Disclaimer: I do not own the following characters I've used in this fan fiction! That is the almighty job of Rumiko Takahashi-sensei!

Warning(s): None yet but I will warn when sexual relations come into play in later chapters.

Summary: Sesshoumaru is ill, possibly dying, and poor Rin is in search of a way to cure her master's sudden illness. Going against Jaken's orders, the young girl seeks out the one person she thinks might be able to heal him, but can a certain miko cure a sick dog demon without falling head over heals for him first? SessxKag

"Hold Me Closer"

Chapter 4

Written by: UnspokenDreams

Was it a dream? A mere illusion of the mind? Who was that figure, that cool source through the miasma of heat that scorched my body within the midnight hour? With a soft groan, amber optics opened to welcoming rays of the sun. Allowing himself to grow used to the light within the area, the demon dog allowed his gaze to travel over the terrain, finding his human child sleeping on what appeared to be a green lump. After further inspection he found the green lump was only Jaken, trapped within Rin's embrace like a security blanket. A small sound brought his attention elsewhere, finding the other human female sitting up, rubbing her eye in a sleepy manner.

"Good morning," she said through a yawn, the demon lord continuing to look at her. "You gave me quite a scare last night Sesshoumaru. I thought you were a goner for a second there," she finished as she arose, stretching and smoothing out her ruffled attire.

A goner? Could this human have been the blurred form that aided me through the evening hours? Impossible. This Sesshoumaru relies on no one…

No sooner then this happening, Rin arose from her sleeping position and quickly hurried as to where Kagome stood, begging the teenage girl to hear about the dream she had had. Kagome smiled and knelt to the girl's level, taking the child into a playful hold. Rin squirmed to be free, laughing as Kagome held on tighter. Through this all Jaken had awoke, not even bothering to complain as he sat to the side, mumbling beneath his breath.

Within the next minute, as well as without warning, Kagome's eyes were pulled from those of Rin's eyes as she saw something that she hadn't seen in the longest of times. Sesshoumaru was standing, not very well, but he was upon both of his legs. His clawed hand rested against the tree trunk, his breathing quite shallow.

"Sesshoumaru! You're not strong enough to—" Kagome had begun yet the dog demon looked sharply to the girl, immediately silencing her. Within the next minute Sesshoumaru began to walk away from the area as if he hadn't been plagued with anything.

"Lord Sesshoumaru does that sometimes Kagome. You get used to it," Rin added as she saw her master walking away, not leaving a single clue as to where he was going.

Kagome merely gaped. If she were to go after him she would be risking her life. It was best to stay put and hope that the dog demon would return safely.

XXxX

Amongst the tall grass that resided next to the Bone Eater's well, lay a hanyou, arms propped beneath his silver mane as he gazed towards the sky.

'Friend! Sesshoumaru is anything but a friend to anyone! There is no way I'm stepping one foot next to that bastard!'

'Well if you won't Inuyasha, then I will!'

He could almost hear the both of their voices, shouting at one another as if they were enemies. With a sigh and a canine-like ear twitching, the hanyou turned onto his side, already aware of his visitor that had approached. "What do you want Miroku?" he asked dully.

The monk smiled, "You heard me coming didn't you?" he asked as Inuyasha snorted.

"I could smell you a mile away…"

"I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult…" Miroku stated with a laugh as he seated himself a few feet away from Inuyasha who still remained on his side, back faced towards the monk.

"Just go away," Inuyasha replied. Apparently he wasn't amused.

Miroku shrugged and allowed his staff to rest next to him. "Still sulking about Kagome are we?"

The hanyou chose not to reply, his long claws becoming entwined with a stray piece of grass. So what if he was? Was it a crime to miss Kagome? His Kagome. The monk took note of Inuyasha's hidden distress as he continued in speaking, having an urge to annoy the dog-eared male.

"You know…" He began, voice a silken purr, "I bet Lady Kagome is enjoying her time with Sesshoumaru. Now what was that word that Kagome told me about hmm…" Miroku lowered his head in brief thought before smiling with his recalled memory. "Perhaps Sesshoumaru is a pimp."

Inuyasha was forced to turn around at this, an amber eye twitching. "What the hell is a pimp?"

"Has Lady Kagome not conversed it with you? Ah, well, I suppose I will tell you then. A pimp, from what I understood, is a male who tends to womanize…much like myself. Only pimps are rewarded with money and other valuables as they make the women do their bidding."

