Between Us

By: HalyconMoments11


I wouldn't raise alarm just yet
Although we're hanging by a thread,

tied to what we might get.

-Atlas Genius (Balladino)


Chapter 18: Between Trust and Doubt

"You should be sleeping, Miko."

Sesshomaru's voice was quiet, almost a whisper, attentive to their sleeping companions around them. He heard her shift slightly in her blankets but kept his eyes closed, head rested back against his mokomoko and the tree behind him.

It was late. It had taken hours for the inu-tachi to clean up, eat dinner, and settle down after the ambush by the river. The children had, of course, succumb to sleep quickly once Kagome had wound blankets around them and readied them for slumber beside the fire. The rest of the group, however, had taken more time to allay themselves, seeking instead to clean and sharpen weapons, tend to small wounds, or otherwise distract themselves until they felt lulled to sleep.

After helping clean up in the aftermath of the battle, preparing one of the oddities of ningen meals from her pack, soothing the kitsune and the daiyoukai's ward to sleep, and reading distractedly for a time, the miko had seemed to sink into her own blankets. She had avoided him for the most part that evening, distancing herself from him as much as possible, averting her gaze from his when she would come near. He knew that sleep had not found her by the way she breathed and moved herself carefully around the kitsune buried in her arms. Soon, even his hanyou half-brother had drifted into slumber in a tree near camp and only he and the miko remained awake.

She had sought the imperceptible pull between them then, which thrummed between them as if tender and raw. He had not needed to look at her to know she was watching him.

When she did not respond to his statement he turned his golden orbs on her from beneath half-lidded eyes. He heard her breath hitch slightly, but she held his gaze. For a ningen onna, her blue eyes were piercing, surprisingly stunning. He assumed their affect was linked to the way her reiki danced, raw and untrained just below the surface of her very being, and to the way each emotion flooded her expressions without reserve.

Curiosity fluttered beneath her ebony lashes now, and something he couldn't name.

"You returned early."

He nodded diminutively in response. Her unasked question hung in the air between them: Why?

Did she not realize she had called to him, that her fear had coursed down their bond like the twang of thread pulled taut? Perhaps she was not yet aware of how her emotions could cross their bond, particularly the ones she felt deeply. While she seemed entirely aware of other aspects of the imperceptible tether between them—its power to garner his attention for one, and the trembling heat that accompanies her touch, for example—perhaps she did not fully understand the connection between them.

Not that he did either—an irritating circumstance, but one that he would not confess.

"I was not far."

A lie. For what purpose? To avoid admission to how susceptible he was to her pull, even when unintentional?

"I heard Rin's scream."

Less of one. He had heard the children's screams, which had spurred him forward faster on his cloud of youki and had almost propelled him into flight as a ball of light.

Kagome hummed in response and for a moment he wondered if she could detect the half-truths he'd offered her. She had exposed the link between herself and his hanyou half-brother earlier that day, unconsciously perhaps, but obvious in the instantaneous response both he and Inuyasha had in heeding her call before she let loose her arrow. He had suspected a connection between the miko and his half-brother existed, but was unsure of its capacity before earlier that day. Certainly she was tied to the inu-hanyou as his companion in the quest for the Shikon no Tama and the war against Naraku as the Shikon Miko, but the way she'd simultaneously drawn their attention in the midst of battle that day had made it clear: there was more to the link between them. Such a possibility suggested that perhaps there remained aspects of the bond between the miko and himself that he had not yet uncovered.

"Arigato, Sesshomaru-sama."

He tilted his head slightly in curiosity, as if to ask: what for?

"For saving me."

A slight flush adorned her features, barely visible in the flickering firelight. She looked away from him then, turning her gaze to the flames. Was she embarrassed to have needed his aid? Ashamed to have reached out to him in her fear in that moment?

"When I proposed the joining of our packs I made a pact to protect and aid you and your companions, just as you sought to defend mine."

She seemed to ponder his words for several minutes in silence before she met his gaze once more. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "It was my honor to do so," she whispered, gratitude and contentment fluttering in his chest, emotions he knew to be hers stretching out across the intangible tether between them.

He bowed his head marginally in agreement, eyes never leaving hers.

