InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Cereal Box Romance ❯ Gambling MAn ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Thanks to everyone who voted for this fic in this quarter's Inuyasha FanGuild polls! It got 1st Place Best Comedy 2nd Quarter 2006! Something I would have never, ever guessed of this little fic that I wasn't even sure I was going to continue when I started it. I love you guys! And thanks to those of you who helped “To Shed a Little Light” place 2nd in Best Alt Pairing and Best Serial. It really made my weekend.

 

And yes, I realize that I haven't finished answering the FFnet reviews - I have decided to go ahead and post this and catch up later. You'd rather have a chapter, anyway, right? In general, I don't put review responses in the actual chapter anymore because it takes up so much space, so if you want a response, please drop me an email.

 

This chapter gets a bit limey, but nothing you can't handle. Hope you enjoy!

 

Edited by: thyme-cat (thank you!)

 

Disclaimer - I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takahashi

 

Chapter 7 - Gambling Man

 

Licking her thumb, Kagome turned the page of her romance novel, sighing in bliss as the hero swept his lady into his arms and kissed her soundly, silencing her rant about his flirty, irresponsible behavior. The heroine was such a little twit anyway: their current argument regarding his interest in her, which she thought was purely physical, had stemmed from a misunderstanding that occurred because she had been eavesdropping. Really, how could she be so blind to believe he only wanted her body when he put so much time and effort into wooing her?

 

Come to think of it, why did she read these stupid romance novels, anyway? The plots were all variations on the same theme, the endings were predictable, the characters were silly and often shallow…and yet, she was addicted. Big time. She loved the fluffy feeling she got in the pit of her stomach as she read those silly scenes and to imagine that it was her on the receiving end of each mind-blowing kiss. Not to mention the fabulous sex everyone had, where the lovers were a perfect fit, there were no awkward moments, and no one had to worry about birth control.

 

At least she'd had the day off: Rin and Shippo had had to be separated again after a game of tag that had gotten violent, Jaken was standing guard over the houses where Rin and Shippo had been exiled, and Sesshomaru and his dirty, dirty thoughts had been absent all day. Kagome wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. After she had run out on him yesterday, he'd kept his distance, yet had seemed immensely smug, and it had made her rather nervous.

 

A gust of wind chose that moment to lift the edge of the blanket on which she was laying and it flipped over her head, sending a bag of potato chips tumbling over and its contents spilling on the grass. Fumbling to mark her place in the book with a long blade of grass, she sat up and pushed the blanket off of her, then tried to scoop the least dirty chips back into the bag. After a moment's thought, she slipped her flip-flops off of her feet and rose to her hands and knees, weighing down the edges of the blanket with the flimsy pieces of rubber.

 

“Oof!” Something large and heavy hit her backside, rocking her forward and moving with her. Bracing herself on her hands, she twisted around to see what on earth was going on.

 

Sesshomaru kneeled behind her, his lips slightly curled in a self-satisfied, I-caught-my-prey-unaware smirk, his molten gold eyes hooded by thick, black lashes. He bumped her with his groin again, grinding a stiffening knot between her cheeks and blinking languidly as her eyes widened to impossibly large saucers.

 

`I feel your heat, bitch. Do you feel mine?'

 

Kagome felt her face light up like a tiki torch and her eyeballs nearly drop out of her skull. In a deft, graceful move, she lunged away from his “heat” and smacked him across the face with her book. “Pervert!”

 

“You will refrain from assaulting my person,” he said regally for a demon kneeling on a pink Hello Kitty blanket.

 

She wound up for another swing but he caught her arm, squeezing her wrist until she dropped the book. Yanking her arm against his grasp, she scrambled to the edge of her blanket when he finally released her, glaring at him as he settled cross-legged next to her and tilted his head back to gaze at the sky.

 

“What is wrong with you?” she finally snapped when he showed no signs of either moving or explaining his crass behavior.

 

“I would ask the same of you, little miko,” he said mildly as he watched the clouds morph their shapes.

 

`Two rabbits fucking.'

 

Kagome snorted and reflexively glanced at the sky. Sure enough, two of the puffy clouds had grown pairs of long, slender appendages and one of the clouds appeared to mount the other from behind. Squeezing her eyes and legs shut, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I'm not little. Give me back my book.”

 

“I think not,” he abandoned the sky to glance at the novel that lay next to his knee. Resting his clawed hand on the cover, he added, “But you may get it if you like.”

