Fuck. Shitfuck.
Inuyasha sat on the ground, staring up at the panic-stricken face of Kagome, trying to sort out what the hell had just happened. Things were going well. She tasted like goddamned ambrosia, and fuck, he'd never had so much fun going down on a woman. Kagome was so… responsive. Her scent and the little involuntary sounds she made were a symphony to his ears, nose, and mouth. Then she'd gasped and whimpered and writhed against his face.

What the fuck had gone wrong? A surge of electricity ran through his body the moment Kagome orgasmed, feeling like it was frying his nerves from the inside. It hurt. And it did something to him. Inuyasha looked down at his hands and realized that the small bracelet of black onyx, the one he nearly always wore, was smoking.

Inuyasha's hand felt its way to the top of his head… and came to a halt at the downy fur of one of his ears.

FUCK.
Whatever had happened, his concealment charm was toast.

Inuyasha turned his eyes back to the whimpering, trembling Kagome, who had not said a single word since… since she zapped him. He thought about leaving, just running for the door, issuing the fucking app a refund, and vowing never to see Kagome or anyone associated with her again. But… he-he couldn't do it. This was his fucking fault.

"I-I can…" the lie died in his throat. He was a shit. He disguised himself as a human, got paid a thousand dollars, and then seduced this poor woman. "I-I'm sorry, Kagome."

Kagome didn't acknowledge that he said her name. Her eyes were wider than prey staring down a predator. Yet, they also didn't seem to register him at all. It was as if… as if his sudden change in appearance had shut her completely down. It sucked, though he'd been the lying shit after all. But… the blank fear in them was so much it didn't quite fit. It was like Kagome was… hurt. Had he grazed her most sensitive spots with his fangs? Had he used too much force squeezing her? Inuyasha's eyes searched Kagome frantically for injuries, but… she looked fine...

Until he noticed Kagome's hands.
Which were… glowing.
Why the fuck would her hands be glowing?
Unless… unless…

Inuyasha concentrated his yōki and reached out toward Kagome with it, letting the little tendrils wrap around her hands. As they touched the ball of light pooling there, Inuyasha felt a spark of electricity arc through their contact.

Only one thing was capable of zapping his charm, and only one thing was capable of swatting away his yōki: reiki. It appeared as if… as if Kagome, who when he walked into her apartment was an ordinary human, had had her reiki awakened. Not only that, but it had chosen the moment of her orgasm to do it.

Fuck.

This was bad. Very very bad. Awakened reiki could get out of control and fry the host, and as he looked at Kagome, he realized how much danger she could be in. Inuyasha stood up, aware not only that he was now a half-demon, but that if she fried him it would hurt like hell.

But he would survive.

And if he left her like this, there was a chance that she wouldn't.

That decided it for him. He would not leave her until she was safe, even if she tried to kick him out. He could deal with being a shit, but… he would never forgive himself for leaving her in this state.

"Kagome. I want to come closer to you. I—I think I know why your hands are glowing." Inuyasha approached carefully, his voice cutting through the thunderous buzzing that was rushing through Kagome's mind.

It hurt. All Kagome knew is that it felt like her insides were burning. It was taking nearly all her concentration to stop the feeling from overpowering her and… and her hands were still glowing. Inuyasha took her hands into his, and he kneeled again, looking into her eyes with his—his golden eyes.

"Breathe with me Kagome. Just breathe. I can help." Inuyasha softly stroked the palm of her hand, concentrating his strokes to one of its deepest creases. Each touch sent a ripple of calm through the tempestuous buzz. "That energy ya feel is reiki. You're a miko, birthday girl. Did… did ya know that?"

Kagome shook her head. She was a miko? Was that why it felt like she was going to ignite at any moment? And Inuyasha had dog ears. Did he know he had dog ears?

"You're a half-demon." Kagome's voice finally returned as the buzzing started to subside, soothed by Inuyasha's touch.

