Chapter 19! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha.

Recap: No, this wasn't anger. But for the life of him, as a Lord he couldn't comprehend this emotion, this feeling….Things had started to change, but he knew that it was only the beginning.

Chapter 19:

Getting To Know You

It was later in the afternoon when the boys mother finally called him back to get ready for bed leaving Ayro and her with little to do besides head back home. She couldn't remember that last time she had just played and let it all go. It had always been find this shard, word harder to make it a few more miles. Improve, improve, improve so she could fight this or that demon. Kids didn't know responsibility, they didn't see evil or think about what tomorrow would bring. She wanted that again.

Ayro patted her shoulder and gave her a huge smile as they walked back toward his hut. She couldn't help return his smile. He was so energetic and free spirited. She didn't know how long he had lived, but he hadn't let his life get him down. It was obvious he had been through a lot but she respected that he could still appreciate child's play. If only Sesshoumaru could see the joy in the simple things.

Coming closer to the entrance she saw that Sesshoumaru was leaned back against the huts wall. Letting Ayro pass to leave them out front alone she looked over at him. She couldn't stay mad at him forever if they were going to save Rin, though he probably thought he could do it alone she liked to think that she would be of some use. They needed to talk, even if she did the talking and he pretended not to care she had to speak with him. It was the only way she would be able to look at him and not think about how frustrated she should be with him.

Once Ayro had left them with hesitation, she turned to look up at Sesshoumaru to see that he was already watching her. She thought she had plenty to say to him but once her eyes locked with his…she really didn't know what to say to him. Slumping her shoulders and throwing her hands out to her sides she sighed.

"I don't know what to say. I don't know what you expect from me or why I'm even still here. You apparently don't find me worthy of the truth and you treat me like a child that would lose her head if it weren't attached." She crossed her arms and looked down at the dirt that had gathered on her shoes from their play. "Just tell me Sesshoumaru, tell me what you want from me. I gave you back your arm. I'm trying to help you save Rin and find the shards all at once. I just wish you would have told me what consequences I was going to deal with." He shifted away from the wall toward her as she continued. "At times you can be so pigheaded and so self absorbed that you don't actually take the time to look around you at the world you live in."

"This is not my world."

"This is as much your world as it is theirs! Why can't you see that!" He spun her around, his clawed hands holding her tight.

"Because I don't understand it!" He said raising his voice. The emotion behind his words shocked her. "You wish for me to see it as mine when I've never lived in it. I've barely lived in this world at all. Do you have any clue what its like day after day of responsibility. You may have time to play child's games but I do not." She stumbled back as he let her go abruptly. She took a step back and his features automatically dissolved back into his calm exterior. "I'm sorry."

She had the urge to clean her ears out to make sure she had heard him right. She reversed her retreat to take a few steps toward him.

"Did you just apologize to me?" She asked but he wouldn't look at her.

"It would seem so." She stepped up to him to pull at a strand of his hair. This couldn't possibly be Sesshoumaru. It had to be some kind of imposter. His golden eyes narrowed on her and she let his hair go.

"Miko, you would do well to stop assaulting my person." Yep, that was him alright. A million questions ran through her head but only one single word replayed through her mind and stuck to the tip of her tongue.

"Why?" He turned toward her making her tilt her head back to look into his face.

"Take a walk with me Miko." She wanted to decline but her curiosity wanted to know what he had to say.

"On one condition." She said sizing him up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She didn't know how she had did it, but somehow she had gotten the great Lord of the West to put on commoner clothing and release his swords and armor to Ayro. He hadn't complained once and it surprised her that he had been so compliant, but the villagers were hesitant enough around him as it was and changing his clothes and downplaying him a little would make their walk a little less public. Of course the villagers would know who he was, it was impossible not to, but it was getting later and the few that were roaming around wouldn't find him as threatening. He had proved to her by changing that he was at least capable of fitting in.

They walked side by side for a long time allowing her to just take in the scenery along the rivers edge that flowed through the village. Looking back at him she noticed how even though his royal clothes had been taken away from him he still held his head high. His movements were still smooth and planned. She pulled him to a stop.

