InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sesshoumaru's Flame ❯ The Power of a Power Bar ( Chapter 9 )

REVIEW AKNOWLADGEMENTS WILL BE POSTED AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER... THANKS!!! ^^

A/N: Wow, I haven't even posted the last chapter yet... this is a first... anywho... I hope you liked it and I really hope you'll like this 'un! Thanks to all the people who reviewed (<-- a really hopeful statement since I haven't even posted it yet -_-V)

IMPORTANT: Sango makes an appearance, Mirokus Wench, who is a very tough critic and also my beta reader in a way has this thing against her... I wish to warn any and all Sango fans out there... this won't be pretty. You have been warned, so I don't want ANY flames regarding what I have done to her...

Disclaimer: Oink-oink-oink!!! Oh look, the pigs! They've taken flight!! I must own InuYasha and all its cast! Oh wait... Excel, put down the cardboard cutouts!! You got my hopes up again... ^n^v-tear... Oh, and besides InuYasha, I don't own the book (well I own the book I just didn't write it) /Frederick Douglass an American Slave/.

~*~

Chapter Eight- The Power of a Power Bar

The sound of rustling leafs was what stirred the restful Sesshoumaru-- or perhaps it was the overly loud whispering going on directly above his head.

"Is Sesshoumaru-sama okay?" this was definitely Rin.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine, he just conked out for a bit," Kagome-- no doubt.

"C-conked? Wassat?" Rin asked worriedly.

"It just means that he was really sleepy," Kagome answered with a kind smile shining through her words.

Sesshoumaru pondered his present situation, he could continue to play "dead" (Phth-- that's fuuuunny... speak... woof ^-^V) or he could open his eyes and join in their conversation in which he had been deemed the third person.

"Is Sesshoumaru-sama gonna wake up anytime soon? Rin wants to play!" Rin's voice went a little louder by the end of her declaratory statement.

"Shhhhhh, no need to wake him up," Kagome whispered. "See, doesn't he look cute when he's sleeping? He's not glaring at anyone," Rin looked at her, puzzled. "You know what I mean, when he looks like this," she giggled as Kagome imitated Sesshoumaru's trademark glare.

Sesshoumaru decided on this moment to open his eyes and give Kagome the exact same gaze that she had attempted to imitate. Rin was-- to say the least-- a bit surprised by the sudden wakeful state that her lord was in and jumped near to three feet in the air, letting out a staccato scream and falling back on her rear, arms holding her upright. Sesshoumaru moved his eyes to Rin, "Startled?" he asked simply.

She looked wide eyed at him for a moment and proceeded to break into a bright smile nodding her head vigorously, launching herself at Sesshoumaru, catching him in a tight embrace. He put a single hand up to pat her back, closing his eyes-- basking in the love of a child. Kagome put a hand to her mouth to catch an "awe" that threatened to make its way from her.

At this precise moment Udon decided to come bounding toward the touching scene, barking loudly, obviously protesting the fact that he had been left out of something and he wanted to be included immediately. Rin turned around to squeal at the hyper pup and ran towards him at full tilt. Seeing this Udon stopped in his tracks for a brief moment and watched as Rin steadily got closer, then, deciding that this was play time, went running in the opposite direction as Rin gave chase.

"What a pair," Kagome commented as they watched the two roll around in the grass. "At least they won't wear each other out," she turned to Sesshoumaru who was staring at the dog and Rin.

"Hmmm, indeed," he tore his eyes away from the playing duo and turned to Kagome. "I believe we should leave soon. It is almost time for Rin's mid-day rest which would give us time to leave and go practice."

"Okay," Kagome sighed and looked into her lap. "Sounds like a plan, I suppose."

"No whining, you should appreciate this opportunity, and besides," he added looking back to Rin, "I have not even mentioned the bucket yet, have I?"

Kagome's head snapped up. "You remembered?" she asked in a pained voice.

He nodded slowly, "But I do not intend to force you to carry it around again." At this Kagome sighed with relief, "I warn you though, I will if you do not show some much needed improvement today. Agreed?"

"Sounds reasonable," she mumbled.

"Good then," Sesshoumaru gave a curt nod and turned to call Rin. "Rin, it is time."

Rin and Udon looked up simultaneously from their wrestling match to Sesshoumaru. Rin's face scrunched, readying for a good whine, "BUUUUUT--"

"No buts," Sesshoumaru cut her off. "We are going now, you must sleep and Kagome and I need to run a few errands."

Rin untangled herself from Udon begrudgingly and began to drag her feet in the general direction of Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Once there she looked up to her lord with her best puppy dog face. Udon had caught on to the fact that they were supposed to be leaving, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to, so he sat beside Rin and looked to Sesshoumaru with the same doleful face and gave a pathetic whimper. Sesshoumaru lifted a perfectly sculpted brow, "We may do this again tomorrow if there is no fuss today." Rin celebrated by jumping into the air and running off towards the house.

Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome, "Time to go." And he was off. Kagome stood, huffing about inconsiderate males and trudged after the group.

~*~

"Onward my fiery steed!" Kouga yelled as he slapped InuYasha on the butt.

"What the f**k is that for?!" InuYasha screamed. "I'm gonna drop you on your a** if you don't cut that out!"

