Well, this is where I decided Rin and Sesshoumaru aren't enough. So I threw myself into the entire thing... Wise or not... I'll let you decide. Reviews are most most welcomed.

CHAPTER 2 – Who is Kagome?

"Do I have a what?" Rin stared wide-eyed at Kagome as the older girl was slicing some vegetables for dinner. Rin loved to talk to Kagome, "girl-to-girl" as she would call their conversations. Kaede had advised her to stay put for a while, and not overdo it, as Kagome was showing signs of exhaustion, and in addition, her miko powers were pretty low. So, as much as Inuyasha hated it, Kagome needed to take a rest. And Naraku seemed to have disappeared for a few years now, suffering a harsh defeat and losing a lot of his powers when he lost part of the Shikon he had stolen over the years. Now, it seemed like Kagome had over half of the Shikon no Tama and the other half was nowhere to be found. She couldn't even sense it anywhere, so their search was in vain these last few years, except for the occasional fights Inuyasha got involved into, because of his terrible temper! Either way, as long as there was no threat from Naraku, Kagome welcomed the break. Inuyasha was growing more and more bothersome by the day, as his energy was not fully consumed in fights, as it had been before, and the result had been that, despite the fact that Kagome was not so solicited in her miko powers, the constant exasperation that Inuyasha provided her with wore her out, as water would stone. And now she had this adolescent girl staring at her, not knowing what a boyfriend was.

"You know, Kagome said, a boyfriend! A boy who likes you and takes you to the movies... oh wait... uhm... on walks, who talks nice things to you, who protects you and with whom you feel happy! You know... A boyfriend!" She couldn't believe that Sesshoumaru had kept this sweet, intelligent girl from having friends her age. It was truly infuriating. How could he?

"Oh! Rin said, with a clear face all of a sudden. Why didn't you say so in the first place, Kagome-chan? Of course I do!" Kagome seemed surprised, but then her surprise soon turned into desperate amusement, as Rin said:

"I have Sesshoumaru-sama as my... uhm... "boyfriend" did you say? Well, he doesn't say much, but he does protect me and keeps me safe and all…" Kagome nearly choked on a carrot slice. She hadn't explained it all that well.

"Rin dear, I didn't mean Sesshoumaru! I meant a human boy, one of your age. Did you meet any boys... ever?" Rin seemed confused. She thought it out for a few seconds, and then gave the most unusual answer:

"I don't need boys, Kagome-chan. I have books." Choking on carrots was something Kagome couldn't help this afternoon, it seemed. The girl's answer caught her by surprise, as no such statement could be heard in her time, from such a person. She herself had thought about boys even before meeting Inuyasha, and it couldn't be said of her that she wasn't a serious girl. She used to like going to school... but that got more and more difficult as time passed and she found herself caught in between Sengoku Jidai and her own time. She managed to finish high school, but she gave up on taking further study in medicine. It was simply too complicated.

Then she and Inuyasha finally defined their relationship... about the time he chose to save her over Kikyo, in the last fight before Naraku had disappeared. It had gone pretty much straightforward: Naraku entrapped Kikyo when he got rid of this human part. With Onigumo out of his body and heart, he was finally able to punish the woman who had tormented him for so many years, hoping that by doing so he will be free of the weakness he felt growing within him. Attachment was not something a strong youkai like himself should allow inside his heart. Of course, he ignored the fact that he was no youkai, but a hanyou, and a filthy one by blood, as his entire being was nothing more that a collective entity. The demons that had devoured Onigumo still tortured him every waking moment of his disgraceful life, but losing them would mean losing himself, for as much as he despised them all, they were he.

Hating himself had begun consuming his conscience from the inside. However, Kagome was utterly unaware of this, and for her Naraku had simply killed Kikyo and not her, thanks to the intervention of Inuyasha, who chose to leap into the slit between this world and the other, where Naraku had thrown her, saving her from a most painful eternity, instead of keeping that disgusting creature to absorb the life from Kikyo's fake body. By the time he had returned to place Kagome onto safe ground, Kikyo was already dead, and her soul returned to Kagome.

