Chapter 11: Escaping Unscathed

Kagome kept running, her breath becoming short and labored as her legs began to tire, the bag on her back feeling like a lead weight. Her whole body felt like it wanted just to fall down in the snow and lie there until she was completely covered in the white powder; to be caught by Sesshomaru and taken to a nice warm bed. She wasn't used to so much exercise after she had been out for a week…

But she had to keep running. She wouldn't give Sesshomaru the satisfaction of her giving in to him so easily… and he probably was intent on harming her in one fashion or another for punching the crap out of him. That was always a good reason for a hasty retreat. She hadn't known what had come over her, but then again she had slapped Koga the first time she met him so she supposed that slugging Sesshomaru was just a more extreme form of that… and most likely a more fatal one. Koga at least claims he loves her; Sesshomaru harbors no such feelings of restraint.

Which was not good.

Kagome mumbled a curse, more of a pant. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why does her anger always have to suppress her logic in the heat of the moment? If she had thought clearly, she would have just gone with him and had to put up with his crap for either two weeks or when Inuyasha came to rescue her, which she had no doubt he would try. If that was the only way to get her and keep the Tetsusaiga then he would do it, even if he lost. Inuyasha was just one minded about that kind of thing. He could never out right make a decision: Kagome vs Tetsusaiga, Kagome vs Kikyo...

Kagome stumbled on yet another tree root but caught herself before falling flat on her face on the snow covered ground. This is not the time to be thinking about Kikyo!

She continued to sprint, occasionally glancing over her shoulder and expecting to see the white uniform of Sesshomaru pop out of the tree cover to slash at her with his claws. Surprisingly there was no sign of him: no rustling of the trees, no sounds of pursuit, nothing. That in itself was the most frightening thing to Kagome. It was one thing to be running from something you could see but a completely different concept when bolting from one you couldn't.

Was he even really chasing her anyway? What if he decided that she wasn't worth it and returned to the castle? It was a faint hope but Kagome needed something besides fear to keep her mind off her exhausted body.

However that little glimmer of hope he was gone vanished completely when she slammed into a broad chest clad in white silk, the force of her own momentum suddenly halted sending her sprawling backwards into the snow. Her eyes got wide as Sesshomaru kneeled down so that his face was even with hers, raising a claw that was glowing a green color.

"Boo." He said in his usual monotone as a rare smile graced his handsome features; a grin born of malevolence and blood lust, barring his fangs at her. Kagome squeaked and rolled out of the way as his arm swiped the area where she had been sitting, the acid of the poison melting the snow into a watery, green goo. She scrambled wildly for cover and found herself huddled, hiding behind a thick tree, as if the trunk could even remotely block the attack. Memories of when she had first met Inuyasha flooded to her mind; she had run from him, dodged his blows and even hid behind a tree like she was doing right now while he was chasing after her to steal the, at the time, whole Shikon no Tama from her. She inwardly rolled her eyes at her thought. This wasn't the time to think about Inuyasha either!

She felt something slimy drop off from somewhere above her head and land on her shoulder to slide down her jacket and backpack strap. She touched the unknown substance with her finger, the stinging sensation almost unbearable as she shoved her finger into the snow to numb the pain as it slowly ate away the top layer of her skin. Realizing it could only be one thing, she glanced up at the bark above her head to find that Sesshomaru had melted a section of the trunk and the whole damn tree was going to crash on her!

She tore off the back pack and her jacket, for the fabric that had been exposed to the poisoned tree sap was slowly deteriorating, and threw them to the side away from her before she dove out of harm's way as the tree slowly slammed into the snow, the thunderous echo of its death resonating through the other trees. Though she was partly thankful to have the heavy bag off her back, it sure was a lot colder without her jacket! The winter air and snow seemed to tear through her long-sleeved shirt and numb her flesh. Good. Now maybe when he decides to slash her into little bits, she won't feel it as much.

