Revised, edited, and modified on July 26, 2006.

Okiedokes y'all! Here I am updating another chapter! I'm actually updating on a regular basis! Weird, huh? Once the summer ends, I doubt I'll be able to update anything but I will most certainly try! I'm finally going to high school and I don't wanna go...none of my friends are there! This is so sad...haha anyway, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I will never ever own InuYasha. I swear. Really. Don't you trust me::waits for a pause: Hah, I didn't think so.

PG-13

-AU- Kagome and Sesshoumaru hate each other, although they may look like the perfect couple. After InuYasha breaks up with Kagome for Kikyou, she decides it's time for a little revenge. SessKag

A S i n g l e S p a r k

Chapter 7

Better than expected

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Kagome had to endure at least some form of torture from Sango on the ride home until she just couldn't take it anymore.

"I swear, I'll just drop you off in the street right here," threatened Kagome.

Sango just laughed and turned on the radio.

Well, in other news today, a citizen was recently banned from amusement parks everywhere and any place that has games or anything similar to that.

Wow, Kamui! How is that possible? I mean, what did that person do to receive such a punishment?

It seems that this young woman was intent on winning everything in the amusement park. You know the one near that boarding school? Anyway, she nearly succeeded until the park manager received several complaints about there being no prizes left.

Sango's face dropped, and everyone in the car was silent, intent on listening. Their jaws had dropped long ago.

She must be a very skilled young woman!

At this, Sango beamed. "At least they got something right."

That may be so, Suzumi, but this poor woman can never set foot within an amusement park again! They have her picture posted everywhere!

Kagome stifled a laugh, but she knew this was no laughing matter. Or maybe it was.

"How dare they!" Sango made a gesture towards her bears. "I paid for these bears all by myself!"

"Don't worry, you can always sneak in," Souta pointed out.

"Yea, and I have lots of wigs that I use for plays at home. You can borrow them," suggested Kagome.

Sango humphed, pouted, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back into the seat. Her face suddenly lit up and said, "Even though I was banned from those stupid parks, you have to admit, this is quite a haul."

The car was filled with laughter as Kagome pulled into her mother's driveway.

"Okay, I'll see you all later! Bye," Kagome said as the little children scurried out of the car. They were excited. They would be able to tell their story. 'Oh, you know that lady they banned from amusement parks? Well, I was in a car with her!'

Kagome dropped Kohaku off at his aunt's house, and Sango gave him a giant hug before they drove off.

"I know we weren't allowed to talk about it with the kids in the back, but they're gone now. Spill. Tell all," teased Sango.

Kagome explained in not-so-explicit detail, but Sango didn't care. She was eating this stuff up-- and she was supposed to be the tomboy! Sango dabbed the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"It's just like a fairytale come to life," Sango sniffled.

"Yea...but we kinda have one problem with my plan that I just realized," Kagome sighed, staring at the empty road ahead of her. Sango waited for her to finish. "I've hated that guy since middle school."

"Wha? I never knew that you two knew each other!" exclaimed Sango excitedly, totally ignoring the fact that Kagome had just said that the two hated each other. She sighed. "Two childhood friends falling in love. How romantic!"

"Okay, Sango. I love you and everything but…'sappy Sango'? That's gotta go," Kagome said dryly. "Didn't you hear me? We hated each other!"

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what happened that made you two hate each other? I certainly didn't notice any hate between the two of you before..."

"Well, maybe he doesn't remember, but I sure do now. He probably will eventually."

"So what happened, little missy?"

"I don't really know. He was just the opposite of everything I was, and he was everything I hated. Basically, that made me hate him. He was pretty and popular; just like Kikyou. Oh, and he sat on my favorite lunchbox --the one from America-- without apologizing," replied Kagome lightly. "I couldn't stand people like that."

"And you can now?"

"No, but I can tolerate them. I just forgot about his reputation for, like, a second when I was busy going through my stupid scheme. Crap, what if he remembers? I'm going to be in biiiig trouble! What if he decides to cancel everything? What if--"

"Calm down! Just be extra nice to him, and make sure nothing bad happens!"

Kagome paused. "See? This Sango, I like. The advice giving one. That other you didn't fit at all!"

Sango smiled wryly and said, "Right. All I'm good for is giving advice. Glad to be of service."