"Yeah. I… I disguise myself," Inuyasha muttered, but his hands did not leave Kagome's. "People are not so keen on… well… this."

Kagome blinked, the swarm of energy had receded enough her head was finally clearing. She studied Inuyasha, whose careful ministrations continued to placate her awakened reiki. Was she… angry? She… she couldn't be. Half-demons hid their appearances for fear of being ostracized, and well, worse, attacked. They were called animals, half-breeds, abominations, frankensteins… and those were only the ones uttered in polite company. She could see it in the sadness in his eyes and the tension on his face as he stroked her hand and tamed her aura.

His silver hair shone like a moonlit waterfall cascading down his back. His amber eyes pierced through the darkness of her room, somehow sharp and predatory as well as deep and soulful. And his ears. Crowning his head were two triangular ears coated with downy fur the same color as his hair. One ear was currently pinned backward, but the other was aimed right at her. Kagome then took in his chest. His muscles were no less defined than when he was disguised as a human. He was… well, he was beautiful.

"I… I like you like this," Kagome whispered, watching Inuyasha's second ear swivel to meet her soft voice.

Inuyasha almost coughed at Kagome's admission. Here he was, a complete shit, caught disguising himself, and she… she liked him… undisguised, half-demon him? Her scent was still laced with the bitter scent of adrenaline, but… there was no lie in her words. There was no deceit. She looked at him, the bait-and-switch half-demon with… acceptance—no, more—desire. It was… well. Inuyasha had never been so happy to have fucked up so badly.

"What a fuckin' night, huh birthday girl?" Inuyasha sighed. "Lemme go grab you some water. I can also get you some PJs if you tell me where to look."

Kagome blinked once. "Am… am I going to be okay?"

Inuyasha leaned his head against Kagome's, trying to keep the whine out of his voice when he smelled the acrid scent of her fear. "Yes. And I'm not goin' anywhere until I'm sure of it."

Kagome nodded at Inuyasha, who relinquished a little smile and revealed fangs. She supposed she should be afraid of them but… she wasn't. He calmed the tumult that nearly consumed her whole. She was safe with him. That she'd read Interview with the Vampire many times late at night, well… the idea of real fangs dragging against her skin was providing wonderful and distracting mental images that were helping her forget that her body felt like a bomb wanting to go off.

Inuyasha didn't fail to notice the spike in her ginger, or the fact that her eyes fixated on his mouth. Was she… was she looking at his fangs?

"I'll be right back. Pajamas, Kagome? Though, I also don't mind this view one bit." Inuyasha let his grin grow wider, letting her see his fangs on full display.

"O-oh." Kagome looked down at her naked form, a little blush forming across the bridge of her nose, "Bottom drawer in the white dresser."

Inuyasha strolled over and opened the drawer, selecting a camisole and the softest pajama pants she had. He brought them to her, before turning and heading into her kitchen to get her water.

Fucking hell. This was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to be forgettable. He was supposed to be a human that gave her a good time for one night and got to hold it over Koga's head forever. He wasn't supposed to be a birthday present meant to humiliate her. She wasn't supposed to smell like his goddamned version of heaven. She definitely wasn't supposed to accidentally zap him and discover his secret, then… look at his half-demon self with desire. He keened to take care of Kagome. To protect her. And he knew exactly what that meant.

As she heard the faucet running, Kagome shimmied into the pajamas Inuyasha brought her. Her mind was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened. Her… birthday present—no, lover—was a half-demon. She was an awakened miko. She could still feel the well of new energy lurking inside of her, and she needed to concentrate to keep it from breaking the surface again.

"You okay?" Inuyasha crossed back into the room, a glass in his hand. "Drink up."

Kagome grabbed the glass and sucked down the water so fast she nearly choked on it. Inuyasha carefully slid onto the bed next to her, bringing his hands carefully back to hers, restarting the gentle strokes that appeased her nascent reiki.