Speaking of slashing, Kagome was forced to roll out of the way again as Sesshomaru's claws came within the proximity of her face. She scrambled to her feet, barley able to move away from his next swipe at her now unprotected back and she took off running again, her strides leaving her pursuer in the shadows once again.

She knew he was only toying with her. If he had really wanted to kill her, he would have done it by now at ten different times. She was no match for him in either skill or agility so if she wanted to beat him she would have to play his game. She was the one who had to do the toying if she wanted to escape this alive and unharmed. The problem was, how?

He must be "Tree Hopping", so termed for lack of a better phrase to describe it, like Inuyasha does when he wants to get somewhere in the forest quickly. It was the only explanation as to why he was able to suddenly appear in front of her without her noticing. The tree branches and snow gave him cover for he was wearing a white uniform, which made him hard to see in the snowy darkness. He was really quiet too; she never even heard him as he attacked. Those were both advantages that Kagome could fix… well, she hoped she could fix.

When the next thick tree branch that loomed over her head, Kagome jumped up and lashed on to it, using her gymnastic skills they made all girls learn in P.E. to use her momentum to swing up into the tree without losing any of the time that separated her from Sesshomaru. She had never tree hopped before but she didn't think about it as she leap from limb to limb as silently as possible. It wasn't as hard as Inuyasha made it look; as long as you let your body do it by instinct and not let your mind interfere, you avoided most the dangerous braches… or maybe it was just a demon thing…

WHAM! One moment Kagome was in the trees, practically flying and the next she was back on the ground, completely exposed in the open of the forest floor with a completely dazed expression on her face and a red mark forming on her forehead. As soon as Kagome could remember exactly who she was, she wasted no time in climbing up the nearest tree and continued her "tree-hopping", unsteadily of course but she had to keep moving. Where the hell had that branch come from anyway! Her head smarted from where her forehead came into contact with the branch bark, her headache and wounded pride adding insult to injury. She briefly wondered if Inuyasha ever did this when he was learning; imagining him pulling a George of the Jungle and smacking into a tree dead on was more than comforting…

At any rate, she was tree hopping, realizing that it was easier than flat out sprinting for her feet barely touched the bark before springing her up into the air again, allowing her to rest between jumps and after a while she even caught her breath one more. She mentally celebrated her success, confetti falling around her instead of snow while Inuyasha claimed how good she was getting on such short notice while the others applauded and cheered. It was nice to be loved, even if it was in her mind.

She was also thankful that she wore dark clothes that blended in with the shadows when she left the castle, though it probably doesn't matter. If she could see in the dark, Sesshomaru sure as hell could too and more than likely could see her better than she could see him. She was only half after all.

Now that she thought about it, he could smell her too couldn't he? No wonder he was always able to find her! It really didn't matter where she went or what she did, as long as he could sniff her out she was nowhere safe! She had to do something to cover her scent.

She gasped, nearly missing the next branch and tumbling back onto the forest floor as a realization struck her. She needed to stop distracting herself like that or she'll kill herself before Sesshomaru even gets to her and he would be furious that she deprived him of that honor!

However, now that she was set with a plan in her mind, she switched directions, making a gradual turn to the right to create a wide circle around the path where she had currently been traveling to back track towards her bag…

Sesshomaru sniffed the air gingerly, only going half his usual speed as his feet kicked off yet another branch to send him flying to the next one as he followed the human's scent. He wanted to enjoy this as much as possible before he drug her back to the castle. It was amusing to watch her dash and duck during his onslaught of attacks; she was pretty quick though not nearly fast enough to truly evade his assaults if he was really trying to hurt her. No… he would wait till after his game of cat and mouse to injure her.

