Chapter 4: A Day with Flowers
Rays of sunlight filtered through the screened windows warmed Kagome's face and woke her up.
Unwilling and unable to budge from her futon she glared at the ceiling. She had already been staring at it for the past few days, what did another fifteen minutes matter?
This time, she did not have to wait fifteen minutes. Rin came bouncing in five minutes after Kagome had woken up, ready for a brand new start.
"Kagome!" Rin bounded over to her bedside. As she usually did, she shot out questions faster than she received answers. "How are you today? Did you sleep well? Are your injuries better? After breakfast can we go to the flower fields?"
"Sure. After all, I did promise you," said Kagome, regretting her rash promises, but not showing it. "Help me up."
The door slid open and Sesshoumaru walked in.
"Knock, will you?" asked Kagome irritably.
"Respect your host, will you?" he shot back with equal nastiness.
Kagome rolled her eyes, not really that mad. "Rin, help me up."
"No. You are not moving one step until you get your wounds freshly dressed and wrapped up."
"Is that an order, sir?" Kagome inquired with mock formality.
"Yes. Unlucky for me, the neighboring miko that kindly offered to heal you when you first came is ill herself and cannot come today. The task -" Kagome swore she saw him grimace- "has been relegated to me."
Kagome laughed, but it become slightly nervous when he didn't seem to notice. No way that guy is touching me, wounds or not, though Kagome.
Sesshoumaru hadn't meant to read her thoughts, but she had laid them open by the look of incredulity in her eyes. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes. Like he would even bother going near her – Rin could do it. He'd supervise.
"Rin. There are some medical supplies in the chest near you. Go over and fetch the powder in the blue jar, the powder in the green jar and the powder in the black jar. Get some clean cloth strips while you're at it." It wasn't everyday Rin obeyed him instantly like this and he was enjoying it. "Kagome, we'll start with your back first."
Kagome sighed and loosened the ties to her yukata. Flipping over as fast as her wounds would allow her, she allowed Rin's gentle hands to slip the rest of the yukata of her shoulders. As Rin unwrapped the cloth around the gashes on Kagome's back Sesshoumaru eyed the damage.
"It's healing, but not quickly enough," pronounced Sesshoumaru, surveying her back. "You should stop roaming about freely like you normally do and start thinking about resting, Kagome. Rin – take about a pinch of the powder in the black jar, mix it with about a bowl of water and use that for a dressing."
Rin did as she was told. The mixture applied to her back stung hard, but cooled her sore skin almost immediately.
"Ok, front next," intoned Sesshoumaru, sounding... bored? How dare he, thought Kagome. She glanced at him furiously.
"Turn around and face the door first," she insisted.
"Woman, Kagome, whatever. If we were on a battlefield and there was no immediate female assistance available, and you were severely injured, would you still act the way you do now?" asked Sesshoumaru, but nevertheless he turned around, his back to Kagome.
"That situation's different," retorted Kagome. "In the first place, it's unlikely we'd ever be on a battlefield together, without any other woman. It's equally unlikely I'd get so wounded I couldn't wait for you to get me to a village. And I can be certain that no lecherous thoughts will cross your mind on a battlefield."
"Oh?" A slim, perfected eyebrow arched. "You think I would be... what's the word you often use for your era... turned on by a human girl?"
Flushing, Kagome hid her face in her pillow. "Shut up!" came her muffled cries through stifled giggles of embarrassment.
"As you wish." Without looking once at Kagome, Sesshoumaru continued telling Rin what to do, which was quite a feat. Rin did everything efficiently, unaware of the impatience of Sesshoumaru and the blushes of Kagome. When she was done and Kagome was properly covered with her yukata again, Sesshoumaru walked over to her.
"And up you go," he said, picking her up firmly but gently, bridal-style, and setting her on her feet.
"Thank you." She tiptoed and hugged him. It wasn't anything intimate, but it caught Sesshoumaru by surprise anyways. He brushed his arms to her back in a faint return to her hug, before she pushed him out so she could dress for the day.
Kagome watched Rin prance through the flowers nodding drowsily in the breeze. The flowers sprang up everywhere in every hue and size; they had only walked away from the palace for about five minutes before they found flowers growing in abundance.
