She was surrounded by curtains of black, winds of snowy essence blew about her still figure.
A cool surface was beneath her, breathing with her every breath, reacting to her every movement.
She watched as the fragile edges of a crystal-like circle materalized under her and extended to the very limitations of its reach.
Water.
The deep, darkness below her did not startle her, she watched it with curious, shadowed cinnamon depths, the amythest pool drawing her attention like a light to a moth.
Her legs were encircled protectively by her own arms, held loosely in front of her, while she observed the icy liquid with enchanted eyes.
She arched her foot, and another silent circle surrounded it, dissapearing after gaining her utmost attention.
Every shallow breath she took startled the still water, and every slight movement encouraged the disturbance...
It was dark around her, and she was alone. Her obsidian-colored "prison" caught every faint light and reflected it with a purity that could be envied.
She wanted to rise, to move, but she was so tired, she did not want to do anything but stay and watch the heart catching ripples continue their dance...
A soft, thin strand of ebony hair dropped in front of her searching eyes, but her hands, immune to her own wims and emotions, stayed in their place, and she didn't care either...
She was looking or something... What was it?
She searched the rich depths of the substance below her, but nothing arose to show itself to her troubled eyes, and a tear fell.
But the tear made no endless circles around it, but rather was embraced by the water, joined it, did not complain...
Where?
She was barely aware this was a dream...
Then she saw it, she saw the drifting strands of silky silver hair, twirling about her, and her heart nearly stopped.
Her giggle resounded, echoed, bounced, deafening off the diamond walls, and she was able to move again.
She reached up, behind her, and took a hand, the claws sparking a faint pain as they slightly cut her extended palm, but the warm hand closed around hers and pulled her up onto her feet and did not spike her skin again.
The cold her body had previously embraced was automatically replaced by warmth and cheer.
But she could not see his face. She had to see his face or this happiness would not be complete.
But when she tilted her head back to look him in the eye, he dissapeared, their happy waltz falling away into a single, lonely girl spinning in wide, slow circles, ripples rolling over the waters where her foot touched the water.
Alone again.
Tears fell like rain but she did not care, her obsidian cage closed in around her, but when she looked up again, in her blurred eyes she saw comforting golden ones looking down back at her, dignified as he silently shook his head. As she blinked away the remaining tears, his form had already been pulled into blackness again, but she did not cry. He would come again. He could not let her be lonely anymore...
*~*
Kagome's perceptive eyes snapped open, almost audibly.
Two dreams.... Two dreams- she thought.
Who? Who was this man that haunted her dreams so recently?
Who had comforted her? Why did he not let her see his face...
Looking around her, she was again blinded by the bright sunlight, but she was only mildly surprised, this was slightly familiar... She had been here before.
She sat up abruptly and stared around the room, the rice paper walls, light flying in on invisible angels wings... The long pictures on the opposite wall depicting the most honored of demons of the feudal era... Unicorn, Dragon, Griffon... Demons... This was...
"Sesshomaru-sama." She barely whispered.
She looked down at herself, in place of the kimono she had worn on her last "visit", there was a simple white sleeping outfit, folded neatly beside her was a kimono...
After Kagome had gotten dressed, she observed herself as best she could from how she stood.
In the long shot, the dress-like piece was almost perfectly fitted to her, if not a little bit big in a few places.
A thin, transparent bolt of cloth served as an obi, cleverly tied in the back so that the bow was exceptionally big, and the excess material dropping down serenely, suspiciously depicting an overly large butterfly. The yards of white fabric was silky smooth and like heaven upon her pale skin and slim form. The draping sleeves fell like curtains to even below her waist, but the material itself was surprisingly not that heavy.
Two loops of pearl colored thread beamed off different colors as they circled the fabric very loosely encircling her wrist, and upon looking closer, Kagome discovered they were indeed not just lines of color but embroidered columns of butterfly's and leaves, spiraling around each other as they made a scattered line and a barely noticable criss-cross over the center of her hidden wrist. The same was evident around the low V-neck, and the pattern was followed along the edge of the dove colored fabric.
