I do not own Inuyasha. Not mine. Never will be.

A Conversation in His Eyes /b

(From "Hyperion")

Who ne'er his bread in sorrow ate,

Who ne'er the mournful midnight hours

Weeping upon his bed has sate,

He knows you not, ye Heavenly Powers.

… … … …

Something the heart must have to cherish,

Must love and joy and sorrow learn;

Something with passion clasp, or perish

And in itself to ashes burn.

Longfellow

She slipped slowly into the heated waters of the spring that he had found her. He was respectfully turned away from her and she found that it bothered her. She couldn't place why, but she wanted him nearer to her. "Sesshou…" She said softly and noticed as his form turned ever so slightly so she could see the faint outline of his face. "You may come closer if you wish. I don't mind."

"I risk seeing your nakedness. I know little of human custom, but I do understand that females especially value their modesty… Though your clothing has never been exactly modest." He replied and she thought she could hear a smile hidden within his words.

"You're right about both points… But I trust you, Sesshou. I know you will not let your eyes linger on me if they fall on somewhere that might damage my modesty."

He paused only a moment and then stood. He turned and walked to the edge of the spring and sat on the rocky bed. His gaze never fell from hers as he approached, as if to ensure it never faltered to her form. She noticed, then, as their eyes held each other, that there was so much more behind his gaze than she had known before. The ice had melted away for her and she caught glimpses of his emotions. Worry, protectiveness, warmth and a fierce anger she knew entirely was not meant for her swam in the depths of his liquid amber eyes, though none of them traveled to his face. It was a steely mask, devoid of anything but the intensity innate to his character. Still, when he spoke, the emotions she saw in his eyes were caught up in his voice. His beautiful, silken voice. "Is this better?"

"Yes." She replied in a quiet, timid voice. She smiled faintly and began washing her hair quietly. The scent of the shampoo was a calming mixture of lavender and chamomile she had bought for that express purpose. To calm her after a long day. She slipped under the water and rinsed her hair quickly before slipping back to the surface. The bubbles from her soap made a covering of foam that hid her nakedness under the pure clear water.

"What is that scent?" He asked in curiosity. He'd never smelled anything exactly like it and it peaked his interest. "I have smelled it on you before along with your own scent, but… I could never identify it."

"Chamomile and lavender… They're herbs from Europe." She said softly and smiled faintly as his eyes sparked in question. "Do you know of Europe?"

"Yes. Though I wonder why you would have goods from there."

She found herself caught up in his eyes again. They were so very expressive it was as if he didn't need to speak for her to understand him. "I am… I am not of this time." She confided softly and couldn't help but smile at his confusion. She proceeded to tell him the story of her life from the time that she was pulled through the Bone Eater's Well by Madame Centipede. "And so, I was born five hundred years in the future and, even though I go back and forth between the times, I have decided to make my home here."

"To be near Inuyasha." His voice was calm and his features placid, but anger flashed in his eyes.

She sighed and reached out to him. She moved so the film of bubbles followed her and she touched his hand gently. He looked down at her slender fingers and grasped them gently with his own. "He's like my brother, Sesshou. Yes, I love him and I want him to be happy, but in the same way I wish for Souta, my younger brother." She met the Taiyoukai's eyes and saw the warmth return and the hatred fade. She could almost see some of his disgust for Inuyasha melt away, as if his heart could accept him so long as he did not hold sway over her. "I don't belong to him, Sesshou. I don't want to belong to him."

He nodded, but his eyes still held a faint curiosity. When he spoke, there was faint venom in his voice. "And the mongrel wolf?"

She smiled sadly and rested her head against his thigh. He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly and cared little that the sopping water soaking her hair was seeping into the silk of his clothing down to his skin. "He loves me but I do not love him. He is a friend and an ally and he wants me but I can't see him as anything but my friend. I've… Sometimes I've wanted to. Especially while Kikyo was still around and Inuyasha would rush to her side all of the time. I wanted to love him so I wouldn't be alone, but I couldn't. It seems wrong for me to love him in any way other than the way I do. As my friend."

His hand stilled at the nape of her neck. She lay onto her back so that she could look into his eyes, knowing that his gaze would not drift from where it held her azure pools. He caressed her cheeks and jaw, then her lips, all the while the words he would not say rippled through his gentle, dark honey eyes. "Will you stay in this time, then, only for my brother?" His voice was whispered and covered her, wrapping around her the way his beast, mokomokosama, had to comfort and protect her.

