InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Temporal Sequence ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Temporal Sequence

 

Chapter 6:

 

She tapped her pencil on the tabletop, silently waiting for the bell to sound, signaling her freedom for the day. This was the last exam she had to take today, leaving only two more before the semester was finally over. Her first semester of college, well, community college, was nearing closure and she had to admit she was quite proud of herself. She was certain that she aced the three exams she had already taken today and her grades were already superb. Life certainly had changed since high school.

 

Brrriiiiiiiiing!

 

Students practically jumped from their seats and leapt toward the congested doorway, all fleeing with over-emphasized joy. She knew most students despised Tankada-sensei, thinking him boring and unduly difficult. However, she liked the man, opting to view him as a fountain of knowledge for her thirsty brain.

 

She approached him after the last of the stampeding pupils had fled. “Miss Higurashi,” he said, “I assume you performed flawlessly on my test.”

 

“I hope so,” she said, nearly cringing at the uncertainty in her voice. She supposed her poor academic record in high school still hadn't completely vanished from her thoughts.

 

“I'm sure you did fine. You are after all one of my best students.” She beamed with pride at his kind words of praise, thinking all the while that not a single teacher from her past would agree with that statement. But this wasn't high school anymore. Things were different now.

 

“Thank you, Tankada-sensei,” she said, pausing to clear her throat. “I was wondering…do you know a lot about memories and amnesia?”

 

“I have devoted my life to psychology, Miss Higurashi, and I have always found memories to be one of the most fascinating studies within the discipline. What is it you'd like to know?”

 

“How long does it take someone to regain their memory?” That question had been nagging at her mind for some time now. She wanted to help Sesshoumaru through this ordeal, but she wasn't sure she could commit to it if it was a process that took years to reconcile. The stubborn demon hadn't even remembered one detail yet!

 

“Well, that depends. What kind of amnesia is it? And what provoked the symptoms?”

 

“Um…what do you call it…retrograde amnesia? When the patient can't remember anything that happened before the trauma?” He nodded with a small smile, obviously pleased that she remembered such a small detail from his class. “He was knocked out; hit in the head. He doesn't remember anything about his life. He didn't even remember his name.”

 

“I'm sorry to hear that such a tragedy happened to your friend, Miss Higurashi. Complete retrograde amnesia is quite rare and it's even rarer for the patient not to regain his memory.”

 

“Really?” she asked hopefully.

 

“Really. But, it all depends on the level of brain damage sustained. Recollection of memories could occur within a few days to a few years. It's highly dependent on the severity of the brain lesion as well as where the lesion struck. How bad are his functioning skills?”

 

“Functioning skills?”

 

“Does he have limited motor functioning, language issues, thought process delays, and how bad is his anterograde amnesia?”

 

“Anterograde amnesia?”

 

“Yes, is he having much trouble creating new memories? Is he highly forgetful?”

 

She paused for a long moment as she tried to make sense out of what he had just said. Sesshoumaru didn't have motor functioning problems, at least none that were not easily attributed to his assault. Definitely no language issues and he had proven quite quick with his tongue and so she doubted he had any thought process delays. Well, he did stare at her for an eternity with a dumbfounded expression while she frantically tried to smash a creepy spider. But did he have trouble creating new memories? She briefly recalled Sesshoumaru eating her miso soup and waking her up by means of a dunk into a cold stream. He stopped insulting her cooking and he knew how to wake her up. He had remembered her idiosyncrasies. She hadn't realized this before, but Sesshoumaru paid attention to her.

 

“No,” she said, her voice deadpanned, “he doesn't have any of those problems.”

 

“Huh? That's odd. Anterograde amnesia is more common than retrograde, but when the latter strikes, the two always go hand in hand. Almost every amnesic patient has difficulties creating new memories and they forget new information almost immediately. Well, at least once they become distracted. It makes learning and retaining new information more difficult, and thus they have trouble holding onto a new memory. Usually their recovery period is forgotten,” he said with a distant look of contemplation on his face. “But I do suppose that no science is a perfect science.”

 

“Why is it more common?” she asked, trying to keep her attention glued to the topic at hand. That stupid taiyoukai was creeping into her thoughts again.

