Chapter 10: A Gift

It had been hard seeing the girl go. He had only really gotten to know her for four days, but still... to part was like losing his left arm again. And for a week the demon Lord, Sesshomaru spent his time suffering with his own thoughts. He had returned to Rin and Jaken. Their responses being that Jaken threw himself at the lord's feet and rambling on and on about his own suffering at the hands of the little girl.

Rin had come soaring out of the underbrush, attaching herself to Sesshomaru's legs like a velcro-monkey. Her grip so tightly that he had wondered, for a moment, if his legs would fall off from loss of circulation. But then she had released him and beamed up at him, just saying how much she had missed him while he had been gone.

And so he had rejoined his little group of followers without an explanation as to why he had been missing, and their search for Inuyasha had continued. As well as his Lordly duties in patrolling the West... His little vacation from it had only made the work more stressful now that he had tasted freedom for the first time in a hundred years.

His stress made his mind weaker, and he found when he was alone his thoughts would wander to the girl, Kagome. He didn't have to think to remember her name anymore. And he confused himself at times as to why he had deemed her worthy of a name in his thoughts. She did not show him respect by using his title, why did he show respect by using her name?

While confusion reigned his mind his companions noted his distance. Jaken just kept silent so not to incite the demon lord's wrath upon himself. But Rin took it on herself to bring him extra flowers and other such useless items. But he found himself treasuring the little gifts the girl had to offer to him. Even if he did not carry the flowers with him, he remembered the gift. And began to feel as if a gift in return should be given...

And that got his mind wandering to Kagome again. She had taken care of him, saved him from an infection that would have killed him if he had stayed here. Other demons would have sensed his weakness and would have killed him...

But what sort of gift could he give the girl? And how could he get it to her without his half-brother catching him? He didn't want the conflict with his fool of a little brother. Recently Tetsusaiga's power had not attracted his attention. He did not know why.

--

Kagome's week had been no better... Perhaps even worse. For it was not only her mind put into chaos, but her entire world. For now Kikyou was traveling with the group. Four days of Kagome being missing and Inuyasha had brought the dead woman into the camp. And Kagome spent the week putting her head down whenever Kikyou sensed a jewel shard before her... Well... so Inuyasha would think. But Kagome had actually begun ignoring the shards she sensed. She knew it was wrong, but part of her wanted revenge on Inuyasha. So, even though Inuyasha attempted to rub salt in her wounds by insulting her, telling her just how weak she was, Kagome held her tongue.

Depression seemed to envelope the girl, and even though Sango and Shippo had been very pleased to see her back, they now wished she had just stayed home where she could be happy. But the only time Kagome seemed happy was when they camped down at late night.

Shippo saw her then, laying in her sleeping bag with the kitsune tucked in close to her chest, looking up at her and seeing in the darkness with his strong night eyes, the smiles that graced the young woman's lips. Sometimes she looked as if she would laugh. Her sleep was riddled with happy thoughts and she seemed to be the same Kagome from before, before Inuyasha had brought Kikyou in.

Shippo did not know what it was that made Kagome so happy, but Kagome knew. And when she woke she would curse herself for those dreams. Four days of pure happiness...ending with a less than happy parting. But she couldn't make herself think of Sesshomaru the same. Perhaps it was because her reality had become so black that her dreams picked out the Demon Lord as a prince to come and save her from her unhappiness on a white steed.

Pity... that dreams do not come true.

Sesshomaru had likely forgotten all about her now. They hadn't seen the demon lord in quite a while, so she considered that he might be avoiding her entirely. And, even as her dreams continued on happily, in her waking hours she knew they were just figments of her imagination, and that they could not come true...

Or so she would think.

--

Little would she know that in two days she would find a token from her prince. However small it was, she had been drawn to the bundle of white cloth tucked away under a few rocks. She didn't know how she had found it, but the entire time the group was watering themselves, settling down for lunch in the thicket along the stream, and Kagome had said softly that she was going to go for a short walk. For what reason, she did not know. But something had told her to go that way, and then her eyes had been drawn to those rocks along the sandy stream bed. And under there was a pretty white pouch.

Curiosity made her pull it out and stroke the white silk of the bag. It reminded her of Sesshomaru's kimono. She pulled the golden drawstrings of the bag loose, and it fell open in her hands, revealing the most fragile looking necklace she had ever seen before. Its chain was thin and silver in color, she carefully lifted the necklace from its bed of silk and felt how light it was. The links of the chain were so tiny it was hard to see where they connected together to form the chain.

But what was most stunning was the perfectly shaped sphere attached to it, the size of a small marble. The smooth gem, as soft as the sides of river stone, was a pale blue with a cloud cream color swirling about across it. Making it look like she was holding her own little piece of the sky. As she held the necklace she felt as if it belonged to her. As if she were meant to find it. And no one else.

So she carefully put the necklace about her neck, the chain long enough that it disappeared under the collar of her shirt, the gem resting just above her breasts. And she felt her unhappiness clear away like the mist faced by the greatness of the sun. It dissipated and she found herself smiling. Fingering the gem before leaving it to settle underneath the cover of her blouse.

She dusted off the silky pouch careful and tucked it away carefully into a pocket of her skirt, turning and heading back to the camp.

Little did she know the golden eyes that were watching her from the coverage of a tree's branches.

Sesshomaru had been following this little miko for the past two days, and he had found himself disgusted by his hanyou brother's treatment of the girl. Sure she was difficult at times, but the girl gave up so much safety and happiness that could be found in her own time to travel in these dangerous lands of the past. Inuyasha did not know her suffering. The suffering that he put to her by refusing to acknowledge her worth. By replacing her and then rubbing it in her face when it was clear Kikyou was superior to the younger, less experienced priestess.

He had decided now was the time to get her a gift, and for once he had known what to give her. The gem was called the Dreamer's Stone. And so long as she carried it with her she would be able to face reality as if it were all a bad dream to be forgotten the next day... It was a temporary fix. It would help the girl's confidence when her depression was absorbed by the stone. But still...she deserved better.

But how to show the stubborn girl that? It was hard enough to get the stone in place for the girl to find it and clear out all traces of his scent in the clearing before Inuyasha, pushing the group hard for the pace, had come upon the stream.

But something told him this was the next on his agenda to save...

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Reviews-

kowzkowzkowzkowzetc- Extra short chapter, but I felt it was time for a little cut off the humor. -

regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan- Lol, true. Copy and Paste is my hero!

1kenshinlover- I wouldn't let my reviewers down!

Fauxi- Just trust me! -

Sheenachi- Hehehe. I would miss him! - I agree, your mom sounds so cool!

Kari Konoko- Don't jinx it! Hehehe.

Xx-Ash-xX- You flatter me! - - -! So many compliments I feel my ego could amtch that of Sesshomaru's. Lol. Thank you very much!

BlackHand- Only to avoid unhappy reviewers! JK. -

Mujitsu- Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the story so far and I hope not to disappoint!

Jessica Lyn- Love to hear more people are finding and enjoying my story! Thank you.

Demoness of the Black Wolves- - beams under the applause

Kirarafourseasons- Ah that's all my little sister is good for! Annoying me... Lol, never the other way around, sadly.

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