note: a strong and swift strike to the chin, throwing the head back will cause pressure upon the spinal column causing a momentary blockage of information from the central nervous system to the brain knocking someone out please don't attempt! )

Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Inuyasha...at all.

Sesshomaru caught the scent of Inuyashas group of friends and followed it back to small camp. They were all asleep. 'Perfect'. He thought . He would have time to come up with an excuse as to why he was "gone" for so long. Sesshomaru looked around at the motley crew that his brother had acquired over time, and he noticed that the girl was missing. She obviously had to be awake somewhere, so he took this time to look for her; this might be the perfect opportunity to carry out his end of the deal.

He wound through the trees for several minutes before he heard her. She was crying. 'Humans…they were so full of emotions and stupidity.' Even though he would much rather rip his own eyes out of their sockets than comfort a disgusting human girl, he decided it would be the best time to make his entry and become his brother.

Unfortunately he could not remember her name. This was problematic…how could he pretend to be her friend if he did not know her name? He thought hard on it and brought up two names. Kekyo? Was that it? No…it was Kagome! That was her name. Lucky for him, he remembered.

He walked towards her slowly, as not to scare her. He could see her shoulders shaking up and down in between sobs. He looked her over; he had never noticed her strange garb before. In fact, now that he thought about it, he had never actually noticed her at all. She was just another human to him. Not even her abilities ever meant anything in his eyes, because he had no desire to acquire the Shikon no Tama.

He noticed that she was a very slender creature. Most women in this time were married young and bore children early in life, leaving them looking much older than their years, as well as wider and plump looking. He could see the light from the moon reflecting off her delicate skin. She was an attractive being...

What was he thinking? He almost retched at the thought. He realized how long he was standing there staring at her and forced himself to peel his eyes away and resume his thoughts…what would he tell her. What excuse could he use to insure she would believe him? He almost laughed when the answer came to him; he would use himself as an excuse.

"Kagome" He put his hand on her shoulder, and she jerked around. He stared down in to her tear filled eyes. "Just let me exp…" he was unable to finish his sentence before she stood up, shoved her face in to his chest, and threw her arms around him.

"You're ok!" she held him tighter "I...thought…you…" She choked out her words in between sobs. "Oh! Inuyasha! I thought you were dead!" Her sobs became more intense and her body began to convulse with uncontrollable spasms. Without thinking through his actions, Sesshomaru wrapped one arm around her and with the other he ran his fingers through her hair. They stood there like that allowing the minutes to pass. Succumbing to his uncontrollable urges he would occasionally stroke her back to comfort her and to calm her down.

When she had finally stopped crying and spasms no longer shook her fragile frame, he released her. What in the hell did he just do. Her smell clung to him in a cloud of fragrance, and his skin tingled where she had just been. He had embraced this abhorrent human and he felt the urge to kick himself.

"Inuyasha! How could you leave and not tell me where you were going? I know you did not just go to 'check things out'!" she paused and glared at Inuyasha, there tears spilling from the corners of her eyes again. "You saw Kekyo didn't you!?" she broke down again.

'She is in no way ashamed of showing her feelings' Sesshomaru thought to himself. 'She's so damn confusing, why can't she make up her mind whether she is happy I'm here or angry I was gone? How does my brother put up with this?'

"Kagome, I ran into my brother and he slowed me down, I'm sorry." he inhaled deeply. "And just so you know, I didn't even think about Kekyo, you were the only one on my mind tonight." It wasn't a complete lie. She had been on his mind; she was after all the key to ending Narakus curse. Not to mention the fact that his brother's body slowed him down and whoever Kekyo was, she was of no interest to him.

"Inuyasha…" she said his name in the form of a whisper, and a smile crossed her face.

'How strange..' Sesshomaru thought. 'She looks so goofy with the smile and tears spilling…what a strange creature'

Kagome ran into his arms once more but this time Sesshomaru did not have the urge to embrace her in return, instead he snapped her head back with a violent strike to her chin and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. He scooped her up, carried her back to camp, and placed her in her sleeping bag. He then found the closest tree and sat with his back against the bark, and started his over his- or rather- Inuyashas friends.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

When the Morning finally arrived and everyone began to stir and wake, Sesshomaru explained the events (that never happened) which occurred the day before, and the threat (which was never made) against Kagome.