There was nothing more to do, and so Inuyasha accepted that Kikyo was human, and that humans die. If he were to think of it, his beloved Kikyo would have died by now anyway, given her lifespan. Kaede, who was her younger sister, was herself very old. Time spun around in Inuyasha's head, and human life seemed to him so brief that it shouldn't be allowed to mean anything. Yet it did, and how precious was his Kagome's life to him! Kagome herself was precious and throughout every moment that he spent with her he felt like he was stealing time from fate. He had hoped that he would be accepted by the one he loved more that life itself, he had hoped that even though they both knew she deserved so much more than him, she would love him back and stay with him as whatever she wished to be to him: friend or lover. She'd chosen the latter.

A smile lit her face and she thought that she was thankful for this strange hanyou that had crossed paths with her, in such an unusual manner. She was thankful for every look of exasperation he threw at her, for every smile and tweak of his ears, for every moment that he watched over her sleep, every kiss and every night he had been close to her. A shiver passed through her as the vivid memory of their last night together came to her mind, and she swallowed her urge to rush to him. He had called her "lazy" again, and she had sworn she would not even cook him dinner. Then the usual fighting went following the usual course, with Inuyasha throwing thoughtless words at her, and she herself yelling 'Osuwari!' over and over, until her throat stung with fury and tears. She eventually stopped, and he collected himself from the dirt, shouting an over-used "Teme…" at her.

"If you call me that one more time, Inuyasha, so help me…" she said, her anger pouring through every word, but he cut her sentence with "Shut up, Kagome! What? What can you do, aside from that stupid command? You'll never be…" He had almost compared her with Kikyo… again. She was getting tired of it. Tired of her being compared to this woman whom she had never met alive, and in comparison with whom she always seemed to come up short. She simply gave him a hurt look, and turned away, while the hanyou fleeted into the woods.

She couldn't have cared less of his whereabouts, at that particular time. Yet... she smiled again, knowing that he will come back to her tonight, back from whatever place he had chosen for his "exile". He always did, and he was always hungry for her as if he had been away for months. He never apologized, meaning he would never speak the words, but she knew... He'd nuzzle the nape of her neck, he'd lick the base of her ear and down under her jaw line, the small gap that her collarbone left... and she knew. He was sorry; he would not upset her anymore. Until he did it again. And she would get angry again, and scream at him, and forgive him again...

"Kagome-chan?" Rin looked at her confused, as a cascade of feelings flew over Kagome's face. A-Are you okay? Her brown eyes were locked onto Kagome and in that moment, the older girl had the distinct sensation that Sesshoumaru himself was staring at her. Rin had unquestionably "inherited" Sesshoumaru's remarkable ability to politely stare at you. It was truly spectacular to see as this girl took on the most abnormal behavior for a human, but at most aristocratic for a youkai. Rin was a strange mixture between human feelings and taiyoukai education. Kagome liked her, but that didn't exclude finding the young woman weird. She doubted Rin would be able to fit into a common human village now, after she had spent all these years with The Demon Lord of The Western Lands. He had shaped her personality in an awkward manner.

"I'm fine, Rin-chan. I was just remembering something..." Kagome blushed, as her memory provided her with another moving image of her and Inuyasha in a… close situation, along with the sensations that went with it all. She forced herself not to think of that with Rin present. Or anyone, for that matter!

"Oh... you remembered something embarrassing, is that right?" Rin's eyes searched Kagome, and she again noticed the resemblance between the girl's look and Sesshoumaru's.

" No, not really... Could you give me that bowl over there?" Rin reached for the recipient, and shortly stared at it. It was of bright blue glass.