It took barely half an hour for Rin to find the most beautiful roses, chrysanthemums, daisies, and other flowers Kagome were clueless about. Strolling back, Kagome looked at the flowers Rin had collected and wondered what on earth she was going to do with them. She had all but failed her Japanese Traditional Arts class. Her teacher had been sorely disgusted with her lack of talent in the traditional dance and had subsequently assumed Kagome had no skill in any of the other arts. Kagome, in retaliation, had not paid much attention in any of the classes.
She racked her brains to try and remember everything she'd been taught about floral arrangement, but drew a blank. Finally, Kagome vaguely came upon some scenes she remembered from the florists' when her mother had gone to buy flowers for special occasions.
There had been lilies... with deep red roses. If she was not wrong, daisies were often left by themselves – they were colorful enough to make an eye- catching display. Chrysanthemums... the white ones looked wonderful with any fiery red flower.
Kagome thought so hard that involuntarily she halted. Aware of only flowers, she jumped when Rin tugged on the hem of the sky blue kimono Kagome wore.
"Shall we go?" asked Rin.
"Oh... of course," said Kagome, snapping out of her thoughts. "Say, I've got a few flower styles we could try out, but of them requires lilies. I didn't see any growing here; do you know where we can buy some?"
Rin smiled. "Actually, we have them in the garden at home, along with most of the other flowers. But I get too excited picking them and I sometimes start making a racket, which irritates Sesshoumaru-sama. Not that he says anything, but I can tell. And the worse is Jaken-sama. He breathes down my neck telling me how much effort he put into the flowers, saying I picked the wrong ones, or that I picked too many. So now I just find ones outside the castle. But if you really need lilies I'm sure Jaken-sama will spare a few."
After this they walked on in pleasant silence, and reached the Sesshoumaru's palace in no time. Inside the gate, Kagome turned to Rin.
"Take these flowers to your room first and I'll see what I can do about the lilies." Sending Rin inside, Kagome followed a smooth stone path with smooth colored crystals making vibrant patterns on the surface into the garden. Rin hadn't been exaggerating – the flowers in the garden seemed endless. But it didn't take too long to find the lilies, their electrifying scent caught Kagome almost immediately.
She found a large corner with lilies blooming everywhere. Kagome glossed over the delicate pink ones, for today she only wanted the purest of pure white. Spotting a few large white blooms, Kagome carefully snipped their stalks off with a thin scissors she'd brought from her time.
Cradling seven or so flowers in her arms, but careful not to crush them, Kagome unconsciously sank to her knees. Memories flooded through her.
The first came from way back when she was in kindergarten... She saw Hojo with a beautiful single-stemmed lily for her, blushing uncontrollably.
There was a memory of Kagome skipping along a lily garden with energy that surpassed Rin's.
Then there was one where Kagome had broken her mother's lily vase and lied about it...
And then she remembered seeing Miroku in the flower market, trying to buy a few lilies for Sango. He had gone through hell trying to slip away from the taijiya's watchful eye, and as far as Kagome was concerned, he never given any to Sango. But Kagome chuckled at the picture of him after Sango found him and wouldn't believe he hadn't sneaked off to find village girls.
Thoughts flashed by... stopping at one particular scene.
"I can give you this flower, but for a price," rasped the deep croaky voice of a witch. Her gnarled fingers clasped a beautiful, long-stemmed white lily that glowed gold with all its purity.
"Please..." begged Kagome, tears trickling. "Just give it to me."
"Very well. But I warned you," said the witch. She thrust the flower into Kagome's outstretched hands. The moment the flower touched Kagome's skin, she felt a sharp pain tearing at her heart. It grew in intensity and volume and Kagome dropped the flower in agony and keeled over, unable to scream or cry out. In reality it was only a few seconds, but to Kagome, she had passed decades there on the ground. When the pain stopped she reached out helplessly for a healing hand. She felt none, only the flower. Picking it up, Kagome glanced around her, allowing the sweat on her forehead to trickle down her cheek.
Was she in hell? But the voice of the witch brought her back to her senses.
The witch now had a vial of crystal clear ruby liquid. Seeing Kagome's horrified expression, she laughed coarsely.
"It's not blood, dear, though I wished I had some of yours," she said. "It's only your ability to love any man like you would a lover. Without it you can never fall in love with a man without him betraying or leaving you.
