1,000 Paper Cranes

Chapter 9: Needing Each Other

Kagome crouched down on all fours. With calculated slowness, she crawled through the mud until she was behind the bushes in her backyard. Her hand sank into the wet mud and she could feel it inside her jeans. On second thought, she could feel it in her shirt as well.

She stifled a groan of exasperation, already deeply regretting her decision. Of all the things she could have done, she had gone ahead and chosen to get down and dirty with mud. It was coating her thoroughly and she was certain she smelled bad. At least it'll be like getting a complimentary spa and hopefully, her sacrifice will show with renewed, smooth skin.

Suddenly, she heard light footsteps and she froze. She didn't want to move too quickly and have the rustling leaves of the bushes give away her position. However, luck was not on her side. In fact, it was right out laughing at her expense.

An idle bee, round and fat in appearance, landed upon her still hand. Kagome's heart seized in fear as she watched the bee take a few steps up and down her hand. She inched her hand up slightly, hoping the bee would fly away, but it stayed put.

Panic began rising within her, but she didn't want to give her position away. She couldn't. The figure was still lurking on the other side. With wide, frantic eyes, Kagome watched as the bee slowly ascended his way up her arm.

Fear won out over her desire to remain hidden and quickly, she flung her hand up and shook it furiously. Wet mud splattered every which way, but the bee had finally decided to explore elsewhere. Putting a hand over her fast beating heart, Kagome exhaled sharply in relief.

Then, she heard a loud Amazon warrior cry and a heavy weight was suddenly thrown upon her back, sending her face first into the thick mud.

With a sputter, Kagome whipped her head around to glare at the culprit, whom was trying not to laugh. But once Rin took the opportunity to look at Kagome, she burst out into uncontrollable giggles.

"You think this is funny?" Kagome asked her, pointing at her mud smattered face.

As if sensing her next movement, Rin jumped off of Kagome and proceeded to run. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough because Kagome wrapped her hands around her waist and dragged her into the mud.

"No!," Rin screamed as she went down, struggling to escape.

"You can't escape that easily!," Kagome hollered maniacally, shoving handful after handful of wet mud into Rin's hair and face.

So preoccupied with her revenge, she failed to see Shippo sneaking up behind her. He, too, tackled her from behind and she dived head first into the mud once more. With a frustrated growl, Kagome leapt to her feet and chased Shippo across the yard with a clump of mud in her palm.

"Come here, Shippo! I won't hurt you," Kagome cooed.

"No way, Kagome. I don't believe a word of what you're saying!," Shippo exclaimed, running as fast as he could from the evil woman.

Deciding that her chances of catching the Kitsune were low to impossible, she stopped mid-stride, aimed, and tossed the handful of mud like a pitcher throwing a baseball. She watched with amusement as the clump hit him right on the back of his head.

Shippo growled in mock anger, "Oh. I'm going to get you now, Kagome."

Gulping, Kagome quickly realized that now, she was the one that needed to be running for her life. Without another thought, she took off running the way she had just came from. She didn't reach very far before Shippo wrestled her to the ground.

Seeing her chance, Rin jumped on the duo and the three of them began a game of wrestling in the grass. So into defeating one another, they failed to hear the squealing of tires, the slamming of car doors, and the ringing of the doorbell.

It was only when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly and agitatedly did they pause. Simultaneously, the trio tilted their faces up to stare at the figure looming darkly over them on the other side of the wooden fence.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" They all exclaimed in surprise, jumping up and apart from each other in the process.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked nervously, wiping both hands across her face in humiliation.

Sesshoumaru gave her a quick once over before blanching in disapproval. He was beginning to regret making a trip to her house. Surely he could find someone better suited for the role.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kagome pressed, breaking into his thoughts.

"I need to speak with you," he finally said, "privately."

"Oh, of course," she quickly agreed, wondering what could be so important that Sesshoumaru had personally decided to come to her house.

"Give me a few minutes, guys," Kagome told Rin and Shippo apologetically.

Opening the fence door, Kagome walked past Sesshoumaru to get into the house from the side door. Immediately, Sesshoumaru felt his eyes watering and his nose flaring in displeasure. He forced himself to hold his breath lest he inhaled more of that repugnant smell Kagome was currently carrying with her. Reluctantly, he followed after her into the house. Once in the living room, Kagome offered him a seat upon the sofa.

"Give me a few minutes to clean up my mess," Kagome told him sheepishly, "make yourself at home."

Nodding, Sesshoumaru gingerly sat down, his posture tense and uncomfortable. Stifling a chuckle at the sight, Kagome bounded upstairs to take a quick shower. She knew Sesshoumaru would most likely appreciate that she was no longer assaulting his nose with her offensive stench.

After what felt like an eternity to Sesshoumaru, who was still as uneasy in his surroundings as he had been before, Kagome ran down the stairs in a simple tank top and long pajama pants. Her hair was wrapped turban style with a towel and she had on a pair of fuzzy slippers.

"Sorry," she apologized as she took a seat across from him, "you needed to speak to me about something?"

"I came to seek your assistance," Sesshoumaru said, albeit hesitantly. He was still wondering if it was possible to find someone else to do him the favor.

Kagome raised a single eyebrow in surprise and leaned forward on her elbows. "Do tell."

