InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Problem ❯ Brownie Points ( Chapter 14 )

Quote: Joel: Ed, are you hallucinating?
Ed: Oh, yeah, but not right now. - Sy Rosen and Christian Williams, Northern Exposure, On Your Own, 1992

 

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. - HL Mencken

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

 

A/N: for a thorough apology and lame excuses and an actual Kagome related note, go to bottom of chapter.

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Chapter 14: Brownie Points

 

Ah, yes, Naraku, in all his glory. It had been a while since I had a chance to see his ugly hide. To be honest, I can't quite say I had any regrets over it. So when he landed in front of us, looking between me and Sesshoumaru in that insufferably obnoxious way that is truly special only to him, really, I had little other wish than to stick one of my arrows straight through one of his eyes. Of course, if my powers clinging to that arrow were to purify his head into smithereens…well, let's just say I wouldn't have any objections to that.

Bit violent for a miko, you say. Well, you're right my friend, you're right. Now deal with it.

“What are you doing here Naraku?” Miroku asked, making me focus back on my current situation instead of my fantasies.

Naraku didn't even bother to look toward Miroku. He threw a quick glance around then turned back to Sesshoumaru. “Well, well, well, it would seem that you have rid me of the wrong person.” He kept his eyes trained on me and Sesshoumaru and I could see him trying to make sense out of Sesshoumaru's choice. “So Sesshoumaru-sama, you have decided to disobey me.”

Even from where I was I could sense Miroku and Sango tense; well, at least I didn't have to be the one to break the news to them. I did my best to keep my frown in place and glared at Naraku, wondering just how quickly Sesshoumaru planned on beheading him. I mean, no one in their right mind would ever order Sesshoumaru around and then confront him over his disobedience. It was like carving your own death date on your tombstone; you couldn't undue it.

Apparently Jaken agreed with me (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! It's the end of the world!!) because after several shocked squawks, he pinned Naraku with an outraged expression and started spouting out some nonsense over Naraku's impudence. However, he went ignored, by both Naraku and Sesshoumaru.

In fact, Sesshoumaru was possibly the only person who had no outward reaction to Naraku's words. Of course, after knowing him for as long as I have, I knew that in this case, no news was not good news...so to say.

Naraku snorted at Sesshoumaru's seeming indifference, cutting off Jaken's continuing exclamations, and turned those red eyes of his onto me. “It would seem you have a stronger hold over the two brothers,” he said with a slanted smirk.

…okay, personally, I didn't like the implications of that. Not only was it a far cry from reality, it also put quite a few people's virtue in question including mine. But this was Naraku, he was bound to try and wind us up. And an idea was starting to come to me; if I delayed long enough, maybe, just maybe Inuyasha would be crossing over soon. “Not to be overly technical,” I said, my hands reflexively tightening on my bow and arrow, “but they're actually half-brothers.” Who would've thought that fact would ever come in handy?

I could tell Naraku hadn't expected me to say quite that, judging by his ensued silence.

“In any case,” I continued, “I have no control over either of them so you may as well stop that line of thought.” It was really surprising, but my voice came out relatively strong and even. “Now, what are you doing here?”

At this Naraku smirked again, eyes once more spewing with malice. “Poor, stupid, little girl, you don't even know, do you?”

Suddenly I found myself more than thankful that Sesshoumaru had told me about the spell today morning and not any later; it would not do to hear the news from Naraku. But I kept a straight face and gave him a cold stare.

Thinking his own thoughts, Naraku turned his smirk to Sesshoumaru. “Then I wonder, my Lord” why couldn't sarcasm have been invented after Naraku's death? “Why have you not killed the girl yet? Any…services that she may be providing can always be found elsewhere.”

Services…? SERVICES?! Why that little lousy, snivelling cockroach!

Finally, Sesshoumaru had a reaction…if a small one. His eyes had narrowed fractionally. …well, that was helpful…

“What are you talking about?!” Sango asked, sounding more than a little frustrated. Maybe I should've told them about the spell…but I hadn't had the chance.

“Perhaps,” Naraku went on, ignoring Sango, “My Lord enjoys her company…a human's company…”

…

Okay, this was so unoriginal…even by Naraku's standards…

Calmly, motions going almost unnoticed, Sesshoumaru placed a hand on one of his swords and brought it out with a low hiss. Apparently he was done waiting for Naraku to make his move. You know, not that I was particularly enjoying what Naraku had to say, but I would have liked it much better if we could have stalled a bit longer on the fighting. Or maybe it's like they say, you know, the sooner it's done, the sooner it'll be over? Blurgh, I don't like sayings much.

“My patience runs short, Naraku. State your business.”

In my head, I came to a sudden halt, turning to look at Sesshoumaru with just a hint of confusion. Why would he ever bother to be patient with Naraku in the first place? Then it came to me, he won't be quite so agile today as he would normally be; he will be somewhat constrained because of me. With a sharper sense of worry, I turned back to Naraku.

I think he must have been thinking along the same lines as me because there was a wide smirk stretching his lips. He lifted a hand and from behind him appeared his usual herd of demons with numbers in the thousands. From nearby, Jaken let out a squawk, and for once I could sympathize.

“I should think it would be quite obvious what I am here for,” Naraku said, sneer in place. “I'm here to help lift a curse by killing an increasingly bothersome miko—,”

“What?!” Miroku and Sango gasped in unison.

“Guys,” I cautioned, my back straight and a slow anger starting to burn within me again. I don't know what it was exactly that had brought it to the forefront of my body so suddenly, but I could feel the usual fury that I felt whenever faced with Naraku, even though it had mostly been shadowed with a helpless fear over not having Inuyasha here. Maybe it was anger over his never-ending plots, I don't know. But either way, the end result was the same. “Forget it for now.”