They laughed, and Kagome punched Sango lightly on the arm. "You know that's not what I meant! But since you brought it up, gimme more advice."

"In your dreams."

"Oh, are you psychic now?"

"What? Oh, shut up!"

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Sesshoumaru walked silently with his hands in his pockets. He wondered why he had acted so brashly with her. He never even liked her! She was one of those people that rebelled against him, and nobody rebelled against him. She was pretty much a loner in that category.

He could vaguely recall seeing her in several school plays and around the school sometimes, but he never paid her much attention. He was Sesshoumaru, after all. Why should he pay attention to an insignificant speck of a girl like Kagome? She wasn't extremely attractive, graceful, or pretty. There were far more women out there that were more beautiful than she was. The only things that had made her stand out were her spirit, heart, will, and character.

Kagome seemed to have more energy than the average girl did. She could do several things at once and not ever get tired. She also had the tendency to get a little sugar high, but that was a small price to pay to be in the company of such a girl. She didn't feign an act with him, although that's all this was. Merely a ruse.

Something had drawn him towards her, and he knew this was true; otherwise, he would have shot down her plan without even a second glance. Not that he didn't try. He tried his hardest, but it seemed like he just couldn't say no to this girl.

He didn't like her. He didn't love her either. She was just an accomplice, maybe even less so. Perhaps even a tool, one would say. He harbored no feelings towards her whatsoever. She was not worth his time. She could not fool him into believing they even had a chance together. But then, why did he want it so much? Why was he in denial of all these things? Although Sesshoumaru was a master of lying and hiding his emotions, he could not hide from himself. He wouldn't admit that he liked her in any way, but he could at least admit this; he had some sort of feeling towards her. He couldn't explain it, and that infuriated him.

With that, he flipped a switch, and the room was plunged into darkness. It was time for bed, and all he could think of was… it wasn't love, just…some kind of feeling…

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Bright light shone on Kagome's face as it slowly crept up until it landed on her eyes and decided to stay there. She groaned and tried to hide under her blanket to no avail. Now that she was awake, she couldn't fall back asleep. Why did the weekend have to last so long? She was no straight A student,t but it was long weekends like this that really aggravated her. There was pretty much nothing to do! Normally, she could just hang out with InuYasha but this time…

This was stupid; she could admit that to herself. She had just felt so hurt that she wanted to make him feel the same way. Hanging out with Sesshoumaru could be another advantage to the whole situation if only she hadn't remembered how much she didn't like him. He had seemed okay yesterday, but as soon as she remembered…

This was one of her many character faults. She tended to forget things for a while, and then they'd come back full force to bite her in the ass later. Maybe she could just pretend that she never remembered this in the first place. He wouldn't notice, would he?

After calling a bunch of friends, she finally got through. A lot of her friends were part of the Sesshoumaru fan club, and they all stalked him at one point in their lives. Naturally, she had assumed that they must have known his phone number, but apparently, she was wrong. Only a select few could have that privilege. They had finally recommended her to the leader of the fan club, and she had it.

Kagome dialed his number slowly and carefully. 5…3…8…

She almost jumped up as soon as it started to ring.

Ring…ring…ring… She almost started to relax after the fourth ring. Could he not hear the phone? Or was he just not home? She hoped it was the latter. Kagome was just about to hang up when she heard a click. Someone had picked up the phone!

"Moshi moshi," a gruff voice said into the phone.

"Eh…Sesshoumaru?" Kagome wasn't sure if this was Sesshoumaru. This certainly didn't sound like him…

"This is he," Sesshoumaru replied smoothly. This was different than his other voice. How interesting…

"Hey, it's Kagome."

"…Am I supposed to reply that?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"No, no, I guess not. I was wondering if you were doing anything today."

"It isn't of your concern."

"Well, actually, it is. You see, if I walk around all by myself today, InuYasha will get suspicious and wonder where you are. Our little plan won't work."

Kagome could almost hear him scowl over the phone, and that was enough to brighten up her day.

"Then I'd advise you to stay home."

"…But that's boring!"

Sesshoumaru sighed and said, "Stay where you are. I'll come pick you up." There was a click and then a dial tone.

