Sasuke x Kagome

Pushing aside another branch, Kagome released a frustrated cry. "I know that that stupid hot spring is around here somewhere," she muttered. "Now, where is it?"

She felt like she had been walking in circles for at least an hour. That, by itself, made absolutely no sense to her, since she had walked to the same hot spring for nearly two years. She always found it within at least fifteen minutes, if not twenty, and yet today it felt like it was forever out of her reach.

"Uuuurghhh!" she huffed, stomping her foot in agitation. "This is ridiculous! Do you hear me—?" her head raised toward the sky, "—This is ridiculous!"

Finally releasing a tiny puff of air, Kagome decided that she was—perhaps—the one being ridiculous. There was no way she had been wandering around the forest for an hour. Not when there was a clear, distinct path that led to the hot spring that she sought.

She had probably just forgotten to trim back the vegetation the last time she had taken a bath. And, because of that, she had probably just wandered off the path a little and, thus, gone beyond the hot spring by accident.

"Yeah." She nodded to herself, saying, "That's it."

Turning on her heel, Kagome held her head high and began her search anew. The hot spring had to be somewhere in the general area, so there was no doubt that she would find it. In fact, she had no doubt that she would find it within the next five minutes!

Though, if she allowed herself a moment of silence, she did notice a strange feeling in the air. Almost as if it did not want her there. But, that, too, was ridiculous. There was next to nothing in the forest with her at any given time, and the thought that something might be trying to deter her was stupid.

Besides, what could turn a mostly trained miko astray?

"Nothing," she stated firmly, "that's what!"

Laughing to herself, Kagome pushed forward without hesitation. She was never without her dagger, so she did not fear whatever might crash from behind the bushes should something actually be hiding nearby. And, not only that, but those who relied heavily on chakra knew next to nothing about her art. So they, too, would fall if there were any within the vicinity.

Yet, as she pushed herself between two familiar pieces of brush, she could not shake the feeling that something was attempting to drive her in the opposite direction. Turn her around until she was lost within her own insanity, cursing the world and the existence of the strange feeling.

While unwilling to believe anything in the forest could harm her, Kagome allowed a burst of energy to escape her. It filled the atmosphere, purifying the negative energy that she had been unable to detect directly, and she frowned. "Well, I was not expecting for that to happen."

The path seemed to brighten, the strange feeling escaping her, and while she was curious as to what had brought upon the negative energy, she was more interested in finding her bath. Especially now that she had wandered for a good thirty minutes, she would say, since it was ridiculous to believe she had been wandering for an hour or more.

Quickly, Kagome glanced around. She did a little dance afterward, recognizing the area, before skipping off in the direction she knew the hot spring to be. It was actually really close, she realized, and it would only take her a few more steps before she—!

"Who are you?"

Having pushed her way into the hot springs clearly, Kagome stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the voice of a man. Her eyes immediately sought him out, finding him within the pool of water that she had desperately been seeking out for some time now. And he was—was—!

His face was tinted pink—no doubt from the heat of the water he was bathing in—but it was nothing in comparison to the heavy blush that crossed her face in that moment. "I asked you a question—" he dropped the wash cloth he had been using to bath with, subs skimming down his arm, "—answer it."

"I—I—!" Mortified beyond belief, Kagome could do nothing but stare at the—the—!

"How did you get by my genjutsu?" he demanded.

"I—I—!" Her voice failed her completely, her eyes widening, when she realized that her presence seemed to have caused a reaction in the man before her. His—his—thing was—and she was just staring at it like an idiot!

"Well?"

"I'm sorry!" Bowing suddenly, Kagome snapped her eyes shut, turned and ran.

That was the last thing she had expected to find at her favorite hot spring! And, she knew, because she had seen him there once, there was absolutely no way she would be going back to bathe there anytime soon!