Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this short piece of fiction… especially for the one whose curiosity is so cautious. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess.

Reaction

Sesshoumaru weighed Kagome's words with cautious curiosity, trying to divine the miko's motivation in asking such an absurd question. Realizing that his chances of understanding were remote at best, he applied for more information. "Around?" he echoed, raising his eyebrows minutely.

She fidgeted, but held his gaze with wide, serious eyes. "Yes. Are you planning to be around tonight?" she repeated. "Here. With us. In the camp," she expounded, waving a hand toward the others.

He followed her gesture, letting his eyes slide over the rest of their traveling party with deceptive carelessness. There was an unusual degree of tension in their postures. It isn't fear. Anticipation, perhaps? Looking back into her upturned face, he battened down the urge to ask 'why', instead replying, "Yes."

A faint smile flickered across her face, and she nodded. "That's good, then. Thank you."

Thank you? It was his custom to stay close throughout the night, so her unspoken request to remain and her obvious relief that he planned to do so piqued his interest. He stared after her as she returned to preparing food for the evening meal. Sesshoumaru refused to admit his confusion, instead settling himself against a nearby tree with watchful eyes.

"I still say we should have tried to reach a village," Inuyasha insisted, fairly bristling in his agitation.

"This region is sparsely populated," Miroku reminded him. "There are hardly any people, let alone inns."

"It ain't humans I'm worried about," he muttered, darting a glance toward his half-brother, who appeared to be tuning out Jaken and Rin so he could listen in on the rest of the group. Sesshoumaru's pose was relaxed, but that didn't mean squat. I wish the bastard would stop staring at me.

"This is a good spot." Sango gestured towards the cliff face that guarded their backs. "It's defensible, and we're sheltered from the wind."

Shippo edged closer. "Don't worry. I'll protect you all," he boasted, then cowered when Inuyasha turned on him with narrowed eyes.

Suddenly, sitting next to Kirara held greater appeal, and the kit scuttled over to Sango's side to claim a spot beside the little feline.

"It'll be okay," Kagome said, attempting to reassure them all. "Sesshoumaru-sama will be here."

Inuyasha's mood soured further. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means we're just as safe, if not safer, than if Miroku-sama had been able to get us into an inn," she replied, waving off any further rebuttal. "Inuyasha, this is silly. Would you just let me tell him…?"

"No. I don't like this," he grumbled. "I don't need him."

"He's our ally now," Miroku tried reasonably. "That's not going to change just because you do."

"Would you shut the hell up!" Inuyasha snarled. He looked furtively in his brother's direction, nose quivering.

Shippo ignored his darkening mood with characteristic bluntness, "What difference does it make, Inuyasha? The sun is almost…"

"I know that. You think I can't tell?"

Kagome sighed, but couldn't bring herself to scold Inuyasha for his outburst. This would be his first time facing the New Moon in his brother's presence, and his anxiety was understandable. I just wish he didn't try to cover it up with so much bluster. She planted herself squarely by the hanyou's side and leaned into his shoulder, offering him the support he insisted he didn't need.

Inuyasha stared unhappily into the fire, but instead of moving away from her presence, he settled for a morose, "Keh."

Sesshoumaru followed their conversation avidly, making no effort to hide his interest. As the shadows deepened around them, he lifted his nose more than once, sampling the shifting scents in the air. The mismatched pack was slowly gravitating towards their leader, forming a little knot on the opposite side of the fire. Even Rin left his side, though Sesshoumaru barely acknowledged the child's transfer to the taijiya's lap when the miko began dishing out food. All of his attention was fixed upon Inuyasha; if his suspicions were correct, he did not wish to miss what was about to happen.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon line, and Inuyasha shuddered. A pulse rippled through the air, and Sesshoumaru noted the grimace of distaste that crossed his half-brother's face as he closed his eyes against the ensuing change.

It begins.

Sesshoumaru's senses strained to catch every detail of the transformation, well aware that he was witnessing a closely-guarded secret—the source of a great deal of his younger sibling's ill-concealed fear.

What youki Inuyasha possessed curled in on itself, receding like an ebbing tide; Sesshoumaru could no longer feel the abrasive brush of his half-brother's aura. It is as if he is no longer here.

The physical manifestation of this internal shift was equally drastic.

Sesshoumaru understood the sensations that accompanied the morphing of forms; his own was dramatic, though not painful. As he watched, ears shifted and darkness flowed into Inuyasha's silver hair, beginning at his crown and seeping outwards until its entire length shone blackest ebony in the firelight.

