Standard disclaimer applies.

Okay, I know that there are people out there who don't like how short my chapters have been, but please let me remind you all… this has always been a drabble series. I started it out as a drabble series because I knew not all chapters were going to be long. Sometimes chapters will be a few pages long, and some times they might be longer. Sorry, but that's just how its gonna be.

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Secrets

Twenty-Five

By: Luna

Sesshoumaru watched her inspect his Tenseiga, her eyes wide and filled with awe. He sat leaning up against a tree, with the moonlight and firelight the only things illuminating their makeshift camp, and felt content. She wore his outer kimono over her slender shoulders, and it drooped down off one slender slope and its sleeves bloomed down over her dainty wrists as she held the sword up to the light and tilted it this way and that.

She reached out a finger and ran it along the edge gently, and he sighed when she gave a pained gasp and a thin line of red started streaming along her thumb. He knelt at her side as she cradled her injured hand, and gently pulled her wrist away from being held protectively against her chest to draw the digit into his mouth and gently suck at the stinging wound.

"Why?" She asked, little tears pricking at the corner of hers eyes. So weak, he thought, yet there was no censure that accompanied the thought. "I thought that sword is supposed to heal. It didn't do anything to Inuyasha when you guys fought…"

"Stupid human," He murmured without heat. "A sword is still a sword. Even one such as this can wound when handled carelessly."

"But when Inuyasha…"

"Inuyasha is a hanyou. His skin will not break as easily as yours." He tore a little piece of her clothing so he could wrap it around her thumb in a makeshift bandage. "You are too susceptible to pain."

She grumped a little at that, and crossed her arms stubbornly. "If a sword is still a sword, then why did your father make one that didn't kill? I've always wondered about that, and it makes no sense to me. I mean, why would he give it to you, of all people?" She stopped and looked at him a little guiltily.

He brushed it aside, not taking offense. At first, he had thought the same thing. He took up Tokijin, and moved it in a wide graceful arch so she could watch tiny prickles of electricity spark along its edge and gleam in the moonlight. "Swords are made for only one purpose, and even a sword that does not kill has those same inherent values. I did not grow up to my fathers standards. He felt I was too much like my mother."

"So he gave you a sword you couldn't use as a punishment?"

"As a lesson." He corrected, and replaced the Tokijin with the Tenseiga. "That anyone can kill." He pointed the tip away from her, back towards the distant light of another camp fire where his ward and kappa slept. When she only stared off into the direction he pointed, her eyes thoughtful, he sheathed his sword and set it aside so he could hold her like he wanted to.

"Your father was a great man." She whispered finally, turning around so she could burrow deeper into his chest. Her voice was muffled by his clothing, but he could still easily hear her softly spoken words. "He knew what you were like. He knew you didn't really care. And… I think he wanted you to learn. Learn that… yes, anyone can kill. But it takes a stronger man to care. You can't use the sword unless you care about the person its being used for, ne?"

Sesshoumaru hummed against the side of her neck. Kagome continued anyways, even as she tilted her head to the side to allow greater access. She reached down to hold his hand up so she could easily trace the lines of his palm. "That these hands can bring death." She kissed his palm. "But also life. I think he gave you a very nice gift, after all."

She sighed and let herself fall back into the soft grass, cradled in Sesshoumaru's arms. "Thank you, Inu-sama."

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I found this chapter deep in the cobwebs of my hard drive. I have no idea how old it is or when I actually wrote it, but I think it fits in nicely with the story, don't you think? It's not my greatest, but I figured I might as well post it and see what you guys think.

Review please!

Luna