December 30 2006: Author's Nonsense: Enjoying my time off by trying to get as much writing done as I possibly can. I'm switching through one other pretty commonly updated fiction and one that I'm trying to get out at least weekly or bi-weekly so I think I've been doing a really good job with all my ones that are active. Hope you keep enjoying, I'll get to the point now.

-Aura

Chapter 11: Bashful Inquiry

Sesshomaru had retreated to their large bath after getting several extra towels, he wanted to actually wash out his tail as he seemed to rarely get the chance these days. He figured Kagome would take a while in the pool so he took his time filling the water and finding an acceptable male scent to add to the water. Settling the things he'd need at the bath's edge before actually sliding into the warm water and allowing his tail to take it's more physical shape, rubbing near where it connected at the shoulder…a little sore from having kept it confined for a long period of time.

He had to admit that at least the soaps, oils, and other cleaning supplies of Kagome's time had merit, some were too strong but many were much more acceptable than the perfumes that were used in the feudal era. He worked to lather up the whole of the tail, which wasn't nearly as large when it was drenched, glad to have some time to himself to think. He'd missed hot springs and this was certainly nicer than the tiny bath that Kagome had in her small apartment.

He finished the tail washing and rinsed it out before just leaning back to enjoy the so-far rare experience and consider the unexpected difficulty of the girl liking him. It was a compliment to be sure, but such a relationship was out of the question. Even if he passed the fact that human's were below him with the lack of strong demons he would need to at least find a mate-able dog demon to keep his own bloodline undiluted and regain the honor to the name his father had nearly destroyed the honor of.

I don't need such excuses regardless. The demon chastised himself for the weakness he was showing. My attraction to Kagura was different. She was a demon, and while she was dirty from her affiliation to Naraku, if she hadn't died before his release she would have at least been an acceptable mate. It is a pity that she didn't survive until he was finally destroyed, I hate that I had to lower myself to work with that lowly half-breed. If I would have known he beat his human friends I certainly would have let him die and just finished the bastard (Naraku) off when Inuyasha had died. Would have been better off in retrospect, I wish I could remember how the priestess had sealed me exactly and why. It isn't surprising that she locked some of my memories but it's just a matter of time before I work through the pointless seal.

I shouldn't forget that Kagome is also a priestess, she is an untapped power but would be formidable if she ever actually received full training. He started to work on cleaning his hair and body as he gave himself the reminder. She wouldn't be able to kill me but she could seal me if she discovered how the dead woman had done it. Unlikely but something to keep in mind. No reason to discourage her and risk her wrath should she prove to be more resourceful and vengeful than she seems. Pretend to be attracted to a human? Shouldn't be too difficult when she thinks the drug they used on me was a hint that I already was. I hate the deception but until I gain more understanding and power of the world it'll be a necessary evil.

The demon lord finished with his bathing and as the water was getting cold took his feet to climb out, wrapping a towel around his waist then starting to use the pile to sop up the water on the tail, taking his time and noting when the door opened and closed, taking a moment to sift through the many scents in the room he was in to pick up the subtler ones of the ones outside and Kagome's blended into them. He heard her coming for the bathroom but figured he might as well start the process and didn't correct her, smelling the embarrassment the moment she'd spotted him after she came in.

"Oh my god." She gasped, turning around immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were in here. I'll um…"

"It's fine." he interrupted, giving her less of a chance to retreat politely. "Should I move my drying off to the bedroom?"

"No hurry." She insisted, "just let me know when your done and dressed. I'll wait out here."

Sesshomaru smirked a little to himself, the girl was too easy to ruffle, at least he'd had a challenge with any other mates he'd pursued. Of course the demon lord hadn't had many and none were ever heavily involved - love was a mortal waste of time, but he had no children in the unions he'd known of. It wasn't easy for his breed to have children so it wasn't a shock, but he would like to keep his bloodline going before his death - he wasn't in a huge hurry at the time being, he had several hundred years to find one.

