J0rge: Where's LL?

*Sesshy and Miroku are playing video games*

Sesshy: I ate her. *blinks* Wait a min… is it just me, or is this some kind of weird repeat of the last AN?

Miroku: Hey, look at this! *pokes a comatose LL* Is she dead?

Sesshy: *looking over Miroku's shoulder* Can we go home now?

*LL somehow reaches around Miroku in her sleep and grabs Sesshy like he is an oversized teddy, curling up again*

Sesshy: Ack! Save me!

Miroku: You know, she's kinda cute when she's sleeping.

J0rge: Aww, poor LL. She's been really busy lately, and then she got sick and was upchucking and she'll never be able to eat chicken again.

Sesshy and Miroku: Gross.

LL: You're telling me.

Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha and stuff don't belong to us. *yawn*

Chapter 4: Running from the Past

"Mom, I'm home!"

Higurashi-san appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Did you have a good day dear?"

"It was all right," Kagome replied as she headed toward the stairs. She wanted to change before Inu-Yasha came to annoy her into going back down the well, and perhaps she would even have time for a bath.

Her mother stopped her with her next comment. "Inu-Yasha came by to see you a little while ago…" Kagome froze. He wasn't on the way to school to go get her was he? A vivid image of a very pissed off Inu-Yasha v. her school entered her brain and she shuddered. Her mother smiled, "Don't worry dear, he's in the kitchen."

The kitchen? What could her mother have said to convince Inu-Yasha to stay? More importantly, what did she do? For a moment, Kagome sort of felt sorry for the hanyou if he had gone up against her mother. Hesitantly, she peeked around the doorframe into the kitchen, and had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Inu-Yasha was pigging out on a huge pot of ramen. Ducking out of the doorway, Kagome dissolved into helpless giggles.

"Good one Mom," she managed to gasp out eventually.

Inu-Yasha appeared suddenly, apparently thinking that something was wrong. When Kagome caught sight of him, she burst out laughing again, unable to speak. The hanyou frowned and poked her with his toe. "What's wrong with you woman? Hurry up, we've got shards to find."

She sat up with some difficulty, waving her hand as she tried to stop laughing. "Let me change; I'll be just a minute. Why don't you go finish your ramen?" Still giggling, the girl headed up the stairs to get ready.

"But I'm done!" Inu-Yasha called after her, and it was all that Kagome could do to get up the stairs without laughing so hard that she fell down them.

"I still don't see what's so funny about it," Inu-Yasha said glumly while the rest of their group giggled at Kagome's story.

"It's just that … well, it's so like you, Inu-Yasha," Kagome explained while she grinned.

"She means you're a pig," Miroku pointed out. Inu-Yasha lunged at the unfortunate monk, who was at least smart enough to dodge.

Kagome sighed. "Inu-Yasha, stop trying to kill Miroku." Miroku grinned triumphantly at the hanyou. "And Miroku, stop teasing Inu-Yasha." Now it was Inu-Yasha's turn to gloat, while the monk frowned. Kagome shared a long-suffering look with Sango, and the two women shook their heads slightly. Boys…

Kagome yawned. "I'm going to bed," she announced, picking up an already sleeping Shippou and wandering off towards her room.

Within moments, Inu-Yasha appeared next to her. "Had a hard day?"

"Yea," Kagome sighed, "My Physics teacher decided to give us a pop quiz…" She trailed off suddenly as she realized exactly what Inu-Yasha had said. Was he actually worried about her? "Umm, Inu, are you feeling all right?"

He blinked. "Sure, why?" Then he grinned, "Oh. I'm just making sure that you aren't about to collapse. I need my shard detector fully functional for tomorrow."

"YOU JERK!"

Poor Shippou. It had to be an upsetting experience to wake up flying through the air. And Inu-Yasha had such a hard head, so it surely wasn't pleasant to be hurled into his skull. But Kagome wasn't really at fault; Shippou had been the only thing on hand.

Besides, he had really good reflexes. The very confused fox flipped as soon as he bounced off of Inu-Yasha's head and landed back in Kagome's arms, wide-eyed and heart pounding. Kagome clutched him reassuringly while glaring at Inu-Yasha, causing the kitsune to conclude that whatever had happened was the hanyou's fault. Not that there was really a choice, since – of course – Kagome could do no wrong.

