turned back and walked into the woods.

It was three days later.

"Kagome-chan!"

Startled, Kagome looked up to see Sango looking at her with concern and realized she had been staring off into space, thinking again.

Her lips thinned in consternation at her preoccupied brain, though she shouldn't have been surprised that all her thoughts seemed to be drawn back in time, to a hot spring, to heated skin and water and hair and teeth and tongues and eyes -

"Kagome-chan!"

"What?" Kagome snapped guiltily. This was not good.

Sango huffed, sending a puff of air up into her bangs, lifting them momentarily from her face. "You've been distracted all day," her friend told her. "For the last few days. Even Inuyasha's starting to notice."

Kagome bit her lip and looked ahead to where Inuyasha walked ahead of the group. His ears were twitching. He was listening. This was probably not the best time to tell Sango all her girl troubles.

"It's nothing," she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm just thinking about... about the future."

It was partially true, at least. She was wondering if she would see Sesshoumaru again. Stupid, probably. If ever there had been a one-night stand, that had probably been it. Which was good, because she loved Inuyasha and he would be mightily upset if she started screwing his brother on a regular basis. Would probably be upset if he found out about that night, too.

Nice understatement, she told herself sourly.

She just wished she could stop thinking about it since, as a result, she might be even more frustrated than when she had started out, which was a state that she found extremely unfair.

"Are you worried?" Sango asked, once again cutting in on her thoughts.

Kagome nodded, for the sake of a quiet life. It was still true, after all.

Sighing, Sango nodded back in agreement. "I am too, a little," she confided. "I keep wanting to do something... I'm not sure what, though."

Get laid? Bang a monk? Kagome's mind suggested. Instead she just let her mouth twist.

"I feel like we're running out of time," Kagome said, voice low.

Sango said nothing, merely watched the ground beneath her feet move by.

Then, quite suddenly, her head snapped up.

"I - I need to go talk to houshi-sama," she said. "You should talk to Inuyasha. I think... I think he misses you."

Oh man...

Sango slowed her pace and fell behind, and after a moment she could hear her chatting quietly with Miroku. A quiet lover's chat. It made her chest hurt.

Ahead of her, Inuyasha twitched his ears.

She sighed. Nothing had changed, with the exception of her.

On the other hand, there was still time left. Perhaps she should make the best of things.

Kagome broke into a jog and caught up with the hanyou in front of her.

"Hey, Inuyasha," she said sweetly.

He gave her a sidelong look.

"Are you feeling better?" he wondered, blunt as ever.

No. Yes. Maybe.

She sighed again. Then, to Inuyasha's apparent surprise, she reached out and lifted one white lock from his shoulder.

"Tell me, Inuyasha," she chirped brightly, "have you ever thought of doing something with your hair?"