Moping Melancholy Mad Chapter 10: Eye of the Moon, an inuyasha fanfic

It is I, Jjah-Jjah! And yes, I know, I haven't updated in a coon's age. All I can say is sorry, and I've had a lot of college evilness to put up with. And just so you know, I'm taking Chemistry this coming semester and it's the stuff of evil legend, so I probably won't have a lot of time to update. I do have the next chapter planned out already though, so perhaps that will help. But I digress, on with the review!!!

DarkAngelB: Thank you for the review! Sorry it took me so long to update.

Mizukithepanda: Thank you! Inuyasha won't be in this little little story. At one point I was contemplating a sequel where everybody goes back to the past, about ten years after Kagome disappears, but it probably won't happen… Overconfident? If by that you're reffering to how there are no dividers between scenes/pov, I caught that after I posted. The evil website. First asterisks, now colons. I'm trying zeros now… Grown up Shippo! The title of the next chapter is going to be: Crazy like a Fox. Guess who shows up?

DarkRoseBlood: Thanks! I'm so glad you like the fighting scene, I was worried about it. The kimono will come into play… I don't know, but it won't be for a bit.

urban-angel007: Thank you! I've never really done a fighting scene before, so I'm glad you like. This chapter is the beginning of the kag-sess spark. Arrgh. I will try with the romance, but I'm not too good at it.

The Honest Reader: Yaaay! Thank you! You're a very nice person. Thanks you the review!

DemonWicca: Lol. Glad you're "hooked" to this. It makes me happy. Thank you for the review! If you're wondering about why Kirara collapsed, it was because the nozuchi suck out demon's energy just by being near them. So she fainted from being around them for too long.

busoshwe: Thank you! I've found so many awesome species of youkai in my research! I definitely can't fit them all in the story, but I'm sure gonna try!

Charms: (blushes) Why, thank you! I'm so glad that you decided to read this story. It really makes me feel nice to know that you consider this story special. I know exactly what you mean with all the horrible grammar and stuff. I hate bad grammar; one of my nicknames is English Teacher.

Ijin: Awww shucks. A piece of art? Thank you! You rock my socks!

Walis: Gee thanks! I'm glad you like Kirara. Hardly anybody puts her in stories. Tata!

Tenrai Shinju, Defafaeth Mechqua, soso, Sukera, Miko Sorrow, FurASmile, ricebaby, Silvanon of the Orchard, Mythra PenDragon, Tsuki Yume, Sora the Taske, spdsgirl, Vixey, Seijin, Emerald-Eyed-Faye, soul, wulfywolf5, Crispy, Mojo, Artemis of the Ice, Nova Alexandria, sandalwoods, evilduckie, inuyasha-n-kagome-rox142, Archangel Rhapsody, GoldenRat, Mystic Hanyou, Tokyobabe2040, distorted-desire, Tigeriskitty, Jasmine Fields, KagomeHigurashi16, RosieB, eVilxSnare, TheLightintheDarkness: Thank you all sooooo much for your reviews, I loved reading them!!! Thanks again!

And Disclaimer: I disclaim!

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Chapter Ten: Eye of the Moon

The first thing that came to her was the smell of the sea.

It was thick and heavy in her nostrils; so thick that she could taste it, as if it were a liquid. The next thing she became aware of was the sound of the waves, a soothing tempo. Brown eyes slowly opened to a world of salty mist over dark gray rock. She was lying on the ground. Kirara was curled up in a ball beside her, fast asleep. Kagome smiled at the little creature and ruffled her fur gently. The youki-draining nozuchi had been quite a challenge for the loyal youkai. She deserved some rest.

But the miko couldn't rest. She was tired, yes, but something swirling along with the sea spray was nipping at her tenaciously. Sleep was not allowed. While she scanned the endless mist surrounding, her mind wandered back to the recent battle. How long had she been asleep? The last thing she remembered was the youkai lord carrying her and the seashore glittering like diamonds in the moonlight as they glided through the upper atmosphere. Sesshoumaru. Where was he?