"You walk like a robot." He lifted an eyebrow at that and she had to remind herself that he wouldn't know what that was. "Your movements, the way you walk is stiff. You never just flow." She moved to stand in front of him and lifted her arms. "Here, do this." She said waving her arms around. He just watched her with that same expression with his hands tucked into his sleeves. Sighing she took hold of his wrists.

"Come one Sesshoumaru, loosen up. It won't kill you." He felt ridiculous as she pulled his arms around.

"What is the purpose of this miko?" She giggled and let his arms drop back to his sides.

"To make you look silly of course." She said with a wide smile as she moved swiftly down the path away from him. She heard the growl float on the wind to her ears but she didn't see the slight tilt that lifted the corner of his mouth.

After a while she finally slowed to a stop to wait for him. Once he was beside her she fell back into step with him. Looking sideways at him she couldn't help wondering why he would go through so much to simply take a walk with her. More so she couldn't figure out why he had apologized. She should have took it and let it go, but it was so unlike him.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked motioning to his clothes. "And apologizing?" He didn't say anything but as soon as her head was turned she could feel his eyes slide toward her.

"My reasons are my own." She sighed at his answer. She had hoped he would be honest instead of hiding behind that ego of his. Her smile faltered and he instantly felt a pinch of dread consume him. He realized that he wanted her to smile. Never in his life had he wanted to see someone smile so badly.

"To learn you." He found himself saying. She looked up at him then with a smile playing on her lips.

"You mean to get to know me." She said with amusement flashing across her brown eyes. "Why?" She asked curiously. She saw the tension settle into his jaw and her amusement wavered. She knew that look well. The confusion…

"Its alright not to know why. Sometimes there isn't a reason behind why we do or feel things." He glanced down at her and caught the hint of a smile there.

"You find something amusing." She gave a light laugh and shook her head.

"You try so hard to be what everyone sees you as. I think somewhere alone the way you forgot how to do the simple things. For instance how to hug or care, or just have fun. Being Lord of the West has iced over your heart Sesshoumaru." She glanced up at him and came to a stop. "When did you become Lord?" She asked at his solemn expression.

He stopped with his back to her. The sky had darkened with the upcoming storm but as the sun fell she could still make out the oranges of the sunset, but the dark clouds were slowly consuming even that, giving the area the calm before the storm.

"When my mother died, I had to take over her responsibilities. My father had taken to spending time with Inuyasha's mother. I was running his lands long before he died and left them to me. My childhood was lost the moment my mother died." She came up beside him and rested a hand over his arm. He looked down at her hand at the gentleness of her caress. A peace settled over him as his shared aura reacted to her touch.

"Don't you think its about time for you to have a little fun?" She said smiling up at him. He narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to the river.

"My time for fun has passed. I have responsibilities to tend to." She squeezed his arm gently before pulling away.

"Even a lord needs a break to just be himself. And I get the feeling you haven't been yourself in a long time." She looked up as the rain started in light sprinkles then slowly turned into waves. As it slowly stuck her hair and clothes to her body she glanced up into his golden eyes. For such a huge figure in this world he seemed so small. She walked up to him and brushed the white strands from his face to rest her palms over his cheeks. It surprised her how easy it had become for her to be in his presence, it had become so easy to touch him like he was just another person even though he constantly reminded her that he wasn't.

"You live too long a life to spend it unhappy." She dropped her hands away from him when he brought a hand close to her face. He traced his finger down the line of her jaw and she saw the longing flash across his eyes. She couldn't imagine how much he had missed out on as a kid. She closed her eyes as he brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheek. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was telling herself she should be fighting him like she did his youkai, but this wasn't his youkai. He didn't had any red bleeding into his eyes and knowing that changed things. She didn't know why it would have made a difference, but it did. Knowing he was himself meant that it wasn't just his instincts that was leading him. It wasn't her heat that caused this. And that made all the difference. It startled her when his other hand combed her hair over her shoulder. She had forgotten that he had both of his arms again. He traced his fingers over the mark that had been left on her shoulder and it glowed under his touch as if reacting to him. She was going to take a step back as lightning snapped overhead.

