***I don't own InuYasha... Rumiko Takahashi does... But you can blame my imagination for this twisted storyline.****

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. – Ambrose Bierce

Kagome tried her best to follow the dog demon into the depths of the forest. Realizing that she would only succeed in breaking her neck if she continued to stumble clumsily through the underbrush she paused momentarily to focus her reiki, forcing it outward. Her body was suddenly engulfed in the rosy hue of her priestess powers, which flickered a few times before assuming a steady glow. Ever since Kikyo's death, Kagome had assumed a greater control over her powers through experimentation during her spare time. Now that practice came in handy as she used her own powers to illuminate the path around her and ward off any low level youkai from pursuing her as prey.

"Damn it. Where did he go?" Kagome murmured to herself as she tried to get her bearings.

She couldn't sense him because the youkai lord kept his aura tightly reined and completely hidden. Rather than lose more ground, Kagome simply forged ahead letting her intuition be her guide. She ran until she reached the edge of a small clearing she stumbled across earlier while foraging for their evening meal. There she found the silver haired dog demon. Although he seemed to be studying the stars above indifferently, his stance held an aura of impatience. The miko could almost imagine him tapping his foot and checking his nonexistent watch as he waited. The very idea of him lowering himself to such immature behavior almost made her giggle. Perhaps if Sesshoumaru were not glaring at her as if her lateness offended him she would have. He truly had some nerve.

"Way to ditch me in the forest." Kagome huffed in frustration, having none of his imperious attitude. "I mean, who knows what could have happened to me. That's not how you treat a lady!"

The haughty dog demon merely arched a silver brow and stared down his nose at her despite her scolding. The raven-haired priestess knew she was pushing her luck but she continued to ramble on. Grasping onto self-righteous anger felt a lot better than admitting that she was standing in the middle of a dark forest… Alone with a deadly inu daiyoukai who didn't care for most humans... Who also once upon a time tried to kill her… and then attempted to kill her again. The young woman mentally face palmed as she realized the position she unwittingly put herself in. She was just so tired of the sibling rivalry and unnecessary violence that she impulsively decided to confront the aristocratic youkai. As always, she charged into situations fueled by her own impulses and emotion without thinking it through.

The miko fell silent, her bravado faltering as she observed him. He was an ethereal being with the kind of pristine male beauty that put any youkai let alone human to shame. It would be easy to underestimate such a beautiful creature but Kagome knew better. The moon was bright in the night sky, illuminating the small clearing and the two lone figures inhabiting it. Light and shadow played over his still figure. His amber eyes glinted in the moonlight and she observed the sheen of scarlet flash across his pupils. It was a reminder and a warning. He may appear as a man but in truth he was a beast capable of carnage and destruction. She knew what lie beneath that humanoid façade, having witnessed it firsthand.

An inarticulate murmur passed from her lips as Sesshoumaru approached on silent feet. Somehow the young miko stood her ground even as she felt the immense pressure of his youki bearing down on her. His eyes never broke contact with hers even as he came to a stop mere feet from where she stood. A gust of wind ruffled his silver hair and she felt strands of the silken mass brush against her bare arms. The sensation startled the woman out of her trance as she realized how close she actually was to InuYasha's half brother. Out of nervous, reflex she tried to rub away the goosebumps rising on her forearms. He was close, so close in fact she had to crane her neck to stare up him. Her heart began to hammer in her ears and she was sure Sesshoumaru could catch it with his acute hearing.

The demon lord broke the heavy silence with his gravel in velvet baritone, "Miko, you wished to speak with this one?"

Kagome's cobalt eyes widened as she replied, "Ah… yeah. Um…"

She lapsed into silence once again. She didn't know where to begin truly. She rushed out here with some foolhardy idea of telling this daiyoukai how to behave and now that the time was at hand she realized that she had to choose her words with care. One misstep could mean the not only the dissolution of their alliance but maybe her life.

Kagome heaved a sigh and looked away as she steeled herself for what could possibly be an unpleasant experience.

"Boldness be my friend…"

"Sesshoumaru… I wanted to thank you for joining our group. Although your motives aren't really that clear, I think it's better for all to be a united front against Naraku."

The merely narrowed his eyes and grunted in response,"Hnn…"

"But… I think there is one thing that's keeping us from being the kind of team we need to be."

Silence met her words. Not that she was expecting much more. While articulate, the dog demon had never been much of a conversationalist.

"Keep going Kagome… You can do it!"

"The fighting…"

"You do not approve." Sesshoumaru stated this in a tone that implied it was a fact not a question.

"I don't," she sighed looking up at him once again. She could see that his expression was positively glacial.

