The Heroic and Super-Duper Trials of a Girl and a Demon by UnknownRandomness

Fall

A/N: Sorry for the wait- I had a little writer's block with my story House of Illusions, and so tried to get another chapter of that done (rather than this). Gomen nasai! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and it would be wonderful to receive some reviews on this story's new (slightly more serious) direction :D

Prompt: Button (Week 25)

Word Count: 400

Kagome knew that lying to Sesshoumaru had been a bad idea, but now it appeared to have been a completely disastrous decision. She was scared to face the inuyoukai. What if he was disappointed in her? Or angry? What if he demanded to know the truth?

Four days passed with the young woman in a constantly frazzled state. The ever-watchful Lady Tashio suggested that Kagome accompany Sesshoumaru on his upcoming border patrol. With great reluctance, the miko acquiesced.

Six days had passed since the Lord of the West had discovered his intolerance for chocolate, and he was currently travelling through woodland, Kagome walking beside him, taking two steps for every one of his. The tension between them was thick with unvoiced questions.

Unusually, it was the daiyoukai who broke the silence. "You have lied to this Sesshoumaru. Why?"

Kagome resolutely looked forward as she replied, "I'm not exactly going to be forthcoming if I took the trouble of lying to you in the first place, Sesshoumaru."

Annoyed with her answer and her refusal to even look him in the eye, the demon growled and walked faster, forcing his human companion to pick up the pace considerably.

Scowling, Kagome addressed the back of his head. "Isn't that just a little bit childish, oh great lord? You've been acting like Inuyasha lately-"

Sesshoumaru growled again, disgusted by the comparison, "-and stop growling at me! If you weren't so damn nosy, I wouldn't have had to lie; and I'm not saying that lying is good, but sometimes it's necessary to-" 

Kagome never got around to finishing her sentence, because her eyes, so intent on drilling a hole in the back of Sesshoumaru's head, had failed to spot a large root in her way until after her foot found it. Tumbling forwards, one of her flailing arms snagged on a low branch, tearing a few buttons from her sleeve's embroidery. They landed on the loamy ground almost silently.

The only thing that had prevented the rest of her from following her buttons was one of Sesshoumaru's strong arms, firmly grasping her wrist, and Kagome blinked at the plants scant inches from her face.

"Look where you're going miko, because this Sesshoumaru may not catch you next time."

As soon as she was on her own two feet, the Western Lord released her and continued walking, leaving the woman to search for her buttons alone.