The pair had walked through the tunnel for what seemed like hours. Kagome's feet were beginning to drag but she was afraid that if she asked the Yokai Lord to slow down or stop, she'd end up on the other end of one of his fancy swords.
The channel, much to their dismay-though only Kagome had shown disappoint when the fact was noticed- had begun a steady slope down. They were getting further from the surface. Kagome wondered if InuYasha was worried yet. Perhaps, knowing the hanyou, he was just angry that she was being slow.
The heavy black flashlight in her hand began to flicker, shadows being cast off the earth walls. Sesshomaru turned, giving her a questioning look, wondering why their light source was failing. At first he had wondered what the light was- it clearly was not a candle- but then he remembered all the girl's other oddities and didn't ask. Sesshomaru preferred not to look naive.
Kagome hit the flashlight against her palm as it continued to sputter. "Battery's going out," she muttered to herself.
"Repeat yourself, woman," Sesshomaru said. His deep voice bounce off the stone walls.
She looked up at him, a little surprised. "I said that the battery is dying."
"What is a 'battery'?" He asked cocking his head to one side. Kagome had to cover her mouth the suppress a giggle. Sesshomaru wasn't nearly as intimidating when he was confused. Almost a little cute!
"It's…never mind," she said going back to hitting it against her hand. "You wouldn't understand."
"Do not tell this Sesshomaru what he will or will not understand," he growled.
"This flashlight runs on batteries. Their little cylinders that give the flashlight power," she said. She unscrewed the bottom and dropped one of the giant C batteries out. "See?
Sesshomaru took and looked it over. "Hn," he said handing it back. She slid it back in and flicked the button that turned the light on, but it only clicked.
"Great," she said. "Guess we're in the dark now." To Kagome's great surprise, she could still see. From down the tunnel, came a faint glow. She glanced at Sesshomaru, who was gazing intently at the glow. He glanced at her, "Come."
They followed the light for some time and it gradually became brighter. The channel became wider and taller, so Sesshomaru didn't have to hunch his head. Kagome noticed that there was moss growing against the cave wall. But it wasn't like any moss she'd seen before. It was white and patchy. She'd stopped for a second to poke some and found it squishy.
Kagome and Sesshomaru found themselves at the tunnel exit. But instead of open sky, they were in a giant cave that seemed never ending. The light sparkling through made her think of the color of twilight. Kagome was surprised to see plants and trees. The plants weren't green but instead teals and blues and purples and sparkling. They shined and glimmered in some unknown way. They were huge too. The pair walked by a mushroom that came up to Kagome's waist and there were leaves as big as she was. She could hear animals scampering around. When something resembling a squirrel ran by, she saw that it sparkled in the same way, though the shine drifted off of it as it ran. She stopped at a bush that had leaves the size of her head. She touched one and discovered it was incredibly soft. She looked at her fingers and saw the same sparkling on them. She rubbed her fingers together.
"It's like a powder," she told the demon lord. She brushed the leaf off and the residue rained to the cave floor that was covered in what seemed to be grass. Without the shimmer, the leaf was a plaster color white. "They're not green?" she questioned. Sesshomaru brushed some of the leaves on the tree above. Those, too, where colorless.
Kagome thought for a second. "I get it," she said straightening up. "It's because there's no sunlight."
"What are you talking about, woman?" Sesshomaru said brushing his fingers off of his armor, leaving a streak of color.
"Plants use sunlight to perform a process called photosynthesis. It creates chloroform which makes the plants turn green. Photosynthesis also creates sugar, which the plant uses as food," she explained. For not being in school, I still remember a lot! Thank goodness!
Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment. "That is foolish," he finally said.
"W-what?" she asked surprised. "What's foolish?"
"You are insinuating that these plants are alive," the white hair lord said. He tucked his arms in his sleeves and turned away from her.
"But…technically they are," Kagome said.
Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder at her with a gaze that made her feel like he was breaking her down. "No. They are only plants. They do not feel pain. They do not think. They do not eat."
