Last time:

"So…what kind of tricks can I do?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Oh, this is going to be fun," she said.


Chapter 4 - Understanding

Kagome groaned in displeasure as she sat up from her spot on the floor. It was dark out from what she could tell. She looked around, everything looked fine. Then she noticed that the fire was out, but how could she see so well? She took a look around her person and could see every tiny detail. Kikyou leaning against Inuyasha, both of their hair dark as night. Sango and Miroku laying together, using Kirara as a pillow in the corner of a hut. Shippou and Rin curled up beside her in her sleeping bag. Sesshomaru was at the foot of the sleeping bag, his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

Kagome looked around once more before attempting to stand. Sadly, she was so unstable, she knocked over a cup and nearly fell had someone's strong arm had not caught her. She looked up and noticed Sesshomaru's eyes staring into her own. She then looked below her to see the children beneath her, Shippou now wide awake as he stared up at her in confused sleepiness. Kirara had risen her head and Ah-Uhn could be seen peeking through the window above Inuyasha and Kikyou's heads.

She gave Sesshomaru a sheepish smile. "Sorry," she muttered, finding it a little hard to talk with fangs protruding her mouth. "I'm insanely clumsy."

"Hn," Sesshomaru replied, setting her upright on her feet. Kagome looked at him. He sounded as clear as day to her in her ears.

"Wow," Kagome said, then shook her head when Sesshomaru gave her a questioning look. "Don't worry about it, I'm just stuck in my own thoughts right now." Before she knew it, she was out the door and heading toward the stream that she could smell. She ended up throwing herself into the water. Her body felt as though it was overheating, so in an attempt to cool it off, she had thrown herself, completely clothed, into the ice-cold stream.

Finally, when she had found that she was beginning to freeze, she floated over to the shore and sat on the bank with her feet and legs still in the water. She looked up into the now brightening sky and wondered just how long she really had been out. She heard something land softly behind her, but she didn't feel like turning to look. Besides, had someone wanted any ill-will brought to her person, then she would have already been hurt, or worse.

"That is most unwise, miko," his cold voice said. Weird, his voice was usually lower than that, but she didn't dwell too much on it.

"I don't think that title applies to me anymore," Kagome replied, ignoring his statement. Sensing his silent question, as he silently seated himself beside her, but well enough away from the water, she explained. "Midoriko is giving me a chance to see my family again. She warned me about something, but now I'm something of a mix of everything. I can manipulate the elements and bend them to my will, I can create nothing out of anything. I can shift into thousands of forms, I have a sorcerer's magic, and to top that all off, I have youkai, miko, and human blood running through my veins. The most amazing thing about it, however, is that I've been blessed with the ability to use all powers, both youkai and miko alike. Its so weird, and I can't make anything of it!" She said, clearly frustrated. She let a lone tear slide down her cheek and drop from her chin. "Sometimes I wish my life were more…simple. Easier, you know?"

Sesshomaru stayed silent as he digested her words. He watched the sky as his ex-miko companion sat, looking at her legs in the water. "This Sesshomaru knows what it is like to wish for a different life." Sesshomaru said, suddenly casting his gaze to her face to see her reaction. She looked up at him, but didn't pester him over anything. "Have you taken a look at your features?"

Kagome blinked. The notion had never occurred to her before. She looked at her feet before bending her legs beneath her and leaning over to look at her reflection. The sun finally showed itself in the sky and she gasped at her reflection.

Her hair was the same black, but it had shining blue and red streaks running through it. She had silvery, grey blue eyes that shimmered in the light that reflected from the surface of the water. Two pointy fangs poked from her top lip and her ears looked pointed. "No wonder why its so hard to talk," she commented. She looked at her hands and noticed that her fingernails were sharpened to points, and when she peeked at her toenails, they, too, were pointed.

She wiggled her toes around in the sand and giggled at the feeling. When she sobered up, she looked up at the taiyoukai who was once again silent. He held out a hand and helped her up.

Her face grew serious for a moment, "Sesshomaru, can I ask a question?"

He gave her a swift nod in reply, "Even though you have just asked one."

She gave him a playful glare before asking, "Why do you always speak in the third person? Is that why Rin picked up such a habit?"

"Is it not proper?" Sesshomaru asked with a hint of confusion lacing his tone.

"Well, yes, but," Kagome paused, "I'm not exactly a proper person. I just thought that, well, since we've been traveling with each other and have gotten acquainted with each other, that maybe…you can call me by my actual name? And stop referring to yourself by the third person? It's a bit…formal." She said, shifting under his intense gaze.

"Very well," he said, grabbing her left hand in his right and lifting them to his lips. "If that is what you wish, then so be it." He gave her hand a soft kiss before letting it drop to her side. She blushed right before her ears picked up the panicked sounds of the hut she had left her friends sleeping in.

"It seems you, too, have the hearing of a youkai," Sesshomaru observed.

Kagome nodded, "Yes, and its kind of scary because now I can hear everything so clearly, it gives me a headache just to think about it." She then walked off in the direction of the hut. When she realized he wasn't following, she turned back with a smile. "You coming?"

For a moment, Sesshomaru stood still, not really knowing what else to do, before giving her a swift nod and following after her. She turned back to the small trail leading back to the hut, and they both continued on their way.


I actually thought about adding a little extra to this one particular chapter, but then I thought against it. I will end up adding later on in the story, though! Don't forget to review!