Especially now that she was making it interesting. She must have figured out how he was getting around so swiftly, took to the trees as he had for he was unable to spot her in the snow and her footprints seemed to disappear abruptly. She was essentially silent; her demon abilities must have emerged somewhat for after a time he couldn't even hear her panting anymore. Now she actually had potential to be a good warrior, if she were to be properly trained. She was clever: able to think in desperate situation, trying her best to level the playing field when completely aware her disadvantages. Not that it would help her but he couldn't help but slightly admire her for her efforts. Not many full youkai would try to outsmart him as she was clearly striving to do.

Again he smelled the cold winter breeze, noticing idly that she had altered her course: she was farther and slightly to his right, as if she was making a circle around him and giving him a wide birth, as she probably should. This was unusual: why would she be back-tracking?

The solution crept into his mind as he shifted with her, maintaining the distance between them so he wouldn't alarm her. He wanted to see what she was up to before revealing his presence to her. He was pretty sure she was going back to her traveling bag to retrieve her bow and quiver that were strapped to it, if they were unaffected by his poison but he was pretty certain she knew it was futile. He had proven during his battles with Inuyasha that when he was barely concentrating, he could catch the infernal things before they reached his person so it would be pointless to attempt to wound him with them. He could dodge them with ease anyway.

Sure enough, as he reached the place where they had previously fought, the human stood with bow in hand and arrow notched, ready to fire.

Kagome released the arrow, the taunt bow string sending it flying with a snap. She had made sure that she hadn't made it into a sacred arrow; she only wished to distract the youkai, not purify him. Last thing she needed was to tell Rin why she had accidentally killed her foster father and explain to Inuyasha why she had stolen the pleasure from him. Neither would be very happy with her.

Her arrow had been straight and true, aiming right for his heart before he swatted it away carelessly. Kagome had known he would do that; she had seen him do it in battles with Inuyasha but made an effort to look dramatically abashed; hoping her forged look of shock would encourage him to come near her. He needed to be closer, just a little bit closer…

Sesshomaru got close alright! First he used his whip to snatch Kagome's bow out of her loose grip before charging her, claws hands wrapping around her tender throat as he lift her up into the air, letting her feet dangle helplessly. She cried out in pain as his momentum slammed her against a tree, bark cutting into her back as he continued to squeeze her neck, making it hard for her to breathe in anything but wheezes as she glanced feebly down at his face which seemed to practically glow with malevolent joy. Well, it certainly looked as if he had wanted to do this all day.

Sesshomaru couldn't stop the wicked grin that flashed across his face. He had craved to this all day! He added more pressure to her throat, feeling her windpipe constrict underneath his finger tips as she delicately gasped for air, trying in vain to force breath into her starving lungs. She weakly tried to loosen his hold on her with a hand as tears began to well up her eyes, her face cast in a look of utter vulnerably. Choking her was almost as exhilarating as when he strangled Jaken, minus the bug eyes. Where was her defiance now? Where was her human stubbornness? Her life now balanced in his hands; he had absolute domination over her fate and he and only he could decide if she should live or die. This was the ultimate control.

Unfortunately for him, Kagome didn't seem to think so because while he was so engrossed in his "control", he hadn't noticed that he had fallen into her trap. With her free hand, she dug into a jean pocket to reveal a miniature spray can and before Sesshomaru could comprehend was she was doing, she popped off the cap and sprayed most of the substance in his face

The spray hit his eyes dead on, the oily substance forcing him to close them.

At first there was only a slight stinging but after a couple seconds it felt as if someone had taken a red hot iron poker to them!

Sesshomaru dropped her and began to claw at his eyes, only succeeding to irritate them even more as he rubbed the foreign stuff into them, making them water and forcing him to close them. They burned as if she had thrown acid in them; even his nose was beginning to feel the sensation as he inhaled the mist, catching the faint scent of the spice known as pepper, causing his throat to constrict like there was an invisible hand around his throat. Coughing and wheezing, he fell to his knees, his whole world thrown into darkness without the aid of his sense of sight or smell as he hissed in anguish. What magic was this! What had she done to him!