“Kagome—,”

I gave them a stubborn look and a shake of the head. Right now, all I really wanted was to get rid of Naraku. I could feel my indignation over all the crimes he had committed taking over me, making me want to bring justice to him. Forget Inuyasha not being here. Forget Sesshoumaru not being free to move as he wished. Forget the thousands of demons that lay in waiting behind Naraku. I had taken Naraku on before. I had wounded him more than significantly with one arrow at a time I rarely could hit my target. So what if he had grown stronger and had most of the jewel; I had grown stronger too and so had my friends. And just being on the same side as Sesshoumaru would give anyone confidence. I lifted my bow and levelled my arrow with Naraku's heart, waiting to know when I should make my move.

Even so, deep in my guts, there remained a telltale knot of worry.

Looking malicious, Naraku gave me a look as though to say, `oh please'. Of course, that did nothing to sooth my anger and I welcomed the feeling. “It seems the little miko—,”

“Naraku,” came Sesshoumaru's voice from beside me, drawing everyone's attention to him with the ring of command clear in it. One look at him told me that he had had enough of listening to Naraku. There was a stern look on his face that made the fact undeniable. He stepped forward so far so that he was almost within hands reach of Naraku and for a split second I found myself worried for him. “If you are here to fight, then fight.”

I have to admit, not that it's anything new, but his tall figure standing so dauntingly before one of our greatest and most cunning enemies was simply awe inspiring.

“As you wish my lord,” Naraku said and bringing my attention to where it ought to be, his red eyes now more focused on Toukijin than anything else. Then, slowly, he turned to look at me once more and I was almost surprised to see a smirk slanting his lips. “I only wonder, without Inuyasha, who would be willing to try and protect the poor, useless miko.”

And with that and no more ado, the torrent of youkai burst forth from behind Naraku, heading straight for me.

To be honest, this wasn't such a new move as you would think, but it was an effective one. I had my arrows whizzing through the air as quick as I could, taking down ten maybe eleven demons before I ran out of arrows. This was the downside of using a bow as your main weapon; you could always run out of arrows. I backed away helplessly, too freaked out by the oncoming hoard of demons to be looking to notice what everyone else was doing. One thing was for sure: Naraku was right, without Inuyasha and my batch of arrows, I was pretty much a goner.

The first youkai reached me and, desperate, I threw my bow at him with a surge of purification energy. It worked, purifying the demon just inches away from me along with two others that had been uncomfortably close. Well, to be honest, I can't say that any of them were at a comfortable distance. This gave me just a little more than five seconds before the next wave was on me and this time I didn't even have my bow. Within seconds, I found myself surrounded from all sides so that all I could see was a wall of demons from all around, waiting to pounce. Then, the first of them made its move.

I'm not quite sure what happened next, just that there was a whirling of wind and the demon that had been inches away from me was no longer there. For one wild moment, as my brain was still trying to catch up with the fact that I was still alive, I thought that Inuyasha had come to my rescue and that everything was going to be fine again. Then I remembered that Inuyasha was somewhere five hundred years into the future where he would have no idea that I was even in any danger.

“Kagome! Are you okay?” I turned in time to see Sango catching Hiraikotsu after it had made a lap around me, taking down any of the demons that may have been too close. Relieved, I answered her as she came to stand beside me to help fight back the demons, Miroku along side her.

Sango and Miroku, not wasting any time, immediately set to fighting the demons. Apparently, the demons were thinking along the same line as them as they were charging at us with hardly a pause after seeing the other demons' demise. And I had so wished they'd at least be a bit discouraged.

“Kagome!”

I barely had time to hear Miroku's warning before I was forced to throw myself flat against the ground as a demon tore its talons exactly where my neck had been a mere second ago. I rolled over just in time to see Miroku's staff fly through the demon's head and landing a little to the side. Miroku came rushing up to me and picked up his staff as I got to my feet. This was getting ridiculous, if not highly dangerous; I needed a weapon, any weapon. But how was I to get one?

“Kagome-sama,” Miroku said while casting three sutras toward another group of attacking youkai. “We need to get you out of here. It's not safe.”

I held from rolling my eyes, one: because I didn't think this was the best time for it, two: because I was too busy throwing myself on the ground again. “You're right,” I grumbled, getting back on my feet. “I need to get a weapon if I'm going to be of any use.” And before Miroku could say anything or stop me, I made a bee line to where the wall of demons was a little less dense.

With a shout, seconded by one from Sango, Miroku threw out another handful of sutras, taking out at least six demons that stood before me. I didn't waste time or breath stopping to thank him, knowing that there were more than enough demons vying for the positions that had just opened up along their ranks.

I came to a sudden halt and leaned as far back as I could, just missing being ripped through by an oncoming demon. Clearly, this wasn't going to work without a little effort on my part. I gave a brief glance at my hands. I'd done it before, granted not intentionally, but still. No arrows and no bows didn't leave me with much choice. Best go forth as best as I could, Braveheart to the last breath if I must. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Really, I threw forth my arms, hoping to all that was mighty that this works, and ran as fast as I could. Twice I felt my hands move through what I knew must be demon guts, but thankfully the sensation was short lived both times. I ran for quite a while before I realised that I had my eyes closed. Slowing to a stop, I opened my eyes to see where I was and nearly slapped my forehead when I saw I was on the side away from the village. Clearly, running blind was never a good option.

Not wanting to waste any time, I broke into a run again, circling the huddle of demons with a well-given berth. That is until I ran into something definitely solid and very much hairy.

I stumbled backwards, more than a little miffed, and looked up to see what had delayed me. Sadly, it just so happened to be a mighty happy looking Naraku.

Fudge.

A cursory glance let me know that he was a little worse for the wear, his baboon pelt ripped in places and his hair seemingly a little ruffled. Apparently Sesshoumaru had made an impression. Which reminds me, where was Sesshoumaru anyway? He had been standing right before Naraku when the demons—

DOUBLE FUDGE.

The curse! I had definitely ran outside of my sixty foot berth.

Close to panic, I looked around, trying to find where Sesshoumaru could've possibly been dragged to but saw no sign of him. I could only guess that he was somewhere in the midst of the demons along with Miroku and Sango as that was the only place I didn't have a view of. Demons of that level, however, were of no challenge to him, despite their numbers and that could only be good news for my friends. A little relieved, I turned to face my current problem again, Naraku.

“Do you mind? You're in my way.”

