Gambling with Ice and Fire

Kagome awoke to see Inuyasha sitting, grinning at her. "What do you want?" she moaned, sitting up.

"I won the bet," he smirked.

"No you didn't," she sighed as she started to roll up her sleeping bag.

"Whaa, yes I did! You didn't make him less frosty yesterday!" he nearly yelled at her. She looked up at him and laughed. "What's so funny?"

"We didn't specify a TIME period as to how long, or how many attempts you get, so therefore, we're still in the game buddy," she grinned, poking him in the chest to get her point across.

"ONE attempt! It was implied that you would only have ONE try!" he shouted, his cheeks burning red with embarassment of having being proven wrong and anger that he had been wrong.

"Implied doesn't mean anything, it's the actual deal, and nothing in the actual deal states that I only had one try," she picked up her backpack and rummaged through, looking for her hairbrush. "So, until I give up and say that I cannot make him unthaw, the game is still on."

"Feh," he muttered and walked out the door, following his nose to the smells of breakfast.

"Oh, Inuyasha?" she called after him, remembering her plans from the previous night. He poked his head back inside for a moment. "I need to run back to my time for a few days, I have a test coming up, and we're almost out of ramen," she added in. All's fair in this war, she thought to herself as she fought to hide a smirk.

"Feh," he muttered again and leapt off before she could make any more requests, or perhaps mutter that three letter word he hated so much.

Kagome finally burst into a grin when he left. Sango looked over at her, "my, you're happy this morning."

Unable to take holding in her devious plans, she looked at Sango and replied, "Inuyasha is going to help me win this bet even if he doesn't know it," she grinned, then elaborated on her plans, with Kirara standing at the door to keep watch for Inuyasha, of course. No need to have him overhear her.

Sango giggled as Kagome told her the plan, but looked confused as to what one of the objects she wanted to pick up from the future was. "Phere... a.... mone?" she said slowly, trying out the unfamiliar word.

Kagome laughed. "All beings, like cats, dogs, even humans, have these little chemicals that their bodies produce and give off called pheremones. The scent can be picked up my members of the opposite sex, and makes them more attractive than they normally would. So, to attract a dog, you use dog pheremones, and since it's a male dog I'm trying to attract, I'll have to find the pheremones of a bitch in heat."

Sango stared blankly for a second, waiting for all the new information to sink in. "So there pheremones, you said that there were some for people, too?"

Kagome smiled. "I've heard of people advertising them in sex shops, although I've never actually been in one. They mix the human pheremones with little bottles of perfume, so the man thinks you tried a new perfume, and ends up finding you completely irrisistable, or at least, less resistable than he used to."

Sango blushed. "Do you think you could get me some?"

"Of course!" Kagome smiled. "Planning on attracting a certain monk?"

"No!" Sango yelped, turning all shades of red. "I was, maybe, thinking that, well, yeah."

Kagome smiled. "I'll have some for you when I get back. Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow Kirara to get back, just me, while you guys just stay here, or keep travelling. I know that she'll be able to find you again, and it's so much faster to fly."

Kirara mewed her concent and looked to Sango, who simply nodded. "After breakfast then, I'll head home and go shopping for some goods," Kagome winked at the demon slayer, who continued to turn shades of red.

----------

Inuyasha seemed to be thankful that he didn't have to be the one to run back and forth to bring her to her own time, but he couldn't stand the thought of not being able to go and drag her back when she was getting a little too comfortable. Alas, much to Kagome's ire, Inuyasha ended up coming along with them.

"At least you'll have some company when I'm in my own time," she said to Kirara as she climbed on the now transformed neko and waved to her friends, sending a private wink to Sango, who blushed all over agian.

"What was that about?" Inuyasha said with dissinterest as they took off into the sky.

"What? Oh, Sango just asked to try some feminine products from my time," she smiled. She knew she wasn't lying because it was perfume, which was something for girls, so Inuyasha shouldn't catch on just yet.

"Oh kami, not those stupid tam-pon things again!" Inuyasha wailed. Kagome broke into laughter.

"I never told you that they were edible," she giggled, recalling a time when she had a box of tampons in her backpack along with all the food, and he snuck into her bag for a midnight snack but ended up with a belly full of cotton.

