Pre A/N: I am such a liar. I am so, so, so sorry guys; I promised to get out chp. 13 soon after chp. 12 but we see how that went.

Anyway, sorry again my loves and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I didn't really like chapter twelve when I put it out (and I still don't) but I'm hoping and praying that this one is a little better and more in the flow of my style of writing than chapter twelve. And I hope that you all like where the story is going.

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of InuYasha or any of the characters in this story. InuYasha and its characters are purely the ownership of Rumiko Takahashi. This story is purely for the sake of fanfiction and I claim no ownership.

Foolish Games

Inhaling deeply and leaning back in the tree he sat comfortably in, Sesshoumaru opened his closed eyes a slit and stared at the pale, white moon hanging heavy in the grey sky. It was barely past twilight, the sky just light enough and the moon low enough to give even the sightless humans enough light to traverse the dark, but it was long past time that any "normal" human would be outside.

Apparently the stupid human priestess found that the rules of the dark did not include her anymore than it included demons such as himself.

Humming quietly to herself, Kagome Higurashi lay back on the cool, thick grass and stared at the darkening sky. Every once in a while she would mutter words – names? – that made no sense to him while she watched the sky, much as he was doing. Curious despite himself, Sesshoumaru eventually discovered that each time a new, small point of light – or group of lights – appeared in the darkness, the priestess would speak another meaningless name as if naming the bright points of light.

He supposed that it was a curiosity due to her simple human-ness, but he had never actually heard another human pay attention to those small points of light in the sky. Most humans just assumed they were the gods watching over them. Some said they were the spirits of their deceased. Sesshoumaru just said they were lights. There were no benevolent beings watching over from above. But the human priestess had always been a curiosity unto herself. Perhaps she was from another land where such lights did have names?

Or perhaps she was just human.

Closing his eyes, Sesshoumaru growled at his own temerity. He had not gotten enough sleep if he was allowing himself to think on the priestess' unusual habits. She was human and he was only here to satisfy his mother and annoy his stupid half-brother who, as of yet, had yet to realize that Sesshoumaru was even near the village, let alone following his stupid priestess.

Foolish little brother. If you cared more for your human, you would keep better watch on her. A greater predator might decide to make her prey.

Of course, as if to mock his own thoughts, the priestess decided that moment to begin singing a song he could not comprehend – and not just because it was in a language far from their own.

Her normal light voice took on the beauty of the song, weaving in lyrics and rhythm in such a way that Sesshoumaru found it captivating. At that moment, he couldn't have thought of her as anything other than beautiful.

And she was.

As the night grew, the moonlight cast off her flawless fair skin and turned her dark hair blue, she glowed like a midnight bloom, and it was hard to believe that she belonged anywhere but amongst the night.

Then the wind shifted and Sesshoumaru understood what the lyrics to the song couldn't convey to him—Kagome was sad. Very, very sad.

Feeling a growl rise in his chest in response to a female's helplessness – it had nothing to do with it being Kagome who was sad… nothing at all – Sesshoumaru barely bit back the growl in time for Inuyasha to step over the top of the gently rising hill and stride towards the priestess with determined steps.

It was then that Sesshoumaru felt it, a small burst of reiki that wiped all the scent of sadness and tears out of the air and left the area smelling fresh. Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows. The priestess hadn't been able to do that before… and if she was doing that, she didn't want Inuyasha to know that she'd been sad. Hmm. Interesting.

"Oi, Kagome. Why are ya out here still? It's dark already an' I told you that ya can't stay out after dark. It's dangerous." The dumb hanyou didn't even feel the lingering tension in the air as he callously plopped down next to Kagome. "So what's botherin' you?"

Sesshoumaru leaned forward, turning his head towards the couple, and narrowed his eyes. Perhaps his brother wasn't as numb to his senses as he'd thought him… though he was still stupid.

When Kagome didn't answer—though Sesshoumaru could see her draw her knees up to her chest and encase them in her arms in a vulnerable, protective gesture—Inuyasha continued speaking. "'Cause you only come up here when you've got somethin' on your mind. And you've been comin' up here a lot lately."

Kagome spoke, so quietly that Sesshoumaru actually had to strain his ears to hear, and tipped her head back to look at the sky. "It's nothing Inuyasha. I've just been missing Mom and Souta and Gramps more recently."

