To tell a lie.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.

It had started out innocently enough. Kagome and Inuyasha had been battling a very nasty serpent demon attacking a small village. It was in this small village that she met Sukki. He was attractive, she couldn't deny that, with his broad shoulders and dark features. He was also the leader of his village. His station, she supposed, was the reason why he hadn't taken a wife. His age in her time would not have been so unusual, but for him to be unwed at 17 or 18, was bordering on strange in the feudal era. At first she was flattered when he looked at her with such affection, however after she had defended his village and purified the monster, he became much more.....aggressive. Not to say he would harm her in any way, but he began to move in entirely too close for comfort, holding her hand and leaning in, she assumed for a kiss. He would stare, and often rub up against her in such a way, that she could not tell if it was intentional or not. She said nothing at first, assuming they were accidents, but as they became more frequent she realized what he was doing. Even Kouga with his charismatic ways never took such privileges. She could see it take its toll on Inuyasha. How she wished now she hadn't asked him to stay out of it.

She recalled now, with much regret, warning him to leave Sukki alone, and that she found his attentions flattering. However, that was then, and now she found herself uncomfortable around him, and she made a point not to be left alone with him. She had hoped, as they left, that he would have stayed in his village to tend to his people. But instead, much to her dismay, he packed a small bag and informed his people he would return with his new WIFE.

Kagome groaned audibly. How could she be so naïve? This was the feudal era after all, and men often saw women as nothing more then cattle. How lucky was she to be surrounded by such trustworthy and decent men, most of the time? Even the lecherous monk who would occasionally fondle her backside, if given the opportunity, knew there was a line that you DID NOT cross with a woman. She found herself wishing Miroku and Sango had come with them. Why didn't she just let Inuyasha scare him off?
She groaned again. Sukki had been following them now for the better part of a day. He always walked two steps behind Kagome. She could feel his eyes burning holes in her legs as he stared at the naked flesh. She mentally berated herself for being so stubborn. She knew her clothing was not appropriate for this era, but wore it anyways. Partially because Inuyasha objected and partially because it was comfortable. 'Well...mostly because Inuyasha objected.' She smirked to herself.

Her emotions wavered the whole journey, from embarrassment, to anger, back to embarrassment. If she said anything now she would appear to have led Sukki on, and she KNEW Inuyasha would not let something like that go. She would rather put up with being ogled then listen to Inuyasha prattle on and on about how stupid she was. She locked her jaw in defiance and continued to march forward, ignoring the man behind her. 'Yes, I won't let either of them disrespect me.' She told herself with a new found determination. Her pace increased and her foot falls came faster and louder. 'I'll show Inuyasha.' She thought again with a smirk as she continued to walk on with her head held high.

The vein in Inuyasha's forehead had not stopped twitching from the moment he set eyes on Sukki. He didn't like the way this man stared at Kagome; like he was going to devour her. He could smell the man’s lust almost instantly, and it made him want to vomit. 'Why did she have to be so stupid?' He asked himself as he walked five paces behind Sukki, digging his claws into his hand. 'Does she actually like this guy?' He gritted his teeth and growled slightly as the thought of Kagome marrying Sukki entered his mind. He bit his lip and tried to calm himself down. 'No,' he thought, 'she couldn't, I would know if she did.' He reassured himself. In all their travels together, Inuyasha had become quite familiar with all of her moods and the pheromones they produced. He had on one occasion picked up what he thought might be a hint of lust, all though at the time, when he had asked her, what she was thinking about, she had simply smiled and said, “Oh nothing.” in her overly cheerful voice. None of his pack knew just how obvious their moods were to him, and he preferred to keep it that way. He knew from past experiences that revealing such a thing just made people more determined to mask their scents and hide their true emotions. The last thing he wanted was his friends to start acting like his brother. His thoughts were suddenly halted as Kagome stopped up ahead, causing Sukki to ~accidentally~ bump into her. Inuyasha growled softly despite himself.

Kagome almost fell over as Sukki bumped into her. He quickly placed one hand on her waist and another on her thigh as he pulled her up against him. “Are you all right?” He asked with a forced gentleness. She quickly jumped away on one foot reaching for her shoe.

“Sorry, ..rock.” She mumbled as she took the shoe off, shaking it several times until a small pebble fell to the ground.

“Here let me.” Sukki said with a lecherous smile as he attempted to grab at her foot and fell to one knee.

“NO!” she exclaimed, a bit too abrasively, before quickly jumping back on one foot. “Thank you.” She finished, as she flattened down her skirt, “It’s gone now.”

“We camp here.” Inuyasha barked with much irritation as he walked over and stood by Kagome. Kagome sighed happily and went about the task of gathering kindling to start a fire. She relished the opportunity to distance herself from Sukki as he began to unpack.

