A/N: Here's the next chapter! School's out, so I have much more time to write. As always, thanks to everyone for reviewing! I'm hoping to get more than 10 per chapter now. ^_^ Greedy much? But they really do make me write so much faster..
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Oniko~Thanks! And you are completely right about having more room for interpretation. Lucky for us. ^_^
Voldersnort~ Hehe.. thanks! I'm very glad you enjoy this story.
Naru~ Thank you! And don't worry, I write in this practically every day.
bel-chan~ I'm glad you love it, but I'm sorry to report that this is a IY and K fic. ;_; Sorry. ^_^ Hope you'll keep reading anyway..
Dragon's Dreamchild~Hehe... thanks for the encouragement!
Incurable Romantic~ *grins* Thanks! And I like Ranma too, I was just watching a dubbed videotape of it. ^_^ The library waiting list is so incredibly long..
Akiko~Thanks! About it being "cute".. *smiles* anything with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru has got to be cute. ^_^
vernal equinox~ wow, you sound pretty hyper. Thanks for the encouragement.. ^_^;;;
:)~heh... thanks..
yonfi~ I'm not sure if this story will actually have 10 chapters, but thanks for the vote of confidence.
Emmi-chan~ What's Sims Hot Date? And no problem about not reviewing, I'm grateful for any reviews at all. ^_^
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Chapter 5
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When the sun rose the next morning, it took along the spirits of Kagome, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Things always look better in the morning, and this was certainly true for the three of them. Sesshomaru decided to indulge himself and spend the morning observing Kagome and Rin. Perhaps he could rid himself of this temporary obsession with the human. Thus assured, he was in a much more pleasant state of mind than the night before.
Inuyasha, after finally having given in to a fitful sleep, had a vivid dream in which he was a cub with his mother. It was really more of a memory, actually.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Inuyasha, do you know the land around you?"
"What do you mean, mama?" Baby Inuyasha looked up at his mother with brightly shining eyes.
His mother paused. "Well, if you were ever to become lost, would you know your way back to the castle?"
"I wouldn't get lost, mama." he assured her.
She chuckled. "No? What about yesterday? When you went hunting?"
A little pout. "I wasn't lost," he said lamely. "I just had some trouble coming back."
"No." She was adamant. "You have to learn. Starting tomorrow, we'll be having map lessons."
"Lessons?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inuyasha sat up straight, almost tumbling off his branch. "Map lessons.." he murmured. It was hard to remember. He had been only four or five when he'd painfully memorized all the landmarks around their land. And so much had happened since then..
"A lake!" This time, he did fall out of the tree, landing a foot away from Miroku, who was yawning and stretching.
"Inuyasha? What about a lake?"
Inuyasha scrambled up, "There's a lake somewhere around Sesshomaru's domain! He lives in my father's castle, and there was definitely a lake there."
Sango sat up, her eyes sparkling. "Great! That's another clue to go on. Do you remember anything else, Inuyasha?"
He glared sullenly. "No. It was a long time ago." He added defensively. Sango raised her hands. "Alright. Just asking."
Kagome smiled at Rin, but her insides were a swirl of nervous emotion. She'd been having those visions/memories all morning. Some were frustrating snatches that faded before she could properly examine them, and others practically knocked her over with their intensity. Many of them involved Inuyasha, but there was a fair amount of her life back home, also. Every time one occured, she'd feel a terrible sense of loss and loneliness. Rin seemed to be able to pick up on the feelings Kagome was experiencing. She'd been quiet all morning, only breaking the silence to ask questions about the words she was painstakinly forming with her little hands. Kagome didn't want to give her such dull work as copying simple words over and over, but that was all she could handle at the moment.
Sesshomaru looked on from a chair in the corner. He had been almost surprised when Kagome had told Rin that their lessons were to take place indoors that day. For the past week that the lessons had been going on, the two had spent every day outside, taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Weather like today. Sesshomaru frowned. There was something wrong with the human girl. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but she looked unwell. One moment she would be smiling down at Rin and helping her trace a word, the next she would be sitting back in her chair, looking drained and unbearably sad. There was something going on.. and Sesshomaru was determined to find out. Nothing was going to happen in front of him with him knowing everything there was to know about it.
