Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

How to Flirt with a Dog Demon

Eye Contact is Key

"Eye contact is key to making the first move... without making the first move! A flirtatious glance can tell him how you feel about him without words."

Kagome sighed, "That sounds promising." She sighed again as she turned on her side and got more comfortable on her bed. "And ... less likely to potentially kill him..."

She was still mortified by the perfume incident. Luckily her mother was able to get a refund for most of the perfumes and powders. Kagome did keep a small bottle though... after all SHE did love the scent. Just... maybe a little lighter touch.

Flipping through the magazine Kagome continued her studies on the Art of Flirtation. Eye contact huh? Seems like a logical way to flirt. So, she read about the different types of eye contact.

"Let's see... there is Peeking. Extended Eye Contact. Reverse. Repeating Glances. Stare and Smile. Long Distance. Full Body Gaze... Full body gaze?"

Gripping the magazine tightly, Kagome rolled out of bed and closed her bedroom door. She kicked yesterday's clothes that didn't quite make it to the hamper out of the way so that she had a clear view of the full length mirror that hung on the inside of her door.

Time to practice.

Reading from the magazine, Kagome stood in front of the mirror. "Okay. Peeking. When you find someone you like, casually take short glances at them. Casually stare at them, but immediately look away as soon as they glance back at you. Lock eyes for a moment and no longer. Do NOT linger and stare back for more than a second. Not just yet. Keep your glances short and brief."

"Casually stare?" Kagome blew out a breath, feeling very silly as she stared at herself in the mirror. But... If it worked it would be worth it. Nothing worth doing is worth doing hard... wait... that's not it. If something is worth doing its worth doing easy... no... If something is worth doing... oh forget about it. Back to staring.

"Glance"

Kagome glanced, making sure she made eye contact with herself.

"Look away!"

Glance.

Look away.

Glance.

Look away.

"Okay... that was easy. What's next?" She looked down at the magazine to tip #2. "Extended Gaze. The next step to making eye contact with your love interest is to let your gaze linger. Give a small smile and put warmth in your eyes. Use body language to enhance the gaze. Tilt the neck and keep an easy stance."

Kagome looked up into the mirror and stared. Then she remembered to tilt her neck. She wasn't sure what an easy stance was... but she felt like she was resembling something from a horror movie. Surely the next thing that was going to happen was her reflection would start skittering up the wall.

The mental image of that shook her out of the stare. She looked back at the magazine to see if she missed something. Nope. She did it right. Probably...

She continued to read through the eye contact tips.

Reverse: Don't stare directly at your love interest. Wait for them to look at you. As they look at you, look up and stare back. Doing so makes it appear as if they are the one seeking you out.

"Reverse psychology? How to gas light your love interest?" Kagome was skeptical. After all, what if they didn't look at you first? Or at all?

Repeating Glances: As with peeking, glance at your love interest and stare for a brief moment, looking away as soon as they look back. Keep repeating the glances.

She peeked and glanced at the mirror repeatedly. She wasn't sure if she looked like she was flirting or if she had developed a nervous tic.

Stare and Smile: Smile and blush while you stare. Appear busy (example: talk with a friend) and stare for a moment or two using the peeking and repeating glances methods. Each time you look away, smile. For best results, glance upwards through your eyelashes. Let your glances become longer if your love interest starts showing interest. When your glances become longer you may smile while staring instead of just when looking away.

"So many rules..." Kagome's palms were beginning to sweat. How was she going to remember all this? How was she going to do this without looking like a fool?

Long Distance: Long distance flirting can happen for either a short duration, as with peeking, or for a long period of time.

"Soooooo... just long distance then?" Seemed like a bit of wasted paper on that one. At least she wouldn't have to worry about remembering much about that one.

Full Body Gaze: A full body gaze starts with the extended gaze. First stare at the eyes. Then slowly move your gaze down to stare at the mouth. Move your gaze slowly down the body. Then look back up into the eyes.

