InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Midnight Meets Moonlight ❯ Confusion ( Chapter 5 )

(A/N: If Sesshoumaru seems a little OOC, I'm very sorry. This chapter was so difficult to write and to be spot on with the characters, and I don't think I accomplished it. But, remember, five years HAVE passed, and both of the main characters have changed more than they know. Enjoy!)

 

 

 

Midnight meets Moonlight

Chapter Five

Confusion

 

 

 

Souta's birthday went off without a hitch and as Kagome was packing up to go back to Inuyasha, she marveled at how quickly time had passed. Souta was close to becoming a teenager now, while Kagome herself was well-established as a woman.

 

“And instead of finding a husband and settling down for happily ever after,” she said as she lugged her backpack to the bone eater's well. “What am I doing? I'm not going out on dates and falling madly in love with a handsome man. No. I'm getting ready to travel in time and fight demons, searching for a few remaining shards, while trying not to get killed. Great life you have here, Kagome.” She rested for a second beside the well to catch her breath and gave a laugh at herself. “At least now you're going to have a job…” she paused and laughed again. “…and you threw up in front of your new boss three nights ago. Great first impression.”

 

She realized she was talking to herself and rolled her eyes before dropping into the well. It was true that she had never been more embarrassed about throwing up while Sesshoumaru was a witness, but she when she stepped out of the well on the other side of the time slip and saw Inuyasha's face, she felt more shamed about what she had felt about Sesshoumaru before she threw up. She had been anticipating a blow up when the hanyou smelled Sesshoumaru on her, but to her great surprise, all he did was complain about how she was late.

 

Why doesn't Inuyasha smell Sesshoumaru? Could Sesshoumaru have been wrong and maybe the scent really did fade away? Maybe now I can avoid that awkward conversation he was talking about…

 

Her thoughts were interrupted when Shippo spotted her and made a beeline. “Kagome! I'm so glad you're back!” The little kitsune jumped in her arms and immediately tensed. “Kagome? How come you have that scent on you?” He sniffed curiously a few more times and his eyes widened comically. “It smells like Ses-!”

 

Kagome quickly slapped her hand over his little mouth a let out a nervous giggle while chucking her backpack at Inuyasha, who barely caught it. So much for the idea that Sesshoumaru was wrong. Thankfully the rest of the group hadn't accompanied the fox and the hanyou to the well or she would have a tougher time. “Inuyasha, there's a whole bunch of ramen in my bag for you. Why don't you go and heat some up while I have a little talk with Shippo?”

 

Inuyasha put his hands on his hips and looked at her innocent face. “Why do you need to talk to Shippo?” he asked suspiciously, and she cursed on the inside because she knew he was going to be difficult.

 

“Please, Inuyasha, just go?” she pleaded and sighed when he stuck out his lower lip in the “pout”.

 

“No, I want to know what's so important that you have to talk to the runt all alone.”

 

“Inuyasha!” she said, resisting the urge to stomp her foot at his stubbornness. “You'll probably find out later, but for right now, I need you to leave us alone. Okay?”

 

“No.”

 

“Inuyasha…”

 

“Don't use that threatening tone with me, wench. I'm not leaving you alone until I find out why you want to be alone.”

 

“I'll say `it'.”

 

He took a step back cautiously. “You promised you wouldn't.”

 

“You're trying my patience. Now, you can be a good boy and leave us alone, or I'll `it' you so hard you won't be able to breathe out of your nose for a week. The choice is yours.”

 

“Stop talking to me like I'm a dog!” he exploded, his eyebrow twitching. “Fine, I'm leaving, but I'll squeeze it out of the little pest later.”

 

Shippo, who still had Kagome's hand over his mouth looked up at her panicked, and his eyes were questioning. She quickly shook her head at him and looked back at Inuyasha to make sure he was walking away. After a few moments she set Shippo down gently.

 

“Is he really gone?” she whispered.

 

Shippo sniffed and nodded. “His scent is gone, but, Kagome, I don't understand. Why is Sesshoumaru's scent on you? It's not strong, but it's still there. We saw him over a week ago!”

 

Kagome sighed and searched for a way to start explaining. “I know this is going to sound incredible, Shippo, but Sesshoumaru exists in my time.”

 

Shippo let out a squeak of shock. “You mean…he's lived for that long? How did you find him?”

