A/N: By this time, you've probably realized that I completely suck at keeping any sort of a regular-update schedule at all. That being said, I will finish this fic (even if it takes a gazillion years), and I do still read and appreciate every review you send. I also greatly appreciate the bombards of annoyed reviews I get demanding to know if I've died and why I haven't finished my story. They remind me to write when I've forgotten and have been busy with a million other things.

Enjoy!

Elements

Chapter 15

He kissed me! He actually kissed me!!

Kagome's face burned as she hurried back to her camp, embarrassed, her arms wrapped around herself tightly as she barreled through the underbrush. She lifted a hand to touch her lips, remembering, before dropping it quickly and hurrying on.

He kissed me! Oh, if only he hadn't done it when I was expecting it! Now he's bound to be mad at me, and I don't want him to be mad at me too-

"Kagome-sama?"

Kagome came to a halt, realizing she'd reached her camp. Coloring at her obliviousness, she sank down beside Miroku, careful not to wake Sango or Shippo. InuYasha was nowhere to be found.

Miroku raised an eyebrow at her. "You look conflicted," he commented. Kagome groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"Is it that obvious?"

Miroku laughed. "Kagome, I would be a very poor friend if I could not tell when you were upset or distressed over something."

Kagome hid her face deeper in her hands, and Miroku chuckled lightly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?" he asked. "You seem embarrassed. Something must have occurred since your spat with InuYasha." His eyes sparkled. "Sesshomaru pay you a visit?"

Kagome looked up, suspicious.

"How did you know?" she asked, accusing. Miroku laughed.

"Kagome, you are easier to read than a book," he said, smiling. "Now, what's been going on that has you in such a mess?"

Sighing, Kagome nodded.

"All right," she said moodily. "But no telling anyone else ever, okay?" she shot at him.

Miroku looked affronted. "I would sooner die than spill your secret from my lips," he said, holding a hand to his heart in mock-affront.

Kagome rolled her eyes but smiled. "I'm sure." She paused. "We should probably move away from the fire a ways. I don't want to wake Sango up."

They moved a ways into the forest, still close enough to see everyone, but far enough to not be heard. Hesitantly, Kagome began recanting the tale of her interactions with Sesshomaru, leaving out large parts out, giving Miroku just enough so he could get the general picture of what all was going on. When she reached the part where she had seen Sesshomaru tonight, her face was red again, and Miroku was laughing.

"-I didn't know what to do! I mean, he just kissed me, Miroku! Why would he do that?!"

"Presumably," Miroku said, trying to hide his amusement, failing miserably as a wide smile spread across his face, "because he wanted to."

"But why would he want to-? Oh, I'm so confused!"

"Did you not want him to kiss you?" Miroku inquired, teasing. Kagome flushed.

"Well- I did, I guess- but- you shouldn't just do things like that out of nowhere! It surprises people!"

Miroku raised an eyebrow, something in Kagome tone making him suspicious.

"Kagome," he asked carefully, trying to hide his smile. "When Sesshomaru kissed you, did you kiss him back?"

Kagome flushed brilliantly.

"I- I would have!" she said hotly. "At least, I think I would have- but he caught me so off-guard, I didn't even have the chance-"

"Kagome," Miroku said, biting his lip to keep his smile in check, "what, exactly, happened when Sesshomaru tried to kiss you?"

Kagome's face colored again, and she ducked her head.

"I wasn't expecting it, all right?" she said, defensive. "If I had, I would have been ready for it! But as it was, all I knew was this great youkai was right next to me with tons of youki thrumming- and then he touched me and- I was so startled that I didn't do anything! But you know how when you're caught off-guard you respond instinctively, so that's kind of what happened, so my powers just kind of- reacted- and then the next thing I knew there was this loud noise and Sesshomaru was on the ground out cold."

Miroku roared with laughter, while Kagome flushed hotly.

"It's not funny!" she said sharply. "It was mortifying! Kami, Miroku, it was the most embarrassing thing I've ever-"

"I'm sure it was, Kagome," Miroku said, laughing, wiping tears from his eyes. "I'm sure it was. But consider it from my point of view, Kagome. You knocked Sesshomaru unconscious when he tried to kiss you." Miroku chuckled again to himself, trying to catch his breath. "You are either a very brave miko or a very foolish girl who Sesshomaru is too wrapped-up in to want to kill."

