Once a week by Neva

Enter the stage

This is just for fun really. I am looking for a proofreader if anyone would like to volunteer.

Staring at the dull yellow tiles in her shower Kagome struggled to remember how this had all happened. Surely it wasn’t as fast as it seemed in hindsight. Squeezing out more of the heavy scented body gel into her loofah she slathered it all over her, grinning and hoping the scent was strong enough till she could get the story straight….

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Twenty-two year old Kagome Higurashi sighed with relief as she let herself sink into the delicious hot water of the spring. Yes this was definitely what she needed. The sky above her was pure ink dotted with diamonds, the air was slightly cool, just causing steam to show over the water and the song of crickets threatened to lure her into sleep. Unfortunately sleeping in a hot spring came attached with a large list of dangers, so she roused her self and began her ritual of bathing, first her hair, then her body, all with particular, unscented products so as not to capture unwanted attention. Kagome wondered idly how many years it had been since she had been able to bath with something that made her smell pretty, she wondered how many years it would be before she could start again. A small smile tugged at her pink lips though, things were progressing much faster now that Sesshomaru had joined them. Much faster indeed. It pleased her that with every shard they gathered, every demon Sesshomaru so easily dealt with that Inuyasha had to deal with her being right.

It had been her idea to ask the cold Lord to join them in their endeavor. It took some persuasion but eventually they all agreed that if he was going after Naraku too, why shouldn’t they help each other, at least till the vile half demon was dead. Kagome had taken it upon herself to go to him, and ask him to do this, much to Inuyasha’s annoyance. She arrived alone on Kirara, he had simply looked at her with no expression, even as she got down and bowed as proper as she could, her face practically in the dirt, and made her request. It was there that she had voiced her true reasoning.

“Inuyasha…He…” Kagome swallowed thickly.

“Inuyasha can not do this Sesshomaru.”

Yes, those words had gotten a reaction out of him.

“Go on.” He arched an eyebrow.

“He has the strength but not the skill, you know this. Help us, help him and when it is all over, Naraku is dead and everyone is ok, you may have your battle with Inuyasha. A fair one, between you and him.”

The words tasted like venom in Kagome’s mouth but they all knew there had to be something to entice Sesshomaru.

“Hn…Inuyasha has agreed to this?”

She only gave a sharp nod.

“This Sesshomaru will consider your request, return to your half breed and humans, miko.”

Lost in thought Kagome plunged her head underwater to rinse out the shampoo. She had gone to him over a year ago, he joined them a little more then a week after they spoke and it simply was. He traveled with them silently, Kagome estimated that his help was cutting the time they would have taken to get so much done in half.

Sitting back down into the warmth of the water, Kagome was startled to hear someone approaching. She turned her head slowly and practically gaped at Sesshomaru as he walked to the other side of the spring, not even looking at her and began to slowly remove his armor. Stupidly she wondered what he was doing till her brain began to work again and reasoned he must be bathing. It was very late at night, he must do this once they had all gone to bed. A few less then holy thoughts crossed her mind about him bathing; he must look spectacular under the moonlight. A wicked little grin flashed over her lips before she told herself she had no intention of finding out. She may have given up on Inuyasha but that didn’t mean she was going to start stalking his brother.

Shaking her head just a bit she reached up and snatched her towel, expertly holding it up as she stood so her body was not exposed to him, stepped out of the water, grabbed her backpack and headed back for camp. She could stop in the woods to put on her clothing. Only once her back was turned did Sesshomaru cast a glance at the dark haired woman, her figure wrapped wonderfully in a piece of fabric. It had taken him awhile to get past what he remembered her as being, a useless human female teen, loud and annoying. She was now clearly a woman comfortable with herself and her powers as a miko. He watched her walk till the darkness of the trees consumed her, sneering at himself as thoughts pertaining to her slender legs crossed his mind.

