Glimmer
*******
Boton groggily opened her eyes. The bright light of morning blinded her so she snapped her eyes closed again. She considered rolling over and burying herself in the comfy, warm blanket surrounding her. She put out a hand, searching blindly for the edge of the blanket to do just that. She finally found it and pulled.
"What-What are you doing!?" Inuyasha yelled, pulling the hem of his shirt back down.
"Huh?" Boton squinted, searching for the source of the loud noise. Her blurry gaze finally landed on the half demon. She smiled, "Oh, Good morning Inuyasha." She looked around her in confusion, finally realizing Inuyasha had been her blanket.
He watched wide eyes, as she turned a pretty shade of pink. It almost matched her eyes. He kept his one arm loosely wrapped around her shoulders and was elated when she didn't pull away. "What happened?"
She smiled at him and laughed. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?"
"Feh! You were still awake when I fell asleep!" he blushed himself, remembering how he had cried all over this petite woman.
"True...You fell asleep," she shrugged. "I fell asleep...We fell asleep."
"Here?"
"Right here," she agreed. Should I pull away from him? I don't want to...he's so warm...
Inuyasha was vaguely aware that they were in a position that would give any observers the wrong impression. He was also aware that he didn't care at the minute. He was straddling the tree limb. She was straddling him...hmmm.
Boton didn't feel the least bit awkward since she knew that nothing had happened between them. Somehow, she had the impression that things didn't work like that for the boy beneath her though. If the constant twitching of his ears or the embarrassed look on his face weren't plain enough, then the way he held himself perfectly still and barely breathing was a good clue. Maybe there was hope for her yet. She sighed and pulled her oar out of mid air and elegantly transferred her weight.
Inuyasha couldn't hold back the swell of disappointment at the loss of contact. He grabbed her hand before he thought better of it. "Wait, I-"
She took his hand and smiled at him prettily. Come on. This time you climb on."
He blinked at her, ears now standing straight at attention. He stared at her, amber eyes wide with indecision.
"Come on," she patted the oar behind her. "We can travel faster this way, now that you don't have to use your nose to find anyone."
"Uhh..." he continued to hesitate, but eventually gave in to her bright optimism. "Keh, Fine!" He announced gruffly. He pretended the feeling of trepidation coursing through him was nothing more then an irritation.
He clambered on behind her, wary of the vast amount of space between him and the ground. Heights did not bother him, but placing his life in the hands of others did.
"Hold on!" she sang out. As soon as they started moving, he grabbed at her, circling her waist with his arms and gave off a very undignified yelp.
He growled when he heard her giggle but quickly subsided and relaxed. No wonder Miroku likes to ride behind Sango...he loosened his tense muscles and began to enjoy the feeling of flying lightly through the air. I wonder how they are...
******************************************************************************
Hiei glowered at his feet. Against every thread of common sense he tried to utilize, he found that his feet had brought him here. He was where he knew he was the most vulnerable and it was because of what Kagome had said that had him thinking about the regret his sister must feel in her soul and not his own pain. What if he never gave her that chance to decide if she was willing to associate with a brother that was noting short of a killer, and a convicted thief?
Hiei had to face his own fears about her possible rejection, true, but what of her fears that her brother would never be known to her? That she had failed in the one true task that she had set for herself. The sheltered woman had left her home and everything that she had known to find a man she knew nothing about except that he was a Forbidden Child of the Koorime and had been cast out of their home when no more then an infant. She had given up all that she had for what she could only possibly receive by finding her lost sibling. And even knowing this, he had remained hidden from her, his reasons justified by his own selfish ideals.
Hiei shuddered and focused on the issue. He was standing here, his legs refusing to carry him away when he had no plan of action and had developed no way of escape if things went as badly as he feared they would.
"Hiei?" a soft voice called out.
Damn it! She found me, already! Hiei cursed his luck, he hadn't been able to regain his resolve to remain nothing but a shadow in her life before she had sensed his presence. His indecision had left him rooted to the ground, vulnerable until his choices had been striped from him. Now, he couldn't run away. Now, he had to face her. Shut up, he told himself, You were counting on this to happen...
"Hiei?" the pale girl approached him. "Good morning," she bowed politely to him.
He stared, ruby eyes taking in every movement, each expression. "Hn." he heard himself reply. He could have slapped himself for that. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hmm...Good morning..." it was hesitant, but clear.
Hiei couldn't believe it. Such a simple greeting had her smiling at him as if he had single handedly saved the world just for her. He backed up a step, eyes widened. Hiei, one of the most feared Youkai in the makia, was terrified. What if she turns away? What if I hurt her? What if-
"Where are the others? She asked, looking behind him. She had never seen him with out the others around before. "Are they on their way over here too?"
