Well, some of you knew exactly what was going on in the last chapter, but to those who didn't, it's okay. Soon enough, all shall be made clear to you. But for now, what will happen to Kanna? Has Sesshoumaru deemed her totally unworthy of his interest or is he just creeped out by her? Will Jaken's babysitting responsibilities soon be expanded? Would Sesshoumaru really trust a Naraku extension to be his precious Rin's playmate? What's going on with everyone else? Are Kouga and Inuyasha reaching the point of no return animosity where the only solution is a no-holds-barred match to the death for Kagome's affection? Is Kagome really that hot? I don't really know if she is, but while beauty is fading and untrue…
*****
Something is Real
Part 10
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"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin sobbed, her hands over her face as she shook her head in denial of what she had just witnessed. "Why!? Kohaku was my friend!"
"Sesshoumaru-sama was protecting you!" Jaken exclaimed, his enthusiasm a poor cover for his confusion. Why would Sesshoumaru kill the boy after Rin had pleaded for him to spare the wretch's life? Jaken had thought his stoic master's sole weakness was his affection and indulgence for the sweet little girl that adored him so clearly. No wish was too great, no hope too impossible if it was coming from Rin. Why had he cut the boy in two as though he cared nothing for her opinion on the matter? Even Jaken felt bad, watching her cry so pitifully, her heart smashed by Sesshoumaru's thoughtless action.
More importantly, why couldn't Jaken see a wound on the fallen boy? And…was he moving?
"Jaken-sama! Tell Sesshoumaru-sama that he's mean!" Rin's tear-streaked face obstructed his view, and the toad blinked at her in surprise. "Tell him friends aren't for killing!"
"Rin, calm yourself." Sesshoumaru had sheathed his sword and turned to address his disillusioned retainer, who only began crying harder at his words. This seemed to worry the normally aloof youkai, and he took two steps toward her, paused as he fought some internal battle before placing his only hand on her dark head of hair. This unprompted contact had two immediate results. Jaken gasped in shock and jealousy at the obvious favoritism Rin was shown. At the same time, Rin froze in surprise, her tears rolling down red cheeks before she hiccupped slightly and looked up, eyes of brown rimmed in red blinking at her hero in silent wonder. Sesshoumaru-sama was touching her.
He had touched her before, of course. Every time she needed rescuing, he would sweep her little body up in one arm and out of harm's way. As scared as Rin might be in those situations, it instantly calmed her to have him there, and she liked to pretend that the way he held her was much like how her mother had hugged her close back when life had been happy and innocent and full of love. In those days, Rin never feared that it could end, that death could come, but now she understood death and loss. She knew what it meant when someone fell down and didn't get back up. She recognized blood and fear and grief and pain, but while she was vaguely aware that Sesshoumaru-sama killed people and youkai, it seemed like he only ever killed the bad ones, and so he was a hero to her.
But now…Kohaku was on the ground, and Sesshoumaru had put him there. And he was touching her so nicely with his fingers in her hair like that…and she wasn't even in danger.
"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin wasn't sure it really was him. How could it be?
"Look at your friend." His voice was patient and cool, just as it always had been, and Rin was unable to refuse any order from him, even now. So she turned with no small amount of trepidation.
"Kohaku!" she cried, running to the boy who was just climbing to his feet in time to be knocked down by Rin's overly energetic hug. "You're okay!"
"I feel…weird." Kohaku didn't bother to struggle out from under Rin, even though he could feel the heat of Sesshoumaru's glare from where he was on the ground. Next to the icy burning that was tingling all through his body, that feeling wasn't very strange. And his mind felt as though it was waking up after a very long sleep. He kept seeing images…flashes of things that he didn't quite understand yet. "What happened?"
"He cut you! I thought you'd die!" Rin scrambled to her feet then, helping him up as well while beaming at him in sunny pleasure. "Does it hurt?"
"No…not at all…" Kohaku had a sudden burst of suspicion and he reached back, prodding the spot where he should have felt the seeping power of the shard…but there was nothing. "What happened?" he addressed Sesshoumaru this time, despite the glare that the youkai was sending his way.
"Ah! It was the Tenseiga, wasn't it, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken was very pleased that he had discovered the answer to the riddle, but there was nothing in return for his cleverness except for a slight nod from his master. "You see, Rin, Sesshoumaru-sama used that sword to save the brat, and you should be thankful."
"But…wasn't he already alive?" Rin frowned slightly, confused.
"No, that shard was keeping me alive." Kohaku told her, pointing to the glinting piece of jewel he had spotted just off the path. "It also let Naraku control me, so Sesshoumaru fixed it so that I wouldn't be dangerous to you anymore."
