Fandom: Inuyasha
Title: Bubbles
Author/Artist: Scarlet_foxs (Orange Kisses)
Theme(s): (19: Homebody, bubbles, stay)
Pairing/Characters: Sesshomaru / Kagome
Rating: G-PG
Disclaimer/claimer (if needed): Don't own Inuyasha
Summary (if needed): Every time he saw a bubble, it reminded him of her.
Kagome pulled herself out of the well and lifted her giant yellow back pack out from behind her. She let out a grunt when she rolled it over the edge and it fell to the forest floor with a heavy sound. Kagome then sat on the lip as she caught her breath. After two years of climbing in and out of that well, one would think she'd be used to it! One day she'd attach a rope ladder to it, or a pulley system to get her bag, something.
As she stood back up and hefted her bag, she noticed something was amiss. The forest, normally alive with birds this late in the morning, was still. She strained her ears and could hear the clanging of swords. Cautiously she ran forward, the wind picking at her green school skirt and billowy sailor sleeves. It was only fall but already the temperatures had dropped a little bit. The leaves were starting to turn in all of their glory, and it would have cheered her if her mind hadn't been preoccupied on the noises.
Shippo was the first to greet her when she broke through the tree line and started downhill to the clearing outside of Kaede's village. "Kagome! Did you bring me any treats?!"
Kagome slid to a stop at the bottom of the hill and caught Shippo when he leapt into her arms, grunting a little in surprise. He was getting heavier! "Of course Shippo, but what's going on?"
Shippo shrugged, motioning to where Inuyasha left a crater in the ground where his opponent had once been standing. Sango and Miroku were sitting on the hill with Kilala between them, leisurely watching. Kagome relaxed a little bit. If they weren't worried, she wouldn't be either. "Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are sparring. He came to ask Miroku 'the wise' something, but Inuyasha opened his mouth and it went downhill from there."
Inuyasha's ears twitched fifty yards away and he looked up from Sesshomaru to glare at Shippo. "I heard that runt!"
Sesshomaru took the opening and swept low, kicking Inuyasha's feet out from under him and shooting him into the air. "Cheater!"
Sesshomaru's palm came down against Inuyasha's chest rapidly and ferociously, pounding against his chest and Inuyasha's weak ribs. The group had encountered an incarnation of Naraku a few days earlier and all of them had come out of it worse for wear. Inuyasha's ribs on his left side had been broken and Kagome had taped them up with Sango's help. Even with his haori over the bandages, Sesshomaru had noticed how he favored that side and used it to his advantage.
Kagome settled her bag down and passed out the goodies she had brought with her, handing Sango and Miroku canned tea and Shippo a box of crayons. She also snuck him a lollipop when Inuyasha was too busy to look over at them and smiled. That was when she noticed the additions to their group headed towards them.
The earth shook lightly as the two headed dragon of Sesshomaru's headed towards them, Rin and Jaken sitting on their backs. Jaken had a welt on his head and Rin was almost glowing with happiness. Kagome waved them over with a happy wave and Rin immediately slid off of Ah-Uhn's back, rushing across the springy grass towards them. Shippo immediately put his lollipop away in an inner pocket and warily watched Rin sit on the grass between him and Kagome.
Sesshomaru looked up and his eyes narrowed just a fraction from the head lock he had Inuyasha effortlessly in. Apparently their spar was hand to hand combat with no special talents. His gaze turned to Jaken who pointed to the lump on his head then to Rin furiously. He'd have to have a talk with Rin about staying put when he told her. The older she got the more she bent the rules, he had noticed. He was rubbing off on her, had realized some time ago. Her words were more refined and when she went into towns to bargain for kimonos or supplies, she had people at her command because of the aristocratic aura she gave off. Not to mention he wouldn't let her wear anything but the best, and that certainly added to the aura. She had a travel kimono, an outdoor kimono, and if they were at his manor in the Western Lands, she wore silks. He hated to admit it, and he wouldn't admit it to anyone except perhaps himself, but she had sort of… grown on him. Like a surrogate daughter of some kind.