He lingered for a while but cleaned up after himself before dressing in his more traditional garb as he wasn't planning on going anywhere and wanted time to let his tail to fully dry before forcing it from mortal view again. Moving out and relinquishing the bathroom to the girl, settling on the couch and pondering just how human's went about the ritual to be involved. He had no plans to mate with her but he could act as if he was some worthless human male for a time so she wouldn't get ideas about betraying him; he would regret having to kill her after all her aid.

Once she returned to the room she settled onto the bed, hair freshly wet which made him consider her oddly. Certainly it was common practice to wash before sharing a common bath area but again afterward? At least she was clean he supposed.

"So what else would you like to do as it seems we have most of the night, it's only seven and Eri insisted on having us food delivered. I suppose you'll like it cause it's steak you seem to enjoy meat more than other foods." She asked, then explained.

"What are the options?" He looked at her as he spoke.

"Um…well." She raised a hand to brush at the side of her hair nervously. "We could watch TV or a movie, there are a few there or we could order one I guess. Then there are some games in one of the closets but I guess we could just talk or something too."

"Oh? Something in particular?"

"Well…sort of…I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"I…" Kagome paused. If she didn't say it now she'd never do it and Eri would make things worse somehow. "…sort of like you and I'm not in love or anything but I think it would be nice to get to know each other a little better and maybe go out sometime on a date or…something…"

After she rushed through the comments she took a deep breath but couldn't bring herself to look up at the predicted rejection, she should have been used to it by now but it wasn't something anyone came to enjoy experiences.

Here I was wondering how people approached the subject. Sesshomaru had a mental laugh at the good luck. She would do all the work it seemed. "I think that would be all right to try if you would like to. You seem rather nice for a human."

She figured that was the best he could really do for a compliment but then looked up as she realized what he'd said. "Wait…yes?"

She met the golden eyes and suddenly wished she'd kept looking down, she was going to melt and start saying more than she should say again.

"Yes Kagome." He assured. "Is there something in particular you would like to do then…or something people usually do for a date?"

"Oh…I uh…" she felt the red plaster itself to her cheeks again. "I didn't mean tonight but I guess being here is out of the house and sort of like a date anyway. Movies are the usual choice for a first date. Though we could find something on tv as well."

"What else do couples usually do?" He asked, a bit curious despite the fact that he was torturing the poor young priestess.

"Well, depends on the couple." Kagome answered. "Some just watch, some sit close or even cuddle, a few kiss or the like…but um…I'm not saying I want you to."

"Want me to what?" He kept the smile from his face as she fought with herself.

"You should do what you think feels right." She answered wisely after forcing herself to think a minute. "Should we find a movie then?"

"If you prefer." He replied, watching her uncomfortable form, glad that she had actually taken a small bath, she'd had a small acrid scent when she'd first came in and now she'd managed to replace it with one of the fruits she seemed to favor, apple in this days case. She fiddled with some of the electronics she hadn't fully explained to him yet and put one of the gatherings of quick pictures onto the strange box that somehow projected the recordings of…video. He was slowly starting to remember the alien technology but he had to admit that it could rarely be entertaining.

She moved over and sat on the couch but not really close to him, on the next cushion but still far enough that he realized she wasn't quite comfortable yet with touch after their interlude the other evening.

He hadn't thought of it in too much detail, but she did taste so…

Not important, other things to focus on. He corrected himself with a small frown then leaned back to watch the strange thing she'd put in, not quite getting all of it but recognizing the 'guns' and 'cars' she had explained sometime ago. Most of it was a little over his head as his knowledge went so far, the general idea wasn't enough to keep him interested after a little action and a few minutes into more plot related things he glanced to find her more interested in the movie. He wasn't about to lose to a metal box on a wall when it came to the more interesting part of the room though.

He reached over and pulled her a little closer, putting an arm over her shoulder easily and letting her lean against him. At first her body was rigid with the surprise but she relaxed after a moment and glanced up at him with an awkward smile before returning her eyes directly to the movie. He knew at least after that that she wasn't really concentrating on the odd form of entertainment any longer.

