Hey, guys, sorry for the long wait again... honestly, the chapter has been complete for a while now but I've had to switch to hand writing because I'm currently writing this at work and somehow typing kiss scenes on a work computer and sending them to myself using a tracked company email account felt maybe a bit inappropriate.

But here ya go!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA (BELONGS TO RUMIKO TAKAHASHI)

I ALSO LAY NO CLAIM TO BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (BELONGS TO THE DISNEY CORPORATION)

Chapter Three

"I asked you a question woman: What are you doing here?" His voice was voice was low and dangerous.

Kagome retracted her hand, holding it to her chest. "I'm sorry, I got lost while I was exploring the castle." She had actually come looking for him to apologize, but she somehow felt like it would only fall on deaf ears right now.

A low growl reverberated from his throat and his golden eyes seemed to glow in the setting sun. "Didn't I explicitly state that you were never to come here?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"And yet, here you are. Once again sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." He slowly stalked towards her, looking almost predatory. She backed away slowly.

"Please, I apologize, I got lost. I didn't realize where I was." Her back thumped against the door.

"Then why are you still here?"

Kagome gulped, the intensity in his eyes reaching an all-time high. His hand shot out and grasped onto the front of her dress, bringing his own face down to look her directly in the eyes.

"Get out of my sight."

Kagome felt tears prick in her eyes.

"Fine." She knocked his hands away and exited the room in one sweeping motion.

She ran through the halls, counting on her feet to remember the way.

She barely registered Sango and Miroku shouting after her.

She somehow managed to find the front door and flung it open to see it was snowing heavily. She shook her head and ran towards the stables where Buyo had been stored.

~InuYasha~

He'd see the tears in her eyes too late. He was such a fool. How could he constantly ruin every chance he had with this perfectly agreeable woman?

"Master InuYasha, Kagome has fled the castle." Miroku burst into his room, panting.

"Let her go, she deserves better than me."

"You may not recall, but the old man was attached by a pack of wolves not two nights ago. I'm sure they're still in the area."

InuYasha sped from the room, practically flying through the halls. He just prayed he reached her before the sun set completely.

~ Kagome ~

She led Buyo to the gates and turned to look at the castle one last time before pushing the gates open and mounting her horse.

She urged Buyo into a gallop.

Halfway down the path she heard the baying of the wolves and immediately regretted leaving the castle. Three wolves appeared in front of her, causing Buyo to rear and come to a halt.

A figure appeared from the tree lines.

"Why hello, Kagome."

Kagome squinted, trying to see the man's face through the falling snow. "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

"My name is Koga, I was sent by Naraku to find and return you to his arms." The man approached her "But he failed to mention you were so beautiful."

Kagome blushed, pulling on the reins to make Buyo step back a few paces. "If Naraku sent you, doesn't that mean you were responsible for attacking my grandfather?"

The man smirked up at her, his blue eyes piercing through the snow haze. "Sorry, beautiful, can't say."

Kagome gasped as the man leapt through the air and plucked her from the saddle. He landed lightly on the ground.

"But no matter, I shall take you for myself. Naraku can bite me."

"Excuse me?" Kagome pressed against his chest indignantly. "You'll do what now?" Her struggles were in vain, of course, this Koga was a full demon first of all, and a wild animal to boot. She was doomed.

"Get your mangy paws off her, wolf boy!"

"InuYasha!" Kagome's head turned to verify that she'd heard correctly. InuYasha was running up to them. She smiled in relief.

Koga's grip loosened on her and she took the opportunity to escape. He grabbed her wrist at the last minute, dragging her arm up to his face. "How 'bout you come and make me, dog breath?"

InuYasha rushed the wolf demon, Koga meeting him halfway, their claws clashing. They took turns swiping at each other, neither landing hits. They jumped apart, panting. Kagome ran to InuYasha's side arm automatically coming up to shield her from harm. His head turned to assess her for injuries.
"Are you okay, Kagome?"

Kagome nodded. "I'm fine." Their eyes met and Kagome's widened. "Um, InuYasha, why are your eyes purple?"

"What!?" He turned towards the horizon and the almost completely set sun. "Shit, almost out of time."

"What are you talking about?" She watched as his white dog ears shrank and disappeared completely. "InuYasha, what is going on?"

"It's a half demon thing. I turn into a human on the night of the new moon."

