Innocence
Sesshoumaru started awake sometime in the night.
He'd merely sat down to lean against a trunk, intent on resting his eyes a moment, having been awake for several days already with limited chances to sleep- but he hadn't been intending to slip into dreams. He had a miko to find.
Perhaps it was that principle thought which had guided his desires and caused his current...predicament. He shifted his hips, feeling the heavy press of his armour. Gritting his teeth and hissing out a breath, the Daiyoukai dropped his head back to the tree. His cock strained, erection screaming for attention. For some reason, idiotic, feverish dreams had conjured Kagome bathing in a hot spring, returning his advances and making such delicious noises and squeaks it tightened the blazing heat in his lower abdomen.
Sesshoumaru's mouth downturned. He pinched the bridge of his nose. This was exceptionally annoying. Now he'd have to deal with his 'condition' before leaving, wasting time. Wincing, he loosened his armour and slid it off, before leaving to locate a waterfall and purge himself in the cold waters. He refused to give in to his baser instincts so soon after falling prey to them two days ago. Perhaps if he started to deny himself release he'd be free of the madness that had possessed him the past few months.
After locating the child, Kagome followed him away from the hot spring, happy to leave it behind. Her hand curled in Lust's clothing, feeling the silk brush over her body and trying not to think of him.
"Repression is looking for you, by the way," the miniature Sesshoumaru said, hopping onto a rock. The land had become more uneven, hills starting to roll beneath her feet. She climbed up one, following him and musing that he looked to be around seven years old, at least from a human's perspective.
"I see, guess I'm not surprised," she murmured. "Who are you?"
"I am not certain," he glanced at her, eyeing her curiously. "Some of the others call me Pest, Little Fool, Brat or Whelp. Most of the time they are quite content to ignore me," he frowned.
Kagome's brows drew together, "really? He's usually nicer to kids," she said, before shaking herself. The others weren't totally like Sesshoumaru and were probably just reacting to whatever emotion he was. "A-anyway, those don't sound like any emotions I know," her lips quirked. "I'll help you think about it."
"That is acceptable."
Kagome bit back a grin, twigs snapping under her feet, "so what did you want to ask me? You mentioned I had to answer a question."
"... This one has many questions," he nodded, short hair bouncing with the motion. His small, cute voice talking so stiffly sounded extremely adorable to her ears. She could see him think about what he was saying, trying to curb his words into that befitting a lord.
The demon glanced at her, eyes bright, face downright cherubic. "You said in the hot spring that you are the real Kagome. That means you can provide answers to everything this one demands to know."
Kagome blushed hotly, squinting at him. "How much of that did you see?"
"Not much," he dismissed breezily.
Reaching the crest of the hill, she stopped, looking down at the incline of rocks and trees that opened up to a small lake below. In the centre of the vast waters was a small traditional house with a white roof that looked like it had maybe two rooms at best.
"What's that?"
"My domain. Every emotion or certain aspects of Lord Sesshoumaru's personality has a house, much like a shrine," he preened.
It looks kinda…small. Especially in comparison with Intelligence's mansion.
They started making their way down to it, Kagome holding onto the trees and bushes for balance.
Eventually, she'd been scooped up by the boy and he'd crossed the lake, flying to his humble house. They sat within the little living room, low table between them. Kagome adjusted her legs that were folded beneath her, holding a cup of tea. The sliding doors were open, letting in a gentle breeze as the sky brightened. She guessed the real Sesshoumaru had woken up by now.
"What would you like to know?"
He fidgeted, lips curving into a genuine smile. Kagome started, heart fluttering from sheer, pleased surprise.
"Tell this one everything there is to know about your Time. The Future," he demanded in his soft, boyish voice.
"Oh…" that was probably the last thing she'd expected him to say. "The real Sesshoumaru never showed interest in it before or asked about it."
"I am asking now," he huffed, blowing at silver bangs with frustration.
Kagome grinned at his adorable pout and leisurely sipped her drink, feeling the steam warm her lips. "Okay then. I guess I should start by saying that buildings are much much bigger than they are now. Taller than Sesshoumaru's True Form."
Golden eyes widened, hints of him trying to remain guarded and controlled. Kagome guessed that it was simply how Sesshoumaru had always been, and there was nothing wrong with it, but the difference lay in how he reacted as she told him more. Palpable emotions lit up his eyes, moved his shoulders, made thin lips curve. All that reaction had been ironed out later on in adulthood, especially after Inuyasha had hacked off his arm. It made her a little sad.