Apparently he didn't find my comment quite as funny as I did. But he smirked and played along. “And where are you off to in such a hurry?”

“I don't remember when that became any of you business.” I glanced over his shoulder to where the town remained beyond my reach. I know I sounded all brave and everything as though I actually thought I stood a chance taking on Naraku, but right now, weapon less and Inuyasha-less, I really didn't feel all that brave anymore.

“How did you do it?”

I looked back at Naraku, taken aback by the out-of-place question. There was a malicious look on his face that seemed to be ever permanent, but in his eyes was the unmistakable light of concentration. Not for the first time, I felt as though I was being seen as someone else and I knew very well who he was substituting me with. It was then that I noticed that I was standing more than too close to him and immediately proceeded to take a good ten steps away from him.

“How did you get Sesshoumaru to keep you alive?” He stepped toward me, making up for my retreat.

A snappy come-back, that's what was needed right now and I had a whole row of them lined up, ready to be shot back. But I couldn't get my mouth to sound it out. All I could manage was a weak swallow. As though from a distance, my brain was kind enough to note that I may be close to panic; it would seem I really was afraid of Naraku.

But no, I wasn't about to fall to pieces before him. I was better than that and I knew it. I forced myself back into the present, knowing that there really was no one for me to rely on this time to come to my rescue. Not even Jaken. They were all busy as it was.

“You're human,” Naraku was saying. “He is not a youkai to be so easily swayed.” And he took another step toward me.

Instinctively, I took one backward then took another two. I racked my brain for a plan but the field that we stood in was bare except for drying grass and a hoard of demons. It looked as though I was back to using my hands. Unless I could make it to the village; Kaede always kept a spare set of bow and arrows in her hut. My next step, I took toward the village.

“You should know better than to think I had any hand in his choice,” I answered in way of distracting him. It wouldn't do to have him stop me before I could get my hands on a weapon.

“The question is, why you would set him up to killing me in the first place.”

At this, Naraku let forth a laugh, one that left me breathless for a full second. “My reasons are my own, Kagome.”

One of the most unpleasant things in life is having an enemy out to have you killed call you by name in that familiar way as though he had a right to say it.

I kept my shiver hidden as best as I could and continued taking little steps toward the village while circling Naraku.

“But,” Naraku said, glancing toward the pile of youkai to my right, “if he is incapable of killing a single miko, I will have to do so myself.”

I knew where this was going and I didn't pause to see if I would be right or not. His sentence was hardly over, but I had already whirled around and was running as fast as my feet would carry me toward the village. I couldn't even tell if my heart was beating anymore, I just kept on running. But I knew it was useless.

A hand, or what I had thought was a hand, wrapt itself around my waist and pulled me down to the ground rather harshly. I screamed, both from fear and being touched by a tentacle. I threw out my hands and grabbed at the tentacle, and pushed out as much of my powers as I could manage. The minute I felt it disappear from my grip, I pushed to my feet again, making another attempt toward the village.

This time, a pair of hands took hold of my waist, turning me around so roughly that all the breath was knocked out of me as I hit something solid, sharp nails just breaking the surface of my skin. I gasped for breath, noting that I was being held in place against a body and being raised in the air. No time to be finicky. I grabbed onto whatever I could, ready to purify the bastard to smithereens, be I airborne or not. But one of the hands holding me in place flashed up and held my hands at a distance.

“Do not even think about it.”

I stopped in surprise at Sesshoumaru's voice, noting the white hair that was before me and wondering how on earth I could've missed that. Then I remembered that Naraku was a shape shifter and that theoretically this could very well be him. I tried to push free but found that the supposed Sesshoumaru was giving me no room. Finally, as a last resort I tried looking over my shoulder and just as Sesshoumaru touched ground, I spotted Naraku, his baboon pelt askew while he held a few bloody stumps of what must've been tentacles. And I realised that Sesshoumaru had brought me back to where I'd been before I had broken into a run.

Not all too gently, Sesshoumaru, now proven to be the real one, put me down on the ground. Put out, I glanced up at him and could immediately tell that he was more than a little angry. And then, with quite a bit of shock, I saw that the top part of his armour was broken off and that there was a wide, bloody gash in it's place. I looked back on his face with a sense of horror, knowing that he could've very well been injured because of me. Sesshoumaru, however, had his eyes held firmly on Naraku's form and was once more pulling out Toukijin.

Taking the lead from him, I too looked back at Naraku, and standing at such a close distance, I could see the sweat on his brow and wasn't sure whether I should be happy that he was fixing his glare on me. I decided to leave all celebrations for when I knew I would be surviving this.

I could see Naraku trying to take steady breaths even as he gave his usual smirk. “Come to her rescue, my Lord?”

I didn't have to rack my brain for a good come back this time. Sesshoumaru had one ready and an effective one too.

“It's done Naraku.”

He raised Toukijin to the air and struck out, the burst of energy so fierce that I had difficulty keeping my place and I was forced to close my eyes. But I could still sense with my miko abilities and I could still sense Naraku's presence via the jewel. I didn't need to have my eyes open to know that he had put up a shield.

“I bore of this,” I heard Naraku announce even though he did not sound at all bored. Having had Naraku escape us more than once before, I threw open my eyes just in time to see him rise to the air.

I looked to Sesshoumaru, expecting him to go after Naraku and one look at him was enough to let me know that he indeed did want to. But I also knew what kept him from it and I felt a mixture of both anger and responsibility.

Sesshoumaru kept his eyes on Naraku's retreating form until he disappeared from view and a few minutes more. I had my eyes back on the huddle of demons, my first instinct being to see if Naraku's minions were gone along side him. To my disappointment they were still there, though their numbers was significantly less. I could even make out Miroku and Sango as they continued to fight, Jaken huddled somewhere behind them. Was it just my imagination or was Miroku starting to lag behind a little?

Worried, I made to go to them and nearly screamed as my wrist was grabbed. I whirled around only to find that it was Sesshoumaru and I forced my heart to slow down again. Upon closer inspection, however, I couldn't deny that it being Sesshoumaru wasn't such a good thing after all. The angry gleam was still present in his eyes and I could only guess as to why. Was he really mad at me for disrupting him in the middle of a battle? I knew Inuyasha would be. But unlike Inuyasha, I didn't know how to handle an angry Sesshoumaru.

