Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I still didn't own Inuyasha, or the rights to any of Evanescence's music. Somehow, I doubt they've decided to be generous since then.
Bring me to life
Sesshoumaru regretted it the moment he stepped into the clearing, Rin and Jaken trailing after him.
Inuyasha's human wench was submerged to her shoulders in the pool he had brought Rin to bathe in. They had approached from upwind, and he hadn't sensed the human, her light scent drowned in the sulfur of the hot spring. He stopped, but before he could turn away Rin broke through the treeline and saw the bathing woman.
"Kagome-neechan!" the child trotted forward happily, pleased to see her human friend.
Sesshoumaru resigned himself to the inevitable as the human woman lifted her head, a smile crossing her face.
"Hello Rin."
How can you see into my eyes like open doorsLeading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb without a soul
My spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home
Sesshoumaru was mildly disturbed.
He had withdrawn from the vicinity of the hotspring, leaving Rin to bathe in the company of the older human, but somehow, the memory of the woman's face haunted him.
Rin had been delighted with her friend's presence, so much so that Sesshoumaru had been unable to refuse her the small pleasure of bathing with the other woman. Besides, his ward needed cleaning; she had begun to reek, offending the youkai lord's sense of smell, and the woman was cleanly enough to serve as a suitable bath attendant for the girl. But even as he had informed them of his decision and withdrawn from the clearing, his sensitive nose had picked up an unexpected scent.
Tears.
The woman had been crying before their arrival. A faint memory of his father's second mate drifted through his mind, connecting reddened eyes with the human emotion of sadness, which expressed itself in noisy tears. Kagome's eyes had been very red.
Sesshoumaru was disturbed by the fact that he cared.
Why had she been crying?
Wake me up inside Wake me up insideCall my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become
Kagome tried hard to smile for Rin.
It wasn't as difficult as she had been expecting when she first saw the young girl. Rin's cheer was infectious, making her forget for a brief time the anguish that had been consuming her.
Strange, but her first thought on seeing Sesshoumaru hadn't been fear. Was she so numb, so damaged, that she couldn't fear someone who tried repeatedly to kill her?
Rin trotted back to her, presenting her with a flower plucked from the bank. Kagome smiled, and tucked the flower behind the girl's ear.
"Now Rin looks pretty!" Her action earned her a beautiful smile.
Or maybe she just couldn't fear anyone who could raise such a wonderful child.
Now that I know what I'm without you can't just leave meBreathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life
Kagome found herself reluctant to leave the spring and return Rin to her guardian. The child's presence was helping to push away the numbness that was threatening to consume her. No one could feel too unhappy in the presence of such unstoppable cheer. It reminded her that there was joy to be found in life. And how desperately she needed reminding.
Wake me up inside Wake me up insideCall my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become
They followed the flickering light of the fire that Jaken had lit towards the camp that Sesshoumaru had set for the night. A small rabbit was roasting over the flames, stronger proof than words of the youkai lord's feelings for his ward.
Youkai needed neither warmth nor cooked food. Humans needed both.
Rin launched herself away from Kagome, wrapping her stubby arms around her protector's legs, ignoring the grumbling of the toad creature sulking in the flickering light of the flames. Kagome felt a pang shoot through her at the look in the lord's eyes as he looked down. How often had she wished to see golden eyes look at her like that?
She turned to head back to her own camp.
"Stay and eat dinner with Rin."
Bring me to lifeI've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life
Kagome found herself seated on a rotting log, a piece of well-cooked rabbit in one hand. How had this happened?
Sesshoumaru's invitation - order, she admitted to herself - had shocked her. She had been surprised earlier at the spring when he had left Rin in her care, but that was understandable. Bathing a human child was a task below the dignity of the chilly youkai lord. But allowing an extra human to take a meal in his presence? Somewhere behind the numbness that was trying to envelop her, she was stunned.
But she had accepted. She was procrastinating, she knew, but she wanted to stay with Rin a while longer, wanted to let herself be distracted from what was waiting for her back at her camp, from Inuyasha.
And so she sat across a campfire from Sesshoumaru, eating rabbit, watching Rin scamper about the clearing tormenting Jaken.
And she felt marginally better.
Frozen inside without your touch without your loveDarling only you are the life among the dead
"Why were you crying, earlier?" The question was almost indifferent, a mere something to fill up silence.
Even though she doubted he cared, she felt the need to tell him, to tell someone.
"I've decided not to love Inuyasha anymore."
There was a moment of silence. She wasn't going to be the one to break it.
"Is it that simple?"
A bitter smile crossed her face. "It's easier than the alternative."
More silence.
"I have long believed that he was undeserving of your loyalty. I wish you luck."
All this time I can't believe I couldn't seeKept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
Without a thought without a voice without a soul
Don't let me die here there must be something more
Bring me to life
Eventually, Kagome finished her meal and stood.
"I thank you for the meal Sesshoumaru, but I must return to my own camp. My friends will be worried about me." She bowed her thanks. His only response was a restrained nod. She turned and headed back towards the spring. She knew her camp was on the other side.
She was unaware of Sesshoumaru's eyes following her pensively as she vanished into the darkness.
Wake me up inside Wake me up insideCall my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become
Kagome stood at the edge of another firelit clearing. She could see her friends: Shippou, curled asleep on the sleeping bag he shared with her, Sango keeping careful watch as Miroku rested, recovering from the injuries he had taken earlier.
She forced herself not to wonder where Inuyasha was.
As Kagome stood watching them, Sango's watchful eyes tracked the edge of the clearing to where she stood in the dark. A relieved smile broke across the huntress' face. "Kagome! You're finally back!"
Kagome smiled and stepped into the light.
Bring me to lifeI've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life
