Disclaimer: If I claimed to own the characters in the series Inuyasha, I would be lying.

A Distant Promise – Mini-Chapter #28

"It's your turn."

Kagome spoke in a chipper voice, as she bounced in place on his sofa cushions. Holding her cards in front of her face like a fan, she peered at him over their tops. Sesshoumaru placidly turned over his last card and laid down the rest of his hand.

Kagome stared in disbelief. This was the seventh time he had beaten her today! She had known better than to play a strategy game with someone like the ex-Lord of the Western Lands, but really, she had thought games of chance would be acceptable. But no, he had flummoxed her at Hanafuda and now even defeated her at Western card games, like Gin Rummy. No fair!

"You're cheating!" she announced, smacking her cards on the table.

"Not at all," replied the taiyoukai charmingly. "You are simply unskilled."

"Ooh!" squealed the miko, "Cheating! With your superior dog-demon skills!"

Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair and cocked his head to one side. This one would be rich. He had to know. "Such as?"

"You have scent-marked all the cards and you are using your sniffer to catch me, when I make mistakes," she proclaimed. Crossing her arms over her chest, she dared him to deny it.

He did. Although secretly he thought it was a good idea, and he wondered why he had never tried that before… Probably because the only people he relaxed with enough to play games were other youkai. Satoshi and Shippo would know if he cheated instantly, because their senses were just as elite. He offered this as evidence of the fact that he did not try and defraud her.

"X-Ray vision," she insisted stubbornly.

The white-haired demon scoffed. It was almost a snicker, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of seeming him laugh over something so stupid. Still, it was minorly amusing.

All in all, they had had a very fun day together. Spending time with the miko meant easy conversation and endless diversion, all bundled up in one pleasant package with an appealing scent. Humans were cleaner now than in the distant past, yet she still smelled absolutely superb compared to her fellows.

Best of all though, she was relaxing. Around her, he unconsciously softened and his worries eased. He wondered if this was something his Father had liked about Izayoi as well. The pressures of ruling could fall away when he was with her, whereas when he was home with his wife, Sesshoumaru's mother, he had to be the leader of the dogs, lord of the lands.

After spending a twelve hour day at various different offices, only to come home to paperwork, he understood exactly how much busier this time period was than his original one, years ago. Strange, how with more conveniences and machines, there was actually less time to get things done each day. Thus, he greatly appreciated the time he could spend with the little priestess, since she made him forget about being a responsible person – at least for a few hours a week.

There was only one, inescapable conclusion to draw. He liked her.

In fact, he liked everything about her. Even the annoying parts of her, like the way she talked too much, or tried to act overly cheery when she met with him even if she was having a bad day. Oh! And the way she refused to respect his privacy – she tended to ask questions on every single issue that she could think of, and it did not matter whether normal people would not discuss such private matters. No, to the miko, everything was fair game. Yet somehow, he did not mind any of these things, because everything else that she was became far more important, over time.

"If it would make you feel better," he vowed solemnly, "I will try to lose."

"Augh!" she complained, "I want to win fair and square!" Then, a calculating glint formed in her eyes. She pulled out the Western-style card deck one more time, then mixed it with his Japanese flower cards.

"I refuse to play 100-card 'Pick-Up' games."

She shook her head. "Nope. We're going to play the 'Kagome' game. I write the rules, as we play."

"Hn," he grunted, feeling amusement welling inside his chest yet again. "That sounds like cheating." And oh, how he would enjoy beating her at her own game, literally. A predatory smirk crept over his face.