AN: This fic will have five or six chapters, depending on if I make the epilogue a separate chapter. Happy Halloween! Plz handwave any incorrect information about blackberry season, I'm aware they're mostly a thing in September not November, thaaanks.

Chapter Two

Kagome lay atop his chest, knee hitched and leg thrown over one of his hips uncaringly. He spied his own large hand resting traitorously on that leg- and wondered who had adjusted it to fall over him. The position left her crotch pressing intimately against his- and Sesshoumaru stiffened, hissing out a low noise. Morning wood hadn't been something he'd had to deal with in a while. How fantastic it had happened now of all times.

His head hit the pillow, trying to ignore how good she felt in his arms. He needed to move her off as soon as possible. How dare she cuddle up to him in the night without permission? Still...he took note of their positions. Her head was tucked under his chin to protect his throat. A defensive move usually reserved for a female shielding her mate from danger. In a way, it was in keeping her nature.

He blew out a puff of hot hair, causing dark locks to dance and fall- tickling his aristocratic nose.

Kagome stirred, yawning.

"Good morning," her voice ran up his spine, a soothing hand of rich, husky tones.

Despite the hints of dark circles under his eyes, the intensity of liquid gold did not lessen. They were bright and burning into hers when she lifted her head. Inhaling, his stomach tightened, no doubt nauseous from the scent of her. It was sweetly musky, smoky, gripping.

How could she greet him without a trace of shame?

"Hn," he gestured to their positions. "What are you doing in my bed, woman?"

Kagome blinked, soon wrenching herself out of her dreamy state and sitting up- accidentally straddling him and yelping when the position nestled his erect cock hard against her covered sex. Thank God she was wearing his boxers. Sesshoumaru groaned and hissed, gripping her hips quickly. Aurous eyes flashed red. "Do not move," he said lowly, tone strained as fangs lengthened.

"I-I take it you don't remember last night?" Kagome breathed, bracing herself over him tensely. He could feel the tension in her thighs locked against him. The sweet torture almost rendered him deaf to her words.

Taking a breath, Sesshoumaru abruptly yanked his body up, rolling them so that she landed on her back with a yelp. Dragging his hips away from hers and letting out a strained exhale, he looked at her blushing face, his own looming close. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Nothing had happened...had it? No, they weren't naked and the smell of sex was thankfully absent from the room.

Kagome seemed to come to a silent conclusion, shaking her head. "Never mind. It was uh...cold? I needed a snuggle buddy. My bad."

"Yes. Your bad," Sesshoumaru grunted. "Do not take it upon yourself to 'snuggle' with me again, woman- or I will not take responsibility for the consequences if my instincts prove insurmountable."

She gave a reluctant nod, quickly averting her eyes when he pulled back with a stifled hiss, sitting on the bed and throwing a cover over the tent in his sleeping pants. Kagome awkwardly scrambled away and hurriedly exclaimed that she'd make breakfast, red-faced as she ducked out of his room.

Wet leaves coated the forest floor like ruined confetti, soaked into the ground. He slipped out into the trees, eyeing the heavy morning fog and hearing dew-laden grass crunch beneath his boots.

Everything lay silent and still, the perfect Autumn hush.

Loud footsteps came hurriedly following him, Kagome stopping just shy of touching him. "Do you see anything?" she asked excitedly.

Sesshoumaru sighed a plume of visible air. "Can you not read the atmosphere? Do not get too caught up in your emotions," he grumbled. "Adjust your mindset, and become one with the situation. We are hunting."

Kagome huffed and adjusted the grey coat he'd lent her. It looked much too big and cumbersome but she'd sneezed earlier and that was the last thing they needed when hunting deer. Her hiking boots were also several sizes too big so she'd worn five pairs of thick socks to try and help them accommodate her feet.

He continued walking carefully, picking up the natural earthy, fusty scent of deer further ahead. "This goes for human interaction as well. Put your own feelings aside and adapt."

"You say it like it's so easy," she sighed, raising a brow when he gestured for her to take the lead and start tracking.

Her eyes squinted and she obeyed, shuffling ahead. She second-guessed herself often between what could be a deer track and what was a mere blemish in the dirt.