A moment sooner the hanyou was merely inches from Miroku's face, fangs bared as he spoke, "YOU TAKE THAT BACK! KAGOME WOULD NEVER LET SESSHOUMARU DO THAT TO HER!"

The monk sweat-dropped, "I was merely teasing Inuyasha. No need to shout."

Biting back an angry snarl, Inuyasha leant back into a seated position, arms crossing across his chest in a rather stubborn way. Kagome would never let Sesshoumaru take advantage of her in such a way! She would stand up to him, show him who was the boss, and give him a taste of her wicked hand. Eyes widening to a full state, Inuyasha remembered just whom he was thinking of here. This was Kagome Higurashi…a mere human. Why hadn't he seen it before!

"Really, perhaps I was too—" Miroku began as he looked to Inuyasha, his head having lowered for a moment, only to see that the hanyou was gone and nowhere to be found. "…harsh?"

XXxX

Managing to put aside her worry for the time being, Kagome decided a nice walk with Rin would be the best way to keep Sesshoumaru, who had yet to heal, out of her mind. Of course they had invited Jaken yet the toad refused to go anywhere with 'the useless humans'. Kagome had merely shrugged at this, taking Rin's hand and walking out of the area.

"I'm hungry Kagome," Rin stated as she placed a small hand about her stomach, looking to the older girl with large brown eyes.

Kagome smiled, "So am I. How about we look for something to eat?"

"Okay!"

And having decided upon that, the two girls began to search for any signs of an edible substance, quite excited when they found a nearby fruit tree. Rin reached for a fruit but stopped as Kagome shook her head. "Those aren't ready yet. See how they're green? We need to eat the red ones," she explained as Rin's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise.

"But, Kagome, the red ones are really high up there!" The child exclaimed as she pointed upwards, the miko allowing her gaze to travel as to where Rin pointed. She had been right for the red fruit rested a few branches upwards meaning one of the two things. Either Kagome would climb the tree, getting the fruit that way, or she would shake the large tree and hope that her 'almighty-strength' would prevail and knock some fruit off.

"I'll be right back Rin," The teenager said as she attached herself to the first branch.

Rin tilted her head, "Be careful."

Easy for you to say Kagome thought as she climbed. Sheesh, Inuyasha makes this look so easy! I can't remember the last time I climbed a tree. All I really have to do is not look down right? You can do it Kagome old girl, just don't look down! Finally reaching the fruit they sought for, Kagome grabbed a few and folded them within her shirt, ready to make a climb downwards.

Crack.

Eyes widening and heart taking an extreme plunge, Kagome felt herself lower on the branch she knelt on.

Crack, crack.

"Kagome! The branch is going to break!" Rin called upwards as she watched Kagome begin to panic.

A fall from where she was currently at would injure her severely or worse, it could kill her. Knowing she only had a few more seconds before she plummeted to the ground beneath, the girl squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath. Only a second later the branch broke. She could feel as her body fell through the layers of air, a scream escaping from her lips before she could catch it. Waiting for the sickening thud of her body connecting with the ground, the girl suddenly felt something catch her, breaking her deadly fall. Opening one eye, she couldn't help but notice a mass of silver hair cascading over her eyes or the firm stone armor pressing into her shoulder.

"Good catch Lord Sesshoumaru!" She heard Rin squeal.

LORD SESSHOUMARU! Opening both of her eyes now, the girl slowly lifted her head, meeting with a pair of calm golden eyes. Holding back another screech of fear, Kagome pressed both hands to her mouth, not being able to tear her eyes away from his. He had caught her with only one arm! Now that was pure talent.

"You caught me," Kagome muffled out through her hands yet the dog demon had heard her perfectly clear. She never thought she'd ever be this close to Sesshoumaru, alive at least. His angular face was so handsome, his demon markings seeming to show more at this position.

"If I hadn't your pathetic life would be taken by such a foolish cause," his reply.

Well it sounded as if someone was feeling better… "Oh, yeah, heh. Ummm, if you wouldn't mind, can you please let me down?" Kagome asked him, hands still pressed to her mouth to suppress an undeveloped scream. And Sesshoumaru did exactly what she had asked. He let her down. Kagome stared up at him from the ground, having been dropped.

"You know you just could have let me down easy," She remarked.

"You instructed only to let you down. As so, I did." he told her rather dully.

Arising from the ground and dusting herself off, Kagome returned her gaze to rest upon Sesshoumaru. "You should learn how to treat a lady," she told him. It was funny really. Now that she had at least some experience around the dog demon, as well as contact, Sesshoumaru didn't seem so intimidating anymore. This was, however, only when his face wasn't two inches from hers.

