Happy belated Fourth of July! I'm in an extra good mood so this will probably be the longest chapter I've made. Hope you enjoy it…R&R!
Kagura kept her mind drifting back-and-forth. She was completely exhausted, but she knew that her ritual of nightmares awaited her. She had found it easy to go back to sleep after a bad dream when her mother was around. But now, she had no one to comfort her. No one to rock her until the crying stopped. After battling her eyes for quite some time, she finally let them close.
Kagura was a child again and Naraku's footsteps could be heard in the hallway. She knew why he was coming to her. Earlier that day, she had found it irresistible to doodle on the new bathroom door. The last one had been busted in by her father when he and Muzaki were arguing. Kagura knew what was going to happen to her when he found her hiding. She was in the closet, knees to her chest, under a blanket that had been handmade by her mother. She could hear someone telling him to get some rest, that the punishment could be handled differently. But, no. Only Naraku could "properly" punish her. She tried to pretend she was in a big garden of flowers, where no one could reach her. It was as if she was the wind, itself. Maybe one day, she really could be as free as the wind. Her thoughts were interrupted when someone roughly yanked her up by her hair. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain. Her toddler table had been crushed underneath her. The pain in her side was practically unbearable, but she never even flinched. This would anger her father. He wouldn't stop until she cried. It was the same every time. Just as she felt herself on the verge of tears…
"Kagura," She felt a hand on her shoulder.
Oh, no. I must've been screaming in my sleep again. She figured he would be angry for being awoken by her again. To her surprise, he had a kind and slightly concerned look in his eyes. The only other person that had ever looked at her in such a way was her mother. She figured that she was misinterpreting his reaction for annoyance. Damn it, I'm getting' sick of apologizing to this creep. Why didn't he just ignore me?
"I'm sorry to wake you, but you were-" she cut him off.
"Sorry if I disturbed you. I can sleep downstairs if you want. I can get really loud sometimes, and you need your sleep." she said, sitting up.
He held up a hand in protest. The other was still resting on her shoulder. She had to admit, it was a change from Naraku's way of waking her. She was used to a hard kick in the stomach. I wonder what he thinks of me, now. He raised his head to look at her. His eyes were studying her face, as if he wanted to ask her something.
"I don't know what kind of people you're used to, and I don't know what kind of person you think I am. However, you need to start trusting me eventually." He didn't look away from her eyes.
"I just thought that it might've bothered you. I'm sorry-" he stopped her by putting one arm around her waist, pulling her closer.
"Stop apologizing when it isn't necessary."
She didn't know what to say. Muzaki was the only other person that had ever tried to comfort her like this. Overwhelmed by emotion, she put her face in his chest and let go of her tears. It seemed to be hours before her sobs finally subsided. When her breathing had started to slow, he looked down to find that she was asleep. Unable to untangle her hands from his shirt and hair, he laid back with her in his arms. His original intention had been to keep her content until he could pull away. Surprisingly, he felt himself hesitant to leave her embrace. Her body felt so warm against his. Deciding that the effort of moving was too great, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Kagura woke to feel someone beneath her. It would have been misleading to anyone who might've walked in on them. Both of her hands were thoroughly entwined in his hair, her legs were straddled across his waist, and her head was lying on his chest. She looked up to see Sesshoumaru's sleeping face. His eyes were closed and his lips were parted slightly. She had never seen him in such a peaceful state. She couldn't help but smile to herself. It's not much, but it's the closest thing to emotion I've seen on him. Let's see, I must've cried myself to sleep last night. But, why is he in the bed with me? Maybe he thought I'd have another nightmare. I guess I should move.
She lifted her body as slowly as she could, trying not to wake him. She hadn't noticed the hand on her back until she felt it sliding down. It startled her when he opened his eyes, making her sit up straight. It took him a few moments to notice the position they were in. Not only was she straddling his waste, but his hand was resting on her bottom. She hadn't yet registered that his hand had slid that low, but when she did…Whack!
"Pervert!" she screamed, smacking him across the face.
He quickly moved his hand away, raising it to his burning cheek. He couldn't help but to feel amused by her actions.
"Who's straddling who, here?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"But I didn't…you're the one…I never tried…" she stuttered.
She hopped off of him so quickly that it took her a second to realize her legs had regained their strength. Well it's about damn time! I wasn't about to have this jerk helpin' me into the bath…She shook away her thoughts. Feeling a pang of hunger in her stomach, she decided that she would make breakfast. It didn't matter if he wanted her to or not. Since she had spent the night, it was only fair if she prepared the meals for the day. After all, today might be the last time they ever see each other. He sat up, confused by her actions.
"I'm gonna go get somethin' to eat, and don't try to stop me." she said, walking out of the bedroom.