 

“It has to do with the healing process. The part of the brain that houses and processes new information is more burdensome to repair, though new technology has proven quite beneficial by surgically mending this part of the brain, but it doesn't always succeed.”

 

“What about the part that houses the long-term memories?”

 

“No surgery has been able to aid that healing process. Don't worry Miss Higurashi, the body does a fine job of fixing that problem on its own. Retrograde amnesia is never permanent.”

 

“Tell me professor, is it possible for amnesia to affect a person's personality? Like, do they wake up different than they used to be because they can't remember anything?” This was another issue she was having. Why hadn't Sesshoumaru's `I-hate-all-humans' mentality kicked in yet? Why hadn't he tried to maim her or at least insult her for being human? Had his personality changed?

 

“That is perhaps one of the most common misconceptions of amnesia. The original personality remains in tact, though the patient may question the way he thinks and behaves, which usually results in confusion and frustration. It's simply the natural process of the inquisitive human mind. Just remember that dissociative disorders are completely separate from memory loss.”

 

“Oh,” she whispered, thinking back to the strange youkai that was occupying much of her time as of late. She didn't want this distraction to last for too long—she had other obligations. “Is there anything I can do to help him regain his memories? You know, like take him to places that may spark a memory?”

 

“Most psychologists have shunned that theory, but many patients claim that it has helped them. Just remember that the mind is a highly unique and personal thing, not to mention powerful. Freud's psychoanalysis worked on some people, but not everyone. So old sites and smells may have an impact on your friend. After all, your friend sounds like quite an anomaly.” He paused to look at the clock on the wall. “I have another exam to distribute in five minutes so this conversation must be delayed. You know you could always stop by the university and ask some specialists there. They would definitely have better answers for you than me. That department gets astronomical funding.”

 

“Maybe I will. Thanks professor!”

 

“Anytime. And don't forget to study for the Methods of Research exam.”

 

“I won't! Bye!” she exclaimed happily as she sprinted out of the class. Her mind was a muddled mess and it was all because of a stupid, amnesic taiyoukai that had recalled her culinary sensitivities and her stubborn sleepiness.

 

Why was he breaking all the rules of psychology? He obviously wasn't experiencing most of the symptoms, which she thought were more troublesome than the retrograde memory loss itself since he would automatically regain his memories with time. But he was developing new memories and holding onto them. He was creating memories…of her, but how?

Then it hit her like a hard rock chucked directly at her head. How stupid could she be? Tankada-sensei had said that the short-term memory was hard for the body to repair quickly on its own. Sesshoumaru was a demon and that meant he had a `doctor-free-pass' for the entirety of his life! Sesshoumaru was an anomaly because he had healing capabilities that were practically incomprehensible to a human. That lesion in his brain had probably already been repaired and thus it was only a matter of time before the memories started flooding him like an angry monsoon.

 

It was also possible that his brain was arranged differently than a human's was, which meant that his short-term memory may not have been damaged in the first place. A youkai might have totally different amnesic symptoms anyhow. She needed to stop this line of thinking. If his brain was that much different, then he might never regain his memories!

 

She unlocked her car, all the while considering that perhaps this Sesshoumaru she was spending time with was in fact the real Sesshoumaru. The professor had said that the personality remained in tact after an amnesic episode and after some thought, that made perfect sense. The personality was a powerful, practically cemented thing after all, but why were his more negative attributes—that he previously displayed without abandon—kept at bay? Instead of an angry, belligerent Sesshoumaru, she was growing accustomed to a quiet, passive demon that seemed more of an introvert, happy to drown himself in his own thoughts. She even caught him smirking on countless occasions and it wasn't that `death' smile she had seen before that was more of an upturned lip than anything else. It was a genuine gesture of amusement—usually aimed at her, though! And he didn't talk much, though that wasn't very shocking since the only words she could remember him spouting with any clarity before were `Die, Inuyahsa!' But when he did talk he was usually straightforward, nearly candid to a fault, and his words seemed to always take some sort of sarcastic path, which she found odd. Sarcasm could be used for cruel means, but it could also be utilized as playful banter, and she felt quite certain that Sesshoumaru used his words to get a rise out of her at times. Like when he accused her of being loud, knowing it would eventually grate on her nerves, which it did, causing her to explode and then birds scurried out of the trees, effectively proving his point. She could have strangled him for that one!

