Romancing the Enemy

Scroll Three: Tricks

By: MeldaVeanarSuure

Disclaimer: * yawn * Once again, no matter how hard I wish, InuYasha is not mine, he and the rest of the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi-senpai. However, is someone can find a rent-a-character place and get me a special discount on Sesshou-maru, InuYasha, Shippo and Miroku, I'll be very happy with that!

I also don't own Skittles, which are mentioned later on in the chapter. ^^v

InuYasha sighed, leaning against the wall of Kaede's small house, if it could be called that, readjusting the Tetsusaiga across his body. Everyone else was asleep, he glanced around at each of them: Shippo sprawled out next to Kagome, Kirara tucked neatly into a little ball next to him; Sango to InuYasha's left; Miroku nearby, his good hand laying dangerously close to Sango's behind, as usual; and Kagome… she was across from InuYasha, sleeping peacefully in her little sleeping cocoon or whatever she called it, her hair back to it's normal style, not the ridiculously odd one from yesterday.

'And so begins the next day of out little game of cat and mouse… Or, maybe it should be dog and cat…' He thought as he blew one of his bangs out of his tired eyes: he hadn't slept more than an hour the night before.

A ray of sunlight fell into his eyes from the window. "Aaaaargh, damned sunlight…" He muttered, hulking over.

More sunlight poured into the room as the sun rose higher. Sango stirred slightly, turning closer towards Miroku. The monk's hand itched over towards Sango's bottom, carefully, as though he were still asleep; the devious look on his face gave him away. Shippo yawned and moved into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes. Kirara mewed and stretched. Shippo poked Kagome's shoulder. "Kagome, time to wa-wa-waaaaaaake up…" He yawned mid-word.

"Onegai… ten more minutes…" Kagome muttered sleepily, rolling over.

"No sleep-in for you, wake up!" Shippo demanded, shaking her.

No response. InuYasha gave a laugh that sounded like a bark. "Like this, runt."

Taking the Tetsusaiga, still in its sheath, he reached over the still burning embers from last night's fire and jabbed Kagome's side. "OW!!" The girl yelped, shooting up in her sleeping bag.

InuYasha laughed again. Kagome glared at him. "SIT! Sit, sit, SSSSIIIITTTTT!!!!!"

Sango, now sitting up, wondered how much more abuse Kaede's floor could stand; she thought she could see some cracks in the floor as it was. "Hey, Kagome, I- HENTAI!!!" Sango screeched, slapping Miroku across the face.

The monk smiled his satisfaction. "Mmmmmm… worth the pain… every time."

Sango muttered curses about overly friendly monks, scooting as far away from Miroku as the space left in the room would allow. Kagome shook her head, and got out of her sleeping bag; she rolled it up as Kirara walked over to her mistress. Stuffing it into her overly large backpack, Kagome froze suddenly. "I sense a jewel shard…" She said softly, looking around.

InuYasha's ears perked up. "Where is it then?"

"I… don't know… The energy pulse feels like it's coming from the west."

Golden-amber eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh, perfect. We go in search of a shard, and my oh-so-lovable brother will come and kill us all."

Miroku, rubbing the red handprint on his face, sat up. "Why would your brother come and kill us?"

"Did the slayer smack you so hard that your brain got all jumbled? The Western Territory was my father's realm, and Sesshou-maru inherited it when he died. If we enter his territory without his permission, he'll kill us!" InuYasha growled, looking as if Miroku should have known the entire time.

"Like he wouldn't try to anyway, just to get his claws on the Tetsusaiga." Kagome remarked.

"Keh!" InuYasha 'keh'ed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sango sighed, standing and slinging her boomerang over her shoulder. "Well, if we're going to get that shard, let's. We'll worry about Sesshou-maru when the time comes."

Kirara lightly bounded outside to transform, Shippo close on her tail. Kagome grunted with the effort of putting her backpack on, without breaking her bow and quiver of arrows on her back already, as Sango and Miroku, who's hand was once again straying close to Sango's lower body, walked outside. InuYasha noticed her struggling with the larger-than-usual backpack. "Kagome, I'll take it." He said, holding out his hand.

The raven-haired schoolgirl blinked. "What?"

"Give me your backpack, I'll carry it. You keep your archery stuff."

"O-Oh… Thanks, InuYasha."

She hand to use both hands to hand it over, and hers lightly brushed against InuYasha's hand as he took the bag. Kagome turned pink and pulled her hands back hurriedly, flashing a quick smile before she exited the hut even more swiftly. InuYasha looked a little surprised, at either Kagome's sudden shyness or the weight of the backpack, but gave a semi-smile and exited the hut, slinging the bag over a shoulder. Kagome was just climbing on Kirara's back, behind Sango. She glanced over at him and looked ahead again all in the same second, the blush returning. "Ready?" She asked them all.

"InuYasha, Shippo and I will walk, keep an eye out for things on the ground." Miroku said. "You two warn us if there's an attack from the air."

"We know Miroku." Sango said, a little too patiently. "Kagome will search for the shard, and I'll keep an eye out for enemies."

Kirara jumped into the air, and the three males began their trek on foot.