"Sleep, Miko. We have a distance to travel on the morrow."

She nodded her head in response, mumbling a soft "Goodnight" to him as she burrowed into her blankets.


After they had turned back in the direction of Edo that morning, a restlessness emerged between the original members of the inu-tachi, each quietly expressing their concerns over Kagome's intentions to return to the Hone Kui no Ido in hushed tones. As they drew nearer to their destination throughout the day the tension between Inuyasha and Kagome rose until they were quietly and persistently bickering, which had slowly begun to grate on the daiyoukai's nerves. No small feat considering his aptitude for tuning out Jaken's prattling.

"I'm going home when we get to Edo, whether you like it or not, Inuyasha."

"You can't. Not with him around."

She obviously had not yet mentioned their encounters by the well to her companions. And yet, she also carefully chose her words, remaining aloof in reference to her travels via the Hone Kui no Ido. 'Curious.'

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" Kagome taunted. Before his half-brother could respond, she added, "Not to mention, if I don't go home, you go without ramen. Are you going to go without for the duration of the time we all travel together, hm?"

Inuyasha's ears twitched, pressing back slightly at the mention of going without the odd noodle dish they had often eaten for quick meals throughout the past few weeks. The hanyou had certainly made no qualms about displaying how much he enjoyed the food, even going so far as to protest occasionally when the miko offered it to the kitsune kit or his ward in the hanyou's stead as their supplies dwindled.

"If he finds out—"

"I trust Sesshomaru-sama."

The hanyou's surprise showed plainly on his face, amber eyes blinking owlishly at his miko companion. The daiyoukai's gold gaze turned to her, casting over her figure as if to assess any lies her posture may portray. He found none and the emotions that stirred in him at this realization took him by surprise. When she turned her eyes on him, glancing back at him quickly over her shoulder, her sapphire gaze meeting his golden immediately, he quirked an eyebrow in response, well aware that the attention of several of their companions turned to him with hers.

For a moment he couldn't tell if the smugness fluttering in his chest was hers, or his.

"Feh. It's your life." Inuyasha grumbled, effectively drawing the miko's gaze back to him as he buried his hands in the sleeves of his haori, ears twitching in irritation.


They arrived in Edo a few short hours later. Once they hit the outskirts of the village, Inuyasha sprinted away into the forest, his frustration with their miko companion after their bickering earlier that day still blistering beneath exasperated huffs and side-eyed glares cast in both their directions throughout the afternoon. Sesshomaru followed the rest of the inu-tachi into the village, ensuring the ningen and children's arrival at the elder priestess's small hut as Jaken and A-Un settled down at the edge of the forest within sight of the village.

Kagome lingered outside the door of Kaede's home, eyes cast in the direction his half-brother had disappeared. Golden eyes watched her silently for several moments before pulling delicately at the invisible tether between them, garnering her attention.

When her blue eyes met his gold he quietly said, "Come," and turned to walk in the direction of the Hone Kui no Ido.

When she hesitated, he paused and glanced back at her over his shoulder. "Do I not have your trust?" he asked.

A faint flush rose to her cheeks and she sighed as she shifted her empty yellow pack on her shoulders. "You're earning it," she mumbled, knowing he'd hear.

He shrugged a shoulder, a nonchalant indication that he cared neither for how flustered she grew in response to his recognition of her earlier statement, nor her most recent adjustment. He, of course, understood the weight of earning another's respect, trust, favor—concepts that he knew ningen far too often granted others without thought. He knew the young miko frequently did so as well—however, if she was reconsidering her admission about him, perhaps she was not as fleeting as he thought.

Kagome quickly glanced back over her shoulder at the door of Kaede's hut before moving to catch up with him. "I suppose they suspect you know about the Hone Kui no Ido anyways," she muttered, a statement even quieter than the last.

He offered her a small 'hn' in reply as she fell into step beside him and turned to continue in the direction of the clearing that housed the well in silence. When he paused on the outskirts of the clearing, she turned her azure gaze in his direction curiously.

"Sesshomaru-sama?"

She had taken a few steps beyond him towards the well before she had noticed his absence from her side, and so she stood turned partially toward him and a step in the direction of the well, where his gaze fell beyond her.

