Author's Note: Yes, this is a purposefully pointless fluff chapter. Fluff is important.

A Distant Promise – Mini-Chapter # 45

"Twenty," he murmured.

Blushing furiously, Kagome noted that she may have been mistaken to flirt with Sesshoumaru in such a manner, in the lobby of the inn. But then, who knew that dog-demons took debts so seriously? "Fifty-four seems like an awfully large number," she admitted breathlessly, "You don't have to make up the difference."

It had only been one week since then, and he had managed to visit her each evening. Miraculously, Kagome also had managed to free up time in her schedule. Doing homework for class was not nearly as exciting as spending time with her favorite taiyoukai.

And each night, he had chipped away at his total number of back-logged goodnight kisses. But clearly, he was not counting fairly! Making one kiss last for several minutes, this should not count as "one"… It was more like five, or fifteen, or something.

Perhaps this was a bizarre form of vengeance against her, for counting the number of "dates" they had not been on, since they first associated at the start of the semester. Yes, that might be it.

Furrowing her brow she glared up at him. "I still haven't told Inuyasha…"

Fingers slid over her mouth as a light burned behind his eyes. Whether it was concern or dark humor, she could not quite tell. Apparently though, he did not want to hear his little brother's name, while standing this close to her. "Oh, come on!" she complained lightly. "We have to tell him at some point."

"We?" Sesshoumaru answered, curious.

"Yes," nodded Kagome. "Secretly, you know you want to be there. To watch your half-brother have a meltdown."

He smiled, sharp and feral, before slowly circling behind her and drawing her back against his chest. His body was warm and his mouth was hot against the back of her neck, when he pressed his lips there. Counting this as success, she thanked him for agreeing to come along for the visit.

It was probably only because she went temporarily insane that she thought this would be a good idea, though. Sesshoumaru quickly rerouted her fears in a new direction. "Indeed, I suppose he may," the dog-demon noted blithely, "If he sees both of us emerge from a room together, one morning."

Wriggling her shoulders to force him to release her arms, Kagome revolved until she was facing the obstinate inu-youkai behind her. "Hey, now. I didn't say I was going to spend the night with you!"

"Hn." He ran one hand through her hair, tracing the backs of his claws against her scalp. Kagome shivered and decided that breathing should not be so difficult. The smile had vanished from his expression, but it was still faintly present in his eyes, and it warmed her all the way to her toes.

"Well, at least," she continued, loosing her resolve, "Not in order to give Inuyasha a heart-attack. That's mean."

The white-haired demon observed her intently. As usual, he seemed to be able to pinpoint the words behind her words, instead of what she actually told him. "In my day," Sesshoumaru resolved quietly, "It was not customary to disrespect a girl by sleeping with her without some formal commitment."

It felt like the pieces of her heart were melting inside her chest. Even though he hadn't said it directly, he thought she deserved commitment. That was, without a doubt, the sweetest thing that any guy ever told her. So, although Sesshoumaru was sidestepping the issue slightly, refusing to admit exactly what he meant, this remark was very enlightening. She smiled blissfully and snuggled her head into his chest.

"In your day… hmm? Would that be the Heian Era?"