She smiled and gently took his hand. She lay tiny kisses on each of his fingertips and then, fervently against his palm. She closed her eyes halfway as she laid the last kiss upon the calloused curve at the center of his hand just above where it met his wrist. She felt him tremble and returned her eyes to his with warmth and gentleness. She didn't need to answer him. He already knew. She said the words, though, and marveled how his eyes sparkled with light. "No. I will stay for you."

His chest rumbled and she could hear the faintness of what she could only call his laughter as his beast curled from his shoulder and wrapped around her, then pulled her naked form into his lap and held her there. She blushed deeply as he caressed her and then wrapped his arm around her back. His fingers slipped into her hair. She wondered why she did not fear him. She wondered why his presence felt so entirely right and safe. She wondered all of this in the wonder of his touch and closeness, even as he leaned slowly and captured her lips.

She tensed, but only for a moment. He was safety, her heart told her. He was home. The gentle prodding of his tongue caused her to open her mouth to him and he eagerly deepened their kiss. She whimpered and sighed happily as he kissed her. A few tears slipped down her face and the scent was enough to make him stop.

He gently kissed away her tears, drinking their saltiness. "Don't cry, Kagome." He breathed, kissing both of her eyes. His tenderness only drew out more tears, which he, in turn, kissed away. "Why are there tears?"

She reached up and slipped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his collarbone gently. "There are tears because I am happy… And I feel safe with you. Safer than I've ever felt when I'm in this time. Like I'm at home." She whispered and felt more tears fall. He, again, drew his lips to her tears and kissed them away. "You are home." She breathed and felt his beast tighten around her possessively even as Sesshomaru himself was tenderly caressing and holding her flush with his form, separated only by the silk of his clothing.

"I won't let anything or anyone harm you, Kagome." He whispered and captured her lips again in a staggering kiss. He could taste her willingness and heard the quickening of her heartbeat as well as scent her growing arousal. He growled softly and pulled back from their kiss. If he did not stop, he would hurt her. He would damage her after what she had gone through experiencing his memories. "Kagome, I can't. You are… You are fragile and you need to heal. You do not realize it at this moment, but in time you will and I will not endanger… Our closeness."

She frowned softly and met his eyes curiously. "You do not… Want me…"

"No." He said softly, but there was tenderness behind his words and his eyes were flooded with warmth and caring for her. "I want you very much. My beast has already claimed you as much as I have. I memorized your scent and now… I have done the same with your taste and the feel of your skin… The sound of your voice and the warmth of your aura. I know you. Until the end of time, I will know you. But I also know what you experienced. I know and understand the pain you endured because it is my own. And I know what will happen when it all sinks in and you are forced to accept the change it has caused." He leaned toward her and fervently kissed her brow. He closed his eyes and allowed the faintest trace of his aura to meld into hers, marking her as his family. She trembled against him and clung to him even tighter. "If anyone comes near you, they will know you are mine. You are pack as Rin is pack. If, when you are healed, you desire me to take you as more… If you desire me as a mate, I will mark you as such and make you mine, but I will not now. I cannot."

She nodded her head slowly and then looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were still so very expressive. She could see the thread already running through his eyes that caused them to sparkle every time his amber claimed her sapphire pools. So much concern and worry. Such a depth of emotion that she felt it engulf and hold her and, in those fleeting moments, she felt entirely loved and cherished. She caressed his jaw and smiled faintly.

He knew that she trusted him, needed him and longed for his presence always. He was so strong. So much stronger than Inuyasha and still so much more fragile in all the ways that counted. She wondered how she could have never seen this part of him before. But she knew. It was because of his secret. He could love as deeply and unquestioningly as she was able to. If she had endured what he had endured before she had taken on his memories, she would be as icy and withdrawn as he was. She could have never trusted or let anyone near her. He knew what hurt her. He knew what would harm her and he would not engage in causing that harm. And for that, she loved him entirely. Trusted him entirely. Needed him completely. Needed him to be complete.

He pulled her against him and kissed her tenderly. He would have to take her back to camp soon and he desperately needed this moment with her.

Somewhere, deep in the blackness between the trees, the ebony eyes of a girl bedecked in white, watched the scene as it played out before her. She was hidden and far enough out of the Taiyoukai and miko's senses for them not to locate her presence. She was not, however, trying to focus across the distance. She was looking into her mirror.

