Spark by Kiska

The beginning of the end

The next step in their relationship just needed a little nudge. Or a push. Well, it needed something.

Kagome sighed and rubbed her eyes with her thumbs. Okay, so it was a rather lame excuse for the deception...but if it was going to happen anyway, what harm was there in helping along the natural progression?

More traditional means of seduction had met with disaster.

That really sexy jasmine perfume guaranteed to make men swoon just made him sneeze. Strawberry flavored lip gloss...well, InuYasha would've had to have gotten near her lips to actually appreciate it. Garters, sheer black stockings, and stiletto heels were not practical in feudal Japan. It wasn't like she could run to the store and grab a new pair when the inevitable snag and run happened. And the tripping. She'd never been graceful in the first place.

"He brought this on himself by being so oblivious! Stupid InuYasha," she grumbled.

Pressing cool hands to her shame heated cheeks, Kagome tried to banish the memories of all the stupid stunts she'd pulled trying to get the hanyou to be a little more...amorous. Keeping suckers from Shippo just so she could lick them suggestively had to be the worst. She groaned.

All attempts at making herself seem sexy and irresistible ended up making her seem foolish, and according to InuYasha, out of her mind.

She knew he loved her. Well, at least she was pretty sure.

Kagome held up the small vial containing the amber liquid she'd worked so hard to obtain...in complete secrecy no less! Before anyone could notice and ask her what the liquid was, she stuffed it back into her backpack, withdrawing a spiral bound notebook.

The rules were certainly complicated, and Kagome hoped she'd written down everything the old witch had said. A dab at her pulse, wrists, and over her heart, were the first steps. Then, but only if she was really certain she wanted to go through with it, Kagome would need to spread just a little on InuYasha's fingers. InuYasha would then be madly, head over heels in love with her...that is until the spell was...consummated.

Snapping the notebook shut, Kagome pursed her lips. She shouldn't do it. It was a lie. Well, sort of a lie. The spell would only work if there was attraction, but still....

On the other hand, she was eighteen now. Her duties to the jewel were completed. How much longer should she have to wait for that numb skull to get it through his head that they were meant to be? All her friends, even Sango, had known the joys of sex. Everyone but her. She'd been a good girl and saved herself for her one true love. Too bad said true love seemed totally oblivious to her needs.

Resolve firmed, Kagome grabbed the vial again and smeared the odorless oil on her wrists, the valley between her breasts, and the jumping pulse at her throat. She hopped up from the large rock she'd been sitting on and made her way back to Kaede's village in search of InuYasha.

#

InuYasha sat in the hut the villagers had given him for being one of the heroes who had defeated Naraku. Absently, he drummed his fingers on the low wooden table.

He was bored out of his mind.

That, and Kagome was driving him crazy.

Of course he knew what she wanted. He saw it in every heavy stare, every long sigh. But pretending to be dense was better than telling her the truth any day. Kagome was scary when she was angry...and, if pressed, he had to admit that he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

How could he tell her that he just didn't...just couldn't feel the same way about her? She was his best friend, but his heart still belonged to someone else. Stupid heart. He wanted to love Kagome, he did. She deserved it.

He'd even tried to make himself kiss her a couple times. In the end, he couldn't go through with it. Maybe someday, he thought, maybe someday I'll love her back like she deserves.

"Feh," he muttered. That wasn't fair either. He'd made her wait long enough. Pounding his fist on the table, InuYasha got to his feet. He was going to tell her today. He was a man, dammit! He couldn't go around being scared of some silly girl's temper.

Just her broken heart.

InuYasha slumped back down, face in his hands. "What a mess," he whispered.

He smelled her before she entered the hut. At least she'd gotten the hint about that horrid perfume. His body stiffened as she moved aside the curtain and stood before him. She wasn't dressed weird. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey," she said with a bright smile, but he knew better. She was nervous. Her heart was pounding, her blood racing so hard and fast through her veins that he could hear it. Her fingers twitched, fiddling with the hem of her sleeveless shirt.

He grunted in response to her greeting and stared at the wood grain of the table as though it were the most fascinating thing in the whole world.

This was not going to go well.

"Kagome...we need to talk," he said.

#

The smile plastered on her face was beginning to hurt just as much as the pain in her chest.

A villager greeted her, but Kagome couldn't hear the young woman. Just a loud ringing in her ears. She walked faster and faster until she was running.

She kept running long after she'd left the village and InuYasha's forest.

Her first thought had been the well and home, but she didn't even want to face her mother right now. She didn't want to see anyone. Or rather, she didn't want anyone to see her cry. And she was going to cry. Maybe for a long time.

The woods were dense, the air chilly on her heated skin. She stopped running, gulping for breath. Kagome sank to her knees feeling like the biggest fool in the history of forever. The first tear actually felt like it scalded her cheek.

Burying her face in her hands, Kagome let go. She was thankful for one thing at least. InuYasha hadn't seen her cry. She'd smiled when he told her...even when she felt her mouth turn to ash and all the color leave her face. She'd patted him on the hand and told him it was all right. They were friends! They'd always be friends.

Just friends.

Nothing else.