 

Overall, she felt oddly at peace around the calm and quiet taiyoukai. She got an amazing amount of work done around him and he understood when to leave her alone, unlike some people she knew. He would never bother her when she needed to study, instead finding ways to amuse himself, all the while remaining amazingly quiet. Though staring at a fire for hours did strike her as odd, if not unhealthy—that could not have been good for his eyes. Even though he couldn't remember anything, he had a good understanding of societal norms, which she assumed was because those kinds of things were drilled into a person's head at an early age, thus becoming like second nature. He was polite, seeming to understand the rules of conversation and he had impeccable manners. She thought he ate like a dainty little princess, though she'd never voice that thought. He respected her boundaries unlike any other, except when it came to personal space, which apparently stemmed from the fact that he could recall nothing at all about sex. That was strange, but maybe it was because parents didn't tackle those social rules until a child was a bit older. The topic wasn't relevant for the first several years of a person's life after all. He definitely understood boundaries—that was for sure. When she spoke of Inuyasha she noticed the questioning look in his eyes, but he never asked. He never asked what his brother meant to her and what had happened between them. It was as though he knew it was a sensitive topic that she didn't wish to talk about. He was patient, she could tell, and he never once pressured her for anything. Her own friends wouldn't even grant her with that kind of respect!

 

And she slept so peacefully around him. It wasn't like he, who obviously didn't really know her, offered better protection than Inuyasha, but rather it was the implications of waking up to Sesshoumaru. There would be no shard hunt to commence in the morning. He wouldn't demand ramen or quickened paces. He wouldn't incessantly ask her nonsensical things. She would rise to a collected adult who never asked anything of her except how she slept. There were never any expectations to live up to with Sesshoumaru. Granted, he had only been awake for three short days, but it was a nice reprieve from her stressful life. She found his presence soothing and quite pleasant.

 

And to show her appreciation for her so-called vacation from her own hellish reality, she was going to buy him a supper to die for! He seemed to despise her cooking anyhow, though after her little outburst he kept his trap shut. Some grand sushi was in order and perhaps a heavenly dessert. Yep, he couldn't deny his love for the food she was about to present to him!

 

She veered her little sedan to the left and turned the radio up, happily humming along with the catchy tune. She only had a few miles to go and she was perfectly content to think about nothing at all as the cheesy beat drowned out her thoughts.

 

x x x

 

Somehow, she managed to balance all the takeout bags in her hands as she made her way down the street. She probably looked like an idiot juggling her load, but she had no idea how much Sesshoumaru could eat—especially if he liked the food! So basically, she bought entirely too much, but that didn't matter because all was bright and sunny today!

 

Well, that was until she found herself standing in front of a pastry shop. The store named Satsuki's had inhabited this corner for years, making some of the finest desserts in Tokyo. She remembered savoring every crème puff and daifuku she had eaten from this establishment when she was but a child. At least once a week they would come here and she would indulge in some new delicacy while her parents ate an-dangos and drank some aromatic coffee.

 

But that had ended as do most wonderful things. They had stopped coming here after her father had died.

 

xxx

 

She cracked open her door and glanced down the hall. She could hear them downstairs, laughing away as they always did. She crawled out of her room and made her way to the open staircase, sneaking a peek over the white wood.

 

Her father was embracing her mother, telling her repeatedly that she was even lovelier than the first day he had laid eyes on her. He then twirled her around in a mock dance, lavishing the mother of his children with even more appraising words.

 

“And tomorrow, my beauty, I will buy you the biggest, most delicious an-dango offered at Satsuki's!”

 

“Oh, no! I still haven't dropped those extra pounds that Souta blessed me with!” she said, laughing all the while. Her father always put the biggest smiles on her mother's face.

 

“And what's wrong with that? I think the weight makes you look even more like a goddess!”

 

“Nonsense,” her mother replied, trying to dim the bright smile on her lips, but to no avail.

 

“All right, then think of them as your battle scars—the hard-earned physical display of what you have given the world! Namely, my children.” He said with a smirk as he dipped her low and swung her body back up to his as they semi-danced to their inaudible tune. “It doesn't matter. We're going to get some sweets tomorrow and that's final. It's our tradition and I wouldn't want to disappoint my favorite daughter, now would I?”

