Chapter Two – Trail
Kagome approached the cabin anxiously, unsure of how Kaede would react to Sesshoumaru. After all he was not just a full-blooded demon, but a true daiyoukai. Kagome worried her lip as she slowly walked closer to the building.
And then the curtain moved and Kaede stepped out, clutching her bow tightly.
Her surprised eyes fell on the younger miko.
"Kagome? What are you doing here? I thought I sensed a powerful demon..."
"You did," Kagome replied nervously.
Kaede's eyes trailed further and saw the young demon lord.
"Kagome, where are Inuyasha and the others? Why are you travelling with someone like him?" the miko asked, immediately realising how dangerous the daiyoukai might be.
"Now that... That's the exact reason why we came to see you."
Soon the dragon steed with Rin on its back came into the sight, led by the bridle by a huffing Jaken. A moment later Inuyasha landed right next to Kaede, soon followed by Kirara carrying Sango, Miroku and Shippo.
Kaede sighed quietly to herself.
"Let us go inside," the old woman said. "I had prepared some stew, but it would seem I have to make some more."
Kagome nodded.
Inuyasha walked in after Kaede, Miroku and Sango following in his wake. Kagome glanced at Rin and Shippo, who seemed content staying outside playing with Kirara. Ah-Un settled comfortably into a shade of a nearby tree. Kagome went in and Sesshoumaru followed her. Jaken was about to follow inside after his master, but one pointed glance from the lord was enough to tell the toad that he was to remain outside to look after Rin. Jaken sullenly sighed and plopped onto the ground.
The hut was rather cramped, but at least they all fitted in. Kagome was slightly bothered, for she had to sit so close to Sesshoumaru that they were almost touching. The long chain was pooling on the floor before them, and Kaede took it to her hands, exploring and studying it intently. After a long while of nodding and muttering to herself while twisting and turning the metal in her hands, she set the chain down.
And none too late, Kagome thought to herself, for she had well felt the way Sesshoumaru had been tensing up for a while now.
Kaede cleared her throat and all eyes turned to the old miko.
"This," the woman started, gesturing at the chain, "must be the strongest magical object I have ever come to see, save for the Shikon no Tama, perhaps."
Miroku nodded, he had already guessed as much. With his holy powers he could sense the enchantments that that the chain seemed to be brimming full of.
"I can tell that it is of demon origin. It has been forged by the hand of a youkai, and it has been given the blood of several demons to strengthen the metal."
Kagome still was worrying her lip and she fiddled her hands nervously in her lap, causing the chain to jingle softly.
"However, the chain is also blessed by holy powers."
"What?" Sango asked, wide-eyed. By her side, Miroku was also looking very surprised.
Kaede nodded.
"Some very powerful monks and priests have placed enchantments on this chain. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do. It is far beyond my power."
Sesshoumaru set his jaw. He had already guessed that the miko could not help them. It seemed that their only hope now would be the vixen who had bound them together to begin with.
"Is that all?" Kagome asked, frowning.
Kaede pursed her lips.
"Well... I guess you deserve to know." she paused, looking gravely at Sesshoumaru and Kagome.
"I feel something strong from within the chain, strength that is not physical in nature. I cannot tell what exactly that means, but something in this chain is unlike anything I've seen. It's as if..." the woman paused again, a distant look in her eyes. Then she shook her head. "No, no I don't think that would be possible," the miko muttered to herself, scoffing.
"What of this strength, then?" Sango inquired.
"Is it harmful?" Miroku asked.
Kaede shook her head again.
"It is not evil of its nature," she replied.
Sango sighed in relief.
"But I still think it would be better for you to be cautious," she sternly added.
Kagome nodded.
"Thank you, Kaede-baa-chan," she said sincerely and bowed her head.
Then Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru.
"Are we now going to track the one who chained us then?"
Sesshoumaru nodded slowly. And then, all of sudden, surprising them all, he spoke out.
"It is too late to start our travel today. Eat and rest and prepare for the journey, I do not know how far our destination lies. We shall leave tomorrow at dawn."
Kagome nodded.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Sesshoumaru got up gracefully and walked out of the hut, as far as he could just go.
Kagome sat back and sighed.
Mutely, Kaede offered her a bowl of stew.
Kagome accepted it with thanks and ate in silence. Then he went out briefly, to give Shippo and Rin their bowls of stew. She then returned to the hut and glanced at her companions.
"So... What are we going to do?"
"We are not going to do anything," Inuyasha said gruffly. "YOU are going to leave with Sesshoumaru, to find the fox so you two can be freed."