"There is a charity gala event hosted by a rival company. My attendance is required," Sesshoumaru explained, "however, I also require a female counterpart."

Her jaw dropped open when she realized what he was asking her. She was hardly the type of girl to ask for such an event. It was going to be formal, posh, and boring; everything that Kagome was not. What had compelled Sesshoumaru to ask her would always remain a mystery.

"I apologize, but I don't think I would be the best person suited to play that role for you."

"Is it in your nature, Higurashi, to reject every opportunity that knocks upon your door?"

Kagome frowned, feeling mildly insulted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped.

"You attempted to reject my invitation to compete for a contract with Taisho Records. Now, you are rejecting yet another opportunity to make your name well known," Sesshoumaru pointed out, leaning back against the sofa, "Do you not realize the advantageous opening I have just bestowed upon you once more?"

"Oh, that's rich," Kagome scoffed, "You need me, but instead of flat out saying that, you're trying to turn it around to make it seem like I'm the one that needs you."

"Am I wrong in believing that you do, indeed, need this Sesshoumaru if you wish to rise to fame?"

"This is ridiculous. I'm done with this conversation," she spat vehemently, jumping up from her chair, "you can show yourself to the door."

With a growl of agitation, Kagome proceeded to leave the room, believing Sesshoumaru would know his presence was no longer welcome.

Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, remained unmoving upon the plush sofa. His mind was whirling at this sudden change of events. He never thought asking Kagome to assist him would turn out this way. Now he was companionless to the gala and he had angered the woman. He needed her help more than she knew and more than he was willing to admit.

The issue was, could he risk bruising his ego and pride by chasing after her? Should he persuade her to agree to become his date for the one night event? There were a number of other women he could choose from, but out of them all, the only one that had stood out in his mind had been Kagome. There was a reason for that, he was sure of, but as he sat there, he couldn't recall what, exactly, those reasons were.

He was too busy trying to find a way to stop her from leaving without appearing weak or desperate. She was the one to understand him most, despite their limited contact. She was the one who could get under his skin if she chose to dig deep. She was the one who he could envision seeing on a regular basis in the future.

When all was said and done, was he ready to proceed to keep her in his life on such a personal level? Or should he allow her to walk away right now and have the only thing left between them be professionalism until she was eliminated or she was claimed the winner?

They had long surpassed their professional appearances. The line had been crossed the moment they began to schedule Kagome's practice sessions together, however subconscious they were.

He had to make a quick decision. She was getting farther and farther away with every passing second and each additional tick of the clock. He closed his eyes, not knowing, for once, if what he was about to do was the right thing.

Abruptly, he stood up and in a few rushed strides, he caught up to her. A clawed hand reached for her wrist and his fingers wrapped snugly around it, pulling her to a stop. Kagome refused to look at him, fiery still blazing in her sapphire eyes.

"I…," Sesshoumaru began, unable to get the words out.

Kagome remained silent and stubborn, wanting to hear what he wanted to say this time. Would he expel the fiery or feed the flame?

"I need you," he finally said, his voice low.

Surprised at his words, Kagome whirled around to stare at him, wanting to see if he was truly being genuine. Her eyes were wide as she searched his face for any indications of mockery, but she couldn't see any.

"This Sesshoumaru needs you," he repeated, his claws subconsciously giving her wrist a squeeze.

Her voice had ran away in the midst of her shock and the only thing she could do was continue to stare. Kagome must have heard him wrong. There was no possible way he had said what he did. It wasn't possible. Not now. Not ever.

"This Sesshoumaru…," he said for the final time, purposefully enunciating each word dramatically, "needs Kagome."

If at all possible, she felt her eyes widen even further. Not Higurashi. He hadn't referred to her by her last name, but her first. It sounded lovely coming from his lips. Mentally, she wished he would say it again.

She knew, at that very moment, she was sold. He could ask her to jump off a skyscraper and she would have been willing to do it. Sesshoumaru seemed to realize it too for his next words would seal the deal for his predicament.

"If you are willing, I would like for you to attend the gala with me as my female companion. You will provide for me an escape from the other women at the event and I will provide for you a personal advertisement and recommendation to people of important statures. Is that acceptable?"

She processed his words slowly, then she nodded her head. It was the only thing she could do for shock still had her nearly immobile.

Inwardly, Sesshoumaru had to suppress a smirk. Victory was sweet and he enjoyed basking in the afterglow of his accomplishments.

There was nothing, he deemed, that he could not succeed in.

Author's Note: Sorry for how long it took for me to get this out. There's been some delays in my moving plans, so I'm still going to be pretty busy until the beginning of next month. I'm going to try my best to keep on updating though. Do forgive me if I take forever in updating this again, because despite that, I will continue to update Ready, Set, Fall since it's a weekly drabble challenge event on Dokuga_Contest on LiveJournal that I participate in. Thanks for your patience, guys!

auto review: (for those who aren't sure what to say in a review)

"Dear Raine,
OH-EM-GEE.
Did Sesshoumaru really say,
"This Sesshoumaru needs Kagome"?
That's so unbelievable!
I'll bet Kagome's about to suffer from a heart attack!
So what happens next?
I'm so impatient to find out!
Update as soon as possible?
Much Love,
(enter name here)"