Second chapter. The first chapter turned out better than expected. Maybe this will be good too.

Wrote that back before I thought the second chapter would ever exist. Prepare for some plot action! I have a burst of inspiration, and I'm not sure how long it will last. I really like this chapter, although I cried while I wrote it.

(-)

"So you're saying that Sesshomaru indicated that he likes you?" Sango asked in a measured voice. Shippo and Rin were sleeping.

"From what Koga told me, yes. What I don't understand is what he could see in me. After all, I thought he despised humans." Kagome said.

"Gee, let's think hard now." Sango said sarcastically. "What could he possibly see in a powerful, kind, and loving priestess who loves and cares for the girl who is essentially his daughter and also happens to be very attractive? I don't know Kagome, do you?"

"Alright, I get it. I do have my share of good qualities. But it just doesn't make sense, because I remember how he was when I first met him. Now he seems…almost human himself." Kagome pondered.

"I think it happened because of Rin. Perhaps loving humans really does run in Inuyasha's family." Sango suggested.

"Whoa, whoa, back up. Who said he loved me? For all we know, this is just some blind lust." Kagome said.

"I don't think so Kagome. I've seen the way he looks at you. There's more than lust there." Sango said.

"So you've seen this before now. It isn't a surprise?" Kagome wondered.

"It was a little shocking to have my suspicions confirmed, but the idea was always there. Just the way he's acted around you since he joined us is…I don't know. He's always very careful around you. He tries very hard to keep his demon self in check when you're around." Sango said.

"How can you see all of this?" Kagome asked.

"It's my job to see the mannerisms of demons." Sango told her.

"I think I need to sleep on this." Kagome said, again in a dazed tone.

"Okay. We can talk more tomorrow, if you want. Goodnight." Sango said, and they both went to sleep.

Kagome awoke in the night to see bright lights outside the tent. She slipped on her shoes and unzipped the tent so she could look through the crack. The lights were obviously souls, and the soul catchers were hovering around. Inuyasha emerged from the boys' tent, as if on a summons. He obediently followed the soul catchers as they led him into the forest.

When Inuyasha was far enough away, Kagome unzipped the tent and slipped out into the night. She followed him at a distance, perversely determined to see what he and Kikyo did. Inevitably, the soul catchers led him to the God-tree that Inuyasha had once been pinned to. Kikyo rested on the roots.

"Kikyo." Inuyasha said in a soft reverent voice.

"Inuyasha. I knew you would come. I've been watching you, you know. Why do you insist on playing at this game of being with that human girl? Why would you fight over her when I am here?" Kikyo asked.

Inuyasha started to excuse his actions immediately. "I can't just let either of those two take Kagome. She's my friend, and she deserves better."

"Are you saying that she deserves you?" Kikyo asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I didn't say that." Inuyasha protested.

"Because she doesn't. No one but I deserve you. I died rather than live without you. I have earned the right to have you at my side. That girl has made no such sacrifice to prove herself. And you've seen how the other two vie to make her theirs. Chances are, she will pick one of them." Kikyo insisted.

"She wouldn't." Inuyasha asserted, his voice filled with anger and betrayal.

"What else would you expect? You offer only yourself, while the wolf offers his domains and the loyalty and protection of an entire pack, and while your brother offers supreme demonic strength and protection along with the entire western lands. The scales do not tip in your favor." Kikyo told him.

Inuyasha's ears drooped as he realized the truth in her words. "But without Kagome…" he protested.

"Without Kagome you have me. And with me, we will be together for eternity." Kikyo said, her voice soft and inviting.

"But where am I without her? Who am I without her? I couldn't be the man I am today without her." Inuyasha insisted.

"Had I lived, that would have been me who eased your wounds. I would have healed your heart and shielded you from the cruelty of the world. The girl was a mere substitute." Kikyo told him.

Inuyasha laughed the kind of sad laugh that you laugh before you cry. "But Kagome isn't a substitute for anyone. She's Kagome. Ka-go-me."

Kikyo looked cross as he relived his first meeting with Kagome. When she spoke again, her voice was harsh. "She won't choose you. Even if you choose her, she won't choose you. Not when there are more attractive options. Her heart is not as fixed and unchanging as mine is. My heart is and always will be set on you. Perhaps she does want you now. But she won't want you forever. Humans can easily tire of what they think they want."

"It's true." Inuyasha said aloud as tears started to pour down his cheeks.

Kikyo now got up and rested his head on her shoulder. "Shh. Don't cry for her when you still have me. You will always have me."

"And I will always love you." Inuyasha told her.

Kagome silently slipped away as tears finally overcame her. Inuyasha had obviously made his final choice, aided by Kikyo's deceptive words. Kagome's heart had screamed at her to stop Kikyo from saying all those lies, but her body had been paralyzed.

"It would have been you Inuyasha. It was always you. I love you." Kagome cried quietly as she slipped further away from him.

Kagome sat by a stream and cried rather hysterically for an hour or so. After a while, she managed to calm herself enough that there were only the intermittent sobs and the constant sniffling.

"Come on Kagome. Pull yourself together." she said in a hopeless voice.

"I should say so." a voice right behind her said. She turned to see Sesshomaru, looking rather crossly at her.

"When did you get here?" Kagome asked quietly.

"I was never far from you. But it was your command that summoned me so close." Sesshomaru said, his voice laced with displeasure.

"Oh, I said-? Sorry. I didn't mean to." Kagome said, her throat still choked with tears.

Sesshomaru seemed to consider for a moment. "You know how determined I was to drag you out into the woods, give you a piece of my mind, and then kill you?"

"What?!" Kagome asked, alarmed.

"Yes. I'm not used to being controlled, human. I don't like that you have power over me. The fact that you presume to do so should have earned you a justified death." Sesshomaru told her.

"Why don't you kill me then? I'm not sure that I would mind all that much." Kagome said depressedly.

Sesshomaru growled and picked her up and slammed her against a nearby tree. "Don't say things like that!" he commanded her in a dangerous voice. His eyes were turning red and he was presenting a very real danger. "You're too good to cry over my worthless half-brother, and you're too good to die an untimely death."

Kagome was trembling, afraid of his anger and his possible wrath. He was leaning all his weight on her and breathing was becoming difficult. "Sesshomaru, I can't-" Kagome was cut off by her lack of air.

Sesshomaru eased up to the point where she could breath freely, but he did not stop pressing against her. He started sniffing around her collarbone, and she squealed when she felt him lick her neck. Sesshomaru chuckled at her reaction.

"I'm glad you aren't crying." he told her, and he leaned in and kissed her. His kiss was full of longing and need. Then he pulled away, smiled a small smile at her, sighed, and left.

Kagome touched her neck where he had licked it. It was burning hot. She momentarily was worried as she remembered his poisonous drool during the fight for the Tetsusaiga. But she rationalized that he wouldn't have done anything that might poison her, not to show his affection at least.

"Nothing like that good old-fashioned affectionate molestation to shock you out of depression." Kagome said to herself.

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What do you think? I believe I'm leaning towards a SessxKag pairing, since I do love it so. Inuyasha is obviously out of the race at least, after this chapter.