Chapter 9

Only when Mio finally looked down at Sora did she notice he had fallen asleep. His lips moved as he slept and Mio put her ear closer to see if he was saying anything. Indeed, he was mumbling something.

"I'll….become strong…someday." She smiled down at him, careful not to wake him as she stood. He understood, even at an age so young. She also finally noticed her audience, but with the danger of waking Sora, she hid whatever reaction she might have had to this realization.

Kaede was the first to recover and she walked up to Mio with a warm smile, holding out her arms. Mio gave a sad smile back, carefully placing Sora in her open arms. Mio mouthed her thank you and then took Sesshomaru's outstretched hand as Kaede went back into her house, the others gaped as Sesshomaru pulled her into his arms. He smiled at her mild surprise at his suddenness, but the shock just as quickly turned to humor at his characteristically brusque manner used in such an out of character situation.

Already Sesshomaru and Mio were in their own world so they didn't notice, or care to notice, the completely obvious and shocked expressions of the others. Their jaws may as well have been hitting the floor, but again, the oblivious couple were too absorbed with each other to care. And so they jumped in the air and floated away, in the direction of the wind, flying away with not one glance back. Even Kagome was too shocked to say goodbye to her onii-san.

A few weeks had passed since then and fall had begun. The tedious distance kept before the incident was broken and now a wonderful balance was kept between the gentle Mio and the coarse Sesshomaru. Mio was constantly surprised by his shows of affections from giving her flowers to embracing her suddenly.

His expressions of love were varied and many but none ever crossed the line of true intimacy whether through his own doing or through some previously unknown sense of tact. It was just another day when Isamu and Sesshomaru left to fight or some such and Mio was waiting with the sleeping Jakken in a tree grove, the red and brown and yellow leaves fluttering in the dying sunlight, the wind creating a lulling and gentle rustling melody. Another song flowed into her slow thoughts and the words filled her mouth until her lips opened and let out the words.

Sunset on the mountains, the fall trees aglow,
Brilliant shades of autumn - crimson red, tan, yellow.
Maple leaves and ivy adorning the tall pine trees
Weave a beautiful pattern here at the foot of the mountains.

A smile touched Mio's lips as a familiar scent traveled with the breeze and she lifted her head to the curvy crescent that was the rising moon.

Autumn leaves at sunset on the mountain streams afloat,
Each leaf a shade of autumn - crimson, brown, yellow.
Maple leaves as they drift near the bank and away
Weave such beautiful brocades as they go by.

Sesshomaru stepped into the grove as she sang the last line, her golden eyes meeting his own, a beautiful smile on her full small lips. Sesshomaru couldn't help but give a small smile of his own, his beloved coaxing it from him in the most innocent of ways. She walked into his outstretched arms without hesitation, the small act of trust and love lifting the heart Sesshomaru had never truly felt before. He held her close, whispering into her ear all the while.

"I'm sorry. Did you wait long?" He stroked her silky black hair and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"No, not at all, but…" She rested her head shyly against his shoulder. Sesshomaru looked down at her curiously, wondering why she seemed so shy right now.

"….I missed you." Mio blushed as she spoke the words with a soft, reserved voice. Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly in surprise before a pleased smile escaped.

"I see." She looked up at him, a small pink tint still on her cheeks. He couldn't help but kiss them. The pink grew into a more pronounced rosy color at his actions, her own eyes widening in shock. Now, Sesshomaru thought, was it really that rare for him to do such things that she looks so surprised? Well, he supposed he would have to fix that by doing it more often. He smiled down at her and looked longingly at her full lips, parted slightly in her surprise.

He took her chin between his gentle fingers and raised her lips to his own, once again enjoying the soft warm feel of her lips against his. He liked that idea, he liked it just fine. Mio could not stay frozen in his warm embrace, his gentle kiss. She relaxed into him, letting her lips meld with his and tightening her embrace around his neck to make the kiss deeper, her toes barely touching the floor.

Sesshomaru reveled in her mutual love and enthusiasm and lifted her into his arms, sweeping her off her feet, never breaking the kiss save for air. He finally released her from his passionate kiss and let her head rest against his shoulder, her body shaking from the strength of it. He rested against the trunk of the largest tree, using upraised roots as a seat, Mio on his lap. After a long, comfortable silence, Mio shifted into a more sleep-allowing position, her head and arm resting lightly on his chest, her other curled near her chest. Before she fell asleep or even grew tired, she asked him a question.

"Sesshomaru?" He looked down at her, her golden eyes bright even through her thick eyelashes and the skimpy silver light of the moon.

"Don't you have your own home? Somewhere you can stay that belongs to you?" Sesshomaru did not seem surprised or even fazed in any way by the question. She supposed after a few weeks of her asking everything she could about him, he was used to it. Actually he seemed to like that she was so interested in his affairs, but he knew if any other asked these same questions he would be annoyed.

"Home? There is my…Mother's palace in the sky. However I have not lived there since I was very, very young." Mio gave him a strange look as she responded.

"No, Sesshomaru. Your home, not where you used to live, the place where you could live if you so wished, where you can come and go as you please, a place to call your own, somewhere you feel safe, comfortable. Don't you have a place like that? You do travel a lot, but surely there's somewhere you go when you settle for a long period of time." Sesshomaru looked adorably confused for a moment, but her words struck a note with him.

