Elements Chapter 9, an inuyasha fanfic

A/N: Curse you, Sesshomaru, and your I'm-too-high-and-mighty-to-show-emotion attitude! You make it so hard to write you for this sort of plot where you're required to show a degree of interest in something new! Grrr!

Sesshomaru may be partially OOC in this chapter. Partially. I've worked hard to make sure he doesn't step too far outside the lines. Many thanks to Mujitsu for betaing, as always!

Please, at the end, don't forget to review!

Elements

Chapter 9

"Kagome-san!"

Sesshomaru watched on as Rin flung herself around Kagome's shins forcefully in her excitement, glomping onto her. Kagome's eyes widened as she stumbled backwards, teetering precariously, trying her best to maintain her balance as Rin tittered at her feet.

Sesshomaru's lips twitched. The miko was always amusing, in one way or another.

Failing miserably, Kagome toppled backwards onto the grass in a rather undignified sprawl, with Rin latched onto her legs all the while, still squealing on as Sesshomaru watched.

"Kagome-san! Kagome-san!" Rin said excitedly, looking up at the older girl through wide eyes. "Sesshomaru-sama said that Rin gets to come on a trip with you today! He said that we were going to have a teaching-lesson with you! Are you going to be Sesshomaru-sama's teacher, Kagome-san? Rin wants to learn too! Can you teach Rin too, Kagome-san?" Rin suddenly paused, as if confused, and looked at Kagome curiously. "Kagome-san? Why are you on the ground?"

Kagome flushed brilliantly, clearly embarrassed, and Sesshomaru withheld a snicker.

"Yes, Kagome-san," Sesshomaru said, his tone mocking. "Whatever are you doing on the forest floor? Did you fall down?"

Kagome shot him a venomous glare, before sitting up and struggling to her feet, gently inching Rin down and off of her shins.

"I'll make you 'fall down'," Kagome said darkly, shooting him a dirty look as she stood up once more.

Sesshomaru allowed a slight smirk to touch his lips in amusement as he watched the girl brush the dirt from her clothes. When she had originally suggested he bring Rin along to the lesson, he had been incredulous at her daring to try and control the rogue child, until he had realized that Kagome obviously had no idea what she was getting herself into, planning to have a civilized lesson with a child running about, especially one who was often hyperactive to the point of insanity.

So, naturally, Sesshomaru had only been too eager to bring Rin along, if only to see what would happen.

Sesshomaru's lip curled. This would be interesting.

"To answer your questions, Rin," Kagome said, picking the little girl up and spinning her around, making her giggle. "Yes, I am planning to teach Sesshomaru-sama today, and yes, I can teach you too, if you want."

"You plan on teaching Rin?" Sesshomaru cut in, his tone disdainful. "Even though she is but a child?"

Kagome looked at him oddly.

"Sure, Sesshomaru," Kagome said, looking at him curiously. "One is never to young to start learning. Right Rin?"

"Right!" Rin smiled happily for a moment before suddenly freezing. Slowly turning, she paused to gape at Kagome for a long moment, look at Sesshomaru in astonishment, and turn back to stare at Kagome in wonderment.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, and Kagome blinked.

"What is it?" she asked, obviously puzzled by Rin's odd actions. "Did I do something?"

"You called Sesshomaru-sama by his name," Rin said accusingly. "Sesshomaru-sama never lets anyone call him by his name."

Kagome laughed. "Sesshomaru-sama and I are friends now, Rin. He refers to me by name, and he allows me to do the same."

Rin's eyes bulged, and Sesshomaru smiled slightly at her awe.

"Really?" she asked in astonishment.

"Really really," Kagome confirmed, smiling. "Why? Doesn't he do that with his other friends?"

"No," Rin said distinctly. "Sesshomaru-sama never lets people do that. And if they do, he kills them."

Kagome laughed. "That sounds like Sesshomaru-sama," she admitted, amused. She bent her legs, crouching down to Rin's level. "Can you keep a secret, Rin?" she said, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes! Rin can keep a secret!" Rin exclaimed excitedly. "What is it, Kagome-san? What is the secret?"