"And you?"
"Obviously, we can't find shards, not without your abilities," Miroku said, watching Kagome closely. He saw her worry and gave her a reassuring smile. "And I don't think we would even need to look for the shards, no one has heard anything about Naraku for a while. Inuyasha has been trying to find a trail in vain for weeks now. Most likely we'll remain here, that is, if it does not bother Kaede-sama."
The old miko told them she didn't at all mind the company.
"Are you going to be alright, Kagome," Sango asked, concerned.
Kagome swallowed, thinking of how to respond. She very well realised that Sesshoumaru could hear their every word. Even if he did not mean to eavesdrop, he could not help his sharp ears.
"I think I will be," she replied to Sango truthfully. "I know that Sesshoumaru's not exactly our ally, but... I don't quite find him an enemy either."
"Keh!"
Inuyasha's huff silenced them all.
"So what are ya gonna do now? You have the rest of the afternoon and this evening till you are leaving."
Kagome shifted nervously.
"Well, I was thinking that I could do with some supplies, so I figured I could -"
"No."
Kagome looked at the defiant hanyou. She had known he would not agree to it.
"But Inuyasha, I need -"
"You can't seriously plan to go there with Sesshoumaru strapped onto yer ass?"
Kagome opened her mouth in an angry protest but she never had a chance to speak up.
"I think Inuyasha's right," Sango said, her eyes downcast.
"Fine." Kagome's upset eyes turned to look at Miroku.
The monk raised his hands in the air disarmingly.
"Please, Kagome-sama. You can't possibly ask me to defy both Sango and Inuyasha."
Kagome balled her fists, feeling utterly betrayed. She really needed supplies. She needed food and she was running out of toothpaste, too. She also was yearning for clean clothes. They already were so close to the well, so why...?
"Damnit," she spat and in her frustration threw her arms up in the air.
The movement yanked the chain and she heard an angry growl from outside.
"Sorry," she sheepishly called to the demon lord. "That wasn't on purpose..."
Inuyasha was staring at Kagome while battling an inner conflict. Then, he suddenly got up.
"Fine. I'll go."
Kagome's widened eyes shot up to Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha, you...?"
"You guys wait here, I'll be back soon." Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's yellow backpack and left the hut. He passed his brother without as much as a glance. Sesshoumaru stared hard after his brother, while he idly wondered what this place of Kagome's 'supplies' was exactly. He could not smell any other village nearby.
He also couldn't help but to wonder why wasn't he allowed to go to that place.
-cCc-
The magic of the well surrounded him and pulled at him, carrying him through time. He leapt from the depths, landing softly onto the floor of the well-house. As usual, the mixture of alien smells and sounds assaulted his senses, but he pushed his discomfort aside. Tossing the backpack over his shoulder, he walked out of the well house into the sunshine. He crossed the courtyard and stepped into the house.
He followed the scent into the kitchen, finding Kagome's mother there.
"Yo."
Mrs. Higurashi startled and turned around.
"Inuyasha!" she was surprised, but obviously delighted. "I wasn't expecting you at all! Is Kagome -"
The woman's smile faded as she noted how Kagome was nowhere to be seen and that Inuyasha was carrying her backpack. She paled and clutched her chest.
"Did something happen?"
"Yes," Inuyasha replied truthfully, then seeing the shock in the woman's eyes rushed to continue. "But Kagome's fine. She just needs to go on a little trip and said she needed supplies," Inuyasha explained, handing the backpack over to the woman.
"That's kind of you, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi smiled. "But why didn't she come to get them herself?"
"Uhh... She's a bit... tied up in the past for the time being. She would have wanted to come herself, but couldn't."
"Oh, it's alright then."
Mrs. Higurashi set the backpack down and began to rummage through it, pulling dirty clothes out and tossing them into the laundry basket.
"So... Where is she going?"
"Um, we don't know. She's leaving with my brother to track down a certain demoness. They have questions they want answered."
The woman nodded absentmindedly as she searched through kitchen cupboards to gather up enough food for Kagome.
Then she suddenly paused and turned to look at Inuyasha.
"Did you say she's going with your brother?"
Inuyasha nodded.
"I never knew you had a brother! Is he older than you, or younger?"
"Older. And we don't always get along that well." It was a crude understatement, he knew, but Inuyasha did not want to tell Kagome's mother how Sesshoumaru had more than once tried to kill him.
"Aw. Why?"
"Well, he's actually my half-brother," Inuyasha muttered. "And he's full blood."