"Hey, I find it completely your fault that I'm here in the first place," Kouga said pointedly.

"Oh, and how's that?"

"I was trying to leave you in the dust and you kept talkin' to me so... I hurt myself," Kouga said with conviction.

"Yeah, whatever you say" InuYasha muttered. "Which way from here," he asked as they neared a fork in the road.

Kouga said nothing but gouged InuYasha in the right hip to signal the direction he was supposed to head in. "OUCH! You f-in' idiot! You gotta stop treating me like a friggin' horse or I'll--"

"Or you'll what?" Kouga said tauntingly. "You gotta keep me with you or we won't find Kagome, geeze think things through before you try to make threats dog-breath."

"Shut it," was the unhappy reply.

"Then with that settled: To the west! My faithful stallion!"

"Your faithful WHAT?! Okay, that cuts it, you're gone."

"Ha, you can't leave me-- OUCH! You dropped me!" Kouga yelled incredulously. "So what, ya gonna try to find Kagome without a scent? Do you really thi--" he stopped mid-sentence as InuYasha grabbed his ankle. "What are you doin' now?" trepidation filled Kouga's voice.

"I'm not leavin' ya don't worry," InuYasha grumbled.

"Good, 'cause-- AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kouga screamed as InuYasha began to drag him in the direction that he had been instructed to go. "STOP! Stop it right there!"

InuYasha halted, "What is it now? We can't make any sort of good time if you keep holding us up!"

"But you're dragging me!"

"Yeah, and? How else was I supposed to get your butt there while keeping mine in tacked?" InuYasha questioned.

"Well mine won't be if you continue to drag me! Remember? Loincloth."

"Skirt," InuYasha corrected, "and that's your fault. Anyway, we gotta stop the chatter, it's gettin' late." InuYasha began on his merry way again.

"HOLD IT!" Kouga screamed. "I-I'm pretty sure the ankle's okay. I'll be fine."

InuYasha dropped Kouga's foot, "That's great 'cause I don't think that I could actually drag your heavy a** anywhere."

Kouga hobbled to his feet, "Well you seemed to be doing just fine carrying me."

"Yeah, that's diffrnt (spelling was intentional), I don't know why though," InuYasha mused, sounding puzzled to the highest extent.

Kouga pfft-ed and went on until he caught something with his nose and was sent reeling, "Whoa!!! Waaaaay wrong!"

"What? What is it?" InuYasha asked.

"Something seems to be rotting in that general area," Kouga waved his hand in the direction that they were going.

"Great," InuYasha said, covering his nose with his coat. "Well, let's get going."

"Eh, I think we should check it out," Kouga stated. "Get a little closer and take a whiff, it smells like somethin' that used to hang around you..."

InuYasha took a few steps closer, "If this is just a trick to get me to smell that c**p, your dead wolfy." He kept going, it didn't take too long before he could smell it as well. His first reaction was to try to get it out of his nose, but after stifling habit he examined the smell. "S**t," was all that he managed to get out before he sprinted towards the obviously rotting flesh.

"Eeeeewwww," InuYasha heard from behind him as he squatted down beside the mound of fly ridden, bloody flesh. "Wassat?" Kouga asked disgustedly.

InuYasha nodded, "Her name was Sango. Man, Miroku's gonna flip, Kagome too."

"What about you? Ain't you the least bit worried?"

InuYasha shrugged, "S**t happens (Run Forest! Run! ^-^ Have a Nice Day)," was all he said before moving on.

((A/N: There, it's done, I did your dirty deed Excel! Aka MIROKU'S WENCH!!! She's been eliminated, you can now safely make your long awaited move on da monk! Oh, and just to tell all ya'lls, I don't really mind Sango all that much, she's nice 'n' all, even though she does seem kinda useless at times, I don't have too much to hold against her. Then again, I'm not a die-hard Miroku fan-girl aka Mirokist... I mahself happen to be a Session all the way baby! Oh, and to find the origin of these titles animegarden.org (com?) has them in ask a character... I just didn't wanna act like these wonderful titles were my brain child or anythin', I'd feel kinda guilty if I did that... O.o I've been talkin' a while! Here, have some fic to make up for it!))

~*~

"Okay then, aim for the same tree as last time, the same spot if at all possible," Sesshoumaru commanded as he sat on the same boulder as the last time they had visited that particular spot. Rin was at home sleeping and Udon had stayed behind to "protect" her, as puppies will often decide to do. Sesshoumaru and Kagome had left not long after they were absolutely sure that Rin and Udon were asleep-- Udon only because he was the first one to actually fall asleep.

"Uh, sure, I'll try, can't guarantee anything though," Kagome warned as she positioned herself in front of the tree. Silence answered her and she knew that it was time to start.

'Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate!' Kagome told herself. 'Dag-nabit! I feel like a can of frozen orange juice!'

On her left Sesshoumaru was thinking along the same lines, minus, of course, the thought of the orange juice. 'You must concentrate, Kagome,' he urged. 'I cannot help her today, she must be able to do this without the push of anger,' Sesshoumaru thought, betraying himself, even if it was only silently, he ignored it for the moment though.