Kagome pretended to look dubious. "Well, I don't know..." she said, deliberating.

"Rin will keep the secret!" Rin insisted intently. "Oh please, Kagome-san! What is the secret? What is the secret?"

Kagome grinned. "All right, Rin. I'll tell you." She leaned forward to Rin closely, who leaned in eagerly.

"Sesshomaru-sama can't kill me," she said in a loud stage-whisper. "That's why he lets me call him by name and why we became friends."

Rin gasped in astonishment, before clapping her hands excitedly. "Kagome-san is truly great if Sesshomaru-sama cannot kill her!" she exclaimed, amazed. "Rin must call Kagome-san 'Kagome-sama' from now on!"

Sesshomaru was amused to note that Kagome looked decidedly uncomfortable at this sudden turn of events. "That's really not necessary, Rin," she tried to object, but Rin shook her head violently at this.

"Nuh-uh! Sesshomaru-sama taught Rin to always address everyone with the proper respect!" Rin insisted. "And if Sesshomaru-sama cannot kill Kagome-san, she is truly Sesshomaru-sama's equal and must be called 'sama' just like him!"

Kagome opened her mouth to object again before pausing and considering for a moment.

"Sesshomaru-sama's equal, eh?" Kagome said slyly, looking at Sesshomaru for a long moment. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, while Rin looked hopeful. "Well, alright then," she conceded, and Rin clapped happily.

"Yay! Kagome-san is now Kagome-sama, and Kagome-sama is going to teach Rin and Sesshomaru-sama many new things!" Rin beamed at them both for a moment, before going to run around in the grass excitedly, yelling happily.

Sesshomaru sidled over to Kagome, who stood there peacefully, watching Rin with a smile. Sensing his presence, she looked up at him, grinning.

"Your equal, eh?" she said, teasing. Sesshomaru growled.

"The day you are my equal, woman, is the day Naraku bears my child," Sesshomaru declared, and Kagome laughed.

"I'll have to let him know that you're interested, then," Kagome said, giggling. "He'll be ever so excited about having another opportunity to 'merge his body' with yours."

A smirk managed to break onto Sesshomaru's face, while Kagome dissolved into giggles at her own joke.

"You find that funny, do you?" he remarked, and Kagome laughed again.

"Yes!" Kagome giggled, her amusement infectious. "Oh, that'd be so funny! Just imagine the look on Naraku's face if you propositioned him! And then you'd have to invite Kagura, just so you could see her expression too..."

"Kagura?" Sesshomaru questioned.

"Of course, silly. It's obvious you two have a thing for each other," Kagome smiled, elbowing him good-naturedly. "Then again, she'd probably kill you for going for Naraku..."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "This Sesshomaru has never been interested in Kagura," he said.

Kagome turned to look at him, still amused. "No?" she said, smiling. "I thought for sure... I mean, she's the only demon who's hit on you that you haven't outright slaughtered..."

"Perhaps this Sesshomaru simply didn't notice or didn't wish to be bothered with dirtying his hands," he remarked. non-commital. Kagome laughed.

"No," she mused, turning back to watch Rin again. "I suppose you wouldn't..."

Sesshomaru turned to look at Rin as well, who had gotten tired with running and was now contenting herself with picking flowers in the field.

"You think you could teach Rin as well?" he asked, watching his ward laugh as the flowers all spilled out of her hands.

Kagome nodded. "I think it'd be a good idea," she said. "Rin's not really skilled enough to handle the energy channeling bit, but she might be able to get the rest. And if she can, what harm is there? She'll just use it to play in the flowers, and she'll be better able to protect herself if the need arises. Her element is earth, too, so it shouldn't be too hard." She paused to look at Sesshomaru for a moment. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked.

He paused, considering. Although it was doubtful that Rin would be able to do anything with such power, let alone protect herself, it wasn't as if she'd be able to come to harm from it. At the most, it would inspire her with a respect for nature and provide her more amusement when she was alone.

Sesshomaru turned to look at Rin, who had abandoned her flower-picking and was now skipping about happily, and sighed.