Kagome flushed as Miroku laughed. "I didn't mean to! This was not my fault – blame my powers, or Sesshomaru had acted like a normal person and given me any sort of real warning-"

"Ah, but Sesshomaru isn't a normal person, is he?" Miroku teased. Kagome just looked flustered, before turning away, cheeks flaming.

"If it's any comfort," Miroku added a moment later, "it's highly likely that Sesshomaru won't remember you knocking him unconscious, or the events directly preceding it."

Kagome looked up at the sky, watching the stars, Miroku following suit. A quiet, contented silence descended upon them, and Kagome slowly felt herself relax as she lost herself to the night sky, immersing herself in a realm of starts and galaxies millions of miles away.

"I'm going to teach Sesshomaru fire tomorrow night," Kagome murmured aloud. Miroku glanced at her. "With all this- whatever, I feel for him, it should be an easy lesson. And he's shown emotion for me now, too..."

She trailed off, biting her lip. Miroku paused, before venturing a question.

"Kagome," he asked, "if it will be an easy lesson, why are you so nervous?"

Kagome didn't answer him for a long moment, still staring at the stars. When she finally turned to look at him, Miroku's eyes widened at the glowing, tangled emotions he saw there, and he forced himself not to stare.

"After this lesson..." Kagome said, quiet, her eyes meeting his. "Everything will change."

Miroku shuddered slightly to himself and looked away, trying to get the haunted look of Kagome's eyes out of his head as they watched the stars long into the night.

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Sesshomaru was in a foul mood the next day. He'd awoken far past dawn with a headache that threatened to leave him debilitated, and it had rained during the night, thoroughly soaking his kimono and his shoes. Jaken and Rin had been relieved to see him awake, only to fall back when they saw his murderous expression, opting to remain in the trees.

What had happened last night? Sesshomaru pressed a hand to his head, trying to think through the pain. He'd gone and found Kagome – any fool could feel her, really, she'd been broadcasting her anger for miles and miles – and invited her to return with him to his camp. She'd gone with him, and they'd sat there talking, and he'd coaxed out the truth of what the hanyou had done-

Sesshomaru felt his eyes narrowing, and venom started to flow into his fingers, his nails glowing a soft green.

What had the hanyou done?

His ire burned. Why couldn't he remember?

InuYasha's possible actions did not explain his headache, though, Sesshomaru knew, and for the life of him, he couldn't remember what he'd done. He had the feeling that he'd done something that had caused Kagome to react, and he had the feeling also that he'd known it would cause a violent reaction of some kind.

Sesshomaru stood up, ignoring the throbbing pain in his temples, and walked to the edge of the forest. He looked down silently at Rin and Jaken, who looked up at him, apprehensive, and without warning, he smashed his hand into a tree.

"Sesshomaru-sama!"

"My lord!"

Sesshomaru ignored their cries of alarm, and he lifted his hand to his face, licking the blood of casually as he leveled them with his gaze.

"Jaken," he said, eyes sharp. "Find the location of the miko. Take Rin with you. Rin, discover just what is it that Kagome is thinking and what she plans to do."

Both nodded hurriedly and scurried off, casting worried glances back at him through the trees. Sesshomaru licked the remaining blood from his hand, pensive, staring out into the dismal fog.

Hours later, when the rain had finally stopped, Jaken and Rin returned, bringing with them fish and some sort of bundle that smelled of food. Sesshomaru listened as Jaken told him that the InuYasha was still absent, off with his undead companion, and none of the rest of his party had felt the motivation to start slogging through the mud.

As Jaken set about starting a fire, drying sticks and logs with his staff of two heads, Rin took Sesshomaru aside, quietly explaining that Kagome planned to meet with him that night. She also told him how she planned to teach him a new element, and to acknowledge something unsaid in the open as well.

Sesshomaru nodded at the news, and let Rin scurry off to help Jaken prepare the evening meal. He sat in silence, eyes sharp, waiting, watching as the sun sank below the ground.

After a long time, an ear twitched, and a scent floated to him on the breeze. Without a sound, Sesshomaru stood, leaving his ward and retainer sleeping behind him as he moved off into the far woods.

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Oh, this is not a good idea...

