(Inuyasha and Co do not belong to me. I just like to write about them. This is well - I know you guys will kill me on this one, it's not QUITE lemony, but it's getting there! I'd give this chapter an R rating. This is an exclusively Kag and Sess-chan chapter. Whew..let's hope I can get this thing finished soon! )

Kanashimi no Hate ni - End To Sorrow - Twenty

A Thin Line Crossed

Sesshoumaru usually enjoyed the time that lay between the dead of night and the early rays of dawn's light. It was a quiet time, a time where he was in sync with the orderliness of the very fabric of time itself.

But this night, he was not. His thoughts went to and fro, thinking about everything and about nothing, trying to get his mind off of Kagome. Foolishness. Why had he kissed her? Better that he would have slashed her throat than that.

Why? What was wrong with him?

Bah. There was nothing wrong with the great Western lord Sesshoumaru at all. It was her doing, she with her odd miko powers. Did not the dead woman Kikyou posess his hanyou brother's heart until she dragged him to hell with her? Proof positive that her reincarnation would have the same gift to ensnare any foolish man.

If she thought she ensnared Sesshoumaru, she was quite mistaken, since he was not foolish and not a man either. He was the great youkai lord of the Western Lands, and despite what she told him about the world scant five centuries from this time, HE would not disappear or hide from the infestation of humans. In fact he'd do everything in his power to prevent it. Kill every one of them, or at least prevent them from breeding more.

Ah, but they proliferated like the lowly beings they were, breeding and spreading their stink throughout the land. Lowly hanyous and youkai did not help the matter by combining their low blood with the even lower blood of the humans.

And humans - bah - they played at war. They knew nothing of real war or combat at all, making new ugly machines that only made the ground soak up more of their despicable blood.

Yes, he would kill every last human in his grasp.

But then - he'd have to start with the very two under his roof.

Rin. Why he kept her he did not know. She had traveled with him many times, always talking or laughing or some such nonsense. He could have left her behind in some forest or dark road many a time when she succumbed to the human weakness of tiredness or hunger, but instead he would slow his pace or stop for her.

Why would he do such a thing?

Her heartbeat as she lay curled up in a ball near him. Her little smile as he curled his tail around her to keep her warm. Her fearlessness, her devotion, and yes, even her silly notion that she loved him, Sesshoumaru, the most feared youkai lord of the Western Lands.

Dancing around him, using his sash as a rope - until he told her to stop. Her gap tooth smile at any little token that he gave to her. Such little small things that lit up her eyes so. Things that were so inconsequential to him, mattered so much to her. Grubby half-dead flowers held in an even grubier little hand...the same hands that went to the trouble of bringing him food when he had been injured. She, a human girl, the most frail and insignificant of all, had cared for his welfare before her own.

No, he could not kill her.

Then there was the other - Kagome, Inuyasha's woman. She had always been at his half-brother's side, tempermental and yet always so steadfastly loyal to him, even though he still loved the miko bitch Kikyou. Ever since she had pulled the Tetsusaiga out he had thought that there was something unusual about her, even though he did not bother himself with such a thing. He had expected that she would die soon enough anyway. His main concerns had been protecting what was his, retrieving the Tetsusaiga, and killing the hanyou mutt.

But it had not happened that way, for Naraku the coward had came and interfered in affairs that were not his own. Every gift or boon he had ever offered had come at a price. Sesshoumaru was glad that the arm he now had did not come from anything Naraku had done.

Naraku aside, he and Inuyasha had not crossed paths often, but when they did, there was sure to be a fight. But always, always something interfered, and that girl was always with him, bravely standing up to horrible things that most humans would have ran from. When he thought of her, he thought that she was a fool, a brave fool, but a fool none the less.

And then there was the time he had come upon Inuyasha, in the throes of his heat, trying to force himself on the girl. For her part, she had fought him as much as she could, but she had been no match for a hanyou, much less an undisciplined hanyou turned youkai. Tears had been in her eyes and he had smelled the sharp tang of fear upon her along with an undercurrent of anger.