The next morning Sesshomaru said nothing to her of their strange, silent encounter. She wondered how often her bathed, he was always pristine, never a hair out of place. Kagome reasoned he probably bathed at least once a week, perhaps even the same night every week, unless he was particularly dirty. He seemed to be a creature that liked routine. As they cleaned up camp and began to trek onward, she amused herself by expanding on her ideas of Sesshomaru’s bathing habits. Yes, if a demon exploded all over him he would have to bathe that night, the Lord of the West can’t stink. If he doesn’t dry himself completely, will he smell of wet dog? She almost giggled at the though of him shaking himself dry. Catching herself and staying quiet she glanced around her. Miroku and Sango were chatting softly, Kirara and Shippo were marching along together happily, and Inuyasha was walking ahead of her, which left Sesshomaru in the back. Suddenly bored, she pulled out her MP3 player and put on her headphones, no one taking much notice as they plod along the dirt road for the rest of the day.

One week later, Kagome decided to follow up on her Sesshomaru Bath Time theory and see if he bathed the same night every week. Right as everyone was settling down, she ‘randomly’ decided she did need a bath after all, and promising to be fast, she grabbed her bag and practically skipped to the spring. Sesshomaru did not eat with them in the evenings, he always stalked off somewhere but no one knew where and no one was going to ask him. They assumed whatever it was that he ate for dinner he must not want to eat it around them. Kagome wondered if he didn’t go check on Rin every night, he never brought her with, though she wished he would, she like the young woman.

Setting her items out along the water she did a mental check list that everything she needed was right there and proceed to wash quickly and then sit and soak in the water. The only thing to do now was wait.

Twenty minutes into convincing herself she was nuts, she heard familiar footsteps coming towards the pool. This time when she turned to look at him, he looked at her as well and acknowledged her with a small nod, she nodded back, a sank into the water a bit deeper and watched as he walked to a spot and began the careful process of removing his armor. At this Kagome decided she wasn’t brave enough to watch him undress yet and excused herself.

For weeks this continued, once a week they seemed to ‘meet’ late at night with no one else the wiser. Little to nothing was said, but there slowly grew a sort of comfort between them and Kagome stayed there longer and longer. Eventually Sango noticed that the same night every week Kagome was bathing late and not coming back till they were all asleep. She gave Sango the lame excuse of just needed some private time to relax and collect her thoughts. Later though, while sitting quietly in a spring while Sesshomaru soaked on the other end, she reflected on what she had said, and found it surprisingly true. Sesshomaru demanded nothing of her, didn’t pester her about why she couldn’t be more like this, or why couldn’t she do that, or could you please bring me more this? She could relax, have her quiet and just be herself with the comfort of another person present. Somehow she had the feeling he agreed with her.

“Don’t look Sesshomaru” She said in a slightly stern voice.

“Hn.” Was his only reply as he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of water streaming off her bare body when she stood. Her bag rustled and he heard her pull on some clothing. The tiniest of smiles pulled at his lips, wondering what she would be wearing this week. The woman seemed to have an endless choice of clothing.

“Ok, you can open your eyes.”

He opened them and looked at her. She was wearing long loose ‘pajama’ pants as she called up and a sleeveless white ‘tank top’. He watched her stretch delightfully, arching her body and presenting her full breasts quite nicely. Perched on a rock she settled down and opened the small book she had been reading slowly in the light of her tiny lantern, a ‘flashlight’.

Sesshomaru watched her fidget, her eyes still glued to the pages she was reading. He had glanced at the pages the week before, but the writing was foreign to this eyes and he could not make sense of it.

"What are you reading?"

"Hm?"

She looked up at him, her eyes a bit hazy for a moment, still lost in what she was reading.

"Oh. Um. Its a book a friend lent me, its fiction." She tried to word it in a way that would make sense to him.

"What language is it in."

Kagome bit her lip. "Well," she shut the book as she considered the easiest to understand way of explaining what he wanted to know. "Its written in English by an American author."

She watched him mouth the strange words to himself. "What is an 'American'?" he asked in a rather dull tone.

"Um. Its a person that lives in a country called America. Their books, music and other popular arts have a strong influence all over the globe."