It had been a miserable day. Although Miroku had kept his word and kept her secret private, it had been obvious to Sango and Shippo that something significant had occurred during the previous night. Shippo had needled her incessantly all morning to tell him, worried, while Sango had at least remained silent, opting to let Kagome dwell in quiet. The rain had soaked them all, leaving them shivering and miserable until Kagome got a fire burning steadily, the irony of it smirking at her in the flames.

Something was going to change with her and Sesshomaru, she knew, and she knew that it had to change. It was too far gone to rein it back in at this point, and all she could do was hope and pray that it wouldn't leave them too badly burned when it left them behind.

Kagome was counting on Sesshomaru to have forgotten the precise events of the night before. She wasn't exactly sure how to go about arousing fire, but she'd felt it the previous night, she knew. She was hoping that if she managed to reenact what had happened, Sesshomaru would react the same way.

Her face flamed as she remembered the look in Sesshomaru's eyes, and she pushed the thought out of her mind. This time, she'd make sure that she responded correctly and could keep her powers in check.

That is, if Sesshomaru wasn't so livid at her for knocking him out he killed her on sight.

As the rain stopped, evening finally fading into night, Kagome stood, leaving her pack on the ground, and began to walk into the woods.

"Kagome."

She turned, and Miroku's eye caught her own.

He hesitated.

"Be careful," he said finally, and Kagome knew the unspoken meaning laden in his words.

"I'll try," she said, offering him a faint smile, and he nodded and sat back down. Taking a deep breath, Kagome walked into the woods, waiting until she was a ways from her own camp before letting her mask slip, letting her scent filter through on the breeze.

Kagome stood in the forest, moving until she found a small clearing, about the size of her room at home. She shivered slightly and set about making a fire in the middle, piling logs and rocks high.

It was crackling cheerfully by the time Sesshomaru arrived. His eyes were riveted on her, responding to the silent summons, watching as she added small twigs to the blaze.

"Kagome."

"Sesshomaru," Kagome said in return. She tossed the last few sticks into the flames as she stood up, turning to face him. His mouth opened.

"Kagome, what happened last night? I don't remember anything past-"

"Ssshh..." Kagome said, and Sesshomaru broke off, surprise clearly written across his features. She looked at him silently, and Sesshomaru stood still, confusion flickering in his eyes.

Kagome bit her lip, uncertain. Looking at Sesshomaru like this, it... she knew she was going to have to do it – she could practically feel a fire burning inside of her already, but it was so dangerous... she didn't want to lose Sesshomaru by acknowledging the odd emotion that had arisen between them.

He tilted his head at her, eyes flickering with concern, and Kagome nearly gasped at the soft emotion from the taiyoukai, and something slid into place in her mind.

Tossing her head freely, Kagome fanned herself with a hand idly.

"It's so hot here, isn't it?" she said, fanning herself, exaggerating the heat. "I only meant to warm up this clearing a bit and dry out the place before you came, but it was just too much, I think. It's so hot now..."

"Kagome, I think you are slightly overreacting..." Sesshomaru's words trailed off as he saw her untuck her shirt, twisting it into two ends and tying it in a knot behind her, baring a smooth, tanned midriff to his eyes. She saw him swallow from across the fire, and she smiled.

"It's just so hot, Sesshomaru," she complained, tossing her hair again. "I'm sooooo glad that I packed a summer uniform – my normal one has long sleeves, you know, and it's way too warm to be wearing that heavy thing right now, don't you think?" She sat down, removing her shoes and slowly rolling down her socks, setting them aside, watching as Sesshomaru's eyes followed her hands down her legs.

"Aren't you hot?" she asked, fanning herself again, innocent eyes meeting his, and Sesshomaru nodded wordlessly, silently removing his armor and setting it aside at the edge of the trees. "Take off your kimono, too," Kagome prompted, gesturing, and abruptly Sesshomaru's eyes returned to normal, darting up to meet her own.

"Kagome," he said, his voice deep and low. "What are you playing at? I don't know what you are doing-"

"Take off your kimono, Sesshomaru," Kagome told him, moving to his side to help push it off his frame. "It's too hot to keep on. After all, we're going to be playing with fire, after all."

Sesshomaru allowed her to slowly remove the garment as she spoke, his eyes suddenly sharpening. He caught her hand, eyes boring into her own.

"Fire?" he said, his voice low. Kagome felt her breath catch, and she nodded.

"Fire."

