AN-ano…I got reviews…lots of reviews…for only two chapters……^.^ phwee, you guys are great. Sorry, there are too many to go through and list you all, but to all who reviewed, a huge, heartfelt thank you from me, and a round of applause to go with it. Now, shall we continue with the insanity, err….story…?

Starless

She lifted up one slim, white hand and stared at it. Once delicate fingernails had become lethal claws, slim and deadly in the dim light under the trees.  She cinched them in the way she'd seen Inuyasha done so many times, and was startled when they grew a bit, readying themselves instinctively for use. Minute sounds flickered into her ears, and they swiveled to get the best possible scope of the noise…wait a sec, swiveled?

Kagome reached a tentative claw up to where her ears should have been, but scraped nothing but new skin, just grown over and still fragile. Shaking now, she reached up to the top of her head, and promptly fainted for the second time that day as she touched tufted black ears, much like Inuyasha's, the only difference being that hers had a little bit more fur on the ends, as if she were going for the 'love me, I'm cute' look.

Sesshoumaru groaned in disgust as Kagome fainted. Now he had to carry the thoughtless half breed back to his castle and…

Back to my castle?! His mind shrieked at him. Why the hell am I taking her back to my castle??!? However, his body still stooped down and scooped Kagome's prone form into his arms. Oh this is perfect; I'm stuck with a half breed female of my own creation, and my brother's female at that. Somehow though, he couldn't quite bring himself to say wench as he looked down on Kagome's face, her hair drifting across her face in the breeze as they flew.

Sesshoumaru looked up at the sky.  During the time that had passed in their small clearing, the sun had managed to go down. The night sky was blank, devoid of any lights save the moon, which was shadowed and pale, a slip of its usual silver glory.

Huh, starless night…

~*~

Something tickled Kagome's over sensitive nose. She snorted and brushed it away, but the thing persisted, trailing a maddening, tickling dance around her nose. Her hand latched out and clasped on to the thing,- someone's hand?-, that was tickling, earning a startled gasp, then a delighted squeal from the tickler.

"Kagome-chan is up! Yay! Will Kagome-chan come play with Rin? Rin's lonely cos' Sesshoumaru-sama is out, and Rin has no one to talk to...pleeeeeeaaaaaaaseeeeeeeee Kagome-chan??"

Kagome didn't have the heart to say no to such a pleading voice first thing in the morning. She cracked open one eye, and the glare from the midday sun nearly blinded her. Blinking a couple of times, she rubbed her eyes, and tried again. Every tiny detail in the room was thrown into sharp perspective. What she could never normally see, Kagome could now pick out with ease. An enchanting perfume wafted Kagome's nostrils and she sniffed in pleasure, trying to discern its origin. It was coming from Rin. Sunshine and daffodils; bluebells and tea; smiles and giggles; an all encompassing happiness, the total innocence of childhood. Throwing aside the question as to how she could smell it and more importantly, why the wound in her shoulder was gone, Kagome reached down and ruffled Rin's hair gently.

"Can you tell me where some clothes are Rin?"

The child nodded eagerly, and grabbed Kagome's hand, dragging her towards a previously unnoticed closet in the corner of a very traditional Japanese room. The delighted child threw open the doors, and the array of kimonos inside made Kagome gasp, and reach out a hand to feel if the things were real, they were so fine.

"Sesshoumaru-sama said to let you wear these if you woke up. He didn't tell me where he was going, but he left Jakken here and Jakken doesn't know either cos' I already asked him but he didn't say anything so I guess he doesn't know. Rin doesn't know when Sesshoumaru-sama will be back either. Rin doesn't mind though, Rin has Kagome-chan to play with now instead of old boring Jakken. Jakken's so boring, he won't play with Rin at all, all he does is snap and tell me to go away."