Kagome stared at the phone for a while before hanging up. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? Sesshoumaru was coming to pick her up? Did he even know where she lived? Or was that just another question to be added to the mysterious Sesshoumaru files? Oh well.

She quickly took a shower, got dressed, ate what little she could before going to answer the door.

Knock, knock…

It seemed that Sesshoumaru had grown a little impatient and had started to knock instead of using the doorbell. She opened the door and graced him with the brightest smile she could muster up. It was especially hard pretending that the previous day's recollection had no effect on her.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow at her seemingly fake attempt at a smile. It certainly looked forced to his trained eye. Could it be…?

"I assume you remember something about the past that explains my obvious reluctance to this plan?"

"Uh…yes?"

"Let me rephrase this carefully. Do you remember anything about the past?"

"Define past."

"Higurashi…" growled Sesshoumaru threateningly.

"Okay, okay. I seem to recall a certain brother of someone's sitting on my FAVORITE lunchbox and NOT apologizing for it afterwards!"

"You should have had a bento lunch like everybody else," reasoned Sesshoumaru.

"It was a gift from my FATHER!" argued Kagome.

"It was a picture of a ridiculous bear on a metal box with a handle!"

"That's WINNIE THE POOH to YOU, mister!" countered Kagome.

"What kind of bear in his right mind would be named Winnie the Pooh?"

"A GREAT ONE!"

"…I am not arguing about a bear with you."

"Well, that may just be fine with you, but I need an apology. NOW!"

"I am not apologizing to you."

"Not to me!"

Sesshoumaru groaned in frustration and asked, "Who then?"

"Pooh!"

"Excuse me?"

"You're going to have to apologize to the great Pooh for sitting on him and his wonderful box!"

"Oh, he's the great Pooh now? What kind of a name is that? He sounds like shit."

Sesshoumaru mentally scolded himself for almost losing his temper and reverting to InuYasha's stupidity while Kagome was ready to sock him right there and then, but she knew he was stronger than she was. All she had wanted was an apology, and it had turned into this.

"Just apologize."

"This Sesshoumaru does not apologize." Sesshoumaru was referring to himself in the third person again, and this only happened when he was annoyed or pissed off. This time, it was both.

"Well, this Kagome doesn't go anywhere with guys who don't apologize for sitting on people's lunchboxes 6 years ago!"

"Can we go now?"

"Obviously you've gone deaf because I just said I wouldn't go anywhere with you!"

"Oh, is that what you said?"

"YES!"

"Then let's go."

"EH?"

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After a brief moment of silence, Kagome spoke up. "I hate you, you know."

"That's just fine with me."

"Where are we going?"

"You don't need to know."

"Are we there yet?"

"Shut up."

"But I don't want to!"

"Silence!"

"Fine!"

Sesshoumaru was almost at a loss for words. This girl was so irritating and stubborn that it was almost worth taking her out against her will. Maybe a challenge was all he needed. Everywhere he went, women fell over his feet begging to be with him while Kagome was downright refusing to go anywhere with him.

"Ooh, look, ice cream! Sesshoumaru, I want ice cream. Let's stop for ice cream. Won't that be fun?"

"Aren't you supposed to be hating me right about now?" Sesshoumaru asked wryly.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we can't stop for ice cream first! I'll go back to hating you then."

"You really are a paradox, aren't you?"

"I love that song!"

"…."

"You know, that song by W-inds? It's pretty old, but it's still really cool! I guess you wouldn't know, being the great and prized Sesshoumaru, after all," commented Kagome after seeing Sesshoumaru's unaffected look. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that she was even talking to him! "So you gonna apologize about the lunchbox yet?"

"No." He was still reeling over what she had said. The great and prized Sesshoumaru?

The car pulled into a parking lot, and Sesshoumaru stepped out of the car, earning some admiring glances from the window of the ice cream shop. He wore a white button up shirt that was left unbuttoned at the top, revealing some nice aspects of him. He had black pants that weren't too tight or loose.

Kagome stepped out as well, earning some recognition, if not admiring stares. She was dressed in a light pink sleeveless sundress that stopped just above her knees. There was a low dipped v-neck that showed off certain curves, and she wore a gold pendant that was right in the middle of her collarbone. She topped it off with sandals in the same gold as her pendant.

Together, they were a match made in heaven. If only they would talk to each once in a while….