The girl huffed and turned away entering her room and getting ready for bed. Shippou snuggled down into her arms, wondering what Inu-Yasha had done this time.

CLACK!

Five hundred years away from Inu-Yasha's sore head, Shippou grinned at his perfect break. Humans may have been very odd creatures – as Sesshoumaru was always saying – but they sure came up with some really cool games. Take pool for example, who would have thought that one could have so much fun with some balls and a stick. Granted, baseball and golf were a little wonked, but pool was really fun.

"Are you sure you don't want to play?" the kitsune asked.

Sesshoumaru eyed the table with some distain. "I think I'll pass."

"Oh come on, Matsuda-sama. It's a really fun game. Full of challenges and strategy."

The other demon snorted. "Igo is full of challenges and strategy. That is little skill and a lot of luck." Shippou shrugged and continued to play on his own. He hadn't really expected to convince Sesshoumaru, but it was fun to try, mostly because it annoyed him. Granted, he seemed more annoyed than usual.

Shippou lined up a shot. "What's wrong?"

"Who said that anything is wrong?" the older demon snorted.

Shippou shrugged, and circled the pool table, not taking his eyes off of his game. "No one. You just seem a little jumpy." He shot, and finally looked up. "Not to mention you're drinking."

Sesshoumaru snorted again and finished his drink, setting it down on a nearby small table. "So?"

"You never drink." Shippou leaned against his cue and looked him over. "You never come here either. I thought that you didn't like associating with the common folk."

"There's no one here," Sesshoumaru pointed out. It was true, the pool hall was almost empty, but considering that it was still early afternoon, it wasn't too surprising. "Besides, you said that you had some information for me."

"Yea, but you usually have me come to you."

"I was bored." Shippou shrugged, having no choice but to accept that. Not that he really believe that boredom was the entire reason that Sesshoumaru had come all this way, but there was no arguing with him when he got that tone.

"So," Shippou said, "You're sure you don't want to play?"

Kagome woke up slowly; dully realizing that all that tea she'd had with dinner had probably been a bad idea. With a yawn, she extracted herself from Shippou's grasp and went to relieve herself.

She was so tired; these past few weeks had been hell. After telling Kaede about her experience with the demon that she had killed, the old woman had decided that it was past time for Kagome to have some formal training. No one had been too happy with the idea. Inu-Yasha was pissed since they couldn't go look for shards, and Kagome was beginning to realize that Kaede wasn't the nice old lady that she had thought, but the taskmaster from hell. Sango was getting ready to kill Miroku, who had nothing to distract him and was taking it out on her. Miroku was annoyed that he wasn't getting any – though he shouldn't have been too surprised. And Shippou was just plain bored since he wasn't allowed to play with Kagome.

Fortunately for everyone, Kagome was going home in a few days, and when she came back they would resume their shard hunt. With another yawn, Kagome headed back to the hut, checking the position of the moon so that she could see how much time she had left to sleep. It was almost dawn, but no one said that she had to get up with the sun.

Before she realized what was going on, the sky spun past very quickly and something wrapped itself around her neck. It took her a moment to realize that it was a hand, yet she didn't panic, for she noticed a few strands of silver hair, something that she was used to associating with comfort. Another hand grabbed a wrist and twisted her arm behind her, jolting Kagome back into reality.

Shit! I'm in the past; Sesshou is still evil!

Now she panicked.

Struggling violently, she tried to kick the demon, or at least scream for Inu-Yasha. But the demon lord merely tightened his grip on her throat, threatening to break her windpipe. "Stop that, girl," he growled, "I'm not going to kill you … yet." He waited for a moment after Kagome stopped struggling, then slowly released her throat and turned her so that he could look her in the eye. His disgust at touching a human was apparent, even through his emotionless façade. Tears formed in Kagome's eyes, but nonetheless she smiled, wondering how he would react if he knew what would happen in five hundred years.

A frown flickered across his face. "What is so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Kagome teased, once again partially forgetting that this was the old Sesshoumaru. But he got just that tone when he was annoyed, even in the future, and she couldn't help it.

