A/N: This took an extra week to write. On the subject of the delay, I shall simply say, very plainly, that school sucks. Thank you.

If Sesshomaru is OOC, deal with it. It's not by that much, as I agonized over his character for quite a while, and he needs to be somewhat OOC in order to successfully progress a romantic plotline.

Many thanks to all who reviewed! I read and cherish every one! Kudos to Mujitsu, beta reader extrodinaire, and Dave, who bugged and bothered me so incessantly that I simply had to post this, just to shut him up.

Elements

Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Sesshomaru was surprised to see Kagome, sitting peacefully in a clearing, meditating, while the sun began to peek over the horizon.

He paused to look at the girl, who was clearly unaware of his presence. What was she doing out here so early? And why was she meditating?

His curiosity piqued, Sesshomaru moved over to sit down beside her. He tilted his head and looked at her closely, sniffing slightly.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Kagome obviously wasn't hurt or wounded, and she seemed to be perfectly fine. But if that was so, why was she out here, then?

Sesshomaru peered closer, curious.

Kagome sat facing the dawn, the warm light giving her skin a healthy glow. Rays of sunlight flickered on her hair, lending a slight auburn shine to her locks. Although her eyes were shut and her breathing deep, her limbs gracefully folded in the lotus position, a slight smile played around her lips, as if she was secretly amused by something.

Sesshomaru watched the motionless girl silently, taking in every detail. After he had done so, he came to a startling conclusion.

She was beautiful.

She really was beautiful, too, like a goddess or an angel had descended to earth just to enjoy the dawn. Her happiness at being alive seemed to hang around her like a cheerful aura, lending others some of her optimism. She seemed so full of life, so peaceful, so happy, so content, that it was amazing.

She was breathtaking.

"It's not polite to stare, you know."

Startled, Sesshomaru barely managed to keep himself from jerking backwards as the miko spoke. He glared at her angrily, though her eyes remained calmly closed.

"This Sesshomaru does not follow ningen protocol," he informed her. She smirked.

"No," she said in response. "I suppose not."

Shifting and smoothly unfolding her legs, Kagome opened her eyes, stretching her limbs briefly before tucking her legs to the side and turning to look at Sesshomaru.

Her cool blue gaze met his own amber eyes, and Sesshomaru was surprised to see the depth of the calm he found in them. Gone was the pain he had seen during their first encounter; in its place, a calm serenity took residence, nestling itself amidst her iris like it had lived there all its life.

Her eyes seemed peaceful, like the smooth surface of the sea, after a terrible storm had come to pass. Remembering the pain he had first seen there, he idly wondered whether the miko, like the sea, had weathered such a storm. It might explain her off behavior, if she had.

"The dawn's beautiful, isn't it?" Kagome commented, turning and smiling toward the east. Sesshomaru watched her for a moment more, before turning and looking to the east as well.

Kagome was right; the dawn was beautiful. The sky was streaked with soft roses and honey tones, like an artist had carelessly brushed gentle streaks of color across his canvas. The sky seemed alight with pink and golden rays illuminating the scene, as a great ball of fire burning orange and yellow and white inched above the horizon, giving the scene a sense of ethereal beauty.

"I love the sunrise," Kagome said beside him. "It's so pretty. It gives me such a sense of hope that I can make it through the day, just hoping that everything will turn out okay." She turned to face him. "What do you think?"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow.

"Like, what does the sunrise make you feel?" she clarified, elaborating. "Happy? Sad? Joyous? Hopeful?"

Sesshomaru looked at her oddly. It was just a sunrise; an unimportant, every-day event. He could see the aesthetic appeal of it, but what did it make him feel?

What an odd question! It wasn't like the sunrise was his child or something! Why would he feel emotion for an event?

Kagome smiled softly. "You do not understand, do you?" she said gently. "That's okay. It will come." She turned to look back at the sunrise, leaving him to puzzle over her cryptic comments.

What did she mean, understand it? Did she truly expect him to be able to understand the sunrise? Was such a thing even possible?

Apparently so. She seemed to, at any rate.

Kagome shifted again, and Sesshomaru felt his eyes drawn back to her. She yawned widely, before looking at him.

"So," she said conversationally. "What brings you here this morning?"

