A/N: Well, so far I have gotten about 2 new reviews for a couple of hundred reads

Disclaimer: No, I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA, but I DO own the A/N below, so PLEASE PLEASE READ IT!

A/N: Well, so far I have gotten about 5 new reviews for a couple of hundred reads. THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL THOSE WHO REVIEWED! And for the rest who read and didn't review, I would be eternally grateful if you attempted to submit something that resembles a review, in the very least. But oh well… I can make do with what I got

animerocks23: You rock! For almost every chapter – actually, I think it was every chapter, you've given me fantastic reviews! –Claps and cheers—Thank you so much!

ChristinaAngel: Thank you for the review! Always nice to have new people reviewing!

Animeshy: Thankee very much for adding me to your author alert list…. Or whatever it is. Can never find the actual words for it.

Serahrose: Thank you for reviewing again! You rock too!

All590: So glad you enjoyed my story! I'll check out your ficcy and review! Love the exuberant response to this fanfiction

Falling Angels: Yo! Yes, yes, I shalt fixes the spelling mistake in this chapter. I wanna write another ficcy, but if I do I'll lose interest in this one FOR SURE… so… no new SessKag ficcy :( so sad, huh? Next ficcy, I promise you. THEN I'll see if I can write a Bleach one! :) Most of my other Bleach fanfics have been:

a) Plain crap or

b) Plain crap.

Enjoy!

Sesshy THE Wesshy – I am the one and only (Thanks to Falling Angels for that quote :P)

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Chapter 9

What if…

"Kagome…"

She moaned and rolled over, not wanting to get up. Her hands grasped for her sheets, but found nothing but grass and soil.

"Hmmm?" She murmured in slight confusion, though still determined to sleep on.

"Kagome… get up."

"Mom… not now… few more minutes…" The girl mumbled, turning over the other way in an attempt to dive once again into deep slumber. It struck her sleepy brain as slightly odd that her pillow was… moving, but in her sleep-induced state she cared nothing for what was going on around her, until

"GET OFF MY LAP, WENCH!"

Now that did not sound like her mother.

With a startled shriek Kagome sat bolt upright, eyes wide open (nothing like a good ol' shock to wake you up in the morning, eh?)- to find herself lying in Inuyasha's lap – for the third time to her recollection. He was currently staring down at her with gorgeous gold eyes that did not fit his peeved expression. Unfolding his arms, he started rolling her off his lap with an adamant expression stuck on his face. Kagome, spotting him, started laughing as she saw the determined and almost childish expression adorning his features, landing with a thump on the grass and lying back, giggles subsiding eventually. Presently she popped back up and seated herself beside the hanyou, reaching up to absentmindedly flick one of his ears. He lowered the furry appendages slightly and let out the tiniest of growls, but she knew it was all play. After about two weeks of being together, she already knew that he was secretly fond of the gesture.

"Say…why exactly didn't Sesshoumaru smell us?" Kagome reckoned that the Inu Lord being, full youkai, would have been able to smell them and hear them from a long while away when they had been spying on him last night. After all, Inuyasha could, and he was only hanyou.

"I dunno… probably something in your miko powers shielded us." Inuyasha shrugged and sliced a flower off its stem with his claws.

"Hmmm… but I wasn't using them." Indeed, Kagome hadn't felt anything happening… had she? She seemed to vaguely remember a vague tickling in her fingers, but that was probably from clutching onto Inuyasha's haori for so long.

"How would you know?" Inuyasha frowned at her as a sudden thought occurred to him.

"You could be playing with my ears or something and then accidentally purify them off or something…" His face assumed a slightly worried expression and Kagome wisely refrained from laughing. Inuyasha could be very grumpy at times, and she didn't think that laughing at him would be the best way to comfort him after the untimely death of his mother. He seemed fine, but she thought she could glimpse a flash of grief, like a spot of darkness, in his eyes every once in a while when he looked away from their conversation.

"Anyway…" Kagome said, quite eager to change the subject of their conversation, Inuyasha was beginning to look too serious. On impulse, she picked several flowers and reaching up, tucked them in one swift motion behind his ear. The surprised expression he had when he whipped his head to look round at her, in addition to the flowers drooping from behind his pointy ears made her wish dearly that she had a camera.