His left eyebrow twitched slightly as he thought about what she had said. "Does this America govern the globe?"

Kagome couldn’t help but give a light laugh. "No, its just very popular."

"Next week, you will show me some of this."

"Ok, what would you like, books? Music?"

Sesshomaru considered his options carefully before deciding. "Music."

Kagome nodded and smiled, and then found herself yawning. "Time for bed." She proclaimed and began gathering up her things, shoving them in her backpack and then nodded towards Sesshomaru. "Good night Sesshomaru."

He merely nodded lightly and she headed off towards the camp, leaving a curious dog demon behind.

The next week forced Inuyasha to agree to let her make a quick visit home for ‘supplies’. She loaded up her MP3 player with as many genres of music as she could think of, not knowing what he may or may not be interested in. The whole day her mind was consumed with her secret evening events, dare she even admit it, excited? She found herself making comments that only Sesshomaru would find the real meaning in. Making a faces at him and perhaps she imagined it, but she thought she saw the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly in a quick smile, just for her. It made her feel special and connected to him when so few people were.

That night as she slipped off to find that small series of springs they had stopped near. Something akin to nervousness tickled her stomach when she saw that only one of the springs was actually useable for bathing. They would be closer then normal.

No big deal Kagome, pull it together. Her nerves danced and her heart raced, she felt like she had lost her mind. Here she was having secret night meetings with Sesshomaru of all people.

She didn’t expect him to come for awhile so she began to undress. In the process of tugging off her shirt, she heard a male clearing his throat. Kagome whipped around, peering at him thru the neck hole of her shirt, embarrassed to have him see her like this. He strode over calmly and reached around her to unhook her shirt from where it had gotten caught on the hook to her bra. Her shirt instantly slid over her head and she lowered her arms to cover her chest. For a moment they stood there in silence, his fingers still lightly touching her skin, until Sesshomaru cleared his throat again and turned slowly away from her so she could finish undressing.

Kagome stood there for a moment with the feeling that something had just happened between them but she had no idea what. Quickly she shed the rest of her clothing and walked into the water. Sesshomaru turned just enough to watch her get into the water, seeing only her back side. What a gorgeous back side it was, her curves were perfect, soft and graceful. The temptation to run his fingers over her body was overwhelming.

Once she had settled herself, she politely kept her head turned from where he was removing his own clothing, not looking up until the sound of his movement in the water had stopped. A nervous shrill ran thru her body, they had never really planned to spend this time together before. She washed herself carefully, he simply sat in the water and watched her occasionally, for the first time it actually made her a bit uncomfortable. Soon after she had gotten out and dressed, he did the same, coming to stand near her when he was finished.

“Would you like to hear the music I brought?” Kagome swallowed hard and looked up at him.

Sesshomaru looked straight into her midnight blue eyes and nodded.

“You don’t have to be super serious about it, its just music.” Kagome gave an easy smiled and patted the ground next to her. She was wearing a loose long sleeve shirt and some warm flannel pants, while he was only wearing his hakama and a barely closed hadajuban. Sesshomaru sat next to her, legs folded just like hers and she pulled out her MP3 player, plugging in the head phones. Biting her lip a bit she looked at him.

“Do you want to share headphones?” In her hands she held the small round devices he assumed she was mentioned. Sesshomaru nodded and took one from her hand, inspecting it a bit. Round, hard on one side, and cushioned on the other, with a strip of black hard but flexible material that curved.

“Here” Kagome mumbled a bit indicating that he should watch her. She pushed her hair behind her ear on her left side, took the headphone and curved the strip of plastic over her ear so it fit snugly. Looking down at his own, he repeated her actions on his right side.

“Well I figured that I would kind of give you a sampling, then whatever interested you more we could listen to more.” Looking at him, Sesshomaru didn’t say anything but she felt his agreement and began to scroll thru the menu, the screen lighting up brightly in the night.