"How did you know what to do?" Kagome asked, leaning a little toward Inuyasha, who closed the gap, gently bringing Kagome to rest against his chest.

"I… dunno," Inuyasha answered. "Just knew."

"Unhelpful," Kagome groaned. "I… I can't exactly pay you to stay with me and keep me from… from… whatever almost happened."

Pay him? Kagome still thought she needed to pay him anything to be by her side? She'd accepted that he was half-demon nearly immediately. She hadn't shied away from his touch as a half-demon, and fuck, she was his goddamned fantasy come to life, encouraging him to touch and taste all of her. Fucking no.

"Just bein' here with you makes me feel like a goddamned millionaire," Inuyasha said, tentatively bringing his lips to Kagome's cheek. She inclined her head to give him more surface to kiss, which he did with aplomb. "You accepted me immediately… for who I am. After I came to your house like a cocky prick, you accepted me. After you found out I was a shit disguising myself, you accepted me. You accepted that your first lover was a half-demon. Shit woman, there's no amount of money in the world that could do what ya did tonight. For me."

Kagome turned completely to Inuyasha, taking in his amber eyes, his pearly fangs, his moon-kissed hair, and his dog ears. Regret that her first orgasm was with him? How could she? Kagome shifted herself so that her lips found Inuyasha's again. She immediately opened her mouth and deepened their kiss, letting her tongue into his mouth to trace the fangs therein. Something about this kiss was better than all the rest, more honest. She would kiss him all night if he would let her.

Inuyasha chuckled into Kagome's lips. If he needed any sign that Kagome wanted him now, she'd given it to him. But he could feel her reiki humming under the surface, and he knew if they continued where they left off, she could be in danger, and Inuyasha would not allow Kagome to be in danger.

"You have no clue how much I want this to continue, birthday girl," Inuyasha whispered his words into Kagome's ear. "But… we gotta make sure you're stabilized first. Best thing right now is actually for you to sleep. It'll help."

Kagome didn't want to stop. Inuyasha was beautiful and tender and set her nerves on fire. And… well, she still had not been convinced that she got more than this night with him. Why oh why had she not met him on a date? Or at a coffee shop? Why was he not in one of her homework groups? Why did she have to meet him like this?

"B-but…" Kagome didn't know how to ask him what she wanted. That she wanted dates and kisses and teasing and handholding and… more of his body pressed against her body. "Tonight is… is tonight… it?"

Inuyasha flinched at Kagome's question, of the uncertainty in it. Of the hope. Of… of what it meant. It meant that their meeting could be unfucked. It meant maybe, just maybe, he could be with Kagome, because she wanted to be with him too for more than just one night.

Inuyasha kissed Kagome's hair. "No. Not if you don't want tonight to be the last night." Inuyasha kissed Kagome's forehead. "And if you agree to go on a date with me…" Inuyasha then kissed the tip of Kagome's nose. "I'm gonna be payin'!"

Finally, Kagome let the doubts recede, let herself believe. His words and assurances never wavered. His affection was genuine. He gave her no reason not to believe him.

So she did. Kagome closed her eyes, and let the rise and fall of Inuyasha's chest relax her. She was… tired. So tired. And she didn't want to fight it anymore. She would see Inuyasha again, but even if she didn't, she was glad he was there. With her. The night of her 21st birthday, and the night she discovered she was a miko.

As Kagome's breathing evened out, Inuyasha simply let himself admire her. She was beautiful, that he knew, but… everything that had happened to her that day, that night, she took it in stride. Escort shows up at your door? Invite him in then gently let him know he can leave and still get paid. Find out said "human" is actually a half-demon in disguise? Don't even blink an eye. First orgasm ignites latent reiki? Allow said surprise half-demon to help quell the storm and then fall asleep in his arms.

Yeah, he was a fucking goner. If Kagome was serious about being with him, he was all-in. And, he now knew what he was going to do with that ill-begotten $1k.