He could have left them - could have let Inuyasha spend his lust upon the girl, and then when he was spent and exhausted with the exertion of spilling his seed, he, Sesshoumaru would kill them both, taking the Tetsusaiga and ridding the world of at least two annoyances.

But instead something snapped in him - it was the same when he had seen Rin lying upon the ground, her body ravaged by wolves, dead upon the road. This time, he felt an anger, a deep hatred for Inuyasha. He did not care for the girl, or what would later happen to her, but he would not allow this to happen. And so he stopped Inuyasha before he could take the girl. When he tossed him a far distance, Sesshoumaru had surveyed her. Her body was bleeding where Inuyasha had scratched her deeply with his claws and he saw her shoulder bleeding where he had 'marked' her as his. He did not notice the curves of her, or how pale her skin was against the red of the blood that ran down her body. No, he had been only filled with anger at Inuyasha's lust. He should have known that as undisciplined as the hanyou was, that he would have done something like this when his heat came upon him eventually. Didn't that girl know that? No, she was a stupid human, like all the rest.

He had left her and even though his back was turned, he knew she had gotten up off the ground - an act that took some strength of will, he thought. In this age of frail women, most would have lain there and cried.

But she had not.

Now he wondered if that was because of the world she claimed she came from. Did they breed such as she or was she the exception?

When he saw her again, he had noticed how much she had changed. She was a little older but not by much. Her body had filled out even more but she was not soft with fat or slack muscle. She still carried herself as she always had, but there had been something in her eyes and of course that was the hurt that Inuyasha had inflicted upon her. Her pain had not mattered to him, only the fact that the Tetsusaiga, the sword that his hanyou brother had helped to break in two, was suddenly whole and in her human hands.

No, not human, but hanyou.

Not hanyou, but something more than that.

Sesshoumaru sighed softly, his face expressionless. Yes, that one he had to kill - before she tried her witchery upon him. It wouldn't work of course, but it was better to do so before she became a hinderance. It had been in his plans anyway and it was not like he cared about her. No, that was not it at all. He was only keeping her here to unlock just how Tetsuiaga and Tensaiga worked as they did.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he made his decision. He would kill her now. Simple and clean. If Rin cried about it, she would get over it soon enough, then things would be as they were before. He would be merciful as he could be, a slash to the throat and then she would no longer be a problem...

He, Sesshoumaru would not be shaken from his purpose now.

****

He had found her by her scent, but she was no longer in her room. Instead her scent led him to the bathouse. Sesshoumaru frowned. Was she not clean enough already? She smelled good as she was, surely she would scrub her skin off eventually.

What did it matter? She would be dead in a matter of moments then she would be just an empty corpse.

Silently he opened the wide doors and just as silently he shut them to, slipping into the room. Slowly he entered, already his hand was out, his claws extended. His eyes saw through the perpetual steam that came from the pool, but he could not see her nor hear her. She was here for he could smell her scent keenly. Moving closer to the pool, he saw something within the mist and knew it was her. She had her back towards him as she leaned against the wall of the pool. Sesshoumaru attuned himself to the sound of her breathing and his ears caught her steady even breathng, which meant that she was sleeping.

Good. It would be better this way. A brief moment and then -

No. wait. He did not wish to pollute the waters with her spilled blood. Damn humans, a nuisance even when they're dead. He could lift her out from where he was, and then slash her throat quickly, but no, that would not do.

He supposed that he would have to go into the pool itself to get her. He could do so without disturbing her.

Stripping himself of his kimono quickly and effeciently, Sesshoumaru stepped into the pool silently, the mist rising from the heated water already forming a layer of sheen upon his bare skin. His ever present tail trailed behind him, floating above the water, still fluffy despite the fact that he was in the water. Slowly he came to where she rested, her eyes shut and her mouth in a small smile of relaxation. He surveyed her face and found that on her cheek, a single stripe similar to his own was showing and that her ears had become just a hint pointy. Was she evolving even further than he had thought?

It would not matter in a moment..

Sesshoumaru reached for her and gently cradled her in his arms, her wet body feeling slick against his warm skin. He felt a tingling run through his body at the feel of her skin against his own and his pulse raced as she turned towards him with a tiny sigh, her breasts teasingly rubbing up against his chest.