"Oh thank the gods.” She murmured under her breath with relief as she bent over to pick up a small piece of dried out wood. As she grabbed it two clawed feet came to stand directly in front of her and she responded in the only way she could in her agitated state. “What?” She quickly stood upright and continued to pick up kindling as he followed her about with his arms crossed in annoyance.

“Can I tell him to get lost yet?” He asked gruffly in a condescending tone.

“No, Inuyasha everything is fine.” She responded most uninterestedly.

“Don't give me that Kagome. I can tell he makes you uncomfortable, just admit you were wro---”

“You're wrong!” She snapped back at him while pointing a small piece of dried wood at his chest. “I have everything under control...don't presume to tell me how I feel simply because you're ~jealous~”

“Jealous?! Me? Of him? Oh please.” Inuyasha barked, “Keh, you couldn't be more wrong Kagome.”

“If I'm wrong then why are you still here?” She answered back with a smirk of triumph on her face.

“Fine!” He bellowed loudly as he stomped in the direction of the forest, to catch something for them to eat.

She watched him walk off, her arms now full of kindling, 'Oh Kagome..Why did you do that?' She asked herself as she stared over in the direction of camp. Inuyasha was right, she was uncomfortable, and now she would have to face Sukki's advances alone. She took a deep breath and began to walk back to camp.

When she arrived back at camp she found Sukki laying on his side, resting his head against his hand, with the same lecherous smirk he had given her for the past day. “Time to build the fire,” She laughed out nervously as she sat down causing Sukki to shift closer. “Inuyasha will be back soon with something to cook.” She finished as she began to pile the wood and surrounded it with rocks.

“How soon?” Sukki inquired with a wink as his hand began to reach for her leg.

“Very soon! We can hardly stand to be apart. You know how it is when you’re in love.” She bit her lip. She couldn't believe the lie that had just fell from her mouth. Well perhaps it was not a total lie, but they certainly weren't lovers. She just wanted Sukki to leave her alone and .....She panicked. She felt bad for lying but it seemed to be working. For the first time since she had met him, Sukki hesitated and pulled back his hand.

“You and the Hanyou?”

Kagome nodded in response to his question; not wanting to add to her lie but happy that it was working. He tried to close his mouth; the idea hadn't even occurred to him that this girl and the half demon might be more then just friends.

“Are you sure?” He questioned dumbfoundedly, “I've never even seen you kiss.” He remarked.

“Oh....well..” Kagome stammered, “We've been fighting.”

Sukki began to move closer again. The lecherous smirk once again gracing his lips. ''Fighting you say?”

Kagome began to laugh nervously again. “Oh nothing serious.” she waved her hand dismissively. “We always make up as if nothing happened.” She bit her lip again as she added to her lie.

“I see...” Sukki answered with thoughtfulness. “Well, I will not lie to you Kagome. My intentions were to take you back as my wife..but if what you say is true, and you and the half demon do reconcile..I'm afraid I've wasted my efforts.”

She would have beamed if she hadn't been trying so hard to make herself believable. “I am very sorry Sukki,” she said in an understanding tone, “I did not mean to give you the wrong idea, but Inuyasha and I--”

He cut her off not wanting to hear anymore. “I will stay this evening. If you do reconcile. I shall return to my village. However,” He gave her the lecherous smile once again, “If I believe your heart can still be won Kagome.” He began to rub at her calf. “Then I will stay.”

Kagome inched a little further from him. “My heart belongs to ---”

He cut her off once more. “I will be the judge.” He said with a cocky grin that told her nothing she said would convince him otherwise.

She groaned inwardly, how could she possibly convince Sukki that she and Inuyasha were in love when they had been fighting just a moment ago?

Inuyasha bounded through the forest, clutching three dead rabbits in his claws as he made his way back to camp. “Me, jealous keh!” He grumbled under his breath. Did he have reason to be? This worried him. Was she insinuating that she did have feelings for this …..person. The thought sickened him. No. How could she? She had better taste then that after all. “Didn’t she?” He worried out loud as he landed in a tree over the camp and looked down on them. Neither of them was talking and Kagome didn’t seem as uncomfortable. ‘This can’t be good.’ He remarked internally. Doubt began to cloud his mind. He quieted his doubts with a deep breath, and jumped from the tree landing softly next to the fire Kagome had built.

“Inuyasha!” She squeaked as he landed on the ground. “I’m so glad to see you!” She exclaimed almost too cheerfully.

Inuyasha’s eyebrow twitched, “Weren’t we fighting?” Inyasha uttered in his state of shock.

She bit her lip. “Oh…we always fight... I missed you so much!” She smiled again and threw her arms around him before he had a chance to react.

