Disclaimer: Inuyasha isn't mine
Genre: General
Characters: Kirara
Kirara didn't need as much sleep as the rest of the group. The old supposedly needed more rest than the young, so it was a bit ironic; she was the oldest member of their group by centuries. Since she didn't need as much sleep, Kirara had more time to simply observe.
Inuyasha didn't look or for that matter, act his age of two-hundred years. Especially not when he was asleep. Awake, the hanyou was grouchy, impulsive and loud. Asleep, curled up in a ball and hugging his sword, he looked innocent and childlike. Kirara liked that, she got the impression that he hadn't had much chance to really be a child.
Miroku's mouth got him in trouble just as often as it got him out of it. Say the wrong thing, and he'd find himself on the receiving end of a well-placed slap, often courtesy of mistress Sango. But say the right thing and he'd wrangled them lodgings in the sort of luxury that many people only dream about. So Kirara thought it was fitting that even in his sleep, Miroku spoke. Unfortunately, she had no way of telling her mistress just how often the monk murmured her name.
Shippo was a bouncing ball of energy during the day, which must have been exhausting because at night he was unnervingly still.
As for Kagome, Kirara found it amusing that she was admired as patient and saintly. Not that she could say this, but she found Kagome just as confusing as Inuyasha did. Yes, she was kind and patient…to an extent. If she was angry, sometimes she'd rant and rage, but sometimes she'd slip into sullen silence, leaving the rest of them to figure out if she was angry or merely tired. Kirara's guess was that Kagome's behaviour came from a place of deep insecurity; in sleep there was no trace of her happy smile, replaced instead by a furrowed brow and twitching features as though all the worry she attempted to keep hidden had pushed its way through.
And finally, mistress Sango. Kirara understood that even in the demon slayer's village they were taught not to ever sleep so soundly that you weren't ready to leap into action if needed. Even so, living in the community brought a level of complacency and it wasn't uncommon to see smiling faces, empty bottles and rosy cheeks and to hear lots and lots of snoring. Mistress Sango used to smile when she slept, knowing her brother and father were nearby. Not anymore.
Now, Kirara transformed into her large form to sleep without waiting to be asked and stayed perfectly still when mistress Sango rested against her. Even when wounded and exhausted, mistress Sango always seemed on the verge of waking, never truly allowed to rest. Feeling sad now, Kirara gently licked her mistress's face.
If mistress Sango needed to be battle ready all the time, Kirara decided, then she would be too.