Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha.
The Most:
Happiness
It didn't happen often.
The sky was a cloudless sea of blue, as beautiful in its own way as it was dull. For ages it stretched on, across distances even his keen eyes could not make out, distances he could never run, distances he could not fathom. It was a reminder, sometime, of his insignificance, that endless blue. But not this time.
With a casual eye he surveyed the field. The blossoms danced on a playful breeze – lupins on their tall stalks, white mountain lilies with flowers shaped like long cups, delicate wild pinks on hair thin stems of bright green, star-shaped blue gentians surrounded by glistening leaves, and the odd cherry blossom. The combined scent was overwhelming and almost dangerously intoxicating. So he watched from a dwarf of a hill atop the half-buried boulder he had made into a seat. The others sat and laughed and marveled a distance below him. It was their idea to stop here – he noted the suns position in the sky – in the middle of the day. They could have been looking for shards instead, but even so he was oddly content just to watch them.
It didn't happen often.
It wouldn't have happened, actually, if she hadn't turned her eyes on him. She could convince him into anything – not that he would ever let her know. It was a weakness, and a foolish one, but he couldn't afford to rid himself of it or he might rid himself of her as well. He snorted, and looked away from the scene below him. When did I become so weak? He wondered as his eyes were drawn back to the little group, to her. The thought wasn't an angry one, as once it would have been. It was merely speculative. It doesn't really matter, does it…? That odd, content feeling washed over him again.
In the field below him the others were laughing, flowers decorating their hair and clothes. They looked to be having fun. But he felt little desire to join them. He asked himself, not impatiently, how much longer before they could leave to search for more shards.
He blinked. She was looking at him, her head cocked just slightly, questioning. The others didn't notice the direction of her stare, and they didn't try to stop her when she stood and made her way towards him. He wasn't sure whether he ought to be surprised at her impending presence. It wasn't odd, certainly, to find her near him, but down there she had looked… happy.
A smile lit her face as she sat beside him and placed a flower behind his tufted ear. Before it could rest there long he removed the plant with a flick of his ear. It fell into her lap and she fingered the flower as laughter shook her frame. It was a gentian, he noticed, with blue petals and an even bluer center. She met his eyes and smiled.
"It's beautiful here, don't you think?"
He didn't want to answer. She was only trying to get him to speak, he knew, it almost didn't matter what he said. "You obviously do. That's why we've stopped."
"Do you mind so much?" she asked curiously.
His eyes slid in her direction almost irritably, though really he wasn't irritated at all. "What?"
"That we've taken a break. Do you really mind? In the long run an hour or so won't affect our progress much."
Of course he knew that. What was an hour to an entire week? Or even a day? It was a stupid question, but he couldn't find fault in her for asking it. Another time he would have.
"You're in a good mood," he said, in an attempt to change the subject. She allowed herself to be diverted. It must not have been important, then.
"Uh-huh," she nodded. "Being here makes me happy." A petal from the flower came away between two of her fingers. She let it go and the wind swept it away. "What about you, Inu-Yasha?"
Now her earlier dismissal of the first subject became clear. She was planning on asking him another of those ridiculous questions. He was sure of that fact, though not of the logic behind it. She was as much a mystery to him as was the sky. Certainly, there were depths to her that he might never see.
"When are you going to stop asking me those questions?"
"I'll stop when I'm satisfied," she told him in mock solemnity, plucking another petal and keeping it tucked away in her hand. "So… what makes you the happiest?"
Happiness. It wasn't something he was familiar with or something that often crossed his mind. He had seen others laugh and dance and smile. And he knew those for signs of happiness, but… they didn't apply to him. He had only ever laughed out of spite, only ever danced the dance of battle, only ever smiled in bitterness. It was strange. For the first time in his life he wondered, am I happy? Have I ever been?
Perhaps when he was a child, before death claimed his mother and father, before the walls of his sheltered life were torn apart. But then he had been too young to be anything but happy. He hadn't known any better. What was happiness, then, if only innocent minds could truly know it?
Suddenly he found himself staring into a sea of endless blue. He blinked. It wasn't the sky, but a pair of eyes. She had leaned over and was peering into his face. And she was awfully close. Startled, he jerked away and her eyes widened, pink tingeing her cheeks. She was embarrassed. He could see it and read it in her scent, but for the life of him he didn't know why.
"Sorry," she muttered, staring at her hands where they sat clasped in her lap. The flower, he noted, had lost all of its petals. "You didn't answer for a while…"
He studied her for a moment. "You usually answer first…" If anything her blush only deepened.
"What makes me happiest? Well…" she snuck a glance at him. "I guess it's… times like these. When I can learn a little more about you. That makes me happiest." He could only stare at her with wide eyes. That makes her happy? Finally she looked up at him. "Well, what about you?"
"I… I don't know," he told her, truthfully. "I'm not sure if I've ever been happy… how do you know? How can you tell when you're happy?"
"Oh… Inu-Yasha, I-I'm sorry…"
She was looking at her clenched hands again. He gave a snort and folded his arms across his chest.
"Now you're just contradicting yourself. You said this kind of thing made you happy."
"Well… it does… but I can't be happy when you're miserable."
She stood suddenly, and opened her fists over his head. Blue petals fluttered over him and nestled into his white mane. He blinked up at her in surprise, but she was already walking away. She grinned over her shoulder at him.
It was strange. For the first time in his life he wondered, is this what happiness feels like?
He got up and went after her.
A/N: Well… not exactly under a week… was it? *Sighs* I would have had this up sooner, but I was busy… Ah, well, I'm oddly pleased with the way this one came out (which probably means you won't like it as much) Thanks to all those who reviewed!! Tell me what you think of this chapter, and I'll see you next time…