 

Kagome giggled at that. She felt so special when her father said things like that about her. His head shot up the staircase and she fell flat on the floor, hoping he didn't spot her, but she knew better.

 

She heard him sniff the air with exaggerated snorts. “Do you smell that?” She heard her mother's muffled giggles. “I…I smell…a child! I thought I had exterminated them all! But one has managed to slip past my grasp,” he said lowly as he crept up the stairs with overly heavy footsteps. “There you are, sneaky vermin! I shall rid you from this planet for your deceit!” He then lunged for her with a playful grin. She scurried away, but a seven-year-old was no match for a grown man.

 

He picked her up and hugged her tightly, all the while wearing the most brilliant smile upon his lips. His smiles were more than just smiles—they lit up his entire face and could be spotted in his eyes. His smiles were an experience she'd never forget.

 

“I could just squeeze you to death!” he said in between laughs. “And what are you doing out of bed, butterfly?”

 

“You never tucked me in!”

 

He smiled as he laid her on the pink bed. “You're right. I didn't.” He motioned with his hands for her to get under the covers and he wrapped the blanket around her tightly. “How's that, my butterfly?” It was their bedtime ritual. He would tuck her in her comforter so tight she looked like a larva inside a cocoon ready to burst out.

 

She giggled. “It's great!” She then noticed he still had his shoes on. “Are you going somewhere, daddy?”

 

“Yep. I have to go get some special formula for your brother. You know how that other stuff makes him sick, right?” She nodded enthusiastically; happy she was so observant. “Well, the doctor figured out why and we're going to fix it. But you, butterfly, need to go to sleep.”

 

“We're going to go to Satsuki's tomorrow, right daddy?”

 

“You bet. But if you're still awake when I get back then the deal's off!” he exclaimed with his nose in the air and hands extended out. She laughed at the gesture and he leaned over and kissed both her cheeks and then planted a final kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight, butterfly.”

 

“Goodnight, daddy.”

 

He switched off the lights and left the room, closing the door behind him. She fell asleep and awoke a few hours later when the doorbell rang. She rubbed her eyes, feeling sick to her stomach for some reason. She had a terrible dream, though she couldn't remember what it was about. She needed her mother or father to hold her and tell her everything was all right.

 

She walked out into the bright hallway, obviously daddy had forgotten to turn out the lights. Then she heard voices. She recognized her mother's voice immediately, but the other two were strangers. She peered down the stairs and noticed the door was open and it was raining outside. It wasn't pouring by any means, but it was a steady downfall.

 

Then she saw her mother fall to the floor. The men, who she now realized were police officers, reached for her mother, trying to help her stand as they offered her words of sympathy. Kagome felt hot tears stream down her face, though she wasn't certain what was going on. It just felt so awfully wrong.

 

“Mother!” she cried, desperately hoping for some sort of comfort. Where was daddy? She really needed daddy right now.

 

“KAGOME!” her mother sobbed as she stood and ran toward her with out-stretched arms.

 

Her mother practically collided into her and hefted her into shaky arms, nearly squeezing the hard-found air from her lungs. She responded in kind with a tight grasp around her mother's neck, wanton for something she couldn't name.

 

“W-where's daddy?” she choked out in between sobs.

 

Her mother's heart-wrenching cries escalated briefly and she slid her hand through Kagome's hair. “Gone. He's gone, Kagome.”

 

Her heart sank like an anchor trapped in the ocean floor, never meant to resurface.

 

xxx

 

It happened twelve years ago. It started raining after he left the drug store and a man had fallen asleep behind the wheel. Apparently her father had tried to dodge the wayward vehicle, but the slippery roads decided his destination was to be a tree. They presumed he died instantly.

 

She looked up through watery eyes at the simple sign above, labeled Satsuki's. Oh how her father had loved their an-dangos. She wondered if they still tasted the same. A few people watched with morbid curiosity as a young woman cried on a sidewalk in Tokyo as she stared at a pastry shop, several white bags hanging limply in her hands. Then a small bell echoed through the loud street as she entered the old store, but what they didn't know was that for the first time in over a decade…she was going to buy an an-dango.

