Chapter Ten: 4 AM

It was a moment where the wind shifted and golden eyes slid open aggressively to scan the woods surrounding himself and the girl he'd taken as another ward. The scent was familiar enough, the stench instantly recognizable for the sensitive nose of the demon lord. He was tempted to wake Kagome and tell her that his half-brother was following them, the lovely sound of his nose breaking as it hit the ground would be very welcome.

But she still looked tired, even in rest there were circles beneath her eyes where they were puffy. She'd been crying again. That was enough to change his mind on that, instead he knew why his brother was here, he was willing to go along with it. Without the Tetsuaiga Inuyasha was digging his own grave with this challenge.

He put her down so carefully she didn't stir until the gentle fur of his tail left her and she shivered a moment with the cold of the early morning air. It was bothersome but this was going to happen regardless so he felt no reason to wake her for it. He had barely gotten up when he heard his brother's voice.

"You need to leave Kagome alone." Inuyasha snapped without raising his voice too much. "I don't care if she wants me to leave her alone but I know you and humans. Whatever you're planning can't be good."

"That is not your concern." Sesshomaru returned unimpressed. "She chose to be with me mutt. It would be best for your health if you were to stop following us. It would bother her if I were forced to end you."

"Shut up with that!" Inuyasha growled, hand wrapping around the hilt of his sword. "I don't want you with her. I'd rather see you dead."

"You expect to defeat me then?" Sesshomaru let a dark smile show to his unfortunate sibling. "Very well, I will finish you sooner than planned."

It was only a vague irritation when Tetsuaiga transformed upon being drawn. In his lesser mind Inuyasha probably still believed he was protecting her. But things would be different this time, there was no more going easy on the pup.

Sesshomaru pulled out the Bakusaiga, the area around them clearing of smaller animals and pests except for the one that faced him. It was as if they had an awareness they shouldn't be nearby now that he'd drawn his personal weapon. Kagome had yet to stir but he was staying protectively close to her.

"Bakusaiga, keh..." Inuyasha snorted and pulled his own fang in front of him. "You forget that I now have this. Meido Zangetsuha!"

The twilight part moon blades shot from his blade in his version of the attack, though Sesshomaru could have been easily around him on his own he was forced to take a moment to pull Kagome free of the onsault by wrapped her in his tail in the same manner he often curled and then slammed his enemies. Before Inuyasha could draw the wide sword back into an attacking position, he felt his recently repaired nose break under the strength of Sesshomaru's fist, poison shooting across his face and eyes.

"Yeah that'll help...did you a great job last time!" Inuyasha called out in frustration, unable to see the shocked expression on Kagome's face from where she was tangled in Sesshoamaru's tail and waking up to realize he'd put her in the line of fire to go after his brother. She was about to sit him but a moment later paused as the need passed.

"Bakusaiga..." It wasn't a yell as Inuyasha's attack had been. More a noble whisper before the poison curled from the blade directly into the half-demon's chest breaking apart pieces of his flesh before it'd even been completely withdrawn again. Unlike the time where it had been his hand that left the hole this time it wouldn't be given the chance to recover.

"Wind scar!" The cut was true and only his fast reflexes kept Sesshomaru from taking more damage than he could have. He shielded Kagome from the worst of it or he could have avoided it completely.

It was the last attack the half demon could activate before he fell forward, the devastating attack from the Bakusaiga had reached his heart and was still eating away at his body. Kagome didn't see that, instead she was staring in surprise at the blood along Sesshomaru's arms where he'd taken the hit for her.

"Sesshomaru..." She blinked slowly not sure how to take that he'd protected her despite damage to himself. It was all so much at once. Inuyasha was dead...she could tell he wouldn't have survived the attack and the lack of any further comments from him set it in. But she wasn't as sad as she could have been, she was angry. He'd done it to himself...why would he attack her? She told him no so he decides to take it out on everyone else?

"Are you all right?" The demon lord asked, un-tangling his tail from her carefully and settling her on her feet.