A camera from the modern world…

Oh GOD!

Kagome suddenly covered her face with her hands in shock. How could she have forgotten… her own time! She had to get home sometime! Her family and friends must have been going crazy with worry.

"Kagome?" She felt Inuyasha place a hand on her shoulder and heard the worry in his voice.

"Oh shit… Inuyasha… I forgot- I gotta get home!" She answered him in a muffled voice with her hands still over her face.

"Kagome… I…" He suddenly pulled her into a tight hug and she, startled, removed her hands from her face.

"I don't want you to go." She could hear the sincerity in his voice. His arms tightened around her back and waist. "Kagome… I need you. I still need you."

I'll stay with you… for as long as you need me.

Kagome could remember saying those words to Inuyasha. She had to keep her promise, no matter what. She couldn't abandon her friends. Haltingly, she returned his hug and spoke, patting his back.

"It's ok, Inuyasha… I'll stay till you don't need me anymore. I just freaked, is all." She pulled back and smiled at him, keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"Ok?"

"Kagome…" He stared at her with the dead sincerity still in his eyes. "What if…" Breaking eye contact he, looked away and murmured. "What if I said I always needed you? I would always need you?"

Kagome's heartbeat sped up slightly.

"What if…" Inuyasha looked back at her again, and she saw something in his eyes, something that she wasn't sure she wanted to know yet. In her heart of hearts she knew what it was, understood, but her brain just wasn't ready.

So she stalled.

"I'm tired of being serious, Inuyasha!" She gave a fake laugh, and picking up a clump of dirt, threw it at him. The inu hanyou, surprisingly, didn't dodge, and sat there looking very endearing with dirt falling down the sides of his ears. Kagome stood, laughing for real now, and started to run from him as his expression turned from surprise to mild annoyance and amusement, a grin spreading across his features when he jumped up and chased her. Being half youkai, he easily caught up with her on the edge of the field and caught her by the waist, leaping at once into a branch of the Goshinboku.

"Hey! Let me down!"

"Keh. As if, wench."

"Hey! Ka-go-me. Say that again and I'll say the S-I-T word!"

The hanyou paled slightly and glared down at her.

"You idiot." He reached out and started tickling her.

Kagome let out a shriek (which didn't really help poor Yashie's ears, but on with the story ) and started squirming about, though he kept her firmly in his lap. A fall from the height they were currently resting at would probably result in serious injury.

"Inuyasha!" her sides ached from laughing so much. "SI-!"

A clawed hand was clapped over her mouth and she stopped in surprise. Snickering evilly, Inuyasha leant down and told her with a grin

"If you subdue me, I'll bring you down with me!" Just to show her what he meant, his arms tightened fractionally on her arms and legs.

Kagome frowned and started wriggling again, muffled noises emitting from where his hand held her mouth. Then she waggled her eyebrows playfully and Inuyasha snatched his hand off her mouth, uttering various curses.

"AH! You bitch! YOU WERE LICKING MY HAND!"

Kagome threw back her head and laughed, attempting to worm her arms out of Inuyasha's grip. He kept hold of her and suddenly bent his head down next to her neck. Kagome stayed still in confusion for a few seconds until an odd and tickling sensation set her wriggling again.

The sneaky idiot was licking her.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Inuyasha's head shot up so fast that it seemed like it had been slung upwards from a trebuchet (I'm studying the medieval world now in my 7th grade class, so pardon the medieval stuff ). Upon seeing the person intruding upon their private time (How dare he! –Gasp!– :P), he leapt down from the Goshinboku and set Kagome down gently behind him.

"Kouga." He stated shortly, mood dissolving from playful to serious and even angry in a few seconds.

"Inuyasha." The intruder shot back. Long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and wearing furs, Kagome could only stare at his muscular arms and legs. (--drool-- :P Nah, actually, I don't think so…). The two rivals regarded each other for a few seconds before Kouga caught sight of Kagome lingering behind Inuyasha, uncertain of the new arrival.

"Who is this fine young lady?" With speed she didn't know he had, the youkai had whipped around a stunned Inuyasha and was grasping Kagome's hands in his.

"K-Kagome." She managed to stutter.