The completeness of the alteration startled Sesshoumaru. When an inuyoukai such as himself transformed, his essence remained unchanged; he simply existed in canine form, his power undiminished, but this was a different matter altogether. In the space of a handful of heartbeats, Inuyasha's very nature had been remade. No trace of youki remained, and even his scent had taken on new qualities.

Sesshoumaru realized with a shock that he wouldn't have recognized the human male as his hanyou brother if he was relying upon his nose alone. The taiyoukai studied the subtle recasting of Inuyasha's features, but his perusal came to an abrupt end when he was met by a pair of belligerent violet eyes.

"What the hell are you starin' at?" Inuyasha demanded.

He rose smoothly and approached the now-human hanyou.

Inuyasha had been waiting for any threatening moves and scrambled to his feet, baring his blunted teeth and clutching Tetsusaiga's hilt as he backed away, leading his perceived attacker away from his pack. He attempted to warn Sesshoumaru off with a growl, but it failed to catch and rumble as it should.

Kagome leapt up and pushed her way between the two brothers, a protest on her lips, but at Sesshoumaru's authoritatively upraised hand, both Inuyasha and Kagome fell silent.

Closing the distance, Sesshoumaru considered his half-brother carefully, taking pains to catalogue his new scent and imprint it into his memory.

The miko was looking up at him, frowning slightly, and he let his gaze flicker to hers for a moment. She must be biting her tongue to hold back all the questions in her eyes. Giving Inuyasha one last assessment, Sesshoumaru murmured a quiet, "Hnn," and anticlimactically returned to his seat.

Inuyasha stared after him in complete disbelief. "Is that all you have to say?"

The taiyoukai ignored the question as rhetorical.

"Hnn," Inuyasha mimicked sarcastically. "What's that supposed to mean?"

When the hanyou folded his arms over his chest and stubbornly refused to look away, it occurred to Sesshoumaru that Inuyasha was actually waiting for an answer. His brother's emotions were everywhere at once, and he gave up trying to follow the variations in his scent.

"What more needs to be said?" Sesshoumaru inquired evenly.

Inuyasha glowered furiously down on his brother, but only muttered a wary, "Keh," before allowing the young woman at his side to distract him.

Kagome placed a calming hand on his sleeve, tugging slightly to encourage him to resume his seat.

Miroku took this as his cue to jump in, trying to further defuse the hanyou's explosive temper by taking control of the conversation and leading it onto safer paths. "I gather that you are aware of the significance of Inuyasha's transformation, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"I am."

The hanyou frowned at his brother in confusion. "You knew?" he asked, disbelief coloring his voice.

Sesshoumaru arched a brow, "Knew what, little brother?"

"About this, you tight-lipped bastard!"

"Now, now," soothed Miroku with a calming gesture. "Let's not resort to name-calling, Inuyasha."

The hanyou scowled. "He started it."

"Is that so?" the monk replied with some surprise. "I don't recall anything untoward…"

"You heard him call me 'little brother', didn't you?"

Miroku chuckled. "I hardly think an acknowledgement of your familial bond can be considered an insult."

"It's not what he said, it's how he said it," argued the hanyou grumpily.

Kagome put her trusty kettle on to heat. She was relieved that Miroku managed to divert all of Inuyasha's current indignation away from Sesshoumaru, giving the hanyou a chance to vent his spleen without actually risking having it perforated.

Nothing would please her more than to see the brothers bridge the gap of a lifetime, but she was realistic enough to understand that it might just take a lifetime to accomplish the feat. I wonder if they don't get along because they're too different from one another, or because they're too much alike.

The disparity between the two had never been more apparent than on this night. Sesshoumaru sat tall, pale, and silent in the firelight, unmoving and unconcerned by the activities of his companions.

Opposite sat Inuyasha, and nothing about his human form hinted at their relationship. As the hanyou treated Miroku to a verbal harangue, the noise only heightened the contrast between brothers. Still, Kagome thought they were a lot alike—unswerving in their sense of justice, stubborn in their loyalties, fiercely protective of those they cared for, everlastingly confident in their abilities, and reluctant to speak their mind where feelings were concerned.

A smile curved unbidden across her lips, and she felt a swell of affection for everyone gathered around their fire on this dark night. She quietly excused herself to rummage in her backpack for supplies, and when she returned, Kagome realized that Sesshoumaru's eyes were now fixed on her. She knelt a bit closer to the taiyoukai so she could serve him once the tea was ready.