 

Since the path to her book lay across his lap, she declined with an angry, “Fat chance! You know, you can't just come up to a woman and dry hump her, then expect her to fall in your lap!” He fixed her with a glittering stare through the corner of his eye and she winced. `Way to spout your mouth off, Kagome. Why don't you tell him you've been eavesdropping on his thoughts, while you're at it?'

 

“Alright,” he said, turning the full force of his gaze upon her. “And what, in your infinite wisdom, would make a woman fall into one's lap?”

 

“W-what?” she stuttered. `Is he asking me for advice or is he laughing at me?'

 

He blinked in that slow, sensuous way that only he could manage, and Kagome's breath hitched in her throat. “Do you even know, little miko?” The implied jab at her inexperience stung sharply.

 

“I-I know! Of course I know! For one thing, you have to set the proper mood. You know, a romantic mood. Candles, flowers, soft music...date stuff.”

 

“Date stuff?” Though posed as a question, his deadpanned phrase more resembled a dubious statement.

 

“Stuff you do when you go on a date!” Kagome snapped, trying to ignore the fact that she could count the number of dates she'd had on her right hand, all of which had ended poorly.

 

“I see.”

 

`Little miko has yet to be kissed.'

 

“I have, too!” she leaned forward and yelled in his face, realizing too late that she had answered his thoughts instead of his words when his eyebrows shot into his hairline.

 

“You have, too?” he prompted, closing the distance between their faces before she could pull away.

 

“I have to, um, go…” Anything else she may have added to her lame attempt to cover her ass was smothered by his lips as they pressed against hers. Silky and firm, they moved against her, each slow caress bold and passionate. As if they had a will of their own, her lips bypassed her startled brain and matched his rhythm with hungry abandon. Thoughts of morality and resisting temptation wilted and withered like cut flowers left in the scorching sun, leaving only a yearning for more of what he could give. As one, their lips parted and he swept his tongue through her mouth, relishing her throaty groan before he pulled away.

 

“You may go,” he said, hardly able to contain his smirk as her face hovered where he'd left it, her eyes still closed and cheeks flushed an enchanting pink.

 

“Huh?” She blinked her eyes, coming back to reality with an unpleasant jerk, in more ways than one.

 

`Now, she will come to me. My shy little miko will beg to fall into my lap...' And the things he would do to her once she was there! Just the thought of wrapping those slim, bare thighs around his hips and plunging into the darkness they hid was giving him a raging hard-on. Even now, her lips were curving into a small `o' that he could put to very good use. In fact, if she were so eager, perhaps he should give her a small taste of what was to come.

 

“Unless you would rather stay…” his hand was on his sash when Kagome let loose a strangle cry and crab-walked backward, her face flaming red.

 

“You perverted dog! Get out of here!” Reaching behind her, she grabbed the handles of her tote and pummeled him with it, whacking his head and shoulders until he caught her arm and held her still, twisting slightly until she gasped from the twinge in her shoulder.

 

“I will not warn you again about violence against me.” He released her and rose to his feet, sending her a cool stare before taking his leave. `Inuyasha was much too soft on her. I will tie her down, if necessary, and teach her how to touch me.' He heard her squeak behind him and narrowed his eyes, wondering what secrets his new toy had hidden. She was almost too perceptive and the feeling that she knew more than she let on was beginning to crawl under his skin.

 

`Inuyasha was much too soft on her. I will tie her down, if necessary, until she learns how to touch me.'

 

Kagome shivered at the promise backing that thought. Maybe she should reevaluate her methods of dealing with hentai dogs, at least the ones without subduing necklaces. It had been an instinctive reflex to strike out at him when he moved to expose himself. She had been afraid, not just of the sight of her first penis (changing Souta's diapers didn't count) but of the warm, heavy feeling that had grown in her abdomen when he'd thought of literally taking her in his lap. Her body had responded with a strange ache and she had almost felt her legs wrap around him, his silky hair sliding through her fingers as he'd pushed into her. Even the thought of being tied down and helpless as he had his way with her was sending delicious, terrifying tremors up her spine.

 

Releasing a shaky breath, she gathered her chips and book from the grass, stuffing them into her tote. She was simply too wound up to do any more reading, and the truth was, being seduced in person was way more fun than reading about it.