"I am Kouga, a… friend… of Inuyasha's. Prince Kouga, too." He beamed expectantly at her, as if expecting her to drop to the ground in awe and kiss his feet. Which if she was any other normal maiden, she probably would have. Kouga was very … popular amongst the young ladies, as was Inuyasha- that was, until most of them heard that he was engaged to Kikyou. Some still remained blindly infatuated.

"You disgusting wolf. Not a chance in hell you're my friend." Inuyasha spat, wrinkling his nose. He stared at Kouga. "Why are you moving so damn fast anyway? Last time I saw you, you were about as fast as a snail."

Kouga winked. "Snails, my friend, move fast!" Then, leaning down, he lifted up a leg and Kagome saw two shining pinpricks of light in his ankles.

"What are those?!" She pointed.

"Huh?" Inuyasha, of course, being unable to see the Shikon fragments, spun around trying to find what she was pointing at.

"These, my friend, are fragments of the Shikon no Tama! Found 'em lying in a clearing one day, after an… encounter with Naraku, and stuffed 'em into my legs. Quite effective, I must say." He straightened and beamed. Inuyasha, however, had a stunned expression on his face.

"Fragments?" He suddenly stepped closer, reached out and prodded Kouga's ankles. The wolf youkai snatched his foot out of the way, but Inuyasha had already straightened and was serious again.

"The last time I saw the Shikon no Tama… it was whole. How could it shatter?"

"Hmmm…" Kouga rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "When I found them, they smelled of that miko… whatshername, the one you're supposed to marry, dog breath."

"Kikyou." Inuyasha frowned, ignoring the insult. "But Sesshoumaru took the jewel… why would Kikyou's scent be on it?"

"Don't hurt your brain too much by thinking, hanyou. Kagome and I are going to spend some quality time together." With that, the wolf grabbed a surprised Kagome by the hand and started leading her away.

"Why you…" The annoyed hanyou started after them, snatching Kagome from Kouga's grip and placing her behind himself.

"Hey!" Kouga pulled the girl back behind himself.

"No!" Inuyasha grabbed her and pushed her gently behind him again.

"Baka!" Kouga was reaching for the young miko again when she batted away his hand.

"Stop it, both of you! I don't wanna be fought over like a bone!" She held her hands out at both of them, keeping them apart.

"Feh! As if I would fight over you." Inuyasha turned away and folded his arms. Kouga's reaction was quite different.

"But you are bones, Kagome. All flesh and bones…" He reached out to the now slightly disgusted Kagome, and grabbing her hand, licked it gently. She snatched it back with a barely audible growl in his direction and walked away from Kouga, towards Inuyasha.

"Let's go…" She grabbed the surprised hanyou's hand and started leading him away into the depths of the forest.

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XD – I could stop here… but since I'm so nice I won't, to earn a REVIEW from you guys!

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" Say… have you seen Inuyasha and Kagome since last night?" Sango asked Miroku curiously from their seats on Inuyasha's bed. (Since he was nowhere to be found, they decided to take advantage of his absence to lounge about in his room.)

"No. Maybe they went away to have some alone time.." Miroku waggled his eyebrows at the youkai exterminator, who clocked him on the head with a fist.

"I'm really worried, you idiot."

"Aww. Don't be, darling." Miroku, sporting a prize lump on his head, reached over and tentatively took her hand. Her other arm lifted instinctively to hit him, and he winced in bitter anticipation, but the blow never came. She put her arm down again and tightened her hand around his fingers, taking comfort from the contact.

Miroku smiled, scooted closer and wrapped the arm around her waist instead, letting go of her hand. Sango seemed too worried to fight against him anymore, and simply leaned into his embrace, resting her head against his shoulder with a contented sigh. When he attempted to tilt her chin up and lean in for a kiss, however, she snapped.

SMACK!

A poor houshi, beaten out of his wits, was kicked out from the large and very ornate room by a fuming youkai exterminator.

There was an extremely loud scream of "HENTAI!" before the door slammed shut in his face.

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A twig snapped under her foot as she walked, but he ignored it. Like he had ignored the last hundred or so twigs snapping under his feet. If he had been wearing shoes it might have been tolerable, but now it was just getting too darn annoying and he was getting grouchy.