" It's quite fine, Rin, you can touch it" Kagome said softly. "It's only glass, I brought it from home. See?" She knocked on the bowl and it sent out the typical sound. Rin finally took the recipient into her hands and placed it onto the cutting table so that Kagome could drop the vegetable slices into it.

"Is Inuyasha-sama your boyfriend, Kagome-chan?" Rin's voice sounded so clear in the late afternoon silence.

"Well, I guess he is..." Kagome responded without much thought.

"Does he make you feel happy, then?"

" ..."

"You said that the boyfriend is supposed to make you feel happy..." Rin continued, as Kagome didn't answer her.

"Not the boyfriend, Rin-chan! They're not of another species... Well, in my case, he really is, but that's not common... Except for this time, where you can meet youkai, and hanyou, and... Well..." she paused. Rin was staring at her, in confusion, slightly frowning.

"Well?..."

"Well, yes, he does. I'm happy when I'm around Inuyasha", Kagome decided to reply. Rin took her words with a skeptical appearance.

"Really? But you're always yelling at each other, and you always end up screaming Osuwari, and he always leaves cursing the day you freed him from the Goshinboku. How is that happy?" Kagome was getting tired of this tirade of questions.

" There are some things he's very good at, Rin-chan... And that's part of why I love him. Besides, I couldn't live with someone that completely agrees with me in everything, it would be boring."

"I'm not saying that you should live with somebody who agrees with you every time, but every once in a while would be nice..." Rin said, her eyes wandering across the room. "And what could he possibly be SO good at that you put up with his temper for?" The young girl was truly puzzled, and she awaited a suitable answer. Kagome was on the verge of giving her that answer, as indecent as it would have been, but the moment she opened her mouth, a voice cut through the air and put an end to her dim-witted intention.

"He is a very good fighter, and she feels protected around him, Rin." Rin's face suddenly lifted and lit up as she saw Sesshoumaru enter the kitchen. The strange, but now familiar feeling of butterflies inside her stomach took over her, but she rapidly controlled it so that she could focus on his words. Kagome felt like a moron.

"Is that true, Kagome-chan?" Rin asked, not looking at her though, but still focused on Sesshoumaru. He seemed to simply stand there, no thought through his mind.

"Uhm... yes, it's true, Rin-chan." She finally answered, forcing her gaze off Sesshoumaru and into the vegetable bowl. "Inuyasha makes me feel protected and special, and that's one of the reasons I love him for." Rin smiled kindly.

"Well, I can understand that, Kagome-chan. Sesshoumaru-sama always tells me that I am more than a simple human, and that my mind works in a wonderfully alert manner for such a young person. And he has always protected me. So I guess it is natural that I would be grateful to him, and love him in return, ne?"

Kagome simply quirked an eyebrow and gave Sesshoumaru a sneak peek before turning away to drop the vegetables into the boiling water. He didn't move a muscle at Rin's declaration, but he admitted to himself that it bothered him to hear her make such a statement, so freely. Especially when it involved him. It was a reminder of Rin's humanity, this ability to speak freely of things that he could not, and it bothered him at times.

"We are leaving, Rin" he said, his inexpressive voice giving Kagome a small shudder. She felt Rin's spirits drop and so she said, before Sesshoumaru got a chance to turn and leave:

"Why don't you let Rin stay for dinner, Sesshoumaru? I'm sure she'd enjoy it. You are welcomed to stay also. I know it doesn't give you any pleasure having us all fussing around, but for Rin's sake… Actually, knowing how much you must dislike all of us, I'm sure it would be more than irritating. But even so…"

She was smiling at him. Smiling! He could feel his annoyance building up as he glanced at Kagome's shiny face. He wasn't sure if she was indeed inviting him to dinner or she was pulling a poor joke on him. Either of the two would have been as bad. It wasn't the actual words that came out of her sometimes too loud mouth that he found disturbing, but her tone of voice, her liberty in action in front of him. She actually thought that she could get away with such an improper attitude, and he decided to prove her wrong, although for what reason was he making that effort he did not know. Consequently, he bent his head as to look at her from under his eyebrows, a look that always seemed to impress this human, and make her lose her irksome good humor. He was all too tired of it.