 

She gasped, touching her lips with her fingertips as her eyes widened and focused on her own thoughts. “I'm enjoying this, aren't I?” she spoke the revelation out loud. `Yes, you are,' her conscience answered. “Does that make me a bad person?” `Why would it?' “I guess it wouldn't…”

 

A wide grin spread over her face as she shook the blanket free of dirt and grass and Kagome hummed to herself, “Someone who won't regret, to keep me in his net, yes I need, I need my samurai.” (1)

 

XxxxxxX

 

“Damn buggers,” Inuyasha cursed as he tried to scrape dried beetle guts from the blade of Tetsusaiga. The stuff was like that “oatmeal” crap that Kagome had brought once; the dregs of the cereal had caked the bottom of the bowl with rock-hard lumps that had to be soaked off. At least the oatmeal had been a sickly gray; the goop on his sword was a rusty brown that stank like rotten eggs.

 

“You speak the truth, my friend,” Miroku said, prodding a glob of mashed shell and antennae through the metal ring of his staff with a stout stick. Sango grunted in agreement as she chipped at a chunky piece of beetle that had become glued to Hiraikotsu.

 

“Dog breath,” Akago grumped in way of greeting as she collapsed next to Sango. Amazingly enough, her spear wasn't terribly dirty. Her armor, however, was stiff with beetle yuck and she smelled foul enough that Sango scooted over to escape the odor.

 

“Bitch face,” Inuyasha snapped back. “Go take a fucking bath. You reek.”

 

“Go sniff someone's ass, half-breed,” Akago made a rude gesture that the hanyou reciprocated with gusto.

 

Before Inuyasha could verbally retort, Sango broke in, clenching her fist as her right eye twitched spasmodically, “Shut up, the both of you! Akago, you do smell a little ripe and Inuyasha…I wish Kagome were here!”

 

The hanyou cringed, fully aware of the sitting he would receive. “Yeah, well, she ain't. Where is she, anyway? I thought she was with you.”

 

With a particularly vicious jab at a glob of beetle, Sango answered without thinking, “She's watching the village with Lord Sesshomaru.”

 

“She's WHAT?” Inuyasha was on his feet in seconds, hollering loud enough to bring the last few beetles down on their heads.

 

“Calm yourself, Inuyasha. Your brother is staying as a guest in the village and Kagome is acting as hostess,” Miroku was quick to contain this new storm but instead brought it raining down on his head.

 

Inuyasha towered over the monk, brandishing his fist in his face. “How could you leave her alone with that bastard? If he hurts her, I'm gonna rip your arms off!”

 

Tired from a long couple of days of battling beetle youkai, Sango was past all patience with the hanyou, even if he had been of immense help in controlling the swarm. Momentarily abandoning her efforts to clean Hiraikotsu, she swung the giant bone boomerang at Inuyasha's head, flattening him at the feet of her husband.

 

“Osuwari!” she shouted at the prone form of the hanyou. “I swear, I don't know how she puts up with you! Lord Sesshomaru gave us no cause to fear him and was the one to hire us for this job.”

 

Snorting, Akago smirked at the hanyou, who groaned and shook his head, “You should be worrying about Kagome. Your bitch is barking up a different tree.”

 

Snarling, Inuyasha looked ready to pounce, despite the growing lump on the crown of his head. “Why you!”

 

Sango clocked Akago across the back of her head, and then gave Inuyasha another dose of Hiraikotsu. “Shut up! If you're so worried about her, then go!”

 

“Fine, I will!” Peeling himself off of the ground and grabbing Tetsusaiga, he bounded toward the exterminator's village. The knot of anxiety that he had pushed aside in favor of kicking some beetle youkai butt had tightened at the mention of his half-brother and Kagome together in the village. How could Sango and Miroku be so fucking stupid? Sure, the taiyoukai had become somewhat of an ally recently, but he'd tried to kill Kagome on several occasions! But that wasn't what had him worried, exactly. He didn't believe for a second that Kagome would be interested in Sesshomaru, and he would eat his shirt before Sesshomaru would pull his playboy shit on a human…but even so…

 

Putting on a burst of speed, he raced toward the village. Sango, Miroku, and Akago could handle the remaining beetles. His instinct told him that something wasn't right. Whatever it was, he wouldn't let it hurt Kagome.

 

XxxxxxX

 

“Kagomeeeeee!”