Sesshomaru blinked. It was clear that the girl was changing the subject, but why? Was it on his behalf? Or was she actually trying to talk with him? She seemed genuinely interested in his response.

Not seeing any harm in answering her, he shrugged.

"My ward likes fish," he told her, holding up a string of fresh salmon he had caught earlier. "The best time to catch fish is early, before dawn."

"Rin," Kagome said, smiling.

Sesshomaru nodded. He paused, considering, before asking her in turn, half expecting her not to respond, "What brings you here?"

"Peace of mind," she said simply. "I was a bit emotional yesterday, and I needed to calm down."

"Your powers," he said, understanding. Miko powers, which were run by emotions, often required much internal self-discipline, as being emotionally unstable could result in a catastrophic loss of control.

Kagome nodded.

"That, and the fact that I like sunrises," she added playfully.

The corner of Sesshomaru's mouth twitched upward, amused. The miko had a quick wit, which was much more enjoyable when it was not directed at him, as it had been during their first encounter.

He paused. What had put her into an emotional state? She had seemed reasonably stable the previous night, in the woods. He looked at her sideways. His curiosity was strong, though it was not his place to ask.

Then again, it had hardly been her business to ask what he had been doing this morning. And one good turn did deserve another, right?

He rolled his eyes at himself. Now he was arguing with his mind, trying to justify his own actions to himself. He was a taiyoukai, was he not? He could do whatever he wanted, without needing to give any justification of his actions to anyone! And if he wanted to interrogate the miko, so be it!

With new resolve, he turned to the girl, who still seemed enchanted with the sunrise.

"Why were you upset?" he asked.

"InuYasha," she said simply.

Sesshomaru bit back a scowl. His brother was the one thing that never failed to get on his nerves.

"What has that miserable half-breed done now?" he demanded, venom lacing his tone.

Kagome looked at him. "Nosy this morning, aren't we?" she commented.

Sesshomaru looked away. True, he was being nosy, even though he wasn't quite sure why he was so interested in what had happened with her. But it did not matter! He was a taiyoukai, and it was his right to do and ask whatever he wanted to!

Right?

Kagome watched him for a moment before smiling at him. "It's no big deal, she smirked. "I just thought you would already have known, seeing as you were sneaking around our camp last night."

Sesshomaru shot her a surprised look. How had she known he had been at her camp?

"You were at are camp, weren't you?" she said triumphantly, smiling. "I wasn't sure, but your expression gives it all away."

Sesshomaru internally chastised himself for being so reckless as to show such a weakness as emotion. He had never before had such a lapse. What was it about this girl that got to him so?

"If you were there, you must know what happened," Kagome remarked quietly, looking away.

It was true; Sesshomaru had a vague idea of what had happened, but he knew none of the details. He had followed the priestess back to her camp on an impulse, hiding himself in a tree and masking his presence so he could watch without being found.

Sesshomaru had watched as Kagome had gone into a hut to see InuYasha at her friend's request. The taijiya and the houshi had spoken quietly by the fire for a time, before the demon slayer had abruptly stopped, standing up and walking around the clearing, clearly disturbed, obviously sensing his presence.

She had sent the houshi to fetch InuYasha, who had come storming out a few moments later, as brash as ever. He had sniffed around the clearing before scowling deeply and arguing with the taijiya, clearly agitated. Sesshomaru had gotten a slight sadistic satisfaction out of the fact his presence was what was making his brother so anxious.

Kagome, however, was another story. She had come out of the hut later, after InuYasha had left, with the houshi following closely behind. She had been withdrawn, quiet, and introspective, appearing to be saddened by something. He had watched as she looked up at the stars for the longest time, seemingly contemplating something deep, before returning to her camp with the monk.

"I only know some of what occurred," Sesshomaru admitted. "Whatever transpired between you and my brother in the hut was beyond my view."

Kagome sighed. Sesshomaru watched as she lost herself in thought, immersing herself in the emotions of the previous night before beginning to speak.

"Sango wanted me to check up on InuYasha so he wouldn't wake Shippo," she said, remembering. "When I went into the hut, InuYasha was covered in blood and wounds from his fight with Kouga, so I began to heal him."

"Miko have healing powers?" he interrupted, intrigued. "I did not know that."

