CH 8
That evening, Kagome and Sesshomaru sat side by side outside the hut, roasting nuts over a cheerily crackling fire. They had spent the whole afternoon in the forest gathering them from their bushes. Now their hard work had paid off.
Kagome cracked open a nut with a stone and popped the insides in her mouth, rolling it around to cool it down. "We can sell these tomorrow at the market, and then we'd have some money to buy real medicine for your wounds," she said. "And some bandages for your ribs."
Sesshomaru shifted his gaze toward her. Why would she use hard-won money for his sake? He was barely more than a stranger to her. She met his eyes and smiled softly, seemingly reading his mind.
"Friends watch out for each other." Her blue eyes reflected the firelight, glinting bright orange as she gazed at Sesshomaru.
"We are not friends," he said stiffly. She was broaching a subject that was unfamiliar territory to him. "This one has no friends."
She tilted her head to the side. "That's kind of sad. Everyone should have a friend." Her gaze shifted downwards to the fire. "But then, I didn't have any until you came." She poked a nut from the fire with a stick and picked it up, bouncing it lightly so as not to burn her hand.
"We are not friends," he repeated. He tossed another handful of nuts in the fire.
Kagome smiled. "Well, I may not be your friend, but you are mine. What else do you call someone who you've fished with and gathered nuts with? What else do you call someone who you talk to late at night?"
He didn't know. "An acquaintance."
She laughed. "Oh, no. An acquaintance is someone you talk to briefly and meet by happenstance from time to time. Something like that."
Sesshomaru didn't want to talk about this any longer. He changed the conversation. "You should mind your own business and use the money from selling these nuts for yourself. You need it. I don't."
She snorted. "Are you kidding? Your bruises may be fading away, but your ribs won't heal properly without the right kind of care. I can't get you a doctor. Most of them are frauds anyways. But I'll give you whatever I can. And summer's right around the corner. We can sell berries, herbs, maybe even set a few snares and get some meat. We should be able to get you cast plaster at least."
"Save it," he said shortly. "I don't need your help. I will heal fine on my own." Once he was youkai again, he could simply break his ribs again and allow them to heal properly. Deeming the chestnuts softened enough, he fished them out of the fire with a stick and lay them to cool on the ground.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "You save your big tough guy act," she said firmly. "You're still hurting. I see it in your eyes every time you move. You may have to move on later, but you're not leaving until you're completely healed. And I'll be the judge of that."
He stared at her, slightly angered. "What, in your mind, do you think licenses you to take on my health as your business? You had not even met me a week ago."
"Maybe not, but it doesn't take a week to make friends with someone."
He opened his mouth to deny their friendship, but she interrupted him. "I know what you're going to say, so you might as well not say it at all. Look, I get it. Somehow, you think that you're better than everyone else. Maybe you are, I don't know. But that doesn't mean you can't have any friends. You know the lordling of the West?"
He blinked. How was he supposed to answer that?
"He's got it all. Money, power. Looks, too, from what they say. But he's lonely, Sho. Surrounded by all that gold and jewels, fuss and feathers… He's still lonely. A man can live without silks and silver, monkeys and peacocks. But he can't live without friends. Does the life of Sesshomaru-sama really look appealing to you? He's raised on a pedestal above everyone else. They all look up to him, obey him. But his aloofness also means that he cannot connect to his people. He can never know friendship or love because from far below, they can't see who he truly is. There will always be women vying for his attention, for his money, for status. But they'll never be after his heart. He—"
"You know nothing," Sesshomaru interrupted coldly. He was done with this conversation. He didn't want to hear any more. How dare she try to dissect him? How dare she pretend as if she knew him? He stood up, abandoning the basket of nuts. He towered over Kagome, the firelight casting frightening shadows over his chiseled features. "Do not speak of something of which you are ignorant. Sesshomaru-sama… Who are you to say that he is not happy? What do you know, you who lives in a beggar's shack with not a copper to your name?"
She stared up at him. "I know what it's like to be alone," she said, so quietly that he could barely hear her words. "I know what it's like to be alone in the world with no one to call out to. I know what it's like to have no friends, to have no one to lean on. Just from hearing his story, I can relate to Sesshomaru-sama. I know what it's like to be judged and treated accordingly without being given the opportunity to show them who I really am."
Their eyes bore into each other. Between them, the fire flickered, spraying sparks into the night. Long moments passed by as the two stared into each other's eyes. Finally, Kagome spoke.
"Can you say the same, Sho? Can you truly and honestly say that you know what it's like to be alone?"
Sesshomaru gazed into the startling blue of her irises. As the lordling, he had every luxury. Gold, jewels. Fuss, feathers. Monkeys, peacocks. Every day of his life, he was surrounded by court life. He was tended to by servants. He trained every day with his father. He was tutored every day by his teachers. Hell, he even hunted with other lordlings. And yet… he could not imagine having this conversation with any person from his home. He hesitated.
"No." He turned away, unwilling to let the human see the turmoil in his eyes.