Golden eyes resumed their contemplation of Miroku's lighthearted hanyou-baiting, but she noticed his nostrils quiver as the fragrant steam began to rise and beamed. Yes, it is a new variety this evening, she thought in his general direction, feeling a bit smug to have caught his interest.

Oh! Sesshoumaru's earlier behavior had puzzled Kagome, but with a startling moment of clarity, the pieces clicked into place. A new… variety! She knew that look of concentration, that ever-so-slight flaring of nostrils. Every time she served the taiyoukai a new blend of tea, he tested the air with great care, but if she offered him a kind which she had served previously, he recognized it immediately. It's as if he's cataloging the new scent each time, and once he's filed it away, he never forgets it.

Struck by a sudden thought, she ventured a soft, "Sesshoumaru-sama?" He met her gaze calmly, so she felt free to continue despite the ongoing squabble between Inuyasha and Miroku. "Do you rely on scent more than your other senses?" she inquired quietly.

He gave this some consideration before answering, "Perhaps."

"Why?" she dared to prod.

"Accuracy," he responded with a slight lift to one shoulder.

"I was wondering," she began, pitching her voice a touch louder, "if Inuyasha's scent is different now."

At the sound of his name, the banter on the opposite side of the campfire trailed off, and the hanyou's violet eyes fixed on her with an odd expression.

"I'm just curious," Kagome added with a casual shrug.

"Considerably," replied Sesshoumaru, and immediately all eyes swiveled to him.

Miroku was the first to speak into the silence, "Is that why you approached your brother?"

Sesshoumaru inclined his head slightly, and Inuyasha's face went through several fleeting expressions before settling back into wariness. "It… changed? How much?"

As usual, the taiyoukai's flat expression indicated his refusal to repeat himself, so Miroku helpfully echoed his earlier assessment. "Considerably."

Shippo piped up eagerly, "Yeah, Inuyasha. You smell totally different as a human."

A slow smile spread across Inuyasha's face until he was smirking at his older sibling from across the fire. "You can't read me now, can you? At least we're even on that score for once."

Sesshoumaru didn't bother to answer.

Miroku turned to Inuyasha. "So you can normally tell what Sesshoumaru-sama is thinking… or feeling… based on his scent?"

Inuyasha snorted. "It would take a fucking mind-reader to figure out what he's thinking, and I sure as hell don't know what he's feeling."

"What did you mean, then? You implied that you could 'read' your brother with that nose of yours," Miroku prodded.

Jaken chose this moment to rally. "As if the boastings of that half-breed could be true! Sesshoumaru-sama's control is perfect! Do not insult him by claiming to grasp the unknowable, to understand the unfathomable. Only those who have dedicated their lives to Sesshoumaru-sama's every utterance—such as myself—can read milord's subtlest… eep!"

There appeared to be at least some credence to the little youkai's tirade, because one look was sufficient to put an end to his rant, giving Sesshoumaru the opportunity to speak for himself. He narrowed his eyes on his younger sibling. "Well?"

"Look, I ain't pretending to do all the stuff he said. That's not what I meant at all." Inuyasha reached distractedly to tug on an ear only to find it missing, so he smoothed his hand through his hair instead. "I don't try to figure out what's there. It's what's not there that's important."

His explanation hung in the silence, and Kagome replayed the sentence in her mind, trying to make some sense of it. She was relieved when Miroku took the initiative to ask.

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?"

"He can hide what he thinks, but he can't hide what he feels," he said with a shrug. Every face turned to Sesshoumaru, who withstood the group's sudden scrutiny stoically.

Miroku chuckled, again managing to voice what everyone was thinking. "I do not quite follow you, Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru-sama is very… guarded with his expressions. Are you speaking of some subtleties you can pick up through your other senses?"

"Well, yeah," the hanyou snapped in exasperation, pointing again to his nose. "That's what I said in the first place."

"For those of us who do not benefit from your heightened olfactory senses, perhaps you might explain why this appears to be a point of contention?" Miroku suggested amiably.

"How should I know?" Inuyasha grunted defensively, shooting an angry glance at Jaken. "I didn't say anything wrong. It's just…" he gave his half-brother a wary look. "Sesshoumaru might be damned good at pulling a blank face, but that don't mean he's not reacting to stuff."

"I see." Understanding glimmered in Miroku's eyes. "As much as we might try to dampen them or divert others' attention from them, we cannot actually prevent our responses to things."

"Hiding emotion is one of the first things that my Father taught me when I started training as a taijiya," Sango supplied.