 

“I saw him by chance on the street and then looked him up on my computer.” At his confused look, she quickly went on before she had to start explaining what the internet was and how it worked. “I went to the place where he worked and he invited me to dinner at his house. That's why you smell him on me.”

 

Shippo's mouth had practically dropped open at her last statement. “You had a date with Sesshoumaru? Are you crazy? You could have been killed!”

 

She shifted uncomfortably. “It wasn't a date, Shippo. And he's changed a lot. He's not who he is now…well, he is, but…it's different, okay? I was safe with him.”

 

Shippo looked at her strangely for a moment, but then said, “Inuyasha is going to be mad.”

 

“That's an understatement. After we had dinner, Sesshoumaru told me that we would meet him today and he would smell himself on me. I don't know how ugly things will get, but Sesshoumaru said he wouldn't hurt me. But until then, don't tell Inuyasha. He'll just immediately fight Sesshoumaru no matter what. It's our little secret, do you understand?”

 

Shippo nodded and puffed out his chest. “You can count on me, Kagome.”

 

“Good,” she said with a bright smile. “Now let's head back before Inuyasha forgets all about the ramen and decides to come looking for us.”

 

 

 

 

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Inuyasha was refusing to speak to her as they headed out once more to the west. Another rumor had come along while Kagome was in her time and now they were headed to the outskirts of Sesshoumaru's lands, led by Kikyo, once more to search for the elusive shard. By mid-afternoon and well on their way into the trip, Kagome was starting to get extremely nervous. Sesshoumaru still hadn't shown up throughout the day, and she just wanted to get the confrontation over with.

 

The day dragged on and on until it was nightfall and they started to make camp. Sesshoumaru still hadn't made an appearance. Kagome was about to bite her nails off when Inuyasha started sniffing furiously and stood up abruptly. She let out a little breath of relief when he began to growl. She and Shippo exchanged a nervous glance before Kagome asked out of habit, “Inuyasha? What is it?”

 

“Sesshoumaru,” he spat and put his hand on his sword. “We've barely left my forest and we're not even close to the outskirts of his lands…what is he doing here now?”

 

Everyone else stood their ground and got into defensive positions with Kagome holding Shippo towards the back. They didn't have very long to wait before Sesshoumaru appeared in the moonlight, walking steadily towards them, with Jaken not trailing far behind.

 

“What do you want here, you bastard?” Inuyasha yelled, unsheathing Tetsusaiga and pointing it towards his brother. However, Sesshoumaru didn't speak, nor did he pause and he continued walking straight into the camp, passing right by a confused Inuyasha. Along down the line he passed Kikyo, Miroku and Sango, before finally coming within a few feet of Kagome, and yet he still did not stop.

 

Whispering to Shippo that it would be all right, Kagome let go of the frightened kitsune right before Sesshoumaru grabbed her by the throat and backed her into a tree, his grip firm, but not choking.

 

Inuyasha rushed forward, but before could take three steps, Kagome calmly said, “Osuwari,” while staring straight into Sesshoumaru's eyes. She saw the slight surprise within him that she would allow him to keep his grip on her instead of having his brother try and save her, but she remembered the promise his present self gave her and she trusted him. “Everyone else just stay back,” she said forcefully, and stopped all of her other friends in their tracks. “Now,” she continued softly, still never taking her eyes off of him, “What can I do for you, Sesshoumaru-sama?”

 

“Answers, miko,” he said frostily. “Now.”

 

“Answers for what?” Inuyasha demanded, standing up and getting ready to charge again. “You better take your hands off of her right now before I make you do it, asshole.”

 

“Inuyasha, don't make me say `it' again,” Kagome said once more, and stopped Inuyasha. “Sesshoumaru, I'm assuming that you want to know why you smell yourself on me when I haven't had contact with you for a while?”

 

“What?” Inuyasha said, while everyone else stood in shock. “What do you mean you have your filthy scent over her? I haven't smelled you.”

 

“The scent is old and any lowly hanyou would not be able to smell it,” Sesshoumaru said scathingly. “Now,” he said, addressing Kagome, “Explain yourself, wench.”

 

“I had dinner with you the other night,” she began, but he cut her off.

 

“You lie,” he said in a hard voice and minutely tightened the grip he had on her throat.

 

Inuyasha saw that little movement and flew forward.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama!” Jaken cried out in warning.

 

Before Kagome could utter `osuwari' once again Sesshoumaru set her down. In the second that it took her to gather her bearings, Sesshoumaru had sent Inuyasha flying into a tree in one smooth motion, and grabbed her again, this time by her arm.

