Running Blind
Just A Starving Writer

Disclaimer: nope, not mine.

Part 2: August, September

August

"Miroku? Are you awake?" the miko whispered softly across the campfire.

"Kagome-sama? Is there anything you require?" the monk replied just as softly.

"I...I just need your advice."

"Of course, I am always willing to give a beautiful woman the benefit of my thoughts."

"Thanks, but not here." Ignoring his comment, her eyes made a pointed glance over to the sleeping hanyou before meeting the understanding gaze of the monk.

"Yes, perhaps you are right. Follow me."

As they left the peace of their campsite, the two remained silent until they reached an oddly placed rocky outcrop. Using the stones as seats, they settled themselves and waited for their eyes to adjust further to the limited light before turning to the matter at hand.

"What do you seek advice on, Kagome-sama?" the monk began, all of his previously playful demeanor falling as he once again took the position as confidante.

"Well, it's just...do you think you can fall out of love with someone?" she asked, her strained voice giving some hint to the emotional turmoil that was mirrored in her eyes.

"I suppose it is possible, but then one would have to question if it was really love to begin with."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Her self depreciating sigh bothered him.

"Does this concern Inuyasha?"

"Yeah..."

"I have noticed you growing more distant from him. Do you know what has caused this change?"

"Not really...It's just that, well, lately I feel like there's something more out there. Like what I might have with Inuyasha is nothing compared to what is possible...Life is so big and beautiful and I don't want to miss any of it by waiting for something that may be impossible...I just don't know if he's worth it anymore, I guess."

"You have given this some thought, then."

"Yes, all the time. I just don't know what to do, you know? I thought I was in love with him for so long that now that I know I'm not, I'm not quite sure how to act."

"Have you considered acting like yourself, Kagome-sama?"

She smiled faintly and he accepted the gift with a grin of his own.

"I guess I can do that. Thank you, Miroku. I really appreciate it."

"There is no need for thanks. I well enjoy the company of a beautiful woman."

Slapping him playfully across the arm, she stood to return to camp but suddenly froze in place as she felt eyes on her once again. Taking notice of her stance, the monk immediately raised his staff in preparation for battle when a figure emerged between the trees in the distance. While the monk only further tensed with somber anticipation, the miko seemed to relax.

Tilting her head to the side with an air of curiosity, she finally chose to address her recent spectator.

"Are you following me?" she asked seriously, even if there was a hint of warm amusement dancing in her eyes.

The taiyoukai's only response was a raising of his nose that clearly said how ridiculous he thought of that idea. Without a sound, he turned from the pair and melted back into the forest.

The young woman had yet to notice that the still nervous monk had shocked eyes locked onto her.

"Kagome-sama?" he asked hesitantly. Turning her attention back to him, she was instantly perturbed by his less than confident demeanor. "Have you come across Sesshoumaru before?"

"Yeah," she answered, not quite understanding his problem with the issue. After all, she was still alive and the taiyoukai hadn't even harassed them in months. "I see him sometimes when I go running. He never says anything, just stares at me like I've interrupted his alone time or something. It's kind of funny, actually."

"Are you sure it's Sesshoumaru?"

"Of course. How can I not recognize him?" She paused in thought before beginning again. "He hasn't hurt me or anything, so I don't really see the need to bring this up to Inuyasha. He'll only get angry and do something drastic. Can we keep this between us?"

The monk turned his eyes back to the location the taiyoukai had recently vacated and pondered the situation as he leaned against his staff.

"I suppose that shouldn't be a problem," he answered at length. "But," he continued, locking his gaze with hers. "You had better take care of yourself."

She nodded in serious agreement before breaking into a smile, the dark stealing very little of the brilliance. Accepting the agreement, they walked in companionable silence back to the campsite.

September

If she knew anything about illness, she knew had a fever. But she convinced herself it was nothing. After all, it would only set them back in their shard hunting if she had to go home, or even back to Kaede. It would pass, it had to, and in the meantime, she could only wait it out and do the best she could to keep up with the rest of the group.

However, before long, even she realized how impossible that was. Her bicycle was not cooperating with the rocky road and both Inuyasha and Kirara, carrying the others, were far ahead. Still, she needed a rest before she fainted. Wearily stepping off the bike, she stumbled gracelessly to the hard ground. While she waited for the world to stop spinning, she wiped sweat off her forehead with a trembling hand.