Sesshomaru let her go. After a moment, he pushed the rest of his kimono from his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground, baring his chest to her gaze. Kagome's eyes took in the lean muscle and sculpted abs, greedy, watching as he turned to fold his kimono and set it aside. Briefly wishing his hakama were just a wee bit tighter, Kagome shook her head sharply, forcing her mind to come back.

"We're going to be learning fire," Kagome told him, moving back to the other side of the flames. Sesshomaru followed, approaching the fire but standing opposite from her of it, watching.

"We?"

"I already understand fire," Kagome told him, circling the fire slowly, Sesshomaru moving to remain across from her at all times. "But fire is the element of raw emotions, those not fully understood. With each new raw emotion felt, a new type of fire comes as well, and you have to experience it whether you want to or not."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. Kagome's eyes met his over the flames, drops of sweat beading on her brow.

"Sesshomaru," she said, her voice low, a caress. "Tell me: what happened last night?"

Kagome watched as Sesshomaru stiffened, immediately on guard. His eyes sharpened, his gaze venomous.

"I told you, I cannot recall," Sesshomaru said curtly, his voice and expression guarded. It was Kagome's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Surely you remember something," she said. "What do you remember? Anything at all."

Sesshomaru frowned and his forehead creased slightly as he lost himself in thought. "I remember a little..." he said slowly. His eyes found hers once more, and he hesitated. "I remember the hanyou did something upsetting."

"Good, good," Kagome encouraged. "Do you remember what happened after that?"

She watched as Sesshomaru considered, thinking hard, mentally shaking her head. That sort of disconnected, dispassionate memory wasn't going to help at all. Quiet, she moved toward him, stopping only when she was directly in front of him, standing on the same side of the fire. He looked down at her, a question in his eyes as he shook his head minutely. "I cannot."

Kagome shrugged, eyes glittering. "Then we'll reenact it."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, but Kagome had launched into her lines.

"-And, of course, it was all about you, and InuYasha blew a gasket, of course, and started doing all kinds of stupid things-"

Kagome's voice was laden with annoyance and repressed fury, her anger at InuYasha and her indignation at his actions. Almost without realizing it, Sesshomaru felt himself slip into place.

"It was about me?" he asked, cutting her off, and Kagome nodded, rolling her eyes, not missing a beat.

"Of course. You're all we've been fighting about recently. It's almost boring, really. Kagome, he's evil, he'll hurt you, he makes me feel small and insignificant, he made fun of me as a baby, wahh wahh wahh blah blah blah-"

Sesshomaru was unable to suppress a smirk. "I see what you mean."

"Tell me about it," Kagome said, sighing, and Sesshomaru was startled to see the depth of her sorrow in her. This had already happened, it had been last night – surely she couldn't still be feeling so upset-?

"Kagome," he said, pausing, faltering as she looked up at him. "You seem more... distressed, over this argument, than is usual for you. If you've been arguing about this often, what- what made this argument any different?"

"Ah." Kagome looked away, her voice more subdued. "Tonight, we got to the bottom of why he has such an issue in the first place."

Sesshomaru was careful with his reply. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Kagome said, looking down at her feet, and Sesshomaru felt his chest tug at him, somehow disturbed at seeing her so upset. "He was all 'I'm supposed to protect you'! And 'You're only supposed to depend on me!' and-"

"-that's different than what you thought before?" Sesshomaru interrupted, unable to help himself.

Kagome sighed. "Not really," she admitted. "But- well, I thought it was sort of a rational fear for his friend before." She hesitated, kicking her foot idly on the ground. "It wasn't, though. The idiot yelled at me and grabbed me and-"

She stopped, looking into the fire, the flames reflecting in her eyes.

"...And?" Sesshomaru prompted, an odd feeling of emotion coming to surface in his own eyes.

"And- you know," Kagome said, fidgeting. "Showed me. That it wasn't just a 'friend' thing to him at all."

Kagome watched as dark emotions and anger flitted across Sesshomaru's face, and she steeled herself, readying herself for the moment she knew would come. She was ready now, to face this fire, regardless of how badly she got burned.

"Tell me," Sesshomaru demanded, eyes sharp. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing, really," Kagome said, echoing her words from the night before. "It was nothing he hasn't done before, but it still makes me mad-"

She trailed her fingers over her lips, watching as recognition flared in Sesshomaru's eyes. She smiled to herself grimly, before immersing herself in the replay of the previous night, letting all the emotions from that night fill her – her anger at InuYasha, her alarm at Sesshomaru's sharp tone and demanding questions, her uncertainty at why she was secretly so glad he was so insistent to know.