Feeling helpless and worried, I waited for him to do something first.

Sesshoumaru kept his stern eyes on me, Toukijin still out and held in one hand while his other hand kept a tight grip on my wrist - which, by the way, was starting to seriously hurt now.

“Sesshoumaru?” I tried in a little voice.

Apparently that was the wrong thing to do as I suddenly found the sharp tip of Toukijin pressed against my throat. Instinct had me stumbling backwards but Sesshoumaru's persistent grip held me in place. I think I forgot how to breath.

“Why did you run?” I don't know what confused me more, that he was using the same tone as he had used with Naraku or the question he was asking.

“What? When?” I gasped, deciding that I didn't like this Sesshoumaru at all. I hadn't been this afraid of Sesshoumaru since…well…ever and I knew I was not ready to fear like that.

“You were running toward the little village. Why?” I could tell that his voice was only forced to sound so calm.

Irrationally, I both wanted to runaway right now and try and reach out to Sesshoumaru so that he would be more or less as he had been this past week. “A-arrows,” I tried, sort of choking on the word. “I needed to get the spare bow and arrows that Kaede keeps.”

He blinked at my answer, his eyes making a quick jump to my shoulder where my bow and wicker are normally hung and back. He blinked again and I could physically see him unwind. He let the sword drop from my neck.

I took a minute to fully appreciate being alive, reaching up to place my free hand over my throat. I forced myself to take in steady breaths and to take control of myself again. Slowly, my brain began to calm enough to start working again, bringing me back to the current. I blinked and realised that Sesshoumaru was still standing before me, an almost confused look on his. But I was confused too, my brain told me. I had not expected that from Sesshoumaru. But I knew I wasn't about to question why he had to ask that question or why he had been so ferociously angry while doing so, knowing that it could quite possibly be dangerous as it had just been demonstrated. I focused back on Sesshoumaru and gave a pointed look at my wrist. There was a pause before it was freed from his grasp.

For now, it will have to be put aside.

First thing was first and that was my friends. One look in their direction was enough to let me know they needed help. I had just started to march towards them when I was stopped by Sesshoumaru's hand on my shoulder.

I looked at him, admittedly a little scared, but it looked as though he had reverted back to his usual stony self and he had his eyes on the youkai before us. “Tell them to lower themselves.”

Toukijin was still out and I could guess what he wanted to do and I didn't think I should risk anything questioning him. I took in a deep breath and yelled, “Miroku, Sango, Jaken, on the ground right now. Trust me.”

Thankfully, that last part was really not needed to be said and with an exchange of glance between Sango and Miroku, they both did as I had bid them. Of course, Jaken didn't have to do anything as he had already been face down in the ground, making as small a target of himself as possible.

As I had suspected he would, Sesshoumaru wiped out every single one of the youkai with one swipe of his sword from where he was standing. But I was barely given time to sigh a sigh of relief when I found Sesshoumaru's hands on my waist, shocking me so much so that I found myself breathless.

“I have no wish to stay here any longer. You will meet your friends again by the village.”

And with that, he took to air, me going along for the ride whether I liked it or not.

---

 

“He really scared me there,” Sango was saying as she helped Miroku sit back against the outside wall of Kaede's hut. It turned out that in the midst of the battle, a demon had managed to take hold of his shoulder and had bit into it. It must have injected some sort of poison into Miroku's system as the bite mark left had a purplish hue to it. He wasn't that affected though and was fine with moving on his own. But Sango seemed to be convinced that he ought not to be left alone and Miroku wasn't one to complain over being touched by Sango, no matter what the reason for it was.

“It was an unexpected move,” I admitted, smirking at the slanted smile on Miroku's face, knowing just exactly what he was thinking as Sango slowly peeled away the top of his robe to take a look at his wound.

“This is going to need a lot of bandaging,” she murmured with her head bent over. “And I'm going to have to get Kaede to take a look at it too.”

“I would much rather have you looking at me,” Miroku commented, eying Sango's form and clearly enjoying the view. “Anyway, I can't say that Sesshoumaru, himself, has given us any reason to doubt him during the time he's been with us.”

I nodded from where I stood twenty feet or so away.

Sango wasn't buying it. She got to her feet, a frown on her forehead as she noted the not so innocent look on Miroku's face. She spared him a brief glare before she promptly turned her back on him and came to join me where I stood. I noted that Miroku didn't seem to be minding the new view.

“I've already asked Shippo to get us some cloth and water to work with,” she said to me. “Now, whatever he may have been acting like recently, we have to keep in mind that it's still Sesshoumaru, and he's cursed until he kills you.”

Knowing that Sesshoumaru could hear us perfectly well and feeling a little self conscience, I wished Sango would give him a little credit. “Back at home,” I said, lowering my voice a little, “we have a saying: innocent until proven guilty.”

Sango frowned. “Why would he just suddenly grab you and come here? It makes no sense.”

I sighed. “I don't pretend to know why he does anything, but he should be allowed to go somewhere if he wants. Seeing as how it didn't cost me anything to let him bring me here, I'm not going to bother fighting him on this. Plus,” I stepped in closer and further lowered my voice, “I can promise you this, if it weren't for him, I for one would be dead four times over.” And didn't stop to mention my latest near-death experience at his hands.

Apparently, Sango had nothing to say to that. I could understand her being a little rattled after this afternoon and I could sympathise, so I let the topic drop.

Sango glanced at Miroku as he leaned against Kaede's hut then turned to look at Sesshoumaru, leaning against a tree at the edge of the forest. She sighed and turned back to me, looking tired. “How much longer do you suppose we have to wait for Inuyasha to come back?”

I looked at my watch, noting that it was a little after five now. “I hope it's soon.” And I glanced at Miroku, his breathing a bit laboured. He was going to need the antidotes from my time. Judging by the look of worry on Sango's face, I knew she was thinking along the same lines. Just then, Kaede walked out of her hut, carrying a bundle of white cloth. Shippo was right behind her with two buckets. Me and Sango waited for them to come to us as I was not free to move without dragging Sesshoumaru along behind me.