On her way downstairs, she noticed that the shower was running. I guess he isn't gonna stop me. Well, he better have some good food! When she reached the kitchen, it didn't take long to figure out witch cabinets the food was kept in. Everything had a small label of its contents above it. Oh, this has got to go! I knew he was organized, but this is crazy. She went to every cabinet she could find and removed the labels. After discarding them, she decided that she would make her favorite breakfast.
The outcome of her creation, she decided, was truly amazing. The small, square table in the dining room, (it was right beside the kitchen), was completely covered in food. In front of two seats, there were miniature pancakes that were decorated with chocolate chips and strawberries to make smiley faces. The middle of the table was scattered with plates of bacon, sausage, biscuits, and some extra pancakes. There was also a large pitcher of orange juice and a paper carton of milk. While searching for glasses to drink from, she came across two that had caught her eye. They both had a picture of a small boy and girl holding hands in a large field of flowers. Everything was still piping hot, so she figured that there was enough time to take a quick shower before it became cold.
She ran back up the steps to ask for some clean clothes to change into. He had already gotten out of the shower and dressed. She found him standing in the bedroom, staring into space. Surprisingly, he found a small, white sundress for her. It had spaghetti straps and was decorated with big, red flowers. He told her that it had been his mothers. She didn't bother asking why he had it, or what happened to her. It seemed best to abandon the subject. She finished her shower and dressed with remarkable speed. Her hair was still damp when she made it back to the dining room. She found Sesshoumaru looking at the meal with a strange expression. He hadn't noticed her in the doorway. She thought she saw a small smile spread across his lips when he looked at the miniature pancakes with faces. She decided to make her presence know by yawning. He turned to look at her, then back at the table.
"This is…interesting," he said, sitting in a seat.
Kagura smiled and joined him. He picked up the cup that was in front of him. He seemed to be thinking hard. He acts like he's never seen something fun. Actually, he probably hasn't! After some time, they finally finished the large amount of food she had prepared. He wouldn't admit it, but it had been the best breakfast he had ever had. He figured that she was full of surprises. Afterwards, they had washed the dishes together, which was even more interesting. Kagura washed, while Sesshoumaru rinsed and dried. Any time he turned around she would place her thumb over the faucet and drench him with water. She thought it was hilarious until he sprayed her back. He put up a hand in protest, trying to prevent another mess to clean. But, it was too late. She had already filled a cup with water and lifted it above his head. Before he could stop her, the cold, soapy liquid was running down his face and hair.
"Oops," she said, smirking at him.
Now it was war! He quickly filled another cup with water, intending to pour it on her. Noticing his actions, she sat her glass down and turned to run out of the room. She suddenly felt herself sliding toward the wall at full speed. She closed her eyes, expecting her face to collide with solid wood. In the blink of an eye, Sesshoumaru came in-between her and the wall. Instead of busting her nose, she slammed into something soft, and wet. He flinched when he felt her nails dig into his chest. She opened her eyes to see Sesshoumaru standing in front of her. She had put her hands up to block herself, but had instead landed them on his chest. She pulled them away, seeing how hard her nails were digging into his skin. Not wanting the moment to be awkward, she reached her hand up and flicked him on the nose.
He had just realized how close their bodies were and tried to slide away. New feelings were awakening in him. It felt as if someone had lit millions of butterflies on fire and released them into his stomach. She saw that he was uncomfortable and developed a plan. He had a thick layer of ice around him, and she wanted to break it. She would be doing him a favor if she cracked him. It's like he doesn't have any hormones at all! He'll never be happy if he doesn't open up a little. Wait…I hate men! I can't do that. But, he's different from other guys. I've never even had a boyfriend, though. Her thoughts were coming and going too fast to comprehend. What if she really did care about this jerk? It could be her only chance to escape. Maybe, just maybe, he could help her…or they could help each other. Feeling aggravated from her mental battle, she decided to go on intuition. She reached up and placed a hand on the back of his neck.
"What are you…?" She cut him off.
"You'll have to trust me eventually," she said, quoting him.
She still felt unsure of herself. All feelings of doubt, however, disappeared when she saw him close his eyes. That familiar force was pulling their faces closer and closer. She closed her eyes and…
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
It was so sudden that they almost fell on the floor. Kagura quickly turned and took a few steps away. Awakening from his trance, Sesshoumaru left the room to answer the door. Oh, my God! What just happened? It's like my mind went stupid! I'm glad somethin' stopped me. He'll pay for this later! She decided to go and see who was at the door. What she saw made her legs turn to jelly. Oh, no…
Ooh, who could it be? Guess you'll have to wait 'til the next chapter! evil laugh Anyways, please R&R!