"It is a skill most warriors learn," agreed the monk with a sly glance in Inuyasha's direction.

Kagome asked, "So you can actually pick up someone's involuntary responses with your sense of smell?"

"Yeah, kinda," Inuyasha acknowledged. "It's not that easy though. I mean, some scents are stronger and… simpler to understand." He ran his thumb idly across his blunted fingernails, searching for words. "Fear is almost impossible to hide, but you can't always tell why someone's afraid. Sadness, anger, surprise… disgust—those are pretty obvious."

Miroku leaned forward, intrigued. "So, the emotions that come upon us most suddenly—they are the hardest to control, and therefore the most difficult to suppress."

"Are you saying that all the different emotions have smells?" Kagome asked.

Sesshoumaru listened to the interchange, expression unreadable. The attempt to put youkai senses into words that humans might understand was undeniably interesting. It amazed him that Inuyasha was being so forthcoming, and he wondered if the fact that he was fully human now had something to do with the loosening of his tongue. He's nervous. Perhaps it is fear that makes him prattle on. The taiyoukai was pulled from his thoughts when his name came up again.

"…which is why Sesshoumaru is so hard to figure," Inuyasha pointed casually at his older sibling. "What a person is feeling causes a shift in their scent—their unique scent. It's different for everyone, so if you know that person, it's easier to interpret the change correctly."

"I will wager that means there are endless nuances that vary on an individual basis," Miroku said eagerly. "So in the end, it's no shortcut to intimate knowledge; getting to know a person and getting to know their scent go hand in hand?"

"Pretty much," nodded Inuyasha. "This bastard doesn't give much frame of reference; you see a change, but you can't interpret it. Makes it near impossible to anticipate him in battle because you can't understand the messages that your nose is sending you."

"So in your case, remaining aloof is a tactical advantage," Miroku said, addressing the taiyoukai directly. "And for Inuyasha to presume to know your scent well enough to interpret it was a breach of etiquette—an unwanted assertion of familiarity and an insult to your discipline."

Sesshoumaru met the monk's twinkling eyes and permitted one brow to arch slightly.

"How the hell was I supposed to know... oh, for… just forget it, okay? I'm sorry I said anything at all," Inuyasha muttered sullenly.

"Now, now," soothed the monk diplomatically. "Let's go back to the beginning, shall we? Inuyasha, you can't read Sesshoumaru's scent right now, yet you freely admit that you wouldn't necessarily be able to interpret his reactions even if you could catch them."

Inuyasha glared at Miroku, brows drawn together in frustration. "I told you already. It's what's not there. With this bastard, you gotta be satisfied knowing he doesn't care."

Kagome gasped in alarm, drawing Inuyasha's attention to her face. "You can't mean that, can you?" she said in dismay, looking from one brother to the other. "I thought the two of you were, you know, getting along better."

Inuyasha stared at her, mouth agape. "Kagome, I ain't talking about… whatever the hell it is you're talking about." He shot a mildly horrified look in Sesshoumaru's direction before setting her straight. "I don't care what he cares about, but I do care if he's planning to put a fist through my gut again. If he was pissed, I'd know it; I'd be able to smell it on him—simple as that."

Sango's expression was a mixture of amusement and incredulity as she offered her summary. "So, even if you have no idea what Sesshoumaru-sama is thinking, you take comfort in the fact that it's not murder."

"Sounds kinda sketchy to me," muttered Shippo in an aside to Rin.

Miroku was having a hard time containing his amusement at this little revelation. "Inuyasha, my friend, when you entered into this alliance with your brother… is there any chance that the basis for your decision to trust him was the fact that he wasn't exhibiting any signs of ill-will at the time?"

"Uh… yeah. That was part of it, anyhow," Inuyasha admitted slowly.

The monk laughed so hard his eyes were watering, and the hanyou reached over to punch the man's shoulder.

"Hey, I was right, wasn't I?"

Sesshoumaru stared at his brother, wondering if he was really that much of an idiot. The monk has a point. For all his suspicious nature, Inuyasha used an argument from absence as the basis for our alliance. It was a dangerous assumption, because the absence of evidence should never be considered evidence of absence. He followed his instincts, but it was little more than a hunch. The taiyoukai couldn't decide if the hanyou's trust, based as it was on imperfect reasoning, constituted an insult or a compliment.

End Note: This oneshot was written in conjunction with the Live Journal community ebony(underscore)silks and their prompt for Week 25—Ebony. It wasn't finished in time to compete, and is not posted there. First posted on January 4, 2008. 3,316 words.