"I would advise you not to speak to this Sesshoumaru in such a manner, unless you wish to suffer a great deal of … discomfort… human." He intentionally paused amid the words, to emphasize on the huge difference of class and power between the two of them. He somewhat liked this human miko, but his patience was not something to be toyed with, and she owed him respect, no matter what the connection between them had turned into. Kagome frowned, but she didn't give up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Have I again showed disrespect for your high rank?" She was all upset anyway by his dimwit brother, she wasn't gonna have him push her around too. 'Who does he think he is, anyway? And keeping poor Rin from human company like that!' It was making her mad.

"You should really loosen up, Sesshoumaru." She tried to keep her spirits up, and said this in a light manner, as for him not to get too angry with her. She was still not convinced that he wouldn't just kill her if she made him lose his temper. "Stop keeping this girl all to yourself. In case you haven't noticed, she needs to talk to someone her own age… and species, for that matter." She gave him an all-knowing look, as she stirred into the cooking pan. He was almost speechless. This miko had the nerve to give him advice! This was new… He vaguely wondered what his brother had done this time, to bring her in such an overwrought state.

"There is no need for you to be insolent in order to gain my attention, ningen", he said slowly, in an almost menacing tone of voice. Kagome swallowed in awe. Then his eyes turned to Rin. "Leave us, Rin". The girl took a glimpse at Kagome, but she said nothing as she exited the kitchen. Sesshoumaru walked towards Kagome, and stopped at half an arm's length from her, looking down to the human who dared disrespect him… for so many times. He was not in a good mood this afternoon, and she will become aware of it. These humans were overall too composed with Sesshoumaru, and that bothered him. What bothered him more, though he would not admit to it, was the fact that he was feeling less and less offended by their behavior, as he came accustomed to their odd sense of humor and their honesty. 'Weakness!' he thought, disgusted.

Kagome saw herself forced to stare up at him, as she felt his eyes burn her will and all her prior determination came crushing down. She was becoming restless. 'Would he really hurt me? After all this time?' her brain quickly worked out a plan, and she managed to say:

"There are things that you may not understand about Rin, Sesshoumaru." 'Moron!' she thought, as she realized that the words didn't come out right. He narrowed his eyes further more, and all her mental alarms went off when he put his left arm on her shoulder, and squeezed, his claws pricking at her skin.

"This is the reason I allow you to speak to me in such a manner, human, but do not presume that you can take liberties with Sesshoumaru. I have raised Rin as I thought it proper and you do not have a say in that." Kagome took a short look at his left arm, and she remembered that after restoring it a few years ago, she had fallen so ill from abusing her miko powers, that she had almost died. That was about the last time that Inuyasha had had a fight with his brother, but it had been a vicious one indeed, as he went mad with pain and anger seeing her overdoing it like that for his "worthless, know-it-all, conceited brother". However, after a couple of months, and with the help of Kaede, she managed to pull through, and from that day forth Sesshoumaru was far more permissive with her than he had been with any creature, human or youkai, aside from Rin. He leaned his head further towards her, and a shadowy smile made his face look sinister. It seemed like he wanted to shake her a little, without actually hurting her. He knew he wouldn't be capable of making this miko suffer in any way. He was far too attached to her than he would care to admit, and besides, she had done him a tremendous amount of good, at the expense of her own health.