She detailed the boom in technology, the many wars she could remember learning about in History class, struggling to recall the economy and how daily life was in the Modern Era.
Partway through they moved outside onto his porch, sitting on his wooden steps and trailing their feet into the lake. The boy listened attentively, very quiet.
"Humans...can go to the moon?" He repeated her latest inane statement slowly.
"Yes!" Kagome clapped her hands, a little giddy to be talking about it. None of her friends had really been interested in her Time. Even Inuyasha, who had seen it, had been more invested in the food than anything else. "Gahh I wish I had my telescope, I could show you the constellations," she gushed, before pausing. "Oh but...I wonder if they would be different in the feudal era compared to my time," she pondered out-loud.
"Why?"
"Well, stars die."
His eyes widened as she struggled to explain, back peddling. "Thinking about it though, they probably wouldn't be any different. Only 500 years separate us after all. There are a few stars that could possibly explode in the Future, such as the red giant star Betelgeuse in the constellation of Orion. It's about 650 light-years away, if it had exploded a couple of centuries ago, we still wouldn't know. Stars are so far away, even light from the closest stars take years to get to us."
"Hn," he shifted, resting small hands on his knees. "I suppose you are quite knowledgeable. This one did not know that stars could die," he uttered somberly, looking at his sharp toenails trailing slowly through the water. "I thought they would be a constant. Like demons."
Kagome's mouth clicked shut, realising that she hadn't clarified that demons weren't around in the Future. Hopefully they'd survived, living in obscurity, but she didn't want to burst that particular bubble.
"Don't sweat it, stars live for a long, long time. Red dwarf stars can last for trillions of years! You'll still have them around."
The young Sesshoumaru thought for a moment, his voice quiet. "I should like you to be a constant."
Kagome blinked and paused, tilting her head.
The child glanced at her, before smiling slightly. He then jerked his leg, splashing her.
Kagome gasped, "hey! I just dried off!" She giggled, kicking the water back.
He let out a noise, dissolving into a laugh, and Kagome was struck by the image. She'd never seen Sesshoumaru make such an unguarded expression, the sound boyish and carefree, his small fangs showing. It was a day of firsts. She found it a pleasant, happy noise. He quickly stifled it upon realising what he was doing, lips thinning as he frowned at his knees.
Kagome giggled, smiling and opening her mouth to encourage him, when he got up and padded inside. Hoping she hadn't upset him, Kagome drew one knee up to follow, soon pausing as he wandered back with two pieces of sliced fruit in his hands.
She watched as he sat primly beside her once more, collecting his airs of nobility, before offering her the watermelon slice. Kagome stared at him like he'd grown a third head. "I thought you didn't eat human food."
Some pink dusted his chubby cheeks. "This one does not," he stated firmly. "But father ate these with me when I was younger. They are mostly water, he assured me."
Giggling, Kagome accepted her slice and lifted it to her lips, digging in. As she bit into the red juicy middle, the miko noticed him shaking his head with dismay, slicing the middle into neat pieces and picking them up, eating neatly.
She swallowed, wagering his father had taught him that too, or perhaps his mother. He did everything in a kind of earnest way. "You know, I think you could be Innocence."
He frowned, swallowing. "That does not sound very impressive or Great, therefore it is not befitting for one such as me."
"Maybe you don't think so, but it's probably because of you that he could find it in himself to appreciate Rin and...come to love her. You're important."
She could tell he didn't agree and tried to change her wording a bit. "Besides, you could also be Curiosity."
"Hn?" The child Sesshoumaru brightened slightly, picking up another piece and eating it.
"Intelligence mentioned that he was also Organisation and helped Sesshoumaru with intuition. Maybe don't think of yourself as one thing, but as an aspect of his overall personality. Putting it like that, you could also be a bunch of other things," she gently tried to encourage, wiping her mouth. "And knowing Sesshoumaru, he'd decide for himself what he was...or wanted to be."
His small shoulders straightened, chin tilting up as his mouth set in a serious line. He nodded regally, glancing at her. "...That is acceptable."
Kagome softened and beamed, reaching out thoughtlessly with her free hand and resting it on his head, stroking a little, before freezing with realisation.