 

x x x

 

She managed to get out of the well with her heavy load, but then the more she thought about it the more she realized that she always struggled out of that well with an ungodly sized backpack. She shrugged off the wayward thought and made her way back to the campsite that housed the demonic enigma named Sesshoumaru. When she finally caught sight of her destination, she was met with a strange yet awe-inspiring sight.

 

A shirtless Sesshoumaru was practically gliding through the air, unleashing his energy whip in a dazzling display that one could almost call artistic with the eye catching patterns it created. The flexible light whirled around his form only to bunch back together at his fingertips and go whizzing outward again in a circular motion that ended in a straight line, obliterating the target. She was speechless and dumbfounded as she watched the graceful killing machine work his flawless magic. That was until a tree hitting the ground woke her from her stupor.

 

“Sesshoumaru!” she hollered as she stomped toward him, quite awkwardly she noted, considering her jumbo-stuffed backpack. He landed silently on the ground and looked toward her, seeming disinterested. “And what exactly did that tree do to you?” she asked, hands on hips. He was making so much noise and they really didn't need to attract any unnecessary attention.

 

“You saw that, correct?” he asked with that amused smirk, of which she was becoming accustomed. His tone of voice was one she had never heard from him before. He almost sounded excited.

 

Then he broke her world apart. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought she had succumbed to a severe case of schizophrenia or that the sky had literally fallen on top of her. Either way, the world had just flipped upside down and everything seemed backward and so terribly wrong. But none of that mattered at the moment; at least she got to witness this rarity before she died…

 

Sesshoumaru was smiling…and it was brilliant.

 

He looked so warm and approachable when he smiled. His eyes were dancing with mirth and his face brightened so much she felt the urge to squint. If she thought he was beautiful before, she was simply ignorant of just how luminous this creature could be. She felt the beginnings of a furious blush, but she was too breathless to even care. Sesshoumaru was smiling at her.

 

“You knew I could do this all along, no?” he asked in a peculiar manner as that amazing smile began to fade from existence. She nearly cringed at the loss, hoping against all odds that she would be deserving enough to witness that sight once more before her time was up. “And you neglected to tell me of this power at the disposal of my very fingertips.”

 

His words coupled with his tone of voice began to sink into her cloudy mind and finally it clicked that he was not pleased by this fact.

 

“Oops?”

 

He eyed her a moment longer, then he stepped back ever so quickly and released his energy whip straight into the air and she could faintly hear it connect with something. Slowly she looked up only to meet the head of a crow.

 

“Uggggg!” she screamed as the head slid off her face. She wiped at her face hysterically, trying her best to remove any remnants of blood. Then she heard a stifled chuckle that sounded more like a snort. Her eyes darted to the despicable demon responsible for this ghastly incident. “You find this funny? I'm covered in bird guts!”

 

He laughed a bit harder, and though she was taken aback by his short laughter, she refused to let that sound, which she had in fact never heard before, disrupt her seething anger. How dare he! That was a nasty trick to pull and all because she didn't tell him right away that he was equipped with all the right tools to take out an army single-handily!

 

“Stupid girl,” he said plainly as his amusement subsided. “Take a look at the bird that supposedly covered you with its guts.”

 

She looked down and nearly gasped at what she saw. There was no blood, no guts…nothing. His energy whip had completely severed the bird. The skin had been burnt and all fluids sealed. He just did it to make her mad and it was working!

 

“You could have SAID SOMETHING!”

 

That damnable smirk appeared again. “Precisely.”

 

Why that damn dog! Trying to teach her a lesson because he was sour that she forgot to mention his powers that were not relevant until now! He could be so infuriating! What if that bird gave her lice? Then she would have a warrant for his death that was for sure. And to think she brought him dinner! Maybe she would eat it without him. Oh well, he probably wouldn't care either way.

 

She sat down near the fire-less pit and unpacked her bursting backpack. He sat down casually across from her, but she could feel his eyes on her. Something about his antics made her suspect that he was very curious.