The rest of the ride was faily uneventful, Kirara went at a pace comfortable to her, Inuyasha sat on her rear and watched the scenery go by, waiting impatiently for a demon to attack, or something, so he wouldn't be so bored, and Kagome took a little nap. When they arrived at the well, Inuyasha tried to go back with her, but she sat him a few times to get the point across that he should stay there.

"I'm dragging your butt back here in two days if you're not back!" he yelled after her.

"Two days is all I'll need," she said to herself as the radient blue lights surrounded her.

The moment Kagome walked in the door at her home in present day Tokyo, she greeted her mom and raced for the bathroom for a nice hot bath, but not before asking her mother if they could go shopping afterwards.

She agreed, of course.

The first shop Kagome raided was the nearest smut shop for the pheremone infused perfume for Sango. She had a little difficulty explaining to her mom that it was for Sango, not her, but she thought that after half an hour she finally got the point across.

The second shop she went to was a candy store for some goodies for Shippo. Then, walking down the street window shopping, she saw the most adorable princess doll in the window of one of the toy stores. "Mom?" she asked, opening her eyes wide and preparing to go into a pout like she did when she was little. "Can I get that for this little orphan girl I know back in the feudal era?"

Her mom looked at her, smiled, and said, "of course!"

Kagome clapped her hands with glee. Part of her plan was now in action. As she walked down the street, she also noticed a wonderful little girl's kimono that cost way too much, but she decided to go into the store anyways. She noticed a rack of the wonderful material and went over to it, flipping through the various colors until she came upon a white one with purple and silver flowers embroidered on the sleeves and around the bottom hem. Out of habbit rather than curiosity, she looked at the tag, and grinned when she realized that it was within her price range.

Immediately she took the article of clothing to the counter. Her mother gave her a strange look until she promised to explain about the little girl a little later, somewhere more private.

Along with the dress, she also bought a little wooden car for Shippo, since he had become something of a son to her and she felt bad buying so many things for someone she hardly knew and only candy for her own ward. She had almost forgotten the ramen for Inuyasha, but remembered minutes before they left the supermarket while they shopped for groceries. Kagome hummed happily to herself as they loaded the days shopping into the car and headed back to the shrine.

"So," he mother said casually as they got into the car. "Tell me about this girl."

"Her name is Rin. I don't really know what happened to her or how she came to be with him, but she's been with Sesshoumaru for quite awhile now, and I only ever see her in the same old outfit. I don't think he is bad to her, but I don't think he gives her much other than food and protection, and I think she would like these," Kagome said, telling the truth. She did think that Rin should get something nice.

When they got home, Kagome ran upstairs to organize the items she was bringing back to the feudal era. Looking over everything, she decided that Shippo didn't need all the candy she had brought, so she moved a couple chocolate bars over to the pile for Rin.

"There," she said to herself when she was finally satisfied. She had candy and the toy in a seperate bag for Shippo, the kimono and doll off to the side to put in her backpack the next day, and the little vial of perfume for Sango tucked away in one of the pouches of her backpack since it didn't take up much room. The next day after school she would finally have the last ingredient of her plan, the vial of canine pheremones that she would 'borrow' from the science lab. And of course, her mother would pack her lunches and re-fill her first-aid kit.

She sat through dinner, telling her family about her adventures in the past, bugging Sota about girls, and trying to convince her grandfather that his 'antiques' were trash. She had a quick shower then snuggled into her clean, comfortable bed, thinking about how her plan would work perfectly.

Her alarm buzzed, telling her it was time to awaken and get dressed for school. She yawned, and mentally prepared her story and actions to achieve her last goal while in Tokyo.

By the time the bell rang at the end of the day, Kagome was so nervous she could barely think. She walked up to the chemistry teacher and asked him if she could stay for a little while to collect her homework. He of course, agreed to this, but excused himself temporarily to go to the staff room and refresh his coffee, which he did every day after class.

This was her opertunity. She watched him through the door as he walked down the hallway. She gave herself five minutes to look through his cupboards of vials, all labled with tiny print. Luckily, she had been here the day they were discussing pheremones and had stayed after class to help put things away while she discussed possible make-up work for all the lessons she had missed.

