The Devil and Me

This part of Something Meaningful was inspired by the song "The Devil and Me" by Asaf Avidan. He's an awesome israeli singer who sings in english, and again, if you never heard of him and his band (Asaf Avidan and the Mojos), you should look it up. (/end shameless plug)

I don't own inuyasha, or Asaf Avidan's the devil and me.

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Kagome looked around the camp. Oh, was she in for it this time. Inuyasha would kill her when he came back from… well, wherever he was. She knew who he was with, that wasn't hard. It's the where that bugged her. What if something happened? What if some big, bad demon attacked her and he wasn't there? Sure, she'd been in the Feudal Era for ages, but she was no more than 'passable' in protecting herself. She didn't need to be – Inuyasha was always there for her. Well, not anymore. And, to top it all, a big bad demon had come for her while he wasn't there. Of course, he hadn't attacked her, otherwise she wouldn't have been back at camp. No, not 'of course'. It was definitely not 'of course'. She was in Sengoku Jidai, for crying out loud! She was sure he would attack her, and the fact that he didn't was… shocking, and that was an understatement. And the fact that it was Sesshoumaru, of all people!

Err, demons.

But he didn't attack her. Oh, no. instead, he did something way weirder. He talked to her.

And on embarrassing subjects, as well. She knew now, next time she would be more careful. She wanted Inuyasha to hear her song. Anyone else… well, embarrassing sums it up nicely. Oh, god. He heard her singing. And it was a very personal song, as well! And then he just came nonchalantly and talked to her about it.

He even complimented her.

That definitely bugged her eyes out. She never thought she'd see the day when Sesshoumaru complimented her.

He said her voice was strong, that her singing was true. He said her song was good, the words chosen wisely. And then… then he started getting really personal. What did he care if she stayed with Inuyasha even though she knew he didn't love her at all? What was it to him?

She really thought he was just out for some dirt on his brother.

So, of course, she told him to go to hell. Well, in nicer words, but she did make it clear (she hoped) that he was not getting any information out of her. She was a locked vault, a dry well, a mute.

Oh, even in her own (currently rambling) mind she was a bad liar. So what? So she told him practically everything. It's not like he didn't gather it all from the song, anyway. It was a really revealing song.

Which brought her back to her earlier thoughts.

He listened on her while she was singing! That's practically eavesdropping! No, not practically. That was eavesdropping!

Kagome groaned.

This whole encounter had been way too bizarre. And Sesshoumaru talking to her wasn't even the weirdest part. She sat down next to Sango, who was cleaning her hiraikotsu.

"Kagome-chan, is everything all right? You've been standing here for five minutes, just staring into space!"

Well, that was a tough question. Everything was definitely not all right, not even a little bit of right, but… how will she tell her best friend that? They were practically alone – Miroku and Shippo both asleep already, Sango staying up to stand guard.

"Um, this is a long story…"

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. What happened?"

"I don't even know where to start!"

"Kagome-chan, just say what happened. Did a demon attack you? Are you harmed or injured?"

"What? No! I'm just… confused."

"Ok. I'm here when you're ready."

Kagome smiled at her friend. Really, Sango was the best. They both sat in silence for a while, before Kagome opened her mouth to try to explain again, but nothing would come. She was always so much better at explaining herself through songs. Well, why not, really?

Oh, the devil and me

We're playing games we shouldn't be

K-i-s-s-i-n-g

Way up and around my tree

Sango was startled when Kagome started singing to herself quietly, not even looking at her. She had a feeling the girl was trying to tell her something, but the meaning was completely lost on her.

"Err, Kagome-chan? I… I don't understand."

Kagome was still not looking at her.

"There's a song little kids sing to make fun of one another. It goes something like this: 'Sango and Miroku, sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Miroku with a baby carriage'."

Sango blushed. "Kagome-chan! What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing," Kagome replied. "I just needed an example."

"Oh." And then she got it. "Kagome-chan, you kissed a guy?!"

Now it was Kagome's turn to impersonate a tomato, and she mumbled something.

"What? Kagome-chan, I can't hear you when you mumble."

"Err, I said that he kissed me. I didn't even have time to kiss him back – he disappeared before I got over the shock!"

"Well, did you want to kiss him back?"

And that was the crux of it. Did she? It's not everyday that a gorgeous looking killing-machine comes and tells her to let go of her unrequited love, and proceeds on to kissing her. Not even in her wildest dreams could she imagine Sesshoumaru having an interest in her, of all things. He hated humans!

"I don't know," she answered, definitely not looking at Sango. She was supposed to love Inuyasha, after all!

"Well, who is it? Do I know him? Is he human? Tell me about him!"

"Sango, I promise I'll tell you everything… but you have to promise to wait until I finish before you make any comment."

"I promise, just tell me already!" Sango was grinning widely. She couldn't help it. She just wanted Kagome to be happy, after all!

"Do you remember I told you I was writing a song for Inuyasha?" she asked, deciding to start from the beginning instead of throwing random bits of the story into the conversation and hoping Sango would get it. Sango nodded.

"Well, the other night I was singing it to myself, so see how it turned out. He… he heard me. And tonight, on my way to my bath, he came to me and started asking me about it." She blushed at the memory. "It was so weird! I was sure he came to kill me or something!"

"Wait, so he's a demon?" Sango blurted out, unable to stop herself.

"Yes," Kagome answered, not sure how to continue.

"Is that why you called him 'the devil' in you song, Kagome-chan?"

"You could say that…"

"Wait, you knew him before, right?"

"Yes, I did. Well, I've met him a few times, but now… I'm not sure if I ever knew him – his personality, and stuff like that. I'm not sure anybody knows the real him."

Sango suddenly turned serious. "Wait, Kagome, it's not Naraku, right?"

"Ewww! Hell no, Sango!" Kagome exclaimed, swatting Sango lightly on the arm, and the two girls shared a laugh. "What made you even think of him?!"

"Well… the way you talked, it sounds like the relationship between the two of you up till now had been one of enmity, or something like that." Sango sneaked a glance at Kagome. The girl was certainly not looking at her. "And the only one I could think of was Naraku. And, well, Sesshoumaru, but…" another glance at the younger girl made Sango gasp.

"Kagome-chan! It was Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome nodded slightly.

"But… I thought he hated humans!"

"So did I."

"Then why—?"

"I don't know, Sango-chan."

They were silent for a while.

"What are you going to do about it, Kagome-chan?"

"I don't know, Sango-chan. Just… don't tell anyone about it quite yet, ok? Inuyasha will throw a fit, and I really don't know how to explain this to Miroku."

"Your secret's safe with me, Kagome-chan. You know that."

Sango looked at her friend. She looked… lost. Confused.

"Kagome-chan, why don't you go get some sleep. It was a long day. I'll tell Miroku not to wake you up tonight."

"Sango-chan, I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted to. But if you want to sleep, I can take over guard duty."

"No, it's ok. Are you sure you don't want to try and get some rest?"

Kagome nodded, laying her head on Sango's shoulder.

"Why can't life be simple, Sango-chan?"

"I don't know, Kagome-chan. I don't know."

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Tell me what you think!

Lyla