 

She removed the take out bags and placed them neatly in front of her, setting down two pairs of chopsticks next to the boxes. “I have dinner!” she exclaimed happily. With no response forthcoming, she spared him a glance and he looked as bored as ever, though his eyes remained on her. “Well, if you don't want any then that's fine with me.” Normally she pressured him to eat, but this time she'd play it differently. She gingerly opened the boxes knowing full well that the enticing aromas would hit his nose in no time. She began plopping the food greedily into her mouth and she stopped briefly during her chewing frenzy to sneak a peek at him. It was subtle, but she caught him. His nose was flaring in and out in a nearly unnoticeable manner. He was in fact curious as to what she brought, but he was too proud to show it. Well, he got in a `lesson' today and so would she!

 

“Are you sure you don't want any? It's so good,” she said in between bites. He continued to stare at her while she ate. She wanted to teach him a lesson so badly about his stubborn sense of pride, but her more compassionate side kicked in. She ate her fill and set up a plate for him, leaving it near the fire pit. She stood with a stretch and rubbed her full belly as she gathered her bathing necessities. She would let him win this one. She was getting too tired to care anyway and his unrelenting patience might outlast her will to prove a minute point.

 

“I'm going to take a bath.”

 

He nodded, his eyes remaining glued to the spot she had just abandoned.

 

x x x

 

He stared up at the twinkling stars from his position on the ground. He was lying on his back, surrounded by blankets, which he really didn't need, but it did make the ground a more pleasant makeshift bed. He sighed heavily as the insects around him continued to abuse his poor ears with their mundane and irritating songs. Why those useless things were given the ability to create such sickening sounds was beyond him. It must have been a flaw on the gods' part. He would have made no such error.

 

Ever since he awoke from his state of unconsciousness, rest had eluded him. It was the noise. There were sounds everywhere, all ringing in his ears and refusing to let his mind rest for a single moment. It was frustrating. How had he dealt with this in the past? Everything was so loud! Was one night's sleep too much to ask? Obviously he could do quite well without a blink of rest, but his body was still healing; he could literally feel its reparation work.

 

And that was another matter. Something was going on with his body and he felt certain it had nothing to do with healing. Something from within was stirring and beckoning him. It felt primitive and powerful, like a part of him was disjointed. Was there a trick to calming this beastly sensation? Again, he was clueless and he despised being so ignorant of his own body. He didn't even know he possessed such powerful weapons within his own hand until earlier today. The feral tingling within his blood was becoming too much and so he felt the desire to hit something—a tree to be precise. Before his fist could make contact, a light appeared and the tree snapped in half. After that initial stage it all came back to him and he could use his abilities with ease and precision, as though he had never forgotten that they were there. He was particularly fond of the poison he could exude. It was deathly to every sense, whether sight or smell—it reeked of death. Why was that prospect so comforting to him? Again, another mystery his ignorance would not permit him to solve.

 

And that brought him back to thoughts of the girl, who conveniently forgot to tell him about his capabilities when he specifically asked her on previous occasions what she knew about him. He could tell instantly that she had prior knowledge of his powers when she stormed over to him to yell about his destructive behavior. She was apparently not surprised. He shouldn't have played that little joke on her. It was a bit cruel, but she needed to learn not to keep important bits of information from him. He didn't inflict any real damage and she got over it quite quickly. It seemed that no matter how hot her anger burned, it always simmered down to a bearable degree.

 

Then she reverted back to her thoughtful behavior and left a plate of food for him, which he did eat, though with some reluctance. He had to admit that it was somewhat pleasurable to consume. Especially that sweet thing with the rice in it; he could have eaten another one. Maybe that girl was in fact rubbing off on him. That sweet ball could not have possibly been suitable nourishment, but he ate it nonetheless for the simple fact that it tasted delightful. Did he think of it as delightful? No, it was simply more enjoyable than the rest of it.

 

He had to admit that she was a truly forgiving and thoughtful creature. She gave him some blankets earlier and quickly succumbed to slumber. With that thought, he shoved the blankets against his ears, which were no longer so trivial since they muffled the night's eternal racket somewhat. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He could smell her from here. Her scent was calming, in an odd sort of way.

 

Maybe he could get a moment's rest after all.

 

“I'm sorry I missed your birthday, Sesshoumaru. I'll make it up to you.”