Only his hearing gave away the wench's movements and what he heard did not bode well for him: the recovery of her breath, scrambling in the snow, and the drawing of a bow string. For one of the few times in his life, his heart began to race. At such close range, he had no hope of being able to avoid her shot now that he was handicapped nor could he accurately defend himself.

Shit.

He didn't know what was worse: that he was outsmarted by a female hanyou or that same hanyou could now slay him in a heart beat. Both were unsettling. At this point, he would go with dying because then he wouldn't have to hear about it ever again. Not that he considered it fair that she used such tricks against him; it was damn undignified! True warriors never used potions or poisons…ok…he couldn't say that…god dammit! The pain was making it hard for him to think straight!

Kagome stood there quietly for a moment, wondering what she should do next. She had armed herself again merely out of habit after she had drenched him with pepper spray, not that she was intent on murdering him. She wasn't a very homicidal person: even in battle, she always waited till the last moment before slaying a demon, most of the time only to protect her friends. Now that she actually had the Sesshomaru on his knees in front of her, she was at a loss for her next move. No doubt he expected her to fire her arrow but all she wanted was to be left alone to go home or at least be treated better if she was going to stay with him. However if she tried to run again, as soon as he recovered, which would be a while because that can had been pretty full (it had been a 15 capsicum spray that her mother had given her), he would only hunt her down again, and more than likely cut her down as well, Tetsusaiga or no. She gulped. She didn't feel like dying tonight. From what she gathered, Sesshomaru was an honorable person, despite his superiority issues and hostility. Perhaps they could compromise.

"Sesshomaru, I honestly don't want to kill you…" she sounded more confident then she really felt, almost as if her voice was detached from her body. "…and I'm positive you don't want me too either so I suggest we strike a truce."

If Sesshomaru's eyes didn't smart so much and he wasn't so enraged, he would have gawked at her in incredulity. Just how many compromises do the gods demand he bind himself to in one day? Thankfully, his breathing was already becoming easier and he was beginning to get smells again… faint but they were there… maybe he could kill her before making any promises.

Kagome continued in a rush, knowing that her little window of opportunity was closing and fast, considering on humans that spray is supposed to disable them for about 30-45 minutes but with demons, she couldn't be sure. "I know that if I run, you'll only track me down with murder intentions for my actions and I really don't get my kicks from killing vulnerable youkai."

Sesshomaru scoffed. Vulnerable? Him? It was only a matter of time until he recovered and then the wench will see just exactly how "vulnerable" he was! "Murder intentions" was an understatement!

Kagome paused, not trusting her voice not to give away her apprehension. Here comes the part where she all but gives him her soul, something she had escaped to avoid doing. At least if she worded this right, she could improve her life at his house and prevent any fatal loop holes from biting her in the ass later on in her visit. "Now I swear on my life that I will return with you to the castle and stay there like a good little hanyou on a few conditions…"

As if her life was worth much Sesshomaru thought, waiting to hear just what exactly her "conditions" were. Oh how he hated this girl! And the mental picture of her as she was in the bath house that crept into his mind was seriously NOT HELPING one bit!

"Condition one: I expect to be treated equally. I am so sick of you talking down to me and ordering me about like I am merely an inconvince!" Kagome said coldly with an edge in her voice as she watched for Lord Sesshomaru's response.

This time, he let his thoughts become known. "Maybe I treat you as such because you are a mere inconvince."

Kagome snorted; didn't seem like his sarcasm and rudeness were in any way daunted by his current situation. It was his big mouth and her fiery temper that got them in this predicament in the first place. If he hadn't provoked her, she never would have punched him.

She pressed the tip of the arrow to his chest above his heart, fully aware that he couldn't see it. "Now listen to me Sesshomaru for I am only going to say this once. As much of an inconvince I am, I am your inconvince and you will just have to deal with it. I expected to be called "Kagome" or nothing at all. Whatever offensive terms you wish to label me as, stay in your head got it?"