Sango looked skeptically at the scene in front of her. Inuyasha had caught the old trail of Sesshomaru's group, and had been in an almost happy mood for about two hours. But then the trail had stopped abruptly, and now Miroku and him were arguing fiercely in front of her.
"That way!"
"No! This way!"
That had been going on for half an hour already, and Sango was getting fed up. "You think this will help Kagome?" she yelled at them.
The two stopped their argument suddenly, surprised that Sango, who had been quiet for the past day or so, had finally spoken. Once started, she couldn't seem to stop.
"I mean, she's the best friend I have, alright? And you two idiots are wasting time having a pointless fight when she could be in grave danger right now! I thought you cared about her!"
The two subjects in question were definitely beginning to look ashamed. "Sorry." they muttered in unison. Shippo hopped off a tree behind them. "I saw something! I saw something! I-"
Inuyasha grabbed the little kitsune by the shoulders. "What?!"
Sesshomaru walked up to Kagome and Rin. After a couple of hours of watching Rin become increasingly frustrated and Kagome drifting from one phase of mind to the next, he'd finally given up on observing. "Rin, go play outside." Rin looked up, startled. "But Sessho-sama, it's raining!" she exclaimed. He was irritated to find that she was right. In the past hour or so, the weather had gone from pleasant to slightly threatening. "Well, go to your room then." Seeing her crestfallen face, he added relunctantly. "There's a surprise there."
She brightened immediately and scampered off with a backward wave. "Thank you, Sessho-sama!"
Kagome raised an eyebrow, out of her dream world for the moment. "There's something in there for her, Sesshomaru-sama?"
"There is now." he grumbled.
Kagome smiled. "That's very sweet of you! Rin likes surprises and new things."
"Hm.." he watched her with a calculating look. Kagome looked back nervously. "Something wrong?"
"No.." he said absently. "I've just made up my mind about something."
Inuyasha glared back impatiently. "We're almost there! Hurry up!"
Shippo groaned. "We've been walking forever!" he complained. "Can't we rest for just a little while? The rain is so cold!"
"Don't you want to find her?!"
"He's right." Miroku said, defending Shippo. "We have to be rested for when we arrive. Suppose we have to fight our way to her?" Inuyasha treated the entire group to another glare, then retreated to a nearby tree, muttering something about weakling humans.
"Kagome-san," Sesshomaru said. She looked up, surprised at the expression in his eyes. She couldn't quite make out what it was, and if she didn't know better, she would have thought it was happiness. But of course, Sesshomaru was a cold blooded demon. She doubted that he was prone to a 'weak' emotion like cheeriness. And when he told her the news, she was sure that it wasn't delight. "I'm sorry to say this," he said, not looking her in the eye. "But.. Inuyasha is dead."
Kagome gasped, feeling the earth spin around her. "Dead?" she asked, dazed. "What- what happened?"
Sesshomaru looked at her, and said gently. "Well, it seems he was on his way here when he was attacked by a water demon near a lake. The demon pulled him under water, and his body never showed up. I'm sorry."
Kagome felt her eyes well up with tears. "This is weird," she rasped. "I mean, I don't even remember him..that well." Sesshomaru pulled her against him in a hug. "It'll be all right. It's an awful tragedy." he whispered. "I know you must miss him. But you know, I'm sure that Inuyasha would want you to be safe. So, if you'd like, I would be honored if you would live here, at least until you feel ready to go back to your home."
Kagome buried her face in his shoulder. "Thank you," she said meekly. "You are so kind to me." He stroked her hair comfortingly. 'But..' Kagome looked up. "Sesshomaru-sama," she said tentatively. "What happened to the others?"
If Kagome was in her usual state of mind, she might have noticed that Sesshomaru stiffened slightly. As it were, however..