Kagome started with classical music, then moved to rap, hip hop, rock, pop, country and all sorts of other inbetweens, some in Japanese others in different languages. Sesshomaru listened to everything with out complaint, Kagome watching him carefully.

Two hours passed before her ‘sample’ was done. When the last song finished Sesshomaru nodded slowly, feeling a bit wiser then before. Music in Kagome’s time certainly was varied. Somehow he felt he understood her just a bit better.

The headache that had bloomed behind Kagome’s eyes early that afternoon was still pounding as she slid into the heated water.

“Ooooooh….god” She moaned as the water touched her skin, her eyes fluttering shut with pleasure. The arguing had begun quickly that morning, Inuyasha being his arrogant, ignorant self, calling her a demeaning name and everything had just gone to hell from there.

“Your brother is so frustrating!” she spat out finally, Sesshomaru’s expression flickered only slightly, he seemed to be contemplating something.

She looked up at him, face weary. “What's on your mind huh?” She blinked as she studied him, having gotten quite good at reading him in the months passed.

Sesshomaru seemed to be giving what he was about to say a lot of thought and Kagome leaned back, figuring that when he was ready, he would say it. That was one big difference between the two brothers, Sesshomaru actually thought. She smirked at looked at him, his gorgeous hair floating in the water. How did he keep his hair so perfect and pretty. Kagome resolved to ask him sometime.

Sesshomaru on the other hand was considering much more serious matters. Matters that hopefully eventually ended with his tongue on various parts of her body. Yes that would be the most desired outcome, but that may take awhile and he accepted that. Tonight was the set up.

“Inuyasha has not yet mated you.” He said it in a tone that mixed question and statement.

Kagome’s eyebrow tweaked slightly while her face remained deadpan as she stared at him. A thought occurred to Sesshomaru that he probably wore that same expression quite often.

“PFFT that bastard. Who gives a flying fuck? Not him THAT’S for sure” She huffed loudly and folded her arms around her chest, causing her breasts to be smashed and raised up. Sesshomaru unconsciously licked his lips just a tiny bit.

“No, no, I’m just a shard collector, I cant have a life, I cant have feelings, its all about him and his god damn shards! URG! Do you even know what I’ve missed for this?” She gestured about. “Friends, boys, dates, SEX!”

Kagome tossed her hands in the air with frustration. Her breasts bounced in the most lovely manner beneath the water.

“Sex?” he ventured slowly, please with how fast they got to the subject.

“Oh yes, sex. Contact with the opposite sex in general. I mean, Sango has that pervert Miroku” Kagome gave a sweet smile at the thought of her friends “And I came to terms with Inuyasha years ago, I love him, but he is an idiot. But what am I supposed to do? Shippo is too young and like a son to me, Kouga…..yeah no, he would want to do the whole thing, mates, kids, etc. I mean not that I don’t want that one day, but you know I was a teenager, I couldn’t handle that. I mean, I have to stay a virgin I’m pretty sure, and it was decided for me that it was best not to find out if I could detect shards after fucking.”

Sesshomaru was half listening and half fantasizing.

“I am under the impression that humans undergo sexual awakening in their ‘teens’.”

“Oh yeah, it was hell, it still is in fact” She glared at a particularly offensive rock. “And you know, he keeps me here as long as he can, with no regards to any of my needs.” She blushed a bit as her needs floated around her mind. Glancing at Sesshomaru she saw he appeared to be paying quite a bit of attention to her, his eyes looked positively steamy. Eyes glazing over every so slightly she took in what she could see of his exposed body, Yes since joining them, he had managed to appear in her fantasies quite often. Who could blame her, he was flawless and hot, plus she felt a wicked streak for getting off to visions of Inuyasha's brother. ‘Mmm,’ kagome moaned a bit in her head at the idea of Sesshomaru, streaming hot spring water off of him as he stood up. Oh yes, that was a keeper for later.

