InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ An Unforeseen Flame ❯ Heart to Heart ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A/N: One of my favorite chapters! I just love fluff! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, nor could I ever hope to be as genius as Rumiko Takahashi.

An orchestra of chirping crickets and the sound of a soft breeze whispering through spring's fresh green leaves filled the air. This cool breeze kissed Kagome's milky skin as she walked evoking a slight shiver and sending waves of goose bumps across her flesh. Above, the navy blue sky stretched like a velvet canvas covered with splashes of shimmering alabaster stars. A waning crescent hung over head, the silver sliver reminding Kagome of Inuyasha. Soon it would be the night of the new moon and the hanyou would be human for a night. Would he be all right without her? Sesshomaru cleared his throat, interrupting her thoughts.

"You are unhappy," he said finally in his soothingly deep voice. It wasn't a question. Kagome was surprised that he had noticed and found hersef caught off guard by his question. Why would he care about something as trivial as her happiness? It seemed unlike him.

"Well…Yes and no," she replied meekly, her eyes reflecting the confusion his statement had evoked in her. Her answer defied logic, making no sense to the now perplexed Demon Lord. How was it possible for anyone to be happy yet unhappy all at once?

"I do not understand," he stated, furrowing his brow almost imperceptibly, obviously baffled by her nonsensical answer. Leave it to a human woman to complicate something that should be simple.

"I am… Oh how do I put this…Content? Rin is a bright and wonderful little girl, and you are...," she trailed off, not sure how to say exactly what it was she had on her mind. She couldn't help but feel bewildered by Sesshomaru's sudden inquisition. Rin was happy and well-cared for, wasn't that all that mattered to him? Could he truly be concerned about her and her happiness? The thought filled her stomach with nervous butterflies. She knew she could be charming, albeit awkwardly so at times, but was she really charming enough that she had tamed the hateful heart of the Demon Lord of the Western Lands in a mere three weeks time? It seemed more than impossible. Maybe Rin had noticed and said something to the youkai, but Kagome had tried very hard to hide any feelings of discontent from the girl, who was a bit on the oblivious side as it was.

"I am what?" he inquired, his interest piqued. He could not help but wonder what it was she thought of him. He could not get her out of his head, not since that day at the stream. Even when he was away from her, he couldn't shake the bewitching thoughts that pervaded his mind. He found himself fretting, wondering if her thoughts about him would be negative or unflattering. He chided himself mentally. Since when did he start becoming concerned with the opinions of humans? Sesshomaru was beginning to worry that he had more in common with his father than he would ever like to admit.

"You…You are more…accommodating…than I would've expected," she continued honestly still trying to find the right words for her thoughts. He arched an elegant silver eyebrow. She thought him accommodating. It was better than what he expected, but it wasn't necessarily what the inuyoukai was hoping to hear. "I do like traveling with you, well when you choose to take us along with you, and I love taking care of Rin."

"But there is still part of you that is unhappy," he persisted. If she was content with his company and enjoyed traveling with him, he was curious to learn the cause of this unhappiness.

"I... I am lonely," she admitted, her large brown eyes cheerless and downcast. Sesshomaru found the miserable look that graced her delicate features heartrending. "Rin is a friendly and nice girl, but she is too young to offer me the companionship that I would like. And you…Well, you're not much of a conversationalist. I miss my friends, and I wish I had someone to confide in."

"What is it you feel the need to discuss?" he asked earnestly, his monotonous voice quiet as he peered at her through his perfect golden eyes. Eyes that were so much like Inuyasha's they made Kagome's heart ache even worse. She wished he would stop looking at her like that, so sincerely. It made her feel as though he actually cared what was going on inside of her labyrinth of a mind.

"Well...," she paused. She couldn't bring herself to say it, not to Sesshomaru. It was none of his business, anyway. Why did he feel the need to pry? This was so embarrassing! She was becoming frustrated. This was not the type of friend she needed. He considered her beneath him and would probably dismiss her problems as petty. After all, human emotions were not something that Sesshomaru ever truly understood nor did he even care about them.

"It's the hanyou, isn't it? You miss him. You call out his name in your sleep some nights," he stated softly. He smelled the salt of tears welling up in her eyes and watched her face flush uncomfortably. He was inwardly chagrined. Not only because he upset her, but also because, somehow he had managed to develop feelings for this human woman, and they were unrequited. She would rather have a lousy half demon, who would never return her feelings. What a pathetic fool he was being. How could he, Sesshomaru let a woman, a human woman no less, into his heart and allow her to hurt him? It was disconcerting for the Demon Lord to experience such a thing.

"I do miss him," she stated softly, a single tear escaping from one of her dark eyes. He cursed Inuyasha for wounding this woman that cared about him so much, this woman that cared for the half demon in a way that Sesshomaru, as distasteful to him as the idea was, wished she would care him, instead.