"What exactly have you eaten for the past few months while you were homeless?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm not proud of it but I stole some stuff from food vendors," Kagome made a face. "Other times I went to homeless shelters or begged. When I came into the forest I ate any berries I found that I could recall not being poisonous. Grandpa used to teach me about them," her tone became a touch nostalgic.

Sesshoumaru hummed, patiently following her and grasping her elbow to direct her when she failed to follow a trail correctly. He sensed embarrassment and an odd mix of something unidentified in her scent. Golden eyes flicked up, catching red cheeks.

"Are you still cold?" he uttered.

"No I'm alright, just weird instinct stuff," she waved off.

"If you wish, we could-" a hand was shoved over his mouth.

"Shh!"

Kagome stared straight ahead, pupils dilating slightly. Closing her eyes, she inhaled a long breath. When they snapped open again, hunger tinged her voice. "I can smell them nearby."

They hadn't eaten since breakfast, as he'd deliberately tried to coax a touch of desperation out of her. A satisfied belly only made predators lazy.

Sesshoumaru ignored how her palm had brushed his lips and set his nerve endings alight, removing it and noticing something.

"Woman."

"Hm?"

He caught a shaggy black tail mid-wag that was peeping out from beneath the hem of the coat. Kagome jolted.

"O-oh," she focused and touched it, awkwardly guiding it back beneath the coat so that the fur disappeared once again. Sensing a bundle of nerves and eagerness to prove herself skittering about her scent, Sesshoumaru stepped up to her side.

"Do not think of the end result. Take it in stages. What are you going to do first?"

She looked at him, shoulders slowly relaxing. "Approach from downwind?"

"Good, but incorrect," noticing her gaze slip away distractedly to the trees where deer awaited them, he reached out and grasped her chin. Turning it back so that her face was angled up, Kagome snapped blue eyes to his, full attention where it belonged, on him.

"The first thing to do in any situation where retaining control is paramount is to breathe. It is the most important step," Sesshoumaru uttered in a silky voice he did not intend.

She attempted to nod, but could not due to his grip. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a long inhale, holding it when he instructed- then slowly exhaling.

Releasing her, the Daiyoukai gestured to go on ahead. Kagome gingerly stepped away, brushing a hand absentmindedly over her chin and starting to creep through the trees without him.

Sesshoumaru followed at a distance, observing.

She managed to locate and sneak up on the herd, squatting behind a bush while the deer grazed peacefully in a meadow beneath some willow trees. Removing her much too big boots, Kagome caught his eye.

Nodding, Sesshoumaru slipped closer first. Old instincts awakened with every step, moving soundlessly with all the grace of a jungle cat passing slick as water through tall trees. He had prowled half-way to the herd before he even realised he was moving. His tactics for teaching Kagome in this instance was to prove that she could follow verbal instruction. By doing that and upping her confidence, she could likely be able to take back control and teach herself discipline. Kagome stalked closer just as he'd instructed.

Sesshoumaru then leapt from his hiding place, causing the deer to start with fright and scatter towards Kagome's position.

Letting many of them pass, she held herself still, visibly quaking. Hunger and instincts clashed with orders. Digging toes into the earth, the woman bent her knees, waiting for the right moment. A deer then leapt over a fallen log, passing within range.

Kagome sprang onto it's back, wrapping her arms around its neck. She yelped as she lost balance.

Sesshoumaru watched as their figures disappeared from view into the bushes with a visible tumble. Raising a brow and venturing closer, grass crunched beneath his quickening pace. Pushing aside some thick branches and following her scent, he finally located Kagome, kneeling in a muddy patch before the fallen deer.

Instead of sensing victory, however, plumes of sadness and distress radiated off her in waves. Taking a knee beside her and scattering brown, dead leaves, he slid ageless attention over the deep claw marks that had lashed across the deer's thin brown fur, right over its jugular.

Trembling, bloodied claws rested on Kagome's knees, her head bowed.

"...Woman," he said softly.

She did not respond, so reaching out- he touched a thin shoulder, feeling her start. Wide, tear-filled eyes found him.