Sesshomaru frowned as she has stopped talking and was now staring off at the tree line, eyes at half mast, grinning and biting her bottom lip. He was confused till her scent spiked with arousal and then a slightly predatory grin slid over his face. Taking advantage of her obvious distraction, he moved much closer to her in the spring. Her scent was heavenly and he rarely got to be so close to her. Having to control himself lest he scare her away was torture.

“Kagome.” His breath came out a bit more husky then he had intended but him speaking seemed to bring her out of her dream land and she looked at him, suddenly blushing like mad.

“Oh, um yeah, what was I saying?” She shook her head a little and sunk a little deeper into the water. Had he gotten closer?

“Ah, you had said something about needs.” His deep voice seem to wash over her, making her cheeks burn at the hidden context he seemed to lace into his tone.

“Yeah.” She looked at him slowly, various fantasies once again flooding her brain. His tongue sliding over her neck, his cool hair spilling onto her hot skin, something long and thick curing her horrible ache, wrapping her legs around him till she was never empty again. Kagome felt that familiar heat in the bottom of her stomach, that fluttering desire making her brain foggy.

Sesshomaru’s breath hitched a bit as she gazed at him, her eyes flaring, her arousal making him drunk and her hands had begun to slowly rub her thighs under the water. He couldn’t wait any longer; it had been so long already.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. Sesshomaru moved effortlessly closer to her, till he leaned in and placed his hand on her neck with a surprisingly gently touch. “Kagome” he whispered, her lips brushing her neck making her shiver.

“Sessh..Sesshomaru.” She breathed out, her eyes fluttering closed as his lipped dragged down her skin leaving a burning trail. His hand reached up slowly and wrapped around her neck as he moved up and pressed his lips to hers. Kagome bent towards him as best she could, annoyed that their position was causing a gap between their bodies. Sesshomaru slid is tongue over her lips seeking entry to her mouth and she readily granted it. Moaning into his mouth Kagome reached out her hands slowly and let them rest on his chest, she was too shy at the moment to move them further.

Her mouth was hot and she tasted better then he could have ever imagined, like peaches and honeysuckle, her holy powers lending a tang to the mix. His inner beast was begging to be let out, to mount the and properly dominate the miko. Frowning a bit Sesshomaru broke kiss and pulled back slightly. Kagome leaned back against the rock, closing her eyes and letting her head lean back, exposing her pale throat. Something within Sesshomaru shook at the sight, her face flushed with passion and so exposed. He could feel his beast rising, wishing to claim this human girl as his mate. Mentally he fought this powerful urge down, lest he do the unthinkable. He was only interested in the girl sexually of course he reassured himself, it is simply his beasts nature to want to mate this lovely young woman before him. Leaning down and lightly nipping her collarbone he murmured her name, ignoring the strange sensation he felt when he said it. He would not acknowledge such things.

“You need your rest kagome.”

Her eyes flew open, he could see that she was about to take what he said as a rejection.

“You need to keep your energy up, for tomorrow of course.” He let a sly grin appear and narrowed his eyes just slightly as he stepped away from her. An impish grin broke out on her face and she blushed at what his tone was suggesting.

“Yeah, of course.” She breathed. Sesshomaru could already smell her excitement.

For the next week kagome could barely keep her excitement to herself, why she was so excited she couldn’t say. She should be offended shouldn’t she? Repulsed? Something besides this lustful longing, this fluttering excitement. She got butterflies in her tummy just looking at him. It was hard to control it. Sesshomaru of course acted no different, and slowly she wondered if the kiss had been a one-time thing, and she had misread him. The night finally came and she was shaking with nervousness as she walked to the spring. It was far enough away from camp she couldn’t even smell the fire, or see any of its light thru the trees. Swallowing hard she looked towards the water, and saw a small lantern already lit for her to find it easier. Was Sesshomaru being thoughtful? She shook the thought out of her head, it was just her wanting him to be thoughtful and sweet that made her look for it in his actions. Kagome reminded herself that he was a cold killer, that happened to be really hot, and a great kisser.