Her face a mess of tears and snot, Kagome's hands slid from her face to her chest. "Ow," she whispered. "Ow."

Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, Kagome withdrew the glass vial, now only half full of the amber oil. She rose to her feet and drew her arm back. She threw the thing as far as she could.

"Stupid!" she yelled, the loudness of her voice silencing the chirps of the birds in the trees. "I'm so stupid!"

"Indeed," a smooth voice said from the shadowed stand of trees where she'd seen the vial disappear into.

She knew that voice. Oh...oh shit, she thought, the muscles in her thighs tensing as she prepared to run.

Sesshomaru stepped into the dappled light, his face bearing no expression. "You will deliver a message to InuYasha," he said, a sneer curling his lip as he said his half brother's name. Even after helping them defeat Naraku the brothers were still on bad terms. At least Sesshomaru didn't bug them about the sword anymore.

Kagome could only stare in wide-eyed horror at the oil glistening on his long tapered fingers. He held the now cracked vial in his hand, and it was leaking all over said hand.

He held it up for her inspection. "I believe you...dropped this," he said blandly.

A great whoosh of air left her lungs. Had Sesshomaru not been standing there capable of killing her at any moment, she would've laughed. She'd actually been afraid that the spell of the potion would work on him. How silly. There had to be some spark of attraction for it to work. As if.

"Oh," she said, holding out her hand. He dropped the vial into her waiting palm. "Um...thanks. I guess." She put it back in her front pocket.

Kagome followed his steely gaze to his hand. He was staring at the mess. He looked annoyed. This was a bad sign for her health. Hastily, Kagome reached into her back pocket and produced a wrinkled hankie...her mother insisted to this very day that she should never leave home without one. "Um...here...for your...hand," she said, holding it out, puffy eyes on her scuffed tennis shoes.

He stared at it.

She stared at him staring at it.

The tension made her want to leap out of her skin. She couldn't take it anymore. As she reached for his wrist, Kagome wondered if her heart break was making her suicidal. Quickly, refusing to look at him, she wiped the mess off his fingers and stuffed the oily hankie back into her pocket. "There!" she chirped.

Several seconds ticked by, and she was still alive. Deciding that she'd had enough for one day, Kagome turned to go.

"My message," he drawled.

She let out a nervous laugh that sounded too loud and made her cringe. "Oh! Right. I'll be happy to deliver your message."

Sesshomaru reached into his obi and then handed her a rolled up piece of parchment. He pressed it into her palm, and the pads of his fingers slipped over her wrist, his claws just barely catching her skin. Her pulse jumped at the contact. Getting your heart broken was enough trouble for one day...she didn't need to be scared witless too. Stupid fate. Maybe it was karma. Whatever it was, it was cruel.

He leaned forward, so close she could feel the warm puffs of his breath on her tear-stained cheek. He inhaled sharply, golden eyes narrowing. His fingers were still on her wrist. They twitched, and Kagome nearly died of a heart attack.

She clenched her eyes shut. He's going to kill me! Oh god, he's going to tear my face off...or melt me. Of all people...why'd I have to run into him!

"Tell me, miko," he said, "Where is InuYasha? You've wandered far from his protection."

Swallowing at the lump forming in her throat, Kagome could only shake her head. She heard a rustle of silk and felt the heat of him through her clothes. The tip of his nose just brushed her cheek. Suddenly, she heard a high-pitched whining. It took her several moments to realize it was her making that noise.

She opened her eyes slowly. He was gone. Or rather, he was standing several feet away. Kagome swayed on her feet, the hammering of her pulse rocking her on her heels.

Gasping, Kagome took a faltering step backwards. Sesshomaru had a very strange look on his face. He was staring at her with half-lidded eyes, a slow smile spreading over his thin lips. If Kagome didn't know better, and she did, she would have called the look "smoldering".

She laughed, scratching the back of her head. "Um...well...I'll see to it that InuYasha gets your message."

He inclined his head, strands of his silvery white hair slipping over his shoulder. "You had best hurry along little miko before it gets dark." His gaze raked over her in a way that made her want to double check and make sure she was wearing...clothes. "You would make a tempting morsel for a hungry demon." He licked his lips.

Kagome's mouth dropped open.

Sesshomaru turned his back on her and began to leisurely walk away. "Perhaps...I will see you again," he said before disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

Kagome stared at the spot he'd vanished into for a long time. Shaking her head, she roused herself from her stupor.

"That," she said, "Was really weird."

She began to walk back, her feet feeling heavier every step she took. "Ugh," she groaned. "Why did I agree to take a message to InuYasha? I don't want to see him right now."

All thoughts of Sesshomaru's odd behavior fled from her mind, replaced by nervous dread.

#

He watched her walk, her chin to her chest. Occasionally, the girl would pause and wipe a tear away.

So...the girl and my worthless half brother had a falling out, did they? Most curious. Sesshomaru smiled from the cover of shadow.

He wasn't exactly sure why he was following her. It just seemed like the thing to do...and he wanted to make sure the little fool delivered his message. Yes, that was it. Of course.

Sesshomaru would simply make sure his message arrived in a timely fashion...and ignore the way the sway of her hips as she walked made his pulse jump...or the way her scent made his entire body shudder.