Frowning slightly and trying to pinpoint what was wrong, the Daiyoukai brushed wild black locks away from her sallow face. "What ails you?"

"N-nothing," Kagome croaked. "It's just….it felt like hurting him, for a moment. Their eyes, and the horrible noises they made when I..." she trailed off, voice quiet but vivid with emotion.

Sesshoumaru felt a chill run through his chest, like a cold flare illuminating the dark, hollow cavern within his heart. The brief sounds of wails and roaring fires filled his hearing- yet he snuffed them out by grabbing her bloodied hand and standing, tugging her up with him.

"I will carry it back," he uttered. "You may walk ahead."

Nodding miserably, she shakily pulled away to start picking her way back to the trail they'd come from.

"Kagome."

Stopping and glancing back tiredly at him, she blinked.

Sesshoumaru stared after her. Towering words of eloquence and comfort constructed themselves within his mind. A confirmation. An acknowledgement that she was not alone in what she'd just felt, but all that came out was; "You did well."

Her frame seemed to wilt with mild disappointment, a wry chuckle slipping from her lips. "I don't feel like I did," she murmured, turning and continuing to walk on ahead in solitude.

When they finally returned that evening and he skinned and cooked the meat for her, Sesshoumaru breathed out with relief when she began talking again as though nothing had happened. Somehow, her bright, sassy chatter and earnest eyes felt normal, preferable, and maybe even deeply desired in comparison to the dead silence of that return walk home.

Stirring to sunlight, Sesshoumaru cracked one eye open, finding the view of his bedroom obscured by dark curls. Lifting his head slightly from where it had been nestled into her neck, he frowned down at the slumbering woman. Again?

Barking at her sharply to wake and start the day caused Kagome to scramble up, growling a complaint to not to be so loud in the mornings.

After another day of training, he decided to take action. Sesshoumaru turned the metal lock on his bedroom door, satisfied that it would keep her at bay. It wasn't as if she was desperate. He was just some easy warmth to nuzzle up to.

He went to sleep that night and upon waking, looked to his left- then to his right, smirking. No woman.

A peaceful, undisturbed sleep, though his bed still reeked of her fragrance. He'd need to change the-

Sesshoumaru shifted his head back, finding his headboard moving. Breathing.

Jolting upright, and turning, he glared down at the woman he'd been using as a pillow.

How did she even get in?!

A courtesy glance at the lock revealed that the door hadn't been busted down. It remained undamaged. Perhaps she'd crawled through his bedroom window after scaling the outside of his cabin?

Endeavouring to try one more time, Sesshoumaru that night fixed a second lock onto his door, bolting it shut. Locking the windows and checking their strength, he stood back with a stern nod and went to bed.

Golden eyes slide open that morning, hearing the steady drum of a heartbeat beneath his ear and quiet breaths causing his head to rise and fall slightly. Sesshoumaru rose from her chest, vague pink dusting his cheeks. Kagome lay beneath him, expression peaceful with sleep. One of her hands was tangled in his hair, which had fallen loose from its tie. Attempting to wrestle it free from lithe fingers in vain, Sesshoumaru groaned and lay beside her with a sigh.

Dark brows drew together and Kagome made a noise, feeling around with a free hand and groping his face before her expression relaxed again. She nuzzled against his chest, breathing in. The corner of her mouth twitched into a happy smile.

Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose, giving a long exhale while his arm subconsciously curled around her waist.

"You win."

In light of what had happened with the deer, Kagome seemed to have gained an aversion to meat. That morning she flippantly dismissed his offer of rabbit for breakfast and flounced off with a basket in hand to find berries. It was around two hours later that Sesshoumaru sat at the kitchen table, bouncing his leg and glancing at the clock.

When the door slid open, he immediately stood, taking in the sight of her. Leaves littered dark, wild hair. Purple splatters of juice marring her hands, a few grazes of dirt painting rosy cheeks. Kagome grinned widely, lifting the full basket of blackberries.

"Can we make jam?" she breathed.

"Hn."

Her smile widened. "Do you have sugar?"

"No."