The youkai lord felt a wave of dizziness come over him and a heat grow within him. No, he had to hurry! Even now she was affecting him! Quickly carrying her out of the pool, he prepared to set her down when she softly moaned.

Now, he could not stay his hand! His claws were at her throat as his eyes narrowed upon the pulse beating there.

He felt a spot of blood appear on her throat where he was pressing one of his claws up against it. Now. Now! What was he waiting for! He would kill her now!

NOW!

"Sesshoumaru..hmmmm...." Kagome moaned softly, oblivious that she was once more on the brink of death. Her hand slipped across his smooth chest, and Sesshoumaru froze, his eyes wide with shock. His hand slipped away from her neck as the moment was lost.

He was lost as his hand slipped up to her face and touched the stripe upon her cheek as she nuzzled against the warmth of his chest.

Sesshoumaru couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He was only aware that she had called his name, had trustingly nuzzled against him, even as he sought to rend her throat to ribbons and spill her life's blood. It was agony.

"What have you done to me, Ka - go - me?" Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath, lifting Kagome's chin with his free hand He kissed her then, feeling her respond to him instantly, her mouth opening for his own.

Heat rose through Sesshoumaru in a rush and he knew he desired this miko-witch more than anything he had ever desired before in his life.

"Hmmph?" Kagome was coming to wakefulness when suddenly her eyes flew open. She was kissing Sesshoumaru - again!

And - and she was - they were - were -

Naked!

"UMPH! MUUUMPH!" Kagome wenched her head away as her eyes grew angry and afraid too.

"What - what ARE you doing!" Kagome spat as she tried to get out of his grasp.

Sesshoumaru did not say a word, only looked into her eyes.

"Put me down.." Kagome said, willing herself not to be afraid. He made her think of that night with Inuyasha, when he had nearly taken her in his demon form. But Sesshoumaru would not.

"Put me down! Osuwari! Osuwari!" Kagome yelled.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow.

Kagome blushed with embarassment. Sesshoumaru was NOT Inuyasha. She wouldn't be able to control him that way. She had even tried that when Inuyasha had turned demon, but it had not worked at all.

"S - sesshoumaru, please.." Kagome shivered with fear. Dear god, she didn't want to be raped and killed by him!

"Do you truly believe that I, Sesshoumaru would lower myself to rape?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Kagome blinked and said bitterly, "You're a demon aren't you?"

"Only weaker youkai, hanyous and human males would have to prove their dubious power that way. I, Sesshoumaru do not need to prove anything." He lifted his chin proudly and for a moment, he looked a little like Inuyasha and Kagome's heart turned over just a little. Sesshoumaru was proud, just like Inuyasha had been.

"G - gomen.." Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru did not respond to her apology, but his hand gently looped around her back as he stared into her face.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome could not quite read his face. There was emotion there, not his customary mask but she could not tell what it was. HIs face drew closer to hers and Kagome could only stare at him wide eyed.

~His eyes..so - so golden..they look like Inuyasha's, when he would look at - .~

~When he would look at Kikyou!~

Kagome felt shock at that fact, even as Sesshoumaru kissed her gently, his full lips gently caressing her own, not forcing them, merely savoring them. Kagome felt herself drawn into that kiss and leaned her body against Sesshoumaru's even as he still stood, cradling her in his arms.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers entwined into his long hair, registering the silky feel of it on her fingertips. Suddenly Sesshoumaru pulled away, his eyes staring into her own once more. His lips compressed as if he were in thought and to Kagome it seemed like he had decided something. Grazing his hand against her cheek once more, he actually smiled. It was not a smile that just anyone would see, but to Kagome, used to Sesshoumaru's neutral mask, it was a smile.

"Nani?" Kagome felt the tension between them, but it was an odd tension - one that excited her deeply.

Wordlessly, his very fluffy tail wrapped around them, covering her up. Kagome smiled, pleased at the gesture.

~She looks like Rin whenever she is happy..Have I made her happy?~ Sesshoumaru thought with a sense of childlike wonder.

Kagome did not speak as he carried her out of the steamy bathhouse. She knew where they were going and she did not stop him from taking her there..