Kagome smiled as her fingers landed on the glass beaker that contained the canine pheremone. Double checking the lable to make sure it was the right one, she quickly slipped the vial into her backpack and closed the cupboard door. Moments later, her teacher walked in the door. He looked her over, her flushed face, her slightly sweaty brow, and told her to go home becuse she still looked ill.

She thanked him and ran out the door, bumping right into Ayumi and Eri. "Hi Kagome!" and "You don't look so well," were the first words directed at her.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to be sick," she said, putting her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. "I'm going home."

"That's too bad," Ayumi said, rubbing her hand on Kagome's back. "I guess you came back too soon."

"Sorry, I have to run," Kagome replied, not really wanting to talk to them. She turned to run down the hallway, waved back at her old friends, and took off for the shrine.

"The poor girl," Eri said to Ayumi as they watched Kagome run away.

-----------

Kagome got home and immediately went to her room to remove some of the books from her backpack and replace them with the items she had bought the previous day. She had decided to head back to the feudal era the first thing the next morning.

She had just finished putting everything in her backpack when the window slid open. "Are you coming back yet?" Inuyasha asked her with a slightly annoyed tone to his voice. Kagome smiled.

"I want to have supper here tonight, then go back in the morning," she replied, knowing full well that he would want to go back as soon as possible. Finally, step two was in the works: testing the product.

She cracked open the little vial of pheremones in her skirt pocket and let a drop soak into the material. She smiled sweetly at Inuyasha and asked, "stay for supper, at least?"

She knew that he wouldn't forego her moms cooking, and she guessed that by the time dinner was over with, he would be going nuts.

If the pheremones worked on demons, or at least, half demons.

She decided to study before dinner, so in their usual routine, Kagome sat at her desk while Inuyasha stared at her back from her bed. She glanced back at him halfway through her chapter to see his eyes glazed over, his mouth slightly open. "Inuyasha? Are you alright?" she asked.

"I think," he said, looking at her. "Ah, I'm fine," he shook his head and rubbed his nose.

"What's wrong?"

"I smell," he sniffed. "I don't know, but it's interesting." He slowly got up off the bed and sniffed around the room, then headed for Kagome. When he neared her, she saw a flash of red in his eyes as his lips curved into a slight smile. As he neared her, he sniffed lower, until he was almost level with....

"SIT!" Kagome shouted at him.

"HEY! What'd you do that for?" he yelled as her as soon as he could regain his composure.

"You were about to sniff my... AH!" she yelled back at him. His face paled.

"I was... following the smell."

Kagome slapped him and turned to leave the room. "Don't think that I'm through with you yet," she glared at him. In the bathroom, she couldn't hold back any longer. She laughed. "Well, at least he was attracted to it. That's a good thing. So in theory, it should work on Sesshoumaru."

She undressed and showered, making sure to lather away where the pheremone might have soaked through to her skin, and dressed in fresh, clean clothes before she made sure that the vial was plugged tight before she left the bathroom. Inuyasha was downstairs, playing a video game with Sota, so she was clear to stash the precious bottle away in her backpack.

"Mom," she said, walking down the stairs in her regualar, everyday clothes. "We're going to go back to the feudal era tomorrow morning, so do you think you could save any leftovers for us?" she asked.

"Of course dear, and don't forget the food we already packed," her mom smiled at her, placing several dishes onto the table. "Dinner's ready!"

The rest of the night wasn't very eventful, Inuyasha got sat for bothering Buyo, Kagome studied before bed, and her mom refrained from playing with Inuyasha's ears. All in all, it was an average night at the Higurashi home.

The sendoff wasn't anything exciting, either. They waved goodbye moments before leaping down the well to five hundred years in the past.

As they walked into Kaede's villiage, Kagome was greeted enthusiastically by Shippo. Kagome laughed and handed him his bag of candy, but he got a confused look as he pulled out the wooden car toy. "What's this?"

"Well, in my time, that's called a car. This is just a small carving that represents one. The real ones are big enough for people to ride in, up to six people per car."

"Is it like your bicycle?" he asked.

"Kind of, they're both used for transportation, but the car you don't have to pedal."