"Hn. No."
She blinked her matching garnet eyes and calmly tucked her hands in her kimono sleeves. She waited a minute, watching the dark man in front of her. He had always made her feel relaxed and safe. Strange, considering that he seemed to make everyone else nervous. He seemed uncomfortable so she decided to offer him what hospitality the shrine had to offer. "Would you like to come inside? I can make tea..."She didn't expect him to accept. He never had before, but she hid her surprise at his reply.
"Yes. Thank you...Yukina..." he said, and followed her inside.
******************************************************************************
Sesshoumaru returned to the battle grounds as soon as he nullified Naraku's poison and begun healing his shoulder. After taking the Miko back to her home at the well by flying her there using his Youki to carry them, he had taken care of himself. It took him no more then a few hours to return to the site, so the ground still steamed with the cooling blood of thousands of demons. He made an effort to delicately sniff the air, hoping to catch a hint of where Naraku had escaped to.
He almost gagged, the scent of death, decay, and congealing blood extremely strong. He got a pinched look around his eyes and mouth, and considered holding his breath. A temporary lack of air, though annoying, would save him from inhaling the tainted atmosphere.
A strong burst of energy at his side had him gasping instead, the foul stench filling his nose and mouth. He growled low in his throat, waiting for the dizzy spell to dissipate. Tenseiga pulsed insistently, startling the Demon Lord again. He touched the fang's hilt, the sword vibrated under his clawed fingertips.
As soon as his skin came in contact with the blade, the tiny creatures that prepared the dead for their journey tothe next world, appeared as phantom monsters to his eyes. They were everywhere, frantically jumping from body to body. The number of dead seemed to be overwhelming the things as much as they had him in life. It would take them days to prepare the vast numbers of dead for Death to lead them to the next world.
The sword had a heart beat, a pulling that drew him in, until he was wading through the gore and mutilated demons clogging the ground. He ignored the squish and slog of the blood soaked earth under his feet to the best of his ability, but couldn't contain the faint mark of disdain that curled his lip and hardened his eyes.
The sword began to glow when he approached a familiar barren spread of ground. It was conspicuously bare of bodies and the aura of death. Instead, a circle of ash and glowing earth spread from a center that showed no signs of battle.
He set his feet in the same braced pattern of the person who had last stood here. He closed his eyes, returning in his mind to those last moments of the fight. The small, fragile human Miko, poised in the graceful posture of a woman deadly and determined, last arrow drawn, muscles taut.
The glow of her power sparkled on her hair and on her tears. There had been pain in her eyes...such a beautiful pain. It had given her strength to defeat the massive body of demons and the barrier between her and the hanyou, Naraku. Her immense emotional strength had been poured into that one weapon and no amount of sacrificial demons of magical barriers would keep her out this time. Her emotions had given her that strength. Never again would he see human emotion as a weakness to be avoided. She had proven her strength this day.
Her arrow had pierced the coward in the left shoulder, a mockery of the very wound Sesshoumaru now sported on his right. However, Kagome's purifying powers were much more lethal than the poison of Naraku's body. The hanyou had been forced to retreat, using the numbers to rise up and hide his escape.
Even in escape, even as grievously injured as he was, the bastard had still found the strength to laugh. He had laughed at the girl's pain and for the future plans he had for her. His laughter almost echoed across this hill top still.
Sesshoumaru frowned and opened his eyes. Tenseiga was persistent in its attempts to get his attention. He allowed the blade to lead him further, until he stood over three pale bodies. He frowned. Why Humans? Why does the sword always choose them? They were allies, and good ones at that, so he considered the fang's request.
He drew the blade, interested in its now calm and expectant glow. Tenseiga never acted the same way twice. In truth, this blade was much more alive then Toukojin. It had a will so much more separate from Sesshoumaru, and the dog demon knew from experience that he was not truly the fang's master. It mocked him at times, choosing when and who it would heal without his consent.
He stared at the bodies at his feet. To protect the weak, Tetsuseiga was made. To counter that destruction, Tenseiga was born...
******************************************************************************
Kagome felt a faint tickling over her nose and resisted the urge to sneeze. Her eyes felt swollen and heavy, proof of her extended bout of crying. The tickle sensation continued so she opened her eyes a crack, wary of where she was and with who.