What harm could it be?

"She can learn," Sesshomaru conceded. "But this Sesshomaru finds it hard to believe that a concept so difficult for one such as I to grasp would be able to be gained by a mere child."

Kagome smiled. "It's not about age, Sesshomaru," she chided. "It's about who you are inside."

"...what?"

But Sesshomaru's question went unanswered as Kagome went off to go get Rin, skipping happily all the while.

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"This is a god tree," Kagome said, looking up its massive trunk. "It's not as old as Goshinboku, but it's getting there. See the little birds' nests in its branches? The tree's branches provide them support, and the leaves are a shelter from the rain."

"I see it!" Rin exclaimed, peering up at the tree closely. "That's really nice of the tree, don't you think, Kagome-sama? It helps the birds like Sesshomaru-sama helps Rin!"

Kagome nodded. "Exactly, Rin."

"Do you think Rin will ever be able to be like the tree?" Rin asked hopefully. "Rin would like to be able to help people like that too, Kagome-sama."

Kagome paused, considering. "Go up and hug the tree, Rin. See if you can feel what it feels."

Rin nodded obediently and went over and embraced the tree, resting her cheek on the bark and closing her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Rin breathed in as the braches shook lightly in a lone breeze, breathing out as its leaves shook, content as she held the tree.

Sesshomaru sighed. Kagome had been taking them around to all sorts of displays of what she called "the earth element", giving a sort of spiel about each sight as they reached it. Rin had seemed to soak it all up, listening raptly and asking questions as they went along, while he seemed to lag behind.

What was it about this "earth" element that made it so hard for him to grasp? Sure, he could see that the earth was protecting everything and nourishing it and all, but Kagome said that wasn't truly understanding it.

And he was fast getting aggravated with this whole thing.

Silently approaching Kagome, Sesshomaru stood beside her, while she watched Rin with interest, as if half-expecting something to happen.

"How is it that Rin is able to comprehend the meaning of what you are showing us so easily?" he asked, his tone measured, carefully not looking her as he watched Rin.

"She's more in-tune with the feelings behind the earth than you are," Kagome said, shrugging as she looked on. "It's in her personality; she can't help but relate to it."

"And why is it that I cannot?"

Kagome turned to look at him, considering.

"I'm not quite sure," she said honestly. "Though it's not prevalent in your personality, the elements of it are there too. Maybe I'm just not introducing it to you in the correct manner."

"What would be-"

"Shhh! Look! She's getting it! She's getting it!"

Falling silent, Sesshomaru watched as a look of dawning comprehension spread over Rin, as she opened her eyes and stepped back from the tree, simply standing there, regarding it with unspeakable awe. It was as if she had grasped some huge concept, some major truth, suddenly understanding some deep secret of the world.

"She's got it," Kagome whispered to him, her joy unhidden in her tone. "She's understood the earth."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow but said nothing, watching as Rin's look of awe was gradually replaced by one of excitement. She looked at the tree for a moment longer, before she suddenly turned and ran to Kagome, tackling her in her excitement.

"Kagome-sama! Kagome-sama! I did it! I did it!"

"Calm down, Rin," Kagome laughed, hugging the girl as tightly as she was hugging her. "I know you did. We saw you."

But Rin was too wound up for that to be all; pulling Kagome up, Rin began talking to her excitedly.

"I was hugging the tree, just like Kagome-sama said, and suddenly, it was like the tree said something to me, but only without words, and suddenly I got it! I don't know what I got, but I got it, Kagome-sama! I got it!" Rin stopped and looked up at Kagome in amazement. "Is that what you were trying to teach Sesshomaru-sama and Rin, Kagome-sama? Is that it?"

Kagome smiled and nodded.

"That's it, Rin," she smiled. "I couldn't really teach you it, but I could help you find it."

"But what is it, Kagome-sama?" Rin asked, looking up at Kagome. "What is it?"

Kagome crouched down to Rin's level, and Sesshomaru watched as she reached out and touched a small flower.

"Do you see this flower, Rin?" she asked. Rin nodded.