Mrs. Higurashi sensed the subject to be tender so she let it drop.
"Oh! If you didn't mind, could you help jii-chan with cleaning the storage room? You need to wait here a while anyway so that I can get everything packed.
Inuyasha nodded.
"Thanks."
Mrs. Higurashi watched Inuyasha go with a smile on her face. He was such a nice boy.
She packed Kagome food, like cup ramen, some water bottles and a bag of apples. As a bonus she added in a few chocolate bars.
Then she went through Kagome's first aid kit, filling in the items that she was running out of. Then she took a clean bowl and a pair of chopsticks for her.
Taking the backpack with her, she went upstairs into Kagome's room, to get her clean clothes and a clean towel.
An hour later Mrs. Higurashi, after double-checking that she had got everything Kagome would need, stepped out to the porch. She smiled to herself as she saw Inuyasha. He wore a scarf on his head, both to keep his bangs away from his face and to cover his ears. His sleeves were rolled up and he was carrying a heavy decorative statue with ease.
"That goes there," Kagome's grandfather pointed, and Inuyasha set the statue down.
"Inuyasha!" Mrs. Higurashi called.
The hanyou lifted his head and with a few leaps was before Kagome's mother.
"Here," she said, giving him the bag. "I believe there's everything she needs."
"Thanks," Inuyasha said, taking off his scarf and giving it to the woman.
"I'll be off then."
"Tell Kagome to be safe!"
Inuyasha nodded, and disappeared into the well house.
-cCc-
"There," he barked out gruffly as he stepped into the hut and tossed the backpack at Kagome's feet. "Your mother packed it and asked me to tell you to be safe."
"Thank you, Inuyasha," Kagome said.
He saw by the look in her eyes how grateful she truly was.
"Kehh," he huffed and plopped down to the wooden floor.
Sango and Miroku exchanged a glance. What Inuyasha had done had been exceptionally kind of him. For once he had behaved himself, and reacted to the situation like a mature person would.
Maybe it was a way to apologise for his bad behaviour from earlier.
Kagome was checking through her backpack, humming to herself in delight. Her mother had packed it well.
'Thanks Mama!' Kagome sent forth a silent, grateful wish.
She soon found the chocolate bars her mother had packed. She grabbed two and went outside.
Kagome walked over to where Shippo and Rin were playing tag with Kirara.
"Shippo-chan, Rin-chan!"
The kids hurried over to her. Kagome knelt down to their height and handed each a chocolate bar.
"Here you go, guys, a treat!"
"Yay," Shippo celebrated. He loved the treats Kagome brought him from her time. He tore through the wrap with his fangs and then wolfed down the chocolate, smearing his hands and his face.
Rin merely tilted her head and turned the chocolate bar over in her hands, obviously confused.
"It's okay, Rin-chan," Shippo encouraged. "Try it, it's yummy!"
However, as Rin followed Shippo's example and tried to bite through the wrap with her small teeth, the snack was snatched from her hand.
Kagome's head snapped around so quickly that she almost popped her neck. Sesshoumaru had walked over to them and had stopped right behind Kagome's back. Now the demon lord was dangling the chocolate bar in front of his face, sniffing the snack carefully.
"I assure you," Kagome said, amused at his display. "It's both edible and tasty. It won't harm Rin in any way."
"This Sesshoumaru does not recognise this scent."
His sensitive nose could in fact detect various scents on the object, none of which he recognised. There was the scent of a human female who had been holding the object. Her scent bore some similarity to Kagome and Sesshoumaru deduced her to be Kagome's relative. There was of course Rin's faint scent as well as Kagome's. Then there were the artificial scents of the plastic wrap and the sweet scent of the rich chocolate. And lastly, all the faint scents that the chocolate bar had caught on it in the store.
"It's from where I come from," Kagome blurted, immediately regretting her words. She didn't quite want to reveal her secret to Sesshoumaru. She might have to, one day, if they couldn't find a solution to their chain-problem, but right now it still was so very early. And they still haven't even seen the fox demoness to see if she could be persuaded to release them.
"Let me," Kagome offered, holding out her hand.
After regarding her for a while, Sesshoumaru placed the chocolate on her palm.
Kagome opened the wrap enough to break a piece of the chocolate. She gave it to Sesshoumaru.
"There. Taste it if my assurance is not enough. It's completely harmless."
Sesshoumaru stared hard at the innocent piece of chocolate on the tip of his clawed finger. He glanced at the miko and saw the ghost of a smile on her lips.