“Are those for Miroku?” Sango asked the minute Kaede and Shippo had arrived.

“Yes child,” Kaede nodded, withered hands separating half of the linen from the rest. “And no.” She looked behind me to where Sesshoumaru was sitting and I knew what she meant. I was glad I wasn't the only one concerned about him.

I didn't need anymore goading and reached out for the cloths as Kaede passed them to me. Almost immediately, the frown was back on Sango's face.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked, eyes pinned on me.

I tried not to sigh. “Not at all,” I answered honestly, reaching for the second of the two buckets Shippo carried. “But that's not going to stop me.”

I knew she was worried for me having just found out about the terms of the spell and I felt bad about sounding as I did. But we all owed Sesshoumaru more than what a couple of bandages would cover whether he meant for it to be that way or not. Plus, if I could deal with it, then so should she.

Sango looked as though she had more to say to that but Kaede was the one to stop her, leading her away with her to Miroku, Shippo with them. I was left alone to deal with Sesshoumaru and for a second I stood where I was, gathering my will as my instincts told me that I was in for quite a bit of resistance.

Tightening my grip on the bucket handle, I made my way around to the edge of the forest, keeping my eyes on the path ahead of me. I stopped when Sesshoumaru's shoes peaked into my field of view and only then looked up at him.

Regal as ever, Sesshoumaru had his eyes closed and his face set in a serene look as though he remained completely unharmed. I studied his face as I had the chance, taking in the smooth skin over his features that remained so steady despite the spreading red on his haori. Beside him, Rin was sitting near the tree, not touching him, but leaning toward him. I'm not sure if she was asleep or not as she too had her eyes closed. But she didn't look as calm as him, a frown worrying her brow. I didn't want her to see Sesshoumaru's wound though.

I put down the bucket in my hands, walked around Sesshoumaru's outstretched legs, and kneeled down in front of Rin. I was just about to call her name when she opened her eyes on her own accord having probably already sensed me nearby.

“Kagome-chan,” she said the instant she spotted me. I felt my heart clench at the worry in her voice. I didn't know if Sesshoumaru deserved all that much love from someone like Rin. But I suppose it was Rin's choice who she wanted to care about.

“It's okay Rin,” I said in a reassuring voice, reaching out with a hand to pat her head. “I just need you to go help Kaede-sama for a while. Can you do that for me?”

I think she knew what I was doing or meant to do. That was the trouble with dealing with an unusually perceptive child. But she seemed to agree with me because after a solemn glance in Sesshoumaru's direction she got to her feet and walked into the village.

This is where the hard part began.

“You would do better to follow her,” came Sesshoumaru's quiet voice. No doubt he already knew what I was up to whether he had his eyes closed or not. I almost had to smile.

“Well, I can't now, can I?”

He considered this silently for a minute then said, “You are not needed.”

“Well that's nice to hear.” I got up and walked to where I had put down my bucket. As perceptive as he was, I was sure he knew better than to think I would give in all that easily. I waited for him to take off his armour.

Not to shock you or anything, but he didn't. In fact he still had his eyes closed though I did deserve some credit as the serene look on his face was now maybe a little less serene.

Sigh…okay, so I was stretching here.

Trying not to roll my eyes, I said, “Go on then.”

There were a few silent moments then Sesshoumaru opened his eyes, looking, if possible, a little put out. I put on a big a smile. You know, for his benefit…ehem…

“Perhaps you wish to clarify what you are speaking about,” he said in an evenly cool tone.

“Your armour,” I pointed, “I need you to take it off.” He gave me a peeved look. “What? I'm not going to bother bandaging your armour too!”

I was trying to pretend that there really was no other option but to take care of his wound. He wasn't playing along. There were a few minutes of terse silence on his part, then he closed his eyes and went back to ignoring me.

Well…if he wasn't going to play nice…

“You know Sesshoumaru,” even I noted the familiar note in my voice from when I was about to `sit' Inuyasha. “If you're not going to do it, then you leave me with only one choice.” God I hope it doesn't come to it. I had trouble enough hiding my consternation when he'd been undressing himself.

Perhaps thinking that I was bluffing, Sesshoumaru kept his stony silence.

“It's not that hard you know. I'm sure you've done it before.” Come on, please?

“Leave,” he announced in response, eyes still closed.

Sigh…I didn't think so. “Fine,” I said, giving into my fate rather scornfully. I put down the bundle of cloth that I'd been holding and went to kneel down beside Sesshoumaru. For a second I thought I saw his muscles tense, but they soon relaxed as though he thought I wouldn't dare. Or maybe he just refused to show his discomfort; it wouldn't be anything new. In any case, he didn't have much of a reaction to my settling down beside him, making it clear that I had to resort to extreme measures to get the deed done. Stupid, damn, difficult demon.

Taking in a deep breath and squaring my back, I reached for the yellow obi that held his breastplate on. Even before I made contact I could feel his youki rising and turning in a clear sign of his displeasure, and the minute my hand touched the yellow cloth it was grabbed harshly by one of his hands, making me wince as his nails pinched my skin. For a second, I was really scared again, but I didn't panic having somewhat anticipated the move.

I took in a deep, steadying breath and made myself look up into Sesshoumaru's face.

He had opened his eyes, a dangerous gleam in them as he stared at me.

“I told you to leave.”

“I know, but you're hurt.” My voice was only a little shaky and the concern behind it was more palpable than I would have wished, not when I was dealing with Sesshoumaru of all people. “I know you heal fast and you don't really need to be bandaged up, but it's not like it'll kill you if you let me do it.”

Okay, he didn't look happy. But it's not like I was exactly happy either. Plus, I was the one who was going to be doing all the work. I should be the one objecting. If only he would understand that.

“You like striking up deals,” I said after a few minutes, secretly wishing for him to let go of my hand already and to quit staring at me. “How about we do that. You let me fix you up and I'll do something for you.”

