Okay, long chapter to make up for the cliffy. This has a little bit of fluff, but bear with me. I don't own Inuyasha, because if I did this would be reality. Thanks for reviews, and flames are accepted. I'm sorry for the cliffy guys. Really. As a recap:
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry." They both spoke at the same time, and both gave the other a disbelieving glance.
"You saved my life, Sesshomaru." Her brow creased.
"Kagome, are you aware of how I did so? I altered the rest of your life, I made you like me."
"What do you mean?"
"Kagome... I turned you into a demon."
Quickly, she backed away from him. The transformation had already begun. She watched her hair grow well past her shoulders and turned an even deeper black, almost impossibly dark. Crimson spilled past her bottom lip as her top teeth elongated painfully. She let out a pained groan and covered her mouth as Sesshomaru hovered over her. There was nothing he could do, the only comfort he could take from it was the fact that the pain wouldn't last forever. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her eyes burned like fire, as they turned a burning red, soon settling into a molten gold. Her fingertips were raw as talons made her hands into weapons. It pained him to see her this way, in this much agony. She sat still for a long while afterward, eyes red and raw from wiping her tears. He slowly approached her, dropping to his knees to push her now ebony hair behind pointed ears. She fell against his shoulder, sobbing dryly. He did nothing but hold her for many minutes, silently as he knew she wouldn't be able to talk around the fangs for at least a couple of hours. He was content to just be there, clutching her towards himself, allowing his racing heart beat to calm down by her presence.
"Sessh..." Kagome clumsily formed words around the burdensome fangs. She had managed to pronounce smaller words, but his name was an impossibility at the moment. She hated feeling like a child just learning to speak. Her eyebrows came together stubbornly. "Sesshy!" She called through the castle, as the servants and guards outside her door snickered. He swept through the door, but not as graceful as he usually was, for the apron he wore restricted his movement. He held a glass of water in his hands. Water trailed down the sides, hinting that it had spilled on his way down the hall. He set it down on the nightstand and walked over to her, a small smirk contrasting the wild look of his hair that had been hurriedly and messily been pulled up. He was trailed by Jaken, everyone noticed, as Rin, (who had been reading a book on herbs at the foot of the bed) groaned.
"You know, you can't neglect your princely duties forever, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken screeched beside him.
"He insisted on taking care of Miss Kagome, Jaken." Rin jumped off of the bed. "C'mon, Jaken, help me look for Kohaku." She grabbed the lizard's hand and led him forcefully out of the room.
"'Maru, take these off." Kagome held up her hands where the gloves resided.
"I apologize, Kagome, but I'm afraid that will have to wait. It's only been a day since your transformation, and you already have multiple lacerations from your talons. I cannot do any more to injure you, and this is a means of keeping you safe." He held the gloved hands sadly.
"You know that wasn't your fault. If anything, it's my fault for running away." She put her head against his mokomoko. "I can deal with the gloves." She said, muffled by the fur. Suddenly, she sat back away from him, a bright gleam in her eye. "I know what I can do. Sit down." He obeyed, wondering why he wasn't bother by the fact that she was ordering him around.
She pointed to his mouth. "Open."
His jaw obediently dropped a small bit. She threw her hands up and cut the bandages holding the gloves on her hand. With her teeth still being sensitive, she could not have done it herself. She used her talons to repeat the action on the other hand, despite Sesshomaru's protests.
"Kagome... Don't-" he groaned as she took the brown leather gloves off. She still had the gleam in her eye as she directed his back towards her. Always wary of keeping his back protected, he tensed, waiting. The cloth that had been used to hold up his hair was quickly dismissed as Kagome sliced through it carefully, as to avoid giving him an accidental haircut. His hair fell, and she began to brush it out. Confused, the Lord turned around. "Miko, what are you-" he began.
"I'm braiding your hair. It looks bad just pulled up. Turn back around." He did as she ordered. He sat as still as possible as she did the unknown activity of 'braiding his hair.' Was it a mortal thing? He hoped it would not be too outrageous, as most mortal styles were. He would not want to dismiss it as soon as she had finished.
Kagome, however, was thinking none of these things. Was the powerful Lord really this helpless in such simple matters? 'Well,' she huffed. 'If he is going to make me act as demon-like as he is, I'll make him as mortal as I used to be!' With that thought, she was finished. "You're done," she called out, and began braiding her own hair. Sesshomaru stood up, his head feeling lighter than before. Had she cut his hair? Was that what braiding was? He had spent a month growing out the last 'cut of hair' Rue had experimented on him. He approached the pool and realized that he could not see the rest of his hair. He reached up to touch the back of his head and discovered the intricate style. He followed the plaits one by one until he reached the end where it had been tied off. It looked more powerful, somehow, than the tie he had it in not long ago. The silver braid could be shown off by being thrown over his shoulder, he realized quickly. He did so, and wondered if he was the first demon to know of this activity, this 'braiding of hair.'
"Kagome, you did not have to do this." He returned to the bed, stroking the pattern his hair made. She frowned at him. "Stop it. You'll muss it up." She grabbed his hand and held it in her own for a moment. She realized her claws had been pressing into his hand, leaving little crescent moon shapes. She let to quickly and put her hands in her lap, accidentally scratching her calf. It healed quickly, of course, as demon wounds do, but Sesshomaru was still worried. He enveloped both of her small hands into his large ones, and held them tightly.
"I apologize, Kagome. You did not deserve this. I just couldn't-" Kagome couldn't stand the regret in his eyes. She took her hands out of his and grabbed his braid. She pulled him forward and looked him in the eye.
"Listen up 'Maru, because I'll say this once. This. Isn't. Your. Fault. You did a great thing, and look!" She sent a blue ball of energy toward a random pillow thrown on the floor, causing it to explode into stuffing and torn seams. "I can concentrate my powers better! I'm immortal. As long as I don't do anything stupid, I'm home free!"
"You do not yet know how lonely immortality can be." He lowered his eyes for a moment, before meeting hers again. "You will soon realize that being a demon is far from better than being a human."
"What, then, 'Maru? If being human is so great, then why didn't you let me die a human?" The volume in her voice was rising quickly, and he wondered if the servants could hear.
"Please-"
"Why didn't you just leave me there? It's not like I benefit your kingdom at all."
"Kag-" He couldn't get a word in edgewise. Her volume rose yet again. She was yelling now.
"I don't help you with anything!"
"I-"
"Why didn't you just let me die?!"
"Because I wouldn't want to live without you!"
The silence after the roar was deafening, thickening more and more with tension as each second passed. Both of the demons' eyes had a slight shade of pink mixed in with the gold as they breathed heavily from their screaming match. Kagome blinked as her irises became their original rich color. He felt the need to fill the silence with something, anything, so he added in a soft voice:
"I couldn't be alone again."