Sesshomaru pulled her a little closer. "Well," he began. "This is how it happened. Jaken realized that another demon was close to my grounds, so he went to investigate. When he reached Myst Lake, he noticed a disturbance in the middle. He could only recognize Inuyasha's figure before the monster took him. Jaken says that there wasn't anyone else in the campsite." Kagome frowned. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sesshomaru, but the story didn't sound very plausible. Sesshomaru noticed the doubt flash across her face and added, "Jaken says that by inspecting the site, he thinks that the rest of the group were off hunting for their next meal. However, he scouted the surrounding lands, and didn't find a trace of them. We think that either demons got hold of them also, or that they are lost." Kagome whimpered. She'd hoped that if she wouldn't have to chance to see Inuyasha, she'd at least meet her old companions again. "Don't worry," Sesshomaru reassured. "If they are still alive and we find out, I will send help to them immdiately."
Kagome nodded. The news of Inuyasha's demise seemed to have taken a large toll on her, Sesshomaru was irritated to note. Perhaps she'd feel better after a rest. Sesshomaru put a steadying hand on her back and said soothingly, "You need to sleep. I know this must upset you greatly, and I'm sorry it happened. He was my brother.." Kagome turned. "Of course," she said softly. "I almost forgot. Sesshomaru-sama, forgive me. I've been.. selfish. You must be terribly upset also. After all, your brother.." Sesshomaru managed a tragic expression. "Don't worry about me, Kagome-san. Now, all that matters is you feel safe and welcome with me." Impulsively, Kagome reached forward and hugged Sesshomaru, her arms around his neck. "I'm very grateful that you found me." she murmured. She couldn't see Sesshomaru's malicious smile from her vantage point, which, actually, was the best for Kagome. She would have been very troubled from the wicked expression on his face. For Sesshomaru was planning on exactly how to make his fictional story about his halfling brother completely and utterly genuine.
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Ending Notes:
This chapter took a pretty long time.. I hope it makes sense and isn't too abrupt. And I might have sort of messed up on Sesshomaru's character this time. Hopefully, you guys won't think so. Anyway, as always, review, review, review! Please! Anyway, happy new year to everyone! (review!)
12/29/01
C
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Oniko~Thanks! And you are completely right about having more room for interpretation. Lucky for us. ^_^
Voldersnort~ Hehe.. thanks! I'm very glad you enjoy this story.
Naru~ Thank you! And don't worry, I write in this practically every day.
bel-chan~ I'm glad you love it, but I'm sorry to report that this is a IY and K fic. ;_; Sorry. ^_^ Hope you'll keep reading anyway..
Dragon's Dreamchild~Hehe... thanks for the encouragement!
Incurable Romantic~ *grins* Thanks! And I like Ranma too, I was just watching a dubbed videotape of it. ^_^ The library waiting list is so incredibly long..
Akiko~Thanks! About it being "cute".. *smiles* anything with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru has got to be cute. ^_^
vernal equinox~ wow, you sound pretty hyper. Thanks for the encouragement.. ^_^;;;
:)~heh... thanks..
yonfi~ I'm not sure if this story will actually have 10 chapters, but thanks for the vote of confidence.
Emmi-chan~ What's Sims Hot Date? And no problem about not reviewing, I'm grateful for any reviews at all. ^_^
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Chapter 5
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When the sun rose the next morning, it took along the spirits of Kagome, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Things always look better in the morning, and this was certainly true for the three of them. Sesshomaru decided to indulge himself and spend the morning observing Kagome and Rin. Perhaps he could rid himself of this temporary obsession with the human. Thus assured, he was in a much more pleasant state of mind than the night before.
Inuyasha, after finally having given in to a fitful sleep, had a vivid dream in which he was a cub with his mother. It was really more of a memory, actually.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Inuyasha, do you know the land around you?"
"What do you mean, mama?" Baby Inuyasha looked up at his mother with brightly shining eyes.
His mother paused. "Well, if you were ever to become lost, would you know your way back to the castle?"
"I wouldn't get lost, mama." he assured her.
She chuckled. "No? What about yesterday? When you went hunting?"