This seemed to attract his attention as his hold on my hand loosened slightly so that his grip was less intimidating. I made a move to free my hand but found that he resisted the shift. Nervous, I looked down at our hands, much too aware of the warmth in his hold and the pressured redness where his fingers were. Sesshoumaru, however, tugged on my wrist, bringing my attention back to his face.

“What do you propose?”

I almost smiled again. “Anything really, if it's reasonable.”

His eyebrow rose as though to say `would I ever be unreasonable?' I'm glad though that he didn't actually voice the thought because I honestly wouldn't know what to say to him. For now, I just offered him a shrug and hoped that that was enough.

“Granted, I will hold you to your word,” Sesshoumaru finally said, his eyes boring steadily into mine as to convey his seriousness. Like I would ever question that.

“Right,” I tried saying brightly. It really wasn't fair that I had to go through all this trouble just to do him a favour. But I guess it all added up in the end anyway since this was really a mixture of thanks for keeping us alive in the fight and an apology for getting him injured.

For his part, Sesshoumaru kept his eyes boring straight into my eyes as though gauging me, in what sense I don't know, and I could, almost as though through my imagination, see there was something uncertain in the way he held my gaze but I had no idea what it could have been. Sitting as close to him as I was, I had a clear view of the different hues of gold in his eyes and I found them to be more than mesmerizing. It occurred to me that for a person who wished to appear as nonchalant as Sesshoumaru did, his eyes could be quite the inconvenience.

But then he jolted me out of the clouds and back to earth by sliding his hand along my arm as he pulled back, wiping the forming smile off my face.

Wondering what was wrong with me at times and trying to dispel the feeling of goosebumps along my skin, I kept my eyes trained on the bark of the tree as Sesshoumaru went about taking off his armour and slid his haori off his right shoulder. Then, putting on my best professional look, I set about actually examining the wound.

I wish I hadn't.

After years of seeing Inuyasha injured and seeing the remains of many battlefields, I was hardly ever squeamish about blood and that sort of thing. But this was putting even my limits to the test. Even though the bleeding had stopped, it was deep…very deep. I knew he was a full demon and all and this was probably no worse than a cut to him, but I felt a surge of sympathy for him.

“Were you planning on staring at me all day?”

Of course, trust him to destroy any feelings of sympathy I may have even thought of having…almost as if he's psychic. However, when I looked up at him, I was surprised to find no sign of the derision I had heard in his voice on his face. Then again, I may have just missed it.

It didn't occur to me to look indignant or anything. I just blinked then set to work. First thing was first and that was to clean the wound as best as I could. I wished Inuyasha was back so that I could use some of my time's medicines. I didn't quite trust this century's method of cleaning with plain water. I dipped a cloth in the bucket with one hand and placed my other hand against his chest so as to gently stretch out the wound. At my touch his muscles gave a small spasm and I knew it hurt more than he let on; I had to be more careful.

I shifted closer to work at a better angle and carefully wiped the damp cloth across the wound, working my way over it several times while trying to be as gentle and thorough as I could. Despite my efforts, I could feel and hear the forced evenness in his breaths.

“Uh…so,” I started, wanting to divert him as much as I could. Of course, I'm well aware that Sesshoumaru can't be diverted from what he wants to pay attention to. “What did you want me to do for you?”

I paused to dip the cloth back into water, then continued, keeping my eyes on my work.

Beneath my hands, his chest shifted as he took in a breath.

“I have not decided yet.”

“Oh.” Okay, that didn't leave me with much to go on. I rinsed the cloth again. “I guess there just isn't that much that I can do for you.”

I was suddenly aware of his gaze on me and had to fight the instinct to glance back at him. After a few moments he took in a breath as though to say something but the breath was exhaled without any accompanying words. I tried ignoring it running over my fingers.

“So where's Jaken,” I said, my voice almost a little unstable. “Last I saw him he was standing beside you.”

Sesshoumaru let out a breath. “I sent him away.”

“How come?”

“He spoke too much.”

I let out a breath of my own, not liking his possible hint. So, as I'm bound to do, I cast around for something more to say, anything really, and remembered that it was cloudy today. Trying not to smile evilly and not completely succeeding, I said, “You know, I don't like the look of those clouds. Do you think it's going to rain today?”

I wonder if he knew I was teasing him. Judging by the tense silence that followed my words, he didn't. Or maybe he did and didn't take highly to it (I really should give up trying to read him…). I let out a laugh, not really very concerned, and spared him a glance. There was just a hint of a frown on his brows as he stared at me.

Nearly laughing, I tried my best to sound serious, “You know, I'm starting to suspect you don't share my sense of humour.”

Ah, understatements, the joy of my life.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, drawing another smile from me. Then he gave a slight shake to his as though he thought hope was lost on me and turned to look toward the little huts of the village.

Exhaling slowly, I tried to come to terms with the fact that Sesshoumaru and I really didn't share the same sense of humour. I know, I know, it must be shocking to you too and I sympathize. But it's one of those facts of life we just have to learn to live with.

I gave his wound one last wipe then pulled back to examine my work. Now that the blood was wiped from his chest, the wound didn't stand out as horribly as before, but it was still a sobering sight. Normally, I would expect myself to feel a bit guilty over it as it was because he was tied down to me that Sesshoumaru was injured. But I didn't. I don't know why.

I put down the strip of cloth I'd been using, draping it over the ledge of the bucket, and reached for a fresh piece. Then I looked back at Sesshoumaru's chest analytically, feeling a little ineffective with my strip of cloth after having seen all those hospital TV shows. Letting out my breath in a huff so that I felt my bangs lift momentarily, I settled for making do with what was at hand. Anyway, it's not like Sesshoumaru knew what he was missing out on.

“Well,” I said, turning my eyes back up to his only to find him still staring to the side, “I'm going to try and wrap this around you now.” Then I waited.

Sesshoumaru did nothing.

I tried clearing my throat to catch his attention and it worked…sort of. He turned his head to look at me but didn't do anything else.

I looked pointedly from the makeshift bandage to his wound then back to his face. Again, Sesshoumaru just continued to look at me a slight frown taking form on his brow.