"You see, you are not aware of it yet, but you have a certain charm you don't know you possess. All women have it – it attracts men to them – but you by far have the greatest amount of this strange essence. Men around you don't know why, but are simply fascinated by you, and end up falling in love with you. This essence is my gift to my twenty-four-year-old granddaughter, Kikyo. After she drinks this she'll finally get Inuyasha unwillingly in love with her... his half-brother too. All the most powerful men will be after her.
"Of course, I'll erase your memory and you'll never know this happened, so if perchance you happen to wonder why Inuyasha doesn't love you anymore, you won't ever know," the witch grinned evilly.
Kagome tried to protest wildly but her body still shook from the pain. She only managed to moan softly, and shudder. "Give it back to me... I want it back! You can't take it and give it to Kikyo! Inuyasha..."
"But don't you want to save the elder brother with the flower?" asked the witch, feigning ignorance. She pitied the girl; without the essence she held to capture men's attention, Sesshoumaru, the strong taiyoukai he was, would probably forget about her after he was saved. But her granddaughter's happiness was much more important than some silly half-miko's feelings for love.
"Well, I must be going now," said the witch. "I say it's a far trade we've made, don't you think?" In a cloud of smoke she vanished, taking the vial of liquid with her.
Sesshoumaru had watched Kagome for quite awhile while she picked flowers; he had seen her lose concentration and start to slip away into memories she'd long buried.
Oh, memories were dangerous things. They brought back the worst of your life – sometimes they brought back the most painful things you had already forgotten.
Kagome was living proof to that truth. As he watched her feelings turn from sweet pleasure to humorous moments to pure fear and horror, Sesshoumaru didn't have to go near her to sense her distress.
He drew closer to her silently. Kneeling on the grass besides her, he studied her face. Her look managed to startle him. It held pain, anger, sorrow, fear... yet hope and peace and the type of feeling people get when they know they've done something good. He watched as tears seeped from her closed eyelids, splashing like diamond dewdrops onto her lap.
Sesshoumaru had yet to see a more delicate creature so strong in her beliefs and powers, and full of generosity and caring.
He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, not knowing why he did so, and rubbed her shoulder in soothing motions.
Kagome sobbed until she could sob no more, then collapsed on the soft surface next to her.
She didn't remember a soft surface. Kagome stopped her tears for just a second, to open her eyes and take in her surroundings.
The air was tainted with the scent of fresh grass and lilies... She was back in reality, finally. And she was in...
Sesshoumaru's lap? How the hell...
Kagome pulled herself up quickly. He stared at her, but it wasn't a lewd glance or a penetrating look. His eyes seemed – seemed – to hold empathy and understanding.
"I... I didn't... I don't remember... I don't understand..." Kagome couldn't hold back tears and they flowed out silently. Before she knew it, she was in Sesshoumaru's lap, enclosed in his arms, pouring out the whole story, along with a flood of tears.
"Will Inuyasha be able to get your 'essence' back from Kikyo?" asked Sesshoumaru thoughtfully after hearing her tale.
"Why?" asked Kagome, curious. Then, sounding bitter, she said, "No, he promised Kikyo to always protect her. With Inuyasha head over heels with her, he'll never help me. He acts all protective over me when it comes to Kouga, but I know as well he does that he doesn't love me. Of course, his ego likes to think that there are two women fighting over him. Little does he know that I don't love him – I just let him believe it is so."
Sesshoumaru bit his lip without appearing to. He had planned on sending her back to Inuyasha after her wounds were recuperated, seeing as they traveled together and were collecting Shikon shards together. But this little piece of information about their tangled relationship made him think twice about sending Kagome back.
Besides, with Inuyasha infatuated with Kikyo, it would be impossible to expect him to help Kagome.
Sesshoumaru let out an inaudible sigh and wrapped Kagome closer to him. He didn't love her, or lust for her... Not yet. But she needed protection and reassurance and he would give it. Maybe it was her fragile beauty. Or her innocent manners that reminded him so sorely of Rin.
Her trust in him amazed him. In a matter of a few days she had forgotten about his 'bad guy' status and had actually shared her thoughts and fears with him.
Kagome, for her part, had no thoughts at all about the fact that Sesshoumaru had kept fighting Inuyasha. He's nicer than Inuyasha, she mused. Then again, Inuyasha's in love with Kikyo. No wonder he's never nice to me.
Holy shit, Kagome, she admonished herself. Are you saying Sesshoumaru is in love with you?
