A/N: Ooh, look! A new chapter of Elements! All Japanese translation notes will be at the end.

Okay, now, you people. There are 107 members of ff dot net here who have this story on story alert, and I barely got a quarter of them to review last time. If you are one of those people who has this story alerted, or if you just read it, please review!

Elements

Chapter 7

Sesshomaru was a youkai who prided himself on never being caught off guard.

It was an essential skill to have in the Sengoku Jidai, especially for a taiyoukai. He was always prepared for anything that might occur. When the South had attacked his lands, his army had been primed and ready, resulting in a massacre not unlike a child's foot upon a colony of june bugs in the summer. When visiting diplomats or courtiers passed out at the sight of his demon form, Sesshomaru always had the smelling salts ready. And when Rin injured herself playing in the garden, the necessary dressings and bandages were always nearby. No matter what the situation, Sesshomaru prided himself on never being fazed and always having a response at the ready.

Thus, when Sesshomaru discovered that in addition to being an extremely powerful miko, Kagome could read and could speak intelligently about advanced concepts, a possibility he had never before entertained, he was completely thrown.

In his past encounters, Kagome had never seemed to be anything much. Sure, she was a miko, but she had hardly seemed able to speak coherently in the face of his superior battle skills, let along able to converse with him on the finer aspects of youkai warfare and theology. So, naturally, he was completely stunned when she had casually mentioned that she had read about demon politics as if she had been commenting on the weather as they were walking along, and it took him several long moments to regain his composure.

Luckily, Kagome didn't seem to notice.

Much.

"I don't see what the big deal is, Sesshomaru," she remarked as they walked along. "You can read, can't you?"

"That's entirely besides the point," he argued. "This Sesshomaru is noble taiyoukai of high esteem and birth."

"No shit," Kagome snickered. Sesshomaru shot her a cutting look before continuing.

"You, however, are nothing of the sort," he said, brushing a tree branch out of his path. "I can tell by your mannerisms and behavior that you are a commoner, a lord's daughter at the most."

"That doesn't matter," Kagome said stubbornly. "I can still read."

"But how?" Sesshomaru asked. "Not only are you a commoner, but you are a woman, one of barely sixteen. How is it that you can read?"

"Are you doubting the truth of my words, Sesshomaru?" Kagome said, her eyes sparkling at him playfully as she teased him.

"You must admit that it is highly unlikely you are speaking the truth," Sesshomaru replied, fixing her with his own expression of amusement.

"Then I propose a test," Kagome said, tossing her head. "Write something, and I will read it to you."

"Write something, and you will read it?" Sesshomaru echoed, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"That's what I said," Kagome replied, grinning. "Something simple, though, just to prove I can do it. I don't want to be here for an hour puzzling over some demon idiom or something."

Sesshomaru smirked slightly. "If I wrote such a thing, rest assured, it would take you much longer than an hour to decipher its meaning."

Kagome laughed. "We'll see. Now, are you up for the test or not?"

"I would be more than happy to oblige you, if only to prove you wrong," Sesshomaru said, his lips quirking.

"Meanie," Kagome muttered. Sesshomaru restrained a grin.

"However," he continued. "Your test is impossible. We have no ink, brush, or scrolls."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "So write in the dirt." She dropped suddenly, bending her knees, squatting low as she drew a design into the ground with a stick.

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow. "And what does that say?" he asked, crouching down beside her.

"Nothing. It's a smiley face," Kagome said, adding a circle around her design. She turned, offering the stick to Sesshomaru. "Go ahead. Unless, of course, you're too high and mighty to lower yourself to draw in the dirt," she teased, her eyes sparkling as she mocked him.

He snatched the stick from her, smirking.

"I'll have you know I am capable of lowering myself to much more degrading things to conquer my opponent than playing in the mud if I deem it necessary," he told her, his eyes glittering in amusement as he drew the characters into the ground. Who knew the miko could be so entertaining?

"That's true," Kagome mused, smiling. "I bet you do this sort of this with Rin all the time."

Sesshomaru looked up at her, startled, before smirking and pulling back. "You know more than you let on, miko."

"And I'm sure you do as well," she responded easily. She looked down, examining his writing, before standing.

"Konnichiwa," she read. "Hello; good afternoon. Pathetically easy, I might add, but sufficient to test my skills. Are you satisfied?" she teased, moving on through the forest.

Sesshomaru easily caught up to her. "Pathetically easy, perhaps, but remember, it was you who insisted on a simple test so it wouldn't take you many hours," he said, his tone gently mocking, teasing.

"Oh! You-" Kagome turned to glare at him, but her mirth shone through in her eyes, smiling at him.