The dizziness only seemed to be growing worse and in a vain attempt to save herself some pain, she lowered herself onto her back.

There was no denying it now. She definitely had a fever and medication would be necessary. How unfortunate it was that her first aide kit had gone missing several days ago. It was, of course, on her list of things to get when she went home, but for now she would have to rely on herbal remedies, which were not always as helpful.

Turning her tired head to the side, she spotted her water bottle where it had rolled after falling out of her bicyle's basket. After a few attempts to reach it, she decided it was futile. She pinched her eyes closed for a moment to ward off another bout of wooziness. When she opened them again, she was almost certain she was hallucinating.

Giving in to the illness, her last thought was of blank golden eyes.

"Is Kagome going to be okay?" a childish voice echoed through her ears.

"Her fever broke a while ago and the herbs seem to be working," another voice responded sagely. Instantly she recognized Miroku.

"It's rather lucky she was able to gather those plants before she passed out," a rather worried Sango stated.

"Yes, rather fortunate indeed. Though I find it odd the herbs were laid so carefully while the rest of her belongings were scattered.

"It didn't smell right," the hanyou hesitantly added.

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?"

"I mean, it felt all wrong. Like someone else had been there, but there wasn't a smell or anything. Everything felt...bland."

"That is strange."

Before further conversation could continue, the miko realized how dry her throat was and rasped a quiet plea for water. After a few sips of the cool liquid, she was given a warm concoction of boiled herbs and bundled into a more comfortable upright position.

"How are you feeling, Kagome-sama?" the monk questioned with friendly concern.

"Better, I feel a lot better."

"Stupid girl, you should have told us you were feeling bad," the hanyou interrupted. She merely grinned weakly and turned her attention back to the cup in her grasp. The slayer not so discreetly hit the half demon with her weapon.

"You were very lucky," the monk continued. "Had it not been for the herbs you found, you could have grown much worse."

Her confusion must have been obvious because immediately all attention was focused intently on her. Shifting uncomfortably, she asked what he meant.

"You were not awake when we found you. It looked like you had collapsed and you had a terrible fever. Next to you we found a stack of leaves that we assumed you had gathered to deal with your illness."

"But...I didn't gather any herbs...I don't understand..."

Neither did they. However odd the situation, they were not going to overlook the gift. After another day of rest, the miko was well enough to continue their journey. None could discount the importance the herbs had in her speedy recovery but neither did they wish to speak of it.

A quiet night a few days later, as they camped on their way back to the well, she drifted away from her friends to seek a moment of solace to drink her tea. Sitting on a ledge overlooking a vast field of late summer flowers, she pondered the circumstances and the recent changes in her life.

Slowly, as the tea soothed her throat, she was warmed by the almost pleasant feeling of being watched over. Turning her attention back onto the field below, she noticed a being that seemed to glow in the darkness.

Despite the distance, or perhaps because of it, they seemed to reach a silent agreement. Nodding slightly, she watched in quiet awe as the taiyoukai responded in turn. She smiled softly as he disappeared into the night.

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became on the actions of one suspicious taiyoukai.

Her first assumption had been that the herbal gift was in thanks for keeping their strange meetings secret from the hanyou. No doubt, he had heard her discussion with Miroku and appreciated it. However, while that made sense for any other being, she found it unfitting for the lord. Why would he care that she keep his brother in the dark over such a trivial matter? Why wouldn't he ensure her silence by more threatening means? It certainly seemed the more likely thing for him to do.

Her previous encounters with him could be more simply explained away. To begin with, she doubted killing her was much of a challenge for him, not to mention he would risk sullying himself with human blood. In addition, he didn't seem much for wanton slaughter. While he was unquestionably the most lethal demon she knew, he was not the most deadly, simply because he spared the lives of those who were unworthy of his attention. In her mind, she was not worth the effort.

Then of course, there was the whole jewel business. He had undoubtedly learned by now that she had the ability to detect and purify jewel shards. If he was capable of complicated thought at all, which he surely was, the idea had occurred to him that she was more valuable alive than dead. After all, if he killed her, then how would he ever get rid of the pestilence that was the Shikon no Tama?