She was rudely interrupted from her thoughts by an angry yell. "Wench!" screeched Jaken, spotting them. "What the hell are you doing? First you steal my flowers and then you start seducing Sesshoumaru-sama! Next, you'll be trying to become Lady of the Western Lands, I suppose, and bring that filthy hanyou Inuyasha over as your little toyboy. And maybe you won't stop there, you'll-"
"Jaken! Mind your own business and leave!" said Sesshoumaru. The volume of his voice remained at a normal level, but his anger was so apparent that even the slow-minded toad caught it. His eyes bore into Jaken's, making the toad shudder with apprehension at the fire in them.
"Kagome-chan, are you done?" called another voice. Rin. Obviously – Kagome had been in the gaden "Oh, Sesshoumaru-sama! You and Kagome-chan look so cute together!"
Sesshoumaru slit his eyes in anger, making them into golden lines of fury. What was with everyone and their knack for untimely arrivals? He couldn't bring himself to unleash his fury on Rin, however, and directly his anger to Jaken instead. Growling in frustration, he stood up, balanced Kagome on the grass, and stormed off to the castle. Kagome giggled without meaning to – even in his irritated mood, his idea of 'storming off' meant icily striding off in graceful moves.
"Let's go and get those flowers started, Rin," Kagome said. Rin gladly followed, slightly puzzled.
Jaken rolled his eyes until they popped out, cursing the wench for getting him into trouble. Grumbling, he set about watering the lilies, careful for the rest of the day to stay out of Sesshoumaru's path.
A/N: I've got nothing to say. Except, please review!
Thank you:
DeniseD: Wow! ducks as tons of reviews fly her way You sure give tons of reviews! Hands DeniseD a Pocky reward, along with a big hug
Stacerue: You know what? I thought I had the ending to this story all planned out but now it turns out, I don't. I'm making a new ending... and better still, whenever I have to make up endings as I go, the story turns out to be ultra-long.
RoguesHeart: Thanks! In answer to your riddle... no, because my spit would put out the flame from the lighted match. But I would probably die anyways from turpentine poisoning. gasp You're not going to kill me, are you? Teehee, no one's gonna finish the story if I die...
zeddy222: Awww... thanks!
Rays of sunlight filtered through the screened windows warmed Kagome's face and woke her up.
Unwilling and unable to budge from her futon she glared at the ceiling. She had already been staring at it for the past few days, what did another fifteen minutes matter?
This time, she did not have to wait fifteen minutes. Rin came bouncing in five minutes after Kagome had woken up, ready for a brand new start.
"Kagome!" Rin bounded over to her bedside. As she usually did, she shot out questions faster than she received answers. "How are you today? Did you sleep well? Are your injuries better? After breakfast can we go to the flower fields?"
"Sure. After all, I did promise you," said Kagome, regretting her rash promises, but not showing it. "Help me up."
The door slid open and Sesshoumaru walked in.
"Knock, will you?" asked Kagome irritably.
"Respect your host, will you?" he shot back with equal nastiness.
Kagome rolled her eyes, not really that mad. "Rin, help me up."
"No. You are not moving one step until you get your wounds freshly dressed and wrapped up."
"Is that an order, sir?" Kagome inquired with mock formality.
"Yes. Unlucky for me, the neighboring miko that kindly offered to heal you when you first came is ill herself and cannot come today. The task -" Kagome swore she saw him grimace- "has been relegated to me."
Kagome laughed, but it become slightly nervous when he didn't seem to notice. No way that guy is touching me, wounds or not, though Kagome.
Sesshoumaru hadn't meant to read her thoughts, but she had laid them open by the look of incredulity in her eyes. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes. Like he would even bother going near her – Rin could do it. He'd supervise.
"Rin. There are some medical supplies in the chest near you. Go over and fetch the powder in the blue jar, the powder in the green jar and the powder in the black jar. Get some clean cloth strips while you're at it." It wasn't everyday Rin obeyed him instantly like this and he was enjoying it. "Kagome, we'll start with your back first."
Kagome sighed and loosened the ties to her yukata. Flipping over as fast as her wounds would allow her, she allowed Rin's gentle hands to slip the rest of the yukata of her shoulders. As Rin unwrapped the cloth around the gashes on Kagome's back Sesshoumaru eyed the damage.
