Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Inuyasha - everything belongs to Rumiko Takahashi et al.
A/N: Big hugs to all who have commented on this story so far - you people are the ones that keep me writing! Likewise to all favouriters and story alerters too. ^.~ Here's the next meeting for your enjoyment; the beginning of an arc of sorts. Expect much more interaction from now on!
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5. of travel
They are staying overnight in an abandoned hut, and Inuyasha is being insufferable.
"Oi, wench. We need more water. Go get some."
"Hey, why should I? Why can't you go?"
"Does it look like I'm going out in that rain?"
"... and I am?"
"Yeah. Take that umbrella-thing. You'll stay dry."
"I haven't got it with me, Inuyasha. Looks like you'll have to go out and-"
"Why, Kagome-sama, you could borrow my rain hat!"
"... eh... thank you, Miroku... how very kind."
"Not a problem, Kagome-sama!"
Grope. Grope. Slap from Kagome. Slap from Sango. Swearing from Inuyasha, followed swiftly by a slamming door.
And this is how Kagome finds herself in the rain, stumbling down the small hill to the brook, bucket swinging madly in her hand and borrowed straw canopy tilted to shelter her seething eyes.
"Oooh... one more thing like this, Inuyasha, and I'll sit you until you don't know which direction is up!"
Yes, the new moon is looming and yes, it has been raining all day which always makes him pissy - but that is still no excuse for ordering her around like a servant! Adjusting the bucket, she kneels to fill it, trying to avoid the cloying mud lining the bank. Her attempt lasts approximately ten seconds before disaster strikes. The wind gusts viciously; her hat lifts, the cloth strap under her chin yanking her forwards. The bucket falls into the brook with a splash.
"Oh!"
The shoving force doesn't stop, jerking on her shoulder and pulling her off her feet, perilously close to the freezing water.
"No, no, no, I'm not going in there!"
She struggles back, fingers reaching for grass, rocks, anything. They close around something cool, rough to the touch - almost leathery. Bingo! Now, if she can just regain her balance... ah.
The wind pushes. And the water is bloody freezing.
Too late, then.
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"Kagome?"
Inuyasha peers around the door covering, ears twitching. The rain keeps falling, silver haze blanketing the tired landscape. The hanyou sighs. "Stupid wench, always taking so long..." Deciding to brave the weather, he darts down to the flat bank by the brook in a flurry of red and silver.
"Oi, Kagome?"
He can't see or scent her - his nose is rendered practically useless by the muggy conditions. So where the hell is she?
"Kagome! Kagome! Hey, wench, where are you?"
The bucket bobs by, spinning in the twisting currents. He doesn't see it, too busy squinting through the curtain of rainfall, searching desperately for any sign of the familiar silhouette.
He turns just as the straw hat floats past. Panic kicks, swift and fierce in his gut.
"KAGOME!"
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The miko in question is slumped at the foot of a large tree, still dripping and choking after her rapid exit from the water. Sesshoumaru watches, features carefully blank. If he notices her simmering anger then he chooses not to comment, instead looking up towards the night sky and frowning imperceptibly.
"Miko. You should be more careful."
"...what? Did you say more careful??"
Her impromptu trip into the river hasn't done anything to improve her mood, and being kidnapped by Sesshoumaru is something she really, really can't be doing with right now. Never mind the dangerous daiyoukai standing mere feet away; never mind his motives for hauling her out of the brook by the scruff of her neck - all she wants to do is have a good old-fashioned argument and get some of that frustration out of her system before the timer runs out and she explodes into a mess of singed uniform and floating strands of hair.
He slants a glance at her, eyes brilliant in the half-light.
"I do not repeat myself. Question your own inferior senses, not this Sesshoumaru."
"Inferior senses? Well, I think that-"
Reality sinks in, and Kagome remembers exactly who she's about to lecture. She clamps her mouth shut around her temper. He keeps looking up, showing no obvious sign that he even heard the beginning of her rant. A muscle tenses in his cheek. Is he clenching his jaw?
"Rin is ill."
"... what?"
The muscle twitches again. His frown deepens, as if he is forcing his words out past the barrier of his silent prejudices. This doesn't surprise her; after all, she is a human, and he hates human - therefore, he hates her. End of discussion, if there ever was one to begin with. But then meaning catches up with her.
"What?!"
Twitch.
"When... how... oh gods, never mind, it must be bad if you're looking for help."
That earns her a golden eyed glare.
"I am not seeking help, miko." A growl lurks somewhere in the breathless spaces. "... merely advice. This Sesshoumaru has seen you heal the injuries of your... pack." Another twitch. "You will do the same for Rin." It is clear that he will stand for no protest, choice or argument of any sort. Command stands at his back and binds her hands like burning rope.