Sesshoumaru scowled and slowly put his finger into his mouth.
Kagome enjoyed her small victory as she saw the daiyoukai's eyes widen momentarily in surprise.
The miko had been wrong, Sesshoumaru decided to himself. This treat was not tasty, it was delicious.
Grinning and turning her back to Sesshoumaru, she gave the chocolate bar to Rin.
The girl looked at the chocolate and then gave it a hesitant lick.
'Yup,' Kagome thought to herself, 'she's Sesshoumaru's alright.'
"It's yummy," she cried out in surprise.
"Isn't it," Kagome prompted, giving Sesshoumaru a sly side way glance.
"Hnnn," was the daiyoukai's informative response. He walked back to lean against the wall of the hut.
Kagome was still grinning to herself.
Sesshoumaru 0 - Chocolate 1.
-cCc-
The sunbeams broke through the cover of the trees and painted the sky with a mix of oranges and pink. Kagome took in the beauty of it, as she clutched her backpack a bit tighter. Sesshoumaru stood silently by her side. He looked at the old miko who was standing before her hut.
"I shall entrust Rin to your care while I am away," he told the miko, to everyone's surprise. "Of course, Jaken will stay behind to watch after her as well."
Kaede nodded. She didn't mind at all having the sweet little girl around, helping her with her chores.
"I will take care of her, lord Sesshoumaru," Kaede promised.
Sesshoumaru nodded.
Kagome turned to look at her companions.
"So guys..." she drawled in. "I guess this is it then." She bit her lip.
Sango came to her and hugged her.
"Be safe," the taijiya wished.
"Thank you, Sango. Look after Shippo for me, don't let Inuyasha be too harsh on him."
The taijiya nodded.
Shippo jumped to Kagome's arms and rubbed his cheek against Kagome's shoulder.
"Please come back soon, Kagome!"
"I'll be away only as long as I need to," Kagome promised, patting the kitsune's head gently before letting him down.
Miroku came next.
"Ahh, Kagome-sama! We shall all miss you," his hand briefly, teasingly, gave Kagome's bottom a gentle pat.
Kagome couldn't help but laugh, as she realised that the monk had not as much tried to grope her as to lighten the serious mood a bit. Kagome was grateful for him for that. Many who did not know the monk that well did not see past his lecherous tendencies. In truth, Miroku was much more complicated, intelligent and insightful than that.
Miroku returned to Sango's side, and Kagome's eyes focused on Inuyasha. He stood a bit to the side, his arms crossed across his chest. He was not happy to let Kagome go alone with Sesshoumaru, but he really did not have much of a choice in the matter. And he knew that Sesshoumaru was strong, no harm would probably come to Kagome as long as she stayed with him.
Inuyasha grudgingly admitted that Kagome's words from the previous day had been right. Sesshoumaru was not exactly their ally, but he was no enemy either. Inuyasha knew his brother well enough to realise that because of his honour-bound nature, he would not let Kagome die.
Inuyasha looked into his the sapphire eyes of his best friend and slowly nodded.
"Don't let the jerk get on your nerves too much."
Kagome flashed him a smile.
It meant a lot to her that he wasn't trying to stop them.
"Bye, everyone!" Kagome waved her hand in the air till she felt the pull of the chain on her wrist. Sighing to herself she turned around and ran after Sesshoumaru.
Her friends watched her leave, praying that their journey would provide them the answers they needed.
-cCc-
Once they had vanished from the Inutachi's sight, Sesshoumaru stopped.
"I am going to fly," he announced, not even bothering to look at Kagome over his shoulder. With as much said, he crouched and launched into the air. Kagome, having no time to think, leaped and took a hold of his pelt, hanging on to it for her dear life.
"Where are we going?" Kagome yelled, gulping as she saw the way the ground down below was nothing but a blur thanks to Sesshoumaru's incredible speed. Kagome closed her eyes and wished with all of her might that she wouldn't become air-sick.
"We are returning to the clearing where this... incident happened. From there we continue by foot as it is difficult to follow a scent trail from up in the air."
Kagome blinked.
"I didn't know you could be that eloquent."
"Hnn."
"Honestly, that's just freaky. Most of the time you just stay silent and then all of a sudden you manage to blurt out not just one but two sentences!"
"Remind me not to reply to your questions from now on," Sesshoumaru mumbled dryly, but Kagome was able to hear his words.
"Sorry," Kagome hurried to apologise. "It's actually quite nice, you know. You should speak up more often."
"Hnnn."
"I just love it when you do that."
