CHAPTER 7: THE BETWEEN PLACES

"Search for me in the pauses between my worlds.
In the silent moments.
That's where I hide.
Look for me beneath the lines of my favorite books.
In the between places.
That's where you'll find me.
Read me in the eloquence of my eyes.
In the secret stories.
That's where I'll be."
(In the Between, Vasiliki)

Rin falls asleep the way all children do – at least the way Sota and Shippo does – she fights it and fights it, her eyes fluttering closed softly and then violently open as she tries to force herself to stay away. She makes it all the way to Miracle Max before she loses the battle and finally drifts off to sleep permanently. Her breaths are even and smooth, the smallest smile on her face, as she no doubt dreams about pirates and princesses and true love. Kagome stared down at her fondly for a moment, smiling as she reached out to brush Rin's hair back from her face. The girl murmured softly and snuggled deeper into the blanket, which prompted Kagome to tiptoe from the room, leaving the little girl to her slumber and dreams.

She missed Shippo fiercely and Rin was such a sweet child it was hard not to fall immediately in love with her. She was such a bright-eyed and innocent little girl, so full of life and laughter. Shippo would absolutely adore her. Kagome could just imagine the two of them running around each other, playing and giggling without a care in the world. Inuyasha could rant and rave about his brother all he wanted, but no one who cared for a little girl of his own free will could be the soulless demon lord his brother painted him as.

She snuck back to her room, quiet as she could, so as not to wake the sleeping child. She was also hoping not to run into Sesshomaru, since she was still irritated with him over getting angry with her for what amounted to taking a Feudal Era Uber to his house.

Settling onto the plush bed, she sighed. Inuyasha was going to flip when she returned. He had better not show up here or she'd sit him into the Earth's core. She was tired of being treated like she was nothing more than baggage, like she was something that was only good for being protected. She was a pretty strong priestess, if she did say so herself. Hadn't she purified demons before? Hadn't she managed to save their asses a time or two before? Strange how they all so swiftly and conveniently forget that.

Besides, she had a lot of talents that women here could only dream of. She could read and write, do math. Okay, maybe science was not her strongest subject, but it was more knowledge than anyone in this Era had. So she was good for other things besides battles, too.

Speaking of which…

She sighed as she swung her legs off the bed and sat up. She really should take advantage of staying in such pleasant quarters for once and get some studying done. It wasn't how she liked to spend an evening in luxury, but, with the past few days of her sleeping in tree roots and fearing for her life, she hadn't really done any studying. So now was as good a time as any. She was pleasantly surprised to find that her bag had been placed inside the door of her room at some point, which was really nice of someone. Cracking open her biology textbook, she settled back against the mountain of pillows and did her best to memorize the difference of cellular structure between plants and animals.

It was her growling stomach that pulled her from her studies some time later. Without a watch, and without the ability to tell time by the height of the moon she could just make out through her window, she could only guess as to what time it was. It felt late. Midnight, at least. Breakfast seemed like it had been days and days ago and not just this morning. Her stomach rumbled again, demanding substance

"Alright, alright," she grumbled, as she stood. She contemplated putting her uniform back on, instead of the sleeping slacks and baggy shirt she'd changed into to sleep, but it was the middle of the night, so she couldn't fathom running into anyway. Rifling through her bag, she grabbed a few boxes of ramen and some tea bags and headed down to where she remembered the kitchen was. Her bare feet padded softly across the ground and she shivered at the deathly quiet of the place. The floor didn't creak, the curtains didn't blow, there were no quiet voice or sounds of movement or life. It felt empty.

She stepped into the kitchen with a feeling of foreboding, anticipating that she'd have to spend a good amount of time cleaning a pot and some utensils for her to use safely. The kitchen was every bit as dirty and disgusting as she remembered. But, after a few minutes of quietly poking around, she realized that there was a corner in the back that was relatively clean. It was probably where Rin's food was prepared. There was a large box pulled up to the counter, so Kagome was pretty sure she had Rin herself to thank for the clean dishes she was about to use.

Perfect.

She set to work as quietly as she could, filling a pot with water from the barrel in the corner and starting a fire in the one clean cooking fireplace, hoping it was clean because it had recently been used and that the chimney was clear. She didn't think Sesshomaru would appreciate it if she burned his house down trying to make soup and tea. Bustling about the kitchen and making her dinner, she didn't notice when someone else arrived until they spoke.

"Miko."

She yelped, dropping a spoon in shock as she spun around. Sesshomaru was standing in the kitchen, watching her with an inscrutable expression. "You scared the bejeezus out of me!"