Kagome deflated faster than a balloon. Eyeing her for a moment, Sesshoumaru slid his gaze away. "...I am in need of some new shirts," he fibbed. "Therefore, I will be driving down to the village."

She immediately brightened and dropped the basket to land heavily on the table, throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him for a moment.

"Thanks! Ah- uh...sorry," she pulled away. "I know you're not big on the touching thing."

If she knew that he wondered why she broke into his room every night. Grasping her hands that had no doubt dirtied his shirt, Sesshoumaru hummed. Feeling sticky berry juice clinging to her fingers, he dragged the pad of his thumb over one. Deciding to pay her back for the graze of her tongue a few days ago upon his wound, Sesshoumaru bent down slightly. Giving a long, lingering drag of his slick tongue over frozen digits, he savoured the sweet yet sour bite it ignited onto his taste buds.

Kagome watched him with slack-jawed surprise. He thumbed a trail of juice clinging at the edge of her palm, closing his mouth over it and sucking delicately at the heel- making sure she felt the scrape of sharp fangs, the heat of his mouth. Kagome shivered, thighs pressing together and a spike of intriguing scents filling the air.

And that is for creeping into my bed without permission.

He fixed a debonair smile onto his thin lips. "I'd advise bathing first, woman."

"Uh-huh," blue eyes remained unfocused for a moment before she blushed and snatched her damp hand away. "P-pervert!" she said without much strength to her voice, hurrying away a little unsteadily.

Sesshoumaru brushed long fingers over his burning mouth. That had been foolish, but he couldn't help but tease her a little. It seemed he was still capable of being playful, even flirtatious.

He'd... forgotten that side of himself.

Watching Kagome scamper away, oversized shirt flitting about her thighs, he wondered what else would be unearthed the more time he spent captive in her presence.

After prepping his truck for travel, Kagome had complained about the lack of music for the drive down. He vaguely recalled storing some in his basement and sent her off in search of it, not anticipating her return with an armful of cassette tapes. Shoving herself into the passenger seat as the engine sputtered and hummed to life, she huffed.

"Haven't you ever heard of CDs? These are ancient!"

Wrapping long-fingered hands over the steering wheel and starting to follow the dirt track down the mountain path, Sesshoumaru cut his eyes to the ceiling. "My music phase ended a few years ago."

"Your 'music' phase? No, no-" Kagome wrestled with some loose tape. "People have pop phases, emo phases, or hating the colour pink phases- no one gets over music. Isn't your house unbearably quiet without it?"

"Some people like silence," he drawled, lips curving. "You are not one of them."

Kagome groaned as the tape made her hair become static, combing her fingers through puffy locks. "I don't believe you are, either. Gah!" she gave up, eyeing his immaculate hair with envy. "By the way, how do you intend to mix with the humans at the village? Do you just show up in all your pale-haired, golden-eyed glory and tell them you're former yakuza in cosplay?"

The truck weaved around a corner before Sesshoumaru lifted a hand and smoothed it uncaringly through his locks- the colour bleeding black under his touch.

Kagome gaped. "Holy- wow," she breathed. "That's cool."

"It is merely a glamour to disguise me or present my features in a certain way. I cannot make myself taller or bigger," he smirked, slanting a cool gaze her way. "You are capable of it too, to an extent."

"I am?"

"Hn," golden eyes followed the road. "Have you not noticed that despite neglecting to shave your legs, they remain hairless?"

"Yes! I was wondering about that!"

"You have a decent hold on your glamour already that stops you from deviating from the image you have of yourself. I am the same. You stop yourself from looking feral or monstrous through sheer willpower."

Kagome frowned to herself, leaning forward and popping the cassette tape into the player, pressing a button on his radio. "That's interesting. I guess I've never seen you shave either and yet you're always immaculate. Can you give yourself a beard?"

"I will look foolish."

"I promise not to laugh," she swore seriously as music started pouring through aged speakers, a saxophone fairly predominant among the music. Kagome bit the inside of her cheek. "Though I might at your music taste."