 

He gathered his youki cloud around him and took to the skies with her, leaving her friends below to see to Inuyasha's welfare, while Jaken ran to keep up with them, getting left far behind. Never having before traveled with Sesshoumaru, she had never felt first hand the speed at which he could travel, but in less than a minute she knew they were miles from Inuyasha and the gang, heading back in the direction they had just come from.

 

And that gave Sesshoumaru precisely what he wanted…privacy. For the time being at least. Now he had the little miko right where he wanted her, alone and without any annoying younger brothers standing in the way of getting the answers that he wanted. He could smell her apprehension and nervousness, but no fear. That never failed to amaze him…from all of the times he had been in her presence, the only time he had ever smelled fear on her was when Inuyasha was in danger of losing his life. It was never fear of him.

 

Now she was staring at him, luminous in the moonlight, and standing tall to face him. Before he could have the first word, as he was used to, she beat him to it.

 

“I was not lying,” she said defiantly. “I had dinner with you a few nights ago.”

 

He lifted one eyebrow. “Really? I'm sure I would have remembered that.”

 

She flushed. “Not with you. With the other you.”

 

He cracked his claws. “I am in no mood for games.”

 

“It's not a game!” she burst out. “Sesshoumaru, do you know where I come from?”

 

He stared at her, and for a moment, she didn't think he would answer her. “You disappear into the well that resides in Inuyasha's forest. It is a portal that takes you to another time and place.”

 

“Wrong,” she said, and he glared at her. “Another time, yes, but not another place. I'm surprised that you deduced that much however.”

 

“I am not a simple fool, miko,” he said, advancing a step on her, causing her to retreat.

 

“I know you're not, Sesshoumaru-sama,” she said, telling herself to be careful with her words. “I do come from another time, as you said. Five hundred years into the future to be exact. And a few days ago, I met you again there. You are alive five hundred years from now.” When all he continued to do was stare at her, she said dejectedly, “You don't believe me, do you?”

 

“As I said before, miko, I'm not a fool. I can clearly smell myself on you,” he said a bit dryly. “What I want to know is why I'm being so friendly with you in the future.”

 

“Ask yourself that,” she retorted. “I don't have access to your mind, Sesshoumaru.”

 

“Did I give you permission to address me so casually?”

 

“Yes, you did,” she said, tired of his attitude. “You said we were old friends.”

 

“I have no friends, especially those that run around with worthless hanyous.”

 

“Why do you do that?” she asked softly. “Why do you turn everything around like that? You know Inuyasha is not worthless. You've seen him fight just to have a normal life again, to just live peacefully, and you mock him. You were born with everything and he was born with nothing.”

 

“Do not make assumptions on our lives, woman,” Sesshoumaru said, beginning to get angry at her. “You do not know me, and you do not know Inuyasha. Yet you still love him, don't you?”

 

She looked at him steadily, knowing that he was trying to goad her. “I do love him. I always have and I always will. But not in the way that you think. Not anymore, at least. But, like you imply, what could a cold, heartless demon like yourself know of love?”

 

Cold and heartless…yes, that was him down to a fault, but he knew it was not completely true. Cold, yes, but he was not heartless. He had honor, he had passion within him, and he had…he wouldn't call it love for he didn't know what love exactly was, but he had feelings of longing and hope. And this girl was throwing his own principles back in his face and mocking him for it.

 

He stared at the girl before him…the one who had stayed with his brother even though Inuyasha neglected her. Who seemed to never lose hope and always tried to see the good in people. Was she filled with so much love that she never felt hate?

 

Unexplainable to him, he wanted to tear away the happy bubble she always seemed to be in. To tear down her naïve hopes for her future and introduce her to reality. Maybe then she would stop preaching to everybody about the good inside of them. He didn't want to see the good because he knew it never lasted. Evil always conquered in the end.

 

“I do not know of love, as you say, miko, but the question can be directed to you as well. You are a child still,” he said coldly. “Are so stupid and idiotic to assume that you know what love is? You are a fool.”

 

She stared at him, frozen by his cold words. She had heard him speak with that tone of voice only a few times, and only when he deliberately wanted to hurt someone.

 

“You claim that you used to love Inuyasha romantically, but I don't think that you are being honest with yourself,” he said, beginning to walk to her and around her, seeming to assess her. “Whenever Inuyasha ran off to be with the woman who holds a part of your soul, what did you do?”