"Where does the Hone Kui no Ido take you?" he asked after a pause.

He saw the corners of her lips turn up slightly in a small smile, her eyes following his to the center of the clearing where the well stood. "Not far…" she replied. "Perhaps, someday… I'll tell you."

Her breath caught in her chest as she felt his youki flare around her, fierce and suffocating in its presence. Her hair and clothing billowed around her with the wind he displaced as he moved with impossible speed to tower above her. She took a step back and away from him as she turned her azure gaze to his gold; she felt her heart stutter at the threatening gleam she found there. He pressed forward as she took another step back, eyes narrowed and glowing with the intensity of his youki; when her reiki flared instinctively in response, bringing with it the sharp, burning scent of purity as her power pressed back against his a growl rumbled from the back of his throat in warning.

Kagome flinched at the sound of it, stumbling slightly in her retreat.

He caught her when she did, his claws tangling in the front of her fuku, piercing through the fabric and into the delicate skin above her collar bone, at the base of her throat. Her eyes turned down to his hand, startled by the combination of pain as small welts of blood rose where his claws had pierced her skin and the intriguing, tingling sensation that his touch always stirred.

"I could make you tell me," his voice was low, malice coiling off his tongue. He pressed close, bared his fangs against her exposed throat as she leaned away from him. Her pulse raced beneath her skin there, her usually warm scent of jasmine and orange blossoms soured with her fear.

"If this Sesshomaru desired the information you withhold, I would have it."

The young miko took a deep, shuddering breath and met his gaze, a soft but sure determination set in the deep blue hues that turned to meet his stunning gold. Her hand rose to fall carefully, delicately upon his hand that still held her close to him by the front of her shirt. He ignored the rising heat, the thrumming vibration that stirred within him at her touch, the unbidden desire to pluck the inexplicable thread that hummed between them even in this show of force and will. She straightened against him, setting her feet below her to steady herself.

He let another growl rumble low in his chest, a warning, but not a threat. She did not pull away.

"I am well aware that you could make me tell you if you so desired, Sesshomaru-sama."

Her voice was quiet, her hot breath brushing the side of his face and against his ear as he lingered, his fangs just barely brushing her skin as she took a breath to speak. The rumble that resonated from his chest, that flared between them with the feeling of her gently reaching for their bond was a confirmation of her knowledge, and something else he could not quite explain, something he did not intend for her to feel across their connection.

Her breath hitched once more, pupils dilating as she recognized the sensation as not her own. She was suddenly very aware of how close he was, how intimate this position could be. She wanted to look down, to see the spans of his body pressed against hers, to identify the many places from which she felt her skin alight and buzzing at his touch even through the layers of clothing between them. She forced herself to keep her eyes on what she could see of his face, from where he remained at her throat.

What she said next tumbled from her lips before she was aware of what she was saying: "I know that I should be afraid—I was afraid of you for years—but I also believe that if you wanted me dead, I would be… and I trust that you won't."

The daiyoukai straightened slowly and allowed her to gently guide his hand away from the collar of her shirt, eyes never leaving hers. After a moments, she looked away first, turning her gaze down to his hand, which she still held between her own.

After silence stretched between for several moments, he carefully withdrew his hand from hers and took a step back. When she looked back up at him he softly declared, "I will wait for you."

Kagome was not sure if he meant he would wait for her to return, or if he meant he would wait for her to trust him with the secret of her travels, or if those words held some other meaning she was not privy to. Despite her uncertainty in the moment, warmth flooded her cheeks and seated itself in her chest with a flutter of anticipation, and it was all she could do to offer him a brilliant smile in return before taking the last few steps to the well and leaping into its depths, breath still stuck in her lungs.


A/N: Apologies for the slow update! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review? – HM11

Vocabulary: mokomoko – Sesshomaru's fluff; inu-tachi – dog pack; ningen – human(s); daiyouaki – great demon; miko – priestess; onna – woman; hanyou – half demon; youki – demonic aura; Shikon no Tama – sacred jewel; arigato – thank you; Hone Kui no Ido – Bone Eater's Well