Author's note: Written for the SessKag March monthly prompt "Guard" & based off my blog fic of the same name ^^ (for all the latest writing from me, check out my blog site ficaholicDOTcom!)

Below and to the left of him, the miko sat stock-still, her face white and knees folded stiffly beneath her. For close to ten minutes now, she had been frozen in this state, the basket she had been filling with various weeds long-since abandoned. From his vantage point in the canopy high above her, Sesshoumaru narrowed his gaze.

Even for her, this behavior was strange.

Had she been ensorcelled, perhaps?—or simply struck dumb, as humans seemed wont to be? It was difficult to tell from where he was currently reclining. And so, with no small amount of reluctance, Sesshoumaru slipped down from his lofty perch and approached her.

Kagome gasped as he came into view, her wide blue eyes going wider still. "Ah, Sesshoumaru!"

Evenly, the demon lord returned her questioning stare. "Miko," he said, "are you afflicted?"

Kagome blinked. "Er?—what?"

"You have been sitting there, in seeming paralysis, for nearly a quarter of an hour."

A light flush stole over her cheeks. "You," she stammered out, gawking at him still, "...you've been watching me all this time?"

Sesshoumaru glanced aside. "Do you require assistance, or not?"

"Umm, well..." There was a rustle of sleeves as she began to fidget. "Gods, this is so embarrassing..."

At this dejected muttering, Sesshoumaru glanced back. The blush that stained her cheeks had spread, deepening to an alluring crimson. Between this and the way that she was worrying at her lower lip, he registered her next words rather belatedly.

"...I'm such an idiot, idiot," she cried, shaking her head. "Of all the times to leave my backpack at Kaede-baa-chan's...although maybe there was nothing for it, since now I know you were somewhere watching me anyway. Oh, gods..."

"Miko," Sesshoumaru said sharply, "you are rambling."

"Right—right, I'm sorry." Clear blue eyes gleamed up at him in appeal. "I really could use your help, Sesshoumaru, if you wouldn't mind taking me back to the village. You see, I kind of...ripped my pants."

A breath of wind whistled through the trees. As Kagome gazed up, Sesshoumaru gazed down.

"You ripped your pants," he repeated flatly.

Wretchedly, the miko nodded, burying her face in her hands as she moaned. "Wide open. I crouched down too suddenly and—and just—" She mimicked a loud shredding noise, which even muffled made Sesshoumaru want to cringe. "—it's bad. Really bad. My underwear is so not Feudal-Era appropriate—if anyone sees, I'll never hear the end of it! It's that racy."

In a triumph of self-discipline, Sesshoumaru's features maintained their usual cool composure. "I see."

Her jaw dropped in horror. "You do?!"

Sesshoumaru glared.

"Oh," Kagome mumbled, abashed. "Not literally." Crookedly, she grinned up at him, twisting a stray lock of hair around her knuckle. "I just wouldn't have put it past you to have X-ray vision, or something like that."

Not having the vaguest idea what she was going on about now, Sesshoumaru turned toward the village. "Shall I carry you?"

"No!" Kagome exclaimed, as if he'd suggested parading her bound and naked into the square. "That'd be too obvious."

"Then," Sesshoumaru asked with a raised brow, "what do you propose?"

"Maybe," Kagome said, pursing her lips in thought, "if I could kind of just stay right behind you, that would work. I could follow you back to Baa-chan's hut like that, and no one would be the wiser." Folding her hands together in her lap, she beamed up at him. "Your size, scent, and aura would mask me like a human shield—er, demon..."

Sighing inwardly, Sesshoumaru set off.

"Hey," Kagome called after him, scrambling to her feet, "wait for me!"

For perhaps a mile or so, Sesshoumaru led them through the woods without incident.

"Kami, you have the longest strides," the miko panted as she trotted along behind him. "Do you walk this fast all the time?"

"There is no one here to shield you from," the demon lord remarked dryly. "When we reach the village, I'll slow my pace for you."

He could feel her glower against his back. "Gee, thanks."

Sesshoumaru smirked—she was so easy to rile. It was a fact that turned upon him with a vengeance as she let loose a hair-raising shriek.

"KYAAAH!"

The daiyoukai tensed as she seized him from behind, his hand going at once to his sword though he hadn't sensed so much as the whisper of a threat. Against the back of his shoulder, Kagome shuddered with fright, her face and fingers hidden in the fall of his fur. Scanning the area once more, he could still detect nothing.

"What is it?" he demanded. "An enemy of some sort?"

Detaching herself shakily from him, Kagome peeked around the edge of his sleeve. After a moment, she sighed and went lax against him.

"Sorry," she said, laughing a little in embarrassment. "I thought that big stick over there was a snake."

"..."

Still holding to his pelt, Kagome followed close behind as Sesshoumaru approached the end of the wood. With a light tug, she directed him unnecessarily toward the outskirts of the village, as one might lead a beast by the reins. The daiyoukai clenched his jaw at the sheer impudence of it, yet continued on all the same.

As they circled around, nearing the bathhouse at the edge of town, Sesshoumaru's hackles rose. In his bristling fur, Kagome's fingers twitched.

"That's—" she whispered fiercely as he steered them clear of view behind a tree "—Miroku-san!"

At a distance roughly diagonal to them, the monk stood before the bathhouse entrance, a pair of startled-looking village women hovering close beside him. Pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger, he eyed the building in a show of grave contemplation. The tinny chimes of his shakujou rang to ghostly effect, as he turned them subtly and deliberately into the breeze.

"Houshi-sama," one young woman asked in a hushed voice, exchanging a fearful glance with her companion, "what do you sense?"