"It's healing, but not quickly enough," pronounced Sesshoumaru, surveying her back. "You should stop roaming about freely like you normally do and start thinking about resting, Kagome. Rin – take about a pinch of the powder in the black jar, mix it with about a bowl of water and use that for a dressing."
Rin did as she was told. The mixture applied to her back stung hard, but cooled her sore skin almost immediately.
"Ok, front next," intoned Sesshoumaru, sounding... bored? How dare he, thought Kagome. She glanced at him furiously.
"Turn around and face the door first," she insisted.
"Woman, Kagome, whatever. If we were on a battlefield and there was no immediate female assistance available, and you were severely injured, would you still act the way you do now?" asked Sesshoumaru, but nevertheless he turned around, his back to Kagome.
"That situation's different," retorted Kagome. "In the first place, it's unlikely we'd ever be on a battlefield together, without any other woman. It's equally unlikely I'd get so wounded I couldn't wait for you to get me to a village. And I can be certain that no lecherous thoughts will cross your mind on a battlefield."
"Oh?" A slim, perfected eyebrow arched. "You think I would be... what's the word you often use for your era... turned on by a human girl?"
Flushing, Kagome hid her face in her pillow. "Shut up!" came her muffled cries through stifled giggles of embarrassment.
"As you wish." Without looking once at Kagome, Sesshoumaru continued telling Rin what to do, which was quite a feat. Rin did everything efficiently, unaware of the impatience of Sesshoumaru and the blushes of Kagome. When she was done and Kagome was properly covered with her yukata again, Sesshoumaru walked over to her.
"And up you go," he said, picking her up firmly but gently, bridal-style, and setting her on her feet.
"Thank you." She tiptoed and hugged him. It wasn't anything intimate, but it caught Sesshoumaru by surprise anyways. He brushed his arms to her back in a faint return to her hug, before she pushed him out so she could dress for the day.
Kagome watched Rin prance through the flowers nodding drowsily in the breeze. The flowers sprang up everywhere in every hue and size; they had only walked away from the palace for about five minutes before they found flowers growing in abundance.
It took barely half an hour for Rin to find the most beautiful roses, chrysanthemums, daisies, and other flowers Kagome were clueless about. Strolling back, Kagome looked at the flowers Rin had collected and wondered what on earth she was going to do with them. She had all but failed her Japanese Traditional Arts class. Her teacher had been sorely disgusted with her lack of talent in the traditional dance and had subsequently assumed Kagome had no skill in any of the other arts. Kagome, in retaliation, had not paid much attention in any of the classes.
She racked her brains to try and remember everything she'd been taught about floral arrangement, but drew a blank. Finally, Kagome vaguely came upon some scenes she remembered from the florists' when her mother had gone to buy flowers for special occasions.
There had been lilies... with deep red roses. If she was not wrong, daisies were often left by themselves – they were colorful enough to make an eye- catching display. Chrysanthemums... the white ones looked wonderful with any fiery red flower.
Kagome thought so hard that involuntarily she halted. Aware of only flowers, she jumped when Rin tugged on the hem of the sky blue kimono Kagome wore.
"Shall we go?" asked Rin.
"Oh... of course," said Kagome, snapping out of her thoughts. "Say, I've got a few flower styles we could try out, but of them requires lilies. I didn't see any growing here; do you know where we can buy some?"
Rin smiled. "Actually, we have them in the garden at home, along with most of the other flowers. But I get too excited picking them and I sometimes start making a racket, which irritates Sesshoumaru-sama. Not that he says anything, but I can tell. And the worse is Jaken-sama. He breathes down my neck telling me how much effort he put into the flowers, saying I picked the wrong ones, or that I picked too many. So now I just find ones outside the castle. But if you really need lilies I'm sure Jaken-sama will spare a few."
After this they walked on in pleasant silence, and reached the Sesshoumaru's palace in no time. Inside the gate, Kagome turned to Rin.
"Take these flowers to your room first and I'll see what I can do about the lilies." Sending Rin inside, Kagome followed a smooth stone path with smooth colored crystals making vibrant patterns on the surface into the garden. Rin hadn't been exaggerating – the flowers in the garden seemed endless. But it didn't take too long to find the lilies, their electrifying scent caught Kagome almost immediately.
She found a large corner with lilies blooming everywhere. Kagome glossed over the delicate pink ones, for today she only wanted the purest of pure white. Spotting a few large white blooms, Kagome carefully snipped their stalks off with a thin scissors she'd brought from her time.
