"OH MY GOD!"

The camp burst to life, scrambling to find the danger. Kagome was on her feet, hunched, one hand on her heart and the other supporting her on her knee. She was panting and sweating and her face was pale and her pupils were contracted.

"Sango! I need to talk to you!" Kagome crammed her feet into her shoes and grabbed Sango's arm. Sango could feel Kagome's hand shaking.

"Um, guys, we'll be back. I think…it's just…a girl thing." Sango smiled weakly, baffled, and let Kagome pull her away.

Shippo, Miroku, and Inuyasha looked from one to the other, uncertain what had just transpired. Meanwhile, Sango was finding out.

"Sango," Kagome stage-whispered, holding both of Sango's arms, "I'm in love with Sesshomaru!"

"WHAT?!"

Three seconds later, Inuyasha burst through the brush. "What happened?"

Sango looked like Kagome had.

"GO!" they both shouted at him. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his skull.

"What's the matter with you two?"

"Girl trouble, Inuyasha."

"Girl trouble," Inuyasha sneered in a falsetto voice as he got back to camp. "Miroku, your woman's finally lost it."

"Are you sure about this, Kagome?"

"Yes," she said, sounding very frightened.

"How do you…are you sure about that?"

"I've never been so sure of anything, Sango. I was laying there and all of a sudden it just…hit me."

"I find it very hard to believe. You haven't spent any time with him."

"Haven't I? Think about it; I've known him almost as long as I've known Inuyasha. He's always been there."

"Been there, yes, been there for you? No."

"He saved my life more than once."

"So has Inuyasha. In fact, Inuyasha saved your life from Sesshomaru."

"He saved Kohaku's life."

"Low blow," Sango narrowed her eyes.

"God," Kagome moaned disconsolately.

"God," Sango agreed.

"What do I do?" Kagome asked, looking hopefully at Sango.

"You're really asking me?" she replied, looking at her very insane friend.

"Mhmm."

Sango sighed. "I don't know what you expect from him. He's…he's Sesshomaru."

"Yeah, but…I don't think he'd hurt me. I'm pretty sure he likes me."

"Pretty sure?"

"Pretty sure. I just need to see him. I need to talk to him, without Inuyasha around."

Sango sighed. "He's actually…are you really sure you want to do something about this?"

"Oh yes."

"Well, he's nearby. Inuyasha avoided him earlier to circumvent a fight."

"Which way?"

"I'll take you part way."

"Thanks, Sango."

Once she and Sango parted, it didn't take as long as she expected to find him. He was by himself, Jakken and Rin mysteriously and blessedly absent.

He had been sleeping, but the crackling leaves and twigs beneath her feet quickly woke him. He opened one sharp golden eye and focused it on her. She froze there, just staring at him.

"Uh…sorry," she said, and she turned and walked steadily away.

He sniffed the air. She was alone. What was she doing out here by herself? He couldn't sense Inuyasha anywhere. Kagome attracted trouble the way fruit attracted flies. He got up and followed her. He was loud and clumsy on purpose, curious of what she'd do, knowing he was following.

She stopped, but did not turn to face him. "Have you ever been in love?" she asked casually.

"Me?" he asked. She giggled. It was so…ordinary. She obviously meant him; there was no one else. And yet, he asked.

"Yes, you."

"It's a strong word."

"So then, what do you feel? Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

The line of inquiry made him nervous. "No."

"Sesshomaru, have you ever been kissed?"

He wondered what would happen if he walked away. It was possible; indeed, it was desirable, but leaving Kagome alone in the woods seemed unkind.

"This Sesshomaru has kissed." He opted for proper speech, hoping to put himself above the antsy feeling in his stomach.

"Me, too."

Why was she telling him that? It was Inuyasha, of course. The image floated into his mind, and it was agitating. Really agitating. Too agitating.

"Where is my brother?"

She turned and faced him, smiling. "Looking for me, probably."

He shifted. The look on her face made him uncomfortable. This was a woman who knew something. Not only did she know something, but she planned to do something with it. As a rule, Sesshomaru was not afraid of women, but when Kagome took a step toward him, he stepped back.

"I never really thanked you for saving me."

The something was glittering in her eyes, and his stomach knotted. She knew. She didn't just suspect, or guess, she knew. The question became how much did she know? Did she know that his initial enjoyment of Rin had come from their similar looks and personalities? Did she know that he followed Inuyasha around in his free time, hoping to see her? What, exactly, did she know? He panicked.

"You're welcome."

She smiled at him. At him. He'd seen her smile that way before, but not at him. She smiled that way when Inuyasha was being 'romantic.' Was he being romantic? All he said was 'You're welcome,' right?