 

She paused with her chopsticks poised halfway between the bowl and her mouth and glanced at the entrance of the house out of the corners of her eyes. Inuyasha appeared moments later, flushed, panting, and specked with rusty brown grime. A pall of anxiety and anger hung around him, but instead of feeling giddy with delight at his show of concern, it irritated her. If he was so worried, then why had he shown up days after her departure from Kaede's village? And why was he now glaring at Sesshomaru instead of making sure that she was okay? Jerk.

 

“You!” he shouted, pointing a grubby finger at Sesshomaru, who was calmly sipping at a cup of tea.

 

“Inuyasha, we're eating dinner. If you're hungry, then wash up and join us. You smell like you've been rolling in compost,” Kagome said calmly and finished her bite. What was it with that boy and his proclivity for interrupting meals? And she'd worked so hard to prepare this one…but not to impress Sesshomaru. No, sir-ee.

 

“You heard her, Inuyasha!” Shippo piped up from his place at the table next to Kagome. “You smell like shit!”

 

“Shippo!” Kagome gasped in mortification.

 

“What? Inuyasha says it all the time!” the kit whined, seeing another banishment to his room in his near future.

 

“Just because Inuyasha does it, doesn't make it right! In fact, because Inuyasha does it, you should think about it before you do it!”

 

Shippo blinked several times as he sorted that one out, “Okaaaay.”

 

“Hey!” the hanyou protested, “I didn't run all the way here to be insulted by you! Ungrateful bitch!”

 

“Wash. Up.” Kagome ground between clenched teeth, fury crackling through her aura like flames. Shippo hunched down and tried to become invisible while Inuyasha reared back, almost cowering behind his raised arms.

 

“I'll go wash up, then,” he mumbled as he inched back out of the door, bracing himself to meet the dirt at any moment. Shippo shuddered.

 

`She is alluring when she is angry.'

 

Sesshomaru's silent appraisal help cool her fury so that when, several minutes later, a subdued, more polite Inuyasha entered the hut and took a seat at the empty foot of the table, she didn't sit him into hell. An uneasy silence fell over the little table; Rin and Shippo even refrained from bickering as Sesshomaru pointedly ignored Inuyasha and Inuyasha glared daggers at his brother.

 

Kagome sighed, taking another bite of rice before brushing her thigh with her hand as something tickled the bend of her knee that lay just under the table. Was it too much to ask for a tranquil dinner and maybe a few compliments on her home cooking? At least the taiyoukai had eaten it, though why that had made Rin mad was beyond her. The girl had sent her a look so vile that she'd laughed out loud, the expression comically out of place on the innocent's face. Rin hadn't appreciated that, either.

 

She didn't know what to think of that kiss, either. He had been right, in a way: she hadn't been kissed properly. A quick peck on the lips of your would-be boyfriend to quell his demon blood didn't really count as a kiss. But Sesshomaru's kiss had been enough to spark a wanton burning in her blood that had yet to give her any peace. She'd even had to change her underwear, her previous pair being soaked through and thoroughly uncomfortable. Strangely enough, her favorite pink pair of panties had gone missing from the dirty clothes pile.

 

The tickle was back, now between her knees and inching under the hem of her skirt. `Shippo should watch that tail of his,' she thought as she discretely tried to smooth her skirt and remove the soft fur. It twitched against her hand and she smiled slightly as she pushed it back under the table. `Little Shippo is growing up! I didn't realize that his tail had gotten so long!'

 

She gave the kit a fond smile and was mildly surprised to see him sneaking glances at Rin's sullen face. The pre-teen was scowling at her dinner and picking at it, scooting rice around her bowl instead of actually eating it, her bangs hiding her eyes.

 

`Maybe he doesn't realize he's doing it?' she thought as she picked up her own bowl. As soon as her hands were occupied, the piece of fluff slipped under her skirt again, moving into the slight gap between her folded legs to brush her inner thigh. Heat shot into her cheeks and nether regions at that feather-light caress, and she realized that it wasn't Shippo's tail that was stroking her so intimately.

 

`Are you ticklish, little miko?'