"This one does not seek your approval," the daiyoukai sniffed as if the very idea was ludicrous.

Kagome's temper flared before she had time to taper it down. The sudden spark of fire in her blue eyes seemed to surprise the Western lord whose tawny eyes widened minutely. "I don't care if you seek it or not."

Kagome didn't seem to notice as she forged on. At this point her philosophy shifted to reckless honesty. If she was going to die, the least she could do was go out in a blaze of glory.

"My concern is the overall happiness of my friends. All this fighting between you and InuYasha is wearing us down. Maybe you don't care about how we feel but what's the point of us traveling together if we aren't going to get along?"

The spark in her cobalt eyes died as she reflected inward, "The Shikon no Tama came from my body… and it shattered because I was too ignorant of what was at stake. I mean… How could I have known back then? I was just a naïve kid who fell into a bad situation. Now, I've seen so much violence and destruction all because of Naraku's twisted desires for the jewel."

"Those moments of peace in between the bloodshed and death… Those moments when all of us can just be are precious. Maybe you don't care, but I know that I at least cherish those moments… knowing that they maybe the last memories we have together."

"The future is uncertain," Kagome whispered before lifting her beseeching gaze to his. "I know that you and InuYasha have issues with each other that cannot be resolved in a day… While I may never know what transpired between you in the past, I do know that the constant fighting is not healthy for you or anyone else."

"You think to question the ways of youkai, miko," Sesshoumaru growled.

"No, I'm not trying to tell you what to do… I don't know your ways but I do know that there has to be some kind of compromise here. When you decided to join this group, you took on humans as allies and all this fighting is taking a toll on us. We mortals can't thrive in chaos."

Watching his expression morph from impassive to obstinate forced Kagome's level of frustration through the roof. She roughly pushed her hands into her thick obsidian locks and tugged as she released an impressive growl through clenched teeth.

"Ugh! Idiot! You're just as selfish and self-centered as your brother…I don't know why I even bothered to try to_"

And so began lesson number one in what not to do when talking to a daiyoukai with a brother complex…

Lesson #1: Do not make any kind of comparison between a youkai and his brother.

The miko's back hit the rough bark of a nearby tree with a sudden impact that knocked the wind from her lungs. Gasping for air she soon realized that Sesshoumaru was now far too close. With his face looming over hers, she could clearly see the scarlet glow of his wide eyes and the now jagged stripes on his cheekbones. The aura of deadly intent rolling off him in waves was just as intimidating as his growl rumbling through her.

His claws loosely encircled the pale column of her throat as he grated out, "I told you this one is nothing like the half breed. Do not ever compare us."

"Well… Aren't you being so mature right now," she taunted despite the dangerous position she was in.

Lesson #2: Do not taunt said demon or face repercussions.

Perhaps, these insightful lessons would prove useful in the future if she lived to see it. Right now, all she could see is the red seeping into the edges of her vision as the inu youkai applied pressure to her windpipe in slow degrees, cutting off her air supply. Rather than be cowed by his domineering behavior, Kagome stubbornly rasped, "Prove it… Why keep fighting each other? This cannot be the legacy your father wanted for either of you. Prove that you can be the better person."

Her miko powers flared in response to what appeared to be her imminent demise, searing the palm of the daiyoukai. In the blink of eye his hand was gone and the distance between them widened once more. Leaning heavily against the tree, she lifted a shaking hand to her abused neck. The young woman could still feel the blazing heat of his calloused hand there. Kagome tensed as she realized what she had done. Summarily taunting, insulting and then injuring this demon was as good as signing her death certificate. She straightened immediately, looking up quickly to see Sesshoumaru standing dangerously still. His intense amber gaze focused on his hand as he flexed it slowly. That gaze turned to her and then the dog demon stalked toward her. The miko stumbled back against the tree as he reached for her neck again.

There was stillness as the two combatants faced each other. The girl was frightened but despite it she did not crumble. Unlike moments before, Sesshoumaru's expression was tinged with curiosity rather than rage. The priestess didn't know what was scarier, an angry Sesshoumaru or a curious one. With the precision of a surgeon, the demon slowly drew his thumb across the fine skin of Kagome's neck leaving a shallow nick in its wake. Another surge of reiki flared in response. The demon slowly pulled his smoking hand away, observing the damage without expression.

"Hnnn," was his only reply before he turned and left the clearing without a backwards glance.

Kagome's mouth hung open as she watched him leave.

The young woman finally crumbled to her knees as adrenaline left her body, "What… What in the seven Hells just happened here?"

***Another chapter in the bag... Hope you enjoy it!***