Title: Falling Stars
Author: Celyia (ladycelyia@aol.com)
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi continues to own all. :-)
Dedication: To all those who enjoy the journey.
Note: Okay. Excuse me while I hide. *blush* Please try not to throw stones! Next chapter is better! I promise! (I hope) *blush*
-Cel.
Chapter 4
Kagome could no longer contain the giggle that had been tickling in her throat as she listened to Shippou explain matters, as they stood, to her.
"What did I say?" the child asked, his auburn eyebrows knitted together in vexation as he waited for the girl to explain her rudeness.
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of our own legends, Shippou-chan…"
"Legends, huh," Shippou grinned as he shook his head slowly. Affectionately, he laid his head upon her chest to soften the impact of his next words. "Dumb humans give legends, but youkai tell the truth."
She nodded sagely, trying to bite the smile that seemed to be impatient to come out to play.
"A smart youkai, though, probably knows all the legends that the humans tell," Kagome grinned as Shippou gave her a completely skeptical look.
"Feh," the child declared, sounding so much like the dog hanyou that Shippou claimed to hate that Kagome had to hide her sudden laughter behind the façade of a cough. "No smart youkai would waste his time learning something that wasn't true."
Kagome smiled archly at the child as she pulled a blanket out of her backpack. Her manner amused, she quietly tucked the blanket around Shippou's tiny body even as she formulated the answer for the question she knew would come up.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, Shippou-chan."
The kitsune, his lower lip thrust out in an infantile pout, tilted his head as he looked up at Kagome's face.
"Um. I was thinking…"
"Yeah, Shippou-chan?"
"Why," the child started, his voice begrudging yet filled with a curiousity that no longer could be suppressed, "would a smart youkai bother to learn all the human legends if they weren't real?"
"That," the girl responded as she leaned down to whisper confidentially into the furry ear, "is a good question."
* * *
It was quite a good question indeed, Sesshoumaru admitted grudgingly as he leaned against the smooth, nearly black bark of the tree.
With a shrug, he turned his attention to the girl, only to be taken off guard by the brightness of her sudden smile and the intelligence in her eyes. In truth, they were quite ordinary eyes, Sesshoumaru decided even as he found himself unable to pull his gaze away from the shining blue orbs.
"What more convenient way to find out how someone thinks?" the girl started softly, her voice even and logical. "By listening to the stories they hold dear, you get to know a part of them. Maybe even understand why they do things a certain way," she said smoothly, as if she had been expecting the question.
Sesshoumaru's habitual frown deepened as he realised he had been leaning slightly closer to hear the softly spoken words. Jerking back in disgust with himself, he quietly straightened his clothing to distract himself from the nonsense, even as his rebellious ears swiveled to hear more.
"Yeah," the kitsune replied, sounding completely bored.
The girl just laughed, the sound abrasive to his sensitive ears but oddly musical. "Okay, I see you are going to need an example here. How about this: what if I were to tell you where I come from, there were people who believed that the stars in the sky were actually their gods who have taken form?"
"Every moron knows that they are the souls of the dead in the heavens," the kitsune huffed, his eyes rolling at the girl's ignorance.
"But what does that tell you about the people?"
"They were stupid?"
Surprisingly, the girl didn't seem to get upset at the child's remarks. Instead, she just tapped the tips of the kitsune's nose playfully.
"Is that all it tells you Shippou-chan?" she asked, her voice low and sounding almost a little disappointed.
"No," Shippou responded immediately, his eyes searching her finely structured face for any clue on what the answer should be. "It tells me that … they believed in gods?"
The girl clapped her hands together in joy, the sound sudden and abrupt as it echoed through the night.
"Exactly! And now you know that, what else can you tell me?"
"Um. This is weird?"
Silently, unwittingly, Sesshoumaru agreed with the child's prognosis.
"And…?"
"Um. That you shouldn't go messing with their gods?" the child shrugged his tiny shoulders as he looked at the girl curiously.
"Perfect," the girl praised, bringing a small, begrudging smile to Shippou's face. "Now you know that if you were ever to visit these people, you may just find that one of the best ways to get along with them is to try to respect their gods."
It was an intriguing idea, Sesshoumaru admitted as he watched the kitsune's lack of interest in the girl's unconventional wisdom. But, the youkai lord amended as the child's head lifted towards the skies, it remains to be seen if there is anything to the supposition.
"Gods, huh," the kitsune spoke suddenly.