"This flower's too small to live well, Rin," Kagome said, toying with its petals lightly. "It's too short to see the sun with all the grass around. It will die soon, if it's not helped." Taking Rin's hands, Kagome put them on the ground next to the flower. "Help the flower grow, Rin. You need to help it grow."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow but watched silently as Kagome got up and stepped back, watching Rin intently. Rin closed her eyes, concentrating, as the two watched her closely.

And suddenly, amazingly, the flower began to grow.

It started slowly at first, so slowly that Sesshomaru could barely see it, but then the flower was creeping upward, the blossom getting bigger and the stem thickening as it pushed itself upward more and more, reaching out towards the sun, and Sesshomaru couldn't help but stare in amazement.

The flower kept growing, developing from a titchy, inch-tall thing hidden in the grass to a full six inches, towering above the grass, its blossom bright and blooming. Satisfied, Rin opened her eyes and stepped back, observing her work for a moment, before an incredulous expression appeared on her face and she whirled around to face Kagome.

"That's it?" she asked, astonished. "I did that? I grew that flower?"

Sesshomaru noted that Rin wasn't referring to herself in the third person. Perhaps the magnitude of whatever she had grasped had made her forget her usual habits.

"That's it," Kagome said, beaming down at her. "You grew that flower, Rin, all by yourself. You did it."

Rin gaped at the flower in amazement for a moment, before letting out a squeal of joy and rushing to hug Kagome.

"Thank you, Kagome-sama! Thank you!"

Rin ran off, excitedly putting her hands to the ground near another flower, helping this one to grow a little quicker, before moving onto another and another. Sesshomaru watched neutrally as she rushed about in her excitement, his emotions masked.

Kagome regarded Rin for a moment happily, before turning and fixing Sesshomaru with a long, hard look. Meeting his eyes for a long moment, his amber clashing with her blue, Kagome turned again and averted her gaze.

"You'll get it too, you know," she said softly. "It just takes some time."

Sesshomaru bit his lip, frustrated with himself for being read so easily, but nodded nonetheless.

"Where are we going next?" he asked tonelessly, his eyes following his ward about as she ran.

"I figured we'd go to a place where Inuyasha recently used the wind scar," Kagome said, beginning to walk again, Sesshomaru falling into step beside her. "It'll show you how the earth perseveres, bringing life back to areas where there is none."

"And how it constantly cares for all, its efforts bring the flowers back to the area," Sesshomaru deadpanned. "Just like everything else we've seen so far."

Kagome shot him a half-smile. "Maybe you should teach the class," she teased.

Sesshomaru held back a sigh.

"I understand what you've been telling me, Kagome," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, "but I still don't get it. How is it that Rin gets it and I don't?"

Kagome laid a hand on his arm lightly, and Sesshomaru paused to look at her, his eyes meeting hers.

"It's okay," she said, stroking his arm lightly as she looked at him. "You'll get it. It's just in Rin's nature more than it's in yours."

"Perhaps it is not in this Sesshomaru's nature at all."

Kagome sighed, giving his arm a squeeze before moving away again. "You know that's not true, Sesshomaru," she said tiredly.

"Perhaps it is," he argued. "I was raised to distance myself emotionally from all things. Perhaps this is beyond me."

"That's bull and you know it," Kagome said sharply. Sesshomaru turned to look at her. "You're just as protective and caring for others as the earth is at times."

Sesshomaru shot her an incredulous look, but Kagome waved it off.

"You are," she insisted. "Just look at Rin. Why, I've seen you save Rin several times when her life was in danger, even bringing her back if it was too late."

Sesshomaru nodded slowly. That was true.

"And even though he's annoying as ever, you care for Jaken too, in your own high-and-mighty way. Maybe he's just a servant to you, but you've grown attached."

Sesshomaru bit his lip. Though he hadn't really thought it through, he had brought Jaken back from the land of the dead before. Perhaps, on some level, he did care for the whiny kappa.

"And although you hate to admit it, you care for Inuyasha too. There's been more than a few times where you've saved him, even from Naraku, a demon too powerful for him to beat, or from himself when his demon blood took over."

