Title: A Token of Tea
Author: Mai_Sensei
Prompt: instinct
Word count: 1,463
Rating: T
Genre: Humor
Notes: This is the next one-shot for part of my story Forward to Time Past which can be found on Dokuga and FanFiction.
Summary: After 'feeling the burn' of traveling with Sesshoumaru, an exhausted Kagome tries to make peace with the one thing everyone can connect with…


I squirmed, feeling a rock digging into my bottom as I sat down to eat my dinner. After getting as comfortable as I could, I sighed wistfully, thinking back on the past couple years when I didn't eat food off of a stick and there was always a comfortable seat.

Jaken scowled across the fire at me when I shifted and probably would have said something if not for the frown I shot him. All day it had been "insolent ningen" this and "conniving onna" that and I was sick of it. Jaken obviously caught on to my irritation because he closed his beak and glowered at the fire instead.

Even if Jaken hadn't pestered me all day (I honestly don't know how Sesshoumaru put up with him for so long) I still would not have been my usual cheery self. Despite the fact that I rode Ah Un part of the way, when we stopped for the night I felt like collapsing and never getting back up. Normally the amount of nonstop exercise wouldn't bother me and I would be up front keep pace with Inuyasha, but I wasn't a fool. Sesshoumaru and I were merely together because of the ties of fate. We weren't companions and we certainly weren't friends. Heck, if i tried walking next to him, he would probably cut my legs off with his acid whip just so I would fall behind.

I cut my gaze over to where Sesshoumaru sat under a tree, eyes closed, making him look harmless. If I didn't know any better I would have thought he was sleeping. But I did know better and my instincts told me that his calm facade was just that. Fake. He would be, just as he always did when he traveled with my friends and me (or will do, since the last time we met will be a couple months from now for him and five years ago for me), keeping his guard up and his nose constantly sniffing out youkai who dared get too close. And as weird as it was, having Sesshoumaru watch out for me and not Inuyasha was strangely comforting.

The corners of my mouth turned upward and I took my last bite of fish before throwing the rest into the fire. Then I opened my backpack and got out a miniature tea kettle my mother had gotten me the first time I'd traveled in the Sengoku Jidai. After filling it up with water from one of my water bottles and setting it near the fire, I reached into my pack once more and took out a box of tea bags and three cups.

Maybe Sesshoumaru will understand my gesture; I bit my lip in concentration as I unwrapped the cups from their protective covers. It's not much, but if he accepts this token of thanks, it would make me feel much better.

When I determined the water to be hot enough, I poured it into the cups then carefully chose which flavor I was going to use. I wound up using the ginger flavor since I wasn't sure which kind Sesshoumaru would like.

I took one of the cups over to Jaken when I was finished.

"Here," I set the tea down next to his staff. "I wasn't certain if you like it, but I made you some tea."

"Why should—I don't—,"Jaken tried to protest against my peace offering, but couldn't find a way to do it.

I walked away, smiling at his meaningless babble, leaving the cup behind. I knew he would drink it. Then I approached Sesshoumaru and I can honestly say I had no idea whether he would drink it or not. He had to have known I was coming and I knew that there was no reason to be, but try as I might, I was still nervous.
When I was a few feet away, I knelt and bowed politely before speaking.

"I brought you some tea Sesshoumaru sama," I said, glad to hear there was no wavering in my tone. "I noticed you did not eat and thought you might enjoy this instead."

It was completely quiet as I anxiously waited for his answer. I'm not sure how long I knelt there waiting for him to speak, but it was long enough to make me edgy once more. He probably would have ignored my presence if he could; he didn't even say 'Hn' after a couple tense minutes of waiting. Eventually, I let out a disappointed breath and gave another bow and left, deciding to leave him be.

But I left the tea.


Later that night, after Jaken had drunk the tea, returned the cup with a mumble of thanks, and fallen asleep, I stared up at the sky, a wistful expression on my face. In Minato you can't see the stars because of all the skyscrapers and other buildings but sometimes on the shrine there were nights were the stars seemed so bright I felt like they were close enough to touch. That view was nothing compared to this. I felt a sense of peace pass through me as I gazed up at the midnight sky.

I turned over on my right side in my sleeping bag to face Sesshoumaru for the third time that night. As far as I could tell he hadn't moved an inch. Neither had the tea cup.

"Did you not like the tea?" I asked him suddenly. The only sign that showed he'd even heard what I asked was the smallest twitch of his eyebrow. It was if he was going to answer me via eyebrow then decided I wasn't even worth that much of his time. I pursed my lips and tried to engage him in conversation once more.

"Where are we headed?"

No answer. I changed tactics.

"Why do you hate Inuyasha so much?"

More silence.

Geez, you could at least glance at me, I thought and threw the stoic daiyoukai a disgruntled glance. But maybe...

"Why do you want Tetsusaiga so badly?"

Sesshoumaru looked at me then and I gave a silent cheer of victory. Ever since I set the tea cup down by his side earlier I had been trying to get him to say something, but he never answered except for the rare grunt. Now though, he appeared more than ready to answer. Or lop my head off.

"The half breed is not deserving of a weapon of potent power such as Tetsusaiga. Only those who possess the knowledge should wield it."

I sat up halfway and leaned my cheek on my fist. It was the first I had heard him speak in a while and I hoped I could get him to say more.

"But Tetsusaiga burned you last time you tried to get it," I pointed out. "That means you can't wield it even if you do have the knowledge."

Sesshoumaru shot me a look so cold I sunk back down into my sleeping bag. Way to go Kagome, I scolded myself, you never know when to leave well enough alone and keep your big mouth shut.

Finally he said," Do not waste my time with you inquires," and turned away.

Maybe it's because he feels his heritage has been stolen right him. Maybe he truly believes it's his right and duty to take Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha. He would most likely consider it a plus if Inuyasha was killed in the process.

My heart gave a pang; the thought of the daiyoukai I'd come to respect so much when we joined forces before killing his only my brother and my best friend was painful to think about.
I didn't realize I had accidentally voiced some of my thoughts until I heard a noise coming from Sesshoumaru's direction.

"Hn."

I let the silence grow between us and for the first time in a long while I found myself not minding the lack of noise. I'd just had my first conversation with Sesshoumaru and it wasn't one sided! Granted he didn't answer more than half my questions and he still didn't drink the tea, but that's alright. I'll just keep trying.

Smiling tiredly, I finally drifted off to sleep with one last satisfying, if not smug, thought. Sesshoumaru's 'Hn' almost sounded like a 'Yes'.

The next morning I woke up to Jaken's prodding me with his staff, but it wasn't as sharp as it was the previous times. I blinked sleep from my eyes and say up groggily, looking around.

Then, I blinked for an entirely different reason and glanced over at the tree on my right. Everything was almost the same, including Sesshoumaru's still form which was in the same position as yesterday.

Almost.

A single, empty tea cup sat next to me.


A/N: Sorry this took so long. The internet in my neighborhood has been down. Please review! I want to know your opinions on how the story is progressing!