InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Windows on the West ❯ No Man is an Island ( Chapter 20 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer:  I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

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Sesshoumaru flicked a thoughtful glance Kagome's way, and narrowed his eyes, annoyed, as he realized that he was once again, looking at her – and thinking about her.  After her outburst the night before last, about caring for him, he'd tried his best to ignore her.  

He didn't want anyone to think he needed a person, a ningen no less, to care for him.  It was a weakness – more of those infernal emotions she was so subject to.  He would not allow himself to fall prey to such.

Of course, the downside to ignoring her, was that his pest of a brother thought that meant that he could move in, and had practically attached himself to her hip, loving the distance between the two.  That part was not acceptable.   But how to keep the whelp away while still ostensibly ignoring Kagome?

Perhaps he should simply take her aside, order her to keep her silly emotions to herself, and then keep her near – at least until his brother got the message that she was off-limits?

Hn.  Perhaps I should.  But, then again, I cannot help but wonder... why is it that she... cares for me?  Another part of the puzzle that is her.  And after all, is that not why I intend to keep her with me?  To learn to understand her?  I could always ask her first, why she feels these emotions towards me – and then order her to keep them to herself.

Yes... he mused, glancing once more in her direction,  that is what I will do.

Later that evening, with the rest of the group settled in Edo, Sesshoumaru waited patiently enough for Kagome to visit the elder miko, and then, once she was done, he escorted her back to his little camp in the forest.  He, after all, would not fall so far as to sleep in a squalid human village with the overpowering reek of filth and death that almost every ningen carried.

Now is the perfect time to speak to her, while we are away from all others.  This way, none shall hear this one speaking of such things as feelings, he thought, with a modicum of discomfort at even acknowledging that such a word as feelings existed.

His voice broke the silence between them, causing Kagome to startle.

“Miko, you will tell this one why it is that you... care... for him, as you said the other evening.”  It came out bluntly, and Kagome was visibly stunned, turning a confused gaze on him that, despite the darkness of the surrounding forest, he was able to clearly see.

She blinked, then blinked again, before speaking.  

“Well, why wouldn't I?  I care about Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Uhn, too, you know.  And if we are going to be around each other for a lot of endless centuries, it would get pretty lonely to not care at all, wouldn't it?

Now it was Sesshoumaru's turn to be caught off-guard.  That question took him by surprise.  He hadn't really thought of it that way.  It was true – to care for someone that you would only be around for a few short years was rather a waste, as Sesshoumaru saw it – he turned a blind eye to the pang he felt at the thought of Rin – but for one whom you'd be around for the rest of your life?  It would, certainly, become very onerous to continue in the presence of one who you cared naught for at all.

Still, he stubbornly clung to his previous mindset.

“This one does not need a person to care for him,”  he said loftily.  “It is not strictly necessary that emotion be present between us beyond the bond of pack, miko.”

He was completely taken aback at the sound of her sudden laughter, and turned his head to stare down at her with furrowed brow.

She waved one hand at him, while the other she pressed to her lips to muffle the sound that was even now degenerating into giggles.  After a few seconds, she got her mirth under control.

“You really are too funny, you know that?”  she asked fondly.  “I can't believe some of the things you say sometimes.”  She shook her head and sighed, then, as she felt him stiffen at her side.  Looking up at him, she said,  “Listen.  It's not really about what you need, so much as it's about what I need.”

He shot her a dubious glance, and she chuckled quietly.  “It's true, though.  I am who I am, Sesshoumaru, and I can't change just because you want me to.  I am the one that needs to care about people – even those who think they don't need someone to care for them.”  

She winked at him, then, knowing he could see her just fine, and catching sight of the campfire, with  Rin and Jaken and Ah-Uhn through the trees, she sped up to walk ahead of him, calling over her shoulder,  “There's a saying in my time, though, Sesshoumaru, and maybe you should think about it:  No man is an island.”  With that, she skipped into their camp, leaving him standing at the edges of it, frozen, as he thought about what she'd said.

He didn't sleep at all that night as he pondered her words, suddenly very uncomfortable as he realized  she was right...

Even he, Sesshoumaru, was not an island.

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A/N:  ~Snickers~  Poor Sesshoumaru, Kagome made him think.  But actually, this is an important chapter – he has just had his eyes opened to reality... at least, by a crack, anyway.  Still got a ways to go, though, and a lot more for our beloved Daiyoukai to learn.  Which means, lots more story to come!  Yay!

Happy New Years, everyone!

Amber

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