Sesshomaru felt the prick of the arrow head on his chest, drawing little drops of blood that raced across his skin when the point broke through it. She almost sounded intimidating! He was tempted to say that just to get on her nerves but thought better of it. He'll have time to taunt her later when he could see again. He didn't know why but he loved to deride her; maybe it was because her human passion brought the most queer and spontaneous reactions. No youkai in his castle would ever think of retorting back with witty comments or even go so far as to strike his person yet this hanyou (used to be human) had managed to both in one day.

"Any other 'conditions' I should be made aware of?" Sesshomaru asked with as much distain as he could muster when she had paused, not agreeing but not disagreeing either. He wanted to know what other outrageous requests she expected him to obey before compromising or killing her, which ever one came first.

"Further more, I am not to be hurt in any way which includes: hitting, punching, kicking, crushing, scratching, poisoning, slashing, slapping, hacking, cutting, bashing, smashing, or killing me, whether by your hand or someone else's who you command." The guy had a castle full of demons for crying out loud! Last thing she needed was a hired assassin coming after her in the night to slaughter her in her sleep.

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to comment but was interrupted by Kagome: "And you can not kill me or hurt me and heal me with the Tenseiga and expect that not to count. I will not stand the abuse."

Sesshomaru snapped his mouth shut. How did she know he was going to say something along those lines? He doubted she could read minds but she was a miko and he hadn't much experience with mikos; if he did encounter any in his travels he usually killed them on sight, not invite them back to his castle for tea. Maybe she did have some variation of that power or was it simply female intuition?

"And last but not least, I expect you to at least protect me if I were to be attacked. Not wait until the last possible moment, watching me be beaten or anything of the like got it?" Kagome wasn't sure why she had said that but she could picture him doing such a thing; applauding as a demon bashed her against a tree and what not.

Sesshomaru sighed. There went his last hope of revenge. Not to mention he was still impaired; he would have to surrender to her terms…after making a few of his own.

"Well Kagome. I see I have no choice but to agree to your requests however I wish to make a few things clear."

Kagome backed away from him, lowering her bow just enough so that it wasn't currently threatening his life but it was still battle ready just in case he tried to pull a fast one on her. She was giving him a little trust but she wasn't stupid.

Sesshomaru heard her back away and the wood on the bow creak slightly to indicate that she had eased up on her attack but only barely. She was putting a little faith in him but not much. At least she's not a moron. He thought as he dramatically cleared his throat before beginning to recite his first point.

"I only wish to make it clear that while you are in my house and under my care that I practically own you… Omae wa ore no mono da (you belong to me)."

Kagome shivered. She didn't like the way he had said that…

Sesshomaru carried on though he could sense her discomfort with the phrase. Hell, he rarely used it himself for was like a double-bladed sword: not only did the pledge bind the person to him but it also bound him to them, for now that he "owned" them he had to protect them no matter what, for he always defended what was his with great ferocity. In fact, if he had bothered to explain it to her, she would probably feel honored but he couldn't allow that.

"This entails that I too expect to be treated equally, if not superior to you. I am not that mindless mutt that you are used to commanding and following your every wish."

Kagome sneered, tempted to shoot him. No one insults Inuyasha while she's around, though the "mindless" part of that statement was correct. But she visibly refrained and even kept quiet so that he may continue.

Sesshomaru almost smiled as he said this next request but stopped himself for he wanted to appear as serious as he possibly could, though internally he was relishing the thought of denying her the only means of escape that she would have put any kind of faith in. "It also means that you are not to try to run away again, even if Inuyasha does come lay siege to my castle to retrieve you." He knew that they both knew Inuyasha would try but now he just ensured that his half-brother will not succeed.

Kagome groaned. Well there went plan B. He paused for a moment and Kagome got this unsettling feeling that he was not finished. What other thing could he possibly want from her besides her complete and utter cooperation for the duration of her stay with no hope of reprieve?