His eyebrow twitched again. “Are you feeling all right Kagome?”

“Of course, now that you’re here.” She sighed softly and nuzzled her head against his chest.

Inuyasha’s throat went dry and his voice cracked as he tried to speak again. “I---I caught dinner.”

“Oh wonderful, your such a good provider.” Kagome stated as she took the rabbits making a show of how heavy they were. “I’ll have these ready in no time.”

Sukki turned to Inuyasha and winked. “You’re a very lucky man Inuyasha.”

Kagome froze as Inuyasha responded, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Just as Sukki was about to answer Kagome chimed in. “Sweetie, would you mind getting us some water from the river so we can boil these. I know you prefer them that way.”
Inuyasha began to answer and then stopped, “Did you just call me—“

Kagome interrupted, “Pleasssse.” She pouted.

Inuyasha stared at her, dumfounded, for what seemed an eternity before responding, “Yeah, okay. Be right back.” He stated with an almost threatening look towards Sukki, before grabbing up a large cooking pot and heading towards the river.

Kagome let out a long sigh of relief. “See? All better.” She smiled.

“I’ll be the judge.” Sukki responded in an unconvinced tone.

‘Just a little bit longer.’ She thought. ‘I just have to keep Inuyasha from saying anything, and then all this will be over.’ She let out a sigh.

Inuyasha quickly returned with the water Kagome had asked for and held his hand out with a grunt. “Here.”

Kagome once again looked up at him with a smile on her face! “Oh thank you!” She beamed as she rose to her feet, taking the cooking pot from Inuyasha’s fingers and placing a small kiss upon his cheek.

“You’re welcome…..”He replied with the same dumbfounded look as he placed a clawed hand against his cheek. He cleared his throat and sat down against the tree nearest the fire, folding his arms into his sleeves and leaving Kagome to her work, his eyes occasionally moving from the miko to the lecher who sat across the fire from her.

It was Sukki who eventually broke the silence. “So Inuyasha, is Kagome a good cook?”

Inuyasha gave him a suspicious look, “Keh!” was his only reply.

Kagome wanted to SIT him so badly, but instead bit her lip, plotting her revenge once Sukki had departed.

He smiled at Inuyasha giving him the same lecherous look, “I’m sure if she can’t cook she must have other ~skills~.”

Kagome almost choked, he really had no shame.

Inuyasha’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s that suppo—“

Kagome interrupted him again, “Dinner’s ready!”

She dished Sukki up first, as was the custom since he was the guest. ‘I can’t believe I’m going to do this.’ She groaned to herself as she filled another dish and walked over to Inu Yasha. He uncrossed his arms to accept the food she was about to give him, and as he reached up she took the opportunity to sit in his lap. He sat there, staring at her smiling face for just a moment before opening his mouth.

“Kagome have you lost your----“

Again he was cut off as she shoved a piece of warm rabbit meat into his mouth. He was caught off guard and nearly gagged. She laughed nervously and picked up another, “My cooking’s not THAT bad.” She bit her lip. Kagome knew she was pushing it. She was surprised he hadn’t shoved her off his lap. Her stomach was tied in a knot and she could feel her anxiety and fear rise off her skin like steam. ‘Please Inuyasha, Just play along.’ She pleaded with herself.

Inuyasha knew something was wrong. She reeked of fear. What was she afraid of? He gave her a threatening look while he started to chew the food she had almost gagged him with. Kagome simply smiled back. What kind of game was she playing? He opened his mouth and she offered another small piece of meat. He took it into his mouth, nipping lightly at her fingertips as he did. She seemed to relax when he didn’t question her further.

“So how long have you two been---?”

“Just over a year.” Kagome answered quickly interrupting Sukki this time.

“I must say you seem very happy together.”

“We are….” Kagome answered distractedly as Inuyasha sucked a piece of meat from between her fingers. “Happy.” She squeaked as she finished her sentence. Kagome bit her lip as his tongue played against her fingertips, licking at the juices. She hadn’t expected to get turned on by such a simple thing and it was making it difficult to concentrate on ‘the plan.’

“No children yet I see.” Sukki remarked as he stuffed a piece of warm rabbit in his mouth.

Kagome froze and tensed again. This was it; if Inuyasha didn’t know all ready, there was no way to answer this question without him figuring it out. She very quietly and
with a defeated tone in her voice answered simply, “Nope.” Her face turned bright red.

Sukki fell quiet. From Kagome’s reaction he could tell he should not have asked that question, perhaps they could not have children? He began to ramble, “You know I have a sister, who couldn’t have children, and she has ten children now, all very healthy, the eldest will be leaving home this summer I believe.”

