Chapter 6 – To Question
''Are you sure you want to do this?'' Sakura asked as she frowned, staring at the miko in front of her.
''Yes, I've thought about it and I think it's the only way.'' Kagome answered, smiling softly at the green eyed youkai.
''But Kagome-chan!" Sakura whined, not happy with what the human asked her to do. ''I'm sure that if you give your hair a few more weeks it will recover!"
''It's been almost two months Sakura, it's still dry and falling apart, I'm sure it will be better if we just cut it off.'' Kagome argued as she picked the scissor and gave it to the older woman, who pouted in response, clearly not pleased with what she was about to do.
So maybe Kagome was right. Her hair was still dry and hadn't recovered its shine, but Sakura thought that cutting it was too extreme, if she gave a few more weeks she was sure it would go back to normal. Her hair was past her hips, it was too long and Kagome just expected her to cut it on her shoulders without complaining? The youkai huffed in annoyance and glared at Kagome's back, raising the scissor and cutting the first strand, watching as it fell on the floor.
''Are you sure you want to keep going?'' Sakura asked and Kagome rolled her eyes, nodding. ''Stupid miko, if I ruin your hair don't come whining later and asking for me to stick it back on your stubborn head!'' She huffed, making Kagome burst out laughing.
''I've thought about this for a long time Sakura-chan, don't worry about it. I'll deal with the consequences of having short hair later.'' Kagome said, amused by the frustrated sounds Sakura made when she watched another lock of her hair fall on the floor.
After ten minutes, Sakura grunted and moved to stand in front of the miko as she narrowed her eyes and held the face of the human in her hands. Turning from left to right, she bit her lip and pouted as she stared at Kagome. ''Since you didn't stop me from murdering your hair, let's make you at least look presentable.''
''Do whatever you want.'' Kagome shrugged, not really caring. She got what she wanted, her hair was on her shoulders and would grow healthily from now on, no more dry locks falling everywhere she went.
''Close your eyes,'' Sakura said and Kagome obeyed, she could feel the youkai gathering a few strands of her hair in front of her face and cutting them, making the strands fall on her lap.
After a few minutes, Sakura motioned for her to open her eyes as she held a small mirror in her hands. She now had bangs and Kagome realized how much the long hair gave her the appearance of a tired woman, she looked at least five years younger.
''This is great!" She squealed happily as she stared at Sakura, who tried to stay annoyed but failed and smiled back at the miko. ''Much better than what I expected, thank you so much!"
''You're welcome, now take care of your hair and stop complaining about it being too dry, use my potion and it will look exactly like mine in a few days,'' Sakura said, giggling when the miko hugged her.
''Yes, Sakura-sama!" Kagome said as she bowed deeply, making the youkai roll her eyes and shove her out of the room.
''Stop being stupid and go take care of Rin, I'm sure she set Jaken's clothes on fire by now.''
''Yes, Sakura-sama!" Kagome snickered and only received a hard shove on her back as an answer, making her laugh out loud.
The sun had started to set a while ago and Kagome, tired after chasing Rin and Shippo on the field, now laid on the grass, staring at the sky and its ever-changing colors.
The wind blew softly on her face, making a few strands of her hair move, and she was aware of almost everything around her. The heat of the sun that had started to disappear, the first stars that were slowing showing up, the soft grass under her bare feet, the laughter of both of the children she had been watching and even the sound of a few people moving through the shiro.
She was aware of her own heartbeat and the way her chest moved when she took every single breath, and as she stared at the orange and purple sky, she was grateful for being able to enjoy this silent spectacle.
After being locked out of the world for what it seemed like forever and being so close to death, she had become suddenly aware of how fragile life was. She could die at any second and once this thought sunk in, she promised herself that she would live her life to the fullest and enjoy every single moment of it.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled as she felt him approaching her. She knew he was there, she could always feel his aura and sometimes, like today, he would silently join her and watch Rin play, making her wonder if this was how he preferred to take a break from his duties.
''Hello, Sesshoumaru-sama.'' She said as she sat straight and looked up to face the stoic daiyoukai, who merely nodded at her in response.
A leaf fell on her lap and she realized that there probably was grass on her hair, so she started to run her hands through her short locks. A few more leaves fell and she giggled as the wind blew them away from her lap and back into the field, everything was silent and she enjoyed the peace and the strange sense of security she had whenever the Lord of the West was present.