Sango and Miroku were crouched down beside Shippo examining the new toy. "Sango, I have some perfume for you, too. You put on a couple drops on your wrist and it makes you smell nice," Kagome said to her with a wink. Sango turned red and accepted the perfume, dabbing a little on her wrist. She held it out for Miroku to smell.

"What do you think?" she asked him, but his only responce wasn't the one she was looking for.

SLAP!

Kagome laughed, and looked around. "Where'd Inuyasha go?"

"I don't think he liked the smell of Sango's perfume," Shippo piped up. "As soon as she put some on her wrist, he got this funny look on his face and walked away."

Kagome and Sango smiled to eachother. They were the only ones who knew the secrets of the perfume, and guessed that since Inuyasha was part human, it must have affected him as well.

Kagome found him sitting in a tree off at the other side of town, gazing out into the distance. Kagome called up to him, but he ignored her, twice. "Sit," she said under her breathe and waited for him to crash to the ground. "Never ignore me when I know damn well that you can hear me," she growled at him.

"Well? What did you want?" he growled back at her.

"I need to find Rin," she said to him.

"No."

"But I have something to give her!" she whined, reaching into her bag and pulling out he princess doll. Inuyasha examined it, then scoffed.

"She doesn't need it."

"Every little girl needs a doll!"

"Feh."

"Inuyasha.... S," she started to say before she was cut off.

"Okay! I'll find her for ya, yeesh!"

Kagome smiled and pecked his cheek, and headed back to town to tell the others that it was time to go. Kagome was frustrated, however, when she returned to the villiage to find Miroku talking to a traveller who was telling of a demon who plagued his villiage. From what she overheard, the demon had once used to happily accept an animal sacrifice once a month, but now was demanding more and more food, and if he wasn't satisfied with their offerings, he would take one of the villiagers.

And lately, the demon wasn't satisfied very often.

Kagome sighed, knowing that her plans were going to be put off to go chase this demon. They group set out for the man's village that afternoon after filling in the rest of their companions as to what was happening. Kagome kept stealing glances back at Sango and Miroku, wondering if that perfume worked. She noticed that Inuyasha was staying far ahead of the rest and wondered if it had anything to do with his sudden dissapearance earlier that day.

She hung back, waiting for Sango to catch up, and asked to try a little of the perfume, which Sango immediatly lent to her. After applying a couple drops to her wrist, she ran to catch up to Inuyasha.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" she asked him. She saw his nose twitch, a sure sign that he had scented the lightly fragranced perfume, and almost laughed as his eyes slightly glazed over when he looked at her.

"I just want to get there before dark," he muttered, picking up speed. Kagome grinned behind his back, quickening her pace to again match his.

"We'll still have to camp out for the night," she told him, curling her arm around his and slowing her pace. He resisted for a moment, but slowed along with her.

"Did you use some of Sango's perfume?" he asked bluntly, his features still expressionless.

"I wanted to try it out," she replied, smiling. "Do you like it?"

"It smells funny," he told her, staring off into the distance. Kagome pouted until he finally looked at her. He stopped them in their tracks, lifted her chin with one clawed finger, and quietly told her, "it's not bad, just, different."

Kagome could feel his breath mingle with hers in the cooling air. She blushed as images of him bending down to kiss her blurred through her mind, a slight smile playing on her lips. Her neck tingled, wanting his lips to caress them like in so many romance novels she had read. By Kami, she wanted him, and bad.

"How come it doesn't work that good for me?" Sango muttered under her breathe to Kagome as her and Miroku caught up to them. That was it, the familiar feminine voice broke her spell and she broke away from Inuyasha's gaze.

"It's uh, maybe because he's part demon?" she replied.

"What are you girls talking about? The perfume?" Miroku wondered, confused.

"Yeah! In my time, perfume is supposed to make guys, umm, more attracted to you!" Kagome blurt out. Miroku got a silly look on his face as he reached behind Sango.

"Don't worry my dear, you don't need any scented water to attract me to you," he said into her ear, sending chills down her back. Moments later, she elbowed him in the ribs.

"But I may need something to keep your hands off my rear," she growled at him. Kagome was too busy watching the monk and demon slayer to notice the thoughts that were running through Inuyasha's emotions.