Oh, this was awkward.

I cleared my throat. “I'll be having to wrap the cloth around your…um…chest.” Judging by his blank look, I figured I had to elaborate. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was being slow on purpose.

“Your hair,” I finally said and pointed. “It's in the way; and your arms.”

For a few seconds - awkward seconds - awkward seconds that seemed like an eternity - I was stared at - by a half-naked Sesshoumaru if I may mention. I did my best not to show my discomfort. Then, in a fluid motion, Sesshoumaru had reached around his back and pulled his hair out of the way. Then he went back to pinning me with those intrusive eyes of his, the look on his face telling me to get a move on it.

Except now it was a lot harder to go back to bandaging him up. For one, he was now staring at me and while I had already touched him before, I now had to move in way closer than I ever would in order to be able to wrap the cloth around him. Maybe this whole taking care of him business was more complicated than I had thought. I was half tempted to just back off and let him go on as he normally would. Immediately at the thought, I felt determination stirring again within me. This was meant to be a thank you and if nothing, I was polite. And it was too late to back out now without letting him know just how uncomfortable I was (I still had the dream that this was a secret). Plus, I'm from the twenty first century; I could handle a shirtless guy…even if it was Sesshoumaru.

God, if you have any mercy, let that be true.

“Right,” I said in a would-be cheery voice. I took in a deep breath and crouched down as close to him as I dared to.

It was an uncomfortable business, to put it lightly. But thankfully, it didn't take too long and almost before I knew it, I was done wrapping the white cloth around him. Even so, each time I had to lean further in to pass the cloth over his back I would come so close that I could feel the heat radiating off his skin and I found it hard not to think on his hands wrapping almost fully around my middle each time he picked me up today. Somehow, today we just seemed on much more closer quarters.

I tucked in the end of the cloth, then sat back to re-examine my work. It still seemed sort of primitive and I wished I had the means to show him just how much more could be done. Finally letting out a sigh, I put on a smile and looked back up at him.

Eyes semi closed, a trace of a frown almost apparent on his brows, Sesshoumaru didn't look to be in much of a mood. Then again, when was he in a good mood?

“Good news,” I said, getting to my feet. “I'm done. We can go back to not having any contact now.”

Yes, teasing will alleviate the tension, especially since it's worked so well in the past. I'm just so bright at times.

Thankfully, I was ignored.

Breathing a sigh, I stood up and picked up the bucket and what cloth was left. I turned and walked with the intention of giving them back to Kaede as she might need them (she was a miko, after all) but stopped before long as my brain kicked in, thankfully before I went over my sixty foot limit - again. It would seem that I am not meant to catch a break today.

I put down the bucket where I stood. I tried to look subtly to where Sesshoumaru was sitting in the same position as before. He hadn't even bothered to put his clothes back on, body coiled as though he was on the alert…more so than usual. With a slow blink, he raised his eyes onto me and I could see that probing light in them. I think he just may have been expecting me to completely forget about the spell, and the realisation of it was funny enough to make me let out a guilty giggle.

Oh well, how does the saying go…if you can't beat them, join them! Even if I'm not actually beating Sesshoumaru in anything. I guess it's not the right saying for the moment but so long as my language teacher doesn't find out, I think I'll be fine with my incorrect idioms inside my own head.

I made my way back to Sesshoumaru, his eyes following my movements all the while, and sat down against the tree beside his. I'm not quite sure why, but even as I sat, I had the distinct feeling that something was off with Sesshoumaru. Instinct had me guessing that it was because I was back but I didn't want to believe that being around me bothered him that much, especially because I had to be around him.

So, I just leaned back against the tree and closed my eyes, half because I was dead-beat tired and half because I didn't want to see the eyes I could feel boring into me. After a few minutes, I felt, at least I think I did, Sesshoumaru take his eyes off of me and look another way. Feeling a little less tense, I allowed the smile to grow on my face.

The air was cold but not harshly so, but even so I had to pull my sleeves as low as they would go so as to cover my fingers, and I was sure my nose was red with the cold. But I didn't mind it so much. In the background, the wind blew through the stark trees, bringing forth the light scent of forthcoming rain. Very distantly, I could hear the kids in the village coming out of their homes after being held indoors by their anxious parents. I wondered if Shippo and Rin would be joining them, knowing that both Kirara and a reluctant Jaken would be following them if they decided to do so. With a sense of mischievousness, I strained my ears to see if I could hear the sound of a sharp slap from Kaede's hut; I knew better to think Miroku wouldn't make a move. No doubt, less than a few seconds later, I heard a faint echo of it coupled by Sango's indignant scolding.

“What do you find so amusing?”

Slowly, I let my eyes open, taking in the view of the storm streaked clouds low over the horizon. Sesshoumaru did not just break the silence. I know he didn't, he wouldn't.

He did, didn't he?

AHHH! It's the end of the world!

…again…

Casually, I turned and looked at him only to find that he was facing forward and had his eyes mostly closed. So I cleared my throat and focused on the huts. “You know, just thinking.”

I didn't look back at him but I felt as though more needed to be said and because I couldn't really say that Miroku had just probably attempted to grab Sango's ass, succeeded despite the poison in his system, and found himself beaten by Sango and that I just happened to find all this incredibly amusing, I gave a shrug and settled for saying, “It's been a long day, hasn't it?”

This was answered with an indistinctive sound from Sesshoumaru.

“Well it has,” I said. “I'm just making the best of it.”

I waited to see if he had anything to say to that, and to my surprise, he did.

“That's a trait hard found in your race.” His calm words failed to rouse any anger in me, though maybe I was just a bit annoyed.

“Are you expecting a comment on that?” I asked, half expecting that to be the end of the conversation.

Then again I was surprised when this too received an answer.

“No doubt, you have one that may prove to be interesting.”

I took a few minutes to absorb this. “Uh…if you say so. I just think, given their current status in life, people here aren't as negative as you make them sound. I mean, they're a bunch of farmers, without much to go on other than each other. They have no money; they're constantly under attack by demons, and never mind other humans. But despite it, they're still growing and evolving. You can't imagine how far humans can go.”

He was silent for a few minutes as though actually considering my words. Then he said, “You are not entirely wrong. However, in relation, humans do have very far to go before they can equal youkai.”

I considered letting him know that in a few hundred years, there would be no demons to mount up to but I thought better of it. Instead I settled for: “Maybe, but there are more important things in life.”

“More important than surviving an attack by demons?”

I smirked. “Yes, plus, you don't have to equal an enemy to beat it.”

“Hn,” was his response. Then he went on to say, “You make it seem as though youkai are of no concern to you.”

I turned my neck so I could see his face. He was still studying the town, his eyes steady and a solid gold in this light. I still felt as though his body was coiled and was a little thrown off trying to find a reason for it. “They are,” I eventually said. “But that's only since I came here.”

He was silent again and I could see his eyebrow dip down at the front. Then, “You mean to say that demons are not a threat to your race in your native land?”

Heck, it couldn't hurt, could it? “No,” I shook my head, and Sesshoumaru finally turned to look at me, eyes analytical and sceptical. “There are no demons, period. Or at least, non that are willing to show themselves for what they are.”

“No demons,” he repeated, eyebrow raised.

“No demons.” It was so tempting to laugh just then but his eyes kept me from it.

“And yet you claim to be from this very forest.”

This time I did laugh. “Yes, in fact, I'd say we're sitting in my neighbour's yard at this very moment.”

He cast a glance in the general direction of the well (it took me a minute to remember that he had felt Inuyasha disappear around there a few hours ago) then turned his eyes back on me. Though his form seemed as strung up as before, his eyes seemed a bit calmer. “Your home must be very different.”

I nodded then shook my head with a wide smile, noting that, if he didn't believe me before, he did now. “In many ways, but it's also the same in many ways. The majority of us, including me, come from your average, working families.”

This seemed to grab his attention and he pinned me with his sceptical look again. I stopped to think back on what I could've said that could make him doubtful again. When I couldn't come up with anything, I gave up and tried him. “What?”

“You are not from a working family.” He looked too serious for me to think he was joking…not that he ever did joke.

But why would he question that of all things?

“Uh…why wouldn't I be?”

He gave me a look as though to say that was obvious. But as I remained blank, with a slight narrowing of his eyes, he went on to say, “Your hands are—,” and here he paused as though searching for the right word.

I looked down at my palms, trying to see exactly what my hands were. Nope, no sixth finger on either one…. Clueless, I looked back up at him to clarify.

His frown deepened for a second. Then, with what unbelievably was a slight roll of his eyes, he turned to face the village again before he went on to say, “You're hands are not the hands of a worker.”

“Oh!” Ha ha, that made sense now. That was astute of him to notice, very astute indeed. I wonder when he'd noticed that. I looked for the right way to put it. “At home, you don't have to be a farmer to be working…there are lots of other occupations that don't involve labour.”

He took this silently, seeming to buy it as the frown on his brow evened out.

“For example, we own a shrine and there isn't anything that hard about that.”

“I was under the impression that the life of a miko was a dangerous and taxing one,” Sesshoumaru said, though he didn't turn to look at me.

“No, not when there are no demons to be dealing with.” I couldn't help the little giggle that escaped me.

At the sound of my laughter, Sesshoumaru once again turned toward me, his face serious and his form a little more placid to my senses.

It looked as though he were about to say something more but something seemed to catch his attention so that he turned slightly towards the trees. Judging by the direction he was leaning toward, I thought I knew what had caught his attention and I'm glad to say that it wasn't Naraku coming back.

Sesshoumaru turned back toward me, the fresh blank mask over his features already confirming my suspicions. Instinctively, I wanted to get to my feet and leave him there as though having Inuyasha find me having a nice conversation with his half-brother was something to be prohibited. Resolutely, I kept my seat, burrowing into the bark of the tree for extra support, and waited for Inuyasha to come our way.

Then I noticed that Sesshoumaru's eyes were still on me, studying me and my actions and though his eyes were expressionless, they held an air of utter concentration. I remained still, letting him read whatever it was that he wanted to, and for once not minding.

“Inuyasha comes,” he said, voice so low that it hardly bothered the silence of the late afternoon.

I nodded my head, curling my knees against my body and relishing in the slight warmth it brought me.

“You should leave.”

I shrugged.

“Leave.”

Finally, I let out a little laugh, proceeding to smile. “I can't. Anyway, I just got comfortable.”

---

Hello?

(echo)

Anyone there?

There...there…re…re

Aw man…

That aside, for anyone who's still there….I'M SO SORRY! I really am. I like to call on Advi as my witness. But in my defence I got a frigging full-time job (both bah! And yea!) alongside my own yearly job of tutoring. And since it's been finals time my students have kept me more than busy. And for the first month since my last update, I was finishing my own finals and after that my parents went on vacation together, which mean I was forced to become the mom and actually cook and feed my brother and sister because I'm the only one who can cook anything edible other than my mom. Although there is the odd food that my siblings can make. And at the same time I got this full time job that is actually important to my career so I can't muck it up. Believe it or not, this chapter was mainly written during my breaks and car rides to and from work. Thank god for laptops, eh? Any who, let it be noted that I'm aiming to finish this story before the next school term. There may be a month overlap but that's about it.

Now, the beginning of last chapter, specifically the first paragraph…well, even though it totally escaped my eyes, it's been brought to my attention by the lovely IndigoNightOwl, to whom I am very grateful, that it may be interpreted as third person POV. To my horror, when I went to check I saw that she was right. So anyhow, I went back, and with her help, modified it so that it is definitely Kagome's POV. Anywho, sorry for the slip up.

About Kagome in this chapter, I feel obligated to remind you all that, as she admits so herself in an earlier chapter, she's never been one for reading people all that well via their eyes or whatever. Remember, she's only human and always, always, susceptible to mistakes.

And finally! I found a namesake among my reviewers! So cool! First person out of my home country that I've heard of with my name (first real person). Although I did use to have a teacher with the same name but she's vetoed out for being a teacher.

See ya kiddos!