They passed through a busy village on the way to Mushin's.
While Kagome haggled over a trade with a woman, a toddling babe fixed wide eyes on Sesshoumaru and wobbled toward him with arms outstretched.
Kagome and the woman watched curiously as he knelt down to steady the child, unflinching when the girl used his hair as leverage to get closer.
Fearless and innocent, she touched the markings on his face with grubby hands and squealed in delight.
Then, before Kagome or the woman could realize what was happening, she landed a messy, open-mouthed baby kiss right on his nose.
