They huddled together under a small ledge against a rather large rock and watched the rain pour down. She refused to drown herself in it while he could care less about it. He was only taking cover with her because she refused to come and talk out in the open. She had turned away from her group just after the dinner hour for some well-needed peace and quiet. And to be honest, Inuyasha and his obsession with the hunt for Naraku was starting to piss her off.
Yes, the dark hanyou needed to be found, and yes, he needed to be destroyed. But she didn't need to hear about it every waking moment of the day. And what was worse the lack of understanding she was receiving from Sango and Miroku. More and more often they were getting sucked into the ramblings of their Inu-hanyou friend. There was only so much a peace-loving girl could take.
Which is how she ended up here hiding from the rain with her secret companion, and at the moment, most trusted confidant. It was during her walk that she stumbled upon him sitting on the above ledge, seemingly waiting for her, just before the skies opened up. He had scoffed at her when she explained her reason for wanting to stay out of the pouring rain, once again calling humans weak.
"It's not my fault I get sick when I'm out in the rain too long," she defended. "The cold gets to me thereby affecting my immune system, which becomes too busy trying to keep the chill out and lets the bacteria and viruses in." He nearly chuckled at the playful pout forming on her lips.
He couldn't find fault with the rain though, as it meant she was going to be holed up for a little while with him. "The hanyou grating on your nerves again?"
She sighed, "It's just getting so irksome," she complained. "Naraku this, jewel shards that, 'wench, why can't you detect shards nearby, what's wrong with your senses'. Half the time I just want to drop what I'm doing and go home for an indeterminate amount of time."
"But he wouldn't allow that."
"No, and he means well. Kikyou is out of the picture, and as hurt as he is about that, he's also okay with it. And he's fiercely protective, which is nice, but every now and again I just need a reminder as to what it's like to be normal. I've screwed up my schooling at home and if I ever need to go back and stay there, it'll take years for me to catch up to where I'm supposed to be."
"His stubbornness and selfishness matters not," he brushed it off. "You get time each night now to do what you wish uninterrupted."
She leaned against him for warmth and smiled when he didn't pull away. "That's true. It's funny, you know. I used to mope over the idea of an evening away from Inuyasha. Now I relish it."
"You have grown up," he noted. "He hasn't. He still acts like the young, brash pup he was before he was pinned to the tree. You, however, realize you can't act like a child forever."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Who says I can't act like a child. Acting like a child is what keeps us young."
"Acting like a child makes you look like an idiot," he countered.
Kagome shook her head as she noted the rain was easing up. "Seriously, all work and no play makes Kagome a very dull girl. It's all fine and dandy to play the grown up when we need to, but even I feel the need once in a while to go back to being a child. It rejuvenates me."
She could feel him looking down at her, without having to lift her head to look at him. "How so?" he asked.
She scrunched her nose. "I don't know, just by acting carefree I guess. When was the last time you took some time for yourself, forgot about your dignity and pride and just let go?"
He snorted. "You can't just forget about dignity and pride."
"Sure you can." He felt dazzled by the smile she flashed at him as she stood up and reached for his hand. "Come on, it's raining out, there's nobody around, let's be kids for a change."
He let her lead him out in the rain, because really, who was she to lead him around when he didn't want to be led? There's no way her puny arms could have pulled him anywhere if that was the case, and he watched in wonder as she lifted her head to the sky and stuck her tongue out, before holding her arms out and spinning. Despite the absurdity of the scene, it was one of the most breathtaking things he'd ever seen. He was content to remain silent, if it weren't for his curiousity as to what she was doing. And so he asked.
"I'm catching raindrops," she merely answered. "Hold your head back, open your mouth and spin."
She continued to spin lightly in her spot, and caught up in the moment, he couldn't help but hold his head up to the sky. The girl was something else entirely, was the only thing he could think of.
"You're not spinning," he glanced back down at her to see her glaring at him with her hands on his hips.
"I don't spin."
"But it's all a part of it. Like you're lost in, you have nowhere to go, nowhere to but here just going around and around in this one spot."
"I don't spin," he said with finality.
"Well fine, it's your loss then." She began to spin again, trying to catch the rain, and he couldn't help but see the child that she probably once was, carefree, much like Rin.
"Oh look," she stopped and pointed to the sky.
"It's a rainbow," he said blandly, not knowing why she would be fascinated.
"Yeah, there's something magical about seeing them, the sunlight, the clouds, the rain, and the colours. Don't you see it?"
"It's a rainbow."
She sighed, slightly in frustration. "Rainbows symbolize hope, it represents the sun coming out after the storm,"
"You act as if you've never seen a rainbow." He grabbed her hand in his in an act of spontaneity. It felt right, whole, solid.
"Very rarely. I'm sure we get them at home, but the pollution interferes with the sunlight and they're not very common."
"What does sunlight have to do with rainbows?"
"It's the light of the sun mixing with the moisture in the air. The moisture breaks the light down into its most basic form, a myriad of colours. It's like the light refracting through a crystal. It goes in white, comes out like a rainbow."
"Hn."
"But never mind that, it takes the romanticism and the mysticism out of the rainbow, I don't like looking at it like that." She threw a sidelong glance at him. "Did you know there's a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow."
"This Sesshoumaru has no need of gold," he replied. But still, he looked to see where the rainbow ended.
"Part of the idea of hope. A child always hopes they'll find the end of a rainbow so they can steal the leprechaun's gold."
He had no idea as to who or what this leprechaun was, but if he had to chase a rainbow to find it, he had no interest in it.
"Do you have stories for everything?" he asked.
"Pretty much. Humans used to base our entire existence on stories, folklore. Most of it is believed to be untrue. But some still believe them. We need our beliefs to move on with our lives."
And he shifted them slightly so she was tucked against his shoulder, both looking up at the rainbow.
"And hope," he said.
She smiled at him, her brown eyes sparkling before looking up at the sky above them again. "Yes, we need, and have hope too."
AN
Okay, so I really should be working on Mirrored Pasts right now, but after a little rain a few nights ago, we had a double rainbow. It's rare enough to see one rainbow around here, but to see two together in one night, it was absolutely phenomenal. And so, I just started writing.
So some of you might be thinking 'And what do rainbows have to do with the night sky and stars?' Well it doesn't have anything to do with the night, but it is a by-product of a celestial object. The sun is indeed considered a celestial object and there are many astronomers who observe the sun's actions on Earth. So a rainbow comes from the light that comes from the sun, a celestial object. I know, weak tie, but it works for me. I'll go back to stars or night sky objects another day, maybe, if I'm so inspired. Chances are good I might be, as there's a meteor shower coming up in August. I'm hoping for clear skies so I can watch that.
Meanwhile, I promise I'll continue working on Mirrored Pasts. It's coming along, just not as quickly as I'd like it.
Thanks for all of your wonderful words and support as well. It means the world to me.
Special thanks to LadySafire, asha mai, ingi-doo on ElegantPaws and orchid on ASS and angelickagome and Kamakura Yumi on Inuyasha and company do not belong to me, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi.