His request was both absurd, and intriguing.

Kagome had had almost about enough of Inuyasha's quick to fire comments. One moment she was having a relatively pleasant day, the next she would hear a smart-ass remark from the half-demon and her fists would clench. She didn't even know why it upset her so much when he bad-mouthed his brother. Sure, sometimes Inuyasha would let slip a word or two about how she didn't measure up to the 'other, better looking women out there', but sometimes he wouldn't even mention her at all, and she would still become hostile around him.

On one particular day, one in which Inuyasha had insulted her, again, she found herself storming into the forest without him, feeling as if she could use a small amount of time to simply sit down and cool off. And, of course, whenever she seemed to have time to think, a long figure always managed to pry into her mind.

It had been quite a while since Sesshoumaru had decided to grace her with his presence, and she was beginning to wonder what was keeping him. Though, she reasoned with herself, he was the Lord of the Western Lands. She was rather positive that there must have been some sort of lordly thing he had to attend to every now and then.

Which brought up another fabulous reason as to why he shouldn't have even been interested in her. In his standards, she was somewhat of a peasant. She figured it was kinda taboo to even associate with peasants, let alone have sex with them.

A chill ran through Kagome's spine as she thought about how it might be like. To make love to a demon. Hell, she'd never even made love to a human before. How was she to know the difference?

Once the thought started, there was no way of turning it off. Kagome closed her eyes as she imagined his white, pearl-like skin; His piercing, amber eyes. She could lose herself in them, she already knew. Kagome realized that, if Sesshoumaru had asked for her, right this second, she would have had quite a bit of trouble saying no.

And that thought alone pulled her back out of her slowly drowning mind. She was supposed to be stronger than this.

A wave of power rushed through her senses, leaving her breathless against the back of the tree. She knew that power. It had become quite familiar to her over the past few months. Sesshoumaru was announcing his presence to her, for some unknown reason. He had never bothered to before, merely deciding to suppress his power so that his approach would not alert his half-brother. This time, however, he was flaunting his power. If she hadn't known Sesshoumaru, she would have accused him of showing off.

The demon lord strode slowly, yet purposefully, into her vision, making her cringe as his power continued to overwhelm her. Her back pressed lightly against the bark of the tree behind her as he closed in. She knew it was only a matter of moments before Inuyasha arrived. However, would he arrive in time?

Sesshoumaru's silver hair glimmered in the scattered rays of the sun peeking through the canopy of trees, catching and holding her attention. Her eyes then moved to his own glowing orbs. It seemed as if they shone with a light of their own. As if a golden fire battled within them.

He was a beauty that outshone all else. Though there was no question regarding his manliness. She wasn't sure how it was even possible, to be so breathtakingly beautiful, and yet so obviously male.

Sesshoumaru's voice drew her from her thoughts.

"It seems as if you are alone, human." His voice trailed through the space between them. The air suddenly seemed thicker.

It wasn't a question, so she stayed silent against her tree.

Kagome blinked, and he was no longer before her. She had only a moment to think before she felt herself shift. Kagome let out a surprised 'eep' as the demon Lord lifted her up from the ground and cradled her in his remaining arm. Kagome had to wrap her own arms around his shoulders to keep herself balanced.

"What are you—" Kagome started, and then froze as Sesshoumaru's lips fell swiftly upon her own.

She had expected him to move, to make more of what he had begun. But the Western Lord stayed still, almost as if he were afraid to scare her. His kiss was gentle, yet firm. Chaste. She almost liked it...

"Kagome!"

Kagome's head whipped around, breaking their kiss as Inuyasha came flying into the scene, anger etched into his every feature.

Sesshoumaru turned slowly towards his half-brother. Inuyasha stopped dead, and his anger bled away first into confusion, and then to shock.

Before Kagome could even utter a single word of explanation, Sesshoumaru set himself into the air. Her arms tightened around his neck as they broke free from the trees and rose higher and higher off the ground, into the sky, and away from Inuyasha.