Kagome stared at the tree, not quite sure how to unlock the power that was obviously hidden inside of her. She squinted, twitched, and thought 'til her brain hurt and she was sure she knew what a full blown migraine must feel like. This went on for about ten minutes before she sighed and flopped down to the ground, arms spread wide and eyes closed, the grass consoling her by caressing her cheeks lightly. And for a moment, silence reigned.

"I don't think I can do it on cue," Kagome sighed, Sesshoumaru remained silent, awaiting the rest of the pent up frustration. "I know that I can do it when I'm totally peeved, but I can't do it on cue," upon stumbling on such a thought her eyes shot open and in the next second she was up in a very agitated sitting position in shock, pure and unadulterated shock. "Do-does that mean that I have an anger management problem? 'Cause, I mean, that would be a really bad thing to have considering what has been happening every time I do get angry. What if that's the case," she turned to face Sesshoumaru who was looking at her skeptically. "Well, it would be a bad thing, wouldn't it?!"

"Kagome," she jumped slightly, still not used to hearing the demon lord call her something that wasn't degrading at all. "You can access this without the aid of any sort of emotion, trust me on this," he stated as though his word were fact (WHAT?! You mean it isn't????). "You must master this or instead of controlling it, it will become the master of you. Your every move will be measured so that you do not end up 'setting yourself off' so to speak. So you are obligated to do this, if not for yourself, for those that surround you, those you wish to protect." Sesshoumaru averted his gaze, not wanting to meet her eyes as he finished, "I've seen you fight for those you love, you are fierce when protecting them. You have the power inside, but you must find the key, if you do not, you may end up putting them in more danger than even you would be able to ward off."

Kagome was in shock, or perhaps shock would be to gentle a word, but there would never be a word in her vocabulary that was sufficient enough to describe exactly what she was feeling at that moment. Sesshoumaru had not only given her a compliment, but he had given her encouragement, and had even called her by her real name! She stood, more determination in her face than before, she looked at the tree and pointed to it stating with an angry sort of enthusiasm, "You're goin' down, Bubba-Joe!"

Sesshoumaru's gaze went back to Kagome with a questioning look in his eyes as he mouthed "Bubba-Joe" in silent question. He shook his head to rid it of the useless question, and watched as Kagome, in place of concentrating so hard that her head became a pile of mush soon after, she relaxed. A few deep breaths, a shake of the limbs to loosen everything up, and a crack of the knuckles and neck and she was ready. Standing loosely in front of her "adversary" she took aim not only with her eyes but also with her hand held out palm up as though she expected the flame to come out of her palm and funnel it's way to the tree. Sesshoumaru looked on, intrigued.

Kagome closed her eyes and lo and behold, a small flame appeared in the middle of her hand. She opened her eyes slowly because she knew it was there and she was well aware that she would scare the heck out of herself if she were to just let her eyes fly open and suddenly find a flame in her hand with no apparent source except her own flesh. She was able to handle the sight just fine, especially since there was no pain evolved. She continued with her task by taking her other hand and guiding the flame upwards a bit, much to both witnesses surprise, it obeyed and grew in height. Kagome, who was getting the hang of all of this, gracefully swept her hand towards the tree and the flame once again did as her hand commanded, and in a single straight shot went to the tree and finally hit the same spot she had been attempting to light up for two days.

Sesshoumaru was shocked, stunned really, but not so much that he didn't automatically reach behind his seat and grab a bucket to dowse the fire with. Before he even got the chance to stand, Kagome had raised her hands again and she was beckoning to the flames with her right hand holding the left one palm up again. It began to come back to her, even swirling a bit in the air as she messed with it-- just because she could. Soon the flame was in the palm of her hand again, all she did was close her fingers around it and that was the end of that. She wiped her hands together as if she had crumbs on them and looked over to Sesshoumaru who was still holding the bucket of water.

"I saw someone do that in an anime once, I wasn't expecting it to actually work!" Kagome giggled excitedly.

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Hmm, me neither. Obviously," he added as he motioned to the bucket that he was setting down.

Kagome looked at it curiously, "How'd that get here? We didn't carry any over did we?"

Shaking his head, Sesshoumaru replied, "No, I had anticipated that we would be working on this again and I had a few buckets ready for the practice session, just in case of course."

"Of course," Kagome smirked. "So, since that's all done, shall we head back?" she asked hopefully. Sesshoumaru lifted a brow in response, "I suppose that means no, huh?"

"Indeed it does, how perceptive of you," he said sarcastically. "I would like to see that done at least twenty more times before we even think of going anywhere."

Kagome stood staring at him, slack jawed, "You must be joking." But upon seeing the look on Sesshoumaru's face she grudgingly turned back to the tree and started the whole process over again.

"You better be amazed every single time, this is more work than it looks like," she muttered slightly threateningly.

~*~

"Come on Miroku! Can't you go any faster? It's important!" Shippo asked hurriedly, they were hot on the trail, and Miroku wasn't going fast enough for his nose.

"Forgive me Shippo, but this is as fast as I go," Miroku knew how much the kitsune wished to get back to his adopted mother, but he could only go so fast with a small child on his shoulders.

"No, I understand-- left here-- I'm sorry. We should probably-- the middle road-- rest a while, shouldn't we?" Shippo suggested, worried for his friend.

Miroku slowed a bit, "Are you sure?" He was panting, but he didn't want to wait any longer than was absolutely necessary.