However, beyond that, she was clueless. While she did not come across him every time she ran, the amount was still surprisingly large. Though he had not visited the shard hunters as a whole, her odds were rather good that he would be found while on a jog. In the present, this would be called a coincidence, but she had lived her life with the knowledge that coincidences were rarer than Fate. She wanted to believe it was random, but her heart would simply not allow it. One could not be dragged into a well on shrine grounds on her birthday and count all other interesting occurrences as accidents.

But that idea left her in the unknowing dark. If it was not coincidence, what was it? Was it as she had half jokingly asked? Was he indeed following her or was it something infinitely more complicated?

She shook her head in an attempt to free it of the troublesome thoughts. It was simply no good pondering such things when Fate was content enough to leave her presently clueless. There was really only one thing she could do: wait and see.

Still, that didn't solve the issue of the taiyoukai's 'gift'. Nothing she had seen in his previous actions even hinted at this part of his character. Given she had little experience in reading the lord and, more often than not, he was not in the best of moods, that still didn't provide her an answer.

"What are you thinking about so seriously?" a voice disturbed her. Focusing back on the real world, she saw Sango looking upon her with curious concern.

"Oh, nothing," she lied.

"That didn't look like nothing," the slayer friendly chastised causing the miko to blush.

"Well, I was trying to...figure out the motivations of a friend," she improvised, hoping no one noticed her poor acting skills. "I met this guy back at home and I don't know what he's thinking. It bothers me because I'm not quite sure if he considers us friends or not."

Perhaps it wasn't the best lie ever, but it was all she could come up with on the spot and while she could completely obscure the truth, she desperately wanted some advice on it.

"What makes you think he wouldn't?" the slayer asked, glad to be of assistance to her friend.

"Well, he used to hate me. I never really hated him, but he really hated me. But I've run into him a couple times outside of school and though we never say anything to each other, I have a feeling he doesn't hate me as much anymore. In fact, he even might have done something nice for me."

While the slayer considered this information, the monk turned to the miko with an unreadable expression.

"That is strange," the slayer finally said. "I wonder what made him change his mind."

"I don't know. That's what's bothering me. While it would be nice to have him as a friend, I just don't know what's really going on in his mind....It feels as if I'm going into this blind, you know?"

The slayer nodded in sympathy while the monk turned a thoughtful gaze back to the road in front of them.

Their trek of silent reflection was brought to a sudden end when the hanyou leading their group tensed and instantly drew out his great sword.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" the monk asked as he too prepared for attack.

"Sesshoumaru," the hanyou practically hissed.

Immediately, the group was in battle mode, except for the miko who tensed with a completely unrelated emotion. Scanning the woods to the side of the road, she was the first to spot the taiyoukai as he journeyed with his small entourage, apparently traveling perpendicular to their path.

For the briefest of instants, the eyes of the miko and lord met and she convinced herself she was only imagining the almost non-existent softening of his features before he turned a hardened gaze onto his brother.

"Put your sword away, half breed," he calmly ordered, no hint of brotherly affection present in his cold tone.

The lord walked with the stiff grace that marked him as a member, at heart at least, of aristocracy, trailed by his retainer, pack beast, and ward. The tense silence was almost deafening until the little girl skipped up to her lord and whispered something that, despite the other demons present, made it to his ears alone. With a slight nod, the child smiled broadly before skipping up to the stunned miko.

"Kagome-sama," she began as she held out a small bouquet of early Fall wildflowers. "I picked these flowers myself!"

Stiffly accepting the gift, she grinned as the child smiled widely, bowed and skipped off into the woods after her lord. Turning her attention back to the flowers in her hand, it took her a good few minutes to realize her companions were openly staring at her.

"What the HELL was that?" the hanyou demanded, even as he sheathed Tessaiga.

The miko only turned dumbfounded eyes on everyone present before responding that she had no idea. It was quite the truth. After all, she couldn't even remember the girl's name, but the child obviously knew hers, which could only mean she had been informed by her strange company. As for the respectful title and flowers...she was just as clueless as the others.

They continued their journey in silence quite different than before.

Inuyasha fumed quietly.

Sango snuck suspicious glances at her friend.

Miroku lost himself to his thoughts, his brow furrowed with concentration.

Kagome stumbled along, flowers gripped tightly in her hand, occasionally bringing them to her nose to smell the potent fragrance.

There was no question about it in her mind now. Something complicated was going on beneath the surface of the taiyoukai...and she had no idea what it was.