Kagome turned a very bright shade of red. She held up another piece of meat to Inuyasha’s lips but did not turn to look at him. She could feel him smirking against her fingers as he pulled the meat slowly from them. He knew and not only was he going to make her life a living hell for who knows how long, he was going to tell Sukki and she would be exposed as a liar as well. She wanted to die, or to crawl into the well and just never come back. Her heart began to beat loudly in her chest. She heard Inuyasha clear his throat and she braced herself.

Inuyasha smiled as Kagome refused to face him. Now he understood. ‘Sure, she has everything under control.’ He had to stop himself from laughing. To be honest he had been too distracted by Kagome’s reactions to really put it together sooner. Every time he ran his tongue over Kagome’s fingers her heart would skip, and her scent would spike. The same scent he had detected before. But now, she was terrified again. He could hear her heart beating loudly and it seemed she was holding her breath. He smirked again. He could play along as long as she would. He liked having Kagome relaxed against him, and he didn’t want her to move just yet. He extended his arms around her and cleared his throat to speak. “Well we’re not really ready for pups yet. We have to look for the shards first.”

Sukki nodded with relief as someone finally spoke, “Ah yes, I can see where that might be dangerous for Kagome.”

Kagome turned and looked at Inuyasha, shock plainly written on her face. He returned her look with a very smug smile of his own and motioned to the bowl with his head. “Food woman.” He grunted.

Kagome couldn’t help but smirk as she offered him another piece of meat, which he sucked from her fingers staring into her eyes. The sensation caused her face to flush again as she looked away biting her lip.

“Has Kagome told you Inuyasha? I will be leaving in the morning.” Sukki spoke again this time with his mouth full..

“Awww. Do you have to?” Inuyasha grinned as Kagome spun around to look at him again. This time he grabbed her hand and held it in place while he sucked the meat
along with one of her fingers into his mouth. He smirked as her scent spiked again and her face flushed. She quickly looked away again as her legs began to tremble. “Do you want us to walk you back to your village?” Inuyasha inquired with a pleased smirk on his face as Kagome turned to him once again with wide eyes.

“Yes I’m afraid so. My village needs me.” He admitted truthfully, “And if you’ll excuse me I think I will be getting some sleep before I do. Thank you for your hospitality Kagome.” He remarked before heading to his knapsack a little distance from the fire. The look on Sukki's face betrayed that he was now convinced of the young couples love, but bitterly disappointed.

Inuyasha continued to suck the juices from Kagome’s finger. She could feel his lips curl in a smirk as he sucked on the digit. “Food woman.” He demanded again with a
pleased smile on his face. She turned and shoved the bowl lightly into his chest. He lowered his voice, “Nuh uh Kagome, that’s no way for my wife to act.”

She lowered her voice as well, her tone coming across as an angry hiss. “You’re lucky I don’t say it.” She pointed to the rosary.

“He would hear you.” Inuyasha answered again with the same pleased smirk.

She let out a deep sigh and offered him another piece of meat.

He grabbed her hand again and brought it to his lips. She turned to look away but stopped as she heard him whisper. “Don’t look away…” His whisper had such a tenderness to it, that she could not help but comply. He locked his eyes with hers as he sucked her fingers into her mouth. The look he gave her was primal and fierce with a promise of something she didn’t understand. It made her legs go weak and she wanted to look away again. Her heart began to beat loudly in her chest and her stomach began to ache. She stared until she was overwhelmed and finally looked to the ground. He released her fingers and hooked her chin with his hand. “Kagome…” he whispered breathlessly as he brought her lips to his.

She leaned forward, moaning softly into his mouth. The food that she had held fell to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue searched for hers as the kiss became deeper. The texture of his tongue drove her mad, his mouth was warm and had a slight hint of rabbit to it. Her moans became louder and she claimed her breath in long gasps.

Sukki turned over in his knapsack and they both stopped abruptly. They held each other for a moment in the stillness of the night. Kagome held her breath as she waited to see if Sukki had heard them. They had not disturbed him, she let out her breath, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she tried to compose herself. She turned to face Inuyasha, her hair was matted on one side where his hand had been, and her lips were red and swollen

She was the most beautiful thing Inuyasha had ever seen. He quickly scooped her up and jumped into a nearby tree. He held her tightly against him, with her back pressed against his chest.

Her breast heaved as she tried to catch her breath. “Inuyasha?” She questioned with longing so thick in her voice, he found it difficult to control himself.

“Tomorrow.” Was his simple reply as he fought the urge to run his hands under her top. “When we can make more noise.” He almost growled. “Get some sleep.” He commanded as he kissed the top of her head.

She whimpered slightly and he kissed her again. He watched as she struggled with sleep for almost an hour before finally drifting off. He would stay awake and make sure she didn’t fall in her sleep; after all, he wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight anyways.