Chapter 6: Begins in Shame

Kagome laid back comfortably on the sand, her eyes busy reading the stars as her mind placed constellations with certain groups of the lights in the sky. Sighing the demoness mentally ticked off in her head which ones she had yet to add to her star charts, Inu no Taisho would need them in the coming weeks after all. The moon was not out tonight, making the nighttime clouds look like wispy shadows in the dark, eerie yet oddly mystifying. Still stargazing, she barely moved a muscle when she felt an all too familiar presence behind her. "Isn't it way past your bedtime Sesshomaru-sama?" hearing him move to sit beside her, she glanced over at the demon lord who had his knees bent in front of him, leaning his arms back to give the position support.

"I should be asking you the same thing," he muttered out, peeking up at the sky for only a moment, he soon focused his attention on the ocean instead, the waves coming just within reach of his booted feet. "You haven't been in your room at night lately."

Blowing air out her nose, Kagome replied, "Really? And how would you know this Sesshomaru-sama?" there was a teasing tone to her voice, but she didn't miss how stiff he became when she asked him the question. Honestly, he had been following her around like a quiet stalker for over a month, ever since they had shared their first kiss by accident. They had both agreed at the time that it was a one-time thing, an incident that had been the result of high adrenaline caused by discovering the tomb of his family's founding Daiyoukai, Shiro. "What? No response?"

"Jaken has seen you going in and out of the castle, he informed me because he thought it strange."

"Oh." a light blush stained her cheeks at his explanation. The imp had been following him around like a proverbial dog ever since they had discovered that Kappa demons did in fact exist. That was her job, after all, serving as the western lands assistant researcher. Though it didn't really bring her any pleasure. She was more interested in the past than the future, after all without the world's prior experiences, they wouldn't have existed. "How is Jaken?" she asked weakly, her cheeks reddening more when he smirked at her lame question.

"He is well, he insists on constantly being in my presence, otherwise, he complains that I am a callous being and he hates that he worships me."

"Yea that sounds about right." laughing, Kagome stopped and gasped when she realized in the midst of their conversation she had forgotten the constellations she had been studying. "Oh Damn it!"

"Watch your tongue woman, it's impolite to use such vulgar language."

"Sorry….," she muttered out. Staring hard up into the sky, she once more attempted to remember the star's locations and other astronomical details so that she could write them on her charts when she left.

"Hn. What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm stargazing."

"Why?"

"It's for your father," she said so low Sesshomaru was forced to lean back so that her voice was closer to his ear.

"Father...wants you to look at stars?"

"And put them on a chart so that he can go into enemy territory without fear of becoming lost."

"Oh," Laying beside her the demon followed her line of sight and squinted his eyes at the glowing lights which held no distinct pattern in his opinion. "How do you know what you're looking at?"

"Sesshomaru-sama? You honestly want me to tell you the finer points of astrology….in one night?"

"No…" he responded immediately. Holding in a sigh, the demon lord closed his eyes and thought about how foolish he had been behaving lately. Kagome was having this effect on him and he couldn't figure out why. His first kiss had been with her, and while he should be the one that was nonchalant about it, instead her reaction had left him wondering what was so wrong about that moment or not good enough that made her act like it didn't happen.

"Good," once more focusing her attention back to the stars, she stopped and looked over at him again when he suddenly asked out of nowhere,

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

"What...what do you mean?"

"Ever since…..that night, you've…" Kagome interrupted his thought.

"We agreed it didn't happen," she pointed out immediately.

"Yes, but,"

"No buts Sesshomaru-sama," the demoness stated firmly. "I am nothing more than a servant in your household. You have a duty to this province, your family, and especially your father. Forgive me for being so forward."

"Social class is why you avoid me?"

"I do not avoid you, I also do not seek you out,"

"Until we discovered Shiro's grave, you came to me with everything."

"That was before," she answered.

"Then does that not make you the one who is behaving differently since it occurred?"

"No, Sesshomaru-sama our relationship crossed a line."

"You honestly feel that way?"

"Yes." there was no room for negotiation in her affirmation.

"Very well then," going back to the stars, she ignored the silently seething lord. Expecting Sesshomaru to get up and storm off in rejection, she was surprised when she suddenly felt a weight on her body and his face blocking her view of the sky.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what…." he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers fully, taking advantage of her mouth parted in surprise, he slipped his tongue in and desperately searched out hers. Not responding for a long moment, Kagome's instincts, at last, took over and she began to kiss back with just as much passion as he had.

This went on for a few minutes until they both separated from air. Looking up into Sesshomaru's eyes which were slightly dilated in arousal, she stared at him blankly while she silently tried to assess what they had just done.

"Did we just cross a line again?" he abruptly asked, challenging her response with a questioning glance.

"Yes, Sesshomaru…..we did…."

"Good." capturing her lips again, he deepened the kiss when she wrapped her arms around his neck, their tongues tangling while the waves behind them got closer to the shore, barely catching the tips of Sesshomaru's boots.