Sesshoumaru raised a brow as Rin stood by Kagome, nodding vigorously. "As you may or may not know, I do not associate with humans outside of battle. I don't have time for such a useless thing."

Kagome put her hands onto her hips. Was he for real? Even an aristocratic assassin, such as Sesshoumaru, should have had manners when a female was involved. "Well, now that you're apparently feeling better, I think I should leave!" She told him, a little insulted by the whole 'lady' issue. Stomping her foot a bit, the girl turned and left.

With a sigh, Rin turned towards her master, brown eyes looking quite sad. "Lord Sesshoumaru hurt Kagome's feelings. She helped take care of you my lord…" the girl said softly. "I don't want her to leave." And having saying that Rin too turned and left, leaving the demon lord in solitude, watching as the two humans left the area.

"Well it's about time that wench left! Hmph, pathetic human," A new voice entered the area as Jaken joined his master and scoffed. "Perhaps once you kill that half breed Inuyasha, you can also kill that wretched girl as well."

Jaken didn't know how or when it had happened but shortly after his previous comment the frog demon found himself imbedded within a pile of dirt with a rather large bump on his head. He happened to catch a last image despite this. The image of his mighty lord walking in the direction Rin and Kagome had ventured off in.

XXxX

That jerk! He's just as bad as Inuyasha. Why do dog demons have to be so stubborn! I didn't have to come all the way here and take care of him. I could have said no. Okay so he dropped me big deal! But c'mon man, it's called common courtesy! Oi, demons… Kagome thought as she gathered her things, Rin sitting quietly beside her.

"I'm going to miss you Kagome," the child said after a while, her small hands turning within her lap.

Kagome turned to Rin and found that she had tears welling within her eyes. The miko immediately felt her heart break. "Oh, Rin, please don't cry! I have to leave. Inuyasha needs me to come back," she tried to explain only to have Rin's tears develop into small sobs.

"But, Lord Sesshoumaru needs you too! He might be getting better now but what happens if he gets sick again? What if I can't find you? I think Lord Sesshoumaru really likes you Kagome. I've never seen him look at anybody the way he looks at you before," Rin cried as she clung to Kagome, the teenager listening to everything that was said.

Sesshoumaru? Like me? That's a good one. He hates humans and the last time I checked, I was a human!

Allowing Rin's sobs to decrease down to a mere sniffle, Kagome tried to speak in a caring, motherly tone. "I'm really sorry Rin, but I have to go back. I wish I could stay longer but I only said I would come to take care of Sesshoumaru. He's feeling better now which means I can leave. He is a demon after all and demons heal quicker then we do," she told Rin referring to 'we' as them being humans.

Rin nodded, "I guess so. I'm just really going to miss you."

"And I'm going to miss you," Kagome replied as she gave the girl one final hug before standing, taking her backpack over her shoulder and looking towards the woods. Well, I guess it isn't too far of a walk. She thought.

"Kagome…"

The calling of her name stopped her from walking as she recognized the voice. That deep voice only being able to belong to Sesshoumaru himself. Turning around she found the demon standing a few feet away. "I'm leaving now. Don't overwork yourself," she said over her shoulder, placing a foot out to walk when she suddenly felt a hand resting against her back.

"You agreed to stay four days. Despite the fact that I am healing should not mean you can go back to that half demon Inuyasha," She heard him speak behind her.

Does he actually want me to stay!

Trying to find words, Kagome turned around, coming now face to face with her patient. God…he was gorgeous. "N-No! I have to go back," She tried to say yet her words were above a mere whisper. Outstretching a clawed hand, Sesshoumaru caught the fall of her hair within his grasp, feeling the black threads beneath his fingers. A blush having claimed her cheeks, Kagome felt herself falling, unable to stop as she leant into his devouring touch.

"Sesshoumaru, I—"

"K-Kagome!"

At hearing the familiar and surprising voice, Kagome managed to exit the trance she'd been in, turning and finding a breathless Inuyasha staring at them.

-To Be Continued-

Author's Notes: Phew! I've worked really hard on this particular chapter. I had it halfway typed before my old computer died as so I had to retype and remember everything I had written. Sesshoumaru is SO HARD to keep in character! The next chapter will be out in a couple of weeks so keep an eye out for that. Wooo-boy, Inuyasha ain't gunna be pleased! –G-chan.