No…I hit my head on the way to work that day a few weeks ago and I'm in a feverish comma. Kagome thought nervously, fighting to keep her body from showing how anxious she was. This cannot be real, I cannot have a crush on Sesshomaru and he cannot be holding me like…a…a girlfriend. He hates humans, well he had Rin but she was different somehow…it doesn't count for children he adopted. Please let me wake up soon and laugh and go back to the museum and not be having dirty thoughts involving a demon strong enough that he nearly killed Inuyasha several…

Her thoughts ended abruptly when she felt his soft bangs brushing the side of her head and top of her ear, his breath making her shiver despite her attempt to keep control of the desire as he whispered in her ear.

"I am rather tough but even I will start to lose circulation if you keep gripping my arm so. If the movie frightens you so badly perhaps you should turn it off and we should just sit for a while. I think you called it cuddling."

She released his arm instantly and started to turn her head around in apology when she slammed it into his nose, it didn't hurt of course but he at least put up a hand to check it in natural reaction. Making her gasp and put fingers over her mouth. "Oh no…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your arm or slam into your nose…I'm so clumsy sometimes…I…I didn't mean too. If you don't like the movie I can stop it, I ah…maybe we should just turn in early so that you can make your appointment tomorrow morning."

"Not a bad idea, but I don't need fourteen hours of sleep. You don't have to attend the job with me but if you are tired I'd rather not keep you." He said, reading her emotions without too much difficulty as she wore them on her sleeve.

"Oh…um…well that's true, it seemed later sense it was dark out than it really is." She said honestly. "I guess I could turn it off if you don't really like it."

She leaned forward to reach for the remote and turned the tv off, settling back and trying to keep from being as obvious as the last time about her uncertainty. She needed to kill Eri, this was worse than if she wouldn't have said anything. If Eri had asked him out she wouldn't like him anymore but that was so much better than the torture of not knowing if she liked him holding her or not.

"You seem more serious than usual. If this makes you uncomfortable…"

"No." she interrupted to his surprise, her head turning more carefully as she shifted her body, staying close but facing him. "I just haven't been in any sort of relationship sense…"

"Inuyasha." He guessed, knowing he was right. He didn't enjoy leading on his brother's old wench but it was a evil he could deal with temporarily.

"Yes…but we never got past holding hands or him sometimes carrying me on his back when we needed to move fast. We kissed once but it wasn't ever past that." Her voice was a mere whisper, if he hadn't had his more sensitive ears he doubted he would have heard most of it. "I…the other night was really the most I've ever done with any guy so it's sort of strange to be held after such a long time. This is weird to admit but I figured it would explain things."

"Which is fine, we don't have to if you'd rather not." He said patiently. At least she is still untouched for the most part, Inuyasha was a fool…he took a corpse over this vibrant girl? If she were a demon she would certainly be an acceptable mate. The knowledge makes this little farce a tad easier to keep up.

End Chapter

That was a fun chapter to put together, I stayed up way too late so I could finish it and get it posted. I am heading off for sleep after this and want to try to get one more chapter up before my holiday vacation is over. Once it is, updates will come -sadly- much slower. Thanks again for reading.

-Aura

To my reviewers:

XxcutiekatxX - Yeah, she is a plot device really to keep things going and pushing characters (Kagome mostly) into things they probably wouldn't do without the added pressure.

Sesshoukunbelongstome - I enjoy Sesshy/Kagome the best as far as fictions go. I think he should have ended up with Kagura before she died but as I wanted to keep with the plot of what happened in the manga/show that I've read/seen it wasn't very possible. Kagome is a fun character to put with everyone's favorite demon lord. I'll have to check out your fictions once you start them when I get the time (aka when I have time and I'm not updating mine heh)

Dominik Journot - Thank you for the confidence booster. There are more fluffy scenes coming up, had to spend the time to logically get to them. I am trying to update while I have time and will try to keep them constant even after I start work again.

Dark Miko - (for both of your reviews) First, I really do thank you for your interest in my story and I appreciate it a lot. Secondly, Please please please don't type in call capitals - it bothers my eyes and makes my brain hurt. If my brain hurts it's harder to write things up faster for everyone. Thank you so much. I try to make sure each of my chapters has about 2500 words or so which is already really long so I will probably be keeping them to about that length and sometimes a little longer or shorter. They probably won't get much longer though I'm afraid.