Kagome woke up slowly, blinking once in the blinding sunlight that was thankfully not directed at her eyes.
For a few moments she sat and tried to wake up completely, wondering to herself what she was doing in a gorgeous sunlit room in a quiet atmosphere without even Shippou slumbering at her feet.
She sat up and stood up with the blanket still wrapped around her, then her shining pale brown eyes widened in sudden realization.
"It must be mid morning. Sesshomaru-sama must think myself so ungrateful! Maybe he thinks I am taking advantage of his hospitality! Oh no!" Kagome whispered.
She quickly dropped the warm blanket and threw on her kimono as fast as she could without rumpling it or looking disrespectful.
She flew from the room and dashed between the rice paper doors, peeking in to see which one was Sesshomaru's room.
She finally found Sesshomaru's bedroom and through open the door breathlessly.
The figure that had been still on the futon snapped up and the blanket fluttered to rest around his hips.
She blushed and turned back around, almost hitting herself for being so careless.
"Gomen nasai, Sesshomaru-sama. I did not know you would be asleep." She murmured.
She could feel him staring at her back but did not speak.
"I rushed because I was afraid you would think me greedy or selfish for staying in your home for so much more time. I was going to inform you that I would leave now and trouble you no longer. Domo arigatou for letting me stay safely in your home- it is very wonderful." She said and began to descend the indeed pretty room, trying to brush out the picture of Sesshomaru's breathtaking figure that kept on fluttering into her mind.
"I will accompany you." He said suddenly, calmly.
"N-Nani?" She asked, flustered.
"I will ensure your safe return to your group in order to complete the dept I owe to you." He said.
She was about to protest but suddenly realized it unwise to argue with the offer of an even safer return, so instead she just nodded.
"I will leave, and wait outside for you." She said quietly, before finally descending.
He stared after her as she slid the thin screen shut and walked visibly down the hallway.
'A human that does not jump at the chance to take more? One who would think of anothers thoughts before her own? I thought it impossible.' He thought, a smirk almost lighting his lips at the thought. But he quickly froze the urge, 'It does not matter. But it is... Interesting.'
When he walked serenly down the hall until he stepped outside, he found Kagome leaning against the wooden border of the slight balcony.
He looked indifferently at her loose hair that flurled about her and the expensive kimono that was obviously, but not disrespectfully, put on hastily.
She looked back at him and smiled softly before walking over the neatly placed wooden boards, soon descending across the grassy plain that lay between his home and the gates.
He walked behind her, a look of indifference on his features as she just enjoyed the scenery around her.
She did not ask him to take any breaks, nor did she ask for anything to eat. It was slightly admirable for a human.
They walked in silence for most of the day, for Sesshomaru, it was natural, and the chosen alternative for risking becoming interested in whatever the human had to say. For Kagome, she was thinking happily about everything around her, her friends, her family, Shippo, Kaede, and everything else that might have seemed a lot to think about had it not been for the beautiful day around them.
At sunset, they continued walking.
"Because, even if you're here and I might be safe, if we keep on walking, I might save you that trouble because we can take them as they come instead of settling in one place and attracting all of the demons in the area!" Kagome said cheerfully back at him.
He nodded but showed no further emotion, though he found her behavior just slightly amusing.
When the sky was dark and their only light was the stars and the moon, Kagome would still not give up, not show weakness before him.
Finally though, exaustion and hunger got the better of her and she asked him, with a slightly tired look on her face and in her voice, if they could stop. She even offered to wake up extra early the next morning if he could remember to do so.
He nodded.
She sat against the trunk of a tree and put her head on her knees. Her eyes drifted slightly closed but she glanced one more time at Sesshomaru's alert face.
His eyes flew back at hers and and enchanting bond held cinnamon to gold before Kagome abruptly fell asleep, falling on her side and scattering the leaves a bit.
He observed her after she fell asleep. A small smile lighted her lips- she was cheerful even at night?
Then he remembered the difference between the way she spoke to him the before sunset, and how she spoke to him the first time they "met".
"Will you let me go back to him?" She had seemed like she would literally take his command (unless maybe had he said no), and then-
"Because, even if you're here and I might be safe, if we keep on walking, I might save you that trouble because we can take them as they come instead of settling in one place and attracting all of the demons in the area!" She had been cheerful and happy and ready to make his life easier in whatever way she could.
'Curious creature...' Sesshomaru thought almost exasperated before he returned to other thoughts.
He woke her up just as the sun rose above the Earth and she woke up sleepily, but did not argue.
She tried to straighten herself up and she smiled softly as he looked unblinking at her, waiting.
This time she fell in step behind him and they walked along a path way through a forest... Inuyasha's forest...
She slightly tensed up- What would Inuyasha say? How would he react if she told him she had stayed with Sesshomaru for two days in harmony?
She sighed a bit but then picked up her pace to walk next to Sesshomaru.
She stumbled a little out of hunger but still did not ask for food.
Sesshomaru noticed her weakened state but, to the bare eye, looked as if he would do nothing about it.
About an hour later, Sesshomaru put out his arm to stop her and she took one more unsure step before halting.
"Those," He pointed towards a tree which bared strange-looking fruit, "Are edible."
His tone was monotone, his face was still, but he could not help but observe as she mustered a bright smile for him and turned to take a few of the fruits.
Later on as they walked, Kagome cast another smile up at him and said happily, "Domo arigatou Sesshomaru-sama."
He nodded slightly and looked sideways at her.
Again, she was happily enjoying the scenery, unaware that they were only one short hour from Inuyasha's group...