None had tried to kill her again, and Kagome suspected that it had to do with the threat Sesshoumaru made and the fact that when she didn't feel him close, she could feel another youkai's aura watching her. It didn't threaten her so she assumed that it was someone her Lord sent to check on her, to see how Rin was progressing and to make sure she was being left alone. She still had to find out what exactly the Council was, but since no evil befell her or her Lord, she felt secure enough to shake off the strange feeling she got that day. The youkai who watched her was most likely a member of the Council itself, and he would introduce himself to her when the time was right. She would then ask her questions, but for now, she would simply enjoy the peace of finally being free.
''Why?'' The simple question snapped Kagome out of her thoughts, making her look up with wide eyes to face the Western Lord because this had to be the first time he started a conversation with her.
She was silent for a while, wondering what he meant and thought that the most logic answer was that he was talking about her hair. ''It wasn't growing healthy, the hair was dry and the only way to restore it would be to cut and wait until it grew again.''
Sesshoumaru shook his head and took a seat a few steps away from her as he stared at Rin, that was now chasing Shippo with a crown of flowers in her tiny hands. ''The pledge, why?''
Confused, Kagome frowned and turned to face him again. The wind was blowing softly, making a few strands of his silky hair move and she envied how soft they were, she knew her hair would never get to match his, but she hoped that once it grew back it would get at least somewhere close to his.
''I'm afraid I don't understand, my Lord.'' She answered, and after a few seconds of silence, she wondered if she had offended him with her stupidity.
''You are a miko,'' Sesshoumaru spoke after a while, making Kagome frown. ''Your purpose on Earth is to kill youkai, yet, you did not hesitate to pledge allegiance to one.''
That had to be the longest sentence she ever heard him say and her eyes widened in understanding. Smiling softly at the daiyoukai, who had now turned to stare at her as he waited for an answer, she spoke. ''It's because you gave me a choice, Sesshoumaru-sama.''
The slight frown on his face told Kagome that he didn't understand, and she turned to look at the fading sun in the sky before speaking again.
''You saved my life and brought me here, even if it was because of Rin's lie, you took care of me and kept me alive.'' She started, a small smile on her face. ''When I woke up, you questioned me and believed in my words, you offered me a place to stay even though I have little to no use here in this shiro. I didn't have anywhere else to go, and even though you knew this, you didn't order me to stay. You gave me a choice even when I didn't have one, and for that, I will always be grateful.''
The silence was her only answer. When she turned to look at him, she saw that he was frowning slightly and smiled, he was probably confused and she didn't blame him, so she chose to give him a little insight on what her life had been before Onigumo.
''You probably don't care much about my silly human life, but I was raised on a shrine. I never met my parents, Kaede-sama explained that I had been left at her door in the winter and she took me in, raising me as her own. She was very good to me, they all were, but I felt trapped.'' She sighed. ''They always ordered me around. I was good at healing so I was expected to be good at preparing medication and diagnosing diseases too, I knew how to use a bow so I was expected to master the sword and the dagger as well. They called me a prodigy, I did everything that took most priestesses decades to learn when I was only fifteen but I wasn't happy. I just did what they told me to, I never wanted to be Kagome, the younger and most powerful miko from the village, I just didn't have a choice.''
Yawning, Kagome watched the last rays of the sun disappear behind the mountain and smiled at Sesshoumaru. ''I think you were the first to ever give me a choice, a sense of freedom and the feeling that I was in control of my life, so this is why I chose to stay. It probably sounds silly but I'll always be grateful for that. Thank you for listening to me, Sesshoumaru-sama.''
Getting up, she brushed the dust off her light pink kimono and called the children, it was time for them to clean up and eat. Shippo challenged Rin to see who would get to Jaken first and ran before the little girl could even understand what was happening. With an annoyed cry, Rin started to chase the kit, who just smirked at her before he concentrated on winning.
Laughing, Kagome shook her head and bowed before she turned to leave. Her steps came to a halt when she heard Sesshoumaru's voice, softer than before, and his words resonated deep within her being, bringing back the feeling of comfort and acceptance she had long forgotten.
''Here, there is always a choice.''