"Thanks to you." She said with a nod. "If you hadn't protected me Inuyasha would have let me die."

"The worthless one isn't an issue anymore." Sesshomaru returned, glancing to where only the red robes of the fire rat remained...the rest of his brother's body had been eaten away by the poison. Nonetheless, it was what had needed to occur. "You are too important to allow him to hurt you."

She let a small smile appear, despite the horror of Inuyasha being gone it was such a compliment for the normally stoic creature she couldn't help but feel slightly better knowing he was actually looking out for her.

"I can't believe he did that..." She blinked a little at where the robes where with a sigh and a shake of her head. She moved over to pick up the robes, grimacing at the dust that was once him falling free and picking up with the wind. She'd take the robes and return them to the village to be buried with Kikyo later. What to do with the Tetsuaiga? She would have to figure that out later but would take the sword as well. "Are you okay? You took a hit there."

"It is nothing serious." He answered with a shrug. "We should be back underway soon."

She gave him a dubious look, thinking better than to express how alike the siblings actually were. "I think there is a hot spring a little north of here. We could wash out your wounds and make certain nothing gets infected."

"Come then." He gestured, holding a hand out toward her. It made her blush a little as she thought about how kind it was compared to even days before. She set her fingers over his and the slight pressure of his hand was amazing considering she'd seen what he could do with his strength.

They floated toward the direction she thought it was in and she was both sad but hopeful. Things didn't seem as dark as they could...perhaps she was still just in shock. But, in the end, Inuyasha would be with his actual love and she'd already decided he wasn't hers. Maybe everything was better this way...he could finally rest in peace.

Not that she actually thought it was better but everyone has to convince themselves that the people they love are happy after they've passed on. It was still something she had to come to fully understand as having happened. She was a little numb emotionally and unsure of how to feel and what to think.

They reached the spring she was considering and her doubts were pushed aside momentarily with a gasp as she spotted the lacerations on the demon lords back. He had taken off the top part of his kimono and it was obvious where energy from the wind scar had cut deeply into his back at varied and crossing points in such a way it made a nasty looking wound.

More surprising was the fact the edges of the wounds were already beginning to reknit themselves together. It was extremely slow but she could actually see them getting smaller ever so slightly by the time he'd finished undressing and gotten into the spring. Then more caught up to her as she noted he'd undressed and gotten into the water, a blush creeping along her face and deepening as she stood unsure of what to do.

"Um...I can wait over here." She turned around and closed her eyes trying to push naughty thoughts from her mind. He was more curved and muscular than she'd really pictured him in the past, she'd gotten a good enough look it was hard to forget.

"You are welcome to bathe." He commented, demons didn't have an issue with cross-gender activities so he didn't understand the issue. Rin occassionally bathed with him or Jaken and the strange behavior was curious.

"Um...well, humans...female humans, don't really bathe at the same time as male ones." She commented awkwardly, wringing her hands.

"I am not a human." He stated matter of factly. Then thinking it could be in part because of the recent problems added more kindly. "If you prefer you are welcome to bathe when I finish."

"Yes please." She breathed a sigh of relief, unaware that he didn't completely understand the way she was explaining it.

They traded about twenty minutes later and she was staring at where the wounds had closed enough to be scars and while they still looked fresh it was amazing how quickly he healed even compared to Inuyasha. There was a morbid fascination that accompanied the stares she gave his back before he dressed. He went to check the area while she got ready and got into the water herself still blushing.

It was lovely, the warm spring was another of the things she'd always greatly enjoyed about the past. It allowed her to relax, to have time to think even though she was getting tired again after not really sleeping thanks to the interruption.

"Inuyasha's dead." It was a harrowing thought. "I never wanted that, but what else was I suppose to do? I hope you are happier now wherever you are...we'll have to have a service for you. So the others know and can mourn as well."