"Yah, I need a break too. Bugs keep hitting me in the face, they should have something for that," he suggested as Miroku found a nice shady place for them to sit a while. "You know, maybe something clear that would go in front of your face when you're goin' too fast to avoid bugs, it would also protect you from hard wind 'n' stuff like that, a shield of sorts!"

Miroku chuckled, "Yes Shippo, indeed, and what exactly would they call such an outlandish invention?"

Shippo thought a bit, scratching his head, "Er-uh, I-I really dunno. Can I get back to you on it?"

Miroku laughed and nodded, "Yes, yes, I would like to hear what you think it should be called, think of something creative, and wake me when you come up with something. I should be able to continue at full capacity by then." With that, he laid his head back on the tree and took a small catnap.

~*~

"So, whaddaya think?" Kagome asked happily. No matter what Sesshoumaru said, her mood could not be dampened, and she knew it-- which was probably the only reason she actually asked in the first place.

"You need to practice more," Sesshoumaru answered bluntly. Kagome turned to him and raised an eye brow, he sighed, "You did not do so badly though."

"Thanks! Oh, and as for what you said back there, as far as encouragement goes, well, that really, really helped, so thanks for that too," she wasn't sure how to follow that up, she would normally hug someone after such a thanks, but she'd only done that once with Sesshoumaru and he was in a /very/ good mood that time. At the moment, she wasn't sure /what/ he was feeling at all. Her confusion was somewhat taken care of as his hand rose, seeming a bit unsure of exactly what he was doing with it. He stopped at her shoulders, his hand sort of went around, but stopped mid-back and quickly shot up to pat her on the head and went back to his side with amazing speed.

Kagome giggled, "You're so cute sometimes."

Sesshoumaru's eyes nearly grew, "What? I beg to--” He was cut off as he sensed another youkai in the area. He brought his finger to his lips motioning her to silence.

After a while, he turned back to her, "Would you like some real practice?"

"What do you mean 'real practice?' What did I just do?!" Kagome asked, slightly outraged.

"You practiced on a poor defenseless tree, is what you did. Would you like to practice for real?" Sesshoumaru was losing his patience, he could easily take care of this pesky thing within seconds, but he did want Kagome to be able to use her ability in the heat of battle. The best way to do that was in a supervised fight the first time around so that there was no real danger in it.

"I-I suppose, well I mean-" she took a deep breath. "I don't want to kill anyone who's innocent of any crimes is what I'm saying."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "I am aware of this, but you see, this particular being reeks of human blood, he's been hunting in a nearby village on my lands, and he will die either way. I do not wish for anyone to trespass and then begin killing everything in sight, that is my job and only if I choose to do so."

Kagome ignored the last comment and thought a moment on the proposition, "Are you sure that he's hurt others?"

Sesshoumaru gave a curt nod, "I can take you to the village if you like, but there's no one left." He was not expecting her response.

"Yes, after this is through, I'd like to go and bury what's left of the villagers," she said quietly determined.

Another curt nod, "So is this one yours or mine?"

"Mine. How long?"

"Only a few moments, it moves quickly, observe before you shoot, do not let him read your movements," and Sesshoumaru stepped out of the small clearing to observe at a distance that he was still able to get to the clearing in a decent amount of time (Like none at all... that man... beast... youkai, is friggin' FAST!!! Blur lines all ovah da place when he fights!!!! OOOOOOO).

As Sesshoumaru disappeared into the shadows Kagome rolled up her sleeves, "I can so do this. Piece of cake... CRUD! My cake always turns out sucky... new food, new food." She thought on that, Sesshoumaru slowly shaking his head all the while. There wasn't much time to figure a new food out that she could actually prepare besides octopus hot dogs before she could hear the youkai approach. She stood her ground when it came to stop right before her.

He was huge, and not to mention ugly, like B-movie ugly, gooey and all. "Man, this thing kinda looks like that one that I shot with my arrow that day I ran into you Sesshoumaru-sama."

He had to admit, they looked exactly alike, but there was something very different about this one. "Yes, true enough, but you must not treat him the same before you have seen what he can and cannot do."

Kagome looked over the demon before realizing what he'd said, "For the second time, how the heck do you know what that one looked like? You weren't there!"

"Not the time for this, Kagome! Focus!" Sesshoumaru snapped.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey you," she addressed the youkai before her. "How many innocent people do you estimate you killed today?"

It gurgled a disgusting laugh, "Too many to count, little one, but what do you plan to do about it?"

"Are you implying that I'm short?! Why does everyone imply that I'm short?! I'm of normal stature for my age group!!!" she held out her palm, readying her flame. (This author is /so/ not short!!! <.<...>.>... -_-V)

"Hm-hm-hm, I think not, little one," the demon sniggered. "You will be eaten before that tiny ember even leaps from your thoughts."

"Neh?" Kagome's intelligent sounds came back to her. "'Leaps from my thoughts?' Did that make sense to /anyone/? 'Cause I'm confused again," she shook her head vigorously, remembering to stay focused.

"Yah, okay, let's forget about that shall we and I'll just," with a sweep of her hand the red flames were flung at the demon, they also caught the ground around him. After they had hit she watched as the flames licked their way up the trees and even up the demon that was threatening her, yet he seemed completely unaffected by it.