Silently, the miko stood, using her backpack, which was conveniently nearby, to steady herself. She looked at the pack for a moment, and then opened it and took out her first-aid kit. Then she picked a direction and walked into the gloom. After a while, the sound of the waves became heavier. Her steps became hesitant; she was afraid that she might walk right off a cliff since she couldn't see anything, but then a figure appeared in her line of vision like a ghost melting out of clouds. His back was to her and his hair floated softly in the wind. She stood and watched him for a few moments, hesitant about disturbing the magic of the moment. He had to know that she was there, but he gave no indication of it.

"Where are we?" She asked finally.

He answered without moving. "We are near Cape Tarai, the seashore eight kilometers east of Irozaki, on the southernmost tip of Izu." He didn't move for a few more moments, but then his head tilted back slightly. Kagome could see one gilded eye through the mask of his hair. She almost smiled; the tilt of his head was a distinctly canine movement. Then suddenly, gracefully, he turned and faced her, expressionless. But it was different than all the times he had stared at her before. Before there had been something wrong with the eyes. They had been empty and hollow like a tunnel stretching on for miles.

Now there was a…depth that was unfamiliar. In spite of herself, she was surprised. The change in him was sudden and absolute and completely disconcerting. She no longer knew where she stood in his eyes, and she supposed that that should scare her. However, she couldn't bring herself to be afraid. She knew, by some arcane instinct she knew, that the Sesshoumaru before her was not the same one who had sat under the Goshinboku and contemplated his own death. This Sesshoumaru, the one standing before her, was closer to the one who had ridden a two-headed dragon and wielded a sword that consciously thirsted for blood. Yet it didn't matter. He was more likely now than ever to snap her head off in one bite and all she could do was stare back at him in all his tattered glory.

And then he blinked. "You came after me…"

Kagome took in a deep breath of mist and smiled. "Of course I came after you."

"Why?"

And there was the simplest most enigmatic question known to all of mankind. Kagome had no idea how to answer.

She looked at him confusedly for a while, and then shook her head. "I don't know. I had to. There was no other option…" She trailed off and looked at the ground. Then suddenly she looked back up; he hadn't moved a muscle. Her corresponding smile shone with abrupt realization. "You're my friend. I care about you. If there's one thing I can say about myself with pride it's that I have never willingly abandoned a friend who needed me."

For a full minute there was nothing but silence and waves breaking somewhere out of sight and mind.

"You think that this Sesshoumaru needs you?"

The miko tilted her head in a mimicking gesture and smiled wider. "You are Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands, are you not?"

Very, very slowly, the Taiyoukai smiled.

And the miko nearly fainted. Who knew that he could let out such a triumphant shining grin? She had seen him smirk viciously in battle 500 years before, but this was different. Was his outer radiance as great as what she was glimpsing now?

"Yes. I am."

With those three little words all the sick feelings that had settled around her soul at how wrong his former countenance had been disappeared with an almost audible pop and the youkai lord suddenly found himself being stormed by a particularly happy little human miko.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The last time he remembered being blatantly hugged Rin had done it. To say the least, it had been a long time ago. Yet here he was now, with something akin to hope pulsing through his veins along with the blood. This weak and insignificant human girl had done this for him, and for such an absurd reason. No matter which way he turned it in his mind it made less than sense. But then when had Kagome ever made any sense? The day the miko began to act logically would be the day that he dyed his hair orange. Even now she seemed to have somehow gleaned the turn of his thoughts for one of her hands was clutching a fistful of his locks as if in protest of any harm befalling them. Strangely enough, her oddness seemed to be infectious, for no matter how he tried he could not find it in himself to push her away. He, in the midst of reveling in his rediscovered power, could not suppress this single weakness. What was this nonsense?

The miko grabbed his arm and the spell was broken. With their close proximity it was impossible for her to miss the wince. She made a distressed sound as she appraised the ugly red wound that she had accidentally touched. Immediately she tugged him over to a rather flat looking rock a few feet behind them where the air smelled strongly of salt and seaweed. He looked down at her appraisingly as she dressed the single wound and went onto finding the numerous others he had acquired during his brief stint as a nozuchi chew toy. There wasn't any point in trying to dissuade her or remind her that he was, after all, a Taiyoukai with superior healing abilities. The injuries would all be mostly healed by morning, but the stubborn line of her mouth showed more than anything that she wouldn't listen. Sesshoumaru lifted his head to the wind and drew in a breath. He felt free at this altitude. He was pretty sure that Kagome had no idea that they were standing very near the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking the crashing waves. The thick fog made it impossible for her mortal eyes to see.

