A Gamble

Prompt: "What, you scared I'll kick your ass again?"

Universe: Post-canon (feudal era).

Genre: Humour, romance (pre-dating)

886 Words

Kagome walked slowly, her searching gaze scanning the forest floor. It was a bright, hot day in the late summer, so she was glad to be running this errand, to have escaped from the dusty village into the dappled shade of the whispering oaks and other broad-leafed trees. Her basket was propped on her arm, half-full of various plants. The fading scents of the different roots, leaves, stems and flowers mixed together and she breathed in the familiar smell of freshly collected herbs. She had made a good progress, but there were three plants she still needed to find.

"Liquorice root," she muttered under her breath, going over her list as she peered intently at the green underbrush. "Skullcap. Reishi mushrooms–"

"There is a cluster of liquorice plants up ahead," a deep voice intoned from behind her, and Kagome yelped, nearly dropping her basket.

She clutched at her chest in a vain attempt to calm her racing heart, and though she rationally knew she was not in any danger, she was too late to stop the instinctual swell of reiki.

Her holy energy flared in the air, ready to fight whatever had spooked her – and crackled when it came into contact with the dark, steadfast youki that had been carefully masked until now.

"We've talked about this, Sesshoumaru!" Kagome snapped as she turned around, her surprise and fear turning into a mixture of irritation and embarrassment. She gritted her teeth and reeled in her reiki before it would actually start to battle the demonic energy lingering in the air around them. "Do not sneak up on me! Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"How could this Sesshoumaru forget?" he replied, his tone neutral though one accusatory silver-white eyebrow arched. "You burned me so badly the skin of my arms was raw for a week."

"And you still haven't learned the lesson," she huffed, though the reminder of having hurt her friend – albeit unintentionally – pricked at her chest. Her shoulders slumped from the guilt and her voice softened as she continued: "I'm not asking you to stomp on some choice crunchy sticks, just don't hide your youki from me so I know you're coming. And more importantly, that it is you and not some bloodthirsty demon coming to kill me."

Sesshoumaru snorted. "Do you not remember how we met, miko?"

"Oh please. You haven't tried to kill me in years," Kagome retorted, a small teasing smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Amusement flashed in Sesshoumaru's warm, golden eyes. "Hnn. I suppose I have not," he acquiesced, tilting his head.

"Which way's the liquorice plant?" Kagome asked, getting back to her task at hand.

"Over there."

Kagome inclined her head in thanks and then walked where Sesshoumaru had pointed, keeping her gaze trained on the ground.

Sure enough there it was. She crouched down and carefully dug around the cluster of plants so she could get them out with their roots intact.

She hadn't heard him follow her, but she glanced up when his shadow fell on her. "I think I'll let you stick around after all," she said as her fingers burrowed deeper into the dirt. "That nose of yours is quite useful."

"Glad I could be of service," he said dryly, and Kagome's back tingled from his piercing stare.

"Still, I didn't expect you for another week," she continued conversationally. "Are you that eager to lose to me again?"

"Are you that confident that I have not simply been letting you win?"

"I am, actually; I don't think you could pout so convincingly if you weren't putting in an honest effort and still losing."

Sesshoumaru didn't deign to answer, which only further strengthened Kagome's conviction that she'd been right about him being a sore loser, and she grinned to herself as she carefully collected the liquorice roots.

With the plants safely in her basket, she straightened and slanted a look at Sesshoumaru.

"It's funny that you keep losing, though. Since you have the poker face part down."

"Hnn," Sesshoumaru scoffed. "I would easily best you if we were to play any game that required actual skill such as uta karuta. But this game of yours with the foreigners' cards only calls for dumb luck."

"Luck is a part of it," Kagome admitted, "but skills does come to play, too. "You need to be able to read people."

But then, maybe that was the crux of it. Though Kagome did not consider herself to be a difficult person to read by any means, it was clear that Sesshoumaru's social skills were somewhat… lacking. Still, it was comforting that despite his heightened demonic senses he didn't seem to be able to sniff out a lie. A good thing for her to know, for future reference, in case she'd somehow manage to play her cards right…

Kagome bit her lip as her cheeks flushed. She firmly chased out any thoughts of what ifs; this was not the time or the place for them, not with Sesshoumaru actually standing right next to her, his golden eyes boring into her.

She cleared her throat, hyperaware of the curious stare her fluctuating mood had invited.

"So," she drawled, eager to get going before she grew any more self-conscious, "any idea where I could find skullcap or reishi mushrooms?"