"I'm not sure," Kagome admitted. "Most miko don't, at any rate. Kaede doesn't, and no one ever mentioned anything about Kikyo or Midoriko possessing such healing abilities. It seems that I alone have such powers, however. It's something I developed in the times I journey away from my comrades and spend time on my own, like now. I'm not quite sure how it happened."

Finding this highly interesting, Sesshomaru listened closer. Apparently the immense raw power Jaken had spoken of was beginning to show itself, if it was manifesting itself in unknown miko abilities.

"Continue," he commanded. Kagome looked slightly surprised that he was so interested, before slipping back into her stale emotions and continuing her tale.

"When I was healing InuYasha, he- he grew aroused," she said quietly, her soft tone portraying just how inexperienced she was with this sort of thing.

Sesshomaru bit back a smirk. He was not altogether surprised. His brother had never possessed a modicum of his own self-control, and with an attractive woman leaning over him, her hands on his body, her face flushed and her shirt shredded, it was no surprise that the hanyou had reacted in such a base way.

Something must have slipped through his emotionless mask, because Kagome quickly exclaimed, "No! No, it was nothing like that! It was because of the healing!"

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow at her. She thought that the healing was what had caused his brother to react in such a way?

She truly was naïve.

"Have you ever been healed by anyone other than yourself?" she asked him. At his shake of his head, Kagome gestured for him to come closer.

"Look, I'll show you what I mean," she said. "I'll heal you."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her ironically, but moved closer nonetheless, his curiosity piqued, his desire to learn more of what strange abilities she possessed outweighing his caution.

"I have no wound for you to heal," he pointed out. "How can you heal what is not there?"

"You have an old battle scar," Kagome said, gesturing toward his missing arm. "I can heal that as a demonstration." She reached for the stub of his missing limb.

Sesshomaru recoiled from her touch, nearly flinching, though he was not sure why he was so opposed to the idea of her seeing his sole imperfection when he normally wore it with pride.

"There is no need for you to expend your power in such a way," he said quickly, careful to keep his tone cool. "It was my own foolishness that caused such a loss, and I shall pay the price."

Kagome shook her head, smiling slightly.

"You youkai and your misguided sense of duty and honor," she commented. "I'll never understand." She looked up at him, meeting his amber gaze once more.

"Well, if not your arm, then what? I cannot heal what is not there," she remarked, echoing his earlier words.

Shrugging the sleeve of his kimono back, Sesshomaru flexed his claws, waiting for the poison to flow through them. With careful precision, he bent his hand back, and one long nail sliced a thin slit along his forearm, blood and poison mixing its wake.

"There," he said, turning and offering Kagome his injured arm. "Here is a wound you might heal."

The miko looked slightly ill at having witnessed such a grotesque act of self-mutilation, but managed to pull herself together. Raising her hand and hesitating briefly, she placed it over top of the wound.

A jolt of electricity at the contact startled them both. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed threateningly, while Kagome just looked confused. Shrugging and dismissing it a moment later, she summoned her power, before setting about healing him.

As her power flooded into his arm, Sesshomaru was surprised to note that his youki lay silent instead of rising up to fight off the intruder as he had expected. Pink sparks danced from her hand to his arm, and he watched, barely concealing his astonishment,as they began to sew up the wound.

Sesshomaru shivered involuntarily. It felt as if some of the healing sparks had escaped into his bloodstream and were now coursing through his veins, setting his nerves alight with sensitivity.

Kagome's fingers lightly brushed his skin as she healed his wound, and Sesshomaru nearly jumped at the sensation. His eyes instinctively shot up to meet Kagome's, but her intense blue gaze did nothing to help, instead increasing the feeling that was quickly settling around his abdomen.

It was no wonder that his brother had grown aroused.

The wound closed, forming a thin scar, before that, too, vanished, leaving only his flawless skin behind, smooth and unmarred. Kagome pulled back her hand, smiling at him triumphantly.

Raising his arm, Sesshomaru examined the area for a moment, before returning his arm to his side, concluding that it was, indeed, healed.

"I see what you mean about the healing being the cause," he said delicately, careful to keep his voice even.

