Pairings: Inu/Kag Mir/San Sess/Rin
A/N: Don't worry, Sess will appear in this chapter. I just adore Sess/Rin fluffiness, but I enjoy writing Inu/Kag fluff the best. THEY ARE JUST SO CUTE TOGETHER! -SMILE-
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Chapter 16
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"Lord Sesshomaru, where are we?" Rin asked as she followed her lord through the cold atmosphere of the swamp. The two had long-since woken up and were wandering around, as always. Unfortunately for Rin, her lord hadn't uttered many words since setting off, and she was beginning to grow anxious around the silence wrapped around her. "Are we going to find Kagome and the others?" she asked. As expected, she was met with Sesshomaru's silence.
Her normally sweet expression turned sour. She may be used to him being on the silent edge, but that still didn't mean she had to go along with it! 'Argh, WHY can't he be more talkative?' she thought, narrowly avoiding an especially gooey blob of mud. 'It's no fun to serve a lord who won't even tell you how he's feeling. Oh, Lord Sesshomaru, how I wished you opened up, even if just a little bit.'
"Rin," came her lord's distant call. Rin looked up, hoping her wish came true.
"Yes, my lord?" she asked, eyes glistening at hearing her lord's soft, gentle, but stern voice.
"You'd better keep your mind focused; you're falling behind," he replied curtly, stalking ahead quietly, despite the mud. Rin sighed, sagging her head in defeat. Apparently, even the mud didn't dare make sounds around him. Rin shook her head, remembering her master's words, and ran forwards until she was next to her lord. Unfortunately, such actions splattered mud on her clothes, but that didn't matter. They'd wash out eventually, or be covered with other, new stains later.
Rin looked up at Sesshomaru, who seemed to tower above her small figure. His long, almost blue-silver hair flowing behind him like a cape. Rin always marveled Sesshomaru, and loyally followed him wherever he may go, unless his wishes forced her behind. Rin knew that Sesshomaru thought she was probably repaying him for saving her, but she thought otherwise. She befriended Sesshomaru; she knew he was special the first time she laid eyes upon his injured form in the forest by her old village.
She didn't follow him out of repaying a debt. She followed him because he was the only one to care for her. He was the only one to give her comfort when she thought no one else could give it. He thought he was just merely asking a question, but to Rin, it was much more than that. It was a simple gift to her, and it meant so much to hear it.
She would stay with Sesshomaru. She would stay with him forever…or at least, for her entire human lifespan. She stared gloomily at the mud below her; yes, that was the downside of being mortal. You were frail, a being so fragile that even the weakest of demons could harm you. You wouldn't live very long, and the oldest human wouldn't even be able to match half the span of a demons' life. Even Inuyasha, who's only half demon, would live on longer than she.
But she vowed that she would stay with Lord Sesshomaru until she died. That was her wish, and she would stick to it with her heart and soul. Maybe, perhaps, before she died, Sesshomaru will realize why she stayed with him so long.
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Kagome was wandering around with Inuyasha in the swamp. She was still getting over the fact that Inuyasha promised to protect her; he even HUGGED her! Well, it wasn't really that big of a deal, really, I mean, he'd hugged her before, but still…it made Kagome's heart pound ferociously in her chest. She could hear it in her head, she could feel it in her veins and arteries, and she could tell that a fine blush had definitely spread across her cheeks.
Inuyasha walked ahead of her by a few paces, periodically glancing a small peek back at her to make sure she was still there. Kagome doubted that was his real reason; his sensitive dog ears would easily be able to hear the squelching of her shoes sinking many inches below in the mud.
A small smile, almost unnoticeable, spread across Kagome's face. Even though he didn't remember her, he still felt protective over her.
Almost unexpectedly, Kagome's spine quivered slightly, and she let out a sharp sneeze, earning a slight soreness in the back of her throat. Inuyasha quickly stopped, and looked back at Kagome, who sneezed again. He slowly walked back up to her as Kagome's sneezing spasms continued.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked. His response was more sneezing as Kagome wiped her nose with her fingers, sniffled, and sneezed again. Inuyasha, gaining a slight hint of worrying in his golden eyes, reached a hand over Kagome's forehead, which was burning so much you could have fried an egg on it. "Hey, you're getting a fever." he said softly.
Kagome felt her cheeks flush up under his touch. One reason was because of her constant sneezing, and another was because of Inuyasha being so worried about her.
Finally, she managed to mumble, "My backpack…medicine. Helps col-" before she finished, she was interrupted with more coughing and sneezing.
Without hesitation, Inuyasha quickly dumped Kagome's pack in one of the very few dry spots in the swamp. It was only when he opened the yellow bag that he began to hesitate. He didn't even know what half this stuff was! With Kagome's vague descriptions, he managed to find the first aid kit, and his confusion grew at all the different possible choices.
Apart from all of the shiny metal objects inside the kit, there were gauze, bandages, and many stuff he'd never seen before. There were all sorts of bottles, about a dozen; Kagome said it had a blue label on it, so that narrowed down his search to…two. Great.
He angrily grabbed the two bottles and showed them to Kagome. "Which one of these is it?" he asked. Kagome weakly pointed to the one in his right hand. He immediately tossed the other one somewhere into the bag, and popped the cap of the bottle. Inside was a strong-smelling liquid. He almost chucked the bottle far, FAR away, but he endured; this was supposed to make Kagome better, anyways, so he could manage.
Kagome felt incredibly dizzy and light-headed. Her vision went hazy around the edges, and she went into a slightly delusional state. She could vaguely make out Inuyasha examining the bottle of medicine, and would have laughed at his reaction to it if they were under normal circumstances. Her feet were numb from the cold mud, and the coldness slowly crept up her legs, while her face felt like it was on fire. Kagome barely even noticed that she began to fall, until she felt strong arms wrap around her shoulders and hold her in mid-air.
"Kagome," came Inuyasha's voice, which sounded slightly unfamiliar to Kagome, "you have to take this medicine. Can you manage?"
"…huh?" the slightly delusional Kagome managed to reply weakly. She could hear Inuyasha sigh heavily, and heard strange movements. Her slightly-drooped eyes widened impossibly wide when she felt someone else's lips touch her own. She opened her mouth in shock, only to have the taste of Tylenol cold medicine enter her mouth. The foul taste almost made her gag, but she managed to swallow it.
Even though the she had swallowed all the medicine, Inuyasha's lips still held onto Kagome's. After a few seconds, Kagome finally realized what was happening, and what position they were in. Only one thought crossed her mind then.
'Inuyasha….is kissing me…'
TO BE CONTINUED……