A/N: No note! Just enjoy! :D

Kagome's POV

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Chapter Twenty-Two: Incident

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"I can be very persuasive when I want to be."

Shivering, I banished the memory from my mind and scurried along the hard paneled floors. This was crazy. Here I was, running from Sesshoumaru, because of his past. It was utterly preposterous.

So why was I so afraid?

No matter how I tried, his words from the day he came for me refused to leave my mind. After my conversation with Chisaki, I'd left her to her own devices and spent the entirety of my day alone, sitting in my room.

I had no right to judge him for things that happened two-thousand years ago. I just couldn't see him torturing someone. It seemed so out of character.

But then, how well did I really know him?

I wanted time to ponder these recent discoveries, so as the sun had set behind the distant mountains I'd slipped from my room and was now headed to the one place I knew would bring me peace.

The towering ferns of the gardens came into view, and I hurried onto the stone path leading to the koi pond.

Evenings here were truly wondrous. Night-blooming flowers stretched for the sky, and softly glowing butterflies flitted lazily through the cool air, their thin wings pearly and translucent. Thick green grass tickled the bottoms of my bare feet, and I started as I disturbed the hundreds of bright lightning bugs resting amongst the blades.

Settling near the edge of the pond, I slid my feet into its warm waters and laughed when I felt the curious touch of a fish. I leaned forward, my hair making a black shroud around me, and touched a gentle finger to the water's surface, watching the ripples.

I sincerely loved it here. Not just the gardens, but the whole of the gods' realm. Living in my village could never compare.

Unexpectedly, ripples stronger than my own made my knees sway. I looked up, perplexed, and nearly screamed at the top of my lungs.

Sesshoumaru, in all his naked glory, stood waist-deep in the center of the pond.

Well, I couldn't be sure he wasnaked, but I had no intentions of finding out. Didn't he know how inappropriate it was to be so unclothed out in the open? What with the way his hair was clinging to his body and the droplets of water sticking to his skin, it was beyond indecent.

I narrowed my eyes as a sudden thought struck me. He had to know I was here. He had to.

As quietly as I could manage, I withdrew my legs from the lake and slowly inched backward. I would absolutely die of humiliation if he turned around and caught me trying to sneak away, so I crawled on my hands and knees, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible. Wayward branches from the surrounding flowers snagged the bare skin of my shoulders and neck, but I'd be damned if I let Sesshoumaru see me and persevered.

"Wife, what are you doing?"

Damn.

He was behind me, and I didn't dare look at him. "Nothing, Sesshoumaru. I think I may have dropped an earring here earlier today."

"That's odd." I heard the swish of silk against silk and breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"It's not so odd," I replied while searching for my nonexistent jewelry. "I frequently lose things."

"No." I felt him crouch beside me. "It's odd because you wore no earrings today."

My searching fingers froze. "O-Of course I did," I stuttered.

In one sweeping movement he had me on my feet facing him. "You must be very embarrassed if you insist on lying to me like this."

Pink tinged my cheeks. "How could I not be embarrassed?" I muttered.

His lips pulled up into a smirk. "If you recall, we are, for all purposes,married, Kagome." He tugged me close and buried his face in my hair. "So modest, but I wouldn't have you any other way."

All right, now he was really embarrassing me.

He held me closer and, as I stood in his embrace, I realized two things. One, he was still soaking wet, which would undoubtedly mean Iwas soaked as well. Two . . .

His entire upper body was bare.

Oh . . . my goodness.

I flushed from head to toe and immediately tried to escape. "It's late, Sesshoumaru. I—"

"Wait," he murmured. "I have something to ask you."

Eager as I was to get out of my current compromising position, I didn't notice how tense he was. "Yes? What is it?"

Setting his palms on my shoulders, he lifted his head to look me straight in the eyes, his silken hair brushing my cheeks. His irises burned gold, stunning me with their intensity.

"Will you . . . marry me, Kagome?"

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A/N: Oooo more drama! ^-^