"Then perhaps another test is in order," he said, a ghost of a smile playing about his lips. Tugging her over to a nearby tree with the use of his new arm, his flexed his claws briefly before carving characters into the wood, his poison slicing through the bark.

Kagome leaned forward. "Watashi wa Sesshomaru desu. Hajimemashite," she read easily. She turned to face him, her lips quirking upward. "A more sufficient test, as it gauges my skill at kanji as well as hiragana. However," she continued, touching a fingertip to the tree, "had this been a true introduction, you would have written your part like this."

Sesshomaru felt her holy energy rise briefly and watched as she wrote a line of symbols next to his, adding on, her finger glowing slightly pink as it burned through the wood. She paused, before adding another two quick symbols and pulling away, satisfied.

"There," she announced, brushing her hand off on her skirt. "That's much better. Can we continue now?" Without waiting for an answer, she strode off once more.

Sesshomaru crouched slightly, bringing the symbols to eye level. Her characters were wide and fat, having been written with her fingertip, as opposed to his thin claw. He peered at her words, reading.

Watashi wa Sesshomaru to moshimasu. Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.

And then, underneath, in katakana, as if in afterthought of the obviousness of this response,

baka.

Sesshomaru couldn't help but smile. Surely, the girl was deliberately provoking him, and he pulled back and laughed. Kagome stopped short and turned to look at him, astonished, but the taiyoukai ignored her, still amused, before using his demon speed to catch up to her in an instant.

"Dozo gomen nasai, Kagome-sama," he apologized, his eyes twinkling as he bowed low. "Gomen. Shitsurei shimashita. Moshi wake gozaimasen deshita," he said, straightening.

They looked at each other for a long moment, before simultaneously dissolving into laughter at the irony of it all, Sesshomaru laughing quietly while Kagome giggled like a schoolgirl.

In retrospect, Sesshomaru supposed the joke really wasn't that funny, but Kagome's laughter was contagious. She just looked so relaxed, so free, so uninhibited as she laughed that he couldn't help but be drawn in and join her. As they laughed, he watched her, and he realized she was beautiful when she laughed. And, rather perversely, Sesshomaru found a strange satisfaction in the fact that he had been the one to make her laugh.

Still giggling slightly, Kagome looked up at him, smiling.

"In all my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd hear you say such a thing," she grinned. Sesshomaru smirked.

"Why, dear Kagome, you dream of me?" he inquired smoothly, raising an eyebrow. "I had no idea you fostered such lecherous intentions towards my person."

Kagome blushed violently and pushed Sesshomaru, as if trying to shove him out of the way.

"You wish," she retorted, tossing her hair and holding her head high, mimicking his own aristocratic behavior. "Like I would ever lower myself to consorting with the likes of you, even in the dreamworld." She looked at him, meeting his gaze in an entirely dignified way, before they both cracked up again.

It was amazing, really, Sesshomaru mused as they walked along. He hadn't laughed in years, judging it as a frivolous, immature activity, done only by children and fools. It was also a direct outward display of emotion, one so blunt it was practically cringe-worthy. Yet, here he was, laughing along with a human girl at her ironic comments.

Perhaps there was just something about Kagome, something that made him feel more relaxed, more at ease. It made sense; in the space of a few days, he had gone from trying to kill the girl to being equals, and, even rarer, friends. Perhaps the girl was not truly a miko after all. Perhaps she was an evil enchantress and had woven him deep into a spell, designed to get him to lower his guard around her so she could kill him.

There was a dull thud and an outraged yell, and Sesshomaru turned to see Kagome hopping up and down rather clumsily, holding one foot in her hands, yelling at a rock that she had apparently stubbed her foot on, before snatching it up and defiantly hurling it off into the forest, sending it scorching through a tree as the energy from her anger glowed around it. Satisfied, she turned sharply, her eyes glittering, her hair disarrayed, and her face flushed, glaring venomously at the spot where the rock had once been.

Sesshomaru's lips twisted into a thin smile. Enchanting, perhaps, but the girl in front of him was no enchantress. Her manner spoke volumes of innocence and naiveté, and Sesshomaru was convinced that she could never knowingly do anything harmful.

Kagome turned, straightening herself, and, catching his amusement, smiled at him.

"You should smile more often," she told him. "It makes you look more approachable."

Sesshomaru immediately schooled his features into an icy scowl.

"I am the great taiyoukai of the West," he informed her coldly. "I have no desire to look approachable."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," Kagome mused, not deterred by his cold tone in the least as they walked on. "Shame, though. Your smile kind of lessens you, makes you more real, like a friend you might confide in instead of a ruthless killing machine."