"Well, that's completely inconvenient!" InuYasha grabbed her, dodging Koga's next attack.

"Tell me about it." His silver ponytail started turning black.

"InuYasha, behind you!" Kagome pointed towards a wolf that was bounding towards them. It jumped, clearly aiming for one of their necks. InuYasha's right arm went up, catching the wolf's mouth with his forearm. He punched the wolf's snout, sending it whimpering back to its pack.

InuYasha hissed in pain, cradling his arm to his chest.

"Give up yet, dog breath?"

"You wish, you mangy wolf." InuYasha hissed through clenched teeth.

Kagome quickly clamped her hands over his wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood. "Are you fully human?"

He eyed her warily.

"Just trust me and answer my question." Her eyes leveled with his.

"Yeah, I'm fully transformed."

"Why don't you pay attention to your enemy, half demon?" Kagome turned to see Koga flying towards them. She threw up one hand and a purple barrier formed around them, Koga bouncing off. She grabbed a handful of snow and, praying on it quickly so it wouldn't melt, threw the ball into the air. As soon as it left the barrier, the snowball exploded, shooting pellets of blessed snow out through the air.

Koga let out a yelp of pain as one hit him, his body engulfed in purple electricity. He ran toward the tree line, followed by his wolves.

Kagome made sure that they'd all disappeared into the forest before she turned back to InuYasha. "Are you okay?" He collapsed onto her. "InuYasha?!" She looked down at the snow and realized it was stained red with his blood. She called Buyo over and draped InuYasha over his back. She ripped a strip of fabric from her skirt and fashioned a tourniquet.

"Please be okay." She mutter to herself as she led the horse back to the castle.

Miroku and Sango were waiting at the gates and they quickly carried the unconscious InuYasha into the castle. They ended up in an empty spare bedroom.

"InuYasha, you fool. Why would you fight on the night of the new moon?" Miroku fussed as he and Sango laid him on the bed. "We'll be right back." They exited the room quickly.

Kagome climbed onto the other side of the bed and began dabbing at InuYasha's sweat covered forehead with the snow dampened hem of her dress skirt. "This is all my fault; I should never have entered your room without your permission."

InuYasha's now black brows drew together and his left hand came up to catch her wrist. His eyes opened slightly and locked on hers. "Why are you blaming yourself, stupid? I'm the one who scared you and told you to leave. This is my fault: It's not like you knew that I would be turning into a human and intentionally put us both in a compromising situation." He laughed and winced, tightening his grip on her wrist.

Kagome felt tears prick her eyes. "But still, if I hadn't-"

He tugged her wrist, pulling her almost on top of him. "Would you shut up? It's not your fault."

Kagome felt her face heat up, both from their proximity and how oddly he was behaving.

"Oh, should we give you two a moment?"

Kagome started, turning to see Miroku and Sango had returned with a basin full of hot water and bandages.

Kagome sat up, blushing even harder. "Sango."

Sango nodded in response and promptly kicked her husband in the shin. "Now is not the time, dear husband." She walked past him and set the water basin on the nightstand beside Kagome.

Kagome undid the makeshift tourniquet and ripped the right sleeve of his shirt, exposing the wound in its entirety. Sango handed her a soaked towel which she promptly pressed to the bite mark.

InuYasha inhaled sharply, gripping the sheets in his hands, his wound twisting out of her field of vision.

She grabbed his wrist making him release the sheets. "Hold still," she chastised, sternly as she laced the fingers of her left hand with his right and tucked her elbow into the crook of his arm, effectively locking his arm in place.

She focused her eyes on his wound, sterilizing it as best she could with the little first aid knowledge she had gathered from her reading. She turned and dunked the towel into the basin to rinse out the blood. "Thank you…" she started as wrung out the towel. She turned back to him and began cleaning the edges of the bite mark before continuing. "For saving me, I mean."

He cleared his throat. "You're, um, you're welcome. But I should be thanking you: you protected me when I was injured and brought me safely back to the castle."

"How could I not, when I felt at fault. You have no idea how distressing it was to see you collapse so suddenly," she replied, adding in mentally 'or how worried I was.' Shaking the thought away, she raised their locked hands to inspect his wound: it was still bright red and shiny; however, she had cleaned it thoroughly both inside and out to prevent infection. She nodded her head, deciding her work would suffice. Her eyes travelled up his forearm to their clasped hands and laced fingers. She'd never held hands with someone like this before and she was just realizing how… intimate it was. Her eyes met his and they held for a moment, unable to look away.