Growling, Sesshoumaru pressed the button to make it pop out, shoving in another that sounded like smooth jazz. Passing a hand over his jaw- a five o'clock shadow appeared first, developing into stubble. Kagome hummed with interest, leaning closer to inspect his face. A dark beard appeared to accompany it, and she seemed to swallow her mirth. Touching his jaw, she brushed light fingers over it.

"I think it would need to be styled a certain way to make it work, but you're right, it doesn't suit you. Yet. Maybe try it again when you hit 40."

He rose a brow, touching the hair and forcing it to withdraw back, his face a clean shave once more. "This one is at least 800."

"Okay but physically and emotionally I'd say you're late twenties, early thirties," she waved that off, swaying a little with the music.

Sesshoumaru wondered what that meant. He thought he'd be considered ancient in her youthful eyes. "Am I not 'mature' enough to be considered older?" he sniffed.

"Nope, and you don't act like you're centuries old."

"What would an 800-year-old act like?"

Kagome thought for a moment, snapping her fingers and looking at the passing scenery. "They wouldn't ask questions, and they wouldn't have the same hunger in their eyes as you do."

His throat turned dry. All witty responses collapsed on his tongue. He didn't know what to say. She viewed him so differently to how he viewed himself.

"If you're so committed to this loner act thing you've got going on though, you should get a pet," she was chattering. "Oh! What about a kitty?"

"No," he automatically sneered.

"Come ooon, I'd help you look after it while I'm here," she teased.

"I would not trust you to look after a plant."

Kagome lifted her lips, exposing sharpened teeth in a silent growl. Sesshoumaru shot her a look, rumbling a deeper, very much audible growl.

Her hair raised like her hackles, soon crossing both arms and relenting. "If I successfully care for a plant will you buy yourself a pet?"

Sesshoumaru tsked, "very well. Though, I do not see why it matters to you so much."

Kagome turned dazed attention to the passing, rocky landscape outside, her expression falling in the reflection upon the glass. "I just think you could use the company."

The scent of humans clustered together hit them like a somnolent haze. Mortals had a particular salty sweat that mingled with their lotions, hair products, food, age, general health and fabric softeners, creating a myriad of smells that blended into one. It could be overwhelming, which was why he was glad this was just a village, not a city. No wonder Kagome had needed to leave Tokyo.

He bristled when a fluffy fan kept batting him in the face, making the truck swerve on the road.

"Woman," he gritted out, nearing the houses.

Kagome was busy leaning out of her passenger side window, hair dancing, swayed by a breeze. She reached out a hand behind her to seize the wagging black tail.

"Sorry!" she called over the wind, not sounding very sorry at all.

They pulled up at a store parking lot, one of the few in the area. Kagome swung herself out of his window, practically vibrating with excitement.

Sesshoumaru eyed her, noting what a poor thing she looked in his oversized shirt and pants she'd been forced to wear for the outing, though she'd tried to tailor them into shorts. Combine this with boots that were much too big and she appeared more a street rat than his...companion. He then spared a look at himself in a store window. The open flannel shirt pushed up to his elbows and grey t-shirt combo combined with slightly muddied pants was a far cry from his past splendour of rich silks, obis and fluttering sleeves. Mother would turn over in her grave if she knew. Without his exotic markings, there was nothing to distract attention from the deep lines beneath his eyes, as though he had trouble sleeping.

It was the Daiyoukai equivalent of letting himself go. Shameful.

Grabbing Kagome's elbow, he started marching in the opposite direction from the food store.

"Where are we going?" she yelped, following. "Aren't we getting sugar?"

"Something more urgent has come up," he uttered, now feeling strangers stares upon them and hearing comments on Kagome's attire. Pity directed at her. "Clothes first. Then food."

Kagome hummed, digging her heels in and wrenching her arm free with a frown, instead walking beside him like an equal. Sesshoumaru exhaled through his nose, inwardly soothing himself to try and calm down from how such an action stirred his blood.

Within a clothing store, Kagome took her time in the woman's section, flitting back and forth from the changing room.

Sesshoumaru perused their men's selection carefully. Truthfully he hadn't cared one whit about his appearance for years. He'd been so vain before, for good reason. There simply hadn't been a reason to make himself presentable these days.

