Title: Don't Turn Away

Author: Dark Whispers

Rating: PG

Pairings: Sess/Kag

Summary: After a bizarre happening of events during a stormy day, Sesshomaru find himself in the debt of a human and unable to stop thinking about her. Sess/Kag

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! O! By the way, Sesshomaru has both arms, k? ^_^;;; Here's the next chapter!

A shocked silence followed Sesshomaru's statement as everyone stared at the dog demon. Inuyasha kept opening his mouth and closing it, failing to make any sort of retort. Kagome just stared blankly at Sesshomaru wondering if she heard right. The tense silence was finally broken by hysterical laughter.

Miroku had begun to chuckle and it soon became a full out laugh. Seeing that everyone was staring at him like he had four heads, he did his best to control himself and provide an explanation to his outburst.

"I'm sorry," Miroku said. "But that has to be the funniest joke I ever heard! I mean, KAGOME as SESSHOMARU'S mate! You've got to be kidding me!"

Everyone continued to stare at Miroku who seemed to be gasping for air.

"I, Sesshomaru, do not 'kid' foolish human. I also do not enjoy being mocked."

Within the blink of an eye Miroku found flailing above the ground, his neck in the grip of Sesshomaru's clawed hand. He tried unsuccessfully to free himself. Sesshomaru waited until Miroku's face started to turn dangerously blue before dropping him on the floor and turning away disinterestedly. He faced Inuyasha, Sango, Kagome, and Shippou and raised an eyebrow, as if daring them to comment.

Inuyasha, finally finding his voice, was completely ready to protest. "What the fuck do you mean you're repaying your debt to Kagome by making her your mate?! How are you repaying her by forcing her to do something against her will?! Sesshomaru, I knew you were fucked up, but da-"

Inuyasha joined Miroku on the floor as Sesshomaru punched Inuyasha in the gut, making the hanyou gasp in pain. He was so fast that Kagome barely even saw Sesshomaru land the punch!

"To be offered a chance to become my one chosen mate is a great privilege," Sesshomaru stated. "It is something that is not offered without good reason. This woman has strength, bravery, and beauty-Kagome blushed at Sesshomaru's compliments-and I do believe she will be treated better with me than she ever could be with you Inuyasha."

Kagome could tell Inuyasha was getting ready to protest again. She bit her lip. If she didn't intervene Inuyasha was liable to open his big mouth and get himself killed.

"Um, Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked hesitantly. "Do I have any say in this? I mean, will you give me time to choose if I want to. . .erm be your mate or not?"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her, and Kagome found it impossible to look away. "If you wish to consider the situation, I will give you time. You have one week to decide. In the meantime, I will be traveling with you. As my potential mate, I cannot allow any harm to come to you."

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha positively shrieked.

Miroku edged away from the enraged Inuyasha warily. He scrambled to his feet and joined Shippou who was crouching behind Sango for protection. However, he quickly moved to stand by himself when Sango grip on Hiraikotsu tightened threateningly.

"There is no way you're traveling with us Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha said hotly.

Sesshomaru smirked. "Would you prefer her to stay with me, alone, for a week?"

Inuyasha looked ready to scream.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The group continued walking on. Inuyasha had no choice but to agree to let Sesshomaru stay. It was obvious that no one was comfortable with Sesshomaru's presence, but the dog demon just ignored it. Inuyasha was leading the group as usual. Kagome followed behind with Sesshomaru at her side, much to Inuyasha's displeasure. Sango was right behind, Shippou riding on her shoulders preferring to be as far away from Sesshomaru as possible. Miroku brought up the rear because he didn't want to be strangled again. He found himself stumbling since he kept looked at Sango and Kagome instead of where he was going.

The sun was starting to set and Kagome was grateful when she saw the flickering lights of warm fires coming from the village ahead. They entered an inn and for once, Miroku didn't have to pull his 'I sense an evil spirit' act. The innkeeper took one fearful look at Sesshomaru and quickly granted them the last remaining room which had three beds in it. This quickly led to complications.

The moment the number of beds was announced, Sango declared that she wasn't sharing one with 'the perverted monk' while Inuyasha insisted he was not leaving Kagome alone with 'that emotionless bastard.'

After much debate (and cursing in Inuyasha's case) it was decided that Sesshomaru would be sharing a bed with Kagome. Inuyasha was not very happy with this of course, but a quick reminder of what Sesshomaru had done to him earlier made him relent. Sango would have her own bed with Shippou and Kirara while Miroku would get the last bed. Inuyasha decided to sleep on the floor instead of instead of sharing a bed with Miroku.

"What if he's having a dream and thinks I'm a girl and feels me up or something?!" Inuyasha asked, shuddering. Miroku promptly whacked him over the head with his staff.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kagome tucked herself under the covers of her bed, quivering.

'I can't believe I'm sleeping with Sesshomaru. . .'

. . .

'Ack! Kagome, you did not just think that! Get your head out of the gutter!'

