DISCLAIMER: The character of InuYasha are not mine. They are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Playing, Not Playing

Kagome loved her weekend getaways with Sesshoumaru. He always took her to some distant, far off secluded place where they could be who they were in every day life without having to hide themselves from others. The surroundings were always as beautiful and exotic to her as her youkai lover. It was just, sometimes, the journey to get there could get a little long and a mind like hers needed entertainment.

*SCTD*

"I see a vegetable stand," chimed in the miko at his side after a prolonged period of silence. He'd been wondering when she would find herself unable to bear the quiet any longer. "I win the vegetable stand game!"

Cutting her a look from the side, Sesshoumaru merely readjusted his hands on the steering wheel and continued on. He refused to be drawn into one of her ridiculous games.

His miko.

His miko was...special.

In a very...special way.

Higurashi, Kagome, Sesshoumaru mused to himself as he continued to ignore the silly grin beginning to form on her beautiful face, was a sensuous catastrophe that one could not simply abandon. Unlike Rin, there seemed to be no true innocence about her. She knew she was troublesome and invoking of wrath and yet she persisted under some insane guise that, that, that-

"I see an old woman walking. I win the old woman walking game!"

Ignore. Ignore and it will pass.

Adjusting the temperature of the AC, though he had no actual need to and just wanted to do something other than respond to her, Sesshoumaru took a deep but silent breath and continued focusing on the road in front of them. They were leaving the more populated areas now and breaching the countryside. The air was already sweeter to his senses.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kagome turn her focus to the greenery around them. She was relaxed back in her seat, her hands folded demurely and deceptively in front of her. If she were youkai, she would have horns. And a tail. "You will enjoy where this one is taking you," he said before her out of the box way of thinking could throw him for a loop. He could just see something brewing within her. "In a very short amount of time, we shall see very little of human civilization."

Kagome, her eyes still on the countryside, replied, her tone sweet. Her aura shined with an innocence Sesshoumaru knew she most certainty did not possess. "I have always enjoyed everywhere you've taken me and everything we've done together, Moon Doggie. You never disappoint."

Instantly, Sesshoumaru's mind began separating and categorizing each and every word down to the very syllable and inflection of tone to find her meaning.

"Rice paddy! I win the rice paddy game!"

His mind blanked.

Kagome settled back once more, her body succumbing to the plushness of the seat. It was as if she knew she tortured him. His miko knew exactly what she was doing! Then she turned and looked at him and that half smile he loved so much spread across her face. There was no deceit or fear in her eyes. There was only the promise of love and acceptance. Her hand reached out and settled possessively upon his thigh. Sesshoumaru could feel her reiki claiming him as hers.

The foot on the gas pedal pressed down harder.

His mind centered on other things, a being lesser than he would have missed the words that next crossed his miko's luscious lips. Unfortunately, he was not that lesser being.

"Shrine! I win the shrine game!"

The miko's hand had left his thigh to point out the aforementioned shrine and he missed the feeling of her. Her strange human wildness calmed his innate state of being.

Searching the scenery around him, Sesshoumaru felt his control melting. Her insanity is infectious. That must be it. "Cherry tree. This one sees a cherry tree."

"Silly, dog. You have to see ten of those to win the game, Sesshoumaru," she chided playfully, acting as if he should have known this all along. Or perhaps she she was not acting?

My miko is insane. This one has broken her. Or was she broken all along?

"Old building! I win the old building game!"

Gritting his fangs in earnest now, Sesshoumaru narrowed in on the one thing they would not see for the next several hours. "A human building! This one sees a human building and wins the human building game."

He had her. There was no way she could best that.

Next to him, Kagome gave him a deadpanned look. In all seriousness, she replied, "I'm not playing that game."

Insane. Yes, this one's miko is insane. Too many trips between the times...

"You belong to this one for forever. No other could handle you."

Finish