He knew that, for all she could care, he was no more than Inuyasha's egocentric half-brother. She owed nothing to him, but now he was the one owing something to this human. He had never even called her by her name, aside from the time he had thanked her for restoring his arm. "Kagome…" he'd said then, a slight wave of unease washing through his voice, one which he thankfully noticed that she never observed "Kagome… thank you." She had smiled faintly, her purple aura withdrawing and her small body beginning to shiver. She'd widened her eyes, and seemed like she was begging him for something; there was something he had to do for her, but he had no idea what. That was, until he saw her fragile figure beginning to fall, as her dark eyes lost light and rolled back. In a split second, he had caught her, and laid her on a bed, inside Kaede's small hut. He had watched her lie there, her breath becoming fainter, and her face losing color, and for the first time in his life, the Demon Lord felt helpless. There was nothing he cold do to prevent life from slipping away from this human's body, and panic got a hold of him, demonic calm and all. Instantly, he felt frustration creeping up inside him, and anger following.

He had frowned then, he was frowning now, staring into the miko's eyes. She was fearless, he thought. If she did not fear him, she would not fear anybody. Little did he knew that Kagome had an undying faith in all that was living, and that she had hoped for the two brothers' reconciliation ever since she had learned their story. She was… dear God, she was smiling at him!

"Are you trying to intimidate me, Sesshoumaru?" She had said that as if it was obvious that such a task was impossible to perform. Her smile distraught him. She was too sure that he wouldn't hurt her. 'Damn it, miko! You and your optimism…' She slightly pulled back and raised her face to hold his stare. He finally decided that she was impossible to frighten, not now, anyway.

"I would appreciate it if you stopped shoving strange ideas into Rin's head"; Sesshoumaru said, raising an eyebrow. His face held none of the annoyance he felt coming to the conclusion that there was a human whom he could not daunt. The miko was truly an uncommon human, he thought. She had proven it on several occasions. So he let go of her, although somewhere inside him a constantly bothering small voice cried out for her presence. He took a more cautious glance at her, one that slowly became intrusive to Kagome, and she swallowed, expecting him to move away from her. He raised his hand in a quick movement, to touch her face, and the tension she had been holding back suddenly spilled out as she throbbed at his unexpected gesture. Sesshoumaru rarely even touched Rin, let alone her! She dropped her glass bowl with a surprised "Aaw!" smashing it to pieces against the hard floor.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, don't!" Rin's voice sounded crystal clear in the odd surroundings of Kagome and Sesshoumaru's interaction. She had entered the room in a hurry, hoping to stop her lord from hurting her best friend. She knew from when she was a child that every time he would tell her to part from him, he would either engage in a fight, or commit some kind of bloody act that he will not have her see. She cared for Kagome, and she will not let him take her life, or hurt her in any way. But the image she was presented with was not one of danger or violence in any way. Her Lord was leaning over the Miko, his hand touching her face, as she stood there, taking in his deep, intense gaze. She shivered, and a cold breath of air that seemed to come from nowhere brushed her skin. Kagome turned her head and moved away from Sesshoumaru's strange touch, confused.

"Rin-chan…" she said slowly, wondering why she felt like she had been caught doing something terribly wrong. "I just dropped the bowl, and it broke. It's okay…" Rin had the look of betrayal upon her small face, but she quickly composed a more suitable expression, not wanting to let Sesshoumaru see the awkward feeling that had swept over her.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama, I thought… I'm sorry", she managed to say, before she turned away and disappeared behind the frame of the door. Sesshoumaru never looked at her, but only at Kagome, having a focused look on his face. Kagome gave him an accusing fleeting look, as she moved away from him.

"Maybe you should go after her, she seemed in distress for some reason. And while you're at it, please explain to her that I have no control over your unsuitable behavior…" She seemed angry, and it irritated him. But mostly he felt angry with himself for allowing his emotions to take over his actions. He had never thought much of feelings, and tried to avoid acting on them. Every once in while, he would ignore his own rules, and the results were less than satisfactory. As they had been just now. He let out a growl, and left without saying a word, fearing the fact that if he would, she will respond in that obnoxious manner that she was accustomed to, and he would lose his temper with her. After he had exited, Kagome began collecting the broken remains of her mother's bowl from the floor, and was so distracted that she cut her hand in the pieces. The blood spilled, and was tracing a red path on her wrist, as she held up her arm, to stop the bleeding.