"Oooh…" Rin put a finger to her lips as though considering this for a long moment before she hugged Kohaku tightly and giggled. "I'm glad you're okay!" Kohaku chuckled nervously. Sesshoumaru was still glaring at him and it was decidedly frightening. So he let his eyes wander over to where Kanna was standing right where he had left her. At first she seemed utterly expressionless, but as he watched, her lips quirked slightly, and he was almost positive…
Kanna was smiling.
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"MIROKU!!!" the scream could be heard from quite a distance, causing all the birds to take flight, startling most any animal that heard it.
"OSUWARI!!!" the call that followed was definitely a different voice, but if the volume changed at all, it was only louder.
"I told them." Kouga rolled his eyes as he kept to the relatively safe task of tending the fire while the girls attempted to take their bath nearby. Only four minutes after they had left, Miroku had started off on a seemingly casual walk, except for the fact that everyone who saw him get up knew exactly what he was intending. Hakkaku had offered him hooted advice about where he might get better visibility, Kouga had told him to just knock it off, and Inuyasha had growled before following, saying that he wasn't getting in trouble for Miroku's perverted ways. That had worked out well. But of course, the nightly drama couldn't end that simply.
"Bitch! I didn't do anything!" Inuyasha was cursing up a storm, and it was soon followed by another male voice.
"What's going on!?" Kouga shook his head as he heard Ginta's voice, his concern totally unappreciated by the women he had just walked in on.
"Get AWAY!!" Ayame's voice joined the others, and Kouga thought he heard a few loud thumps. It would be interesting to see who came away with the most lumps this time, as it tended to be Miroku. However, Ginta didn't usually end up walking in on the nightly battle for a private bath time. And judging from how well he fared in his daily battles with Ayame, he would likely think twice before checking on the screaming girls again.
"Agh! Get off me!" Ginta was obviously running toward them, and Kouga looked around nervously. If the girls came to the fire naked, would he get in trouble? However, Ginta was followed only by a towel-clad Ayame, who was wielding a large piece of wood like a club, batting at him indiscriminately while clutching her clothes in her other arm.
"Ayame, knock it off." Kouga spoke up after she had chased him across the clearing twice. "He wasn't trying to see you."
"Yeah! I was just checking! You guys were screaming!" Ginta called behind him as Ayame slowed down, hesitant to argue with Kouga, but also not wanting to give up her chase. Finally, she grumbled before leaving momentarily to get dressed. Kouga raised his eyebrows at Ginta, whose eyes went widely innocent.
"What?" he asked, but just then, they were joined by another pair.
"And the next time I catch you, I'll take away all your ramen privileges!" Kagome was roughly clad, still adjusting her shirt slightly as she stormed into the clearing, followed by an irate Inuyasha.
"I was trying to stop him!" Inuyasha argued, obviously upset at what he felt was a clear injustice.
"Next time stop him without staring at me naked!" Kagome glared at him one last time before plopping down next to Kouga and smiling at him sweetly. "As you can see, not every guy has to watch us bathing."
"Yeah! Kouga was keeping the fire going this whole time, and you guys were peeping!" Ayame called from the bushes to Ginta, who was now nursing a bump on his head and pretending he couldn't hear her.
"I didn't peep either." Hakkaku grumbled.
"Yeah, don't worry, they ignore me, too." Shippo nodded solemnly to the other youkai, who snorted slightly at being grouped with a child.
"I don't want to hear it, Houshi! I know it was you who started it! You're always the one!" Sango stormed into the clearing with Miroku last, her clothes wrapped around her protectively and a vicious glare aimed at the man offering apologies beside her. "And you get everyone else in trouble because you don't care if you get smacked as long as you get an eyeful!"
"Sango, I hardly find that your sentiments are fair or well thought out, as you are obviously in a strained frame of mind at the moment." Miroku attempted to pat her shoulder, but she cut him off halfway there and twisted his arm away. "I think that once you have time to relax in front of the fire, you will feel reasonable and be able to accept the fact that I was just out for a walk when I happened across you ladies."
"You're never just out for a walk! There's always something you're after." Sango huffed, sitting down next to Kagome, her back straightened in an attempt at dignity as she crossed her arms. Ayame reappeared fully clothed and took this as a signal to sit down as well. She immediately claimed the free spot next to Kouga. Inuyasha abandoned the scene for a perch on a nearby tree branch, and after some thought, Ginta sat down with Hakkaku and Shippo between him and the still indignant Ayame. Miroku, having no compunctions about sitting next to the woman who had just beat him severely with an oversized boomerang, lowered himself next to Sango and offered her a winning smile. Her only response was a snort and a toss of her head.
"Sometimes you have to wonder if it's worth it." Ayame sighed slightly, her eyes sliding toward Kouga to see his reaction. "We try so hard to stay beautiful and fresh, and does anyone appreciate it?"
"I must say that—" Miroku's half-spoken feelings were cut off by a sharp pinch from the woman next to him.
"You had better not finish whatever it was you were going to say, Houshi-sama." She told him. "We all know you appreciate our beauty. We don't want to hear it."