Perfume is supposed to make guys more attracted to you, eh? Well, I don't see my baka half-brother here, and she would'nt be after Miroku, so she must have been trying to attract me. He ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips, staring at Kagome like she was a tasty bowel of ramen. Maybe camping in the wilderness won't be so bad tonight.

He quickly turned around, hiding his expression from everyone who hadn't already noticed. "Let's go," he said, stepping back into his usual gait. "There's a stream not too far from here, let's camp there."

"I wonder what's up with him?" Shippo whispered to Kirara, who only mewed and cocked her head in responce. "I think I'll keep an eye on him tonight."

They set up camp as usual, only Shippo noticing the glances that Inuyasha kept sending Kagome's way. He was still too young to understand what was said behind some of those looks, but he assumed that the hanyou was planning on doing something to Kagome that night, and he planned on stopping it.

Much later, after Sango and Miroku had both drifted off to sleep, the kit was fighting the wearyness in his own body. He could see Inuyasha up in a tree, watching Kagome like a hawk. He closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened then, he was startled to see golden eyes staring back at him from a few inches away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha asked the pup.

"Nothing!" Shippo replied.

"You're lying, I can smell it. Quit watching me and go to sleep." He thumped the kit on the head, driving his point home. The kit grumbled and turned away, then muttered, "if you hurt Kagome, I'll make sure you pay."

Inuyasha smirked and went over to where Kagome was trying to fall asleep. He knelt down, admiring how her hair shone in the firelight. "Hey Kagome," he whispered, shaking her shoulder gently. "Are you awake?"

He knew she was. He could tell when the girl was sleeping from many night watching over her. "Yes," she said, rolling over to look at him.

"Come for a walk with me," he whispered back, holding his hand out to help her up. She took his hand and stood, looking into his eyes.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"Just for a walk."

"Why?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. His nose twitched faintly, and she guessed that the perfume still hadn't worn off.

"Because it's a nice night out," was all that he would tell her. She aquiested and followed him away from the campsite, downstream of the little creek. The sliver of the waning moon shone through the treetops, illuminating the ground just enought that Kagome could see well enough to not trip over the various woodland debris that lay scattered over their path.

They stopped at a little grassy clearing at the edge of the creek. Inuyasha took off his Hitoe and laid it out on the lightly dampened grass, motioning for Kagome to join him. She sat and leaned back, looking up at the night sky.

"It's so beautiful," she sighed, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Yes it is. You sure don't see it like this in your time," he smiled at her.

"It's all the city lights," she said off-handedly. "If you go out into the country where there's less pollution and lights, then you can see the stars almost like this."

"But it isn't like this. These times are different, there's less stink, less people," Inuyasha rambled.

"More demons, more.... things, trying to kill me and my friends," Kagome frowned. "When all this is over, and Naraku's dead, what will happen?"

"I imagine that things will somewhat go back to like they used to be, before Naraku."

Kagome looked down at the cloth beneath her. "I wasn't here back then, I don't know what it's like."

He softly lifted her chin in one clawed hand. "Then I'll show you," he whispered, touching his lips softly to hers.

She knew faintly what a kiss would be like, she had kissed him softly like this before, after all. What she didn't expect, however, was the flood of images that played more and more vividly behind her closed eyelids as the kiss deepened.

--

'Momma? What's a half-breed?' The tears glistened down her soft cheeks as she cried for her only child.

--

'Get out of this villiage, you stinking hanyou!' a villiager shouted, throwing a spear at him as he darted into the trees, a stolen ham between his clawed hands. 'Your kind isn't welcome here!'

The boy cried, taking refuge in a nearby tree, close enough to watch the villiagers without being seen. 'Momma,' he whispered, his eyes burning from the salty teardrops.

--

'You're a disgrace to this family, a burden,' the boy's older brother stared coldly down at him. 'Do not come looking for help from me or I will kill you.' The boy turned away, sadly heading back into the forest. 'Our father was a fool to have taken a human as his mate.'

--

He was running, older now, but fell over a stump hidden beneath the foliage. He turned in time to see the demon approaching as he held his hand over his bleeding arm, a wound the demon had inflicted. As the youkai drew nearer, the boy blindly swiped out at the demon, sending bloody blades out and slicing the beast into pieces.