Sesshomaru nodded shortly. It was true, though he was loathe to admit it.

Kagome turned to look at him, her eyes shining with hope. "Don't you see it, Sesshomaru?" she said pleadingly. "What you feel for all of those, that's what the earth feels for all things. Can't you understand?"

Sesshomaru paused, biting his lip.

"Try to understand, Sesshomaru," she urged. "Just try."

Closing his eyes as they walked along, Rin skipping on ahead of them, Sesshomaru focused on what he knew of himself and the earth.

Though it wasn't his first nature, Sesshomaru did care for some people, as much as he tried to hide it. There was Rin, there was Jaken, and there was Inuyasha and Kagome too, now. He felt vaguely protective over them, and he could understand that the earth felt the same.

Why did the earth care about everything, though? That didn't make much sense to him, really. After all, he had perfectly good reasons for caring about those he did...

Wait...

Did he?

Thinking hard for a moment, Sesshomaru tried to think of why he cared or not for those he did. Rin, he supposed was because... well... because he had grown somehow attached when she had helped him before. And Jaken... that one was because he had known him for so long as he was his vassal, wasn't it? And Inuyasha would be... well, he really had no way of explaining that one, now, did he? And Kagome...

And as Sesshomaru struggled, mentally trying to account for his emotions, slowly, slowly, the thought crept across his mind that maybe you couldn't help who you started caring for.

Maybe you just did.

And as that thought started to grow, it started to make sense. Sesshomaru certainly hadn't intended to start caring for anyone other than himself, but somehow, it had happened, and now he couldn't change it.

And maybe, just maybe, it was the same with the earth.

And suddenly, ever so suddenly, Sesshomaru felt his mind being filled with a glowing presence, unlike anything he had felt before. He could not interpret it; he could not put it into words of his own; but suddenly, he knew how the earth felt. It was an indescribable thing, a thing like knowing how to lift one's arm, which, if one had not been born knowing, would surely be difficult to learn. But this had not had to be learned, only found, deep inside of him, and he was aware, dimly, that he had found the ability to understand the earth.

It was remarkable.

Kagome had been speaking the truth, he realized. Such a feeling couldn't be put into words or taught, only found, and she had done her best to guide him toward it. It said a lot about her, that she had had the patience to continue to steer him towards this, despite his lack of aptitude for such a lesson.

Opening his eyes, he looked to Kagome, wanting to put this wordless understanding into words and thank her, but finding none, only to see her scream in horror as she pointed forward in abject fear.

Whirling around, Sesshomaru saw that Rin had skipped ahead of them a bit too far, and that now a huge, primal fox youkai was running towards her, leaping at her, snarling, fully intending on consuming his next meal. Hearing it's snarl, Rin turned around and screamed, too petrified to move as it came forward, jaws wide open, and Sesshomaru felt a moment of terror as the stark thought of a world without Rin flashed through his mind.

Without thinking, Sesshomaru slammed a hand to the ground, and with a deafening rumble, the ground cracked, splitting open beneath his hand, running jaggedly up to underneath the fox youkai, the earth yawning open underneath it into a deep chasm, sending it hurtling downwards into the earth as it screamed, falling, falling, before the ground came together again, sending the loud noise of its shockwaves rolling through the hills.

Sesshomaru stared, dumbstruck, unable to think, the knowledge that he had saved Rin dimly running through the back of his mind.

Shaking, Sesshomaru slowly got to his feet, clutching the arm he had put to the earth, standing there for a long moment, overwhelmed, unable to fully process what had just happened. Rin just stared at him, dumbstruck, as Sesshomaru struggled to grasp the magnitude of what he had just done. Finally, he turned to Kagome, emotion raw and stark in his eyes.

Kagome looked at the place where the chasm had appeared for a long moment before looking up and meeting Sesshomaru's eyes once again, her gaze confirming what he had already known.

She smiled.

"I think you've got it now, Sesshomaru," Kagome said, smiling. "I think you've finally got it."

I rather liked the ending. :P

So, what did you think? What did you like best? What do you think will happen next? You know how to let me know!

Please, review! :)