a/n: It's short. Deal with it.

Chapter Six…

Sesshoumaru, all righteous anger and ready to show it in ways only he was capable of, came upon a very peculiar scene. And while, truthfully, he'd taken his time to arrive (wanting to heighten the fear of his impending entrance and not because he was frightened by the miko's wee guardian) this change should not have surprised him because of who was involved in the scene. It didn't, really, but what was occurring before his eyes did somehow…appeal…to his nature.

How odd.

He stumbled to a halt—forgetting instantly that he was less than graceful in some way because that just wasn't possible—and secretly salivated as he watched what was now occurring in the clearing.

The tense atmosphere from before had shifted. His brother, while still pissed with his ears laid back, sat some distance away from the miko, but everyone else in his brother's pack had seemed to move on.

And the miko was now tossing something around…

Sesshoumaru's eyes zeroed in on what she was throwing. He watched as the seeming white ball of delectability glided through the air and landed, skidding slightly against the earth. Then he watched as the miko's little beast pounced upon it, tail wagging with glee. The monster would then take the thing back tothe miko and she would toss it again.

Oh. He wanted this…thing.

And by the Kami what a Sesshoumaru wants, a Sesshoumaru gets!

*PA*

"Kagome," Sango asked as she sat down next to her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm playing to relieve stress," the miko answered, shooting Inuyasha a glare—which the hanyou pointedly made a show of seeing and ignoring. Ichigo returned with his make-shift toy then and Kagome took it in hand. It was only a ruined shirt of hers tied closed and stuffed with grasses and a dog treat for smell, but the poodle seemed not to mind the homeliness of it. He growled playfully while she tried to wrest it from his jaws and released it eventually for her to throw again. "He's got tons of these at home and I guess I forgot he likes to play. He's only a puppy, after all."

"May I try?" Sango asked as Ichigo brought his "toy" back.

"Sure," Kagome answered, willing to share in her stress relief.

She wrestled her shirt from Ichigo and handed his toy over to Sango. The poodle's intense gaze immediately shifted to the slayer and he yipped encouragingly. Sango laughed at his antics and tossed the shirt. Ichigo quickly retrieved it, appearing as a brown streak to the rest of them, and brought it back to Sango. "He really likes it," the slayer remarked, sounding surprised, as she proceeded to copy Kagome's movements in a game of tug-a-war with the poodle.

"Doesn't Kirara play?" Kagome asked offhandedly. Actually, come to think of it, she'd never seen Kirara play at all. The neko youkai seemed all seriousness. "Or didn't she?" she corrected herself.

"Kirara was already several hundred years old when she became my friend," Sango answered as she finally tugged the shirt free and tossed it again.

Kagome looked over to where Kirara was resting in the shade in her smaller form. The neko youkai, sensing her regard, raised her head briefly, her eyes seeming to twinkle with delight, and then she curled up again. "Wow. I didn't know Kirara was that…old."

Sango laughed at that, the sound a good one to hear from one who had suffered so much. "Youkai age differently than humans, Kagome," she reminded her.

"Yeah," shot Inuyasha from across their resting site. "Hanyous too!"

"Then obviously you're still a baby!" Kagome couldn't help but shoot back. Honestly, he'd left himself open with that one.

Shippou, sitting with Miroku, snickered but quieted when Inuyasha's eyes turned his way. "That's it. We're heading back towards the well. Now."

"Yeah," Kagome agreed, standing up. "I could do with some time away from you."

"You're not going anywhere," Inuyasha countered. "We're getting rid of that," he continued, pointing towards the still playing poodle, "And then everything is going to go back to like it was BEFORE."

*PA*

His moment came when the slayer used her considerable strength—for a human that is—to toss the delectable item farther away from everyone. Moving forward, Sesshoumaru intercepted it before the beast could reach it. Placing his booted foot directly on top of it, he raised an eyebrow as the dog skidded to a stop before him.

The poodle wisely retreated, running back towards his mistress.

Ha, Sesshoumaru thought as he eyed the mongrel now growling at him from between the miko's spread legs. Take that. Though now he had to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of seeing that thing by her side…

Ridiculous, Sesshoumaru sniffed internally.

One by one, as they noticed his presence, the small, oddly put together group in front of him reacted. Inuyasha, acting as typical as always, brandished his sword and moved in between he and the miko. The slayer rose, readying her weapon as well. Her neko stood, but reserved her strength; her cat's eyes merely judging the situation at hand. The monk moved to stand by his friends and the little kitsune went straight into the miko's arms. "Sesshoumaru," his little brother snarled.