"He-heh-heh, what did I say little one? You have no chance of beating me."

Calling the flames back to her before they did anymore damage to the forest she answered cockily, "No, you said that I'd be eaten before I got to attack-- ha-ha! I win!" Somewhere in the thick of the forest Sesshoumaru smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand-- of course, no one was looking.

"Not so, not so. But you do show spirit so I'll give you a choice, do you wish to be swallowed whole and be devoured by stomach acids or would you rather be chewed to death first so you do not feel the burn of the acid?"

"Blagh," Kagome said sticking her tongue out. "I hate it when cheesy monsters give you a choice, ya know, 'Do ya wanna die this way,'" she started in a falsetto voice, '"'cause it's painful, or this way, 'cause, it's pretty much equally painful,' come on! You could at least be original!"

"I grow weary of this! You die the way I chose!" he lunged forward, luckily Kagome was able to dodge the first attack, but the second was coming much too soon after the first for her to be able to react effectively. Kagome was shielding her eyes from the oncoming beast, but she saw a flash of white pass before her eyes. Lowering her arm she was able to see that Sesshoumaru had come to her rescue, but that was about all she could see, because they seemed to be equally matched in speed, almost.

Kagome saw something fly passed her head, she knew someone had won, but judging by the colors that had flown, the situation was not looking good. She turned briefly to see Sesshoumaru lying unconscious on the ground, he had taken out a good number of trees on his way down, she was on her own, all she could do was gulp.

"See how simple that was for me? I do not understand what every one is afraid of when they speak of the Lord of the Western Lands, he seems to be nothing more than a mere child, he fights like one too," this ticked Kagome off, her head kicked in.

As she was searching through her pockets familiar words kept running through her mind, 'You fight fiercely for those that you love,' she hadn't the time to ponder them as she came up with what she wanted, "Hey, you think you can handle anything do ya?"

"Of course I can, did I not just prove that to you?" the youkai asked incredulously.

"Nope, one more test," he scoffed as Kagome said this. "Open wide!" Kagome tossed the opened power bar towards her foe, he caught it in his mouth with ease.

"What was that supposed to do? Fill me up so that I wouldn't eat you? I believe that you are out of--" his voice stopped in the middle of the sentence as he grabbed at his throat, it seemed that he was still able to breathe, it was just the power bar doing it's job. He slowly sank to his knees, tearing at his neck, attempting to claw out the offending article, but to no avail. He eventually fell forward and perished.

"Uh-huh, that's what I thought," Kagome said turning to find Sesshoumaru. "That is the last time I eat one of those things!"

She found him a few feet away, lying on the ground, motionless. She ran as fast as she could, her heart pounding in her chest. "Please be alright, please be alright, please be alright," she chanted. As she knelt down to check his pulse and breathing, both of which were still going strong a tear ran down her cheek in relief, everything would be okay because he was still alive, she smiled.

The only thing was, she had to wake him up-- there was no way that she could carry that much youkai (And allllll of it muscle sistah!!!!). She groaned in frustration, and as she shifted to pound a fist into the ground something poked her in the thigh, her last power bar!

"Hold on Sesshoumaru," she said dropping the formalities of "sama" and began unwrapping the bar of doom. "This won't be pleasant but I think it just might work!" When it was fully unwrapped she waved it underneath Sesshoumaru's nose-- his eyes opened immediately and he attempted to back further into the ground, anything to get away from the wretched smell that was assaulting his senses.

Kagome took it from his nose and put it beside her, freeing her hands to check for injuries, "Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Any bleeding? Does it hurt when I do this?"

"Yes, of course it does, you just poked me," Sesshoumaru answered wryly. "What happened to--"

"He's dead."

"How?" he asked, eyes actually growing to immense sizes.

"Well," Kagome started shyly. "I-uh, made him eat a power bar."

Sesshoumaru glanced at the bar that lay beside Kagome, "You mean one of those?" he pointed at it leaving a fair amount of distance between his finger and the bar. Kagome nodded and Sesshoumaru took a small scootch back-- away from the foul thing, "Oh."

He looked up to her face, she was obviously weary, "I think we should get home." He received Kagome's sleepy nod instead of the squeal that he would have come to expect. After rising he held a hand out for Kagome to take, she accepted the offer and even ventured to lean on him after getting to her feet.

Following such an event he was not unsure and nor was she, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer so that she could have a little support on her way home. Besides, he hadn't told the entire truth when she had asked him if he was okay, one of his legs hurt like a b**h, but his pride had been bruised enough, there was no need to damage it further when he knew that it would heal before they reached the front door.

And in said position, they both hobbled home.

~*~

"Miroku! Miroku!" Shippo shook his friend vigorously. "Miroku! Wake up! I got it!!"

"Hmm? Got what?" Miroku slurred sleepily.

"I got the name for it! It's gonna be called a wind shield!" the kit stated proudly.

A large yawn followed by a chuckle and a pat on the head were the monk's reward for Shippo's hard thinking, "That's a great name, Shippo, describes it to the T. I don't think people will ever have any real need for something like that though."

Shippo hung his head sheepishly, "I know, it was fun making it up though."

"Yes and it was a very helpful idea indeed!" Miroku took a look around, it was still light and they might be able to make it by either the end of the day or the beginning of the next, judging by Shippo's description of the scent.