Cradling seven or so flowers in her arms, but careful not to crush them, Kagome unconsciously sank to her knees. Memories flooded through her.
The first came from way back when she was in kindergarten... She saw Hojo with a beautiful single-stemmed lily for her, blushing uncontrollably.
There was a memory of Kagome skipping along a lily garden with energy that surpassed Rin's.
Then there was one where Kagome had broken her mother's lily vase and lied about it...
And then she remembered seeing Miroku in the flower market, trying to buy a few lilies for Sango. He had gone through hell trying to slip away from the taijiya's watchful eye, and as far as Kagome was concerned, he never given any to Sango. But Kagome chuckled at the picture of him after Sango found him and wouldn't believe he hadn't sneaked off to find village girls.
Thoughts flashed by... stopping at one particular scene.
"I can give you this flower, but for a price," rasped the deep croaky voice of a witch. Her gnarled fingers clasped a beautiful, long-stemmed white lily that glowed gold with all its purity.
"Please..." begged Kagome, tears trickling. "Just give it to me."
"Very well. But I warned you," said the witch. She thrust the flower into Kagome's outstretched hands. The moment the flower touched Kagome's skin, she felt a sharp pain tearing at her heart. It grew in intensity and volume and Kagome dropped the flower in agony and keeled over, unable to scream or cry out. In reality it was only a few seconds, but to Kagome, she had passed decades there on the ground. When the pain stopped she reached out helplessly for a healing hand. She felt none, only the flower. Picking it up, Kagome glanced around her, allowing the sweat on her forehead to trickle down her cheek.
Was she in hell? But the voice of the witch brought her back to her senses.
The witch now had a vial of crystal clear ruby liquid. Seeing Kagome's horrified expression, she laughed coarsely.
"It's not blood, dear, though I wished I had some of yours," she said. "It's only your ability to love any man like you would a lover. Without it you can never fall in love with a man without him betraying or leaving you.
"You see, you are not aware of it yet, but you have a certain charm you don't know you possess. All women have it – it attracts men to them – but you by far have the greatest amount of this strange essence. Men around you don't know why, but are simply fascinated by you, and end up falling in love with you. This essence is my gift to my twenty-four-year-old granddaughter, Kikyo. After she drinks this she'll finally get Inuyasha unwillingly in love with her... his half-brother too. All the most powerful men will be after her.
"Of course, I'll erase your memory and you'll never know this happened, so if perchance you happen to wonder why Inuyasha doesn't love you anymore, you won't ever know," the witch grinned evilly.
Kagome tried to protest wildly but her body still shook from the pain. She only managed to moan softly, and shudder. "Give it back to me... I want it back! You can't take it and give it to Kikyo! Inuyasha..."
"But don't you want to save the elder brother with the flower?" asked the witch, feigning ignorance. She pitied the girl; without the essence she held to capture men's attention, Sesshoumaru, the strong taiyoukai he was, would probably forget about her after he was saved. But her granddaughter's happiness was much more important than some silly half-miko's feelings for love.
"Well, I must be going now," said the witch. "I say it's a far trade we've made, don't you think?" In a cloud of smoke she vanished, taking the vial of liquid with her.
Sesshoumaru had watched Kagome for quite awhile while she picked flowers; he had seen her lose concentration and start to slip away into memories she'd long buried.
Oh, memories were dangerous things. They brought back the worst of your life – sometimes they brought back the most painful things you had already forgotten.
Kagome was living proof to that truth. As he watched her feelings turn from sweet pleasure to humorous moments to pure fear and horror, Sesshoumaru didn't have to go near her to sense her distress.
He drew closer to her silently. Kneeling on the grass besides her, he studied her face. Her look managed to startle him. It held pain, anger, sorrow, fear... yet hope and peace and the type of feeling people get when they know they've done something good. He watched as tears seeped from her closed eyelids, splashing like diamond dewdrops onto her lap.
Sesshoumaru had yet to see a more delicate creature so strong in her beliefs and powers, and full of generosity and caring.
He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, not knowing why he did so, and rubbed her shoulder in soothing motions.
Kagome sobbed until she could sob no more, then collapsed on the soft surface next to her.
She didn't remember a soft surface. Kagome stopped her tears for just a second, to open her eyes and take in her surroundings.