She had loved Inuyasha, for years, following him loyally despite the fact that he loved someone else. Of course she didn't care for him, Sesshomaru, in that manner. It had only been three weeks that she had spent with him, and he had been away for at least half of that time. He was a damned fool not to realize it sooner. How was it that she invaded his mind so easily? Briefly, the inuyoukai wondered if this was what it felt like to be ignored after three weeks, how horrible must it feel for Kagome who had been spurned for three years?

"If it is your wish, you may return to him," the demon lord replied tonelessly, turning away. He did not want to see her go, and Kagome was beginning to realize it.

For a moment, she was flabbergasted. It didn't seem possible. Sesshomaru was cold and unfeeling, and he had no love for humans, with the extraordinarily rare case of Rin. There was no way he had any sort of feelings towards her whatsoever. Kagome felt her heartbeat quicken nervously.

Sesshomaru sighed inwardly, mentally reminding himself not to hang his head like he secretly wished to do. He heard her heartbeat accelerate with the anticipation of leaving. She was excited to run back to his half brother. Something in the pit of his stomach roiled angrily as it did the day that the Youkai Lord realized Tetsusaiga had been left to the hanyou. It was envy, a feeling Sesshomaru had almost forgotten.

Kagome took a deep breath trying to clear her racing mind. She had begun to feel more at ease around Sesshomaru, but it was more out of comfortability with her new situation than anything else. It was difficult to become fond of Sesshomaru due to his aloof nature. He kept everyone at a distance, but Kagome could clearly see how affectionate he was towards Rin, even though it wasn't obvious. Because of her own fondness for Rin, that in itself was enough for Kagome to develop some sort attachment to Sesshomaru, but it seemed he had acquired one for her as well. The realization was unexpected, but she welcomed it cautiously, hoping she wouldn't find herself mistaken. Maybe, eventually, she and Sesshomaru could learn to be friends.

Of course it would take time, and Kagome couldn't picture herself teasing him or laughing and joking with him the way she had with Sango and Miroku. But maybe, in time, they could learn to understand each other better. It already seemed they had a mutual respect for one another. He did seem legitimately concerned for her happiness. So maybe a friendship wasn't such a long shot.

"That won't make me happy," Kagome confessed at long last, her soulful eyes downcast. Sesshomaru turned to face the young woman whose tears were flowing freely but silently down her cheeks. Sesshomaru's heart swelled with overwhelming joy. "He doesn't feel the same way I do. I need to keep my distance. I have to try to move past everything he and I shared before I can ever truly be happy. I will always love him, but that doesn't mean I can't move on and be happy some day."

"Then you wish to stay?" he asked, surprising even himself by reaching out and wiping away one of the priestess's tears with a long clawed thumb, reveling for a moment in the softness of her delicate skin. He found himself hopeful once again, but, in true Sesshomaru fashion, he did not show any sign of such emotion.

"Yes," she nodded, now doubting whether or not she meant it for a moment, her voice suddenly shaky and uncertain. She was taken completely aback by the sudden physical interaction with the inuyoukai. Her hand moved instinctively to trace the spot on her cheek he had just touched. Fiery tinglings of sensation had been left behind by his thumb. She was no longer crying, but the salty trails of tears remained upon her flushed cheeks.

"And this will make you happy?" He inquired softly, watching her reaction to his sudden impulsiveness intently. She hadn't cringed or pulled away. She didn't act disgusted or horrified. She was simply stunned, but he couldn't determine what that meant about her feelings toward him.

"Almost," she replied, finding her voice despite still feeling a bit startled. Her knees felt weak and her mind was hazy from his touch. For that moment, she almost wished for more than just a simple friendship with the inuyoukai. Her heart was pounding so loudly that she was sure he could hear it, but she didn't care. She mattered to someone, even if only a small amount. It was enough to satiate the loneliness she felt, for the time being.

Again, the Youkai Lord raised one silver eyebrow, "Almost?"

"It would be easier to be happy if you wouldn't leave me behind so often. I understand that my duty is to care for Rin, but you're away so often, and I feel so lonely without company. I know you probably don't care much for idle conversation, but Jaken refuses to speak to me and Rin is just a little girl. Sometimes I just need a friend to talk to," Kagome paused a moment as she watched his unchanging expression, hoping for a hint of something that would help her feel less confused than she did at this moment, but she found nothing. "Also I miss fighting alongside my friends. I know that you would never need my help fighting or anything like that, but when you are off tracking down leads that aren't incredibly dangerous, I wouldn't mind being included. I am fully capable of protecting Rin. It's just…I miss the adventure of traveling. I feel so bored sitting around and waiting on you all the time."

"I see," the Demon Lord remarked pensively. He knew that the resolution to her loneliness would be simple enough. The singular reason for his time spent away was the fact that he did not want to acknowledge his feelings for the young woman standing before him, but he was realizing that he had tried, like a coward, to escape them. Now that he knew she didn't completely loathe him, he could no longer pretend they weren't there nor would he attempt to run from them again. He would have to endeavor to come to terms with the fact that he had developed some sort of tender feelings for a human woman, if he could stomach the horrible truth. He really was his father's son, after all. How disappointing.