Stepping into the clearing, she spotted him already soaking in the water. He looked at her but didn’t say anything, looked away politely as she undressed and stepped into the water. Kagome was a bit surprised, he acted completely normal, listening to her idly chat about the day. She felt strangely upset, like he was ignoring what had happened between them. Kagome wouldn’t admit it but she wanted it to happen again, unfortunately she lacked the boldness to start anything.

By time she got out and dressed she had resigned herself to accepting that his mind about her had changed. Pulling out her music player she was startled by Sesshomaru suddenly requesting to listen to it.

“Yeah sure. Why not.” Kagome mumbled and walked over to a large oak tree, sitting back against the thick trunk. He joined her after a few minutes and they settled in to listen together.

After a few songs kagome had closed her eyes and started to doze lightly so it was no surprise that she gasped in shock when she felt a pair of warm lips gently press on her neck. His hand settled on her shoulder lightly and her mouth formed a small ‘o’ before she leaned her head into his kisses slightly, letting a soft sigh form.

Determined to get a bit farther this night, Sesshomaru made his way down her neck to her collarbone and then up to her lips, taking her swiftly into a deep kiss. She moaned against his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his long hair. He growled with pleasure, wrapping one arm around her waist, while still cradling her head with his other, pulling her tightly against him before laying her down on the ground. She squeaked a bit at the sudden movement but quickly repositioned herself, her legs snaked around his waist. He growled again and she giggled until he pushed his erection against her thigh, and she looked up at him with wide eyes, caught between longing and fear.

“Do not worry miko, I will not take you…yet.” His voice was less controlled then normal, thick with desire.

Kagome just nodded, her mouth had gone dry at the thought of Sesshomaru ‘taking’ her. Sesshomaru resumed his spot at her collarbone, going lower till he met fabric. With disapproval on his face he leaned back a bit and hastily tugged off her tank top. Kagome shivered as the cool air met her hot skin, her breasts exposed. Without pause he dipped back down and took one pink nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it, eliciting a small cry of pleasure from the woman under him. He traced the space between her breasts with his tongue till he found her other nipple, lavishing the same attention upon it as the other. Kisses trailed from her breasts to her belly button as she writhed beneath him in pleasure. Hearing her small gasps of delight Sesshomaru could not help the smile that formed on his lips. Once he had reached the edge of her pants he stopped the onslaught and ever so gently ran a fingertip across her smooth skin, dipping below the fabric to tease her. His nose twitched as he smelled the arousal that bloomed between her legs. Kami, she smelled like heaven he thought as he inhaled deeply.

“Mmm…Sesshomaru…”

Glancing up he eyes feasted on the vision before him, Kagome squirmed a bit, her face flushed, her eyes shut with her lips parted slightly as she panted lightly.

“Kagome.” He murmured softly, leaning back up to kiss her. One of his hands disappearing below the fabric till they encountered her strange undergarments but his long fingers slipped right under those as well. She moaned against this mouth as his thumb brushed over her clit, but he kept moving down, anxious to feel the heat he knew was there. He slid one finger slowly over her slit dipping down just slightly into her opening. She groaned and bucked her hips slightly as he broke the kiss and looked at her. Slowly he brought his thumb up back to her clit and rub it a bit, earning a small gasp. Working it a bit more he kept sliding his fingers back and forth a long her growing wetness, till his fingers were wonderfully slick.

Kagome gasped and her eyes shot open as she felt him slide one finger into her cautiously. She instinctively tightened around his finger and heard him hiss a bit as he felt it. His thumb still working her clit he began to slide his finger in and out of her in perfect rhythm. His touch electrified her body, she felt hot all over, her body slowly growing tense, a familiar pressure growing.

She reached up one hand and let it rest on his shoulder, occasionally gripping the silk of his juban tightly when another wave of pleasure hit her.

“Oh…oooh…OH!” He had slipped in two fingers now and she ground down against his hand, He responded by fucking her faster and pressing harder on her clit.