"Yeah. It is kinda weird, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Your mom and dad don't believe … " Shippou broke off suddenly, his words as halting as if a glass of ice water had been poured upon his vocal cords.
"Shippou? What's wrong?" the girl asked, the concern in her voice evident even to Sesshoumaru.
"The Thunde…"
"Shippou-chan, that wasn't them."
"But you saw it!" the kitsune insisted, his paw reaching towards the sky even as he bounded off the girl's lap. "That was them!"
The girl shook her head even as she grabbed onto the child's shoulders firmly. "I promise you, Shippou. That wasn't them. Haven't you ever seen a falling star before?"
Shippou shook his head even as his gaze turned towards the safety of the village. The demon lord wrinkled his nose, disgusted by the strong smell of fear emanating from the kitsune.
"C'mere," she said sweetly even as her arms pulled the child into her lap. "Close your eyes."
"I don't wanna," Shippou complained even as his pale lids fluttered closed.
"Now make a wish. But don't say it out loud!" the girl smiled, the nearly tangible sense of peace written on her face strangely alluring.
"Okay."
"Good," she murmured, her voice as light as the spring breeze. "See, not everyone sees a falling star so when you do, it means you get to make a wish."
"Um. Done," the little boy proclaimed as he hopped off the girl's lap. With a twist of her well-shaped lips, the girl tossed the kitsune an affronted look. "I'm gonna go… "
The girl nodded slowly, an amused look in her eye as she tucked the blanket around her body. "You better go tell Inuyasha to make a wish," she said softly. "You never know when he'll get the chance again."
The kitsune smiled, exhaling a sigh of relief as he realised the girl understood. "Yeah. I better. He'll mess it up if I don't tell him how it's done. C'mon."
Frowning harshly as a surge of ironic laughter rushed through his chest, Sesshoumaru watched as the girl just shook her head at the kitsune's rather transparent bid. So the girl's loyal little kitsune had more faith in Inuyasha's fighting skills than her own.
Interesting turn of events, he thought, a delicate black eyebrow arching as he watched her passive reaction.
"I'll be there in a few minutes, Shippou-chan. I just want to look for another falling star."
Shippou looked a bit dubious at the girl's words but only shrugged.
"You won't be long?"
"I'll be right there," the girl smiled, her eyes large and luminous in the starlight. White lids, heavily fringed with thick, silky lashes, fluttered closed as she raised her face towards the heavens.
Exhaling suddenly as he forced his gaze from the unfortunately beguiling woman, Sesshoumaru turned his attention towards the child who bounded so innocently away.
He stood there silently, unwilling to admit the uncertainty he felt deep inside as he saw the child disappear from view. It seemed just so… base to kill the woman right here when the child could come back at any second.
With a glance towards the girl, whose dark head now rested against the thick trunk of the tree lazily, Sesshoumaru hesitated in the shadows. Certainly he had nothing to lose by postponing the inevitable just moments more.
It would have been exhilarating, his traitorous mind decided as he watched the girl commune with the darkness, to finally have met a worthy foe. Unable to restrain his short laugh as he looked the girl over, Sesshoumaru berated himself for giving her that much credit.
After listening to her talk, he was never more certain that her victory earlier had been merely a fluke. That, of course, didn't repeal her impending doom but it was oddly comforting in its own way. Humans were weak, demons were strong, and he? He was the most powerful of them all.
Yes. For the first time in several hours, all was right in the world.
Unbidden, a merciless smile played almost fearfully about his lips as he stalked towards her, waiting to hear the shriek of fear she'd utter as she realised her pitiful and meaningless human life was at an end.
But the half-smile melted away as no reaction came.
Frowning, he nudged the girl's leg with his shoe.
Grumbling as she pushed the delicately shod foot away with a determined hand, the woman turned her back towards the pissed off youkai and pulled the blanket over her head. With a contented sigh muffled by the thick layer of wool, the petite brunette fell back into the peace of the deeply unconscious.
Response to reviews:
Steph: Eeek! Sorry to disappoint! Hopefully you won't mind too much what happens. :-)
Winter: Thanks! Wow. Go ahead and make me blush, will you! Thanks again!
Brooke: Yes, ma'am! This one may take a little while to finish (if only due to length), but as I've already written the last couple chapters, I don't see finishing it to be a problem. :-)
Waku-chan: Thank you! Hope you like!
Alyson: Sounds kind of omnious to me. Hope that's an "Oooo" of approval. :-)
Thanks, guys!