 

She didn't answer him and he graciously supplied. “You sat back and watched, waiting for him just to come back to you, the temporary fix. When Kikyo was not around, Inuyasha took comfort in your presence, for you were exactly like her.”

 

“That's not true,” Kagome said. She didn't understand why he was being so mean to her, but she knew that she was nothing like Kikyo. “I am Kagome.”

 

“You are her reincarnation,” he shot back, coming around to face her once more. “She was you first, the original. And Inuyasha's original love. Is that why you claim not to love him anymore?”

 

At the stricken look on her face, he pressed on relentlessly, doing his damndest to reinforce her opinion of his heartlessness. “That is it, isn't it? You knew he would never come to you, so you stepped away. Just like you faded into the background every time Kikyo was near.”

 

“Stop it,” she said raggedly, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

 

“Why didn't you ever fight back, Kagome?” he asked, purposely using her first name. “You never fought to have Inuyasha as your own. Why?”

“I…I didn't want to make the burden harder for him,” she whispered. “What happened to them wasn't their fault, and I wanted him to come to me on his own.”

 

“Wrong,” Sesshoumaru said. “You were afraid to. You knew that you would pale in comparison to her in his eyes, and you didn't want to take that risk. You were unwilling to give everything up for him, for the man that you supposedly `loved'. It's clear that you never really loved him at all. You were just his lap dog, begging for any kind of scraps from him, and when you received none, you gave up and went to a new owner. Is that why you had dinner with me in the future? Am I to be your new owner now, Kagome?”

 

He gently wiped a stray tear off of her face, but his gentle caress clashed against the hardness in his eyes. He briefly glanced at her up and down.

 

“Pathetic,” he declared, and with that word he walked away, leaving her completely shattered. He smelled the devastation in her scent.

 

As he disappeared into the darkness, he heard her fall to her knees and begin to weep into her hands.

 

As her soft cries echoed in his ears, he told himself he didn't care…

 

 

 

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Later that night, the rest of the group huddled around the campfire minus Kagome and Inuyasha. Since they had been traveling at a walk for the whole day, they were still fairly close to Kaede's village, and when Kagome had been found, she asked to be taken home. Inuyasha had put up a huge fuss in the beginning, but after finally realizing how broken Kagome seemed, he agreed.

 

“Is Kagome going to be okay?” Shippo asked quietly while sitting in Sango's lap along with Kirara.

 

“I don't know quite what happened with Sesshoumaru,” Miroku said, “But Kagome-sama is a strong woman. She just needs to recover and then she'll be back.”

 

“Ohh, that Sesshoumaru,” the little fox suddenly burst out. “How dare he hurt Kagome! She said he wouldn't hurt her!”

 

“Shippo, did you know this meeting was going to happen?” Kikyo asked softly, watching the kitsune wince in guilt.

 

“Well,” he hedged. “Maybe Kagome did tell me something about it…”

 

“What was all of this about? Why did Kagome smell like Sesshoumaru?” Sango asked, puzzled.

 

“Sesshoumaru exists in her time as well, and she met him there,” Shippo exclaimed. “They had dinner together, and he told her what would happen. But he told her he wouldn't hurt her and he lied!”

 

“He hurt her spirit, Shippo, not her body. Maybe that's what he meant,” Miroku said.

 

“I don't care! Hurt is hurt! I hope Kagome feels better soon.”

 

“Maybe Inuyasha can cheer her up along the way,” Sango suggested.

 

She flushed as everyone stared at her. “What?”

 

 

 

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“Oi, stop crying already,” Inuyasha said a bit desperately as he sped towards the well. Kagome still hadn't talked to him, and she wasn't crying noisily. Tears just kept streaming down her face without a sound, and he was starting to get really nervous.

 

Kagome just buried her face further into his shoulder and said nothing. The rest of the trip was spent in silence and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the well and dropped in. Heading straight for her little apartment, he walked in and set her down on the couch.

 

“You can leave now, Inuyasha,” she said in a tired voice. “I'll be fine now.”

 

“Like hell I'm going to leave,” he said. “Kagome, what happened?”

 

New tears filled her eyes. “I don't want to talk about it,” she whispered.

 

“Kagome…” he began, but stopped abruptly. “What the hell?” he growled and opened the door.

 

There stood Sesshoumaru.

