Chapter 10: Curiosity

After she'd been safely walked home Sesshomaru pondered his new position as sword teacher. Kagome was elated that he'd agreed but that had done absolutely nothing to ease his discomfort. She was hard-headed, which would make her difficult to teach. Not to mention the only exposure she'd likely had was watching his idiot brother swing a sword. The 'hit them everywhere until they fall down' approach seemed to work for him, but It would not be acceptable for his own student. He tried to remember if he'd seen her use a sword in the past, recalling some argument with his brother... it was hazy. Even demon memories eventually fell to the passage of time, and his only real link to then was his Rin. Still trying to recall, he remembered a forest, watching Kagome and Inuyasha spar... then a fight... then... something made him leave but he was at a loss as to what. He was sure Kagome never told him she was trained by him. That, he would definitely recall.

The day after next was their first day of training, immediately after school at her insistence. To start, not really knowing where to begin with teaching someone, he simply had her attack him. She didn't hold back, which was good, but that was about all that was good. Kami, it was awful. He worked very hard not to crack a smile when she failed so spectacularly at each attempt to come close to him. He'd stood in one spot, moving only one arm to block her and still managed to put her in the dirt a few times. The way her eyes burned with anger each time made it all the more enjoyable. She was determined, he'd give her that.

It was exactly as he'd feared. All of her attacks were extremely reminiscent of Inuyasha, but with none of the strength or speed. She swung the blade far over her head, leaving her entire torso open for attack, then failed to follow through on the downswing, knocking her off balance to skid into the dirt again. He imagined she'd been emulating the wind scar with the blunt practice blade, but in all honesty, it looked more like a dance move than an attack, and worked about as well. He lowered his blade when he scented blood in the air. Kagome sat on her knees, holding her hand, inspecting a nasty scrape on the palm. Sesshomaru sighed tossing his practice blade into the dirt, walking through his back door and beckoning her to 'Come.' She followed along obediently as always, careful not to let the blood drop on his floor. He lead her to the living room, telling her to 'sit' on the couch while he fetched the never used first aid kit that had come with the house.

He returned quickly, sitting across from her and holding out his hand silently. She hesitated a moment before offering up the injury for him to inspect. For a falling scrape, it was actually quite deep. "You astound me with your grace, Kagome." He said, opening the small box and pulling out a few things. She blushed a bit but smiled, knowing she had a well earned reputation as a klutz. She watched with a little awe as he cleaned the wound gently, making her wonder why he was doing it at all.

"Sesshomaru... how do you know any first aid? You would never need it..." He smirked, surprising Kagome.

"I learned it from you, actually." A small gasp left her lips at the revelation. "I was taking Rin on an extended trip and you insisted I learn how to bandage up a human before you would allow her from your sight." She nodded, agreeing with her future self that it is important to know at least some first aid. He began with unrolling the bandage over her palm. "It wound up aiding us later as Rin twisted her ankle in a field. I'm not sure what I would have done in that situation otherwise. Most likely carry her everywhere until it healed." Kagome giggled at the soft words, imagining Sesshomaru beating back demons with one hand and cradling a human child with the other. That definitely would have damaged his image.

"How old was she?" Kagome asked innocently, fondly remembering the bright little girl who was full of energy.

"Seventeen." He said, finishing the wrap. He looked up at her sudden stillness. "What?" He asked.

"Oh! Nothing! I just have a hard time Imagining Rin as any older than... very little!" She laughed a bit nervously, The mental image of him carrying Rin and fighting at the same time suddenly seeming a bit more…

"Kagome, I will say this once. Rin was- is, my only daughter." He seemed rather annoyed with her, even though she didn't come right out and say it or anything! She nodded, understanding what he was telling her. To call her, a human, 'daughter' was very high praise indeed.

"Spent a lot of time dealing with that question, huh?" He hummed an annoyed note.

"You have no idea." He pushed his hand through his hair, looking very tired all of a sudden. She sat back as he shifted to lean on the arm of the sofa, letting one hand support his head. She looked down at his handiwork, opening and closing her fist to test it. The bandage was perfectly applied. She thought it was comfortable enough to still fight with. She looked up at her teacher to suggest they get back to work but hesitated when she saw him. His eyes were closed as though he was dozing off, but she was sure he wasn't. Sesshomaru wouldn't allow himself to sleep in front of her, would he? Do full Demons sleep? Hanyos do, Shippo and Kirara did. Did Sesshomaru though? Somehow, even this more relaxed Sesshomaru seemed... above it.

She couldn't look away from the way his face took on a look of complete peace. It drew her in, making her feel a little tired as well. She shook it off, remembering the last time she felt sleepy here. Should she just go? "Sesshomaru?" She said softly. "Are you tired?" The question was more do you get tired. She was very interested to know.

"Hn. Very." He mumbled. "I've been rather busy lately with a stubborn schoolgirl, leaving me very little time to sleep." The jab was a little rough. Kagome Immediately felt bad for taking up all of his time for the last few days.

"Should I go?" Her tone was apologetic. He thought it over. He didn't plan on actually sleeping, more like meditating. He would still be able to keep an eye on her and she wasn't being intrusively annoying, at the moment.

"If you wish to." He said, leaving it up to her. She fell silent, which is all he needed to concentrate. Kagome decided that if she wasn't dismissed, she'd rather stay. She could go grab a book and read, but for the moment she was content to study Sesshomaru. His features were so soft when he was being passive. His markings must have made the last few centuries difficult. Tattoos were so taboo, even now, and especially when on the face. Perhaps that's why he seemed to work from home. His hair was short. She wondered what had finally made him cut it. Inuyasha's never seemed to grow, and no matter how many battles he went through, it never seemed to get cut either. Then again it was so long and thick, it was hard to tell. The markings on his face stopped at his ears, so where did the others end? The elbow? Maybe they went across his back? Kagome found herself completely fixated on the purple lines on his hand and wrist.

Remembering the other day, how he had stopped her from touching them, she was overcome with curiosity. She reminded herself that curiosity killed the cat as a small yawn took her by surprise. She decided she wouldn't fall asleep, just rest a bit. She slowly moved towards Sesshomaru, leaning on his shoulder, waiting for a protest, but being met with only more silence. She let her body relax as her eyes fluttered. She tried hard to resist the urge to sleep, but was losing the battle. She was again staring at those purple marks on the hand before her. With her mind swimming in a dreamy haze, she couldn't stop her hand from reaching slowly to his. As he fingers brushed the purple marks her pillow stiffened.

She looked up to see his eyes were still closed. Looking back to his hand, her thumb lightly brushed the stripe again. Watching for his reaction she saw his eyebrow twitch, but still no command to stop. Finding this development terribly fascinating, she continued. Brushing the marks seemed to have a strong effect on him, though he didn't speak to her, or even open his eyes. Now determined to see what would happen if she took it a little further, she pressed her thumb up, following the mark under his long sleeve. He locked his jaw, letting out a soft sigh through his nose, his eyes closed but his brows looking a little angry. Kagome stopped, because he looked angry, but also because a new idea was making it's way into her curious mind. If this is what the arm marks do... what about the face? Don't do it Kagome, she told herself even as her fingers reached for him. Stop! Too late...