 

“You said that last year.”

 

“Did I? Well, I promise I'll make up last year as well. Deal?”

 

He watched the man's retreating back, silver hair swaying behind a large body in all its regal obedience. He was too accustomed to looking at the man's back, but that's how it had always been. He was always watching him leave.

 

“What about the year before that? And the year before that?” he whispered to the stale air as the tall man disappeared from sight around a corner.

 

“You do know why he always misses your birthday, right?”

 

He stared blankly at the auburn-haired man, not truly wanting to hear the incriminating words. But he already knew why and it was as good of a reason as any to hate someone. But the man took his silence as a negation, and thus the horrific answer was offered without opposition.

 

“Because that was the day you killed your mother,” the man whispered maliciously into his ear.

 

It was true. He was born a murderer.

 

His eyes shot open and his breathing was heavy, too heavy for his liking. He must have only slept for mere minutes, or so it seemed. The memories were like rapid fragments darting through his unconscious mind. It was almost unbearable, or perhaps it was the nature of the recollections that he found so distasteful.

 

“Sesshoumaru?”

 

He turned his head to find her voice and was immediately met with her worried gaze. She placed a cool hand on his forehead and proceeded to smooth his bangs away from his face. It felt so odd to be touched, but not so bad. So he decided against removing the offending appendage.

 

“You had me worried sick! You were having a terrible nightmare!” she exclaimed, her hand sliding down his forehead to rest on his cheek. Why was he so aware of her hand? Was she aware of this, or was it a subconscious gesture? She had to be—she was always aware of her body.

 

“Don't worry yourself over my troubled sleep,” he whispered as he turned his head away from her, her hand now sliding across his face and onto his shoulder. The movement felt like a feathery caress. He could still feel it.

 

“Have you been sleeping well, Sesshoumaru?” she asked, concern still heavily laced within her voice. He said nothing and then he felt her body lay next to his own. She wiggled around a bit and then tossed a blanket over herself. She was getting comfortable…next to him.

 

“When I can't sleep I look at the stars,” she said softly, pointing to the glowing specks above. “No matter where you are or how crazy life gets, you always know that you're sleeping under the same, predictable sky. Kind of comforting, don't you think?”

 

He turned to look at her again, but as he did the air suddenly seemed cooler and the sky brighter. He noticed the dainty, little hand still reaching out toward the void above, but as his eyes traveled down the path of the tiny arm, he realized he was no longer looking at Kagome.

 

xxx

 

He saw a teenaged girl in a powdery blue kimono with white lilies embroidered throughout it, a pink obi tied thickly around her waist. She was lying on the bare ground, next to him.

 

She was pointing at the night sky. “I wish I could fly!” she exclaimed merrily with a voice so light it reminded him of tiny bells ringing.

 

“I could help you fly,” he said, looking at the lovely girl whose smile faded a bit, though her brightness never faltered.

 

“But I still wouldn't be flying, now would I?”

 

He smirked at her as he snaked his arm around her shoulders, pulling her flush against his body. She sighed contently, still staring at the stars above.

 

“I wonder what the stars look like up close,” she whispered. “Don't you ever wonder what they would feel like if only you could touch them?” she said as she locked gazes with him, her big eyes sparkling under the silvery moonlight. He propped himself up on one elbow, leaning over her. She looked a bit surprised, but not objective toward his proximity. He leaned in closer, pinning her farther into the cool grass.

 

“I wonder…” he whispered, lingering a moment before he closed in on her, pressing his lips to hers, devouring her mouth for the first time.

 

Not even the stars could have felt this majestic.

 

xxx

 

His vision cleared to reveal a sleepy Kagome staring dazedly at the stars. She would fall asleep at any moment, he could tell these things by now. He turned his head back to the stars, clearing his mind of all thoughts, namely a pretty girl who he had once kissed, though he couldn't even remember her name.

 

His eyes drifted closed and he didn't even realize that the insects had stopped chirping. His mind became blank as he succumbed to sleep, his right arm somehow finding its way around an unconscious Kagome. He slept quite peacefully, with a warm body pressed against his own, light breaths emitting next to him, and a soothing scent dimming his other senses.

 

Sesshoumaru had never slept better.

 

x x x