"Shall we get going?" Miroku offered as he stood.

"YEAH! Let's go find Kagome!" Shippo pointed the way after hopping back onto Miroku's shoulder.

"Off we go, off we go."

~*~ (A/N: I would like you all to know... it's 3:28 AM... and I'm outta caffeine... whaddaya I do now?!?!)

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Kagome-chan! What happened?!" Rin cried as they walked through the doorway.

"No worries Rin, we just had a little run-in with a mud puddle," Kagome lied, she saw no reason to worry her needlessly. Sesshoumaru gave her an odd look, but shrugged it off and continued to pull Kagome towards their room.

"We need to get cleaned up," he answered her questioning look.

"Yeah, I s'pose we do," Kagome laughed. Rin watched as they made their way towards the room, she was no longer worried, but instead, she was now confused. Why were Kagome-chan and Sesshoumaru-sama so close together? She knew very well that there was no way that a mud-puddle did all that but what did? But, instead of stewing over such thoughts as any one older would have, she trusted those who protected her, those who loved her, so she dismissed her thoughts and went on to play-- trusting that if there was anything was wrong, they would fix it.

In the quarters that Sesshoumaru and Kagome shared Kagome was shoving Sesshoumaru into the wash room and giving him orders, something that he was definitely /not/ used to.

"Nope, that is /not/ the point," Kagome scolded as she pushed Sesshoumaru into the little room. "The point is, you were thrown a good fifty feet and you went through like twice as many trees, so you go get cleaned up and check for wounds. Don't look at me like that" she said as he turned his head to glare at her incredulously. "I know you told me that there were none, but in some ways-- forgive me when I say this-- you are exactly like your brother."

At this Sesshoumaru swiveled around catching her hands in his since she was putting all of her weight into pushing him into the washroom and she would have fallen forward if he hadn't. "Listen to me, and listen well, I maybe many things but I am not-- I repeat-- I /am not/ like my /half/ brother," he gazed deep into her eyes, searching for something, what, he was not entirely sure.

As he held her gaze, Kagome did some searching of her own, she could see his very soul bared in his cold and unquiet eyes. She took her right hand from his grasp and brought it to his cheek, "No, you're right, you're not really like him at all, there's a distinct difference, although--" she stopped, not sure what she should say, until his eyes closed off the window that she had been looking through, she knew the moment was over. Slowly taking the other hand out of Sesshoumaru's she laid both on his chest and... pushed with all her might. "Bath time!" she yelled happily as he was sent sprawling backwards through the doorway. "Sorry, mooshy moments make me gag, have a nice bath!" she wiggled her fingers at him before she closed the door behind her.

Kagome walked from the entrance to the bath and went to the table in the middle of the room and plopped herself down. 'What was that all about?' she wondered to herself, head in her hands. 'Lately everything has seemed so, so, so off. D**n-it, even when I look at him, my stomach's been doing flip-flops, and it's probably been so obvious. Gross, I probably look like some high school girl following a crush around like a little puppy,' Kagome's head popped up and out of her hands. "But that's what I am," she said aloud, realizing things that she hadn't had time to think through. 'But I've had crushes before, this is definitely /not/ crush-like material. C**p, what did mom say about knowing when love has come around to bite you in the butt?'

"Neh, nothin' that has to be thought about right now, right now I gotta find some medical equipment before he gets out of there and has a chance to protest." She rose and went searching around the room, hoping that there were some close at hand.

~*~

'What was that all about?' Sesshoumaru's thoughts mirrored Kagome's precisely. He began to rinse the grime of the day from his body (00<- my mental eyes at this particular moment... yummmmy! Demon lord!!) and ponder what was going on inside of himself.

'Was my father right?' he struck the thought down as soon as it had entered his head. 'He was always right about this sort of thing, I merely choose not to believe it until I find out the hard way. D**n, I feel like a teenager all over again,' his closed fist found the nearest sturdy object and descended upon it with so much force that there was nearly a hole in the floor, luckily he had held himself back a bit.

"Holding myself back?" his head snapped up as he mused aloud. 'Have I been holding myself back? Have I been keeping myself from something that I-' his mind stumbled on the thought, 'something that I might be afraid of?' he let his head fall back and rest against the wall behind him. 'What is it that I truly feel for this one?' his eyes slid closed as he continued to ponder his position.

Her smile kept coming to the front of his mind, every time that she had smiled before his heart would skip a beat, but he was loathe to admit it. Her endeavors in the small amount of time that she had been with him had not only amused him but they had been endearing also, she had saved his life more than once, Rin had taken to her like a moth to light with less deadly consequences, and... and she felt so good snuggled up to him at night. He groaned, 'I hate admitting it when I'm wrong.'

~*~

"Your turn," Sesshoumaru announced as he walked from the bathing quarters (I really don't wanna say bathroom... sounds like the kind we have now... not what I wanna imply -_-V), a towel wrapped around his waist and another draped over his shoulders.

"Hold up just a sec," came the reply from the clothing closet.

"What are you up to now," Sesshoumaru asked in an amused tone, it was easier to be happy now that things were sorted out, even though he still had to admit every thing, he had done so to himself and that felt good enough for the moment.