Grabbing a new jacket, shirts and some more form-fitting pants, along with other clothes, Sesshoumaru emerged from the changing room fairly satisfied.

Kagome stepped out then, dressed in high waisted skinny jeans and a white knitted sweater that really should not have been considered sexy. And yet somehow she pulled it off, clutching her new clothes happily. Or maybe he was just repressed. He was starting to believe it was the latter.

Buying other necessities, he was kind enough to grab sugar, shampoo, conditioner and a tiny bonsai tree. He handed the plant pot over to her with a mocking smirk, which she stuck her tongue out at him for. "I'll take immaculate care of it. You'll see."

After putting their items in the truck they sat within a cafe together, Kagome looking around at everything and scenting the air.

A little boy passed by their table, who took to staring at her. Blinking and smiling, she gave a little wave.

Gasping, the boy quickly retreated, hurrying back to his parents.

"Woman," Sesshoumaru said sharply.

"Huh?" Kagome froze, catching sight of her hand that had morphed, the palm of her hand and fingers resembling the pads of a paw. Yanking it down and dragged her sleeve self consciously over trembling fingers, she hunched her shoulders.

Sesshoumaru sighed and slipped a hand easily over hers, wrestling the material loose and dragging a thumb over her palm, watching it change back.

Kagome exhaled in a quiet rush, "this is so difficult," she mumbled.

"It won't always be."

Swallowing thickly and nodding, lithe fingers laced with his longer ones. Sesshoumaru stiffened, snapping his gaze to hers.

Kagome smiled enigmatically, "I appreciate your help," she said, "I know I'll be back to acting like a normal human again in no time thanks to you," she grinned, soon dropping his hand when her order of omelette arrived.

Sesshoumaru swiftly retreated his burning palm, focusing on his steak. Flexing his fingers beneath the table didn't help to reduce the tingling rush flooding his bloodstream. Instead, the demon observed her happy expression, mildly concerned. She still wasn't eating any meat. It had been several days now.

"Don't be silly Shinta, I'll hear no more talk of wolves!"

Directing their attention to the family the little boy had run off to, sitting in a booth not too far away, they blinked. The father now seemed frustrated. He continued on in a gruff voice. "It is not a laughing matter, so don't joke about it."

"I'm not playing a prank! That lady changed! She's a wolf!"

Kagome stiffened within her seat as many eyes within the cafe fixed on her, patrons having heard the outburst. Sesshoumaru's body became coiled tight with tension, silently daring any of them to speak ill of her.

A kindly voice cut in then, an elderly waitress approaching the young boy's table carrying a trayful of drinks. "By any chance, did he hear about that strange wolf attack in Tokyo? Perhaps that's where his overactive imagination has come from," she chuckled, setting down their orders and ruffling his hair.

The boy shoved her arm off. "That's not it!"

"Enough, Shinta," his mother hushed him, looking up at the old woman. "That's right, I remember...that poor young man."

The waitress nodded thoughtfully. "There was no report of a wolf going missing from any zoos that I can recall. It was a strange attack, so maybe that's why the little lad remembers it so well. Matsubara Hojo was his name, and his girlfriend went missing too. Such a tragedy."

Kagome's chopstick fell to the table. Blue eyes stared unseeingly ahead of her, frame quivering slightly. Rounded ears started to elongate.

Sesshoumaru reached beneath the table and lay a solid hand on her knee, lengthening his nails and pricking her with sharp claws a little. She jolted and met his intent eyes.

Drawing attention to his mouth, he began breathing carefully to try and calm her escalating breath, keeping their gazes locked.

Gripping his hand tight like a lifeline, Kagome inhaled- held it for a few seconds- and then copied him in exhaling through her nose. The points of her ears smoothed and rounded out again.

Sesshoumaru nodded, glamoured brown eyes warming a touch. They finished their meals quickly after that and exited holding hands.

They did not speak of the young man named Hojo, though the memory of him seemed to weigh heavy and constant on Kagome's shoulders. Sesshoumaru dragged a sharp nailed thumb over her knuckles- and was rewarded with an answering, thankful smile.