*~*~*An Hour Later*~*~*

'This slow pace is killing me…' InuYasha thought, hands hidden in the sleeves of his haori, as he looked up at Kirara and the two unseen girls on her back. 'Well, better to go slowly and hope Sesshou-maru doesn't know we're going into Father's territory…' He corrected himself.

He realized that Miroku was talking to him, and tuned in. "…perfect opportunity for it, don't you agree?"

"What?"

The monk sighed. "I have a new plan. It's a good day today, the perfect opportunity for it."

"What is it? It better not involve me touching Kagome's ass, I've seen the damage she does to you, it'd be worse if I tried it, since she'd actually try to hurt me." InuYasha remarked dryly.

"You don't think she hurts me? Never mind, no, however much I know you want to feel her up-" At this, InuYasha turned about as red as his haori "-this does not involve Kagome's lovely as- erm, it doesn't involve her bottom." Miroku corrected himself, laughing nervously as InuYasha glared death threats at him.

"Keep your hands off of her, or you'll be wishing you had hands." InuYasha growled lowly.

"Don't worry, now listen here…"

*~*Above*~*

"I think they're talking about us… And I don't see Shippo anywhere." Kagome commented, looking down.

"How do you know? I'm sure Shippo's off chasing a butterfly or something. And how's the shard hunt going?" Sango asked.

"We're going in the right direction; and I can tell by the way InuYasha keeps glancing up and Miroku looks like he's about to run for his life from InuYasha."

Sango smiled. "Looks like you've managed to snare something of InuYasha's feelings. First the backpack and now the glances… Ahh, puppy love…" She laughed as Kagome lightly smacked her back.

"Seriously, though, I have a new idea for a plan…"

*~*~*An Hour Later*~*~*

"I sense the shard! It's nearby!!" Kagome called down to the males, as Kirara swooped down lower.

"Great, and while you're at it, call a little louder, I'm not sure Sesshou-maru can hear you!" InuYasha snapped, then slightly regretted his words, seeing her frown.

"SIT!"

"OW! DAMNIT, WOMAN!!" InuYasha practically screamed.

Kagome chuckled. "Now who's the loud one?"

Miroku sighed. His work was definitely cut out for him, getting these two together. Little did he know that Sango was thinking the exact same thing as he. "InuYasha, Kagome, please don't argue right now, we have a job to do." Miroku pleaded in his usual calm way.

Both of them sniffed haughtily, looking away from each other. 'Ho, boy… maybe I ought to just get them locked into a room together and leave them there for a few days… Either they'll love each other or kill one another after that.' Sango thought, sighing, then shook her head, thinking better of that.

"I sense it! It's… It's coming this way!!" Kagome yelled suddenly, reaching for her bow and an arrow.

Jakken emerged from the bushes, cackling like the evil little toad he was. ((AN: What exactly IS Jakken, anyway? A toad demon or something?)) "Ye're wantin' this, ain't that right?" He asked, holding up a shard on a string.

"Give that here, toad!" InuYasha demanded, hand straying close to his sword.

"Nay, don't you talk to me like that, not in the Great Lord Sesshou-maru's territory!" Jakken hissed, slamming his staff of the ground.

InuYasha growled, showing fang, both in his mouth and his Tetsusaiga. "Shut up! I don't care if this is my brother's territory, it's partially mine too! Now, fight or give up that shard, toad, or I'll hack you to bits!" He threatened, pointing the Tetsusaiga at Jakken's throat.

"Dear brother, you talk incredibly large for a pup your size." Sesshou-maru's calm, cold voice said from somewhere.

InuYasha snarled, looking around for his half brother. Sango slid off of Kirara, and shed her kimono, revealing her demon slayer outfit. She drew her sword, looking around warily. Shippo appeared out of nowhere, yelling, "Kagome, Kagome, look out behind you!!"

The bow and arrow that had been nocked fell from her hands in shock as a hand covered her mouth tightly to keep her from screaming. Kagome wriggled, but another hand slipped around her waist, making her immobile as well as silent. "Be still, wench." Sesshou-maru hissed in her ear, looking positively revolted at having to touch a mortal girl; but, it was important to the plan.

InuYasha whirled around, eyes widening when he saw Kagome captive to Sesshou-maru. "Let her go!" He demanded, looking murderous.

Shippo hid behind one of Kirara's legs. "I warned her…"

Miroku narrowed his eyes, deciding to try flattery. "Lord Sesshou-maru. We meant no harm by entering your territory-"

"Silence, monk." Miroku shut up, disliking those ice-cold eyes on him.

"Brother, you've become a nuisance. And I've just brought in the perfect toy for the pup and his whelp-friends to play with, and then be killed by."

At those words, a monstrous tiger demon emerged slowly from the cluster of trees, meter-long fangs dripping with saliva. Sesshou-maru smirked at the sudden look of panic on their faces. "Meet Dokuga, the most powerful tiger demon in the world. Enjoy your new toy, street-scums. Oh… but before I leave… I'll have the pleasure of taking the Jewel, and the life of this mortal wench…"

He ripped the Jewel off of Kagome's neck, chain and all. Kagome screamed as she felt the metal cut into the back of her neck briefly, but the noise was muffled by Sesshou-maru's hand, which clamped tighter around her mouth. InuYasha sheathed the Tetsusaiga, and lunged, claws outstretched. "Taste my CLAWS OF BLOOD!!"