Kagome came out bearing strips of gauze (SHHHHHH >
"I know what it is," came the wary reply. "What I do not know, is what you plan to do with it."

"Well we can start with that huge gash on the back of your leg," she stated, pointing at an angry red lightning shaped mark running down the back of Sesshoumaru's right leg starting mid-calf and wrapping around to end right under his ankle.

"Oh, that," Sesshoumaru said aloud. In his head though, his mind was muttering something along the lines of, 'D**n pointy rocks.'

"Yes, that," she said as she closed the space between them and knelt down to begin administering care to the wound. She unscrewed the cap of the tube that she had been carrying and squeezed some of the off-white substance onto the tips of her fingers.

"What is that?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"It's Neosporin, an anti-bacterial. It'll kill all the germs that could cause your wound to become infected and help it heal faster."

"Good then, it should be healed in an hour or so."

Kagome looked up to see a smirk on Sesshoumaru's lips, "Yeah, yeah, I know, you're a demon, you're gonna heal faster than I would think. Just shut up and let me have my piece of mind." Sesshoumaru nodded his acceptance of the situation and Kagome continued. She began to wrap his leg in gauze but stopped. As she stared at the wound she asked, "Since it's gonna heal so fast, do you want a bandage or would that just be a little too much?"

Sesshoumaru looked down to the cut and shrugged, "You have decided that you are the doctor here."

"Fine then, you get a bandage," Kagome decided. She wrapped the leg so that Sesshoumaru could still move and yet, nothing would be able to get to the wound.

Sesshoumaru felt a jolt of electricity each time her fingers grazed his skin, he nearly stopped her but he did not want her to begin to wonder, he had plenty of time to worry about her "wondering" later. When she was finished she stood and looked him over.

"Okay, so there's nothing else that I can see, is there anything I can't?" she asked in a professional tone.

"Nothing," Sesshoumaru replied quickly. He wasn't sure that he would be able to stay sane through one more session of treatment. "You should go bathe now, it has been a long, trying day."

Kagome nodded vigorously, "You're right on that point. Man, and boy do I smell like it too," and with that she nearly skipped her way towards the bathing room, Sesshoumaru watching her curiously as she did so.

~*~

As Kagome emerged from the now steamy room she sighed, refreshed and relieved. "That was wonderful," she exclaimed to Sesshoumaru, who was sitting at the little table, by now fully dressed, a cup of tea nestled in his large hands. He motioned for her to sit, she did so.

"Kagome, I wish to speak with you frankly, would that be alright?" Kagome nodded. "I will start out by explaining that *I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence.[1 look for it after this chapter]* The problem is, as of late, I have not exactly been truthful at all," he looked down into his cup of tea and then back up to Kagome, locking her eyes with his, seeing hers swirling with confusion and everything else that she was feeling.

"What I would like to say is that I believe that I have grown rather fond of you in the short time that we have been together, more so than I'd normally like to admit, even to myself," there was a shift in Kagome's eyes, he pushed further to see where the shift would lead. "Kagome, I-" he stumbled on the words that he wanted so badly to say, with a determined heart he shoved them out. "Kagome, I l-love you." (AWWWWWWWW ^^ finally...)

Kagome's jaw dropped and the intake of breath was enormous, her hands flew to her mouth to stifle the gasp. A tremendous reaction, but perhaps not the correct one, she attempted to fix that, "No, not what I meant! Sorry! No, I just wasn't expecting that... at all. You understand, right?"

Sesshoumaru nodded slowly, still searching her eyes-- confusion.

"I really, I--" her eyes-- resolution; her lips a smile. "I've grown quite fond of you too, Fluffy."

Sesshoumaru's eyes grew and along with them a smile, a genuine smile. He stood, taking her with him, she looked up into his eyes and just about bubbled over in giggles since her happiness didn't seem to be contained within her very well. Sesshoumaru saw the light dancing in her eyes and pulled her into a tight embrace. His mouth near her ear, he whispered, "Why is it that you insist on calling me Fluffy?" lilting laughter rippling through his voice.

"Because I like your tail, Fluffy. Oh yeah, and because I can," she unwillingly pulled from the embrace to memorize his face, and trace the demon markings on his flawless cheek, adoration filling her eyes.

"What is it you said about 'mooshy moments' making you gag?" he said teasingly, noting what he saw in her glimmering orbs and silently rejoicing.

"Aww, shut up and kiss me you jerk," she pulled him in closer and their lips met gently, sweetly, if only for a short time. It was a beautiful kiss that she wished with all her heart would last forever, but it ended as sweetly as it began with a feather light caress of his thumb on her cheek and his eyes taking all that they could, in.

And the moment was broken-- a knock at the door, followed, strangely enough, by a whimper. Sesshoumaru rubbed his temples, he was seriously regretting getting that blasted dog, "It would seem that we have company."

Kagome walked slowly over to the door and slid it open, only to see Udon sitting at her feet looking up to her with his big puppy eyes, "Udon! Awe, there's my little man!" Kagome held him up and pulled him into an embrace filled with contented laughter.

'Perhaps the dog was not such a bad idea after all,' Sesshoumaru thought after hearing laughter trickling from Kagome's lips. 'Although, I would rather that was me, I am certainly /not/ going to voice that.' Sesshoumaru walked forward and offered Kagome his arm, "Would you like to go down to dinner?"