"He kissed you, didn't he?" An irate statement, laden with hatred at his half-brother. "He kissed you."

Quietly, while Kagome was caught up in the flood of memories, part of her hung back, silently waiting for the moment when Sesshomaru's fire would break free once more.

"You remembered," she said, surprise tinging her tone. "I taught it to you ages ago."

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Sesshomaru had known for a while that he'd somehow let this slip of a girl slip underneath his skin. He'd tried to dismiss it as an effect from learning to feel a bit more and letting emotions slip out as he tried to learn each element, each bit of emotion binding him closer to the girl. It wasn't, though, and Sesshomaru knew it. It was something else entirely, some new, electrifying feeling, an entirely new emotion for him to push down.

It was new to feel so helpless and angry, to feel so much in so little a time. He didn't like it at all – emotions still made him vulnerable, emotions still made you weak – but he couldn't stop feeling, even if he managed to push it down most of the time. It was like a parasite, eating him alive from the inside, the occasional sharp pain from inside reminding him of the toxic emotion that boiled inside.

It was dangerous to him. Several times, Sesshomaru had felt himself on the verge of something, dangling over the precipice, ready to hurl himself off, Kagome in his arms. He'd always managed to pull back, though, or the moment had always passed him by. He wasn't sure what he would do if such a moment came and stayed, so Sesshomaru pushed it out of his mind, vowing to be stronger.

But now. Kagome.

Kagome was in front of him, illuminated in the firelight, and he could feel his heart clench as he looked at her, amber gaze caressing the lines of her face. But then she had said that, said how the hanyou had grabbed her and forced her, and something came boiling up inside of him that wouldn't go away, that refused to be silent any longer, and Sesshomaru found himself helpless against the full onslaught.

"Did he kiss you?"

His thoughts spiraled, forming a whirlwind, rationality and tact lost in the hurricane. A tornado of pain and fury spun through his mind, and Sesshomaru was dimly able to see Kagome's eyes widen in surprise.

"Did he kiss you??"

His rage was undefinable; he had no reason to be so upset. It was anger from the past, but it came swarming back, overwhelming him, emotions from the previous night sweeping over him in fiery waves of rage. It wasn't his business what the miko did, or the hanyou, it wasn't his place to care. But he did care, he cared so much he could feel it screaming inside of him at her words, killing him, that the hanyou would have felt her touch-

"Did he kiss you? Did that obsolete, filthy piece of vermin kiss you? Did he?!"

Even through the haze of emotions clouding his mind, Sesshomaru could feel Kagome's stare of shock, and he was helpless to compose himself, to take back his demanding, naked words.

Kagome swallowed once, hard.

"...yes."

Sesshomaru let out an unearthly noise, thoughts ripping through his mind. InuYasha had no right, no place being so close to this precious girl and touching her like that and claiming such a thing from her ever, let alone when she didn't want it and was clearly upset with him for doing so. No one should ever touch her like that, no one save for him, he was the only one who was truly her equal, he was the only one who was allowed to have her close and see her eyes and have her react over-

He had no idea why he was like this. It didn't make any sense, it was just a girl, just a stupid girl who was teaching him, but it did, she meant everything, it all made sense and she wasn't just a stupid girl she was so much more-

He pulled her to him, fiery amber clashing with her blue eyes, and somewhere inside of him, a decision was made.

It would change everything; all his hiding, all his dodging, all his suppressing and and pushing emotion down. All his composure, all his practice, all his work at the careful friendship they had formed. Everything would change forever, he knew and he was helpless against the wave of that change that crashed into him.

"Kagome."

He could hear her swallow, he was so close. He could feel the small trill that went through her at his touch, see her eyes widen slightly, her pupils dilating, irises darkening.

"Yes?"

Sesshomaru looked at her for a long moment, rationality making one last battle to rise to the top, but it was cruelly buried underneath the torrent of this emotion, the anger and rage and something that was swarming inside of him. The decision had cut away any restraints, anything he had been holding back before-

"He never. Will. Again."

And then he kissed her, pouring everything he felt into the kiss.

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It was like tinder catching fire.