“Oh no…oh god, oh Sesshomaru.” She panted heavily, her nails digging into his shoulder. She was dizzy, her body was on fire and tingling, the world seemed to be dropping into darkness all around her and all that was left was this feeling he was making her feel.

“Oh god, your gonna-“ She sucked in another breath. “your gonna, gonna, oh god your gonna make me come!.”

He seemed to purr at this statement, she felt it more then she heard it. She was sopping wet and so tight around his fingers, Sesshomaru desperately fantasized about how she would feel wrapped around his cock. He felt the telltale tremors of her walls just as she her fingers dug deep into his skin and she tensed, her eyes squeezing shut, still panting out his name. Kami how he loved to hear her saying his name, especially as she came. His male pride couldn’t possibly get any higher then it was at this moment.

Sesshomaru watched as her body shivered with pleasure, still slowly pumping his fingers in and out of her as she came down.

“Ooohhh.” She relaxed her grip on him and laid down slowly, already wanting to fall into sleep. “You have totally ruined me. I’ll never be able to do that for myself.”

“Well then, I will just have to do it for you.”

Smirking a bit he removed his fingers from her and quickly licked them clean, only taking a moment to savor her sweet taste. Noticing she was drifting off to sleep, Sesshomaru quickly brushed her face with his hand.

“You must dress and go back to camp Kagome.”

“Hm? Oh. Ok.” She mumbled already half asleep.

Taking her hands he pulled to her feet and helped her dress and stumble back to camp, immensely please at having been able to have this night with the little miko.

The day had been so quiet too, Kagome whined in her head. Growling and glaring she looked at what she assumed was a snake demon. It sort of looked like a snake at least. Whatever the hell it was, it was really wrecking her day.

For the last two weeks there had been more frequent attacks, Naraku’s minions seeking them out. Every day they traveled and she felt the presence of shards more and more. The increasing attacks only confirmed their suspicion that they were drawing near to Naraku.

They had seen him roughly a month ago, and Sesshomaru had dealt what could have been a fatal blow. Since then they had been traveling a lot in attempts to find him while he was vulnerable.

The snake demon was accompanied by a small mob of random demons that varied from simple beast to almost human in appearance. Some of these more intelligent demons had taken a liking to her. Unfortunately for her they weren’t exactly weak, and purifying so many was beginning to exhaust her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw that Inuyasha was still grappling with the giant snake, its acid venom beginning to make holes in his robe where it had dripped on him. Miroku and Sango where holed up against the base of the one of the sheer cliffs above them, fighting off the demons. Her eyes scanned looking for that familiar white and red haori, the rocks dissolving from the acid was making a nasty fog. There he was, she saw him finally, and he was fighting something. She strained her eyes only to see the Wind Witch Kagura.

“Fuck” she muttered, flinching when one of the demons by her touched her small barrier and injured itself.

“I said back OFF fuckface!” Closing her eyes she held the barrier for a moment longer before pushing it out in a sort of explosion. The demons screamed in pain and in their moment of distraction she found the energy to purify them. It came at a cost though, and Kagome slumped to the ground, breathing heavily.

The light show seemed to have caught the snakes attention and wearily kagome lifted her head to see it slowly heading towards her.

Why me, why is it always me.

Kagome wanted to sob but realized she needed to move away from the snake till Inuyasha could get its attention. Where was he after all? Looking around frantically, she a saw a lump of red by a large rock, he was just barely conscious it seemed.

Crap crap crap. Time to get up kagome! Her brain forced her tired legs to get up and she began to run, right as the snake started spitting venom at her. Between the dust in the air from all the fights and the acid burning everything, Kagome was having a hard time seeing and breathing. Coughing hard she ducked into what she hoped was the entrance of a small cave but to her dismay only found that it was an incredibly shallow dip with a jagged wall blocking her only escape.

Why hadn’t I run towards the others? Kagome berated herself mentally at her foolishness to run away from the group. A hissing pool of acid as it formed far too close to close to her feet make her look up with horror. The serpent seemed to be grinning in an evil way, like it was debating on eating her up or watching her melt. Her heart pounding in panic she could see something red running closer as the snaked moved in to kill her, but she didn’t feel better. Thoughts formed frantically, she couldn’t defend herself, she couldn’t run. No no no! Inuyasha would never make it. She screamed the name of the only person she knew could.