The child's incessant prattling soon made Kagome's mood brighter, the confusing questions leaving her head in the face of the girl's cheerfulness. She sent Rin to wait outside the room door, saying that 'if Rin-chan lets Kagome-chan get dressed, Kagome-chan will play with Rin-chan all day'. She couldn't help the third person dialogue; Rin's way of speaking was infectious. The tiny girl had blinked, and then scampered out as she hurried to comply with what Kagome asked.

Left alone, Kagome turned to the closet to pick one of the gorgeous kimonos. Her hand ran along red, black, yellow, and green silk, before coming to rest on a deep blue silk kimono. She pulled it out, and immediately loved the cherry blossoms that trickled down both sides of the collar, before finishing under the even darker blue of the obi. Satisfied with her choice, Kagome set about putting it on. The feel of it and the way it moved made her feel like a Queen.

I wonder who these belonged to? It's not as if Sesshoumaru would have kimonos in his house for no reason, unless they'd belonged to someone he knew…I wonder if… Kagome let the thought dry up, and went out to the waiting Rin, who ooohhh'd at the way Kagome looked, then towed her off to the kitchens to collect a picnic lunch, for it was already past midday. That done, the tow of them headed for the fields outside of the fortress, Rin intent on picking thousands of bouquets for Sesshoumaru and Kagome, Kagome meanwhile, wanting to simply get some fresh air, and the chance to see what Sesshoumaru's little part of the world was like.

~*~

The Lord of the Western Lands had had it. He hated to deal with his obnoxious brother at the best of times, and with his patience and energy worn so low, he had snapped. The worthless hanyou had been so insolent that Sesshoumaru had wasted no time in grabbing him in the clichéd neck grip and slammed him against the side of a convenient building. When the houshi had tried to intervene, he'd told him in no uncertain terms, to kindly stay out of it. Showing some level of intelligence, the monk had scrambled back, and Sesshoumaru had fixed his icy glare on his sibling, and demanded to know what had passed between him and Kagome, and where Naraku was.

 Like a true idiot, Inuyasha had tried to free himself, but when Sesshoumaru's hand had glowed a faint green, and his grip on Inuyasha's throat had tightened, the hanyou had decided that it would be a good time to spill what he knew. While he had listened to his hanyou brother choke out the tale and information, Sesshoumaru had noticed that the undead priestess had stayed to one side, away from the monk and taijya (AN-help, spelling) and had just watched the whole shenanigan fold out before her, making no move to help Inuyasha. That, Sesshoumaru had found to be very curious. The bitch that his brother had chosen over Kagome was watching him be hurt, and not making a single move to stop it. Sesshoumaru had then pitied his brother, and dropping him in an undignified heap, Sesshoumaru had left. However, he was held back by the demon huntress, who had demanded to know where Kagome was. His frosty answer had roused a glare and a movement of her hand to her weapon, which she would have thrown if the monk had not stopped her. Taking the two's devotion to Kagome into consideration, he had plainly told them that she was well, and would be taken care of.

That said, he had disappeared, using what little speed he had left to get as far away from the village as he could, and as close to his castle as possible.

He knew he'd not make it by nightfall, but he plied on all the speed he could muster, and pressed on. But little by little, his headlong dash had slowed, his speed crawling down to the staggering walk that was all he could muster. He was bemused as to why his energy was nonexistent. Usually, the events of a day like this would have been nothing to him, yet now he was having trouble keeping a straight line as he ran. All that kept him going, was the knowledge of what had happened with Kagome, and that his home, and her, were only minutes away.

Musical laughter reached his wearied ears and he twitched, the sound nearly foreign to his senses. The last of his strength fled him, and the last thing that he saw before he toppled over, was the night sky, once again starless.

~*~

The crashing of something falling over reached Kagome's ears and she jolted into alertness, pulling Rin close to her, effectively ending their game of chase. Rin's nervous hand wormed its way into her won, and Kagome smiled down at the scared child.