The little lord had stiffened as well, gaze fixed ahead of them. He didn't tell her to stop and made no move to push her away so Kagome tentatively pet the crown of his head, and was it just her or did it tilt slightly into her palm? His cheeks puffed up slightly, frowning at nothing in particular.
"I was wondering...do you have an irori here or fireplace?"
"No, why ask?"
"I was looking for the stream of consciousness. Do you know how to access it?"
Innocence shook his head, putting his finished slice aside.
"I thought maybe it would be possible to just…jump into the flames. Intelligence put his scrolls into the fire. Seems like it could be possible."
He frowned, thinking for a moment. "There should be one at another, more influential emotion's house," he said slowly. Kagome smiled and was about to voice her thanks, when something caught her attention. The sound of trees falling, crashing into the earth. Their branches and trunks snapped- but a roar had her tearing her hand away. The earth shook as something heavy thudded into it every so often, like footsteps.
Kagome quickly stood and rounded the small house via the porch, feeling Innocence brush up against her side, his head only coming up to her hip. They peered together at the forest beyond the lake, watching with astonishment while trees fell for seemingly no reason, as though pushed by an invisible force.
Between one moment and the next, a pair of large glowing crimson eyes became visible. Sesshoumaru's inuyoukai form dipped in and out of visibility, becoming see-through as he prowled, sniffing at the earth. A rumbling snarl built in the back of his throat, four more pairs of eyes opening on his forehead. The typical markings on his body glowed, joined by new, intricate ones spanning his shoulders, legs and flank. Steam hissed out parted jaws, acid occasionally leaking out to trail onto the floor and leave a black trail of scorched earth.
Kagome trembled. Thick, clogging youki rolled off the beast's form in waves, stealing her breath. She hadn't been truly afraid of Sesshoumaru in years, but the atmosphere, the blood-thirsty, searching aura clinging to the inuyoukai's fur...it was indescribable. Her legs shook, breath catching.
The beast's ears pricked, head snapping up to look at them. At her, she realised belatedly.
Kagome's bone's locked, shock and terror running through her as lips peeled back, rows upon rows of teeth revealed, saliva dripping down feral jaws. A roar thundered through the area, swallowing up all noise across the surface of the lake like a gust of wind.
Then it broke into a run, leaping into the lake. Water lashed out and sloshed around its legs from the ensuing splash which rolled waves onto the porch. The demon then frantically moved toward them.
"W-what does it want?!" Kagome yelled, taking a few steps back and holding onto the side of the house.
"I do not know, but Instinct has not bothered me before. Perhaps it is you he seeks," the boy uttered, moving to stand in front her.
Kagome quickly grabbed his hand, "what are you doing?! Let's go! You can't fight that guy!"
Golden eyes flashed, "you said that this one could be anything I wanted."
She shook her head desperately. "Right now you're being Nativity if you want to face that- ack!"
Flames rippled around the boy, a small, puppy-fied version of Sesshoumaru's true form standing before her. He gave a yip, barking at the impossibly large Daiyoukai lunging in dangerously close, open jaws coming down toward the house from above. Kagome gaped and threw herself forward, blocking his path to the pup and throwing a shield up.
Jaws collided into the reiki, sparks flying between them. A deep growl rumbled out, eyes flashing from behind the barrier and shining with an intelligence she didn't anticipate.
The miko grit her teeth, uncertain how long her barrier would hold if he kept up the pressure. His youki felt stifling as it flowed out against the reiki, seeking to consume, to dominate.
All at once- the pressure was gone.
Kagome gaped, watching the inuyoukai's side be slammed into, sending the beast toppling onto it's side. Bellowing snarls rang out, a second inuyoukai of equal size going straight for Instinct's neck, teeth latching down as the two rolled in the lake, tussling violently.
Squeaking, Kagome felt the pup yank his head up between her legs, forcing her to slide down his neck and settle for riding on his back. Innocence was about the size of a small pony as he turned and leapt into the air, sailing over the lake in the opposite direction of the snarling giants. Kagome gripped his fur, looking over her shoulder. Hard thrashing could be heard, the splashes sending waves rolling, swallowing the shoreline. The unknown inuyoukai had no distinct markings upon it, aside from Sesshoumaru's usual, so she couldn't tell what emotion had saved them. She wondered if it was Repression or the same shy one from before.
Innocence landed on the shore and took off, running as fast as his legs would carry him. Kagome buried her face into his neck while they disappeared into the shadows of the trees, dimly musing that he still carried that same warm scent, no matter the version of him.