"A demonic presence, to be sure," the monk replied grimly, his brow furrowed. "It is faint, yet persistent. Slumbering, perhaps."

"Kya!" the other young woman gasped, pressing her palms to her cheeks. "So it was a demon we saw within!"

"But, whatever shall we do?" her companion despaired. "The river is too cold for bathing, this time of year."

"Indeed it is," Miroku agreed, in feigned commiseration. "I would propose a solution—although, ah, I fear it may be too bold..."

"No, no!—go on, Houshi-sama, we are listening!" the first woman implored.

Theatrically, the monk sighed, giving his head a rueful shake. "You are very considerate, yet even so, I dare not impose..."

"Please, Houshi-sama, tell us your plan," the second one said.

"Ah, well." Miroku's eyes rose heavenward as if beseeching the gods for courage. "You see, it may very well be the case that if I, a mere man, were to enter the bathhouse alone, the demon would not show itself. However...if I were to accompany you two lovely young women within, why, the demon would most certainly appear in due course. But how can I ask such chaste, modest maidens as yourselves to bathe in my presence?" The monk bowed his head, his expression contrite. "Forgive me, sweet ladies, for even voicing such an indelicate thought."

Blushing, the two women conferred amongst themselves in low voices—though Sesshoumaru heard every muttered word.

"...Should we? It does seem improper."

"True—but he is a monk, after all..."

"...A handsome monk."

"A married monk..."

Straightening, they turned toward Miroku, nodding shyly. Smiling smoothly in reply, the monk strode forward, setting his shakujou aglow as the three of them ventured into the bathhouse's dim interior. At the sight, Kagome's reiki flared in indignation, and Sesshoumaru swiftly restrained her as she went to lunge.

"Mmph!" she yelled into fur that muzzled her. "...MMMMPHH!"

"Calm yourself," Sesshoumaru said lowly as he half-dragged her along behind him, now that the way was clear.

Wrenching her mouth free at last, Kagome growled out, "That lecher! We can't just let him get away with this!"

Sesshoumaru snorted. "Did you not sense the demon within that bathhouse?"

Kagome's hostility wavered a fraction. "Did you...did you snort just now? And no, not really—I was too distracted."

Sesshoumaru had figured as much. "Trust me, miko, your friend the monk will get his due."

He could feel Kagome's anxious frowning, yet as if on cue, a man's strangled shout of horror rose from behind them—followed by an imp's scandalized shrilling. Sesshoumaru repressed a pitying grimace.

A naked Jakken...

Even for such a shameless lecher, this punishment was obscene.

Through the scattering of huts, Sesshoumaru deftly wove them, maneuvering himself and his hidden charge without so much as a hint of detection from the occasional passerby. The old miko's hut was nearly in sight when he felt Kagome grasp him by the sleeve and quietly exclaim, "Oh no—code red! Look out!"

Sesshoumaru frowned as he tried to make sense of this unintelligible muttering, turning them both aside at the last moment as Inuyasha dropped into view from the rooftops above. In stark, helpless panic, Kagome crushed herself flush against the daiyoukai's back, making the corners of his mouth drag down that much farther.

"What the hell's that face for—you wanna fight?" the hanyou groused as he straightened from his crouch. When Sesshoumaru remained stonily silent, Inuyasha huffed and scowled askance. "Anyway, you seen Kagome? I've been lookin' for her everywhere. Found some basket of hers toppled over in the woods, but that was it."

Through Sesshoumaru's armor, the miko's heart hammered wildly. Momentarily distracted by it, the demon lord was slow to reply.

"The girl is missing, and you seek me out," he stated tersely. "Why?"

"Oh, I don't know," Inuyasha said, stalking roundabout toward him. Circling slowly in return, the demon lord managed to keep Kagome safely behind him. "Maybe because your scent was all over the place too? Don't play stupid with me, Sesshoumaru—I've seen you tailing her around lately."

As Kagome stiffened against him in surprise, Sesshoumaru grit his fangs.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," the hanyou scoffed, crossing his arms at the chest. "You've got a thing for her, dontcha? Well, just so you know, Kagome's not some bitch in heat you can toss around. If you're waiting for me to let my guard down so you can stash her away in a cave somewhere, you'd better think again. I'm on to you, asshole."

With that, Inuyasha leapt up onto the rooftops once more and bounded from sight. Coldly, Sesshoumaru stared after him, the miko at his back similarly frozen.

Never more intensely had the daiyoukai longed to make himself an only son.

After a moment of seemingly interminable pause, he heard Kagome clear her throat. "Um, well...here's my stop."

As Sesshoumaru turned, she stepped back from him. In evading Inuyasha, the daiyoukai had brought them nearly to the porchsteps of the old miko's home. Not quite meeting his gaze, Kagome rocked back on her heels, her hands clasped behind her.

"Thanks for looking out for me," she said, a faint smile twitching at her lips. "That was a close one." For a moment longer, she lingered beside him, toeing at the dirt in clear hesitation—before she spun away from him and dashed up the steps. "Well—see you around!"

In her haste to flee, she seemed to have forgotten the point of the whole endeavor—as she turned her back to him suddenly and completely. Of course, Sesshoumaru could have glanced away. For decency's sake, he should have—

But he didn't.

Instead, his eyes flicked directly to her backside, where the torn seat of her hakama gaped open wide. As she slipped through the door curtain, he stole a glimpse of her shapely rear—and the scant slip of fabric that did little to conceal it. Beside a sprig of cherries, the words "Eat It" flashed out at him from the dark triangle of cloth at her tailbone.

For a few seconds after the curtain swung shut, Sesshoumaru continued to stare. Blinking at last, he smirked to himself as he walked away—her little secret safe with him.

-the end-