"They may not feel pain or think, but they do need food like everyone else. They still require nutrients and sun," she tried to reason.
Sesshomaru bent and picked up a rock that had the same shimmery powder that came off in his hand. "Is this rock alive?"
"No," Kagome said blushing.
"Does it eat?"
"No."
"Does it breathe?"
"No."
"If I were to throw it, would it feel pain?" His questions came over after the other.
"No," Kagome said. Her face had turned more and more crimson with every question he asked. He made her feel so stupid. She was right and she knew it but his confidence made her doubt herself. He was so intimidating and his cold golden eyes bore through her.
He pulled a leaf from a tree that was the size of his hands put together. The movement caused the powder to fall off and cover his pointed shoes. "These are both from the earth, yes?"
"Yes," she said. She refused to meet his eyes.
"If both are from the earth but the rock is not alive, why would this leaf be?" He asked. She shook her head at a loss for words. How could someone so powerful and confident be so narrow minded? He lived in a world where demons roamed. He himself could produce a deadly whip of light from his fingertips, but he was unwilling to admit that a plant might be as complex as him.
Sesshomaru dropped both and continued walking through the forest. Kagome continued to wonder how plants could survive down here without sunlight and where the powder had come from or how they got so bid. Generally, with no light, things grew smaller. She couldn't help but stare at the beauty of the world around her. She'd never seen anything as beautiful as this woodland. Something caught her eye and glancing around- she was amazed she hadn't seen them before. Everywhere there were crystals of blues, purples, greens, and teal. They shimmered like everything else, blending in with the forest. She knelt down and touched one. The crystal flaked apart, the flakes turning to dust in her fingers.
"Sesshomaru," she called him over. The demon came back and knelt down next to her. "I think this where all the powder comes from. It just flakes apart. It's like really pretty talc."
Sesshomaru nodded at her perception. He reached out and grabbed one. He squeezed and the gem fell apart in his fingers.
"They're so fragile but so pretty," Kagome sighed. She stood and looked up. Barely visible against the rock ceiling were more of the crystals. "I get it," she said. "The crystals are so fragile, if anything-birds, bugs- touches them, the break and shower everything."
"Hn," Sesshomaru said. He kept walking through the stunning trees. Kagome fell into step behind him, trotting to keep up. She felt like the dog instead of Sesshomaru. She wondered how such a place existed underground. How did even Sesshomaru not know about it? Kagome told herself she shouldn't be surprised with everything she'd seen. She continued looking around, touching flowers that looked like roses that were up to her knees. A bird flew by her and she was stunned to see the bird was very pale and had three eyes. The sparkling powder floated off its wings as it flew. The powder doesn't stay on its wings because it the bird moves too fast. She thought. It's so pale because it's not around enough light. Like goldfish when you leave them in the dark too long. I wonder if everything down here is so pale? It must have the extra eyes to make up for no light. I'm struggling to see down here, I wish I had a third eye.
Kagome looked up to realize Sesshomaru was nowhere to be seen. She turned in a full circle, looking for the yokia lord. "Sesshomaru?" She asked. "Where are you?" No one answered. She started to get a little frantic. She was alone in a strange underground forest. "Sesshomaru?" she yelled. "Sesshomaru, where are you?"
The girl heard something behind her. She spun around, smiling, happy that she wasn't really lost. "Sessho-" Kagome's eyes grew big, realizing that the noise wasn't caused by the demon. Instead, crouched down in front of her was a wolf. Or something that was similar to one. Its pale fur sparkled with traces of the powder as it stalked her. Two yellow eyes followed her every movement, a third sat above the two, this one was purple and looked every which way, and the spinning of it caused her stomach to roll. A long, pale tongue hung out of its mouth that could easily swallow her head whole. It's canines, each as long as her index finger dripped with saliva. It growled at her, it seemed to be laughing at her fear.
"Sesshomaru," she whispered hesitantly stepping back. "Where are you? Help!" She screamed the final word. The wolf leapt at her.