Her body and thoughts completely froze as she heard the bed creak under new weight. Sesshomaru had climbed into the bed with her, his armor removed. She felt Sesshomaru's arms wrap around her from behind and pull her closer.

"Relax," he whispered in her ear, his warm breath tickling her.

From across the room she heard a wolf whistle and she quickly glared in Miroku's direction. He smiled back innocently. She saw Sango flash a sympathetic smile at her before climbing into her own bed. A few feet away, Inuyasha was leaning against the wall. His eyes were fixed on the site of Sesshomaru's arms wrapped around Kagome.

Oh yes, Kagome was certain she was in for a long, sleepless night.

~*~*~*~*~*~

She was afraid, he could smell it. Despite his request that she relax, she still remained as stiff as a board in his arms. What happened to the defiant girl that was always ready to fight, even when things were hopeless? Where was the girl who had turned down the offer to become his mate just a few hours ago?

If this girl, Kagome, had his respect-and she did-he wanted her to respect him, not fear him. Respect and fear are two different things. He pulled her closer and sighed into her hair. Getting her to accept the position as his mate was going to be harder than he thought.

"You aren't sleeping."

Kagome shifted slightly, startled at his statement. "Neither are you."

He smiled ruefully at her remark.

"Face me."

She hesitated for a moment her eyes flicking over to Sango, Miroku, and finally, Inuyasha who seemed to be asleep. She carefully rotated herself until she was facing Sesshomaru. She found herself unable to meet his eyes and instead looked down at the bed sheets.

"Look at me," he commanded.

She reluctantly met his eyes and felt herself become swallowed by their intenseness.

"I do not want you to fear me," he said. "I choose you as my mate to repay what you did for Rin. However, I will not choose a weakling to rule by my side. Your strength is what attracted me in the first place."

Kagome gave a small smile and nodded understandingly. She cautiously snuggled closer to Sesshomaru, still facing him. "Good-night," she mumbled sleepily. Sesshomaru tightened his embrace as a sign of acknowledgement.

The other members of the room slept on unknowingly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kagome woke up the next morning feeling warm and happy. She buried her head deeper into her pillow to block out the noise of the twittering birds before realizing that her 'pillow' was really Sesshomaru's chest. She blushed even though he was asleep and studied him. Sesshomaru's face was relaxed and peaceful, his lips almost stretched in a small smile.

Kagome closed her eyes again, ready to doze off seeing that no one else was up yet when she was roughly pulled out of Sesshomaru's arms by the collar of her shirt. Her eyes widened in surprise as the same person wrapped an arm around her waist protectively while removing her from the bed.

She wasn't moved too far because the moment Kagome was wrenched from Sesshomaru's arms, the demon's eyes shot open and he latched onto Kagome's wrist. He quickly sat up and eyed the person who disturbed his sleep.

"Inuyasha," he started calmly. "What are you doing?"

It was obvious Inuyasha was extremely angry. His grip tightened on Kagome's waist. "What do you mean what am I doing?! The real question is what were you doing!"

"I was sleeping before you rudely woke me up," Sesshomaru stated dryly.

Inuyasha growled in annoyance. "What were you doing to Kagome?"

Kagome blushed, understanding what Inuyasha was so angry about. "Um, Inuyasha? He didn't do anything, honestly. We were just sleeping."

"He was all over you!" Inuyasha raged, sniffing her. "And you're covered in his scent!"

The others were watching the exchange silently from across the room.

Sesshomaru's eyes were now narrowing dangerously. "Release her."

"No," said Inuyasha stubbornly.

Both of them were starting to growl at each other and Kagome was starting to get frustrated.

"Oh honestly!" she said. She wrenched her wrist from Sesshomaru's grasp, watching as his eyes widened slightly in surprise while his face betrayed nothing.

"You guys are acting like little kids!" Inuyasha snickered at Sesshomaru's expression when told he was behaving like a child. Kagome faced Inuyasha and frowned.

"Inuyasha, you're no better! SIT!" Kagome said, forgetting Inuyasha's arm was still around her waist. As a result, she found herself pinned to the floor by Inuyasha with the wind knocked out of her. Inuyasha's body lay over hers and his lips were firmly planted on hers.

Kagome blinked in shock and stared into Inuyasha's eyes. He also looked quite surprised at what had happened but decided to take advantage of it. His tongue had just run over Kagome's lips when he felt himself lifted off of her body and thrown against the wall. Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha and growled warningly before helping Kagome to her feet.

The two brothers continued to glare at each other while Kagome stood on the sidelines watching anxiously. "Keep your hands off her." Sesshomaru said, his voice deadly calm.

"Feh!" Inuyasha scoffed. "I should be saying that to you."

"Does anyone else here want breakfast?" Miroku interrupted with a cheeky smile.

Sango did not hesitate to bash him over the head with Hiraikotsu.

A/N: Hope you liked the chapter and remember to review! I'm going on a vacation and won't be able to update until AT LEAST July 14. Sorry guys! ^_^;;; I'll make it up to you when I get back! Ugh. . . I hate airplanes. _