Heat surged through Kagome as she came alive underneath him, kissing him back for all she was worth. A hand of hers scrambled on his chest, finally grabbing a hold of his shoulder and hanging on as Sesshomaru plundered her mouth, emotion and heat searing through her skull. It was wild, it was primal, and it send a feeling of liquid heat through her veins, engulfing her, making her feel a fire burn within.

He nipped at her lips and she whimpered, and as he licked over the bite her whimper turned into a moan.

He grabbed her head and buried a hand in her hair, the other holding the back of her head, keeping her mouth pressed to his, and Kagome lost her balance, falling backwards and rolling down a short hill. And Sesshomaru was with her, limbs entangled with hers, kissing her still, possessive and fiery and unable to stop, even as the hill rolled them back into the forest, finally evening out between the trees.

Kagome was wrenched from Sesshomaru's arms by the sheer force of their momentum, landing with a hard "umph!". Mind dizzy, Kagome stood slowly, rubbing her backside as she turned, before freezing, gaze fallen on Sesshomaru, several feet away.

Sesshomaru was in a low crouch, animal-like, predatory, his eyes fixed on her with a fire burning inside. He slowly rose to his feet, eyes never flickering from her face, and he moved toward her, his gaze pinning her where she stood.

He came to stand in front of her, looking down at her as she looked up at him. Their eyes met, and Kagome gasped at the depth of emotion she saw burning inside. Before she had time to blink, he'd swept her off her feet and jumped back into the small clearing, setting her down at the side of the fire. He took a step back, eyes holding hers with their intensity.

"What is this?" Sesshomaru demanded, his eyes boring into hers. "Tell me. What is this now that I feel?"

Kagome felt helpless under the weight of his gaze.

"I don't know," she murmured, without thinking through the words. "That's the point of it, isn't it? Fire's not understood."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at that, and Kagome felt her something in her midsection twinge at his look.

"That's what this is," she said, her heart racing. "It's fire. The unknown emotion, consuming us both as we feel. We both feel it because we don't know what we feel, and we can't think about it, just react."

Sesshomaru stared at her, amber eyes searching her own, and Kagome took his hand, holding it up to her own.

"See?" she said. "Fire."

Sesshomaru's gaze finally lowered to their hands, and Kagome looked as well, her heart still pounding in her chest. Droplets of fire flitted around their hands, dancing over the skin without burning, but she could feel their heat all the same. Sesshomaru's eyes jerked up to hers, and Kagome instinctively stepped back, but Sesshomaru's hand darted out and grabbed her wrist, holding her still. Eyes wide, Kagome looked up at him, his amber gaze boring down on her once more.

"If this is fire," Sesshomaru said, his voice low and primal, eyes flickering, "I do not like it at all. No emotion shall ravage me unless I give it permission to do so, least of all one that envelops another in with me as well."

Kagome shuddered, hearing the vulnerable undertones in his words. She wrapped her arms around his neck to comfort herself. His thoughts eerily echoed her own.

"You can't," she told him. "You can't control this. You can only feel. You're helpless to fire – you have to let it burn."

Sesshomaru growled and suddenly his lips were pressed against hers again, the kiss searing through them both. The both paused and gasped, liquid eyes melting into each other, before they came back in a forceful flurry of tangled arms and lips, trying to get closer to the other one still.

Kagome could feel the emotion scorching through her; it felt like flames were dancing over her skin. There was liquid fire in her veins, and a bright flame flaring to life in her heart. She pulled away from him, gasping for breath, pupils dilated as she took him in. He growled, his lips attacking her neck as he kissed her heatedly, and Kagome gasped, eyes rolling back as a wave of fire went through her once more.

This was fire, Kagome realized dimly, the real fire that she'd only flirted with before. The teasing touches of the element when she was on the feather, talking with Sesshomaru at the table or even alone thinking back on the taiyoukai lord... nothing could have prepared her fully for the onslaught of everything she felt ravaging through her inside. She could feel it now, flickers of flame dancing over her skin from Sesshomaru's lips as he kissed her neck deeply, nicking slightly with his teeth, leaving red marks behind. Fire danced from her own hand down his back, disappearing under his kimono, and with a sudden move that left even her surprised, Kagome pushed Sesshomaru over hard, sending them both sprawling onto the ground, Sesshomaru on his back.

He looked up at her in surprise, and Kagome only smirked as she lowered her mouth to his neck, trailing kisses over him, running a hand over his shoulder, down his arm, teasing, her eyes flashing in triumph as Sesshomaru let out a strangled groan. She sat back up, straddling his stomach, running her hands up his chest, weaving her fingers into his hair.