She found she couldn't really see anything...just a blanket of red...red? Why would I be seeing- She blinked again, clearing her sleep fogged mind. What ever it was fluttered over her face, and caught lightly in her eyelashes. She squinted at it, and attempted to raise her hand to push at it. Hair...it's hair. She realized at the same moment that her hand was firmly pinned down by a light weight. She raised her other hand and brushed the strands from her face, and turned her head. What she saw there had her smiling in wonder and appreciation.
An angel rested beside her. His green eyes were closed, his face relaxed and peaceful. Half of his face was hidden by the long red strands that had blown over his shoulder from the breeze that open window let in. He was sitting in a large chair that looked suspiciously like one from the living room down stairs, but he was leaning forward until one shoulder and his head rested beside her on her western style bed. His fingers were twined with hers in a comfortable hold and were gripping her with a firmness that was light enough to not hurt, but strong enough to keep her from pulling away.
She used her free hand to push his silky red hair back over his shoulder and lightly traced the lines of his face with her finger tips.
"Kurama..."she whispered.
He frowned in his sleep and she allowed a small smile to grace her features. She wasn't sure when he had arrived, or even when Hiei had brought her to her room. She glanced around, sensing Hiei was gone, and returned her gaze to the boy so close to her. She smoothed the frown lines from his face, reveling in the gusty sigh it pulled from his lips.
Kurama slowly came awake, awareness seeping in reluctantly. He wasn't a heavy sleeper, but for some reason, when he fell asleep around this girl, he was able to relax enough to truly succumb to the heavy weight of dreamless slumber. He opened his eyes, expecting Kagome to be asleep still and was surprised to see her silver-blue eyes gazing into his own emerald eyes very closely. It almost reminded him of the moment in the well, when the fox kit had tripped him up...only this time, there was three inches of space tantalizing him to close that distance between them purposely.
She blinked once slowly, her eyes lowered to his mouth and he knew she was remembering the same thing. Before she could pull away, he gave in to his curiosity and desire and softly brushed his lip across hers, much the same way she had shyly done before she had left for the feudal ages.
He pulled back before Youko could attempt a take over and watched her struggle to fully awaken. He couldn't help but brush another kiss over her mouth before sitting up fully and waiting for her response.
She smiled shyly at him and squeezed his hand in hers. That was all it took. No words were said, no plans made. Nothing else was needed. As soon as she was sitting up too, he pulled her into his embrace and just held her. She was hurting and he didn't know why.
"Kagome," he said in his soft voice, "What happened?"
She immediately burrowed closer to him, hiding her face against his chest, trying to keep the fresh wave of tears at bay.
He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes, trying to give her what she needed most right now. When she began talking, he felt the conviction from both Youko and Shuuichi that she would never have to face her grief alone. He would stay beside her until she no longer needed him. He just hoped that is some way, she would always want him near...
******************************************************************************
Fhew! Ouch...my fingers...sniffle sniffle...
It seems that I lost a few of my faithful reviews along the way...I miss them...I guess they got bored and didn't read the last few updates...but, I did get some more new reviewers! Yeah! And thank you! I like knowing that there are people out there reading this and enjoying it!
I can't say much because the story is moving right along...I will be updating normally...once a week. NOT five chapters next time. Sigh. I don't have enough written to keep that up.
Well, read and review! If you got this far, I would like to hear from you!
Thanks go out to
ixi
Delphine Pryde
Inu Youkai-Hime
tessa3- how do I write long stories? I lead a very boring life! Lol
Yanou
Dee-chan
Kuro Eien Haybusa
Star Protector Angel-go ahead!
shiningcrystal
Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe
tarah- the fifth chapter was just for you! The nudge and hint won me over!
Kuramasgr1123
Ai Higeki
Draco- I wrote you an e-mail in response to your review, but it was sent back to me...I am glad that I managed to catch your attention with my story. It means that I did my job right! That you didn't expect much and still got to chapter 36 is gratifying to me! I love it when I can entertain the readers enough for them to want more. However, desperate measures are not necessary for me to update! I do so once a week at least. And always in multiple chapters! And I loved your review! So please, fuel my ego more!
Sapphire Lotus
Dark Topaz
SiriusAboutMarauders
Sesshomaru13-what do you mean "What??"
Twilight Millenia-gasp! Third time!? O.O that is so awesome that you could read this thing three times all the way through and not get bored!
Artemis the Goddess
CallousDiva
Kat
chinita
Star Silver Fox
Helen- you got my e-mail...but if any other questions pop up, feel free to ask!
Hotoshi-Kid
LadyArilyia-snickers
wondering idiot- well, Youko is now quite infatuated with the heroine!
lindsay- I tried to e-mail you, but it sent it back...sorry! I'll try again later...