A sharp tug of the chain caused Kagome to almost lose the grip of her left hand.
"Okay okay, I shut up."
She could only see his back so there was no way for Kagome to notice the smirk that took over Sesshoumaru's lips for the briefest of moments.
After a while they landed safely and Kagome was more than happy to feel the ground beneath her feet once again.
Sesshoumaru stood there for a moment, silent and indifferent. Then he moved slightly so that he was facing West.
"Well?" Kagome asked impatiently.
"The trail is faint, but I can trace it," Sesshoumaru replied. He glanced at the miko. "Come here," he commanded.
Kagome looked at him suspiciously.
"Why?"
Sesshoumaru growled in his irritation. They had no time to waste. He grabbed the chain and started to determinedly pull Kagome towards him.
"What are you doing?" the confused miko yelled as she was despite her futile attempts of resisting, little by little pulled to Sesshoumaru.
"Making you obey," the daiyoukai simply replied. If the miko really did not want to do things the simple way, he'd show her the hard way. He gave the final strong tug and the miko almost stumbled against his chest. However, as she was starting to lose her balance, Sesshoumaru's clawed hand closed around her neck.
Kagome was trying to understand what had just happened. First Sesshoumaru had reeled her in by the chain, then she had been about to lose her balance and then she had suddenly found herself flung carelessly over his shoulder like she were a strange decorative miko-pelt. She looked down and as she saw the way the ground seemed to fly past beneath them, and right away she realised the reason why.
Sesshoumaru was running.
Given that Kagome had had hard time keeping up her pace when he had been just walking - fast, she added to herself - she would have had no chance whatsoever trying to follow the running demon lord.
He was so fast. Kagome felt slightly dizzy and fell limply onto his shoulder, groaning.
It would be okay if she just kept her eyes closed. If she closed her eyes, she could only feel the caress of the cool breeze as they swept by the trees. She could feel Sesshoumaru's arm, tightly wrapped around her waist, pinning her to his shoulder. A smile graced her lips.
Even if he could be such a jerk sometimes, he wasn't that bad.
"My apologies."
"For?" he quirked his brow.
"For disobeying. I didn't know what you had in mind."
"Hnnn."
"I really love when you do that," she commented sarcastically.
"This Sesshoumaru is aware of that," he replied.
Kagome huffed.
'I take it back,' she decided in her mind. 'He's impossible after all.'
Sesshoumaru ran, carrying her, till she demanded him to stop. He did not pay heed to her demands till he heard her stomach grumbling.
Sesshoumaru stopped, and set Kagome down. She tossed her backpack to the ground and started to look through her food supplies. She sensed Sesshoumaru's urgency, so she didn't want to start preparing anything that would take time. Shrugging to herself she only grabbed two apples.
"Want one?"
Sesshoumaru didn't reply.
"Okay, your loss."
Kagome bit down to the fruit. It was fresh and good. It took the edge off the hunger, but Kagome knew it was fulfilling enough. She didn't mind that. She'd prepare a proper dinner once they would camp for the night. After she had eaten both of the apples, she closed her backpack carefully and strapped it on her back.
"Alright, I'm ready. Let's go!"
Sesshoumaru picked her up and tossed her back onto his shoulder. Then he broke into a run.
-cCc-
Kagome could not even begin to guess how many miles they had travelled. Sesshoumaru's speed had messed up her sense of distance.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"We are nearing the border of the Western Lands," the daiyoukai told her, then started to collect wood.
Kagome sat down leaning against a tree trunk as Sesshoumaru was lighting them a fire. She had taken her pot out already as well as the cup Ramen and her tea-bag and a mug.
"Is there a stream or something nearby?"
Sesshoumaru nodded.
"I will take you to there," he said, satisfied at the way the fire was happily burning. He rose and Kagome soon followed. He led her to the stream and watched as she knelt down to fill her pot with water.
The woman was frowning as she turned to look at Sesshoumaru.
"Could you find somewhere three equally long and thick sticks, by any chance?" she hesitantly asked the demon lord. He looked at her, wondering what she was up to. It was quite a harmless request, he concluded, and with a sudden flick of his wrist, the acid whip appeared. Another flick and a young slim tree a little to his right fell to the ground.
Kagome stared at the fallen tree, with awe that only fuelled Sesshoumaru's smugness. Kagome handed her pot to Sesshoumaru and picked up the three pieces of the cleanly sliced tree. Then the two returned to camp. Kagome took some rope out of her backpack and set to work. Soon she had a tripod over the fire, on which the pot was safely hanging.