The air was tainted with the scent of fresh grass and lilies... She was back in reality, finally. And she was in...
Sesshoumaru's lap? How the hell...
Kagome pulled herself up quickly. He stared at her, but it wasn't a lewd glance or a penetrating look. His eyes seemed – seemed – to hold empathy and understanding.
"I... I didn't... I don't remember... I don't understand..." Kagome couldn't hold back tears and they flowed out silently. Before she knew it, she was in Sesshoumaru's lap, enclosed in his arms, pouring out the whole story, along with a flood of tears.
"Will Inuyasha be able to get your 'essence' back from Kikyo?" asked Sesshoumaru thoughtfully after hearing her tale.
"Why?" asked Kagome, curious. Then, sounding bitter, she said, "No, he promised Kikyo to always protect her. With Inuyasha head over heels with her, he'll never help me. He acts all protective over me when it comes to Kouga, but I know as well he does that he doesn't love me. Of course, his ego likes to think that there are two women fighting over him. Little does he know that I don't love him – I just let him believe it is so."
Sesshoumaru bit his lip without appearing to. He had planned on sending her back to Inuyasha after her wounds were recuperated, seeing as they traveled together and were collecting Shikon shards together. But this little piece of information about their tangled relationship made him think twice about sending Kagome back.
Besides, with Inuyasha infatuated with Kikyo, it would be impossible to expect him to help Kagome.
Sesshoumaru let out an inaudible sigh and wrapped Kagome closer to him. He didn't love her, or lust for her... Not yet. But she needed protection and reassurance and he would give it. Maybe it was her fragile beauty. Or her innocent manners that reminded him so sorely of Rin.
Her trust in him amazed him. In a matter of a few days she had forgotten about his 'bad guy' status and had actually shared her thoughts and fears with him.
Kagome, for her part, had no thoughts at all about the fact that Sesshoumaru had kept fighting Inuyasha. He's nicer than Inuyasha, she mused. Then again, Inuyasha's in love with Kikyo. No wonder he's never nice to me.
Holy shit, Kagome, she admonished herself. Are you saying Sesshoumaru is in love with you?
She was rudely interrupted from her thoughts by an angry yell. "Wench!" screeched Jaken, spotting them. "What the hell are you doing? First you steal my flowers and then you start seducing Sesshoumaru-sama! Next, you'll be trying to become Lady of the Western Lands, I suppose, and bring that filthy hanyou Inuyasha over as your little toyboy. And maybe you won't stop there, you'll-"
"Jaken! Mind your own business and leave!" said Sesshoumaru. The volume of his voice remained at a normal level, but his anger was so apparent that even the slow-minded toad caught it. His eyes bore into Jaken's, making the toad shudder with apprehension at the fire in them.
"Kagome-chan, are you done?" called another voice. Rin. Obviously – Kagome had been in the gaden "Oh, Sesshoumaru-sama! You and Kagome-chan look so cute together!"
Sesshoumaru slit his eyes in anger, making them into golden lines of fury. What was with everyone and their knack for untimely arrivals? He couldn't bring himself to unleash his fury on Rin, however, and directly his anger to Jaken instead. Growling in frustration, he stood up, balanced Kagome on the grass, and stormed off to the castle. Kagome giggled without meaning to – even in his irritated mood, his idea of 'storming off' meant icily striding off in graceful moves.
"Let's go and get those flowers started, Rin," Kagome said. Rin gladly followed, slightly puzzled.
Jaken rolled his eyes until they popped out, cursing the wench for getting him into trouble. Grumbling, he set about watering the lilies, careful for the rest of the day to stay out of Sesshoumaru's path.
A/N: I've got nothing to say. Except, please review!
Thank you:
DeniseD: Wow! ducks as tons of reviews fly her way You sure give tons of reviews! Hands DeniseD a Pocky reward, along with a big hug
Stacerue: You know what? I thought I had the ending to this story all planned out but now it turns out, I don't. I'm making a new ending... and better still, whenever I have to make up endings as I go, the story turns out to be ultra-long.
RoguesHeart: Thanks! In answer to your riddle... no, because my spit would put out the flame from the lighted match. But I would probably die anyways from turpentine poisoning. gasp You're not going to kill me, are you? Teehee, no one's gonna finish the story if I die...
zeddy222: Awww... thanks!