"AARGH!" Inuyasha reached down, scooped up a twig and held it in his clawed hand, screaming at if furiously as if it were alive (and kicking! --Sniggers--).

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH ME, HUH?! WHY!? WHYYYY!?" He shook the twig furiously until it disintegrated into bits and pieces under the ferocious treatment- and his claws.

"Uh… Inuyasha?" he turned from the poor victim of his rage (in other words, the twig) to Kagome and saw her standing stock still and looking at him as if he'd suddenly grown a third ear to accompany his other two. Scratch that, she was staring at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted blue hairs all over his chin. Had he? The now nervous hanyou dropped the pieces of twig and felt his face nervously for any new growths that shouldn't be there. He needn't have.

"Sit."

His face plunged into the dirt and he pulled himself up after a moment, swearing under his breath.

"You idiot!" She rounded on him, an extremely peeved look pasted on her features. "What in the world were you doing?"

Said 'idiot' looked at her blankly.

"Well…" He assumed a thoughtful expression and scratched his chin with a claw. "I was getting grouchy and so I decided to…" He gestured vaguely to the side.

Kagome sighed and walked on.

"Where are we going anyway?" Inuyasha grumbled, reluctantly falling into step beside her.

"Nowhere. I just felt like walking."

"Hmm…"

"Let's play a game."

"A game…?"

"Yea… you ask me 'what if' something happened, then I'll try and answer adequately. Ok?"

"Uh… sure… I guess."

"And you have to tell the truth, 'kay?"

"Okay."

"Sure. What if…"

They started playing, peppering each other with ridiculous questions. Several times Inuyasha tripped over things while thinking about the answer (guys can't multitask, eh?). After a while, he was feeling really grumpy, but they continued asking each other questions in different situations. They rested and walked again, then rested again. Even while sitting, they sat opposite each other and kept on talking.

"What if … I accidentally purified one of your ears off?"

"I couldn't get it back, could I?"

"Nope."

"Oh… then I'd just get really pissed."

"Hah! Your turn."

"What if… somebody told you they loved you?"

"Depends on who…"

"Uh… somebody you just met a while ago."

"Still depends on their character…"

"Well… you're friends…"

"Uh-huh… well…"

She looked up at him to find him sitting with that oddly sincere expression on his face once more. Her heart fluttered just the tiniest bit.

"Well?" he questioned her.

"Yeah.. it still depends."

"On what?"

"Who they are, for one?"

"Well… somebody who's already supposed to marry somebody else they don't love… somebody of a higher ranking than you but doesn't care about that."

"Stop talking in 'somebody's! Just say a name, already, Inuyasha, or I'll S-I-T you." She spelled it out clearly.

"Well… you're you, of course. And he's…"

"He's?"

She could feel her heart rate increasing… Oh god. What's he gonna say?

"He's…" Inuyasha seemed to need great effort to finish the sentence.

"He's a prince." He finished finally, unable to say any names.

"So. He's a prince, a friend of mine who's supposed to marry somebody else but doesn't want to, and he doesn't really care about his ranking either. And he loves me."

"Yes."

"Does he have long hair?"

"Y-yes."

"White?"

"Sure."
"Yes or no, Inuyasha?"

"Yes."

"Ears?"

"Everybody has ears, Kagome."

"No, cute little dog ears!" She reached up and flicked one of his. He grabbed her hand before she could pull it back and stared into her eyes.

"I need an answer."

"I'd probably tell him.."

Kagome swallowed, a huge lump seemed to have gathered in her throat.

"I'd probably tell him I love him too." She finished and looked down, feeling her own face reddening and heating up.

He smirked and before he could stop himself, he had pressed his lips against hers.

I want these gentle hands… I want this kind smile.

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A/N: MUHAHAH! I have finally inputted this… I must say, I DID NOT enjoy writing it… but oh well, as long as the readers like it!

And for those of you who've read Vampire Knight, I am currently obsessed with it and I used a quote from it as the last sentence for this chapter.

PLEASE REVIEW! Please just make an effort to do so.

Sesshy THE Wesshy – I am STILL the one and only. –Laughs unemotionally–

XDXDXD