Kagome watched with amusement as Inuyasha squawked like a bird as he tried getting out of Sesshomaru's hold. He squirmed and wriggled out but a quick foot to his back had him flat on the ground. Kagome laughed openly as many memories of 'sitting' Inuyasha came to mind. Shippo cheered loudly. "Do it again!"
Kagome laughed as Rin and Shippo got into cheering against Inuyasha and she started cheering with them, laughing even harder at the furious look Inuyasha sent them. "No comments from the wimpy section!"
Kagome sent him an annoyed look as Rin and Shippo started cat calling. Wimpy? And who was the one who had taken that giant centipede demon all by herself yesterday? Kagome folded her arms. "Get him Sesshomaru! Make him eat dirt!"
Sesshomaru grabbed Inuyasha into a head lock and spared his audience another glance as Inuyasha wriggled like a fish. His charge he knew would always cheer for him, but his half-brother's wench and her charge? He looked down at Inuyasha. "You seem to have lost your popularity." With a swift shove Inuyasha was face first in the dirt again and Sesshomaru jumped backwards as Inuyasha kicked.
Rin turned away from the fight, obviously bored, and tugged on Kagome's sleeve. "Lady Kagome, do you have something fun we could do?" Shippo immediately zeroed in as well and started riffling through her bag. He found a giant pink cylinder with a white screw top and pulled it out, the bottle as big as he was.
"What's this?"
Kagome smiled and put the container back, resurfacing with three smaller containers of blue, purple, and green. "These are called Bubbles. It's a toy, see? You put liquid soap in here, and inside the bottle they give you a small metal stick with a circle on the end. You take the stick, swirl it inside the liquid, and blow, like this." She demonstrated by taking her bubble wand and lifting it up carefully and blowing gently. A large fat bubble floated through the air and down the hill with the wind as she blew more of the smaller bubbles. The children immediately followed suit and did the same and soon the air was infested with bubbles.
Sesshomaru looked up as a bubble flitted across his vision. Inuyasha was flat on his back with Sesshomaru's foot on his chest and shoulder, keeping him down. Inuyasha let out a breathless 'Yield', growling as he touched a hand to his thoroughly abused side. Inuyasha knew he had cracked another rib with all of this wrestling.
Sesshomaru waved away a huge bubble that came towards him, popping it with a finger. He ducked another as it came towards his head and soon he was surrounded by the bubbles. He looked around and spotted the creature making the bubbles and paused at the scene he came across. The miko's face was flushed from laughing so hard and Rin was leaning against her clutching her sides as Shippo desperately scraped his tongue. Apparently he had taken a bite of a bubble and it didn't sit too well with him. Somehow the picture looked… right. Sesshomaru mentally shook his head.
He let himself relax slightly and brushed himself off of dirt and grass as he walked up the hill. "Rin." With that simple word she was on her feet, still giggling. She handed Kagome the small bottle and Kagome shook her head.
"Keep it Rin, it's a gift!" Rin profusely thanked her and smiled lightly before following Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru glanced at Rin's happy face and inclined his head gently to Kagome in silent thanks. Flustered, Kagome did the same, inclining more of her upper half into the bow and almost fell forward down the hill. Her face flushed harder as she looked up at Sesshomaru's face as he turned away.
Sesshomaru sat on the walkway that wrapped around the giant manor of the Western Lands, admiring the fall garden in the back. A bubbling brook ran through it and one part was a stone garden, while on the other side of the bridge there were flowers for Rin. She was sitting on the bridge, blowing bubbles and giggling to herself. The bubbles floated towards him in the air and lifted a striped arm, catching a bubble on his fingertip. It stayed there for a few moments before it popped and he stared at where it had once been.
Sesshomaru leaned against the post that dotted the walkway to support the awning of the manor and closed his eyes. He let his mind wander back to that day a few weeks ago and in his mind's eye he could almost picture Kagome, doubled over in laughter with Rin.
He could have sworn he saw her face inside of the bubble. But that was ridiculous… wasn't it?
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