Curled in the embrace of the fearsome Taiyoukai, Sesshomaru, was the fragile, beautiful miko naked except for the manifestation of Sesshomaru's beast. It curled around her hip, hiding her mound and then curled softly around the whole of her leg on the side not pressed to its master. It then encircled her ankle in a possessive hold. It slipped around her abdomen and up her torso like a sling where it held to its master's shoulder to support her weight, allowing the Inuyoukai the freedom to caress the milky skin not covered by mokomokosama. The girl was clinging to his torso gently, languidly lying with her head tilted back as Sesshomaru kissed her with tenderness and passion.

Some great distance away, Naraku watched the scene through Kana's matching mirror and felt his lips curl in a snarling smile. Wonderful. Exactly what I need. A third warrior in love with this pitiful slip of a girl, willing to die for her. He continued to watch as the lovers parted from their kiss and slowly from their intimate embrace. He watched as Sesshomaru turned his back as she dressed herself and then as he slipped his arm around her waist to walk her back to the encampment of his enemies. He felt the snarl slip from the smile as malevolent mirth overtook him and he laughed in a dark, deep baritone. Oh, Sesshomaru. I believe I have a beautiful idea forming in my mind. Unfortunately it means that you will be stripped of our darling little miko, but then again… You are already used to loss. If how you reacted to losing Rin is any indication of how you might react, to what I can only guess you have decided is your future mate and mother of your children, I do believe that this will be very, very gratifying indeed.

No one is so accursed by fate,

No one so utterly desolate,

But some heart, though unknown,

Responds unto his own.

Longfellow

It was the way that she wove the silver of his hair in her fingers as she slept that caught his attention so completely. How the slender digits twined the strands loosely and yet fervently even as her mind drifted in dreams that was making everything so overwhelmingly apparent. It did not help that it was the first time in his memory that the Taiyoukai seemed so peaceful and that he reclined so that she could comfortably rest against his chest or even that the manifestation of his beast was curled around her to keep her warm in an overly possessive manner. But he was certain that what it was which so brought him to attention was those beautiful, delicate fingers of hers as she spun the liquid silver of his hair gently in the moonlight.

It was driving the hanyou to madness and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He watched his brother and Kagome curled near the fire from the tree branch where he was settled. She had opened her sleeping bag for the both of them to rest on. Sesshomaru who, in all their other gatherings to discuss Naraku, usually sat up all evening without sleeping, had given in to Kagome's desires and had settled himself on her sleeping bag and then had mokomokosama curl around her to keep her warm. His only arm was wrapped around her gently and held her hip possessively with a firm but loving grip. One of her legs was wrapped around his in an innocent and, somehow, entirely not innocent way that was causing even more distraction to his ability to keep watch.

"Y'know…" Came Kouga's voice from the branch beneath his. "As much as this is driving us both insane, they do have an effect on each other. Sesshomaru actually seems to be thawing out and Kagome… I thought I'd seen her happy before. Now I know what it really looks like to see joy in her heart."

"I think she's in love with him." The words rolled off his tongue and burnt with their truth. He knew he was supposed to love her as a sister. He knew she loved him as a brother, but it didn't matter. For so long, she'd been his. Only his. He had to let her go and he knew it, but knowing didn't make it any easier to release his hold.

Kouga sighed faintly. "And he is in love with her. He's claimed her as part of his pack… The way he looks at her, holds her, even his stance says it though his face and words don't. Maybe only to her."

Inuyasha frowned even deeper as he turned his attention back to Kagome. Her sleep was becoming fitful. He could scent her tears and, apparently, so could his brother. Sesshomaru sat up and gently nudged her while mokomokosama began a slow, rolling caress over her body.

She whimpered and sobbed softly. Her mind was caught up in Sesshomaru's memory of his brutalization and she could not escape. "Please…" Her voice caught in a broken whisper, begging. "Please stop…"

Sesshomaru frowned and Inuyasha felt a chill pass through him. The only time his brother ever showed any emotion in his features was when something horrible was about to happen. Though he sensed no dark intent from the Taiyoukai toward Kagome, Inuyasha was certain that if the dream could have manifested into real life, he would have torn it asunder for making the beautiful raven haired girl cry. "Kagome…" His voice was soft at first and soothing, though full of concern. When she didn't respond he leaned foreward and nipped her ear gently. She whimpered and her fingers gripped at the silk of his robes. She held on for dear life, seeming to recognize the feeling of the fabric in her hands.

