If there was a god, it was him. So why in the seven hells should he be worried? Of course he wasn’t, it was a rhetorical question. The fading afternoon sun covered the treetops, from a distance he watched the priestess have a conversation with a bulky type from the village, the farmer's interest was palpable, even if he couldn’t scent it, anyone with two eyes could see. A breeze passed through her glossy midnight hair making her fix it behind her delicate ear, the wind that moved the grass so lazily carried her scent to him, torturous and aggravating. Her full face smile was a grace should be only bestowed upon him. They didn’t even know how to appreciate it. An uncomfortable feeling reached his chest and squeezed it hard, like he had done with many, many necks. Like he should be doing right now with that specific neck, his claws twitched in response. She would never forgive such a barbaric gesture, as much as he was fond of a good dose of violence to solve more immediate problems, he’d learned the miko resorted to the most foolish way to solve an issue: conversation. The demon lord was so focused watching Kagome talk with the villager he barely noticed her fox kit stopping by his side. “You should just tell her. She is very perceptive but she doesn’t assume things.” Shippo was exhausted from this cold war the daiyoukai was fighting alone. “This One doesn’t know what you mean by this, fox.” An extra annoyed glare was thrown at the kitsune. “Sure you don’t. The great Lord of the West would never crawl so low as to fall for a weak ugly human, a healer at that.” Shippo turned to him, showing his most matter-of-factly expression. “Of course not.” The kitsune could not prevent the clawed hand from grabbing him by the collar, he had grown up over the years and was considerably fast but not “700 years old lord of the west” fast. “You should keep your mouth from saying such things about your mother. She’s neither weak or ugly.” The big surprised water green eyes directed at him turned playful. “Case in point.” Shippo joked, still held by his collar. “You never denied falling for her, though.” The boy pointed out. Sesshomaru felt cornered and released the kit’s shirt, he had nothing to say so he remained silent. “Human language is different from ours, you can’t just give her stuff with your scent to keep others away. They can’t even smell it.” Shippo was serious this time, a very unnerving tone that was rarely conveyed by him. Her laugh was heard another time, Sesshomaru turned his attention to the two humans again, Kagome had a pink blush covering her cheeks, her eyes turning away from the man in the most adorable form of embarassement. The low growl that escaped him was neither wanted or controlled. “And here I thought you’d do something about it after the whole Inuyasha fiasco. I won’t say it again: She is free, if you won’t claim her, somebody will. If not Mr. Muscle there, there is a line of unmarried men just waiting for her to give them even the slightest indication they can approach.” The kitsune crossed his arms, brow frowning. “She is the most powerful miko alive, they are not worthy of her.” Sesshomaru was becoming unbearably restless with how reasonable the fox sounded. “Well, guess what? She is not looking for worthy, she is looking for someone who can speak what they want and not fuss about it. I think the Inuyasha situation has proven that, don’t you think?” Sesshomaru cringed at the possibility of being similar to his brother and worst of all, being foolish enough to lose her like the hanyou did. “I’m not the half-breed.” The demon growled low. “Don’t make such idiotic comparisons.” “Then prove it.” Shippo was growing tired of the lord’s denseness. “Go say what needs to be said before someone else does.” His amber eyes became wide only a fraction when he saw Kagome touch the man’s arm. This was the queue. The crunch of the grass blades warned Kagome only a second before she saw him, like a whisper he was by her side. “Oh hi, Sesshomaru." She gave him a warm smile. “Didn’t know you were nearby.” The miko’s hand was still in the human’s arm, the demon glared at it like his eyes were about to pulverize the limb with pure hate. Kagome noticed the youkai’s attention on her hand and retrieved it. “This is Inari, he is my friend.” She pointed out justifying herself inexplicably defensive. The priestess eyes were directed at him so she didn’t notice the men’s deep frown at the word “friend”, was there something between them already? He would crush this man in a powder so fine it could be carried easily by the wind. She observed his locked fists and became alarmed. “Is there something I can do for you?” She gave her back to the man. ‘Yes.’ He thought increasingly uneasy. ‘You could stop this antics, you could let me hold you, you could have my lips against the back of your neck, you could wear my scent and have my heir, you could be mine.’ The feelings this mere idea stirred in him were certainly worrying. “I need your help, miko.” The demonlord stated plainly, refusing to explain further. Kagome’s brows knitted together, she doesn’t remember the words “need” and “help” ever coming out of his mouth, this must be urgent. “Sure, let’s go to a private place.” She bid goodbye to her so called “friend” who was decisively not happy with their interaction cut short by the demon but wouldn’t say anything because well, Sesshoumaru was begging for a reason to inflict some pain on the man and he seemed to notice it. They came to a stop by a translucid river running its course sluggishly, she seated herself near the edge and petted the ground inviting him to sit too. Sesshomaru sat legs crossed facing her, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of coming clean. Kagome adjusted herself, uncomfortable with the demon’s intense gaze. “Well?” The woman nudged him to talk, this was getting unsettling. He seemed to reflect for a long time before giving an exhale. “You should be more careful with who you interact with.” He panicked and switched the words at the last second. Kagome looked utterly confused by his statement. “I’m sorry? What do you mean by that?” She crooked her head like a goofy puppy. Sesshomaru wished from the bottom of his heart she would just this one time read his thoughts so he was not forced to admit to her what he hasn’t admitted even to himself, using his own mouth, his own words, he felt absolutely ridiculous and childish. ‘Just say it, you foolish demon.’ Every second grew clearly unsettling for both. ‘What is the worst that could happen?’ He couldn’t think of any outcome of this besides she saying no, which is admittedly the worst thing that could happen. The demonlord could read the question mark on her face, thank the gods she was so patient with him. “Well?” Kagome shifted her weight and the grass crunched under her knees. “This One-” His mouth failed to expel the rest of the sentence so he had to clear his throat and try again. “This One thinks the miko gives too much freedom to the kinds that come to you looking for aid. They could lure you to the forest to be alone with you and do gods know what.” Sesshomaru ushered his words, by the time he finished he was already regretting it, he hadn't seen her eyes so annoyed at him since the day they met at his father’s grave. “Excuse me?” Her tone was poison and he caught himself wondering why he had even said this, this wasn’t neither the truth nor what he wanted to say. Why is this so goddamn difficult? “First of all and the most ironic part,” She huffed, clearly becoming angrier as the words left her, “Aren’t you the one that lured me into the forest saying you need help? What makes you any different from them?” “This One is differen-” Kagome cut him off like a hot knife through butter. “My ass you are.” His mouth gaped a little, the hanyou surely rubbed off on her. “You’re the same as any man, you want things you don’t have the balls to get so you come up with these ridiculous excuses and made up stories.” Sesshomaru inhaled, about to talk. “I’m not done.” The lines on her brow were marked so deep he couldn’t help but feel a little afraid. “Second of all, sure it’s good to know you think so little of me. You think I couldn’t defend myself? That I would so merrily follow a stranger to a dark forest and become a sitting duck?” Her eyes looked more hurt than angry now. “Is that what you think of me? Am I damsel in distress for you to save and protect?” Her voice breaking a fraction, she turned her face to the side. The miko started getting up to leave but Sesshomaru grabbed her wrist, she didn’t turn her face back, just became still. The feel of her skin burned beneath his palms, his claws twitched wanting to close tighter, to deny her the exit of this conversation and quite possibly his life. He exhaled trying to calm down. This was it. “This One thinks the miko is the most beautiful creature to touch this earth and the strongest spiritual warrior I have ever seen fighting, I do not think you need my protection but I would give it anyway, as I am giving you my heart hoping you would give me yours to care and cherish.” The demonlord said it in one go as fast as he possibly could before fear changed his mind again. Kagome’s face turned fast, he could see the water pooling in her eyes but there was a slight smile coming to her lips. “You dumb demon.” She sniffed her tears away. “You already had it a long time ago.” Her hand shifted in his hold and returned the touch.