"I'm sorry Sesshoumaru. I shouldn't have intruded on your space" Bowing her head slightly she turned to head back toward the hut when his hand on her shoulder pulled her back around. If she thought she was surprised by his new show of emotions she was shocked when he pulled her tight against him. She never thought the moment possible but her she was, receiving the strangest hug of her life. Though she really could have laughed at the sight, she felt that he needed this. He had been on his own with only Jaken and Rin so long that she doubted that he got any real companionship. She wasn't sure that she wanted to be the one to give it to him but a part of her was happy that she was the only one that had been able to put a crack in his armor. Not wanting to give up the rare moment, she sighed. He obviously meant well but his grip was tight and his claws were digging into her shoulders. He had been so gentle and this just proved that he really didn't know how to hug.

"Your hurting me Sesshoumaru." She said gently. He let her go so fast it left her feeling awkward.

"I wasn't pushing you away. Your grip was just, a little tight." She said absently rubbing her shoulder. "You didn't hug much as a child did you?" He turned toward the hut without a reply but she did catch the fact that he waited for her. She smiled and took his arm. A little care went a long way. Kids were the same way, they didn't understand until you showed them, but she would never let him know that she was comparing him to a child.

He looked down at her and she smiled back at him. This time she didn't miss the slight curve of his mouth or the way his eyes lightened with satisfaction. She was thrown by the pride that her smile gave him.

"Come on" She said softly. "Lets get back to Ayro's before this rain melts you." She teased. Of course he didn't get it, but she was laughing on the inside as they made their way back.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

On their return Sesshoumaru and Ayro left to the back room where they had been for thirty minutes now. Leaving her to stare out at the pouring rain. As she watched it fall she wondered if they had really taken this detour for her new clothes. She would have assumed that nothing meant more to him than Rin and his lands. Though she was sure that he knew exactly what he was doing, she had the feeling that Ayro was helping him with more than just a new wardrobe. Something was going on but she was under no illusion that they would tell her what they spoke of.

Looking around the hut it reminded her of how much she missed having clocks. She missed real beds and heaters and a/c. She missed home. Over the years she had started to consider this her home but nothing could ever compare. And though she loved it here, after all was said and done she didn't really belong here. Not in this time, not with these people.

She pulled the jewel out from under her shirt and rolled it between her fingers. This tiny pink jewel had caused so much pain and suffering. It was supposed to be so good, and yet, so much evil followed it.

It started to glow a light blue mixed with pink as she let her aura surround it. She had done it on occasion during her travels to feel the energy that flowed through it and to remind herself that it was something good that she was working toward. But the fact that it was glowing blue now instead of pink like it always had done even with her aura disturbed her. She pulled it from her neck so she could get a better look at it. Rolling it against her palm she saw how the last of the pink glow was replaced by her blue. She sat shocked still when blue veins scattered throughout the pink jewel. She would have thought it cracked except the surface was smooth against her fingers.

"Um…guys?" She called gently afraid that raising her voice would break it. Pulling her aura back into herself to remove the glow her worry only grew when the blue web like veins remained.

"Guys?" She called a little louder not taking her eyes from the jewel in her hand.

"Sesshoumaru!" She finally screamed when no one answered her. This time they were instantly in the doorway. The look Sesshoumaru gave her would have had her running if she weren't already distracted.

"Miko! This better be important."

"Like hell its important!" She said freaking out. All she could do was stare at the deformed jewel. "Something happened to it!" They both cam forward to look at the almost completed jewel in her hand. Ayro lifted it from her hand to look at it.

"That's never happened before. Why is its color changing?"

Ayro just shook his head as he studied it. Watching their faces she realized one thing. That neither of them really knew what was going on but with one look at Sesshoumaru's face she knew something was happening. For one thing she had learned was that concern on this particular youkai lords face was not a good sign.