She thought she was suppose to be sadder. Not that she didn't feel horrible, but she just couldn't cry yet. There was so much happening at once and she'd already cried so much lately that the tears just weren't there. Instead her mind wandered as she went down to wet her hair and began lathering it with a shampoo plus conditioner mix. The travel bottles of the stuff had become a must while they were running the country side.

"Sesshomaru though...why would he still be helping me?" She decided to focus on that mystery instead of dwelling on things she couldn't change. "He took the hit for me, when Inuyasha would have let me be hit by the Wind Scar and the Meido Zangetsuha he saved me both times. Said I was important even..."

Her train of thought came to the edge of a cliff and fell off as she surfaced and saw that Sesshomaru had returned and sat back down at the edge of the woods next to the spring. In sight of where she was bathing, worse he was watching her. Those honeyed eyes staring straight at her as she felt the blush only getting deeper and sunk instantly back down into the water.

"Wha...what are you doing?" Her voice went up a couple of octaves and she was fairly certain she almost choked herself on the shock alone.

"Watching." He stated with the usual matter of fact-ness. "You have a tendency to call trouble to yourself."

She blinked once, then twice, a third time more slowly. She was flabergasted, she wanted to put the beads of subjugation she'd gathered with Inuyasha's other things onto the demon lord and sit him a few dozen times. As it was he was -still- staring at her...

"Can you not stare!?" she finally managed, her voice so high now it cracked a little.

"Is there something wrong?" He smirked slowly as he finally at least seemed to get the idea, glancing upward toward the stars. "You are beautiful, for a human, you should be proud of it."

She was certain if anymore blood went to her face and neck she would pass out. "Did Sesshomaru just call me beautiful? Sure it was sort of a backwards compliment...but still..."

Keeping a close eye on the demon lord for any other peeks she rushed to finish getting clean and hurried behind her makeshift curtain to get dressed. Flustered by the unexpected attention and flattery she jumped a little when she came back around the corner and found him staring again.

"Suddenly developing a fear of me?" He asked as he watched her movements. She'd always been headstrong and unconcerned of his rank as a demon lord before, so something had changed...something other than Inuyasha.

"Not exactly." She said after clearing her throat. "You've always made me a little nervous...I'm just not used to people watching me while I bathe...it's uncomfortable."

That wasn't the only thing...but she wasn't sure how else to explain it. Instead she changed the subject.

"I'd like to go back to the village to take Inuyasha's things and have them buried with Kikyo." She explained, growing confidence now that she wasn't thinking about the intimidating-ly attractive demon lord. "I think it would be the best."

"It is a delay but understandable." He stated. "Inuyasha fought well during the final battle with Naraku, I imagine he deserves at least that much. Does it not bother you, burying him with the other woman?"

"No." Kagome shook her head, glad to see it didn't hurt to say it. "He wanted her anyway so it is what he would desire."

"Compassionate." Sesshomaru commented. "It is late. This place seems acceptably safe, I would prefer to rest before I go anywhere else."

"Oh um sure, it's been a long time I guess." She nodded, sitting down near him. "Way to forget your sleeping bag Kagome. It's cold out here."

It was early morning, there was some dew on the leaves and grass that made the forest seem to sparkle as the sun had just begun to rise. It would be cold for only a little while so maybe the dirt would be okay enough.

She was still contemplating when she was tugged closer by a tail that had wrapped it's way around her waist. Though it hadn't completely gone away the blush returned as she was set down near him with the long fur like tail folded to both give her a bit of a bed and cover her.

"Um...I think I would be okay...it's not too cold." She lied, resisting the urge to pet the lovely living blanket he offered.

"This is fine." He returned, obviously it wasn't much of a option to argue. "Just rest Kagome."

She nodded a little, and was considering just what she was going to do...she was pretty sure she had a crush on the older brother...and he did sort of frighten her in his own way...

End Chapter

I'm pretty sure my toddler doesn't want me to write this...anytime I go to work on it he does everything he isn't suppose to and gets into everything he shouldn't. Guess he's not a fan of Sesshy x Kagome :(.

-Aura

No Lyrics, Instrumental Only.