"A place where I could come and go as I please, a place to call my own, somewhere I feel safe and comfortable. Yes I do have a place like that…now." Now it was Mio's turn to be confused.

"Now? What do you mean?" He hugged her closer, his lips teasing her sensitive ear.

"You, Mio." She shivered at the touch of his lips and was startled into a sitting position by his action. Mio knew Sesshomaru wouldn't say something like that to tease her and sure enough, his face was as serious as ever. He pulled her back into his embrace, not wishing to be apart when she was in arm's reach.

"I had never had a place where I felt comfortable, somewhere I knew I could return to and feel this….this peace. Mio," his topaz yellow eyes bored into hers, "you are my home." Tears threatened to flow from watery eyes and shaking hands went over a trembling mouth. He smiled at her again, taking her hands in his own and kissing them as if she were a grand princess. Mio shook her head in disbelief that this regal, handsome demon was meant for her. She could think of nothing equal to say in return.

"I am unworthy of your love. I have done nothing to deserve your favor." Sesshomaru gripped her hands tighter, pulling her against him.

"You need do nothing to earn my favor. Simply existing is enough of a miracle for me. I am the one who asked you to come with me, the one who tried to win you over." He looked strange almost….embarrassed? He turned away, his voice as strange as his expressions.

"It was….disheartening when my…advances did not affect you. It seemed the harder I tried, the more you distanced yourself from me." Now he looked to Mio an almost guilty look on his face.

"But I could not give up trying to win you over-Mio? Mio, what's wrong?" Mio had started shaking at his words, his honest words. And what had she done? She'd hidden everything from him, her origin, her feelings-he deserved the truth, he deserved someone better than her.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She buried her head in the nape of his neck, the tears overflowing.

"I'm so very sorry….They weren't ineffective at all. I-the more attention you showed me, the more kindness, the more sincerity-" Mio laughed suddenly, breathlessly, "everything you did made my love for you grow, but I was a coward." She shook her head then, her grip tightening on his yukata.

"I was afraid of your scorning my feelings, of you leaving me. Even though I could see the truth of your feelings in your actions….my own uncertainty kept me from expressing my own feelings. What if you realize suddenly that it was mere pity or you grow bored of it or tired of me? You realize that I'm not the one meant for you-AH!" Sesshomaru grabbed her chin between his fingers once more, this time his touch was swift and rough. His lips crashed against hers and Mio parted her lips without thinking, yielding to him sub-consciously. He used the opportunity to roughly and thoroughly taste her, one hand at her neck, the other around her waist, pressing Mio against him. After what seemed an endless time just kissing, he released her from it, letting her gasp for the air she was happily deprived of. He looked almost angry, his golden eyes turning blue, the white turning closer to red.

"Foolishness! Ridiculous! All those questions are completely idiotic! Never have I felt what I do for you, for anyone else. You are the one, the only. You will always be the only one, always." He held her against him, tightening his embrace, his cheek resting against the top of her head.

"Once more I will tell you, Mio. I am in love with you, you are my home and the only one who has my unconditional favor." Mio managed to give a shaky response in return.

"Y-yes Sesshomaru. I a-apologize if I angered you…in any way." Sesshomaru's eyes mellowed to their usual golden brilliance, but the usual cold glint seemed to soften as he looked at her.

"I simply do not wish you to think yourself unworthy of me when I myself have trouble believing that a woman as pure hearted as you seem to be has chosen me. I feel honored, I am the one who feels unworthy," his eyes turned towards the starlit sky, "especially because my hands have been tainted with the blood of innocent lives, when I was filled with contempt and arrogance towards those weaker than me." Mio's mouth seemed to run dry, unable to deny his words, but she forcibly swallowed and managed to whisper a fierce denial.

"But you're different now. You wouldn't do that anymore." Her eyes stayed on her hands, not wanting to see Sesshomaru's expression. His fingers again grabbed her chin, this time gently as if he were suddenly afraid he could break her, and made her look into his intense eyes, glowing like molten amber.

"It is true that I would not needlessly take the lives of innocents but only because I believe them unworthy of my time. I still do not believe it wrong to take their lives, simply a waste of my time, not worth my attention." His fingers released Mio's chin only to caress her cheek, a cool palm pressing gently against it.

"Knowing this, as kindhearted as you are, do you still think me worthy of you?" Mio couldn't believe my ears. Did he really think that his selfish noble behaviour was something that would keep her away from him? She knew what he was like before they met, when he was so much worse and even then Mio was on his side so of course she started to hide laughter behind a robed hand. Mio swallowed it back before Sesshomaru could notice and smiled up at him as she answered.

"That was never a question for me to begin with, Sesshomaru-sama. Your sense of nobility and justice are just reasons that I am attracted to you. That you would think them reasons why I would dislike you seems strange to me." Sesshomaru seemed surprised by her words though the only indication of surprise was the slight widening of his eyes, but it was enough indication for Mio.

"Then enough of these questions of worthiness." He softly shifted her until she was in the same sleep allowing position as before. "Rest now, tomorrow we can talk more." That Sesshomaru said the words 'talk more' at all was amusing enough to make Mio smile before she let herself drift to sleep listening to his steady heartbeat.