"I'm going to go ahead and order. You want anything?" Kagome asked icily.

"No."

Kagome spun on her heel and froze when she saw InuYasha and Sango standing together in line. InuYasha she could understand, but Sango! Hanging out with the enemy! The traitor! That did explain why Sango wasn't at home this morning though…and didn't she like Miroku? This was a tragedy waiting to happen.

"Sango…," hissed Kagome.

"K-Kagome-chan!" Sango exclaimed. Kagome inwardly groaned. She just gave her away! The whole point of the hiss was discretion.

"Kagome!" InuYasha looked pretty happy to see her, considering the circumstances.

"Can I talk to you, Sango, for a minute alone?"

InuYasha frowned, but let her go nevertheless.

"What are you doing here?" Sango asked as soon as they were out of hearing distance.

"Me? What are YOU doing here? With him of all people!"

"Kagome, he's really heartbroken about what happened between you two, and he couldn't think of anyone else to talk to. Miroku was obviously no help whatsoever."

"He's heartbroken? Sango, remember me here?"

"I know, but he's so depressed! He really regrets breaking up with you…"

"Sango, snap out of it. I'm the one who is supposed to be in pain here. He broke up with me for Kikyou, and now he's the pitiful one? He's supposed to be having the time of his life, hence the revenge."

"Oh, right."

"Don't forget the plan, okay Sango? And especially don't forget and accidentally tell InuYasha about it."

"Ne, it'll be fine. By the way, where is Mr. Hot and Handsome now?"

"Over there by the tables," Kagome replied nonchalantly and nodded to one of the tables for emphasis. "Speaking of which, I don't think the plan will go very well today. He isn't apologizing to me!"

"About what?"

"It's a long story. Go back to InuYasha and remember, don't feel too sorry for him. God, I can't stand to look at his face much longer.."

"Ah, sorry. I'll go now."

Sango walked back over to InuYasha and started talking to him as if nothing had happened. As if Kagome hadn't just pulled her away and warned her. Sango smiled and laughed and shook her head. It seemed as if InuYasha was asking what the two had just talked about.

Kagome turned on her heel and walked haughtily over to Sesshoumaru. She wouldn't be made a fool in front of InuYasha. No matter how angry she was and no matter how long a grudge she held, she would leave the victor today.

"Oh? Where's your ice cream?" Sesshoumaru sneered.

Kagome rolled her eyes. Did he not notice who was over there?

"InuYasha's over there."

Sesshoumaru's face and voice lost its teasing tone and his features hardened. A scowl deepened, and he held out his arm to her.

"Take my arm and let's leave."

Kagome reluctantly wrapped her left arm around his right one, and Sesshoumaru was sure that InuYasha had felt her hesitation. To pull off this hoax, everything had to be just right or else InuYasha would detect deceit.

He turned towards her, tilted her chin up towards him, and looked her in the eyes, seemingly searching for something. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he locked lips with Kagome. He could feel her gasp, but he could also feel InuYasha's piercing gaze. He decided that InuYasha's anger was worth more than Kagome's shock, so he deepened the kiss.

When they broke off, Kagome glared at him softly. "That wasn't very nice."

"I apologized."

Kagome blinked, and it suddenly dawned on her. He had apologized to her! Sure, it wasn't an apology to Pooh Bear, but it was an apology. Maybe this would work out better than she had first thought…

----------

InuYasha felt a dozen arrows pierce his heart with every second that passed. Sesshoumaru had never shown any interest in Kagome before; why start now? There had to be something more to this. Their little show of intimacy seemed to last forever until they finally broke off. Maybe that's all this was! A show…

He watched them carefully. Kagome glared at Sesshoumaru, but still followed him out of the shop. If that had been InuYasha, Kagome would have yelled at him for being too forward. He wasn't exactly the romantic type. With Sesshoumaru, she merely glared at him! Of course, he could pull off being romantic and mysterious.

He had found out that Kikyou had used him as a substitute for Sesshoumaru, but that hardly mattered now. What was important was using her to get Kagome back. Kikyou would willingly go with his plan. It didn't matter if Kagome also had a plan or if it was real. He'd get her back one way or another. With or without Kikyou's help. Maybe it was time to bring back the legendary playboy….

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