Sesshomaru now could make out her hazy outline through the tiniest part of his strained eye lids, more of a shadow than anything else while his eyes still watered and stung. He was certain that they will be blood shot tomorrow so that means that he will confine himself to his study so no one would see him. That was just prefect. It was the prefect way to end a perfectly horrid night.

And now for his last request…

"And furthermore, you shall never mention this incident to anyone ever in your short pathetic life or I swear on my father's grave that you will die in the most imaginative way possible along with everyone you have ever known!" His voice was low and menacing, more of a growl as he placed his claws a mere inch from her nose and let the poison flow through his veins, surrounding his hand in a venomous fog that threatened to burn off the skin of said facial feature.

Though the green haze stung her face, Kagome stood her ground as she felt her skin slowly begin to dissolve under his touch. It was weird how you could take sheering pain like that when you knew that you were getting only a slight taste of what your punishment could be along with the fact that your skin will have repaired itself within a few moments. She could get used to regeneration that's for sure.

Kagome grabbed his hand with hers, pulling it away from her face and into a handshaking gesture, the poison cutting into her skin like fire. She concentrated carefully, only summoning enough of her power into her touch to dispel the demon magic…and maybe give Sesshomaru a slight shock with it.

Sesshomaru tried not to cry out as something close to electricity raced up his arm, twitching it into numbness while he felt the poisonous aura around his claws disappear as if it had never been summoned, turning what was supposed to be an impressively intimidating motion to frighten her into what he could only guess to be some sort of indication of truce. It was as if he had been a child that was displaying some publicly obscene gesticulation and she were the mother who changed the sign to something appropriate, even scolding him for his use of the bad indicator.

How degrading.

"You have my word Sesshomaru…sama." Kagome shook his hand, proud of her small motion of friendship. It was like changing his middle finger to the peace sign! And then addressing him like an equal! Man she was on a roll!

Sesshomaru's ears tweaked when he heard what she called him. Oh Kami he had a feeling he was going to regret the deal that he just made. Not to mention his nose was running from the combined efforts of the pepper substance and the cold. He waited while listening to the noises of the girl gathering up her belongings, or what was left of them before he heard snow crunching next to him and felt the heat from her breath on the cold night air as it dissipated beside him.

Kagome shrugged into her jacket, covered in damp snow used to dilute the sappy poison that clung to it while she adjusted the backpack on her shoulder, now only possessing one strap and many holes. She groaned. She'll have to buy a new one when she got home. At least the skin on her face was already healing…

They stood there in the snow for many moments; painful minutes that involved Kagome shivering with teeth chattering, signs usually consistent with freezing one's ass off. Kagome glanced sideways as Sesshomaru, who remained as still as a statue as the snow drifted around him in playful flips and he didn't look as if he was going to be moving anytime soon. She sighed. She had thought that he would want to get back to the castle as soon as possible but for some reason he was hesitating…

She nearly slapped her forehead but stopped herself. Duh! He can't see! He can't safely travel through the woods! AND he's too proud to ask for help. She tried in vain to hide a smile. This was just priceless. Thank you God of Pepper Spray! At least Kagome got one laugh tonight… one she was trying to suppress for Sesshomaru's sake. At least this was a problem she could fix.

Sesshomaru stared at the tree in front of him, concentrating on the patterns in the bark as if they had the secrets of life hidden in them and he could pull them out with the power of his eyes. Nope. Still didn't look any clearer. Damn. At this rate, he'll never get back to the castle. What was that potion she dowsed him with? Its effects had to be nothing short of amazing to have rendered him incapable of walking back to his house through the woods. Maybe he could get her to tell him her secret and then he could use it on the idiotic guards. A day or so without sight or smell ought to make them appreciate the importance of their job a little more…

Any train of thought passing through his mind at that exact moment was promptly derailed when he felt a small, soft and incredibly warm hand grasp his huge, numb one. His head snapped toward where he knew Kagome was standing and he could barely make out her shadowy silhouette reflecting off the snow as she began to walk in front of him, two hands now cradling his.