 

Immediately Inuyasha let loose a punch, but Sesshoumaru caught it before it could hit his face, and brought up his other arm. He slowly curled those fingers into a fist before punching Inuyasha softly, which still sent the hanyou staggering back a few steps.

 

“I've always wanted to do that with the arm you took away,” he softly murmured and turned to face Kagome. He saw the tears on her face and inwardly winced. His conference had ended early, letting him head back to Tokyo, and he had debated for hours whether or not to go see her, but in the end, he couldn't just leave her suffering.

 

As long as demons are blessed with long life, they are often gifted with extraordinary memories, and he remembered everything he said to her that night. “Kagome,” he said with his old authority. “Come here.” When he saw her hesitate, he felt his heart crack a bit, but he added calmly, “Please.”

 

“Kagome, don't go,” Inuyasha said grabbing her hand and standing in front of her protectively.

 

“Let her go, hanyou,” Sesshoumaru said, his eyes colder than ice. “She is not yours.”

 

That statement left Inuyasha blinking at him in confusion, which gave Kagome the opportunity to escape his grasp and walk slowly to Sesshoumaru. She stopped a foot away from him and just stared at him.

 

He could see all of the questions in her eyes, as well as the pain, and he did something he should have done to her a long time ago. Slowly slipping a clawed hand behind her neck, he pulled her unresisting and surprised form into his, and held her close to his chest.

 

A thousand emotions went into the embrace and flowed between them, and when he whispered into her ear, “This Sesshoumaru apologizes for hurting you,” he slowly felt her small hands creep up his back to grip his coat, holding onto him for dear life. He could not resist running his claws through her soft hair and giving her a quick nuzzle on the top of her head.

 

After a few moments, she backed away and gave him a shy smile, wiping the tears off of her face. He gifted her with a small smile in return and turned to face his brother, who was still staring at him.

 

“Inuyasha, you are looking well. Even though you are still a brat, it's good to see you,” he said honestly, and he could sense the disbelief in his brother.

 

“Yeah, right, bastard. What are you doing with Kagome? Are you trying to use her to get to me in this time?”

 

“Do not be foolish,” Sesshoumaru snapped. “What I do with her is none of your concern.”

 

“It's my concern when you hurt her like you did tonight,” Inuyasha retorted. “You think that now because you seem to have changed that makes things any different?”

 

“Inuyasha, please, don't fight,” Kagome pleaded. “Just go back to the camp now. Everyone will be wondering where you went.”

 

He stared at her. “You think I'm just going to leave you alone with him? Are you stupid?”

 

“You know,” she said in a hard voice. “I've had enough of being called that tonight.”

 

“You called her stupid?” Inuyasha yelled at Sesshoumaru, and the TaiYoukai gave a mental sigh.

 

“Inuyasha, go,” Kagome said. “I'm fine with Sesshoumaru here, and you need to get the jewel shard that we heard about. Kikyo will be able to see them. I'll be back in a few days, okay?”

 

Inuyasha stood there with his arms folded and shook his head.

 

Inuyasha,” Kagome said, walking up to him and clasping her hands. “Trust me, Sesshoumaru is different from how he was back then. We're friends now, okay?”

 

Inuyasha opened his mouth to retort, but she held up her hand. “Go and deal with your responsibilities and let me have some peace, okay? I promise, if he hurts me, you have my permission to try and kill him.”

 

Inuyasha snuck a glance at his now modernized brother and saw the amusement at Kagome's last statement on his face. He looked back at Kagome and her hopeful eyes and sighed. “Fine, but if he does anything I get to kick his ass.”

 

“Deal,” she said with a smile and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek that had him flushing.

 

Sesshoumaru frowned but let them have their moment. He would have his moment in time later. He moved out of Inuyasha's way a second later and watched the hanyou leap into the night to head back into the past. Looking back at Kagome, she seemed very shy with him now. “Would you like some coffee or tea?” she asked, leading the way into her small kitchen.

 

He glanced around curiously at her living space, approving of the little knick knacks that decorated her home and thought them charming. “No, thank you, I just came by to see how you were doing.”

 

“I'll be fine now, Sesshoumaru,” she said as she bustled around the kitchen. “I'll get over it.”

 

“Kagome, I didn't really mean all that I said tonight,” he began, but she held up a hand.