Not that figurative ties have ever stopped her before. Especially not now, not when Rin could be dying of any number of illnesses - most of which modern technology could kill off without a second thought. Scarlet fever, strep throat, pneumonia... Kagome feels herself beginning to panic, worry bubbling in her chest and spilling over and out into the cool rain. 'No... I won't lose another friend here. Not if I can help it. Sesshoumaru won't kill me if he knows I can try and save Rin and if I do, his honour would stop him from killing me afterwards... So that's it. Sorry, Inuyasha. You'll have to look for shards without me for a while.'
Decision made.
"You know that I'd help Rin even if it was just a cold." All petulance is gone, sober blue eyes the only thing that remains to look up at the distant demon lord. "But I have to tell my 'pack' where I'm going. I need my belongings. And what about Inuyasha..." She grimaces, imagining his reaction.
"Jaken is dealing with these problems. We will leave now."
He steps forward as if to yank her forcefully to her feet, but stops, pauses, re-evaluates; she watches shapes shifting behind his eyes, shadows casting their dark light across his thoughts as he stands at the heart, unwavering and immovable. And then one hand is extended, palm-up, fingers reaching.
"Come."
She stares at those long lines for a moment, the curve of his claws and the plane of his palm; should she trust these hands of his? These hands with poison bubbling beneath the surface, pain lurking in the shadows cast by tendons and ligaments so like her own, but oh so alien, so powerful, so youkai. They are the hands that tried to kill her once, twice, three times? But they are also the hands that saved her from the oni, the hands that defend a little girl and wield a sword that rules over life and death itself...
A moment passes. He watches her with that steady gaze of his, measuring her up and hiding his conclusion behind his layers of ice, tucking it away in a crevasse beneath a glacier beneath a glowing arctic sky. She looks back, sees and judges. Her questions sigh and fold into infinity as she covers his fingers with hers. The warm weight of trust in her stomach is no stranger, although she never thought it would be given to Sesshoumaru of all people. He seems to understand, pulling her to her feet and stepping away without comment. She nods.
"All right. Let's go."
Youki burns beneath her feet. Something bursts from the trees, dragging the yellow bulk of her pack.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, please, wait for me! The deranged half-breed refuses to believe your solemn word!"
And then, following quickly in Jaken's wake...
"KAGOME! What the hell- Sesshoumaru, let her go, you bastard!"
She feels the air freeze with the force of his glare.
"Half-breed, the miko has sworn to heal my ward. You will excuse her, or I will be forced to kill you and waste precious time."
Inuyasha growls viciously, brandishing Tetsusaiga. She decides to interrupt before things get ugly.
"Inuyasha, Rin is ill! A little girl could be dying - I have to help! This is no time for fighting! Please..."
His brows meet in a deep frown, fangs bared and not backing down.
"What if that bastard hurts you! What about the shards!?"
"This Sesshoumaru will not harm your miko, half-breed."
"As if I'm gonna believe a word you say, b-"
The daiyoukai's patience reaches its end. Inuyasha sees the curling wisp, starts forwards, hands reaching and desperate - but they are already rising, Sesshoumaru's power billowing like fire around them and lifting up, up, as Jaken latches on and pulls her pack with them. The ground shrinks; the sky is so much closer and she wants to lift her arms and see if she can grasp a star in the palm of her hand, let its warmth seep through her skin and deep into her bones to burn, captured eternity. But she doesn't, instead daring to open her eyes and look back at the red figure running after them, eyes blazing and Tetsusaiga gleaming dark in the evening light.
"Inuyasha! I'll be back soon, I promise!"
He fades into the distance as they soar into the night. After the first minute or so of silence, Kagome begins to wonder if she made the right decision. What if Inuyasha takes this the wrong way? What of her friends, and the shards? One hand brushes the bottle sitting in the hollow of her neck; her obligations glimmer in the night, as distant and untouchable as the figure standing next to her, pure and white and perfect.
No... it was right. Because otherwise, Rin...
"Miko."
She hardly registers his voice until she is once again pinned beneath those glacial eyes.
"This Sesshoumaru will honour the promise made to the half-breed; you will not be harmed."
Something warm blooms in her chest, taking away the chill of the night. Is Lord Sesshoumaru trying to reassure her? Whatever his motivation, it makes her feel marginally better to know that death isn't looming imminently on the horizon. She even offers him a small smile.
"Thank you."
The silence returns; persistent, but far from the heavy blanket it was before his promise broke the night. It rises to swallow them up, and Kagome closes her eyes against the rushing wind, hurtling headfirst towards the unknown.
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Written for Shard 26, 'travel', at LJ Comm 30shards. Un-beta'd, so any typos you pick up on will be rewarded with kudos and cookies. ^^ Thanks for reading, and all feedback is appreciated!