A little pout. "I wasn't lost," he said lamely. "I just had some trouble coming back."
"No." She was adamant. "You have to learn. Starting tomorrow, we'll be having map lessons."
"Lessons?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inuyasha sat up straight, almost tumbling off his branch. "Map lessons.." he murmured. It was hard to remember. He had been only four or five when he'd painfully memorized all the landmarks around their land. And so much had happened since then..
"A lake!" This time, he did fall out of the tree, landing a foot away from Miroku, who was yawning and stretching.
"Inuyasha? What about a lake?"
Inuyasha scrambled up, "There's a lake somewhere around Sesshomaru's domain! He lives in my father's castle, and there was definitely a lake there."
Sango sat up, her eyes sparkling. "Great! That's another clue to go on. Do you remember anything else, Inuyasha?"
He glared sullenly. "No. It was a long time ago." He added defensively. Sango raised her hands. "Alright. Just asking."
Kagome smiled at Rin, but her insides were a swirl of nervous emotion. She'd been having those visions/memories all morning. Some were frustrating snatches that faded before she could properly examine them, and others practically knocked her over with their intensity. Many of them involved Inuyasha, but there was a fair amount of her life back home, also. Every time one occured, she'd feel a terrible sense of loss and loneliness. Rin seemed to be able to pick up on the feelings Kagome was experiencing. She'd been quiet all morning, only breaking the silence to ask questions about the words she was painstakinly forming with her little hands. Kagome didn't want to give her such dull work as copying simple words over and over, but that was all she could handle at the moment.
Sesshomaru looked on from a chair in the corner. He had been almost surprised when Kagome had told Rin that their lessons were to take place indoors that day. For the past week that the lessons had been going on, the two had spent every day outside, taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Weather like today. Sesshomaru frowned. There was something wrong with the human girl. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but she looked unwell. One moment she would be smiling down at Rin and helping her trace a word, the next she would be sitting back in her chair, looking drained and unbearably sad. There was something going on.. and Sesshomaru was determined to find out. Nothing was going to happen in front of him with him knowing everything there was to know about it.
Sango looked skeptically at the scene in front of her. Inuyasha had caught the old trail of Sesshomaru's group, and had been in an almost happy mood for about two hours. But then the trail had stopped abruptly, and now Miroku and him were arguing fiercely in front of her.
"That way!"
"No! This way!"
That had been going on for half an hour already, and Sango was getting fed up. "You think this will help Kagome?" she yelled at them.
The two stopped their argument suddenly, surprised that Sango, who had been quiet for the past day or so, had finally spoken. Once started, she couldn't seem to stop.
"I mean, she's the best friend I have, alright? And you two idiots are wasting time having a pointless fight when she could be in grave danger right now! I thought you cared about her!"
The two subjects in question were definitely beginning to look ashamed. "Sorry." they muttered in unison. Shippo hopped off a tree behind them. "I saw something! I saw something! I-"
Inuyasha grabbed the little kitsune by the shoulders. "What?!"
Sesshomaru walked up to Kagome and Rin. After a couple of hours of watching Rin become increasingly frustrated and Kagome drifting from one phase of mind to the next, he'd finally given up on observing. "Rin, go play outside." Rin looked up, startled. "But Sessho-sama, it's raining!" she exclaimed. He was irritated to find that she was right. In the past hour or so, the weather had gone from pleasant to slightly threatening. "Well, go to your room then." Seeing her crestfallen face, he added relunctantly. "There's a surprise there."
She brightened immediately and scampered off with a backward wave. "Thank you, Sessho-sama!"
Kagome raised an eyebrow, out of her dream world for the moment. "There's something in there for her, Sesshomaru-sama?"
"There is now." he grumbled.
Kagome smiled. "That's very sweet of you! Rin likes surprises and new things."
"Hm.." he watched her with a calculating look. Kagome looked back nervously. "Something wrong?"
"No.." he said absently. "I've just made up my mind about something."
Inuyasha glared back impatiently. "We're almost there! Hurry up!"