 

Slowly, casually, her eyeballs creaking in their sockets, she slid her eyes to Sesshomaru. Sure enough, he was wearing his giant fluffy boa, the end of which disappeared under the table. He sat placidly sipping his tea, staring at some spot on the wall as if he weren't the instigator of such lechery. `Don't make a scene, Kagome! Inuyasha is here and he'd be furious! Act natural.' Aghast that she'd allow such liberties to a man that she knew was after her booty but thrilled by the sheer naughtiness of his actions, she ate her rice in the most natural disposition she could muster, considering someone's Mokomoko-sama was now curled against the crotch of her decidedly wet panties.

 

Inuyasha stopped scarfing his food long enough to take an appreciative sniff. His eyes fell on Kagome, who blushed under his scrutiny and fixed her eyes on her meal, not needing the dog demon ring to get a clear idea that he liked what he smelled. He flushed in turn, returning to his food with renewed vigor but not before he had restlessly shifted in his seat.

 

`Is that thing a part of him? I know it isn't a tail…' she had to wonder as the soft, pointed tip snaked underneath the elastic band circling one thigh. Her question was answered as the demon decoder fed her another thought:

 

`So hot and slippery…you are ready for me, little miko.'

 

`Oh kami,' Kagome hissed as it slid over heated, swollen flesh, pressed tightly against her by her own underwear. She didn't miss the darted glances of the hanyou nor his squirming and adjustment of his hakama, but she had more important things to think about. `Is this what he wants to tie me up with?'

 

Thankfully, Rin was still pouting and Shippo was still eyeing Rin. Jaken, on the other hand, was rolling his buggy yellow eyes and sighing into his rice.

 

The tip of the fur touched a particularly sensitive spot and she dropped her bowl with a clatter, scattering rice over the table. Inuyasha startled and dropped his own bowl, releasing a high-pitched yelp that earned him a condescending look from his brother.

 

Inuyasha ignored him and swore, “Fuck! You're such a klutz, Kagome!”

 

“Oooowa,” was as close to “osuwari” as Kagome got when the fur pressed her button again, sending a frisson of pleasure shooting through her belly.

 

“Jumpy, are we, half-breed?” Sesshomaru spoke for the first time since the hanyou had arrived, a sneer dripping off his words though his face remained as impassive as always.

 

“Shut your ugly face!” Inuyasha snapped as he dropped his hands in his lap, trying to hide the peak in his pants that had risen in response to the pungent scent of Kagome. `Bitch is gonna kill me. If I'd known that she'd miss me this much, I would've come sooner!'

 

“Do you smell something that your hanyou nose can't handle?”

 

`I can't sit here and be…fingered…by Sesshomaru while he squabbles with Inuyasha,' Kagome thought frantically as that talented length of fur tunneled closer to the source of her ache. “S'cuse me,” she mumbled, crawling backward on her knees and, with much disappointment, felt the fur slip out of her panties.

 

“My nose can handle it just fine!” came Inuyasha's retort as she escaped into the dark coolness of the evening air.

 

Panting slightly as she leaned her side against the wall of the house, she rested her hands on her hot cheeks. `I can't believe I let…in front of…but oooh,' a hand crept down to press against her lower stomach that still throbbed from Sesshomaru's ministrations. It had felt wicked and wonderful; better than she had ever imagined being touched there could feel, and the public yet clandestine nature of it had only added to the excitement.

 

A hand latched onto her bottom, giving it an experimental squeeze, and she whirled around, though kept her hands to herself. “Sesshomaru, you hentai…oh.”

 

Inuyasha gaped at her, hand still in groping position. His ears flattened and his nostrils quivered as his mouth worked soundlessly. Kagome could only stand and stare, cursing herself for her careless mistake as wave after wave of shocked bewilderment pulsed from her friend. Finally, the hanyou found his voice. “K-kagome?”

 

“I…I'm…”

 

“Kagome, what did you…?”

 

With a wordless cry, she spun on her heels and fled toward her house. Sesshomaru stepped out of the house in time to see her white legs flashing as she ran, just before she disappeared behind a building.

 

Inuyasha rounded on him, rage stiffening the lines of his body. “You!” he bellowed, clenching and unclenching his fists, knuckles cracking with each movement. “You!”

 

“I.” Sesshomaru confirmed mildly, watching the hanyou sputter with amused boredom. “And your vocabulary, such as it is, has failed you.”

 

“You keep your filthy hand off of Kagome!” Curling his fist in front of his face, he snarled and brandished his claws.

 

“Nowhere on her is your name written, little brother.”