Kagome stopped reading and blushed as she thought about staring at Inuyasha that way... when he would know about it. Slowly? Egads, she wasn't sure she was that brave... and she had faced NARAKU!

When she looked up into the mirror to practice her gaze, she screamed.

"AAAIIIEEEEEE!"

Inuyasha's concerned eyes were gazing at her own in the mirror. At least, they were before Kagome jumped and ended up in a tangled mess of legs and arms on the floor. Then he was looking down at her looking very startled.

"INUYASHA!"

The dog demon was standing above her, quiet and looking very confused. He didn't offer her a hand. Instead he just stared.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked very seriously.

Kagome sat up and started gathering her dirty laundry to throw in the hamper, glad that she had something to do to hide her embarrassment. She made sure that the magazine found its way to the bottom of the hamper as she stuffed the clothes in. Even if Inuyasha couldn't read the articles from where he stood, the photos were enough to give him a pretty good idea of what she had been reading about. And she would rather he not know.

Ever.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Her heart started pounding like a sledgehammer in her chest when Inuyasha put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in closely. She drew in a shaky breath and trembled, holding her hand close to her heart to try and steady her heart. As he drew closer she closed her eyes.

She felt his forehead touch her own.

"You have a fever," he said gently. "Your skin is all red and blotchy. You should have told me you were ill. I can fix this."

"I'm not sick," she said with a hoarse laugh. Though she did feel a bit sick at the moment. Sick with disappointment and mortification.

Blotchy?

His eyes took on a haunted look. "Your voice... it's hoarse. Your throat is sore. Sore throat. Fever. Shaking. Are you cold?"

Suddenly Kagome found herself wrapped in his fire rat robe.

She couldn't help it.

She really couldn't.

But the full body gaze happened. She looked into his concerned eyes, then down to where the white cloth opened just enough to see the skin of his chest. Later she would blame the magazine for where her eyes traveled. When she got back to his eyes, she thought that she might just burst into flames.

"You're right!" She flung herself into bed and threw the covers over her head. "I'm not feeling well! Koff koff." It was not a lie. Just a different kind of not feeling well.

"I'll be back with medicine! I'll take care of you, Kagome!"

Inuyasha disappeared. She knew she would likely be drinking some sort of vile concoction that he would bring.

So so so gross...

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"Kagome has been acting weird," whispered Shippo.

Sango and Miroku nodded.

"Is she challenging me for leadership?" asked Inuyasha. "Isn't she already? I don't get it..."

The group all watched as a nervous Kagome stared at Inuyasha from behind a tree across from the campsite. All day she had been sneaking glances at the dog demon, then quickly looking away. Sometimes from close up, sometimes from a distance. And she was always muttering to herself about tip numbers... whatever that meant.

"Maybe you made her mad," speculated the kit. "You talked about Kikyo in your sleep again, didn't you?"

Inuyasha bonked Shippo on his head. "Shut up! I do not." He looked back at Kagome. As soon as he made eye contact she looked away. His ears drooped, wounded. "I don't know what I did to make her so mad at me..." Then he got angry. "I DIDN'T DO NOTHIN'!"

He leapt onto the nearest tree branch and turned his back to the group. He heard Kagome sigh, but he didn't turn around. He didn't do anything wrong this time! She had no reason to be mad!

"I'm going home," she said.

It was the dejected sound in her voice that made Inuyasha turn around. She wasn't mad? Wait... was she still sick? Was she too brave to tell him that she wasn't feeling well? Was she trying to keep the others from catching her sickness? Was she staying away because she didn't want them to get sick but was looking at him trying to let him know that she needed him to take care of her because she was really sick and needed him?

Inuyasha dove from the tree and scooped up Kagome, determined to get her back into her bed as soon as possible. He would come back later for her bag.

"Don't worry, Kagome," he assured her. "I have more medicine for you. I brought extra!"

Kagome's sickened groan made him pick up speed.

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Author's Note:

By the way, in case any of you are wondering, yes... it is difficult to explain to people who catch me studying about ways to flirt that I SWEAR this is for a story I'm writing.