He slashed at the older demon's hand, causing him to drop Kagome, and the Jewel, in surprise. The raven-haired girl gasped, clutching her neck, and felt her own blood. 'Oh no…' She thought, reaching out with her free hand and snatching up the Jewel before Sesshou-maru nabbed it again.

Sesshou-maru snarled, and vanished into the woods. Jakken was about to follow him, but Dokuga snared a bit of his clothing with a claw. He squawked, flailing. While he did, the Jewel shard fell from his hands. "Let go of me, you strip'ed-beast!! Master!! Master please help me!!" It appeared that he didn't notice the shard, or care, and it also seemed that Sesshou-maru didn't care much about his servant.

Kagome, wincing, groped forward until her fingers wrapped around the jewel shard. 'Got it… now we just need to take care of the demon…' She thought painfully, wishing the biting pain on her neck would go away.

InuYasha knelt by her briefly, keeping his eyes on the demon, but he spoke only for her ears to hear. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine…" She winced slightly, feeling a bit dizzy. "Just… take care of that demon, don't worry about me."

'Damnit, Kagome, I can't help but worry about you…' He thought, but nodded. "Don't move." InuYasha ordered her, drawing the Tetsusaiga again and rushing into battle.

Kirara and Sango had already gotten Dokuga weakened to a good point. ((AN: XD Making this a shorter-than-normal fight scene, I can't do those too well… PLUS I wanna get to the good, fluffy parts!!! Yee!)) InuYasha lunged, Tetsusaiga aimed for the kill, when Dokuga lifted a paw and knocked him away. He hissed, raising his paw to scratch at him. InuYasha rolled away, and hacked at the paw, leaving a deep wound. Dokuga howled in pain, a strange, half-yowl, half-roar.

Kirara, with Sango mounted on her back, yowled a challenge, teeth bared. While the tiger demon was distracted, InuYasha looked for the easiest place to strike. Mentally, he figured that anywhere might work, seeing the bloody gashes all over his body, but it would physically be easier to strike- "Prepare to die, beast!!" InuYasha yelled, jumping up and plunging the Tetsusaiga into its side.

He unstuck the sword from Dokuga's side, making a face at the bloody, gory mess all over its normally shiny surface, and turned around as the tiger demon fell into it's own puddle of blood.

Kagome, fitting the now-purified shard into the Jewel, smiled up at InuYasha. She got to her feet and ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "You did it! And you saved me from Sesshou-maru!!"

'What the-?! She's hugging me?! Wait, she's hugging me!!' InuYasha thought, fighting off a blush, and cautiously, slightly returned the gesture. "Keh… it was nothing…" (And even though he'd never admit it, he was mentally giving most of the credit to Sango and Kirara for weakening it so much.)

Kagome buried her face into his haori to hide her own red face. InuYasha saw red streaks on the back of her shirt, and remembered her neck wound. "Let me see where you're hurt." He muttered, moving her hair aside to look anyway, whether she wanted him to or not.

Amber-gold eyes widened, seeing three shallow, but profusely bleeding cuts on the back of her neck. 'Shit…' "Looks pretty bad, Kagome…" He told her in a low voice.

"Feels… pretty bad, too…" She replied, muffled due to her face being buried in his chest.

InuYasha thought a minute, going over the possibilities. 'Well, I could get Sango to go and fix her up real quick… or… I could have a little fun with this…' "Don't you dare say the word, Kagome," He started in a low, no-nonsense voice, "I'm only going to try to help you… And trust me, this will help."

Kagome was confused, but she didn't say anything. InuYasha swallowed hard, becoming nervous, and dimly wondered why Sango and Miroku, and Shippo especially, weren't doing anything about he and Kagome staying in this long embrace. (What he didn't know was that both of the humans were discussing something, their backs turned to them, and playing with Kirara was distracting Shippo)

Now, you must understand something. As you know, demon bodies heal themselves, as long as they're not killed. What you may not know is that a bit of this healing ability is passed on to some body fluids, such as blood or saliva. And Kagome was going to find out about that just about now…

InuYasha leaned down and licked one of the cuts. He was a little surprised to feel Kagome freeze, then shudder, but then again, he'd expected a bit more of a violent reaction.

Like the mention of a certain 's' word.

When she didn't make any objection to the action, he proceeded to finish the job, enjoying the fact that her grip around his neck tightened, and the fact that her scent began to change to become spicier, yet sweeter at the same time. 'Never smelled this bef-' InuYasha stopped mid-thought as he finished licking the cuts clean, watching them become less visible, the healing working it's magic.

'The hell?! S-she smells… like she's in heat!! But not as noticeable as demon females, more… subtle…'

Kagome, on the other hand, was having her own mental conversation with herself, her face redder than a bag of Skittles. 'Wha- he just- Why'd he- WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!' She asked herself, trying not to breathe so hard, and then did the only thing she could do at that moment.

She fainted.