I'm sitting at my computer writing this in my 'good' jeans, an Alabama Soccer State Champs t-shirt, and my cut-in-half soccer sock 'arm warmers'. I am SO cool… at least Inuyasha thinks so, right honey?

Inuyasha: Keh… yeah, you're real cool. And does you boyfriend know you have me locked in your room?

Emily: You had to go and say that, didn't you? Like I said before, you're my guilty pleasure. Now, come here and let me scratch those widdle ears!

Inuyasha: Keep away from me, you- ahh… that's the spot… a little left…

Emily: Hehehe… this is my subduing spell…

oooooooo

He was dreaming again. No, in truth, he never dreamed… the abominations that flashed behind his closed eyes could only be called nightmares. Haunting images; terrible, sad memories that he wished would cease to plague his mind at night.

Tonight his plague would be Rin and Jaken as they were such a short time ago. Alive.

oooooooo

Rin was twirling around in a field of knee-high grass, a small bouquet of multicolored wildflowers clutched in one tiny fist. Jaken stood off to the side, listlessly prodding the ground with his Staff of Heads.

"Lazy girl! I told you to gather food before you ran off to play! Don't you ever listen to me?" the frustrated toad squawked.

The girl seemed not to hear him, and continued to twirl. A moment later she stopped, but her world kept spinning. Clumsily, she fell to the grass, giggling like mad. An incensed Jaken waddled over to her prone form and huffed, gaining her attention.

Rin smiled at the toad and looked up into the starry night sky. "Jaken-sama?" she whispered, a small frown crossing her face. "Jaken-sama… do you think that Sesshoumaru-sama… do you think he loves me?" The girl's voice was almost inaudible, but her grumpy companion had heard her nonetheless.

"I suppose, Rin, that Sesshoumaru-sama does love you, just as I suppose that he loves me… in some way. After all, he rescues us when we're in danger, he does not let us want for anything…except perhaps a bit of praise now and then… but that is not the point! Love is…complicated, Rin. Perhaps you will understand when you're a bit older."

The green demon watched Rin for a moment, then turned heel and stalked further into the field in search of something edible. Such a strange child, he thought. The things that spring into her mind sometimes…

Rin sat up after Jaken had left her. Her head was still leaned back, face skyward, but her eyes were closed. Suddenly she began to sway to and fro, like a cattail on the shores of a great sea. Her mouth opened, and a sweet, sad melody emerged.

"In the mountain

In the forest

In the wind

In a dream.

Where are you, Sesshoumaru-sama?

With an ally like Jaken-sama

I will wait alone until you come.

Sesshoumaru-sama, please return."

When the song had run it's course, Rin sighed and opened her eyes to the midnight ceiling of stars. A small smile played on her lips, and she sighed.

"I love you, Sesshoumaru-sama…"

oooooooo

Sesshoumaru was once again painfully ripped from his deceivingly pleasant nightmares. A light, feminine snoring was to blame, and the demon's golden eyes searched for the offender. There she was, with her mouth hanging open. Kagome.

Sesshoumaru successfully fought the urge to roll his eyes. The miko couldn't be quiet even in her sleep.

Though he was glad for her verbosity earlier that day, when she'd spent six hours entertaining his idiot half-brother who had apparently ingested some mind-altering fungi. He had told her of his unwillingness to tolerate Inuyasha's crazed antics, and she had listened. For the next several hours she had skipped, run, jumped, and admired wildlife with her friend. And Sesshoumaru hadn't had to put up with any more comments about how he was 'pretty, like a girl'.

With his mind halfway between the newest nightmare and his brother's odd behavior, Sesshoumaru stood. He knew rest would not come to him again that night, and he supposed it would be wisest to spend the remaining hours till sunrise in a deep state of meditation. The demon lord had noticed a strangely shaped tree with several low-hanging branches as they crossed a small stream that evening. One of said low-hanging branches would be the perfect place to clear his mind of all that troubled him.

Giving the still-snoring miko a smirk and a dignified snort, Sesshoumaru turned to his left and made his way to the water's edge.

oooooooo

"Oh! Are these for me?" Kagome said incredulously as a tall man in a Hawaiian shirt handed her a tropical cocktail, and a basket full of flowers and… chocolate. Her heart soared. Chocolate was her favorite. She thanked the man, set her presents beside her deck chair, and slipped one of the chocolate candies into her mouth.