"I was only going to comment on the fact that it is rather impressive that you three women are able to keep yourself so lovely and well-groomed despite the hardships of our journey." Miroku told her, his face seemingly innocent.
"Please don't look at me like that, Houshi-sama. I hate it when you do that." Sango compressed her lips and turned away, staring intently at the fire as though it were possibly the most fascinating thing in the world.
"You two…" Kagome didn't finish her thought, only rolling her eyes and glancing above them at Inuyasha, who was doing a good job of moping and pretending to want nothing to do with the people conversing below him. It was probably that ramen threat…she'd have to tell him later that she didn't mean it or he'd be unbearable.
"Sango, please do not speak so formally to me." The monk entreated, "I understand that you are upset about the incident earlier, and so I will make you a promise."
"Really?" Sango's eyes lit up, and she turned to him as though she suddenly had faith in the perverted monk. Kouga snorted, and he was shocked when Kagome actually elbowed him. What was that for?
"Yes, I promise that you can watch me any time you wish, and I shall not feel the least bit upset about it." He told her, his face completely straight and his voice utterly serious. "For I understand that it is only fair that I do you the same favor you have done me."
"How is that a favor?" Sango's face twisted and she edged toward Kagome, who was shooting Miroku a very disappointed look. Ayame sighed slightly. It was ridiculously silly, watching two people so hopelessly in love denying it so furtively. If only Kouga looked at her that way…she almost hoped he would come peep on them during bath time…maybe then she would feel that he cared at all. She tried so hard, and he always seemed too busy with his own thoughts to notice.
"Trust me, Sango, when the night is long and cold, and there is nothing for a man to hold onto, the picture of you in my mind is the greatest favor you could grant." He gave her a lascivious grin and managed to pinch her at the same time, invoking a wrathful slap before Sango stood, brushed off her skirt, and stormed into the darkening woods.
"Well?" Ayame spoke up after a few moments of silence had passed. Everyone turned to look at her, except for Kouga, who seemed to be intent on the fire. "Aren't you going after her?"
"Me?" Miroku blinked at her in surprise. "She is angry, and it would be best for me to leave her alone right now."
"Men are so stupid." Ayame grumbled, and she thought she heard Kagome giggle in agreement.
"I'm not stupid." Shippo pointed out, and Kagome smiled at the little fox youkai as he climbed into her lap.
"You're special, Shippo-chan." Kagome assured him. "I envy the woman that has the fortune to fall for you. You're very good and honorable."
"And he never peeps. And he always knows how to make us feel better." Ayame added.
"Well, he can't help being the cutest." Kagome giggled, cuddling Shippo up to her chest. "Can you, Shippo-chan?"
"Hey! Did you hear that, Inuyasha?" Shippo called up to the sulking figure in the tree. "I'm the cutest!"
"Eat shit, stupid brat." Inuyasha retorted, and Kagome rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Ayame.
"Men really are stupid, aren't they?" she asked, and Ayame was surprised when Kouga didn't argue in the least, still intent on the fire as though nothing else in the world could reach him in that moment. She wondered what he was thinking about…what he had been so preoccupied with since escaping that cave. It made Ayame wonder…was there really a girl in that cave with him? Who was she? And what about her fascinated Kouga so completely? It was infuriating.
"At the risk of suffering further insults to my intelligence, I shall take my leave of you sweet ladies for the moment." Miroku rose, adjusting his robe before turning to follow Sango into the forest. He was only gone for a few seconds before Kagome and Ayame burst into giggles and continued to speak about various things that Inuyasha decided were all very girly.
It didn't take long for Miroku to find Sango, as she was gathering firewood and cursing under her breath. He cleared his throat after watching her go about her task for a moment, and she looked up at him, her maroon eyes flashing slightly in the pale moonlight that filtered through the forest canopy. They stared at each other for a while in silence before he stepped toward her. "I apologize." He lowered his eyes slightly, and she sighed wearily.
"You always apologize. I have to wonder if you even understand what it means." Sango told him as she brushed past him.
"It means that I wish things were different between us." Miroku's words stopped her as surely as if he had physically restrained her, and so he continued. "In a different world, we might have met under different circumstances. Perhaps we could speak more freely in that situation."
"I…don't know what you mean." Sango's voice shook, belying her words.
"I am sorry." He told her, turning, his eyes gentle as he held a hand out to her. She looked at it, licking her lips and considering what she should do. What would it mean if she took that hand? Would she be giving him more than she was prepared to? Would she be admitting to more than she felt that she could? Would he expect too much of her? Would she expect too much of him? Would it all fall apart? Would the world be broken inside of her?
"Let's get back." She told him, smiling as though she couldn't see the hurt in his eyes as she headed back toward the camp without taking his hand.
It was better this way.
That's what she had to believe.
Then why did it hurt to see him look so disappointed?
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The End (Of Part 10, That Is)