"May we sit down somewhere?" she asked. He swallowed a lump in his throat. As far as he could tell, he hadn't registered any of his emotions on the outside. He didn't intend to ruin it now. The slightest falter in his voice would give him away, because she knew. He gestured for her to follow and led her back to his makeshift camp. He suddenly regretted the absentee Jakken, who would have broken the tension in the air, and given him a motive for keeping up his cool exterior. Being alone with Kagome was dangerous. The day he'd saved her from her mockery of a wedding had nearly broken him. What now?

"Where are Rin and Jakken?" she asked, driving their aloneness into him, making him aware that she'd noticed it, in the brief moment she'd been there.

"My home."

"And what are you doing out tonight?"

What was he supposed to say? The honest truth was that he'd wanted to see her, but he couldn't-wouldn't-say that.

"I commonly indulge in outdoor excursions." God, that was the stupidest answer, he thought, but he couldn't pause long enough to think of a better one, or she would be suspicious.

"It's funny. Ever since I started traveling with Inuyasha, I get excited about going indoors. And here you are, glad to be…outdoors." Lame, she thought. She was loosing her resolve. Sesshomaru showed absolutely no interest in her. He was just sitting there, across the glowing embers of a fire pit, gazing into the trees. She ran her hands through her hair self-consciously, trying to determine if it was horrible.

He watched her movements surreptitiously through the corner of his eye. She was teasing him, he was sure of it. Her scent drifted over to him, and his nerves got the better of him. He shivered. She was so close. He could reach across from him and touch her. The notion was ridiculous; even if she knew, he could never give himself away like that.

"Sesshomaru, do you ever think about me?"

He almost let his mouth drop open in shock of her sheer audacity. He did not answer. He could not lie about such a personal matter, but neither could he tell her the truth while she was just sitting there, looking at him. But what would happen if he didn't say anything? Apparently, she would barrel on.

"I never think about you." Ow, he thought. "And yet, I had a dream about you tonight."

"A dream?" he couldn't resist. She was so bold and yet her tone was so timid.

"Yes, a dream," she repeated.

"About me?" he prompted.

"About you." She had lost her nerve. She swallowed hard; Sesshomaru heard it. "Uh, it's kind of cold over here. Could I come over by you?"

Could she? Could she? Empty space on his left, empty space on his right, praise god, she could! He cleared his throat. It was not dignified. It was not at all in his character. It was exactly the kind of sign Kagome needed; a tiny suggestion that he was not as at peace as he appeared on the outside. He patted the ground on his right, and she scooted, slowly, very, very slowly, over. She felt like a twelve-year-old playing truth or dare. They were less than a foot apart. Sitting so close, she could hear his breathing. It was uneven, and it jumped around a little, like hers. Her hands shook.

For god's sake, she thought, I'm twenty years old. I should not be this nervous around a boy.

But Sesshomaru was not a boy. He was definitely a full-grown man. She sighed, and was embarrassed by how clearly the sigh made it that she was shaking.

"Are you still cold?" he asked tentatively. It was an open invitation, and he had damned himself. She nodded, and inched over, just barely brushing her arm against his when she stopped. The urge to put his arm out and pull her against him was overwhelming. He swallowed another lump.

"Sesshomaru?" she asked.

"Yes?" he asked, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead.

She lowered her voice, nearly whispering. "Sesshomaru?"

The sweetness of her tone startled him, and when he turned his head to face her, she was looking right at him. She was so close, she was…she was leaning in. definitely, definitely leaning in.

"In my dream, I thought that I might be in love with you," she said, keeping him trapped with her eyes.

"You did?" he asked hoarsely, not really able to control the weakness in his voice.

"Mhmm. And in my dream, you thought that you might love me, too."

"I did?"

The fact that he sounded terrified was reassuring as Kagome closed her eyes and bent foreword just an inch and brushed her lips softly against his.

Sesshomaru was in shock. Was any of this really possible? The last time he had seen her in the open, there had been no indication that she considered him anything but a nuisance, at the most as Inuyasha's brother. She pulled away, a small smile on her lips. The same lips that had, indeed, just kissed him.

"Kagome?"

"Hmm?" she asked serenely, smiling more broadly as he asked again, as she had, to get her to face him. She faced determinedly ahead until Sesshomaru became Sesshomaru again.

"If you wish to keep this Sesshomaru, you must kiss him with more determination."

"Keep him? I wasn't aware I ever had him," she replied lightly, unable to keep a straight face.

"Liar," he replied, sliding one hand into her hair and using the other to turn her face to his.

"Where's Kagome?"

Sango smothered a moan. She hadn't come back. She was dead; Sesshomaru had killed her.

"Sango?" Miroku asked. He'd heard that noise-he knew that she knew something.

"Hmm?" she asked, trying for innocence.