"This must be heaven," she sighed. The sun was warm on her pale skin, and a cool breeze was blowing in from the ocean. She glanced at the pool in front of her, and smiled. A man who looked a lot like Miroku was carrying a woman who looked a lot like Sango into the deeper water. But how was that possible? Even if they did come to her time, wouldn't Miroku have a huge, red handprint across his cheek by now? Kagome sighed again, but this time it was not in satisfaction.

This was just a dream.

She shook her head lightly. Even if it was a dream, she was going to enjoy it, damnit! So in the spirit of keeping the dream alive, she unwrapped and happily ate another of the dream chocolates. At least there was chocolate in her dreams.

And then Kagome saw him. The pool boy, cleaning stray palm leaves from the otherwise pristine waters. His back was to her, but that hardly concerned her at the moment. She raked her eyes over his tanned calves, up past the red trunks he wore, up to his…rear. And what a nice rear it was. Small, round, yet oh-so-firm…yummy. Her gaze traveled up his toned back, noting the trim waist, over his strong shoulders, and finally to his… white hair? Kagome let out an involuntary gasp. Pool-boy heard her, and slowly turned to face her.

Oh no… oh no no no no no… that cannot be who I think it is… her mind screamed. She would have turned away, but her sick, sick sense of curiosity was rooting her to the spot.

And then, her worst fears were realized. It was none other than Sesshoumaru…that is, a tan, human Sesshoumaru. Of course it would be Sesshoumaru. He was what Kagome liked to call 'physical perfection', and he was so out of her league. He was a demon lord, and she was… well, she wasn't 'scum' anymore, but she was still human, still inferior, still below him.

Yeah, I wish I was below him right now… came the horrible, evil thought from her horrible, evil mind. Dream Kagome slapped her hand to her mouth as if to keep those thoughts from becoming words, and finally met his eyes.

Kagome's heart sped up, pounding in her ears as she looked into his golden orbs. Though everything else about him was human in this dream, his eyes remained their natural, pale amber color. Dream Sesshoumaru regarded her with mild interest, but then he did something that completely horrified her.

He snorted.

oooooooo

Kagome blinked her sleepy eyes open one at a time. A delicate snort had shaken her from what had been a mostly pleasant dream… mostly. There had been chocolates, and flowers, and… Sesshoumaru. But she was awake now, and Sesshoumaru no longer had short hair or a tan. No, presently he was stalking off to the north, his armor discarded, but Tetsusaiga still firmly attached to his hip.

She supposed he had woken up in the middle of the night by-

Why was her throat so dry? It felt like she'd been… snoring? Aha! She had no doubt caused the taiyoukai to wake, and then he'd snorted at her (she guessed in disgust) before walking off, thus shifting her from sunny dream-world back to the cold, hard ground of reality.

Well, seeing as he'd made little if any conversation with her in the two days since their 'incident' in the spring, she guessed it was back to square one with the cold, unfeeling youkai. And just when she thought his shell was cracking…

Kagome made up her mind. She would go hunt him down and make him talk to her, by god! Higurashi Kagome didn't have to put up with pompous, arrogant, beautiful… wait, no! She didn't have to put up with his attitude, he had to put up with hers.

A mischievous smile on her face, Kagome slid from her sleeping bag and high-tailed it after the rapidly retreating lord.

oooooooo

By the time she'd caught up to him, Sesshoumaru was deep into his meditative state. Nothing clouded his mind. Not his annoying younger sibling, not the fate of the wind sorceress, not the alluringly innocent miko, and certainly not… Rin.

No, his mind was blissfully blank. In some ways, meditation was better than sleep. Sleep entailed dreams and nightmares, but meditation allowed one's mind to be completely and utterly clear.

And it was because his brain was so unfocused on the world around him that he did not hear one of the things that his mind was absolutely not dwelling on approach him

Kagome hopped across the creek on quiet toes, hoping that he was around there somewhere. She was tired, out of breath, and all she really wanted to do was sleep. But she wanted to speak with Sesshoumaru even more, if that was possible, and she was determined. Hadn't he said that was something he admired about her? Her determination. She groaned inwardly. And if he was just lonely and needing some 'compassion'? Well, then she was the fool, wasn't she?