The layers of material folding over itself and piling slightly at her feet carried the same flitting images but this time there were at least five glinting thick and thin lines of the precious butterfly's dancing around the leaves, spiraling slightly but stopping where, if the material had been held up, would have been above her ankle. Kagome observed that the kimono was slightly inspired by the Chinese fashion, as a modest slit was carried to just above her knee on either side.
The spreaded V neck line was just narrow enough not to slip over her shoulders, her milky skin to her neck barren to whom ever chose to look. A small pile of beads that encircled her neck was what one would come to call a "choker", and the string of pearls would come to be much too valuable to allow a previous enemy to freely wear. She carefully ran the provided brush through her dishelved hair and twisted it up into a practiced bun, also using the irridescent decorative chopsticks to hold it in place, even as a few long tendrils waterfalled slightly down her curved back.
She put on soft make-up, light pink on her lips, that she was sure was also very valuable in these times, as she had only seen the higher ladies of this generation wear it, the shimmering silver eyeshadow contrasted with her lightest brown eyes and the small square of reflecting glass showed her she had put it on accurately.
She hesitated and stood for silent moments by the paper door, gathering courage to not turn and bolt through the door to the outside, making a mad dash back to her previously welcoming group.
When she finally persuaded herself, finding it skeptical that he would allow her to pass the gate anyways even if she did run, she walked as calmly as she could down the hall, trying to remember how he had come when he had led her...
She finally deemed herself lost and sighed.
She grudgingly extended her senses, swirling shots of pink thread resonating from her mind, pinpointing perhaps the one who could tell her what to do.
She spun around startled, which quickly turned to slight anger as she found a visibly (or maybe invisibly- she was finding it rapidly easier to find the emotion so skillfully hidden within his deep golden eyes) amused spark behind Sesshomaru's emotionless china face, where he stood not ten feet behind her.
But as soon as she saw the glitter of laughter behind his eyes at her foolishness, she found it irresistable and smiled happily, the anger that had spiked previously being yanked back into her loving heart. A giggle burst from her throat and she gave a sweeping low bow before dashing up to him with a bright smile, stopping just short of him.
"Ohayou gozaimasu Sesshomaru-sama!" She cried happily.
He could have smirked, were it not for his dignity. Only for a second did he forget and the corner of his mouth turned upwards. He quickly turned around and told her sternly, "You're going the wrong way, if you want breakfast- or, lunch." he could not help the barely audible smile behind his voice.
He did not like this girl, she was just amusing him in her own confusion...
He could not fully persuade himself.
"Lunch!? Nani?" She cried.
"I find it amusing how long you humans find it safe to sleep, how active you say you are, and yet you stay innactive a full nine to ten hours of the night..." Sesshomaru said to her.
"Nande-" Then she remembered full well what had happened and her clumsy smile drifted off her feet and she said solemnly, almost reverently, "Domo arigatou again, Sesshomaru-sama. You must think me such a bother, so weak, having to be saved so often."
Though he did not visibly show it, he was perplexed.
He felt as he did with Rin a couple moons after he saved her... He could not regret it. And it troubled him.
"And, arigatou for allowing me to wear your kimono..." Kagome blushed and smiled again up at him, shutting her eyes cheerfully, but mostly so that he could not see the still slightly visible pain behind them.
"It was my mothers." He said without thinking.
"Oh? She must have been very beautiful." Kagome smiled at him, finally opening her eyes, as, since she could relate to a loving mother, and could truly touch hands with this subject, she could not feel sadness in speaking of it.
"She was." He slowly agreed.
"Though, as a respectible youkai, she must have been taller then a human like myself, and I'm sure this dress was much more flattering on her figure." Kagome smiled at his back, hoping she had made him a bit happier to know she respected his parents.
As she had thought, he growled his approval.
"Where is Rin?" Kagome asked curiously.
"Outside. With Jaken." Sesshomaru replied.
Kagome giggled a little bit.
A smile barely touched his lips again, but he closed his eyes momentarily to rid the thought of his mind.
"Thank you Sesshomaru-sama." She spoke before he had noticed the dissapearance of her laughter.
"Hai." He said quietly.
He felt her smile, felt her longing to touch him, to draw and give comfort, a simple touch... Maybe to signify... a blooming... "friendship"...
Would he allow it? Could he? Could he control that descision at all?
He had for so long... could he now?
With her?