"God dammed!" she cursed, then turned to find a bandage. But she stopped, as if she would have hit an invisible wall, staring at her own blood, a red stream gliding smoothly towards her elbow, and dripping on the clean floor. The stain was spreading near her foot, and she couldn't do but observe the blood as it poured out from the wound. Her eyes lost focus, and a wounded figure appeared before her, blood dripping from his every laceration. His eyes burnt her, and the lost look he had upon him made her shiver. It was simply wrong to see such a creature in such tremendous amount of pain and vulnerability. He was barely managing to walk towards her, and a small child was crying her eyes out at his side, trying to help him move. The woods held the smell of blood and a horrible fight. The trees were still leaning back and forth in fear from the massive collision of powers that they bared witness to earlier that day. She could feel it; she could sense every outburst of power and rage that had swept over that place, as she fought to pierce through the dim light towards the approaching silhouette. It was… it was him. Something dropped heavy in her chest and without so much as a thought to it, she started running towards him.

"Kagome?" She took about ten seconds before answering, and still she couldn't part from the burning sensation his eyes gave her. It then took another ten seconds before she could realize that his brother was staring at her in amazement.

"Inuyasha… she managed to say, w-what are you doing here? I mean, are you back so soon?" He seemed annoyed by her question. But then again, what didn't annoy Inuyasha?

"Keh! You mean to tell me that you weren't expecting me to come back? I guess that goes to show how much you care for me, Kagome." He regretted the words the very moment they left his lips in that snappy manner. Her hurt expression hit him like a hammer. Her eyes filled with tears, and she let drop her bleeding arm, which she forgot all about at the sound of his unjustified accusation. He caught the thick smell of coagulating blood, and he immediately rushed to grab her arm.

"Kagome, are you all right? How did this happen?" She pulled away from him roughly, sending him a hurt look. She couldn't believe how thick-headed he could get, sometimes. It was just like him to make such uncalled for statements, and end up hurting her in the process. Why does she put up with all this?

"Leave me alone, Inuyasha. I've cut myself in a shard…"

"How can a Shikon shard…" he began, but an exasperated Kagome cut his sentence at the middle.

"I didn't say a Shikon shard, you moron, I said a shard! Or do you think that blasted jewel is the only one that can produce shards? Is it all you ever think about? Other things brake too, you know!" His confused face made her boil with anger, and frustration. "Like faith…" she added, slowly. "Now go away."

The young woman turned from him and he stood there a moment, not knowing what to do. He wanted to take her in his arms, to force her cry her anger out, to hit him if that would make her feel better, to scream, to remain numb in his arms… Anything, as long as she didn't push him away, like she did now. But although he had thought about this every time she'd said "Leave me alone", he had never done any of it. He always ended up leaving her to pour her pain out in silence and solitude. So he did it this time too, and Kagome collapsed onto the floor the moment she was sure that he wouldn't hear her hit the hard wood. She had no more tears to cry. She was all dried out, and all she wanted was rest. She wanted peace, silence and coldness. She was tired of bursting into flames and screaming pleas and excuses. She wanted "forever", not "now", stillness instead of hustle and fumble. She wanted time… which was somewhat ironic, seeing as she was 500 years back in time.

She started to let out a nervous laugh, which gradually turned into jerky breathing and a cry for help as frantic as it was voiceless. 'It's all so stupid… I won't ever get him to grow up. At least, not while I'm still young. I'll be Kaede's age before he'll realize that I'm human and that I'll damn well die before can get some sense into that thick head of his!' She smiled sadly, as if surrendering to a cruel joke fate has pulled on her, and resumed bandaging her arm. She had lost some blood, but the wound wasn't deep, and the dried blood managed to stop new one from dripping out.

Starting to take shape... It'll get better on the way. Really.