The woman surprised Sesshoumaru. She was obviously used to setting camp. He had initially thought that the human would be just a hindrance but now he was compelled to think that she might be of use after all. She seemed to be well prepared, even if many of the items she carried with her looked foreign to Sesshoumaru.
When the water boiled, Kagome took the pot carefully off the fire, and then waited for the bubbling to cease before she poured water to her Ramen cup and into two mugs. Mutely she offered the other mug to Sesshoumaru, who accepted it, curiously sniffing the sweet aroma rising alongside the steam.
"What is this?"
"It's tea."
Sesshoumaru frowned and looked at the miko dubiously.
"I have never yet seen tea that would be this sweet."
"Like you had never yet seen a chocolate bar before this morning," the miko countered, her expression amused.
Sesshoumaru let it drop. What the miko had called 'chocolate' had turned out to be edible, so this strange tea would probably be harmless as well.
Besides, the aroma rising from the mug was really tempting.
Kagome smirked as she dipped her chopsticks into the Ramen cup and pulled the noodle into her mouth.
Food, finally! She ate happily, unaware that the daiyoukai who at across the fire from her was studying her.
It intrigued him. Yesterday Inuyasha had gone to get Kagome her supplies. He had disappeared into the forest and soon his scent had just vanished. Then he appeared just as abruptly and had mentioned Kagome's mother too. There wasn't much of a question as to where his brother had gone; he had obviously been to Kagome's home.
But Sesshoumaru had not detected another village nearby. And the way Inuyasha's scent and youki had just vanished all of a sudden also made Sesshoumaru suspicious. There was something odd regarding the miko's origins. All her possessions, too, seemed so strange and different and carried alien scents.
Sesshoumaru frowned.
Maybe the village she lived in was protected by a powerful barrier? That would be the simplest solution.
"You're staring."
"This Sesshoumaru was not," he replied immediately and sipped his tea.
It was sweet and tasted very good.
She had finished her ramen and was sipping her tea too. She wondered what Sesshoumaru had been thinking about when those burning amber orbs of his had been boring into her form.
After Kagome had finished her tea, she took the dishes and used the rest of the warm water to rinse them clean. Then she packed everything back to her pack and took out her sleeping bag.
Kagome glanced at the demon lord who was staring into the fire.
"Sesshoumaru?"
The daiyoukai turned to look at her.
"Uhm.. Could you go elsewhere for a while?" the miko asked, shifting uncomfortably.
Sesshoumaru noticed the clothes she had taken out of her bag and realised she wanted to change.
The demon nodded, then got up gracefully and walked into the surrounding forest. Kagome waited till she could feel the chain being stretched tight, knowing that Sesshoumaru had gone almost as far from her as he just could.
Feeling grateful Kagome quickly started to pull off the shirt of her school uniform, when she froze in a sudden panic. With a chain connecting her to Sesshoumaru from her left wrist, how was she ever going to get the shirt she was wearing off? Unless she of course would tear the fabric off.
"This isn't happening," she muttered to herself, helpless. Desperately she gave it a try, pulling the shirt over her head. Anxious she watched as she tried to pull her left hand from the sleeve.
And then suddenly the shirt was off her, lying quite innocently on the ground. She stared at the garment in confusion and wonder.
"What the hell," she whispered to herself. Curiously, she picked the shirt up again, putting her left chained hand into the sleeve. In utter surprise she watched as the canvas flowed right through the chain as if there had been just air. Kagome toyed with this new revelation for a while, until she finally changed into her teal tank top and black form-fitting shorts, and attire she always wore to sleep. Yawning, she crawled into her sleeping bag and found a comfortable position, remembering to keep her left hand out of the sleeping bag because of the chain. She then gave the chain a strong tug. Sesshoumaru would realise what it meant and true enough, the demon lord returned.
He regarded the miko for a while, frowning at her strange sleeping arrangement.
But then again, he shrugged to himself, everything about the miko seemed to be strange. He plopped down next to the fire, his back turned towards Kagome.
Kagome sleepily watched how the fire was playing in his silver hair, tingeing it to hues of red and gold. She smiled for a while until the expression was broken by another yawn.
"Good night, Sesshoumaru," Kagome muttered sleepily and closed her eyes.
The occasional soft jingle the chain gave when Sesshoumaru moved his hand to add more wood to the fire lulled Kagome to sleep.
Chie: To make it crystal clear, Sesshoumaru only has one arm in this fic. It must not have come across in the story clearly enough, since someone actually asked me about it.