Her touch was… warm… and gentle. Her fingers were like butterflies as they softly moved over the skin on the back of his hand, sending shivers up his arm and down his spine as he felt air that was moist and balmy race across his finger tips when she breathed on his hand to thaw it. Sesshomaru was speechless and was trying to not physically gawk or react to her touch. What did she think she was doing?

When he tried to withdraw his hand, he felt resistance from the wench as she tightened her hold and put it on something warm and slender; what he could only guess to be her shoulder from the texture of the clothing that covered it before she released him. With her hands gone, he felt his own become immediately vulnerable to the bitter cold air and his fingers twitched, pressing against her slim shoulder bones momentarily as if asking for her touch once again.

"What are you doing?" he asked grimly though his hand was still tingling involuntarily. What was this human up to? And why is his hand acting this way!

Though he couldn't see her face, he knew she smiled.

"Considering you can't see, I thought I would lead you back to the castle."

Sesshomaru wasted no time in removing his hand from her shoulder and stepping away from her, determined to get away from her and her temperate caress. "I am in need of no such assistance," he replied as coldly as possible, glaring at her shadow before continuing. "Especially not from a hu…"

He felt her aura spike before he heard her forced "Ahem", obviously giving him a warning.

"…you." He finished, mildly peeved that he was forced to reword his statement. Yes he was about to use the word "human" but according to their agreement, he was not allowed to refer to her in any terms she deemed inappropriate, human most likey being at the top.

Kagome sighed in frustration. What is it about men and asking for help? Does it conflict with their sense of dignity or something? Right now, all it was conflicting with was Kagome's patience. "Listen Sesshomaru, I know you still can't see well and I believe that instead of wasting time waiting for either your eyes to clear or for you to recover from the impact of first tree you walk into while I freeze to death, we could be making progress by me leading you while there is nobody around…" She made an exaggerated emphasis the "nobody" in hopes that he would get it through his thick skull that no one would see him. "…and get back into the castle and to a fireplace before anyone really notices that we were gone and that you are…temporarily impaired." She finished while crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot in the snow and impatiently waiting for an answer.

Sesshomaru mulled over what she had just said. He hated to admit it but she had a point: while he liked the cold, he felt as if he had enough "winter fun" outside in the cold night with… her and did wish to return to his bed as quickly as possible. Not to mention that getting out of her presence will be an added bonus, without having to recover from the humiliation of running into the imaginary tree that she had previously mentioned. That would be even tougher to live down then her merely leading him back into his castle undetected.

He sighed in resignation and held out a hand for her to grab hold of. Her reasoning was pointless to argue with.

Kagome nearly clapped her hands at her triumph but grasped his hand again instead, her skin jumping from the contact. That was weird. She thought as she began to drag Sesshomaru through the woods but was held back. She turned to look at Sesshomaru expectantly. Now what's the problem?

Sesshomaru glared down at her (or at least in her direction) though his body began to immediately warm with her touch once again. "Remember…" he said in a low menacing voice as he gripped her hand tightly, half-heartedly hoping to crush her fragile hand bones before he "remembered" that she had mentioned crushing in her list of now forbidden physical abuses. "If you mention this to anyone…"

Kagome rolled her eyes as her body continued to shake with the cold while his hand squeezed hers firmly in a not-too-friendly way. Oh come on already! She thought annoyed as she used her other thumb to press against the tendon in his wrist, knowing that it was a pressure point and immediately felt the force from his tense finger muscles ease involuntary in her right hand. After years of traveling with a hanyou, monk and taijiya, you tend to learn a few cool tricks.

"I know. You swear on your father's grave that I will die in the most imaginative way possible along with everyone I have ever known. Can we go now?"