First Time for Everything by Sereia

The Bet

"You're full of shit."

"I am not! I'll do it right now!"

Miroku and Sango shared a pained look.

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm not hung up on anyone! Least of all, you!" Kagome glared at her best friend, resisting the urge to wipe the smug look off his face.

By punching him in the dick.

"Say what you want, K'gome, but you haven't so much as looked at anyone else since you got back."

"Why does that even matter?" she screeched, reiki crackling around her fingers. "Even if I haven't, that's certainly no business of yours."

"Inuyasha, she's got a point, why does it matter what she—"

"'Cause people in the village are startin' to talk!" His ears twitched around before lying flat on his head.

Kagome frowned; that was not the answer she'd been expecting.

After returning to the feudal era six years ago, life in the village had been wonderful. The peaceful routine everyone had fallen into was a nice reprieve from the constant fear and anticipation of being attacked.

It had taken her months before she was finally able to sleep through the night again.

"What have the villagers been saying that has you so concerned about Kagome-sama's marital status?" Miroku asked.

A blush stained Inuyasha's cheeks as he grappled for an answer. "It's her fault."

"Inuyasha, I swear to gods, I will start using that word again."

"It is!" he sputtered, "All your talk about this Valentine's Day shit has all women thinking you're a homewrecker!"

The three humans opened their mouths in shock.

"B-But—it's literally for them to show their loved ones how much they care!"

"Yeah, which is all fine and good, but you're not married."

Sango frowned. "What does that have to do with—"

"Ugh! Why do I hafta spell it out for ya? They think you're usin' it as an excuse to steal their men away."

Oh. 

Kagome groaned, the missing pieces sliding into place. She'd wanted to introduce the tradition of giving gifts to loved ones, and all the women in the village had fixated on the 'confession' side of it.

"So they think I'm going to confess to a married man in the hopes he'll leave his wife?" she asked incredulously. "Do they really think I'm capable of that?"

"Jealousy can warp even the purest of minds, Kagome-sama."

The anger and frustration drained out of her, and though she still wanted to punch him, she forgave Inuyasha for being an ass.

Mostly.

"Why didn't you start with that instead of the insane idea of me kissing the next single guy I come across?"

"Keh! You're the crazy one who said you'd do it."

Kagome crossed her arms. "And I still would! But not because of—"

Inuyasha snorted, his gaze moving over her shoulder. "I dare you to do it."

Blue eyes narrowed, and she looked behind her.

Okay, now she was really going to punch him.

It was bad enough that Jinenji got grief about his appearance from strangers; he didn't need it from his friends.

Lifting her chin—and making a mental note to remind her best friend what dirt tasted like—she turned on her heel and stalked towards the edge of the village.

She'd show him. Jinenji was a kind and gentle soul and deserved just as much happiness as anybody else.

Blinded by hubris, Kagome failed to notice that the horse hanyou had been intercepted by Rin, the young woman greeting him with a smile and tugging him in a different direction. Solely focused on grabbing someone with a youki signature, Kagome reached out, her fingers brushing pale silk before pulling the person down.

The lips were softer than she expected. She wasn't sure what kissing Jinenji was supposed to feel like, but she pushed against him, slanting her head to deepen the embrace. Firm hands settled on her hips, and Kagome felt claws prick the fabric of her robes.

Had Jinenji always had claws?

Forcing herself to pull away, she turned back to friends. "See? No issues."

Instead of the laughter she'd been expecting, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were all staring at her with slack jaws.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You'd think they'd never seen you get kissed before."

"It is unlikely they have."

Blood turned to ice as the low timbre of his voice slid up her spine. A wayward breeze blew through her hair, long silver strands trapping her on both sides as the scent of frost-covered pine trees teased her senses.

She hadn't kissed Jinenji, she'd kissed—

"Sesshoumaru." His name was barely a whisper.

"Is this a new human greeting you have established, miko?"

Kagome grappled for words—and reality. "What? No! I just—I was trying to… I'm so sorry!" Gathering up her robes, she made a hasty getaway, mortification heating her cheeks as she sped past her friends.

She managed to wallow for a full sixteen minutes before the daiyoukai joined her once more. Peaking at him through her fingers from her place against the tree she used for archery practice, she groaned softly.

"I'm really sorry."

"You have said that already."

Kagome dragged her hands down her face, still unable to meet his gaze. "Are you going to kill me now?"

She thought she heard him snort.

"Your actions are inconsequential, miko."

She pursed her lips. "Maybe to you."

"Does it mean something more to humans?" His voice tilted up in confusion. And curiosity.

Kagome willed the skies to cloud over so lightning could strike her where she sat. "Yes. No. Sometimes."

"Which is it, miko?"

"It depends on the human. That was—I've never—" She finally looked at him, eyes turning stormy at his raised eyebrow. "Some of us aren't hundreds of years old, okay? I haven't had the time to kiss anyone!"

"And you chose This One as a first candidate?"

"Not exactly," she winced. "I was trying to prove a point."

"To whom?" Again, he sounded genuinely interested.

Kagome sighed, finally getting to her feet. "It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have let them get to me, especially about something as stupid as Valentine's Day."

"Stop speaking nonsense, woman."

"It's a holiday where women give gifts and favours to people they care about. They can use it as a way of confessing as well, but that's beside the point." Resignation and melancholy ate away any lingering embarrassment as she brushed off her robes. "First kisses are something that a lot of human women celebrate. It has a special meaning because it's supposed to symbolize a first love."

"Youkai do not—"

"I figured," she said, cutting him off. "There's a whole courting process with weird gifts, right? Kouga's mentioned it a few times."

She patted him on the arm as she walked by. "Again, don't worry about it. It's not like you're going to return the favour in a month, anyway." Kagome trudged back to the village, completely unaware of the look of intrigue on the Western Lord's face.