"Why would I want to appear as a friend rather than a ruthless killing machine?" Sesshomaru asked her, convincing himself he didn't really care about her answer.

"Well, think about it," she replied as they brushed through the leaves. "It's the Warring States era, and warriors are a penny a pound. Everyone's always off trying to kill everyone else, even the humans. But nice people, those whom you can really trust, are much rarer, like a gem among a bunch of rocks. Those are the people who are truly valuable."

Sesshomaru considered. It was true; violence and fighting was plentiful, even among the ningen. He supposed that he could see the validity in her statement. She was not a fighter, after all, so it made sense that she would value a friend more than a fighter.

"Your words have some truth to them," Sesshomaru conceded. "However, you are forgetting one thing."

She turned to look at him. "What's that?"

"This Sesshomaru is no mere ningen fighter," he informed her, "and fighters of my caliber are certainly not 'a penny a pound', or whatever your ridiculous saying was."

Kagome laughed at that, smiling brightly.

"That's true as well," she admitted, her eyes sparkling. "Now I need another reason to convince you. Or maybe not." She turned to face him. "Maybe I just made all that up because I like it when you smile," she said, a smile of her own on her lips.

Sesshomaru was horrified to realize that his face was heating up in response to the unexpected compliment and was even more horrified to realize that he was smiling back. He grudgingly accepted it, though. It wasn't as if he had meant to make such a lapse, and the miko had long since infiltrated his cold facade, anyway.

"That's better," Kagome said, smiling at his own smile. She paused. "You look almost as handsome as your brother like that, you know," she said casually, unable to restrain a grin, her eyes alight with mischief.

"What!"

Sesshomaru quickly pinned her up against a nearby tree, growling at her in mock-offense as he glared, playing along even though he knew she was just toying with him. Surprisingly, he found he didn't mind. "What did you say?"

Kagome's expression was one of pure innocence as she faced him down, except for the tell-tale sparkle in her eyes that gave her game away. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, her eyes wide.

"You said that this Sesshomaru was less handsome than the hanyou InuYasha," he informed her, his amber eyes boring into hers. "You will retract your statement now and correct your falsehood, lest you face the consequences."

Sesshomaru felt Kagome's pulse speed up beneath him and heard her breath quicken, as if she was truly frightened, but her eyes betrayed no fear, instead, something liquid and strange seemed to swirl about in their depths, too flexible for him to pin it down and identify it, though it seemed familiar.

"Consequences?" Kagome murmured, her eyes meeting his unflinchingly, though her eyes were lidded. "And what consequences might those be?"

Sesshomaru suddenly found his mouth rather dry.

"You have insulted the taiyoukai of the West," he told her, his eyes burning into hers, his tone strangely deep and rich. "Such is an offense that can only be repaid by the offender obeying every command of the taiyoukai for the duration of the offender's life."

"Is that so?" she said, her voice husky, her cool blue gaze holding his unwaveringly, sending a thrill through him. She gently traced up his arm with her free hand, running over the silken cloth, making an odd sensation run through his veins, pooling around his middle. "And just what type of commands might that taiyoukai issue the offender?" she breathed.

She licked her lips, and Sesshomaru found himself with the increasing desire to forget about whatever the hell they were talking about and run off and give in to whatever odd feeling was consuming the both of them. Whatever it was, it had to be better than this constant struggle for words in the face of her teasing touches.

A loud thud echoed through the woods, followed by a yell and a shout of 'baka', and Sesshomaru pulled back to collect himself, the moment gone. Closing his eyes briefly and wondering what exactly had come over him, Sesshomaru struggled to collect himself, determined to regain his icy demeanor.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that instead of calm and collected or heated, as she had been, Kagome seemed rather annoyed, as she faced the direction where the noise had come from.

"That baka," she said venomously, and she promptly strode off in the direction of the noise. Sesshomaru followed, curious despite himself.

Up ahead, the trees were thinning, and Sesshomaru found himself peering into a clearing with a familiar-looking hanyou running around, chasing a yelling fox kit with a large bump on its head.

"SIT!"

Sesshomaru heard the miko yell as she strode out into the clearing but was surprised to see his brother go crashing into the ground, forming a sort of crater with the impact of his body, to be followed by a yell of "Kagome's back!" and a blur of yellow promptly glomping onto her.

"Hi, Shippo," Kagome laughed, hugging the kitsune to her warmly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," the kit said happily. "Do you know what InuYasha did? He was so being mean! He was mad because his hair still wasn't normal and he didn't get his teeth back yet and was yelling about you so I told him if he hadn't behaved like an immature pinhead you wouldn't have had to sit him, and then he got mad and started chasing me and trying to hit me-"

Kagome laughed. "It sounds like you handled everything just fine, Shippo," she said, smiling, setting the kitsune down.