Kagome felt heat rise into her cheeks at the intensity of his gaze. Her eyes dropped to the towel in her other hand. "Well, your wound is clean so I can go ahead and dress it now." She glanced over to ask Sango for the bandaging she had brought to the room but she was gone. In fact, Sango and Miroku were both absent from the room. "Where did they go?" she sighed.

She tried to pull her hand away from InuYasha when she saw that the bandages had been left on the nightstand next to the water basin, but InuYasha tightened his grip on her.

"You smell nice," he mumbled.

Kagome blushed, slowly turning to look at him. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell with the gentle breaths of sleep. She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Honestly, what am I doing right now?" She held her free hand to her chest trying to calm her pounding heart. "Right, bandages." She reached over, straining against InuYasha's still tightening grasp, to grab the bandages. She felt her cheeks getting even hotter every time his fingers tightened on her hand.

She sighed, having finally retrieved the bandages and set to wrapping his wound with one hand. Once she was satisfied that the wound was completely covered and the bandages were secured tightly, she tied it off with her teeth and free hand.

"Done," she said, flopping down onto the bed beside the sleeping prince, her hand still tightly grasped in his. Her eyes landed on his face, which had softened considerably in his sleep. "He's actually kind of cute when he's not being an unreasonable jackass." Her eyes grew heavy and she yawned before drifting into her own deep sleep.

~Sango~

Sango cracked the door open after a considerable amount of silence in the bedroom. She glanced toward the bed and stifled a giggle behind a hand. She closed the door carefully, trying not to make any noise, and turned back towards her husband. "I don't think we have anything to worry about regarding the progression of their relationship."

"I never doubted them for a second," Miroku said as he draped his arm over her shoulder and pulling her away from the door.

"No, of course not. You just asked her to bear your children to test her dedication." She pressed her chest against his, winding her arms around his neck. She tilted her head coyly. "Right, dear husband?"

She watched in excitement as his mouth twisted into a smirk and his eyes took on a playful gleam. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy, love?" His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly to him. "You know I only have eyes for you."

She smiled before tugging lightly on his neck, urging him to close the distance. He obliged, all too willingly, and captured her lips with his in a familiar kiss. Sango giggled as she lifted into her husband's arms. "I think it's time we went to bed as well."

~Naraku~

Naraku lay on his side on a plush sofa in his lair. He examined his cuticles lazily.

"Master." He glanced up to see Kagura kneeling before him. "The wolf has returned."

"And what of the girl?" he asked, bored, his eyes shifting back to his cuticles.

"Perhaps he should explain himself." Her footsteps receded from the room.

Naraku's impatience mounted with each passing minute. After several minutes had elapsed, Naraku was seething and was about to rise from his seat and drag the wolf in himself, when Koga stumbled into the room. He was covered in burns, little purple sparks crackling across his skin periodically.

"Speak, wolf."

"I found the girl." The wolf crossed his arms. "She didn't seem very willing to come with me when I mentioned your name, by the way."

Naraku glared at Koga, daring him to continue with his train of thought.

"She wasn't alone, either." Koga scratched the side of his face. "There was some half demon mutt protecting her. I almost had him when he transformed into his human form but that girl of yours protected him. Bitch tried to purify me and my boys." As if to punctuate his point, the purple electricity flared across his skin, making him wince.

"A half demon, you say…" Naraku sighed, rising from his seat onto his feet. "What, pray tell, is this half demon's name?"

Koga thought for a minute, stroking his chin. "Oh, I think she called him InuYasha."

"So let me make sure I understand: you, a full demon, allowed this InuYasha, a mere half demon, and a human girl send you running with your miserable wolf tail between your legs?" Naraku stalked towards the wolf demon. He let out a sigh and placed a hand on the wolf's shoulder. "I suppose this all my fault, really." He gave the wolf an apologetic smile.

Koga released a sigh of relief.

"I should never sent a mangy wolf to do a real demons job." His other hand plunged into the wolf's chest.

Koga's blue eyes widened before the life left them completely.

"Well, that was almost a complete waste of time." Naraku retracted his hand from the dead man's chest cavity, the lifeless body crumpling to the floor. "Kagura."

The woman entered the room swiftly, eyes catching on the dead heap, before looking up at Naraku. "Master?"