"Rin-chan, would you please go back to the castle and see what's there in the way of dinner? I'll be along in a bit; I just want to see something"

"But Kagome-chan!..." the child started, but silenced herself at a look from Kagome. With a small sigh, she shuffled off back in the direction of the fortress, casting a last, pleading look at Kagome. But Kagome did not see it, she was already heading noise had come from, moving with as much stealth as she could gather.

Every leaf that crackled underfoot, each stick that snapped made her wince and tense, waiting for some unknown enemy to make itself visible. She cocked her fingers, and felt her new claws grow out to a reassuring length, their sharpness making her feel a bit more comfortable. Whatever she was now, she was not helpless.

But nothing helped the shock that she felt when she caught sight of Sesshoumaru's prone form, lying still and silvery on the ground. Plying on speed, she was by his side in an instant, lifting his head up, bending her hear to his lips to try and hear if he was breathing, hands checking for any damage. Finding no damage, and relieved to hear his even, albeit exhausted breaths, Kagome worked her arms underneath him and struggled to pick him up.

The jostling woke Sesshoumaru up, and the first thing his eyes saw when they opened was Kagome's concerned profile as she tried to hoist him into her arms, no easy feat for someone of her size to accomplish. Making no sound, he glanced past her head and into the night sky. The stars had come out.

~*~

Sesshoumaru awoke to the feeling of a cool, soothing hand stroking his forehead, another hand intertwined in his own. The smell of jasmine was all around him, sweet and benign.

Cracking his golden eyes open, he stared up into Kagome's azure ones, gazing down at him, a hesitant worry in their depths.

"What…where am I?"  he croaked, to cranky at his remembered fall to be nice.

Kagome frowned, a slight wrinkle marring the smooth skin of her forehead. "In my room. I didn't know where yours was, and besides, you were too heavy for me to carry that far. To all appearances, I may now be a half-demon, but I'm not so sure I have the strength of one yet. Now get up, you look and smell like you need a bath."

The comment stung, and Sesshoumaru instantly retorted. "Speak for yourself wench, you don't smell too sweet either."

The wrinkle in Kagome's forehead deepened, and a spark of anger appeared in her eyes. Without a word, she wrenched her hand from where it had been so warmly cupped in his own, then promptly rolled him off the other side of the low futon he was lying on. The indignity at such treatment rose in him like a storm, and he turned on her to do god knows what, but stopped when he saw her standing there, fists clenched and looking all ready for a shouting match, or whatever else she thought he was going to throw at her.

"Know just listen here a minute, you self-righteous bastard. I know you saved my life, by methods I'd rather not know right now, and given, I haven't yet thanked you for that, but then I haven't exactly had the chance! So consider yourself thanked! Now, here I am, just having saved your royal ass, and put you up in my room, which, granted, is in your castle, but it's still my room! And then you have the gall to insult me right off the bat! I really don't give a damn if you saved me or not, to all ends it might have been better if you hadn't, but while I'm alive, I will not be spoken to like that. I don't care who it is who's doing the speaking, but I'm not gonna take it!!"

During Kagome's rant, Sesshoumaru had just stood and watched her, something stirring deep within him. Never mind that he could rip her limb from limb where she stood, the girl had the audacity to push him off her bed and then yell at him. In his own house. She couldn't care less for the danger that she may be in, she had pride and she wasn't going to stand for it being hurt…something which he respected and understood, all too well some might say. Holding up a hand to forestall anything else that she might feel like saying, he stepped around the edge of her futon, and towards her.

"You may stop that. Your thanks is duly noted. Now, I believe that you really have nowhere to go, unless you would like to chance going back to Inuyasha?" he spat out the word with apparent distaste.

Kagome hesitated. What is he getting at? "Yeah, I guess you're right…but what?"

Sesshoumaru held up his hand again. "Well, that being the case, you will stay here. You as of yet know not how to control your demon side beyond instinct. So I shall train you to understand and use it. Now, if you will excuse me?"

He swept out of the room, leaving one sputtering, and very confused hanyou miko behind to stare after him.