Foolish or not, she was about ready to drop. And like an answer to her prayers, there he was.

He was perched in what Kagome could honestly say was the weirdest tree she had ever seen. It had five thick branches poking out from approximately four feet up its trunk, and the rest of it was branchless save for the top, which had a fray of leaves that formed a tiny dome. On the thickest of the branches sat Sesshoumaru, lotus position. His eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling in a regular pattern. If she hadn't known better, Kagome would have thought he was sleeping.

Just in case she was wrong, she slowly flashed a hand in front of his face. Nothing. This time she waved a little closer, and a little faster. Still nothing.

A defeated sigh escaped her lips. One last time, she thought. Her hand rose up to his eye level, and-

"This is the second time you have disturbed me tonight, miko."

A strong hand gripped her wrist, and Kagome had to stifle a scream. Icy amber eyes opened and met hers. He was looking down at her. In more ways than one, her mind spit out ruefully.

"Oh, so it's back to miko, is it?" she said testily. When he gripped her arm tighter, she flinched.

"I… I wanted to talk to you," Kagome stammered. Her wrist was starting to go numb. "And could you let go? You're… hurting me."

He dropped her wrist but continued to stare at her. Kagome felt a bit like a bug in a specimen jar.

"Um… like I said, I wanted to talk to you."

No response from the inuyoukai.

"When I said talk, that means you have to say something back. So when I ask 'how are you', you say…"

Nothing.

Kagome let out a deep breath. This was obviously not going to be easy.

"Alright then, I'll just make this quick. Um… well, how about I start with what's really on my mind? Like the other night when we, uh… w-when you kissed me. Why did you do that? I mean, I know you said you realized that despising humans was silly, but I still didn't think you'd ever kiss one, especially me, and-"

"Stop this incessant prattling. I kissed you because you were very enchanting that night, and I wished to taste your lips. However, you are starting to make me regret that decision, and I do not regret my decisions… ever."

Kagome was amused, appalled, and oddly aroused at the same time. Amused, because she had never heard Sesshoumaru string together so many sentences… save for the time he was recanting his terrible tragedy to the group. Appalled, because she was prattling and making him 'regret his decision'. Aroused, because no one other than Sesshoumaru could make a chewing-out sound so… pleasant. He had wanted to taste her lips? That was one she was sure the boys in her era would never say.

Suddenly, she didn't want to be there anymore. She wanted to hide in her sleeping bag until the sun topped the sky tomorrow, but she knew that was the coward's way out. Kagome was no coward. Fool, perhaps… but coward? No sir.

With head held high, Kagome started her rebuttal.

"Perhaps it's different for you since you're always perfect, you never prattle, and you never regret a decision. I, on the other hand, am not perfect, I prattle 'incessantly', and sometimes I do regret my decisions. But you know what? At least I'm not a cold, unfeeling, bast-"

A hard body slamming her to the ground cut off her rant. Sesshoumaru's eyes were fairly glowing, and his dangerously clawed hand was hovering near Kagome's throat as he leaned precariously over her.

"I am not unfeeling," he growled, and roughly attacked her lips with his own.

She'd wanted to continue that stream of insults she'd been throwing his way, but he had obviously thought she was doing him an injustice. And, boy, he didn't lack for conviction. Her lips parted of their own accord, and the demon lord's tongue slipped between them. She moaned lightly, and moved her hands up to his waist from their resting position on the ground. He was so hot; Kagome could feel the warmth radiating from his clothing.

Sesshoumaru's mind was reeling. The things this infuriating girl drove him to do! He had touched her once, in the spring, and hadn't thought anything of it. It was enjoyable, and he'd been more than happy about it at the time. Then later he had given the situation more thought. He had decided it best to keep business and pleasure separate, and he was still firmly convinced this was true. But tonight she had sought him out, and she had been eager about it. Even through her whining and fussing she had retained an air of dignity, and that intrigued him. And her eyes. The looks she gave him were full of innocence and, oddly enough, trust. She reminded him so much of the human he had lost, but at the same time was utterly different. He had previously said that she was enchanting, and standing below him and the full moon, defiant to the last, she was so much more than that. She had captivated him.