A.N.: written for SessKag monthly prompts on tumblr. April's prompt: teach
Summary: Sesshomaru is the pinnacle of existence; there is no one stronger, no one faster, no one smarter, more beautiful, or more capable of taking OR giving life. But he is not perfect. He is curious.
Sesshomaru stood behind one of the trees in view of the Bone-Eater's Well, silently watching it, waiting for the power within to flare and deposit one Kagome Higurashi back into the world.
It did so, finally, and her scent and aura burst out into the clearing in a bright wave. She climbed out, clad in her usual miko garb, the clothing she wore full time in this era now that Naraku was gone. Apparently she'd finished her studies in her own time and liked to come here to see where she wanted to ultimately call home.
That was none of his concern.
What did concern him was the shifting colors that she'd had in her hair the last several times she'd emerged from the well.
It had started a month ago when she'd come back with bright red streaking through her usually black hair. Then a week later the red had been changed to pink. Then to purple. Now it was blue, and though he'd held his curiosity in check and kept his questions at bay, he was about to go insane.
Curiosity was one of his most damnable traits, and the miko brought it out of him in spades.
He hated being curious about that damn miko, and he, irritatingly enough, often found himself itching with curiosity where she was concerned. She just had and said so many things he was clueless about, and that was unacceptable.
What was worse, in his opinion, was that she could never just answer his questions, she always had to teach him things so he would understand.
Being taught anything by a human was, once again, unacceptable.
But time and time again he sought her out to inquire about her stupid mystery things and silly, futuristic, human turns of phrase, and now he'd be asking about her hair of all things.
He was sick of himself. Sick of her. Sick of curiosity and priestesses and human women and even this whole entire putrid village.
Yet his feet took one step in front of the other, deeper into the village he hated to find the woman he hated more and ask her more questions he couldn't stand.
And he wouldn't feel fine until he was seated next to her in a dusty herb patch and her scent tickled his nose while her voice tickled his ear.
She looked up and caught sight of him as he approached, and her face lit up as she waved him over.
"Hello Sesshomaru-sama! Finally come to ask about my hair?"
She winked- She winked- and his hands fisted inside his sleeves.
"Hn."
She patted the ground next to her and he sat, watching her hands pull leaves and stems and weeds as she taught him about human hair grooming and ornamentation. Her voice carried on and his tension and agitation eased and slipped away.
He caught a lock of blue hair and twirled it around his finger, watching it shimmer in the sun. She met his eyes shyly, cheeks warming under his scrutiny, and then his gaze was drawn down to her mouth for several long seconds before he looked away and she exhaled shakily.
Something about her could rile him up just as easily as it could soothe him, and it drove him absolutely mad. But after lessons in hair care and closeups of pretty pink lips, he wasn't curious enough yet to ask why.