Inuyasha didn't seem to believe what Kagome was saying – and neither did Sesshoumaru, that wasn't what that song was about, but what he thought was irrelevant – but before Inuyasha could open his mouth to protest, Kagome continued smoothly. "It'll be Mom's birthday soon. I've never missed one of her birthdays."

And the sadness in her voice had Inuyasha wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Come on Kags. Your mom knows why you did it—" came back here, Sesshoumaru assumed, "—so don't get upset. Plus, just 'cause you're not where she is doesn't mean ya can't celebrate her birth, right?"

Sesshoumaru would hate to admit that he was surprised – and he never would admit it – but he couldn't believe that Inuyasha actually possessed the intelligence to comfort the priestess. Apparently his little brother wasn't completely brainless.

He was so distracted by his thoughts, that Sesshoumaru had missed the first part of what Kagome was saying. He cast his attention back to the pair just as Inuyasha was standing, his eyes flicking around the surrounding forest. "Come on Kagome. It's gettin' late."

Smiling at Inuyasha, Kagome waved her hands. "Go on ahead Inuyasha. I'm gonna be just a moment." When he continued to stand in front of her, his body posture stubbornly non-moving, Kagome narrowed her eyes and sharpened her voice. "I can protect myself just fine Inuyasha. There's nothing dangerous within twenty miles of here." Sesshoumaru didn't bother to hold back a snort of derision. Nothing dangerous, ha. If only she knew.

Softening her voice, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand. "I'm gonna be right behind you Inuyasha. Just give me a moment."

Sesshoumaru glared at his brother, and their entwined hands – because a youkai, even a half-blood, shouldn't be touching a human; that's obviously why – and then focused his attention back at the sky. He was becoming entirely too focused on the interactions between his brother and the priestess.

"Hey, thanks for keeping watch."

Sesshoumaru let his gaze drop from the nearly full moon and down to where Kagome now stood alone. He'd assumed that she had been talking to his stupid brother, but when his golden eyes fell on her darkened form, soft blue eyes captured his. Wordlessly, he stared.

She couldn't be talking to him could she?

Impossible, there was no one who could sense his youki once he'd suppressed his aura. Especially not a stupid human priestess.

But Kagome didn't seem to be under that impression as she smiled, still holding his invisible eyes in the darkness and waved sweetly before dashing off into the woods, following the faint trail of Inuyasha's scent – or he supposed for her, aura.

Silently, he sat back in the tree and glared broodingly at the sky. She couldn't have managed to sense him… could she? He had been careful to stay an adequate distance away and had always controlled his youki. But if she had sensed him, then there was no more point to the game he was playing. He would just have to show his mother that he is a lord and has no need of a human plaything and end the foolish game the insufferable bitch had him playing.

It was in that moment that he chose to remember the priestess' "nothing dangerous" comment, and drew his lips back from his teeth in a soundless snarl.

.:!:.

A/N: So, the long promised thirteen chapter. Tada! Sorry guys. Truly, truly sorry.

If I have made any mistakes within the chapter, feel free to point them out to me by PM or (if you're a guest) in the comments page for the chapter. I don't have the time anymore to have my sister/editor look over my chapters before I post them, so I'm more likely to have overlooked any mistakes.

Just in case any of you don't realize or I haven't been clear enough—Sesshoumaru doesn't know that Kagome is from the future, or what happened to her in the years that she vanished. He just assumes that she is from another land from across the sea (and that that is why she can speak a weird language—which is English by the way), and that is where she disappeared to. And that is what he assumes Inuyasha is talking about when he is speaking of her mother understanding Kagome missing her birthday.

Also… THE GAME IS AFOOT! (Yes, I did just channel my inner Sir Arthur Connan Doyle, AKA Sherlock Holmes). Sesshoumaru has taken Kagome's dismissal of his level of a danger as a challenge. What lovely interactions could that lead to? ^_^

The song Kagome was singing is one of my childhood favorites. Sad and bittersweet, it has the right feel for Kagome and since I was born in the nineties, it's from around the right time period for Kagome and so she would have been able to have heard it.
Song: "Foolish Games" – Jewel (the one I am thinking of is the Demo version, by the way. That's the first version I heard)

And yes, the chapter title is from the song. It fits Sesshoumaru rather well, doesn't it? He is playing foolish games.