Naraku returned to his seat, grabbing a towel from a side table and wiping the blood from his hand. "I need you to find me everything you can on a half demon named InuYasha."

~Kagome~

Kagome squirmed in her sleep when light hit her eyelids. She tried to roll away from the offending light but was stopped short by a heavy weight on her chest and across her stomach. Confused by the strange but not completely uncomfortable weight, her eyes slowly fluttered open.

The first thing she saw once her eyes had adjusted to the bright light filtering through the window was silver hair glinting in said light and a pair of white dog ears mere inches from her face. She watched in awe as the soft looking ears twitched sporadically. Wriggling a bit, she realized that not only was InuYasha using her chest as a pillow, his entire body was draped over hers, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist, and one of his legs was nestled between hers.

Kagome blushed furiously and tapped him on the shoulder. "InuYasha, wake up," she whispered, urgently.

He growled in response, sending vibrations through Kagome's own body, and tightened his arms around her, nuzzling his cheek into her exposed collar bone.

Kagome shivered, not quite sure how to feel about the new sensations she was experiencing. Her hands tightened where they lay, one on his head and the other on his back. Once he stilled, she relaxed, releasing the breath that had caught in the back of her throat.

'Dear God, do I even want him to wake up right now? How would he even react to this position we're in?' She released her hold on him and rubbed the heels of her palms into her eyes, trying to figure out what to do. 'But he was so sweet last night. Maybe he won't react too badly.' She pulled her fingers through her hair.

Her eyes were drawn to his ears once again when they twitched, brushing lightly against her neck. She hesitantly reached out one hand and stroked the out shell with on finger. She felt a soft vibration rumble from his chest and tingle across her skin in pleasant waves. "They're so soft."

Experimentally, she rubbed two fingers along the base of the ear where it met his scalp, applying slightly more pressure. He leaned into her touch as he began purring deeply, not unlike a cat. His hands shifted beneath her, rubbing up her back to claw a steady path back down towards her waist.

She quickly withdrew her hand, far too embarrassed by his response.

She felt his groan of disappointment before she heard it, his hands sliding up her back again to grip onto her shoulders, nuzzling his face against her skin once more.

His eyelashes fluttered against her overly sensitive skin. She debated for a moment whether she should pretend to be asleep or not but it was too late. His head lifted from her chest and her eyes met his golden ones.

"Kagome?" His eyes were still heavy with sleep. He pushed himself up slowly, untangling himself from her.

"I-InuYasha," she exclaimed, quickly scrambling into a sitting position and pressing her tortured back against the headboard of the bed.

"What's going on?" he asked, blinking at her slowly, looking like he was still half asleep.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing. Go back to sleep now," she calmly commanded him. He nodded and laid his head on a pillow. "Good boy," she cooed at him, stroking his hair gently. His eyes closed and she slipped off the bed, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to sneak out unnoticed.

She tiptoed across the room, opened the door, and stepped into the hallway. She glanced back at his sleeping form once more before easing the door shut. She sighed and rested her flushed forehead against the cool wood of the door.

"Sleep well, did we?"

Kagome jumped and turned to see Sango leaning against the wall opposite the bedroom door.

"Sango, you nearly scared me half to death!" Kagome placed a hand over her rapidly pounding heart, trying to force it to slow.

"You didn't answer my question," the older woman said, making Kagome's face heat up again.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" Kagome said, forcing a laugh. She pushed herself off the door. "I'm going to go change now… Bye!" She took off down the hall.

"But Kagome, your room is in the other direction."

Kagome skidded to a halt, hearing Sango's words.

"Oh, right." She turned and began walking calmly back towards Sango. "I knew that."

Sango rolled her eyes and linked arms with her as she tried to walk past. "I promise I won't bite, you virgin."

Kagome bit her lip, feeling heat rise to her cheeks again.

"You are still a virgin, right?" Sango asked, nudging her in the side.

Kagome nudged her right back. "You've spent way too much time with Miroku."

"Well, to be fair, I have been married to the man for half a century." They laughed together as they entered Kagome's room. Sango shut the door behind them.

Kagome collapsed onto the bed, grabbing a pillow and clutching it to her chest. She felt the bed shift as Sango sat down beside her.

"All right, tell me what happened."

Kagome buried her face in the pillow and took several deep breaths before responding. She was still trying to process her feeling about what had transpired between her and InuYasha. "I think I'm… attracted to InuYasha," she mumbled through the pillow.

She heard Sango squeal. "So, wait, what exactly happened after Miroku and I left?"

Kagome rolled onto her side and glared at Sango. "I'm angry with you two, by the way. Thanks for abandoning me."

Sango shrugged. "We didn't want to ruin the atmosphere, especially after you grabbed the master's hand like that."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well, we argued a bit about whose fault it was and he told me to shut up, which was extremely rude… But then he thanked me for saving him. Our eyes met and I freaked out, so I tried to bandage his wound up but he wouldn't let go of my hand.

"That was when I realized you two were gone." She paused in her story to glare up at Sango again. "I tried to pull away again but he still wouldn't let go. Then he said something about me smelling good. But when I looked at him to figure out if he had a fever or something, he had fallen asleep."

"He's so hopeless," Sango sighed, shaking her head.

"So I ended up having to bandage him up with one hand because he still wouldn't let me go. Then I fell asleep."

"Wow."

Kagome nodded, looking down at her left hand, digging the fingers into the pillow. "That was the first time I'd held hands like that. But this morning was even more embarrassing!"

Sango's eyes gleamed.

"When I woke up, we were… cuddling, I guess: he was using my chest as a pillow and his arms were hugging my waist." Kagome felt her cheeks grow hot remembering the feeling of his arms around her.

Sango grinned. "Maybe he's not so hopeless after all. What happened next?"

Kagome blushed harder remembering what came next. "Well, I tried to wake him up but that just made him hold me tighter. So then I… I played with his ears." Kagome buried her face into the pillow again.

She heard Sango gasp. "No! He never lets anyone touch his ears. In fact, that was the offense for which your grandfather was imprisoned. What was it like?"

"Well, it was soft and warm. When I touched one, he purred." She snuck a peek at Sango over her pillow.

"Did he, now?" Sango laughed. "That is a funny image: our great dog lord, purring like a kitten."

Kagome giggled. "It was ridiculously adorable. Then he started shifting in his sleep and well… it was like a story I'd read was coming to life before my very eyes. I was experiencing sensations I'd only read about in books…" she trailed off and hid behind her pillow again. "Books I hid from Grandfather."

"Scandalous, a woman as pure and holy as you reading something as dirty as romance novels." Sango winked at her when she stuck her head up to glare at her.

"He woke up when I stopped touching his ear and sat up. He was clearly still half asleep, so I made a run for it," Kagome said, trying to avoid any of the more embarrassing details.

"Wait a second, go back to the 'sensations'."

Kagome frowned and shoved Sango half-heartedly. "There were… hand… things. His hands…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered the pressure of his fingertips dragging languidly down her back. Butterflies erupted in her stomach.

She caught Sango quirking an eyebrow at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, I don't know how to explain it! Plus, it's too embarrassing. I'm not accustomed to having someone to talk to about these things, let alone having… things to talk about."

Sang pulled the pillow away from Kagome. "I'm here for you, no matter what. Think of me as the older sister you never wanted."

Kagome smiled, feeling tears prick at her eyes. She sat up and threw her arms around Sango's shoulders. "Thank you, I will. Be prepared, though, I've opinions on everything."

Sango laughed before pulling away. "But really, now… did you enjoy it?"

"Enjoy what?"

"InuYasha's 'hand things'."

Kagome thought for a moment, replaying her feelings in her mind. "I… think I did."

Kagome gasped as Sango suddenly pulled her into another hug. "This is great! This fantastic!" Sango said, squeezing Kagome even tighter.

~InuYasha~

Once the door closed, InuYasha sat straight up, holding a hand to his mouth. He'd been awake through the whole thing, pretending to be asleep because he was embarrassed by how much he enjoyed their contact.

"Sleep well?"

InuYasha jumped, eyes darting around the room trying to pinpoint the location of the voice, but the room seemed empty. Miroku's head appeared from behind a couch that was facing away from the bed.

"Miroku!" InuYasha practically growled. "How long have you been there?!" He threw his pillow at the monk and watched as it rebounded off of the air right in front of his face.

Miroku stretched and rose from the couch. "Oh, not too long: I came in just before you both woke up to make sure you weren't pulling each other's hair out." He grinned at InuYasha. "Imagine my surprise, finding the two of you in such a… compromising situation. Then Kagome started to wake, so I ducked for cover."

InuYasha leapt off the bed, grabbing hold of Miroku's shirt. "You little shit!"

Miroku rolled his eyes at him. "But master, this is good! You two obviously have strong physical attraction: I've never seen you react that way to your ears being touched. So now all you have to do is get her to feel that attraction to your awful personality and make her fall in love with you."

InuYasha resisted the urge to punch the monk since he knew it wouldn't work anyway. Besides, Miroku was right: he needed to focus on falling in love with Kagome and having her come to reciprocate it.

~Kagome~

Kagome and InuYasha spent the next two weeks talking casually and getting to know each other, all while trying to avoid the topic of the morning after the wolf attack. Kagome was impressed with the lengths to which InuYasha seemed to be going to control his temper, not only around her but around the castle staff as well. While he wasn't perfect just yet, Kagome knew that the change wasn't one that would occur over night and would require work from everyone, not just InuYasha. She could already feel the icy wall surrounding his heart starting to melt. It was only a matter of time before it began to crack and eventually shatter, exposing his true heart. Kagome only hoped that, when that did occur, she would be there to catch him when he falls.

He'd slowly begun to open up to her at first, gracing her with rare smiles on occasion. Her heart now fluttered every time she was near him, every time she heard his voice, every time he extended an arm to her.

One particularly cold afternoon, they decided to lunch in the gardens. It had snowed heavily the night before, coating everything in a thick blanket of white. Kagome caught sight of a stone bench peeking out of the snow and dragged InuYasha towards it.

"Let's sit over there: there's a wonderful view of the stream and the sun hits that bench is just perfect."

InuYasha huffed in response. When they reached the bench; however, he quickly dusted the seat off before Kagome could do it herself.

"Why, thank you, InuYasha," she said, smiling up at him.

He huffed again, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Whatever," he mumbled.

She sat down, setting their lunch in her lap and patting the bench beside her, urging him to sit down too.

He finally sat down and Kagome passed him his portion. They sat there awhile, enjoying each other's quiet company while eating their food to the sound of the babbling stream and the chirping birds. The sun peeking through the clouds gave enough heat to warm them pleasantly.

A sudden thought occurred to Kagome. "I never properly apologized to you," she said, breaking the silence. She turned her head to look at him, he was confused. "I never apologized for wearing your mother's clothes without your permission."

"Well, I did put you in that room. And I even said you had free roam of the castle." InuYasha sighed deeply. "It was just too much… seeing you in her clothes. I hadn't seen them in so long and that dress in particular was her favorite."

Kagome hesitated before placing a hand gently on his shoulder and giving it a light a squeeze. "I'm so sorry, you must have been so close to her. I'm sure it was devastating to lose her."

InuYasha's cheeks were pink when he turned to look at her but Kagome wasn't sure to attribute it to the cold weather or embarrassment.

He quickly turned away from her. "Whatever, thanks for apologizing, I guess…" he trailed off scratching the side of his face. He stood up suddenly. "I just remembered, I have something… princey to do. If you'll excuse me." He bowed to her and Kagome watched, baffled, as he made his way back up the path they had come down, his silver ponytail swaying behind him.

She shook her head and drew her cloak tighter around her shoulders. After she finished eating, Kagome decided to feed the leftovers to some birds that were scavenging in the snow nearby. Her mind wandered to InuYasha and how happy she was that he'd finally opened up to her, even the slightest bit.

"Kagome!"

Kagome turned, pulled from her thoughts by the sudden voice, to see Miroku jogging towards her. "Oh, hello there, Miroku."

He stopped in front of her, gasping for breath. "The master requests your company." He was glistening with sweat.

Slightly concerned, she nodded and followed him back into the castle. He led her down a hall she'd never gone down before. At the end of the hall was a set of heavy looking double doors. InuYasha was in front of the doors, pacing back and forth, fidgeting with his jacket sleeves. Kagome's heart began to race with worry and anticipation. As they drew nearer, he seemed to grow even more anxious.

When they finally reached the end of the hall, Miroku bowed and retreated the way they'd come. Kagome watched him leave before turning back to InuYasha, her concern mounting. "What's going on? Is everything alright?"

He smiled awkwardly at her. "Everything's fine. I have a surprise for you."

"Oh, a surprise?"

InuYasha smiled more broadly, nodding his head. "Close your eyes."

Kagome eyed him suspiciously.

"Just trust me."

Her heart fluttered at those words and her eyes closed. She heard the creak of and heavy groan as InuYasha pushed the doors open and her heart beat grew even louder.

"I'm going to take your hands now."

She nodded and felt his fingers ghost across her forearms and trace a light path down to her palms. She chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to calm the butterflies that had sprung to life at his touch. He slowly lifted her hands, brushing his fingers across her palms up to her fingers so they were palm to palm, then laced their fingers together.

Kagome was surprised by the familiar, intimate gesture. They hadn't had actual skin to skin contact since the morning after the wolf attack. The contact only made her remember that morning even more vividly. The butterflies grew even more active in the pit of her stomach.

His fingers tightened on her hands briefly before relaxing again. "We're going to start walking now, okay?"

She opted for a nod since she was positive that her voice would betray her nerves. She felt his fingers slip from between hers, moving to cup her fingers instead, and his thumbs rubbing softly over her knuckles. He urged her forward with his fingers, moving her into the room one tentative step at a time. She finally felt him press back against her hands, bringing them to a stop.

His hands disappeared. "InuYasha?" She reached out, grabbing onto his jacket sleeve. His hand covered hers before gently pushing it away.

"Just stay right here." He moved a few steps away. "And keep your eyes closed."

She could tell the room was massive from the way his footsteps echoed within it. Suddenly, light hit her face, bleeding through her eyelids, making her flinch. "Can I open them now?"

"Not yet!"

There was the sound of several more curtains being thrown open and more light filtered into her tightly shut eyes. Her fingers worried themselves as she impatiently waited for the chance to open her eyes.

Finally, she felt his hands on her shoulders from behind her. "One last thing." His hands left her shoulders and reappeared at the clasp to her cloak. She felt his fingers gently brushing against the skin left bare by her dress and had to bite back a giggle when his bangs tickled her cheek. She felt a rush of pleasantly warm air as he swung the cloak from her shoulders. His footsteps left her once more as he dropped her cloak somewhere in the room.

He returned to her back again, hands finding her shoulders again, and giving them a gentle squeeze. She felt his breath on her ear and cheek when he spoke again. "You can open your eyes now."

She peeked out of one eye, hesitantly, and glanced around the room. Her other eye shot open and her hands came up to cover her gaping mouth. It was a library. The largest library she'd ever seen. Kagome gasped at the sheer size of the room: two stories of bookshelves lined the every wall, ladders were mounted to a track system that surrounded the entirety of the room, floor to ceiling windows occupied the only wall space not covered in bookcases, and there was second level at the back of the room.

"You have a library?" Kagome could barely contain her excitement as she practically ran to the nearest bookcase, running her finger tips along a row of books. She turned back to look at InuYasha who was closer than she'd expected, smiling the kindest smile she'd ever seen.

She quickly averted her eyes, feeling her heart start pounding in her chest again. "I've never seen so many books in one place in my life." She went to a ladder and climbed the first two rungs, peering at the titles embossed in the leather spines.

"So, you like it?" he asked, his voice once again closer than she'd expected.

"I love it," she answered quietly, turning to look at him. She was right at eye level with him, their face's only a small distance apart.

"Then I'll share her with you."

"Her?"

InuYasha smiled at her, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "This was my mother's: she loved to read. It was actually pretty ridiculous. The room was expanded five times, that upper level being the last addition." His eyes dropped to the floor. "I haven't been in here since she died… But," he looked back up into her eyes. "I thought that, if I had you by my side, it wouldn't be so hard." His eyes shifted to the floor again.

Kagome's heart nearly broke. "InuYasha."

His eyes met hers again.

"Thank you, for trusting me enough to share her with me." She turned away before seeing his reaction, too embarrassed herself to show her face. She moved up one more rung, slipping when her skirt somehow managed to wedge itself between her foot and the ladder. She gasped as she began falling backwards, closing her eyes to brace for the impact.

After a moment or two, she realized she had stopped falling and opened her eyes.

"Are you okay?!" She glanced up to see InuYasha looking down at her. She noticed they'd somehow ended up on the ground, her on top of him. She sat up and looked down at him: she was straddling his hips now. He propped himself up on one elbow. "God, you're so clumsy-"

She placed a hand over the side of his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. She quickly leaned down to him, covering his lips with hers.