Disclaimer: I no own Inu-kun and others. But, a little aside to Takahashi Rumiko, would ya sell him to me for… twenty dollars? Please? (Makes puppy face)

Note: This is something that I've had in mind for quite a while. It was… somewhat touched on in my fic 'Tangles', but not really. This one is a fic all it's own, though. It has no attachments to anything else.

Strands of Satin

Kyuubi Tenshi

Kagome fussed with her hair beneath the Goshinboku. It was so hot that even the highest mountain peaks were lacking the snow that was usually present year round. Her school uniform was too hot; she opted to remain only in the swimsuit that her mother had bought her the last time she was home. It was a two-piece, the bottom was low-rise, but the top was long to where it showed only the smallest amount of skin when she lifted her arms above her head. But… the black color made it almost as hot as her uniform. She had a small mirror on a stand that she was looking in as she attempted in vain to pull her hair up into a ponytail without the aid of her brush.

"What're you doing, wench?" asked Inuyasha with irritation as he walked up and took a seat next to her beneath the Sacred Tree. She sighed, giving up.

"I was trying to pull my hair up. It's so hot out here… I was just hoping to get it off my neck," she said quietly, leaning her head down on to her knees and pulling the ebony tresses to one side. He looked at her silently for a moment.

"Sit up," he commanded her gruffly. She looked at him with curiosity for a moment before following his command. He took the small box that lay open next to her on the ground and dug through it for a moment. His deft claws searched for but a minute before locating a soft, snow-white ribbon. He withdrew it, and pushed the sachet aside. "Turn around so I can reach."

Kagome silently followed his orders, slightly bewildered. Why was he doing this? Since when was Inuyasha nice? Freaky much?

I can't believe I'm doing this, why am I doing this? For kami's sake, I don't know why I'm doing this. Ok, how did it go again? Oh, yeah. Wrap this around here… oh, that's too loose… that's better… ok, and then I need to take this strand over here… wow her hair is soft… ok, and then I have to get this section and cross it over this one… well at least this thing doesn't take very long… man, how she keep her hair so d soft

Inuyasha's fingers combed and pulled Kagome's hair dexterously. He was being so gentle… it was kind of hard to believe that this was the same boy who could get her so angry that she had him slammed into the ground face first. His fingers tenderly tugged at her hair, pulling it into some unknown, but no doubt beautiful, design. She could hardly feel the light pulls on her scalp as he worked. It seemed as if… he had done this before.

Probably with Kikyou… she thought, unable to keep a saddened sigh from escaping her lips. It was quiet, almost escaping the hanyou's perception. Almost.

"What now?" he asked irritably. He felt like his heart was becoming as soft as her hair as he wound the strands in an attractive pattern. She seemed to stiffen, whereas a moment before she had wilted.

"I was just wondering where you had learned to work with hair. You seemed to know what you were doing. I thought that perhaps-"

"I learned from my mother."

Kagome was cut short by his reply, and she bit back what she had been about to say. His mother? She had taught him how to do this?

"In the hot summers, when I was small, Mother used to get really hot when she would go outside and work in the flower garden. I remember her telling me how to pull her hair back so it would be away from her neck to work. At night, after dinner, she would let me play with it, and I found several styles that looked beautiful on her. This was my favorite…" he said, murmuring the last part as though he were in a daze, a dream, anywhere but there. His tone had become soft with fondness for his mother that he had lost. Even through his remembering, his fingers did not cease movement. Kagome remained silent, allowing the boy to finish his work in peace. "Her hair… it was so much like yours… like strands of satin…"

He mumbled this suddenly, still in the daze that had claimed his senses. Kagome was sure that, even though his fingers were near the end of her hair, he could feel the blush that had firmly laid claim to her skin. He wound her hair into a bun at the top of her head and tied it with the ribbon in a firm but gentle manner. His hands slid down to rest on her shoulders, though he remained staring at his creation. Kagome looked at it by way of the mirror, and was speechless. It was perfect, beautiful and elegant. She had never seen anything like it. It was as if he had braided two sections, and left the third unbraided, before braiding all three together as one and wrapping it up in a bun. The bow had tails just long enough that they swept her bare shoulders delicately.

The boy behind her, though, was fast catching her interest. His own gaze had dropped from where it had resided on her hair, and was now staring at her neck intensely. By sheer willpower, she made her shoulders relax slowly beneath his touch, and craned her neck in the opposite direction. He moved slowly, his left thumb caressing her skin lightly as he pressed a kiss onto her neck. She restrained a gasp at his actions, but could not keep her stiffening away from his perception.

He broke away, the sensual, tranquil face evaporating before her very eyes to reveal one of shock and horror… maybe even fear. It was confusing as he scrambled up and away from her, turning to go.

"Sorry Kagome! I didn't… I shouldn't have…"

"Inuyasha?" she questioned, grabbing the hem of his hakama. He halted immediately, freezing as though paralyzed in fear of… what? Kagome didn't understand what he was afraid of. She stared at him, but he refused to turn and look at her. He was tense, like he was waiting for some sort of punishment for what he had done. For a moment, she was at a loss for words. She was unsure as to what she should do. She could barely make her voice give tone to what she was trying to say. "Stay… please?"

He slowly crouched down next to her, but he would not look at her. He didn't have to for her to see the uncertainty and panic in his eyes. She determinedly placed a hand on his chest and forced him to sit down. When she did, his eyes closed and his ears laid back. It was as if he thought she was going to hurt him more every minute. Yet… nothing ever came. He opened his eyes slowly, and his ears returned to the fore, showing that his interest was solely on her. She was just kneeling there, staring at him sorrowfully. She slowly dragged her hands down his chest and grabbed his own hands, and pulled them back to her shoulders. She shifted closer, moving her legs from beneath her to the side, her eyes never leaving his. Her hands dropped to his waist.

"I believe this is about where we were…" she said, her voice low and sultry. The tone was heated… warm and velvety… so soft… he couldn't help but lose himself in her eyes. The look he had had before returned, and she could finally understand what it was. Restrained passion. The desire for her. Love.

He leaned forward slowly. The kiss that he placed in exactly the same spot this time was just as soft, and her eyes drifted closed lazily as his right hand ran down her forearm, and then moved to her waist, and circled her back. The sharp claws pressed into her back as he licked her soft skin tenderly. A new sensation… something trickling down her skin… blood? She pulled away and reached up, but the silver-haired boy next to her caught her hand. His eyes… they stared at her in deep passion, their depths like gold or molten lava… shining like the sun in the dappled light beneath the Tree of Ages. His head returned, and lapped the red life force from her skin, placing another butterfly-like kiss over the spot where he had bitten her.

"My Kagome…" he murmured, before his lips captured hers. The kiss was filled with rapture as he caressed her lip with his tongue, begging for entrance, for acceptance. She let him have her, and he explored her every crevice, allowing his tongue dance languidly with her own. He pressed her to the ground, holding her close to him, delighting in the feel of her sensual, womanly curves against his body. Even as he pulled away, her scent filled with arousal, he savored the way her body fit so perfectly against his. She stared at him, her gaze full of awe, love, passion… and he couldn't help but see that it was he himself that was going to have her innocence forever to hold, and again he murmured words that would never allow them to be torn apart.

"I will never leave you; you and I shall be as one, my Kagome."