Author: Celyia (ladycelyia@aol.com)
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi continues to own all. :-)
Dedication: To all those who enjoy the journey.
Note: Okay. Excuse me while I hide. *blush* Please try not to throw stones! Next chapter is better! I promise! (I hope) *blush*
-Cel.
Chapter 4
Kagome could no longer contain the giggle that had been tickling in her throat as she listened to Shippou explain matters, as they stood, to her.
"What did I say?" the child asked, his auburn eyebrows knitted together in vexation as he waited for the girl to explain her rudeness.
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of our own legends, Shippou-chan…"
"Legends, huh," Shippou grinned as he shook his head slowly. Affectionately, he laid his head upon her chest to soften the impact of his next words. "Dumb humans give legends, but youkai tell the truth."
She nodded sagely, trying to bite the smile that seemed to be impatient to come out to play.
"A smart youkai, though, probably knows all the legends that the humans tell," Kagome grinned as Shippou gave her a completely skeptical look.
"Feh," the child declared, sounding so much like the dog hanyou that Shippou claimed to hate that Kagome had to hide her sudden laughter behind the façade of a cough. "No smart youkai would waste his time learning something that wasn't true."
Kagome smiled archly at the child as she pulled a blanket out of her backpack. Her manner amused, she quietly tucked the blanket around Shippou's tiny body even as she formulated the answer for the question she knew would come up.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, Shippou-chan."
The kitsune, his lower lip thrust out in an infantile pout, tilted his head as he looked up at Kagome's face.
"Um. I was thinking…"
"Yeah, Shippou-chan?"
"Why," the child started, his voice begrudging yet filled with a curiousity that no longer could be suppressed, "would a smart youkai bother to learn all the human legends if they weren't real?"
"That," the girl responded as she leaned down to whisper confidentially into the furry ear, "is a good question."
It was quite a good question indeed, Sesshoumaru admitted grudgingly as he leaned against the smooth, nearly black bark of the tree.
With a shrug, he turned his attention to the girl, only to be taken off guard by the brightness of her sudden smile and the intelligence in her eyes. In truth, they were quite ordinary eyes, Sesshoumaru decided even as he found himself unable to pull his gaze away from the shining blue orbs.
"What more convenient way to find out how someone thinks?" the girl started softly, her voice even and logical. "By listening to the stories they hold dear, you get to know a part of them. Maybe even understand why they do things a certain way," she said smoothly, as if she had been expecting the question.
Sesshoumaru's habitual frown deepened as he realised he had been leaning slightly closer to hear the softly spoken words. Jerking back in disgust with himself, he quietly straightened his clothing to distract himself from the nonsense, even as his rebellious ears swiveled to hear more.
"Yeah," the kitsune replied, sounding completely bored.
The girl just laughed, the sound abrasive to his sensitive ears but oddly musical. "Okay, I see you are going to need an example here. How about this: what if I were to tell you where I come from, there were people who believed that the stars in the sky were actually their gods who have taken form?"
"Every moron knows that they are the souls of the dead in the heavens," the kitsune huffed, his eyes rolling at the girl's ignorance.
"But what does that tell you about the people?"
"They were stupid?"
Surprisingly, the girl didn't seem to get upset at the child's remarks. Instead, she just tapped the tips of the kitsune's nose playfully.
"Is that all it tells you Shippou-chan?" she asked, her voice low and sounding almost a little disappointed.
"No," Shippou responded immediately, his eyes searching her finely structured face for any clue on what the answer should be. "It tells me that … they believed in gods?"
The girl clapped her hands together in joy, the sound sudden and abrupt as it echoed through the night.
"Exactly! And now you know that, what else can you tell me?"
"Um. This is weird?"
Silently, unwittingly, Sesshoumaru agreed with the child's prognosis.
"And…?"
"Um. That you shouldn't go messing with their gods?" the child shrugged his tiny shoulders as he looked at the girl curiously.
"Perfect," the girl praised, bringing a small, begrudging smile to Shippou's face. "Now you know that if you were ever to visit these people, you may just find that one of the best ways to get along with them is to try to respect their gods."
It was an intriguing idea, Sesshoumaru admitted as he watched the kitsune's lack of interest in the girl's unconventional wisdom. But, the youkai lord amended as the child's head lifted towards the skies, it remains to be seen if there is anything to the supposition.
"Gods, huh," the kitsune spoke suddenly.