Kagome happily jumped over to take Sesshoumaru's arm, and with the most confusing part of their encounter behind them, they went to dinner, Kagome not forgetting to remind him that after dinner they still had to go to the village. A smile graced his face as he agreed to the task, her never ending compassion touching his heart as only Kagome could.

~*~

"Look Miroku! There it is! That huuuuuge building!" Shippo pointed excitedly towards Sesshoumaru's residence.

Miroku was standing, his hands resting on bent knees as he panted, trying desperately to catch his breath, "That?"

"Yup," Shippo said, no second guesses in his voice. "That's the one!"

"Good, 'cause *pant* I *pant* don't think that I *pant-pant* could have gone too much further at full speed like that *PANT*."

"Well, it's a good thing then! Do you wanna sit-down for a sec. before we venture over there?"

Miroku nodded wearily, "That would be wonderful. Just a moment to catch my breath and we'll be on our way again."

Shippo nodded, content with the response, as they both sat, one to rest, and one to wait impatiently for the other, as their canine companions still struggled with their own search.

~*~

[1] This quote was taken from /Frederick Douglass an American Slave/ by Frederick Douglass, it can be found on pg 39. I'm not giving the entire MLA citing entry so that's where we're gonna stop...

A/N: Whoa, all finished... mostly in one day too... so anything after 2:30 AM I cannot be held accountable for... But anywho, I don't really have much to say except for something that hit me whilst I was writing the love confession scene... I SUCK AT TENDER MOMENTS!!!!!! Wow, or perhaps I should try this when I wake up, but then again, I'm never fully awake, but anywho...

Yah, there's more comin', not too much more, but there's still some there, ya know, gotta tie up loose ends, so perhaps two more chapters? Maybe one... But besides that I hafta thank all those important people who continue to read and review my junk... So here's to you brave souls!!!! ... Speaking of which... DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!! :O)


REVIEWS: (Not in any particular order or anythin')

Media Miner:

FongSaiYuki319: Hoooooray!! SaiYuki!!! Er-yah, but what I meant to say was: Sankyo very much!!!! I'm really glad that I could provide a fan fic that you could sink your teeth into, I suppose is what some would say. It's great to hear something like that (especially for mah ego ^-^), so thank you so very, very much!

kawaichan: Thanks for the input on the lemon scene still trying to decide, that would be the deciding factor in the one or two more chapters thing... And thanks much for the complement on the revamp and the original chapter, it means a lot to me.

Mystic Hanyou: Apple Dumpling Gand (or was it s'possed to be Grand?), hmmmm, sounds interesting... I loooove slap stick-- as we all can plainly see. Really glad that you liked the morning scene... it was really fun to write ^-^!! Oh, and thank you for the encouragement on the lemon... it really helps, mostly 'cause I'm really nervous about it. It's nice to know that I've got a few people who wouldn't mind if I practice on this fic! Thanks!!!

kikyouhater118: MMMMMMMM, hottt Sesshoumaru lips.... I know, I know... irresistible!!! ^_~

LadyOrion: Thank you soooooooooo much of the helpful critique thingy.... It really did help, I was kinda forgettin' his original character 'cause I've kinda screwed with it too much ^_^V... But it really was a big help, I hope I fixeded it... Oh, yah... my characters do get kinda happy when I'm sleepy I can't really write angst very well at all -_-V... and I didn't have too much caffeine... only two liters or so =^-^=. Thank you much for your advice!! I love when people give me constructive criticism, every little bit helps, and so does your encouragement! I love to hear from you and I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic (including this chaptah!)...

Angel_4_life: Thanks for the nonsucky thing! It makes me happy to hear that! Thanks much!


Eternal Adoration (formerly known as Single Spark):

MoriningMoonlight: Thank you soooo much!!!! I’ve been wondering if I have been taking things too slowly!! And 1000 out of 10!!!! Tee-hee! YAAAAYY!! =^-^=

reenas_as: Yeah, I'm kinda a slow go-er on the entire relationship thingy but I'm glad you liked it... and the morning, that was way fun ^-^!

sleepy tuna fish: Yesss!!! I love the log-in name! Awesome! Happy you think it's so funny... I try... or is it just that I'm plain and simple trying?? Oh well, I suppose we'll never know! ^^

Rinseternalsoul: Thankyou for you reviews!!! I love hearing from people on a regular basis... I'm so happy that you're enjoying the fic ^-^! And thanks much for the sympathy... my cold was horrible-- only made worse by lack of Mt. Dew ^n^, but I made it! And now I drink twice as much! Which is probably the worst thing that I could possibly do to my immune system! ^^

Random anonymous person: That's a great idea!!! Ayame!!! One problem though, and I am going to hate myself for admitting this... My cable's been cut off since the new episodes began to air, AAAAAND I don't have internet @ home so I can't download them onto my computer... sadness envelopes me... So the problem is, I know exactly who Ayame is, but I'd screw her up so badly that it wouldn't even be funny. Anywho... Yea, my A/N's are mainly there for my own entertainment... sorry ^_^V, I know they disrupt everything sometimes... but at times I just can't help myself! Thanks for the review over all, I'll keep that stuff in mind!
Converting /tmp/php3XzykC to /dev/stdout