--

There was a woman, carrying the jewel he sought after. He was human now, but soon he would be able to take it. The woman senced his precence in the woods, stopped, and turned his way before speaking. 'Show yourself,' she simply said.

--

He sat in a field of tall grass with the woman, just sitting there. He was a hanyou again, and she wasn't running from him or trying to hurt him. He liked the feeling of being accepted enough to be able to be with the woman.

--

'You want me to use the jewel to become human?' the boy asked the woman. She nodded. 'Meet me here tomorrow, and I'll have the jewel.'

--

'Die! Inuyasha!'

'Ki.. Kikyo..."

--

'Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo! I don't care what everyone says, I am NOT Kikyo!'

'If you're not Kikyo then how come you smell so...' he sniffs the air. '... You're not her.'

'That's what I've been trying to tell you! My name is Kagome! Ka. Go. Me!'

--

Poison racked his body, but he felt comfort in the warmth beneath his head. 'Kagome,' his lips formed as he fought unconsiousness. 'Why were you crying?'

--

He watched the woman on stage, looking gorgous even though she was pretending to be someone she wasn't, and that other jerk was getting to close to her for his comfort. But to his relief, a demon burst through the stage. Taking it as his cue to enter, he quickly dispersed the demon, and somehow got challaged to a duel by a guy with a really wimpy looking sword, but Kagome stopped him and went with him.

He was never so happy as he was when she was with him.

--

Kagome came to her sences again. Inuyasha reached up and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Oh Inuyasha," she whispered, embracing him. "You've had such a hard life."

"But I have you, Kagome."

She turned away from him then. "But you love Kikyo. I felt it, your love for her."

"Then didn't you feel my love for you?" he asked, his expression pained. "I love you, Kagome. You, who accepts me for who I am, not what the jewel could make me. You never asked to change me."

"But I'm just a copy of her, and you always leave to find her when she's around, leaving me," she started to cry again.

"Please Kagome, no, don't cry," he groaned, turning her face to look him in the eyes. "I go to her because I owe it to her to avenge her. I did love her, a part of me still does, but she isn't the one I want to be with."

Kagome stood, taking one last look at the sliver of moon. "I'm tired, let's go to sleep."

**********

Author Notes and Review Responces:
So Kagome has a plan, but her human sences can't help her, and she knows that Inuyasha won't willingly help her out, so what will she do? Wait and see!

LALA! Ok, so you were wondering why I always write my chapters little by little (or that's what I gathered...) well, the answer is simple: I HATE people reading over my shoulder when I write, and my boyfriend (whom I live with) tends to like sitting beside me at the computer.
Also, I tend to write a little before I want to go to bed, or before I have to go to work.
Or basically, I get an idea in my head for what will happen next, run over and jot it down, then stop because my brain fizzles out again.

Kawaii Kilala: Haha sorry about that! Those were actually just stupid typos. Thanks for pointing them out to me!! Ah, and of course he would be thinking about her wearing it for Sesshoumaru because of the whole bet ^^ I'll fix those right away! Also, thank you so much for your kind words and amazing input!

And if I havn't mentioned your name, don't feel left out, I love EVERY review, even if it's just "awesome! I can't wait for more!" It makes my heart do little butterflies and want to keep writing just to make people happy, and I admit, I love seeing my review count go up.. it boosts muh ego ^^

Ok, so now that I'm done with this chapter, I'd love for you to tell me what you think! I know, you will HATE Kagome kissing Inuyasha and their mush, but eh, it can't really be helped in my mind. It helps establish the fact that he does care for her, and she does actually care for him, so that will make her conflict of possibly falling for Sesshoumaru even more complicated, making the story more interesting... and I'll shush up!

I'm not exactly sure as to what I'm going to do next! Muahaha!

Yay for randomness!

**Note: a Hitoe is the jacket like thing that Inuyasha wears (it is not a Kimono because it's too short! There's a big thing about his outfit on the wikipedia page about InuYasha himself, in case you want to disprove me...)
And sorry if I didn't get all the details right of the one episode where they had those demons in the future... if anyone wants to correct me, please do and I'll fix it!