"Sesshou…" She gasped, still caught in sleep and her nightmare as it mercilessly continued. "Please… Please…"

She began to weep and he found he could stand it no longer. He shook her forcibly, but not enough to harm her and barked her name sharply. She screamed and then her eyes flashed open in confusion. She pressed her face into his chest and shook with tears. He wrapped himself around her as tightly as he could and held her, silently cursing himself and the loss of his arm. He wanted to hate Inuyasha for that, but he had made a mistake. An error. And Inuyasha had gotten lucky. His desire to protect Kagome had activated their father's sword and given him the momentary ability to take the opportunity Sesshomaru's lack of control and over inflated ego had given him. Still, he held the miko close to him and whispered soft words to her, too soft for the wolf and mutt to hear from where he knew they were watching.

He knew they thought he was sleeping, but he had not been. He had wanted to lay with his Kagome and be near her while still having the opportunity to listen to their conversations without their knowledge. But he could not abide her tears and terror as his nightmares overtook her whole existence. "It's alright, miko. You are safe." He whispered and felt her nod where he held her against his chest. A tremor passed through her. "They are only nightmares. They will fade away in time, I promise you."

"How l-long did it take… For you?"

He sighed faintly and kissed her brow gently, allowing her mark to react with his aura to calm her more quickly than her mind and body would allow naturally. When she'd settled, he answered her. "Over a century."

She laughed softly, but there was bitterness to the sound of it. "I don't think I'll last that long."

"As you are currently, no you will not." He sought her lips and kissed her with an infinite tenderness. "Perhaps one day if you wish to be my mate and I mark you fully, you will meld and fuse with me and my immortality will be yours. So long as I live, you will never age or die, just as my father's mortal mate did not until he passed."

She smiled and gently pressed her brow to his, closing her eyes. "You would take me into forever?"

Her voice stirred his emotions and he had a hard time controlling the beast that ached to claim and mark her in that very instant. Kami, I need to control myself or I will frighten her and drive her away. He kissed her again gently and with fervor. "I would and will when you have healed a bit more if you wish. When the memories calm and Naraku is defeated utterly."

"Why until then?" She breathed and again he found himself having to fight for control.

"Because he could use us against each other. The bond would be easy to detect for anyone with demonic blood, acquired or gifted through lineage. So long as he does not know we are connected, you are safe… Or at least safer. It is enough that he could use you against Inuyasha and Kouga's affections knowingly. He cannot know how easily he could manipulate me."

"You are protecting me."

"Always." He murmured and kissed her again, then settled her back against his chest. "Sleep, Kagome. You need to rest. I will watch over you if the nightmares return."

"Yes, Love." She breathed and felt the happy rumble in his chest where her head rested from his approval at her words. Slowly she drifted off with the relaxing motion of his hand along her shoulder and side and the tender grip at her hip with every pass along the length of her. The manifestation of his beast gently caressed her as it wrapped more possessively around her in a protective, all too animalistic way. She knew she was safe. She knew she was home and so, drifted off to sleep with that knowledge.

Inuyasha sighed in defeat and none too gently hit the back of his head against the bark of the tree. He looked at his hand and frowned deeply. Once I could have been Love to her. Once, a long time ago, if I'd only understood what everyone seemed to know about the clay golem of Kikyo animated with the fissure of Kagome's soul, she would be my mate and not the woman who calls me her brother. Who am I kidding? I will never be able to love her as a sister. Maybe a friend, in time… Seeing her happy with my brother will ensure that. I could never take her away from what made her truly happy. But as a sister… My heart can't change that much.

His eyes floated down to where Kagome lay against Sesshomaru. Sleep had already claimed her and now those beautiful, traitorous fingers were gently gripping the silk of his haori, caressing along the grain of the fabric in slow, sleepy, languid motions. He realized what she was doing. Her subconscious was recognizing that he was still present, holding her close to him. The silk of his robes, the twine of his hair all allowed her to establish his presence when her dreaming mind was disconnected from the real world. Inuyasha wondered silently if he'd ever held her in his arms while she slept, whether her fingers would have done the same along the fabric of his clothing or in his stray locks of white or whether they would have remained still. I'll never know. He thought, mournfully. And I am the lesser man for it.