Whether or not he understands that, he doesn't comment, but his eyes slide over to the boiling pot of ramen over the fire. "What is that?" His nose crinkles in a way that she definitely one hundred percent does not think is adorable.

"Uh… ramen." He doesn't quite furrow his brow, but she elaborates anyway. "It's a kind of soup… from my home." When he continues to stares, she hesitantly asks, "Would you… would you like some?"

His nose flares, just slightly. "I would… not be disinclined to accept your offer."

She assumes that demon lord for 'yes,' but she has an ultimatum. "Alright, but on one condition." He arches his brow. "You have to never call me miko again."

"That is acceptable. Kagome."

She grins at him in victory, before turning around and plating up two bowls of soup and two cups of tea. "I don't know how you like your tea, so I just made it like mine. Lots of honey, no milk or sugar." She set her tea cup on the counter and picked up her chopsticks, uncomfortable suddenly. She had been planning on heading back up to her room to eat, but it felt rude to leave when he'd asked politely (kind of) for some of her food.

Watching him from the corner of her eye as he held the bowl up and inhaled. When he took a bite it was only because she was watching so closely that she noticed the so, so slight widening of his eyes. "How is it?" She said slyly, plastering an innocent expression on her face when his gaze snapped over to her.

"It is… acceptable." She rolled her eyes. Well, it wasn't the glowing endorsement of watching Inuyasha scarf down ramen like he was starving, but coming from the stoic demon lord it might as well be. "You say this is from your homeland?"

She made a sound of agreement around a mouthful of food.

"I have not ever come across something like this." His eyes flickered to the discarded packaging on the counter. "It is very strange."

Kagome shrugged. She thought about telling him how much his brother enjoyed it, but didn't want to ruin the calmness of the moment. "Yeah, I mean, it's not the best quality food, but my mom would always make it for me after school when I was little, so it just reminds me of that."

"You attended school?" The surprise in his voice is almost discernable.

She laughed. "I attend school, this is my last year. I was actually studying before I came down." She made a face. "Biology."

He was staring at her with his head cocked to the side. "That is… admirable of your mother to allow you to continue your education. Very few parents allow their female children to be educated, even among demons it is uncommon for a female to have much knowledge besides the courtly graces. It is… impressive."

There wasn't a point is getting into an argument about women's rights with a Feudal Era demon lord, so she didn't. "Let me? Ha! It's a requirement. I'd be grounded for life if I failed a class. She's very strict on me and my brother in school."

"Your mother sounds like an imposing woman."

Her voice softened. "No, not really. She's the best. I mean, she lets me come here and fight demons and search for the Shikon no Tama, as long as I do well in school. Making ramen reminds me of home, it reminds me of her." She's quiet for a long time and they eat and sip their tea in silence, but it's contemplative and serene, not at all like she would have expected.

When the silence is finally broken, it's not by her, as she would have expected. "My own mother used to drink lavender tea daily." She looks up at him, but he's staring down into his teacup as if gazing back into the past. "I continues to remind me of her to this day."

"Oh…" She struggles for something to say. "Then I wish I had lavender tea."

When his gaze lifts to hers, it's not a sharp movement, but slow and languid. "I would like to apologize for my outburst earlier this evening."

She blinks. "I – no, it's fine, I – "

"I was unaccustomed to seeing anyone in those quarters and I fear it made me short-tempered with you."

"Oh, well – "

"They are typically reserved for the Lady of the Western Lands." When she started the blush in startled surprise, his next words made her face pale. "They have been vacant since my own mother resided there."

"Oh, shit." She didn't even have time to feel embarrassed at the expletive when his eyes widened almost imperceptivity. "I had no idea! I will totally, absolutely move to another room. I can actually just sleep with Rin, I'm sure she won't mind, and Shippo in my sleeping bag most nights so it's no big deal for me." She sets her bowl down with a clatter. "I'll go move my stuff and clean up and it'll be like I was never there! Let me just – "

There's a cool grasp on her wrist and she stills like a startled deer, her eyes wide, her face pale. Sesshomaru stares at her silently, his gaze sliding over her face with a calm, contemplative expression. "You may remain." Her mouth opens to argue, but he continues. "I am not… abhorrent to the idea."

She stares back at him, the wheels in her head turning, trying to understand the expression on his face as he releases the g rasp he has on her wrist and steps back. She has no one of knowing if it's truth or lie, no one of knowing how he really feels. What she does know is that they have shared a meal, simple as it was, together and had a short, but meaningful conversation with one another. It was calmer than almost all of the conversations she'd ever had with Inuyasha. It was an actual adult chat.

It had been nice.

When she thinks about all of that, there's only one thing she can say. "Okay."