"Yeah. It is kinda weird, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Your mom and dad don't believe … " Shippou broke off suddenly, his words as halting as if a glass of ice water had been poured upon his vocal cords.
"Shippou? What's wrong?" the girl asked, the concern in her voice evident even to Sesshoumaru.
"The Thunde…"
"Shippou-chan, that wasn't them."
"But you saw it!" the kitsune insisted, his paw reaching towards the sky even as he bounded off the girl's lap. "That was them!"
The girl shook her head even as she grabbed onto the child's shoulders firmly. "I promise you, Shippou. That wasn't them. Haven't you ever seen a falling star before?"
Shippou shook his head even as his gaze turned towards the safety of the village. The demon lord wrinkled his nose, disgusted by the strong smell of fear emanating from the kitsune.
"C'mere," she said sweetly even as her arms pulled the child into her lap. "Close your eyes."
"I don't wanna," Shippou complained even as his pale lids fluttered closed.
"Now make a wish. But don't say it out loud!" the girl smiled, the nearly tangible sense of peace written on her face strangely alluring.
"Okay."
"Good," she murmured, her voice as light as the spring breeze. "See, not everyone sees a falling star so when you do, it means you get to make a wish."
"Um. Done," the little boy proclaimed as he hopped off the girl's lap. With a twist of her well-shaped lips, the girl tossed the kitsune an affronted look. "I'm gonna go… "
The girl nodded slowly, an amused look in her eye as she tucked the blanket around her body. "You better go tell Inuyasha to make a wish," she said softly. "You never know when he'll get the chance again."
The kitsune smiled, exhaling a sigh of relief as he realised the girl understood. "Yeah. I better. He'll mess it up if I don't tell him how it's done. C'mon."
Frowning harshly as a surge of ironic laughter rushed through his chest, Sesshoumaru watched as the girl just shook her head at the kitsune's rather transparent bid. So the girl's loyal little kitsune had more faith in Inuyasha's fighting skills than her own.
Interesting turn of events, he thought, a delicate black eyebrow arching as he watched her passive reaction.
"I'll be there in a few minutes, Shippou-chan. I just want to look for another falling star."
Shippou looked a bit dubious at the girl's words but only shrugged.
"You won't be long?"
"I'll be right there," the girl smiled, her eyes large and luminous in the starlight. White lids, heavily fringed with thick, silky lashes, fluttered closed as she raised her face towards the heavens.
Exhaling suddenly as he forced his gaze from the unfortunately beguiling woman, Sesshoumaru turned his attention towards the child who bounded so innocently away.
He stood there silently, unwilling to admit the uncertainty he felt deep inside as he saw the child disappear from view. It seemed just so… base to kill the woman right here when the child could come back at any second.
With a glance towards the girl, whose dark head now rested against the thick trunk of the tree lazily, Sesshoumaru hesitated in the shadows. Certainly he had nothing to lose by postponing the inevitable just moments more.
It would have been exhilarating, his traitorous mind decided as he watched the girl commune with the darkness, to finally have met a worthy foe. Unable to restrain his short laugh as he looked the girl over, Sesshoumaru berated himself for giving her that much credit.
After listening to her talk, he was never more certain that her victory earlier had been merely a fluke. That, of course, didn't repeal her impending doom but it was oddly comforting in its own way. Humans were weak, demons were strong, and he? He was the most powerful of them all.
Yes. For the first time in several hours, all was right in the world.
Unbidden, a merciless smile played almost fearfully about his lips as he stalked towards her, waiting to hear the shriek of fear she'd utter as she realised her pitiful and meaningless human life was at an end.
But the half-smile melted away as no reaction came.
Frowning, he nudged the girl's leg with his shoe.
Grumbling as she pushed the delicately shod foot away with a determined hand, the woman turned her back towards the pissed off youkai and pulled the blanket over her head. With a contented sigh muffled by the thick layer of wool, the petite brunette fell back into the peace of the deeply unconscious.
Response to reviews:
Steph: Eeek! Sorry to disappoint! Hopefully you won't mind too much what happens. :-)
Winter: Thanks! Wow. Go ahead and make me blush, will you! Thanks again!
Brooke: Yes, ma'am! This one may take a little while to finish (if only due to length), but as I've already written the last couple chapters, I don't see finishing it to be a problem. :-)
Waku-chan: Thank you! Hope you like!
Alyson: Sounds kind of omnious to me. Hope that's an "Oooo" of approval. :-)
Thanks, guys!