Sesshoumaru looked past them all, none a threat to him, and stared at the miko who had remained sitting, a dumb expression on her face. Keeping eye-contact with her, he bent down and plucked the thing up. The dog noticeably whined when he saw it in his claws. Sesshoumaru smirked as he twisted what the miko had called a toy around, sniffing unnoticeably at it as he savored the mixture of both the miko's scent and whatever else was inside.

Reaching into his haori, he retrieved the bit of fabric from its keeping place and his ears picked up the outraged startle of the miko. Ignoring her, he compared the scents from that delicious piece of cloth to the new one in his hands…

Tangy. But something is off…

Lost to his musings and certain none of those before him would dare risk their lives, Sesshoumaru failed to notice as the miko rose, set the kitsune aside, and stomped towards him. The pest lapping at her heels with low woofs, though, was not to be ignored. "Those are mine!" she fairly screeched as she ripped the cloth away from his claws just as Sesshoumaru was about to address to matter of his invaded personal space.

His lips downturned as Sesshoumaru glared at her, angry to have had his indulgence taken away. Using his youkai speed, he stole them back. The miko gasped, her eyes widening as she watched him tuck his pilfered item back away out of her sight. "Give. Them. Back," she bit out.

"Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha from behind her, obviously eager to rush to her aid but not wanting to move just in case he took offense and acted out against the miko before him. "Get your ass back here!"

"He has my underwear, Inuyasha," the miko bit out, not looking away from his face even though her skin was turning a strange color of red. Sesshoumaru sniffed at her scent. Why was she embarrassed?

"What the fuck?" his little brother screeched and Sesshoumaru raised his eyes to look beyond the woman to the hanyou.

The miko, seeing this, used that to her advantage as she dove forward, colliding with his body. Her little human hands forced their way underneath his armor before he knew what she was about and latched onto her clothing. She yanked the fabric out with a cry of victory—that quickly soured as Sesshoumaru wrapped his own arms around her and squeezed her against him. "Oof," she said—delightfully to his ears—as the breath was knocked out of her body.

*PA*

Okay. Maybe it hadn't been the brightest idea to infiltrate the daiyoukai's armor…Maybe, Kagome thought as she narrowly missed being impaled by one of the spikes covering his chest. But still! He stole my UNDERWEAR!

Looking upwards, she gulped when she saw the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes but she wrapped her fingers even tighter around her panties anyway. There was no way in hell she was going to just let him have them. "Put me down," she ordered in her most "motherly" voice.

Surprisingly, the daiyoukai did…though his hands did not leave her.

Kagome looked up at him once more, but saw that his attentions were still elsewhere. And the next thing she knew…everyone else was gone and she was alone with Sesshoumaru.

What in the hell…?

Gulping, Kagome cast a look over her shoulder, hoping against hope to see someone—or even some thing —that she knew. Nothing. There was nothing. Taking another swallow and feeling the fire of her ire from before dwindle down to nothing, she looked back towards Sesshoumaru.

The daiyoukai was staring down at her, seeming to have been waiting to catch her gaze again. He held up the "toy" she'd crafted for Ichigo, holding it out for her. Out of reflex, Kagome took it. "Throw it," Sesshoumaru ordered.

And she did, tossing the make-shift toy as hard as she could because what else could she do?

Immediately Sesshoumaru moved away from her, transforming into his larger state once more and very nearly crushing her. Kagome cried out as she dove for cover, falling upon the ground and covering her head to protect herself from the flying debris. It wasn't until she felt the now familiar coating of Sesshoumaru's doggy breath on the back of her neck that Kagome raised her head…to be greeted by the sight of Sesshoumaru in his dog form with her "toy" clutched delicately in his canines.

Scrambling up onto her feet, Kagome stared down dumbly at the toy as Sesshoumaru dropped it at her feet. She leaned down and picked it up instinctively, having been trained by her brother's poodle to do so. Almost immediately Sesshoumaru dropped down into a crouch, wagging his tail.

This is fucked up, Kagome thought as she threw the toy again and Sesshoumaru once more bounded after it. She had to close her eyes and look away to keep from getting a face full of dirt. Very fucked up.

Yet, despite how screwed up everything was, Kagome could not help but throw her shirt again for the daiyoukai when he returned…and she even found herself enjoying the interaction.

to be continued…