Sesshomaru's ear twitched at the scream and he whipped around, absorbing the situation instantly. That fool half-breed had let the miko get separated from the group. Summoning his poison whip to his fingers he aimed not for the witch but her feather mount, and sent her spinning away. Instantly he turned and put all his energy into his run. He had been a fool not to guard her more carefully. To have her killed while he was there would stain his reputation! Her death would be most displeasing as he had not yet even begun to advance their relationship, and Sesshomaru hated things to be left unfinished.

Sprinting towards her his eyes narrowed as he saw the snake preparing to strike. Luckily, the creature was being cocky and taking longer then necessary. Timing would be everything, but it was unthinkable that he could fail.

The demon had neglected his back side, it was completely open to attack. Perfect.

Leaping upwards, he brought out Tokijin and with a simple flick of his wrist let loose an arc of power straight for the spine of the snake. The arc burned thru the thick scales and began to melt the bone, and predictably the snake roared in pain, arching back and away from Kagome. It gave Sesshomaru the perfect opening to dive in for Kagome.

Kagome didn’t have nearly enough time to prepare for the impact of being literally swept off her feet by the dog demon. Any oxygen in her lungs bid a hasty departure, her ribs bent under the force of his impact. She would definitely be feeling this in the morning.

That of course was the upside, there would be a morning in her future.

Her arms found his neck of their own accord, and she thanked them mentally, clinging to Sesshomaru like a child. They flew so fast, she couldn’t even hear, the wind was so loud in her ears. He must be taking them to the top of the cliff, far above the fight.

When his feet touched the solid earth, Sesshomaru let out the breath he had apparently been holding. Squeezing his grip on her just a little tighter, he bent down and meant to let her slip out of his grasp. To his surprise, kagome stayed right where she was. Her breath was ragged and he could smell the sharp salt of tears that were no doubt preparing to fall. Not pleasant.

“Kagome…” Sesshomaru’s voice came out softer then he expected, so quiet he wasn’t sure she had even heard him. He felt her nod and nuzzle against his neck for a moment, an action that brought heat to his face. She pulled away slowly, marveling at how quiet it was here with Sesshomaru. A soft breeze blew his hair around them, and she leaned back just enough to look into his face, still keeping her arms wrapped around his neck.

Sesshomaru was not prepared in the least for what he saw when she looked at him. Her eyes were soft and her lids heavy, blue shining back at him thru those thick dark lashes. The pure trust he saw in her eyes, the adoration, shook him to his core. The breeze shifted directions just enough to move her hair off her neck, exposing it in a most exquisite manner. There with her head tilted, looking at him with so much emotion, her neck exposed…he wasn’t sure he could handle it.

His beast shook and growled, he felt him self tremble slightly. What was the woman thinking, his mind tried to be offended at what was happening. Sesshomaru knew she had no idea what she was doing. Her aura was reaching out to him, calling to him, and he felt his rise to meet it.

Kagome wasn’t sure what was happening but she felt his warmth and felt safe in his arms. His golden eyes were a storm of emotions, and they captivated her like never before. She would have been happy to float with him here, lost in their own world.

Unfortunately, her friends did not share that sentiment.

Their names were being shouted from below, and slowly getting closer. Inuyasha was cursing. Sesshomaru knew he should let the female go, he was not interested in dealing with Inuyasha and his reactions to seeing the embrace. So why was it so damned hard to let her go? He saw her eyes clear up and widen a bit, whispering his name, her hands flexed slightly. The understanding passed silently.

They would pick this up later.

They separated just in time, with minds full of questions and trying to ignore the ache that blossomed in their chests.

Thank you for reading! i hope to have the second part done very soon :) it will be more from sesshomarus point of view, or at least thats how im planning it to be :o