Rating: PG-13: for possible language and just in case
Summary: [Sess/Kag] What if Sesshoumaru was the one that met Kagome on the other side of the well?
Genre: Romance/Drama
A/N: Wow, isn't that great? Another chapter! Albeit a short one, but a chapter nonetheless. ^_^
Sesshoumaru
Chapter Eleven
July 2003
For a good portion of the evening they walked along in silence, side by side, with Kagome glancing around uneasily and the taiyoukai staring ahead. Kagome would sneak a glimpse at him occasionally, wordlessly observing him. Facing life straight on, she thought absently. She broke the hush.
"Where, exactly, are we going?" she asked, fingering a lock of hair.
"You are the one responsible for the destination," he pointed out bluntly. "You're leading."
Kagome blinked. "I-I am?" She blushed. "I-I mean, of course I am!" Her gaze flickered to the side as she mentally called for help. Seisho!
The response was instantaneous; her fingers curled around the jewel. "Yes?"
"Where am I going?"
There seemed to be a soft sigh. "Go where your heart leads you, Kagome-sama. There is no given instruction for the recovery of the two souls."
Her hand dropped from her neck as she folded her arms in exasperation. "Nothing? Nothing at all? What am I supposed to go on, then?"
"I believe that as already been explained. Follow your heart." His presence disappeared, leaving Kagome with a scowl on her face.
"Follow your heart, says he," she sighed. "Well then—hey!" Sesshoumaru, now far ahead on the path, had not stopped in the course of her mental conversation. "Wait!" she called. "I'll stand here all night if you do that again!" Oh yeah, Kagome, that was real mature. Huffing, she jogged to catch up to the demon lord.
` ` `
"I couldn't!" she protested, turning away with folded arms.
"Then I will."
Kagome's eyes widened substantially as she spun around. "No!" She extended a hand in entreaty. "You can't!" It was becoming obvious that he could, though, and she averted her gaze fearfully. Why couldn't he be just a little more humane? A shriek rang through the air while Kagome squeezed her eyes shut; a brief thump, and then silence. She turned her most sympathetic gaze to the freshly killed rabbit dangling by one ear from Sesshoumaru's outstretched hand. He stared at her expectantly. Kagome scowled. "How could you do that?!"
"It is one creature of thousands. This one will not impact anything greatly," he replied flatly.
"Well," she huffed dramatically, crossing her arms again, "you did it for nothing 'cause I can't skin and cook a rabbit, much less eat it."
He seemed unfazed. "Then you will watch, and you will do it for yourself in the future." His voice left no room for argument.
Sesshoumaru withdrew from his sash a shining dagger, whose handle gleamed with jade and ivory, and deftly began to peel the skin from the bunny's lean body. Kagome watched reluctantly, memorizing every stroke of the knife she could so she'd be able to do it successfully next time. Her attention was less rapt when he cut up the body though, so she made herself useful by finding "clean" sticks to use. A fire was already blazing merrily in the center of their cozy clearing, so she didn't have to worry about that.
~*~*~*~
By the time the whole dinner affair was finished Kagome felt the wear of the day settle into her. She sat listlessly by the fire, arms around her knees. She couldn't help but notice Sesshoumaru hadn't eaten any of the rabbit, whose death she still resented greatly. Deciding there was no harm in it, she asked him why this was.
"I do not eat human food," was his blunt response. He stood near her, staring up at the twilit sky.
For the briefest of moments, Kagome was confused as to what he meant and visualized in her mind's eye a can of "Sesshoumaru Food." She suppressed a giggle, thinking it better not to ask what, then, 'youkai food' was. Her head tilted thoughtfully. Come to think of it, the victuals back at his home tasted a bit odd, perhaps a little less filling and a little more tasteful. The difference was slight though, so she hadn't paid it too much mind. She seemed to have a lot more energy after consuming her meal there as well. The prospect of eating 'human food', as Sesshoumaru deemed it, had suddenly become very unappealing. Well, she shrugged, he had his reasons. I wonder where we're going to find his type of food out here, though…doesn't seem like any ordinary village would carry it…the idea of walking into a demonic town doesn't sound too good for me either. Her mouth opened in a yawn.
"I guess we're sleeping on the ground then, huh?" She patted the earth absently, wondering whether it would be hard on her back.
The taiyoukai threw a contemptuous glare at the ground, which Kagome took to mean he rejected the idea.
"Then?" she prompted impatiently, rising to stretch. When her feet abruptly left the ground she gave a small squeak and lunged toward the demon lord, who automatically caught and steadied her. He landed steadily on the arm of a tree while she clutched his arm. Kagome glanced downward uneasily, warily pushing herself away from him. "I'm sleeping in the air again, I take it," she whispered. He tilted his head in mute response. Sighing helplessly, Kagome moved to settle against the tree trunk.
The air seemed to shift below her, and she had the buzzing instinct that it would drop her sometime, the bond to damnation. She had a feeling she wouldn't be getting a whole lot of sleep tonight, what with the fact that she rested next to a dog demon and she was floating in midair, nothing holding her up but the seeming fingers of sorcery that weaved around them both. Her eyes lifted dreamily to the sky—a large expanse of velvety black sprinkled with pearly twinkling stars and stained with the milk of their dust.
She never had had much chance to see stars in Tokyo, sometimes even the moon was obscured by the lights of the city. Here, though, the night was as dark as fabled with, indeed, only the light of the moon and stars as guides. It seemed to be a natural wonder, a heavenly lamp. Kagome wondered absently if she'd be able to see a shooting star in this era. The only time she'd come upon one in her own time was when her family had vacationed in the southern islands of Japan. With a smile, she recalled the moment she saw it briefly streak across the sky, her mother's voice hushed behind her. Hurry, Kagome! Make a wish! Her blue eyes had gone wide then, before squeezing shut tightly and wishing with all her might, hands clasped. A warm splash of homesickness washed over her. When would she be able to go home?
Her eyes searched the sky for the brightest star and, upon finding it, she sighed, smiling tenderly. Maybe, if I wish hard enough…please don't worry about me, Mama…Souta…Grandpa… Curious, she shot a glance at Sesshoumaru. He was watching the sky as well.
Kagome was thoughtful a moment. "Do you have a family, Sesshoumaru?"
Surprised, he shifted his gaze. The girl could feel it on her as she trained her eyes on the sky, determined not to look at him. There must be a reason why he's always so…
"I need no one," he answered suddenly, tonelessly.
Her eyebrows lifted and then furrowed gently. "I'd have to disagree with that. How can anyone be so alone?"
"Sleep. I will not allow you to rest tomorrow."
"Like you have a choice," she scoffed. A glare fixed on him, she murmured with as much disdain as she could muster, "Night."
He didn't respond, and for all Kagome knew, he wouldn't sleep either. For an idle moment, she reasoned that they would make much better progress if he just flew during the night since he didn't seem to need the rest. Then again, she thought with a wide yawn, I don't know where we're going anyway…
A/N: I'd count this as something of a little "filler" chapter before we move on. Next one should be more exciting. ^_^ What do you think? Should Sango and everyone come in sometime? I swear I'll check on Kikyo and Inuyasha in the next chapter, Kai, if you're out there. ^_^ Remind me! And, a little side note, the "Sesshoumaru food" is something I picked up from a conversation with profiler120. So, she gets all the credit for that. ^_^
-kidoairaku