"Kagome-chan!"

"Kagome-sama!"

Sesshomaru drifted into the clearing silently, preferring to hang back among the trees until the pressing importance of her companions greeting her had passed. He watched as Kagome embraced the taijiya warmly as she had the kit.

"Hi, Sango, Miroku," she said, giving the monk a quick hug as well before pulling back. "How's everything going? It doesn't sound like I missed too much."

"Well, InuYasha didn't wake up until this morning, and then it took him a while to realize what you had done, so it was pretty normal last night," the demon slayer told her friend. "I was worried about you, though. What happened? Are you alright?"

"I must admit, I was concerned for your welfare as well, Kagome," the houshi said, stepping forward. "What if a lecherous bandit had come upon you in your time of weakness? Without protection, surely-"

"His blood probably would've boiled out his mouth," Kagome said conversationally, a strained smile on her face. "I can take care of myself."

"Keh," said a familiar voice, and Sesshomaru turned slightly to see InuYasha get up from the dirt, brushing himself off, scowling. "That's what you said before the stupid wolf idiot tried to kidnap you again."

"That was different and you know it!" Kagome objected. "I could never hurt Koga-kun!"

"Don't see why not," InuYasha sniffed. "Mangy mutt should've died long ago, anyway." He looked at her a long moment, before roughly pulling her into his arms.

"InuYasha!"

Irritated, Sesshomaru found himself growing highly annoyed as Kagome's face softened and she hugged the hanyou back. She had been mad at the hanyou, hadn't she? Why was she making up with him so fast?

"Don't ever do that again," InuYasha murmured against her. "When I found out you hadn't come back all night-"

"It's okay, InuYasha," Kagome said, pulling back, smiling at him softly. "I can take care of myself now, remember?"

"Though that point, too, is debatable," Sesshomaru said aloud, reclining against the tree casually, deciding he had had enough of being looked over.

InuYasha's eyes immediately snapped over to him, narrowing.

"Sesshomaru," he snarled, his hand automatically reaching for Tessaiga. "What do you want?"

"No, InuYasha!" Sango said quickly. "We're not sure what effects Kagome's rock had on your fighting!"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and drifted over to his half-brother, lazily casting a cursory glance over the tense hanyou.

"My my my, InuYasha," he remarked, lifting a lock of streaked black and silver hair from his brother's shoulder. "It seems that your inferior blood is showing through. Or perhaps you just enjoy looking like a slob?"

"You idiot," InuYasha snarled, but Kagome laid a hand on him, restraining his anger, to Sesshomaru's indignation.

"It seems Kagome-sama was most angry with InuYasha last night and her miko powers shone through," the monk said, stepping forwards and bowing, ever the peace keeper. "InuYasha's odd appearance is merely a side-effect that will wear off soon enough, Sesshomaru-sama. You have no need to be concerned."

"It was InuYasha who put the miko into such a state yesterday?" Sesshomaru turned his gaze on Kagome, who met it steadily, unflinching.

"I told you that earlier, Sesshomaru," Kagome said hotly. "You were too busy admonishing me like a child to pay any attention, I suppose."

Kagome's defiant gaze met his own cool one directly as they stared at each other, neither wanting to submit as the others watched on.

"Um, Kagome-chan?" the taijiya asked hesitantly. "Pardon me for interrupting, but why is Sesshomaru here in the first place?"

"That's what I wanted to know in the first place," InuYasha grumbled.

Kagome blinked and broke away, turning to her friend.

"Huh? Oh, Sesshomaru's going to help me learn to control my powers," Kagome told her. "He came along to help explain things."

"He's going to help you control you powers?" InuYasha said incredulously. "Sesshomaru? Are you serious?"

"Yes," Kagome said calmly, fixing her intense gaze upon the hanyou. "Why? Did you think it would be Koga?"

InuYasha blushed hotly at her words, embarrassed, and Sesshomaru smirked, proud and impressed at the miko's ability to push his brother's buttons so easily. It was an art, one he himself was a master at.

InuYasha's eyes narrowed his eyes at his brother's smirk, but backed off.

"Fine," he snorted, dismissive. "Have him teach you. Whatever. Just don't come crying to me when it doesn't work."

InuYasha turned away, only to find Sesshomaru suddenly standing in front of him.

"This Sesshomaru is a master of self-control, InuYasha, and he will only teach Kagome the best skills," he informed the hanyou coldly. "If he was not, you would lie in pieces right now."