Shippo groaned. "We've been walking forever!" he complained. "Can't we rest for just a little while? The rain is so cold!"
"Don't you want to find her?!"
"He's right." Miroku said, defending Shippo. "We have to be rested for when we arrive. Suppose we have to fight our way to her?" Inuyasha treated the entire group to another glare, then retreated to a nearby tree, muttering something about weakling humans.
"Kagome-san," Sesshomaru said. She looked up, surprised at the expression in his eyes. She couldn't quite make out what it was, and if she didn't know better, she would have thought it was happiness. But of course, Sesshomaru was a cold blooded demon. She doubted that he was prone to a 'weak' emotion like cheeriness. And when he told her the news, she was sure that it wasn't delight. "I'm sorry to say this," he said, not looking her in the eye. "But.. Inuyasha is dead."
Kagome gasped, feeling the earth spin around her. "Dead?" she asked, dazed. "What- what happened?"
Sesshomaru looked at her, and said gently. "Well, it seems he was on his way here when he was attacked by a water demon near a lake. The demon pulled him under water, and his body never showed up. I'm sorry."
Kagome felt her eyes well up with tears. "This is weird," she rasped. "I mean, I don't even remember him..that well." Sesshomaru pulled her against him in a hug. "It'll be all right. It's an awful tragedy." he whispered. "I know you must miss him. But you know, I'm sure that Inuyasha would want you to be safe. So, if you'd like, I would be honored if you would live here, at least until you feel ready to go back to your home."
Kagome buried her face in his shoulder. "Thank you," she said meekly. "You are so kind to me." He stroked her hair comfortingly. 'But..' Kagome looked up. "Sesshomaru-sama," she said tentatively. "What happened to the others?"
If Kagome was in her usual state of mind, she might have noticed that Sesshomaru stiffened slightly. As it were, however..
Sesshomaru pulled her a little closer. "Well," he began. "This is how it happened. Jaken realized that another demon was close to my grounds, so he went to investigate. When he reached Myst Lake, he noticed a disturbance in the middle. He could only recognize Inuyasha's figure before the monster took him. Jaken says that there wasn't anyone else in the campsite." Kagome frowned. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sesshomaru, but the story didn't sound very plausible. Sesshomaru noticed the doubt flash across her face and added, "Jaken says that by inspecting the site, he thinks that the rest of the group were off hunting for their next meal. However, he scouted the surrounding lands, and didn't find a trace of them. We think that either demons got hold of them also, or that they are lost." Kagome whimpered. She'd hoped that if she wouldn't have to chance to see Inuyasha, she'd at least meet her old companions again. "Don't worry," Sesshomaru reassured. "If they are still alive and we find out, I will send help to them immdiately."
Kagome nodded. The news of Inuyasha's demise seemed to have taken a large toll on her, Sesshomaru was irritated to note. Perhaps she'd feel better after a rest. Sesshomaru put a steadying hand on her back and said soothingly, "You need to sleep. I know this must upset you greatly, and I'm sorry it happened. He was my brother.." Kagome turned. "Of course," she said softly. "I almost forgot. Sesshomaru-sama, forgive me. I've been.. selfish. You must be terribly upset also. After all, your brother.." Sesshomaru managed a tragic expression. "Don't worry about me, Kagome-san. Now, all that matters is you feel safe and welcome with me." Impulsively, Kagome reached forward and hugged Sesshomaru, her arms around his neck. "I'm very grateful that you found me." she murmured. She couldn't see Sesshomaru's malicious smile from her vantage point, which, actually, was the best for Kagome. She would have been very troubled from the wicked expression on his face. For Sesshomaru was planning on exactly how to make his fictional story about his halfling brother completely and utterly genuine.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ending Notes:
This chapter took a pretty long time.. I hope it makes sense and isn't too abrupt. And I might have sort of messed up on Sesshomaru's character this time. Hopefully, you guys won't think so. Anyway, as always, review, review, review! Please! Anyway, happy new year to everyone! (review!)
12/29/01
C