As soon as he was certain she was asleep, Inuyasha snuck his phone out of his pocket (he'd never been so relieved to still be wearing pants in bed with a woman in his life…).

I need you.
Inuyasha typed out the message. Urgent enough he should get a response right away, as long as the recipient was still awake… and sober…

What's up?
Thankfully Inuyasha's quarry was not drunk.

Reiki lessons. Starting tomorrow. I will text you the address.
Inuyasha answered, looking over at Kagome. Her reiki was quiescent as she slept.

You're gonna have to call in a hell of a lot more favors than you currently have with me…
Of-fucking-course that was the reply.

$1k worth of 'em. I'll you after the first lesson.
Inuyasha smiled. He could think of no worthier use of his whore money than this.

Text me the address.
Inuyasha was glad that money talked, and relieved to know that soon Kagome would be in no danger from her reiki.

Inuyasha then deleted the escort app and erased his profile. Becoming an escort had been one of the dumbest and luckiest decisions of his life. He wondered if that would remove Eri's payment to him, but even in that he didn't care. He'd figure out how to pay his friend for Kagome's lessons some other way. Some way that didn't involve having to look or flirt with women who were not Kagome, for as long as she would have him.

That night, Inuyasha didn't sleep (not that he needed to), electing to snuggle into the sleeping Kagome. He watched the slow swell and retreat of her breasts as she slept. He smelled her serene cherry blossoms and vanilla scent. And he watched as her breath played with a single strand of her hair, causing it to dance.

Far too soon, he felt his phone vibrate, alerting him both to the end of his 'boyfriend experience' and the sunrise. Inuyasha groaned. Why the fuck had he not called in sick to work? And he was already on thin ice there, so he couldn't skip. He had to go. Had to leave her.

It was harder than he thought possible.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered, rousing the perfect woman who'd snuggled into him and slept like she was hibernating. "I gotta go. But I'll be back. I promise."

Kagome groaned, which Inuyasha took as an acknowledgement. He slid out from underneath her, then tiptoed into the living room to find his shirt. Once that was on, he started out the door, then stopped dead.

If she'd not heard him, she would think he left her.

Inuyasha turned back around, and found a notebook in a backpack near Kagome's computer desk.

I had to go to work. But I want to see you again. I was serious about taking you on that date. Here's my number. —Inuyasha

Inuyasha wrote his number down, then put it on the kitchen counter near the coffee maker, hoping Kagome would see it the moment she got up. He almost made it out the door before doing another double-take.

There was one more thing he probably needed to mention.

Inuyasha strode back over to the note, and added a PS. Kagome's reiki lessons were going to start that very morning; Inuyasha had made sure of it.

This time, finally, with only a single glance backward to see that Kagome was still sleeping soundly, Inuyasha left Kagome's apartment, closing the door behind him.

A loud rap on the door jarred Kagome awake. Who the hell was knocking at that hour of the morning? But as Kagome's eyes focused, the bright sunbeam marching through her room made it abundantly clear that it was not early morning anymore. Kagome groaned and pulled herself out of bed. As she did, she felt the buzzing of the previous day start to rumble in her gut.

So last night had not been a dream. Her friends had bought her a callboy for her birthday. That callboy, Inuyasha, had touched her and kissed her in ways that no man had touched or kissed her. And Inuyasha was secretly a half-demon, and was not-so-secretly someone she actually felt herself falling for. Oh, and she had reiki.

But that also meant that Inuyasha was now gone.
That he truly had earned his money giving her 'the boyfriend experience.'
The disappointment hit her harder than she expected.
She should have known.

The knocking became even more insistent.

"Coming!" Kagome called, throwing a sweatshirt over the camisole and jogging to the door. Maybe… maybe Inuyasha came back?

When she opened the door, she couldn't hide her disappointment, or her suspicion.