Sesshomaru growled and rolled over suddenly, pinning her to the ground. A small sound of surprised escaped from Kagome, and Sesshomaru stared into her eyes, amber boring into her own.

"What is this?" Sesshomaru asked again, his voice low, laden with things unsaid. Kagome's eyes widened at the tone in his voice. "What is this?" he asked again, and Kagome could find no reply.

"I don't know."

Sesshomaru growled and pulled her face up to his, kissing her violently, gripping her head firmly in his hands. He kissed her hard until they were both panting, before finally letting her go, leaving them both trying to catch their breath, sitting up on the forest floor.

"What is this?" Sesshomaru's voice was hoarse. "I want to kill InuYasha for touching you. I want to clasp you to me and never let you go. I want to be with you and stay with you and protect you. I want to kill anyone who looks at you, anyone who wants to do you harm."

Kagome fell still. The sense of fire faded, and something new slowly started to flow within.

"You say that like it surprises you," she said finally, her voice rough. "You love to kill all sorts of people."

Sesshomaru looked up to meet her eyes again, emotions tangling and swirling inside.

"I've never killed for another," he said, watching her. "I've killed only for myself, or for political purpose. Why do I want to kill for you? Why do I want to hunt everyone down that has ever caused you pain? And why do I want to stay with you always, and never have you leave my side? Why do I want to bind you to me so you can never let go?" His voice grew more intense as he spoke, anguish inside his eyes. "Tell me you feel it. Tell me you know what I mean. You must feel it too, this fire between us. You must feel it too-"

"I do," Kagome said hastily, hoping to reassure him. "I do. I know exactly what you mean. It's just- I-"

She trailed off, words escaping her, and somewhere inside of her, something slowly began moving into place.

"I want you to be there for me," Kagome said quietly, her eyes not meeting Sesshomaru's. "I want you to be there always, and I never want you to go. I want you to hold me and talk with me and be with me all the time." She looked up at him, meeting his eyes, her voice laden with raw emotion. "I want you to teach me everything there is to know, and I want you to show me the world. I want to help you through your pain, and I want to be there when you need comfort. I want to wrap myself around you so you can't escape from me, and I want you to never let me go." Her voice grew in intensity, and somewhere, she felt it start to drizzle.

"I want to be with you always," she told him, his eyes holding hers. "I want to have you, I want to hold you. I want you there during all my good times, and I want you at my side for all of the bad."

Kagome choked, suddenly realizing her words and the gravity of them. She laughed, starting to cry, her emotions pouring out.

"Kagome?" Sesshomaru said, his voice suddenly concerned. "Kagome? What's wrong?"

Kagome only laughed slightly through her tears, feeling hysterical. She felt it start to rain, drops hitting her face and arms.

"Don't you get it yet?" she asked, looking up at him honestly. "I want to have you and hold you, for better or for worse." She laughed, choking on her tears, reciting. "For richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for all the days of my life."

"Kagome?" Sesshomaru said, his eyes wide with confusion. "Kagome-?"

Kagome laughed freely, tears coursing down her cheeks. It all made sense now- the fire, the emotions, the cascade of whirlwind feelings when his lips had touched hers-

"Kagome, if you are feeling hysterical, maybe we should postpone this lesson for-"

Kagome reached up, pressing a finger to his lips, cutting him off, as her eyes meeting his.

"I love you," she said. "Love. That's what this feeling is."

The clouds opened up, rain falling in sheets, covering taiyoukai and miko in torrential downpour. Sesshomaru moved instinctively, covering Kagome from the rain, holding her as they looked up into the clouds.

"This understanding," Kagome said quietly. "This realization I feel. This is water."

Sesshomaru didn't look at her, his gaze instead fixed on the clouds as he held her to his side. A small feeling of something inside him needled at him, pricking the edges of his mind.

Quietly, so as not to the disturb the girl in his arms, Sesshomaru flicked his fingers at the wet grass, a small fire flickering up on command. His eyes hardened as he looked at the girl in his arms, a different sort of realization shifting into place in his eyes.

No water had come to put his fire out, the notion flicking across his mind.

Amber eyes grew slitted.

But he would find something that would.

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Dun, dun dun dunnnnn...

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