He hit her. And Kagome went flying. Before she could move or even gather her wits about her, he was next to her, pinning her to the ground by her shoulders. Pain lanced through her cheek, where she was sure a bruise was forming, and her back, which was pressed against a rock. Suddenly, Kagome was more afraid of the Western Lord than she had ever been. She was sure that she was about to die.

Looking up into his eyes, which were beginning to turn red, a plan formed in her mind. It might not work, but right now, it was the only choice she had.

Arching her back as best she could, Kagome pressed her lips to the demon's.

Sesshoumaru watched the sun rise with anxiousness. In about thirty minutes, Kagome would come shooting through that well of hers, and he wasn't entirely sure that she would be too happy to see him. In fact, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't.

And yet, he couldn't just sit by and let her slip away. Not for something stupid that he had done for an obsession that was now obsolete. He eyed the Tetsusaiga, which hung innocently on his wall. Five hundred years, and he still couldn't touch the thing. Yet it no longer mattered, for true power was no longer something that the sword could provide. He had all the power that he wanted now; he had everything that he wanted now.

And he wasn't about to lose Kagome without a fight.

Standing suddenly, Sesshoumaru realized that he had made his decision. He had to go see her. Without a thought, he opened the window. Flying would be faster, and humans were more likely to blame hallucinations than to admit that they saw someone floating above them. If they saw him, Sesshoumaru didn't intend to waste any time.

Not bothering to knock on the door, the demon went straight to the well to wait for Kagome.

He flung himself away from her almost immediately. Not exactly the reaction she had been expecting, but it worked. Kagome scrambled away from him and ran. Granted, that probably hadn't been the smartest action, considering the Western Lord's love of the hunt, but she wasn't exactly thinking clearly in the first place.

In fact, it was amazing that she made it as far as she did. When Sesshoumaru caught up to her, she could see the well.

"Shit," she hissed, putting on an extra burst of speed. But it did her no good, the demon leapt and pinned her to the well, causing her head to crack painfully against the wood. She shut her eyes tightly, sure that any chance she'd had of surviving this encounter was shot with that kiss.

But the expected deathblow didn't come, and after a moment, Kagome cracked open an eye and glanced anxiously at the demon. He was watching her with an odd expression; if she hadn't known better, she would have said he was confused. Not that she really blamed him.

So, just for the hell of it, she grinned. Maybe, if she could throw him off balance enough, she would be able to escape through the well and hope that he couldn't follow her. Overpowering him wasn't an option, so she had to work with what she had.

His grip on her loosened fractionally, and Kagome kicked out instantly, leaping up and scrambling over the edge of the well. Seconds later, the demon growled, and leapt after her.

Kagome sat up with a wince, rubbing her head where she had landed on it. "Oww," she muttered to herself as she pulled herself up the ladder. Fortunately, it appeared that Sesshoumaru hadn't been able to follow her. Pulling herself over the edge of the well, Kagome almost fell back down again.

He was waiting for her.

It took a few moments to register that this Sesshoumaru was dressed in modern day clothes, and not the one from the past at all. He watched her with those yellow eyes that had just flashed malevolently at her on the other side of the well. But he didn't move to help her, liked she'd expected, and Kagome wasn't quite sure she wanted him to either.

He watched her eyes widen when she noticed him standing there and didn't miss the hint of fear that flashed through those blue orbs. But though he wanted to rush over and find some way to wash that pale expression off of her face, he held back. Kagome was no doubt none to happy with him at the moment, and he had to let her make a choice now.

After a moment, she dragged herself over the edge of the well, landing in an undignified pile on the ground. Sesshoumaru couldn't stop himself; he stepped forward and reached out a hand to help her up. She flinched when his fingers brushed her skin, and he froze, drawing away.

She looked up at him, her hair partially obscuring her face, and sniffed. "Sesshou?" she pleaded. He nodded slightly, holding out his hand again. She grabbed it, and suddenly threw herself at him, releasing his hand to wrap her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder. Relieved, the demon slipped his arms around her as well and held her while she cried.

Igo: known as Go in America, a game kind of like chess, where the object is to place stones and capture more territory than your opponent

LL: *sigh* All nice and depressing. *pats Sesshy and Miroku*

B0b: You look like you're feeling better.

LL: *turns green and runs to the bathroom*

*bathroom sink beans B0b in the head*

LL: You just had to mention that didn't you!