 

“WHAT?” he hollered, momentarily unable to come to terms with the implications of that statement. Only Tetsusaiga at his hip kept his demon blood at bay and he was sorely pressed not to fling it away and tear into the smug bastard standing in front of him. “How much have you seen?!”

 

“Enough.”

 

Inuyasha roared and wrenched Tetsusaiga from its sheath, swinging wildly at his tormentor. With a quick, backhanded slap, Sesshomaru disarmed the hanyou and then grabbed his throat, squeezing until the boy was blue in the face but in no real danger of dying. Couldn't have him transforming into a full demon and going on a rampage; it would lessen his chances of bedding Kagome in the immediate future.

 

“Cease this foolishness, half-breed. The bitch is unclaimed and you are promised to another.” Inuyasha wheezed and gurgled, swinging his legs as he pried at his brother's fingers. “I am within my rights.”

 

Sputtering, Inuyasha tugged harder at the fingers around his neck but stopped kicking his legs. With a final shake, the taiyoukai set him on his feet, though held himself ready to strike if need be.

 

“Kagome is mine, you hear me? She's Kikyou's reincarnation and that makes her mine!”

 

“That you choose the dead is not this Sesshomaru's concern. The living miko does not belong to you.”

 

“It's not like she'd have you anyway, jackass. She has better taste than that.”

 

“Are you so confident?”

 

“Damn straight!”

 

“Very well. If the miko accepts my advances,” Sesshomaru drawled, `which she will,' he added silently to himself, “then you will stop this ridiculous possessiveness and drop any claim you may think you have on her. She will be mine, alone. If she chooses you, then you have sole rights to her.”

 

Inuyasha growled, his hackles rising, “You're fucking stupid if you think-“

 

“Not so confident, after all, half-breed?”

 

Fuming, he cursed fluently as he stomped his feet. He'd known something was wrong but would never have guessed that his prick of a half-brother would try to steal Kagome out from under his nose. From what he'd seen tonight, the bastard's attempts were frighteningly successful. He may not love the girl, not how she wanted him to, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let Sesshomaru have her. Unfortunately, Kagome's heady scent was still so strong that he was having trouble thinking clearly. “And if I don't agree?”

 

“I will claim her in the youkai way this night,” he slipped the pink treasure from his sleeve and held it aloft, then waved the tip of his Mokomoko-sama, still damp with the miko's juices, under the boy's nose. “You will not be able to stop me.”

 

Inuyasha couldn't help but follow the twitching fur with his nose as his pants tightened and his eyes crossed. “Is that Kagome's…under-thing?!” He made a desperate swipe for the panties, but Sesshomaru snatched them out of his reach and tucked them into his sleeve, raising a haughty eyebrow.

 

The hanyou was in a bind. He had little doubt that if Sesshomaru so desired, he could abscond with Kagome before he was able to summon a good Wind Scar. He was just too damn fast. His choices were to lose Kagome now or fight to keep the bastard away from her and get some action on the side. Some fucking choice. “Yeah, well if she chooses me then you keep your dirty paws offa her!”

 

“Done.”

 

“Fine!”

 

The brothers glared at each other, each daring the other to go back on the bet. When neither did, they relaxed their stances slightly, Inuyasha tucking his hands into his sleeves as Sesshomaru raised his eyes to the night sky.

 

“You're so gonna lose,” Inuyasha broke the silence to gloat.

 

“Unlikely,” Sesshomaru watched a far-off star streak across the sky and vanish into darkness. He hated to ask, but he could see no way around it. Now that seducing the miko was about winning as much as it was about amusement, he had to gain as much insight into his enemy's strengths as he could. “Little brother, have you gone on a “date”?”

 

“What the fuck is a date?”

 

“Nothing of importance,” he blew off the question and turned his back on his half-brother. “You are a dishonorable cur, Inuyasha, just like the old dog. I look forward to your expression when Kagome is fat with my pup.” Without a backward glance, he strode away, heading toward his house. “This game starts tomorrow at dawn.”

 

“Hey! No one said anything about pups! Hey, bastard, I'm talkin' to you!” Inuyasha shouted after him, but Sesshomaru ignored him, a sinful grin stretching his lips as he contemplated the fun he was going to have with his little miko. So, he'd upped the ante just a bit more than he'd originally intended, but what was a bastard child or two? Lords were entitled to them.

 

(1) “Butterfly” by Smile.dk. Every girl needs a theme song.