Kagome's eyes were wide with shock as she stood with Sesshoumaru's lips over hers. His lips were warm on hers and she thought inanely that Sesshoumaru had nice lips. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru felt Kagome's small puffs of breath on his lips and was shocked at his lack of revulsion. It was, of course, a plan to enrage Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru had intended only to cause the hanyou pain for nearly killing Sesshoumaru's charge. Instead, what had merely been a means to an end had turned into something unpredictable. She tasted good.
Sango, Miroku, and the two young ones, Shippo and Rin, stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. Inuyasha gripped the hilt of Tetsusaiga helplessly. His heart clenched painfully as he watched what was going on right in front of him. Is this how Kagome felt when she saw me in the forest with Kikyo? Unable to look away, Inuyasha berated himself for letting this happen to Kagome, for not be able to prevent Sesshoumaru take advantage of her. Inuyasha growled in angry frustration as the kiss seemed to last forever. Finally, Sesshoumaru broke the kiss only to brush his lips against Kagome's ear. Then he pushed her forward, causing her to stumble slightly. Sango rushed forward as Kagome quickly spun around, inexplicably wanting to see the expression in Sesshoumaru's eyes. The youkai was nowhere to be seen and neither was Rin.
So it happened that Kagome ended up traveling with Inuyasha once again as they continued their quest for the Shikon shards. Along the way, Inuyasha learned that without Tetsusaiga he would lose control of his youkai blood when threatened by mortal danger. With repeated transformations, the uncontrollable flow of the strong youkai blood would cause him to lose his sanity and become a beast that knew only battle. And so time passed and what happened with Sesshoumaru faded from the minds of everyone, except for three. To these three, the incident remained fresh in their minds, haunting their daily lives with the feelings and thoughts invoked by what had passed on that day.
How had things turned out the way they had? Kagome treated everyone as though nothing had happened; her relationships with them remained the same as before. All remained the same except Kagome and Inuyasha. Inuyasha was his usual rude self and Kagome got mad at him like before. But it didn't go unnoticed by the hanyou that the anger seemed a bit forced at times. It was the same way with his efforts to make Kagome lose her temper in attempt to have things the way they were before. Kagome seemed reluctant to touch him and it made them all awkward when it became obvious. Where before she often rode on Inuyasha's back, lately Kagome preferred riding with Sango on Kirara. That meant he had to carry the houshi on his back, of course, the new arrangement was not welcomed by neither Miroku nor Inuyasha.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome seemed to slip further and further from him with each passing day. He frowned, unable to pinpoint what made him so dissatisfied with the relationship between Kagome and him. Ever since that incident with Sesshoumaru, and the scene with Kikyo, something seemed to be missing in his relationship with Kagome. Of their little group, Kagome was the first he had met. She was the one who drew out the good in him and in many ways she helped him accept his identity as a hanyou. She was the first to find out the date when he turned human and he trusted her to keep that secret safe. Inuyasha shook his head in annoyance, the garbled mess of thoughts confusing him. Inuyasha wondered idly what Kagome had felt when Sesshoumaru had kissed her.
Lingering further behind, Kagome was walking with Sango while Inuyasha lead the group. Ever since she had seen Inuyasha with Kikyo she found that the comfortable relationship they had before had become awkward. At times, Kagome found her resolve weakening but held to her decision of having Inuyasha only as a friend. Late at night, when no one was watching, Kagome would softly touch her fingertips to her lips and remember. At that time, when Sesshoumaru had kissed her, he had whispered something in her ear, something confusing.
* * * * * *
"Sesshoumaru-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama. Ne, when is Kagome-neechan coming to visit?"
"..."
"Ne ne, Kagome-neechan daisuki! We had fun when she came with us last time. I hope she visits soon!"
"She doesn't know where we are, Rin." Sesshoumaru watched Rin's mood deflate a bit, inexplicably tugging at his heartstrings. "She is probably with the hanyou somewhere, searching for the Shikon shards."
"Oh, she too busy for us then?" The youkai watched in alarm as Rin's face fell. Refusing to let his alarm show, the youkai adopted an expression of faint curiousity, as if waiting for her next words. Don't start crying, don't start crying, do not start crying. After witnessing Rin's tears for the first time, Sesshoumaru found that he did not like to see his young charge crying. Sesshoumaru almost sighed with relief as the child tilted her head to one side and smiled brightly without warning, eyeing Sesshoumaru expectantly. "Ne, Sesshoumaru-sama, if we helped Kagome-neechan find the Shikon shards she would have time to see us, right?"
"Rin, the Shikon no Tama, and now its shards, are dangerous. The Shikon draws evil towards it like moths to a flame. Those wanting to possess the Shikon would stop at nothing to get what they wanted."
"But that means that Kagome-neechan is in danger! What if she gets hurt? Then she won't be able to come play with Rin and Sesshoumaru-sama."
"..."