 

“Yes, you did,” she said calmly and stopped to face him. “You may not have said it in the nicest way possible, but everything you said tonight was true. When compared to Kikyo, I pale in comparison. But I'm not going to be compared to Kikyo. I am my own person, and I don't need to be compared to everyone. As for loving Inuyasha…”

 

He waited patiently for her to go on. She turned and stared out of her kitchen window into the night while she gathered her thoughts. “What I had for Inuyasha was puppy love. He was the first one to say that he would protect me, and in a world that I had never known and didn't understand, he was my rock. He was exotic, he was tragic, and he needed me.” She turned back to him. “I was the first one who cared about who Inuyasha was, not what his bloodline was made of. I had never really been needed before and my mind warped that need into love. I know this now, and the only love I feel for Inuyasha is the deepest friendship.”

 

“I believe you,” he said. “Back then, a part of me knew, but a part of me was angry at the way you could just let things be the way they were without feeling some sort of pain. I wanted to make you feel pain so you would know what it felt like.”

 

“You think I haven't felt pain, Sesshoumaru? That I just go through life smiling and hopeful and nothing bad ever happens to me?”

 

“No,” he said, sitting down. “But back then, I didn't see it. I wanted to see what you were like when your defenses were down and you were made...”

 

“Made what?”

 

He searched for the words. “Completely human. You never seemed completely human to me because of the way you acted. Humans are innately jealous and greedy and tend to hate so easily, but you didn't.”

 

“And that's why you tore into me tonight?”

 

“Consciously, no. I didn't know why I was truly doing it then, but now I do.”

 

She nodded at that, and then asked another question. “What are you doing with me now, Sesshoumaru?”

 

He looked slightly confused at her question, and she began to elaborate, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.

 

“In the past you suggested that I was going to turn to you because I couldn't have Inuyasha. I just wanted you to know that's not my inten-”

 

He held up a hand to silence her. “I know, Kagome. That was just a petty barb to try and get a rise out of you. I know that you are not a woman of that nature.”

 

She seemed to accept this, and they continued to talk, but when he really looked at her, he could see how tired she looked. Though reluctantly, he said, “I should leave you to your rest. Have dinner with me tomorrow night, and we can talk some more.”

 

“That sounds nice,” she said, walking him to the door and opening it.

 

“I'll be here to pick you up after six,” he said, and continued to stare at her.

 

“What?” she asked, a little uncomfortable by the unwavering stare.

 

Slowly, his hand reached forward again and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You are anything but pathetic,” he murmured and enjoyed the way her eyes widened. He turned on his heel to head for his car, leaving her to stare after him, her heart suddenly beating faster.

 

She suddenly just wanted to sit down someplace quiet and think and decided to do it outside and stare at the stars. But, in present day Tokyo, the stars were not present on that night, however she remembered that in the past, the stars were shining brightly.

 

She thought about it and knew that Inuyasha was close to their camp again and wouldn't detect it if she had gone back, so she grabbed a coat and walked to the well.

 

In his car on his way home, Sesshoumaru smiled, knowing that the night was still not over for them…

 

 

 

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Gazing at the bright twilight that greeted her, along with the fullness of the moon, she sat down and took a deep breath. She reflected on the nights events, and decided that when she met Sesshoumaru again in the past, she would try and keep talking to him.

 

From what the present day Sesshoumaru had told her, his past self was confused, and she didn't want that. For now, she would just be polite to him and try not to insult him, and everything would be better.

 

Closing her eyes and relaxing in the long grass, she began to doze in the cool night breeze. However, her eyes flew open again when she heard his deep voice behind her.

 

“You did not run away to your home?”

 

She sat up and turned to see his shadowed countenance standing a few feet in front of her. Walking a few steps forward into the moonlight, she could see his impassive face as he stared down at her, and marveled at the differences between the demon she had just had a conversation with, and the fierce demon that stood before her now.

 

“I went home,” she said, standing up to face him, and a small smirk came to her face. “But you came and apologized, and so I felt better.”

 

He looked taken aback for a second. “How much have I changed?” he finally asked, and listened to her melodic laughter. “You laugh at me?”

 

She caught her breath. “No, that's just not the reaction I was expecting from you. Why are you here, Sesshoumaru?”

 

He didn't answer her but instead walked to the well and began to circle it. “Would you like to see how it works?” she asked.

 

Before he could answer, she jumped into the well and stood in her own time, before climbing out and jumping back in again. As she climbed out this time, she explained to him, “That's how I travel back and forth. I don't know why the well does what it does, or why it only allows Inuyasha to travel back and forth, but that's basically it.”