"Why didn't she come back with you?"

"Well, she said she needed to pee. A girl needs privacy, even among friends."

Sango felt awful. She should rat Sesshomaru out right away. But, Kagome had been very convinced, and Sango wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt on Kagome's behalf. Violent though he was, he hadn't actively pursued an attempt to hurt anyone but Inuyasha in…years. And, come to think of it, the last time he'd fought Inuyasha, he was about to do serious harm, until Kagome asked him to stop. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

"Sango, why don't you try being a little more forthcoming?" Miroku suggested, noting the thoughtful, faraway look in her eye.

"Hmm? I was just thinking she must be constipated."

"Poor Kagome," Shippo sighed.

Inuyasha wasn't convinced, and neither was Miroku. "Miroku, I think we need to have some boy talk."

"Oh goody," Miroku tittered, deliberately trying to get on Sango's nerves. "Boy time for just boys with no girls aloud. You know, Inuyasha, I even have to pee."

"What a coincidence, I feel constipated!" Inuyasha replied. They both looked over to Sango.

Sango sighed in disgust. "You two are just…look, she's fine, just leave her be."

"Where is she?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nothing I say will make you feel any better, Inuyasha."

"Sango," he said anxiously, "Sesshomaru is out there. Please."

The brief look of guilt on her face sent Inuyasha into a panic. "Sango?"

She sighed. "He won't hurt her, Inuyasha. They…well, I don't know exactly what they are, but he wouldn't hurt her."

Inuyasha took off, knowing he should have pushed them further before setting up camp. He followed Sesshomaru's aura, realizing that he could smell Sango and Kagome's trail heading the same way. God, Sango had taken her friend right to death's door. Sango's trail stopped and Kagome's wandered around on its own.

Sesshomaru knew his brother was coming, but he couldn't pull himself away from Kagome, so warm and solid and there. She was snuggled against him, gazing at the stars. He whispered her name, intending to warn her, but she looked at him, and smiled so warmly, that he froze, still stunned by it, and when Inuyasha burst into the clearing, she was kissing him.

Inuyasha stopped cold. Kagome was definitely alive. She was alive all right; she was kissing his brother. He wanted to see him at least taking advantage of her, something, anything to make Sesshomaru the bad guy, but he was lying on his back, completely supine, with his hands loose on Kagome's hips as she bent over him.

So Sango had been right. How long had this been going on? "Kagome?"

She gasped and jumped a foot in the air, her head whipping around to face Inuyasha. The look of guilt killed him. He turned and left, not knowing what he had intended to say to her. He heard her murmur something to Sesshomaru, and then she came running after him.

"Inuyasha!"

"S-" no, he didn't want to apologize. He just wanted this feeling to go away.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. Actually, I'm kind of proud of you for not going off on us."

"Do whatever you want," he mumbled.

"Don't be like that, Inuyasha. I can't stand it if you're mad at me over this."

"Over kissing Sesshomaru? Why would I be angry over that? I mean, he's only tried to kill you, oh, a dozen times or so."

"Inuyasha, once. You may remember that you tried to kill me the first day we met, too. It's kind of a trend in your family."

"So you thought, 'oh, he hasn't tried to kill me more often than Inuyasha has, I think I'll just go kiss him'?"

"Not…exactly…last night, I had a dream."

"Uh huh."

"And it was about all the times I've seen him. And…he's saved me."

"I've saved you! Is that all it takes?!"

"Oh Inuyasha," she whispered. "Are you jealous?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly.

"Welcome to my world. I walked in on you and Kikyo doing the same thing once. I was polite enough to not interrupt."

"Gee thanks."

"Inuyasha, even if you were to tell me right now that you love me, it wouldn't make a difference. It would break my heart because I spent so long aching for your affection, but you've toyed with me all this time. Sesshomaru loves me, he has for a long time, but he never went back and forth like you did. I don't feel like his second choice."

"No, I know," Inuyasha replied quietly, but god, this betrayed feeling just wouldn't let up. "So now what?"

"Now?" she asked. Actually, she hadn't thought that far ahead. Could she really just walk away from what she'd just found with Sesshomaru? "That's kind of…I don't know. I'll talk to him about it." She sighed, her eyes downcast.

"Kagome, I…" Inuyasha began, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. "I really don't trust him, but…I know he…acts…different," he finished lamely.

Kagome smiled. "That's very big of you, Inuyasha."

"If he ever…"

"I know."

"I'll always help you."

Kagome hugged Inuyasha tightly. "I know." She kissed him on the cheek, and let go of him. "Tell Sango 'thanks,' and I'll see you all later. I promise."

Kagome turned and trotted back to Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha let himself feel very sad that things were changing, but very relieved somebody loved Kagome more than he did.