Staring back at her was a smirking man with shoulder-length dark hair tied back in a small ponytail. He had indigo eyes, and was dressed in a loose-fitting black shirt and dark blue pants. Around his neck was a set of purple sutra beads.

"Bloody hell." Kagome couldn't keep the growl out of her voice. How drunk was Eri last night? Did she buy the "boyfriend experience" package and would be sending Kagome one escort every 8 hours?

"I see why he told me to get here today." The man stepped into Kagome's apartment, taking her hands into his. "I could sense you from downstairs… You're lit up like a Christmas tree."

Kagome thought to pull away, but the moment the man's hands came in contact with her, she felt the energy buzzing in her system calm. It was almost as effective as Inuyasha.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked, the both of them still standing in front of the open door.

"Miroku," the man said. "Yash texted me last night to start your reiki training as soon as I could."

"Inu-yasha?" Kagome asked. When had he done that? He told her she had reiki, but… he definitely didn't mention arranging for some guy he knew to drop in and start teaching her to control it.

"Yeah. Said he needed me here as soon as possible. Paid me to take you as my pupil." Miroku raised an eyebrow. "He didn't mention that you looked like this."

Miroku let go of Kagome's hands and nearly immediately the buzzing in her ears came back. She closed her eyes and suppressed the energy that was trying to find its way out.

"Wow. Okay." Miroku's hand was back on Kagome's immediately, and she felt her energy recede once more. "I was gonna shut the door and come in, but for right now, let's keep our hands in contact. You bloomed late and you bloomed big, Miss…"

"Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi." Kagome answered.

"Well Kagome, I'm grateful that Inuyasha was here." Miroku used his free hand to close the door.

"Why? Don't people's innate reiki activate all the time?" Kagome asked.

"Not like yours," Miroku answered. Through their touch, Kagome could feel his energy swirl around hers and gently settle it down. "When it happened, did it feel like you were burning up from the inside?"

"Y-yeah…"
How had Miroku known that?

"It would have," Miroku said. "It is rare but it happens. I'm guessing he stroked your hand, right here?" Miroku pointed to a long deep line along Kagome's palm.

"He did." Kagome remembered how every time Inuyasha touched her hand, the buzzing became more and more manageable.

"I'm gonna have to buy him a beer," Miroku beamed. "That line, when touched just right, placates energy—yōki or reiki." He then stroked the same place in her palm. Kagome felt her power go completely dormant. "He put it back to sleep before it could burn you up."

Inuyasha had saved her life too?
That only made his disappearance that morning all the worse.

"I… I need a glass of water," Kagome whimpered, gently tugging her hand from Miroku's. She was relieved that the buzzing didn't return when she broke their touch. "Do… do you want anything?"

"I'm alright thanks," Miroku smiled serenely. "Though I have never refused a cup of tea."

Kagome walked into the kitchen, and grabbed a glass and a mug out of the cabinet. When she went to turn on the kettle, a piece of paper caught her eye.

I had to go to work. But I want to see you again. I was serious about taking you on that date. Here's my number. —Inuyasha

PS: My friend Miroku is coming over to help you with your reiki. He's a good guy.

The smile that lit Kagome's face lit the kitchen. Inuyasha had not abandoned her without a word.

"Hey Miroku. How long do you plan on working with me today?" Kagome asked, her mood enormously improved.

"As long as it takes for you to control your reiki," Miroku answered simply. "He paid me enough to clear my schedule."

"He's… he's a good person, isn't he?" Kagome asked, her mind full of the silver-haired half-demon Adonis who crashed into her life as the world's most awkward birthday present.

"When he's not being an idiot? Yeah… he is. One of the best," Miroku replied. "Now. I see that tea is ready, shall we begin?"

Kagome nodded and returned to the living room, a mug of tea and a glass of water in-hand.
It was going to be a long day, but somehow, Kagome knew everything was going to be okay.