 

“I see,” he said blandly. “And was I just with you in your time?”

 

“Yes, you were.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I said before that you came to apologize.”

 

“And what is your relationship with me there?”

 

She flushed. “We're not romantically involved, if that's what you're implying,” she said hotly.

 

“I'm not implying anything of the sort,” he said, seeming to look down his nose at her, which made her even more irritated.

 

“Do you enjoy seeing me angry?” she demanded.

 

“It has its moments.”

 

She froze, shocked. “Are you toying with me?”

 

“Do you ever stop asking questions, miko?”

 

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “We're friends.”

 

“Friends,” he repeated slowly.

 

“Yes, friends. You know, we talk to each other, enjoy each others company, have dinner. You're not as stuffy as you are now, so I actually like spending time with you.”

 

“Stuffy?” he asked raising an eyebrow at her. “Is this how to talk to me in the future?”

 

“You've never said anything about it before.”

 

“And what have you done that has made me so interested in you?”

 

“How should I know? You're very curious, aren't you?”

 

“When it pertains to me, yes. Since you are here now, I want answers to the questions I did not ask before.”

 

“You didn't get to ask them because you were too busy ripping into me.”

 

He leveled a glare at her. “You angered me.”

 

“No, I confused you,” she countered. “There's a difference. You told me yourself.”

 

He frowned. He wasn't sure if he liked the future version of him. He talked too much.

 

“You confused me,” he consented. “I do not like to be confused.”

 

“Love is a confusing thing,” she said, turning serious. “And that conversation, amidst all the insults, pertained mostly to that topic.”

 

“You speak of love as if you know what it is,” he said quietly, staring away from her and into the trees unseeingly. “But do you even understand it? Do you know what it means?”

 

“No,” she admitted. “I don't know the exact definition, but I know that I've felt it. She paused to think and he waited for her words. “I don't know if I can put a label on it, but whenever I need to be sure I love someone, I have to think…would I die for them? I know it sounds kind of corny, but if my answer is without any hesitation that I would die for them, I know I love them. You must have felt the same for Rin.”

 

He made a slight sneer. “I would not die so foolishly for Rin.”

 

She looked at him consideringly, and seemed to see through a part of him, and her eyes held a strange sadness. He did not think he liked that. “No,” she said slowly and softly. “You would not just barge in and die for Rin…but you would put up a hell of a fight to save her, even risk your life as you have so many times already. Have you ever asked yourself why you instinctively go to her?”

 

He opened his mouth as if to answer, but snapped it shut. A moment later, he spoke. “I grow tired of your questions, woman. I shall leave you to your rest.” Without a sound he turned and began walking back into the darkness, leaving her with the image of the moonlight in his hair.

 

As she went back home to her time and crawled into her bed, she couldn't help but think how much he had changed since the first time she had met him. Five years ago, he probably would have killed her for everything that had happened that night, from talking back to him to the semi-pleasant conversation under the moon.

 

As she drifted off to sleep, she knew that she was beginning to like who Sesshoumaru was turning into.

 

 

 

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Sesshoumaru walked through the forest back to where he had left Jaken, and thought of his interesting conversation with the miko. She did not even seem angry with him for the words he had spoken to her before and it seemed he had her complete forgiveness. Only because of who he was in the future.

 

What did the girl Kagome mean to him in the future? This was the thing that had baffled him the most, and truth be told, made him wary. Why was he getting so close to a human? His scent was very strong on her, so they had to have had bodily contact.

 

He waited for the disgust at the thought of touching the girl, but it did not come. Why did he apologize to her in the future? Maybe he was a little too harsh with the girl before, but he apologized to no one, so why was she so special.

 

And he was beginning to realize she was special. There was just an extra quality about her that had him wanting to know more. He would have to stay close to Inuyasha's pack if he wanted to find out more about the girl and his future self.

 

The prospect of being in such close contact with his half-brother did not seem appealing, however, there was another aspect that did seem nice…

 

…finding out who the hell he was.

 

 

 

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Whew, that was a long chapter. Since I've found myself with new time on my hands, I decided to get this chapter out WAY more early than I thought I would. I hope you are all pleased, and again, thank you for the reviewer responses. They really inspire me. I love you all, especially those who appreciate that Sesshoumaru is a hard character to write. This chapter was really hard. Until next time!

 

Mujitsu