"Is that so?" InuYasha sneered, his hand on Tessaiga.

"Do you care to test it?" Sesshomaru responded, his own hand resting on the hilt of Tokijin.

"That's enough!" Kagome said shortly, shoving her way in between them and pushing them apart. "Honestly! You two take sibling rivalry to the max!" She glared at them both, before turning to InuYasha, who flinched. "You, InuYasha, go get some water for breakfast! We're not going after Naraku unless everyone gets something decent to eat!"

InuYasha scowled but moved off to obey, grumbling. Sesshomaru watched as Kagome watched the hanyou go for a moment, before rounding on him.

"And you," she said curtly. "You are coming with me for a moment so we can get a few things straight!"

"Am I?" he asked idly, looking down at the annoyed girl, intrigued. It wasn't as if she could force him.

"Yes, you are," Kagome informed him. "Unless, of course, you would like everyone else to hear your private business as well?"

Sesshomaru bit back a scowl but moved to follow the girl. She was cleverer than he thought.

Kagome led them into the forest surrounding the clearing with short, powerful strides, still angry, before turning around to face him. Sesshomaru watched as her anger vanished, leaving her looking fatigued.

"Honestly, Sesshomaru," she said, her voice tired. "Did you have to provoke him? You know he's sensitive about things like that."

"I believe it was he who provoked this Sesshomaru first," he told her, smirking.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Go ahead, just play the blame game. Come on, Sesshomaru. You knew this was going to be awkward. Why couldn't you just be the better man and let it go?"

Sesshomaru stiffened. "This Sesshomaru is the better person," he told her. "Who was the one to start going for swords, and who was the one to keep their temper? I am infinitely better than InuYasha."

"Well, then show it next time, okay?" Kagome said, smiling slightly. "Heaven knows I have enough trouble with InuYasha as it is."

Sesshomaru remembered the monk's remark.

"It was he you fought with last night," he remarked. "InuYasha was what had you so upset. Did he-" he struggled to remember. "Did he do something offensive again?"

Kagome tilted her head, curious. "Did he do what?" she asked.

"A few days ago, after you healed him, you were cross with InuYasha because he 'kissed' you," Sesshomaru told her. "Did he do that again?"

Looking mortified, Kagome colored.

"No, no he didn't," she coughed, her cheeks bright red. "It was just an argument over something silly that got out of control, that's all."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"What exactly is a 'kiss', Kagome?" he asked her quizzically. "I had thought it to be something offensive, but your embarrassment seems to say there is more."

Kagome looked like she wanted to die.

"Well, it's- it's," she said, flustered. "It's something humans do with someone they care about – on the lips – you know?" She looked up hopefully, but Sesshomaru shook his head. She sighed.

"I can't believe you don't know this," she muttered, shaking her head. "Then again, Shippo didn't know either, so it must just be a thing with youkai." She looked up at him, looking resigned, and faced him.

"This is a kiss," she said.

Sesshomaru was about to ask her what she meant when her lips abruptly descended upon his own, pressing against his as she cupped his face gently, her eyes closed. She kissed him softly before pulling back, her eyes opening as she moved away.

Sesshomaru looked at her, astonished, gently running his fingers over his lips, where hers had been only moments before. Kagome just stood there awkwardly, watching him.

"Well, that's a kiss," she said, her face coloring as she looked down at the ground. "So now you know. Well- uh- I guess I'll see you later about the controlling my powers thing. How about- um- tomorrow at dawn?"

She moved back quickly, her embarrassment palpable as she went into the clearing. "I'll see you then, Sesshomaru!" she called, quickly vanishing through the trees and rejoining her friends.

Sesshomaru remained there a moment longer, his fingers still upon his lips, tracing them, before he smiled.

"Dawn is fine, Kagome," he said aloud, turning to go. "Dawn is fine."

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Translation notes: Sesshomaru's words are a common introductory phrase, used when introducing yourself for the first time to an equal. Translated, they are roughly. "I'm Sesshomaru. I'm pleased to meet you" though Hajimemashite translated literally means 'for the first'. It is said to clarify that you're meeting the person for the first time.

When Kagome changes his words, she makes it read, "I humbly call myself Sesshomaru. I humbly beg you to treat me favorably" in very polite language, such as one might use to towards an emperor or high diplomat. Sesshomaru plays along in his response, apologizing and begging her forgiveness for his horrible rudeness. (Like Sesshomaru would ever be serious saying such a thing...)

So, what did you all think? What'd you think of it? What did you think of the ending? The beginning? The whole thing?

Remember to let me know in a review! If you read it, please review! I read and cherish every one! Please, review!