"Oh no what will we do Kagome?" Shippo hopped into her lap. "I don't want you to get hurt!"

"Don't worry…Ill be fine." she smiled and rubbed Shippo's head. 'I can't tell if she is brave or just ignorant.' Thought Sesshomaru, as he explained his plan for the coming evening.

"I'm going to take Kagome and head back toward the way we came, the rest of you are going to continue the way we were headed. The demon hunting her will easily be confused and follow you. When he realizes she is not with you and can no longer sense her I will return and kill it." He looked up and to his surprise, he saw that they were all in agree-ance with him.

"So you are going to take her home, that way he has no way of finding her?" Miroku asked.

"Yes" Sesshomaru paused, "that is correct."

"It's settled then, we should start off when we finish packing" Sango voiced "The sooner the better" and she was up and starting to pack. The others followed suit. As soon they were done and said their goodbyes the two groups set off in opposite directions.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Night had fallen hours before Kagome had finally broken down and asked to rest. She was tired from the long day of travel; there was no way she wasn't. Sesshomaru made sure to have exhausted her by following every path that came to them (never the same one twice), in the direction heading toward nowhere at all. He knew she would not notice how aimlessly he wondered down every path, and he laughed at the comical idea that she truly believed he was protecting her.

"I'm tired Inuyasha, can we please stop?" Kagome pleaded with Sesshomaru, holding her knees and bending over to catch her breathe.

"Very well" He noticed her trouble breathing. 'I had not realized how fast my pace was. Yet she never stopped or complained. She is strong willed…good. It will make it worthwhile when I take her life.' He thought sinisterly

"Thank you." She passed him a weary smile and brushed off a spot beneath a tree to lay.

"Your welcome" He liked the fact that she had manners.

As soon as Kagome's eyes lids shut, she fell in to a deep sleep. Sesshomaru could tell from the sound of her breathing. She drew in air slowly and let it out almost silently. She seemed to murmur in her sleep as well. Sesshomaru was unable to catch what she was saying, but he guessed that it held no importance.

Sesshomaru sat there, observing her for a while, when he saw that she had began to shiver. Her lips were turning blue and she could not possibly fold any closer to herself. The night was indeed chilly, Sesshomaru took note. They had not brought her sleeping bag so that her scent would be carried with the others. There was nothing around them to even makeshift a cover of any type.

Walking over to Kagome, Sesshomaru lifted her slightly and placed himself between her and the ground. She looked cold as ice, yet her body felt warm against his. He placed his arms around her to drape the fabric of his sleeves across her torso. She felt his warmth and burrowed against his chest. Sesshomaru tensed; what was she doing? It was as if she was trying to crawl right in to him.

She clung to his hariginu and entwined her fingers in his hair. His blood began to jet through his veins; he could hear her heart beating along with his, which sounded as though it were ready to burst. His face felt hot and his stomach flipped. What was she doing to him? Was she killing him in her sleep?

With that thought he pushed her off of him, but with no desire to wake her and be flooded with a stream of questions, he caught her by the shoulders; she whimpered as her head fell back. He gently and slowly brought her back to his chest. He saw she was warm and he did not need to cover her any longer. Sesshomaru moved to drop his hands back down to his side, but, as if without any control, his hands made a detour.

Sesshomaru felt his way up Kagome's back, where he stopped to curl his fingers over her shoulder, and pressed her against his body; he could feel every curve against his own. It surprised him how good she felt to hold like this. Kagome's breathe caught in her throat; he was holding her too tight. Sesshomaru relaxed his grip and slid his hands down her spine, stopping at the small of her back.

Kagome wiggled in Sesshomarus lap, turning herself around with her back against his chest. In doing so Kagome must have lost the warmth shielding her- Sesshomaru felt a chill run through her, and he wrapped his arms around her again. This time though, his hand grazed her breast by accident as they were right in his path. Feeling licentious, he dropped his hands in to her lap only to realize that their placement was a far more lecherous gesture. Giving up all together, Sesshomaru removed his hariginu, wrapped it around her and placed his hands fixedly by his side.

He could not help the rest of his body's reactions though; Sesshomaru stared at her and ran his eyes over the places he had touched and those he did not…yet. What was it about her that made her seem so alluring; making his insides flutter and jump every time her breathe brushed across his flesh? In the end he decided that he would just call it animal attraction, because that was all it was…nothing more.