"There you go…" Kagome murmured, more to herself than to him.

"Indeed." He answered, flexing the bandages on his left hand that covered the small but deep cut on his palm. He stared at it for a moment, suddenly realizing that the bandage was a brighter shade of white than his haori. Once upon a time his clothing had been as light and fine as heavy snow. Once he had worn lunar silk, and now he wore the plain fraying garb of a shrine keeper. He said nothing. Soon enough his enemies would feel his claws in their throats and he would wear trappings befitting his station once again. As he mused, he noted Kagome stand and move a few steps away.

His hand shot out quicker than a blink and grabbed her arm. "What?" She asked, seemingly a tad annoyed. He didn't answer her. She didn't know that she had just been about to innocently jump off a cliff. He tilted his head to the side as he heard something in the distance and inwardly smiled.

Lord Sesshoumaru had never been one to leave a debt unpaid. It was then that he realized just how much Kagome had done for him. She had gone above and beyond any kind of call of duty. She had not only saved his life twice, she had, whether she realized it or not, saved his very soul. She had pulled out of the muck and grime that which essentially made up the being who was Sesshoumaru, polished it, and flung it back into the light. His grip loosened from her arm and skimmed its way down to her hand.

He had to do something.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

He was holding her hand…

He was holding her hand and he had initiated it himself.

Dazedly, she looked around for flying pigs and the horsemen of the apocalypse. Around the time she realized that they weren't going to show, she felt the inu youkai tug at her limb and lead her through the mist into the unknown. She could not see his face. Why hadn't she looked at his expression when he had randomly taken her hand in his own?! She had frozen on the spot… On second thought it was probably a good thing that she could not she his face. If she couldn't see him, which meant that he probably couldn't see her, which was a good thing considering she was pretty sure that she was blushing. (Damn involuntary responses!) Unless he had eyes in the back of his head... Which was entirely within the realm of possibility… There was a kind of youkai that had a mouth in the back of its head, why not one with eyes? What was that kind of youkai called anyway? Bah. She was certainly glad she wasn't being tested on it. She shivered involuntarily. Evil, evil tests… She spent the rest of the short walk alternating between trying to remember the name of the wayward youkai species and waving her free hand behind Sesshoumaru's head to make sure he didn't have any extra eyeballs.

He stopped so abruptly, that she bumped into him making a soft 'oof' sound. The youkai turned and faced her, keeping possession of her hand.

"It is not over." She blinked at his words. He continued. "Wakarazuya will not stop hunting me after this defeat. If anything, his persecution will increase, for now he knows that I will be actively seeking him out. What will you do now? Will you go back to your shrine?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Please. I didn't go through all sorts of flack from you just to quit when the excitement starts."

He nodded. She knew that he knew what her answer was going to be. "Then fight we shall Kagome, miko. The battle we face will be glorious."

And suddenly out of the clouds around them a huge flock of white seagulls emerged. They swam through the air, surrounding the two figures with their eerie calls, the whistling of their wings, and lightning flashes of sea foam colored feathers. For a moment there was the illusion that they were in the midst of a living blizzard and then, it was over. The only indication that there had been anything there was the cry of a single gull that carried like a ghost's lament. Kagome smiled, tangible wonder etched into her features, all the while oblivious to the scrutiny she was under. She looked up, where the fog was beginning to clear, and noticed the full moon.

"Look." She said, and pointed.

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze towards the object of her attention. The moon was round and yellow. Nothing more.

"It's like the Kaze no Kizu! See?"

Sure enough, four deep purple strips of cloud were slowly roving across the moon's face. They actually were strangely similar to the scars that the attack of the infamous sword had once left in the earth.

And so the two of them stood there, under a moon that reflected images of the past. The mist drifted, the waves sang, and the memory of sea-bird's wings kept the air trembling…

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yay! Thank you so much for reading this! I originally wanted to the bird scene with Japanese cranes, but then I found out that there are only about ten of those in the wild right now. Ten doesn't make a very spectacular flock, so sea gulls… Ok then, hope you like! Please read and review!

Tata, JJ