Kagome's intense blue eyes met his, and she regarded him for a long moment, seemingly searching for something within his amber orbs, before looking away.

"Then you understand InuYasha's reaction," she said quietly.

"Hai," he responded.

They sat for a moment in silence, watching as the last bit of the sun crept above the horizon.

"Kagome," Sesshomaru said, a thought occurring to him. "Why is it-" He stopped as he turned to face her. A shocked look had taken residence on her face, as if she had just seen Ryuukossei reincarnate, though he had not sensed anything abnormal approaching.

"What?" he asked her curtly, the meaning of his words obvious.

"You- you said my name," she said, the stunned expression still on her face.

Sesshomaru barely managed to restrain himself from retorting 'so'?

"Yes, this Sesshomaru said your name," he said dryly. "Is that not what you are normally referred to as? If you prefer 'wench' or 'baka' to 'Kagome', by all means, let me know..."

Kagome blushed a brilliant red.

"It's not that," she said, her face flaming. "It's just that you've only said it once before, when I told it to you. You- you've never actually used it before." She looked away quickly, as if she had said something offensive.

Sesshomaru found himself strangely pleased with her odd behavior, although he was not quite sure why.

"Anyway," Kagome said, clearing her throat as her composure returned. "I have to go soon, or the others will notice I'm gone. What did you want?"

Sesshomaru accepted the change in conversation with grace. "I am not sure I understand why you were so upset with the hanyou," he told her.

"Oh, your brother?" she said.

"Half-brother," he corrected. She smirked.

"Yes, of course," she teased, her eyes sparkling. "Your half-brother. What about him?"

"You have shown through your explanation to me that you understand the nature of InuYasha's... reaction to your healing," he said delicately.

"Yes," Kagome frowned, standing up.

"If you understand it," he said, rising as well, "why were you so upset about it?"

"Oh!" Kagome exclaimed. "I wasn't mad that he was aroused! I was angry because of what he did after I finished healing him because he was aroused!"

"What did he do?" Sesshomaru asked automatically, his curiosity prevailing over his common sense.

"He kissed me," Kagome said dryly, as if it were an unpleasant thing, "which he had no right to do, by the way, seeing as he's with the lovely Kikyo now..."

"Wait," Sesshomaru said, not understanding. "He- kissed you?"

"Yes," Kagome said, slinging her bow and quiver over her shoulder. She turned to look back at him apologetically. "I really am sorry, but I do need to go," she said, her regret at leaving seeping into her voice. Sesshomaru was surprised to note that he was sorry she was leaving as well.

"That is fine," he said aloud, moving back as she adjusted her weapons. "You have your obligations to attend to. I recognize that."

"Yeah," Kagome sighed, looking off into the trees, presumably in the direction of her camp. She looked at the forest reluctantly, before turning and smiling at Sesshomaru.

"Feel free to visit me whenever you want," she said, smiling. "I enjoy talking with you, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru blinked, slightly startled. He realized that they had come a ways from their first meeting, where he had tried to kill her, but to think she actually enjoyed his company? That was something new.

"That I shall, Kagome," he said neutrally.

He caught Kagome's smile andsaw her eyes sparkle as he said her name again, before walking off and vanishing into the woods, waving.

Sesshomaru looked off into the trees for a moment longer to see if she would return, before turning to his own thoughts.

So, the miko was going back to her camp. He wondered why she had seemed so reluctant to return to her friends. While speaking with a taiyoukai on equal terms was a rare thing, it wasn't as if it was that great, and he doubted she knew how rare such an occurrence was. Perhaps it was because she would be leaving his company and would not see him for a while. She had said she enjoyed talking to him, hadn't she?

Then again, he supposed anyone would have been reluctant to return to a search for Naraku, hoping to come across the manipulative hanyou by chance, as he left no trails to follow. He knew he certainly was.

A gleam sparked in his eye, and an idea began to form. Sesshomaru pondered for a moment, before allowing himself a devious smirk.

Perhaps Kagome would not have to leave his company after all...

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FYI, the little wavy thing that looks like a snake just above her is my page break.

So, what did you think? If you read it, please review! Reviews feed the authoress, and encourage her to write more! And seeing as she already has a few ideas about what to write in the next chapter, they would only help get her next chapter out quicker!

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