Chapter 14

Author Note:

So I'm updating early because...i don't know, I feel like it I guess. I'm having writer's block - sort of - and maybe some feedback will help me get the gears turning again...or something.

Only one review last chapter? Sigh, sadness. Okay, I'm over it, now read on!

Sesshoumaru, as Kagome was coming to learn, was a master of what she liked to call the almost emotion.

If he was displeased he would almost frown, if he was amused he would almost smirk, and if he was happy - which was rare unless something was losing its head - he would almost smile. It was just a ghost of the actual emotion, the tiniest change in his usually marble facade that would easily be missed by anyone who had not spent a significant amount of time with the demon lord. Like the tip of an iceberg , you could only see the very top. You knew the rest was under the water, but it was hidden by darkness and shadows and giant, dog demon egos.

Okay, maybe giant dog demon egos were strictly limited to Sesshoumaru, but whatever.

The point was that Kagome had become quite accustomed to the perfected subtlety of her taiyoukai companion. So much so that when she woke up one morning to find him smiling, Kagome almost wet her pants.

"AH!" She yelled and immediately jumped to her feet to look for the demon that had obviously taken control of his mind. She didn't find any thing and he was still smiling so, she thought it would be a good idea to yell again. "AH!"

"Stop your yelling, miko," he told her with a gleeful glint in his golden eyes.

"Not until you tell me who you are and what the hell you've done with Sesshoumaru!" She said in a slightly hysterical tone that would have been funny if she wasn't so seriously freaked out.

Sesshoumaru stopped smiling but the tiniest hint of a smirk remained on his lips. "What makes you believe I am not Sesshoumaru?"

"You're smiling."

"I found something amusing."

"Yeah? And just what, may I ask, was so 'amusing'?" Kagome said suspiciously. She wasn't sure what was going on here, but she had never, NEVER, seen Sesshoumaru smile. Even if it wasn't anaw, you make me smile smile, but a your human failings are amusing to this Sesshoumaru, smile. It was still a smile and the fact that it had been on his face was hard to believe. She would have thought it was impossible had she not seen it first hand, and even now she wasn't sure this wasn't some strange delusion.

"Are you aware that you talk while you sleep, miko?" He asked.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "No."

"Ah...I see," he said and then fell silent, though, his mocking eyes remained on her.

Kagome slumped where she stood and had to fight the urge to scratch her head in confusion. His explanations for his actions - as always - were lacking, and she really wasn't in the right state of mind to try and make heads or tails with his...enigma-ness.

Or to make actual words it would seem.

She was half asleep, half scared out of her mind, and half pissed off that he was obviously smiling at something that she had done.

She then, of course, realized that it was impossible for someone to be three-halves something, which is also when she decided that maybe she was drunk, or tripping on some wild mushrooms. She should probably just go back to sleep.

"Okay, I'm just going to go back to bed and pretend this never happened," Kagome said slowly as she started to crawl back into her sleeping bag. "Obviously you're not yourself right now, just sort out what you need to sort out and wake me up when you're done."

Kagome closed her eyes and wondered vaguely if Hell was going to start freezing over, or perhaps she would see a pig flying across the horizon later today. Heck, she could wake up naked and covered in chocolate and the world would still make more sense than it did in this moment.

"I have pretty hair, miko?"

Kagome's eyes flew open. "W-what did you say?"

"It is not what I said, it is what you said," he explained with that infuriating smirk still on his face. "Apparently you are quite fond of this Sesshoumaru's hair."

Kagome squeaked with embarrassment. The truth was that this morning she had been dreaming something of that nature. It wasn't a dream she frequented often, and it was certainly not the most dignified dream, but it had been innocent enough...until now.

It was a dream world in which an impossibly docile demon lord with silky, silver hair allowed the overly zealous miko to touch his holy head. She was probably mentally unstable for dreaming of something so stupid, but his hair was a gift to the world, dang it! Seriously, it looked like it was made of magic and happiness! And it was always right in front of her, just an arms reach away, tempting her to touch it. Unfortunately she knew that if she dared to get her grubby little ningen paws anywhere near his impeccable locks she would probably lose an arm.

Gods if she didn't wonder if losing an arm would be worth it - after all, she had two.

But just because she thought his hair was so wonderful didn't mean that he needed to know that. She never wanted to let Sesshoumaru know that she sometimes stared at his seemingly flawless hair while it blew in the wind, or really, really wanted to braid it just to see if it would feel as soft as it looked. No, she NEVER EVER wanted him to know that.

But apparently she had gone and blabbed everything in her sleep.

Kagome wished it were possible to die from humiliation - at least then she wouldn't have to look at that stupid smirk on his face.

"Oh, kill me now," she groaned and buried her red face in her hands. "Go on, I know you want to! Just put me out of my misery."

My life sucks! She inwardly screamed.

"Miko, I am not not unaware of the effect my appearance has on females, I just did not expect the same reaction from you," he said in his usual monotone. He may have returned to being bored and uncaring, but Kagome had the distinct impression that he was still highly amused by this whole thing.

Sadistic bastard.

"Well, I only said your hair was pretty, how do you know I don't think the rest of you is hideous?" She challenged through her fingers. She wasn't ready to take her hands away from her face and expose her tomato red complexion; this situation was humiliating enough without her changing colors.

Sesshoumaru cocked an elegant brow as if saying, 'you've got to be kidding me'.

Arrogant dog! Arrogant, god-like, ridiculously attractive, really good looking...wait, where was I? Oh yeah! That jerk!

"Okay, okay, you're definitely not hideous," she sighed in defeat. "But good looks aren't everything you know!" She said adamantly, pointing a harsh finger at him while throwing him a meaningful glare.

Sesshoumaru looked at her finger and then back at her - unimpressed.

Kagome's finger wavered and then fell as she cleared her throat and shifted awkwardly. Somehow she got the distinct impression that she had lost the point of the conversation.

'Good looks aren't everything'? She repeated in her mind with disgust. What am I? Five?

Kagome looked back over to Sesshoumaru and found that he was still staring at her, probably wondering if she was going to strip naked and dance around, because obviously that was the only way she hadn't made a complete fool out of herself yet.

"So what, I like your hair," she huffed, crossing her arms. "You know what else I like? Not being filthy. So, maybe you could take a few seconds out of your very important 'mock the miko' time and point me in the direction of the nearest stream."

The taiyoukai glared at her. "Miko, I believe we agreed you would not be left unaccompanied again."

"You are not watching me wash myself," she told him flatly, another blush creeping up on her at the very thought.

He watched as the blood beneath her skin pooled in her cheeks, turning them a pleasant rose, and suddenly he was reminded of last night. The fire light dancing across her pale skin, the scent of her intoxicating blood on the air... it was... disconcerting.

Standing, he flicked his hair over his shoulder haughtily. "Well, perhaps I am desirous of a bath for a change." And he turned on his heal and walked off into the forest.

Kagome stared at the spot where he had just been for a few, unproductive seconds before realizing that he had just left her there to find the stream on her own. She cursed under her breath, grabbed her bag, and followed after him.

Sesshoumaru smirked to himself as he heard the miko's frantic footfalls chasing after him. He knew that she would follow him - her stubborn nature overridden by her discomfort of being left behind. It was much easier than arguing with her at any rate, especially when he could barely control his thoughts.

Yes, perhaps a quick wash would be nice. He could still smell her blood on his fingers, still taste it on his tongue, and it was much too distracting.

Kagome, in the meantime, was experiencing a certain amount of distraction herself. She raced through the trees as fast as she could manage, but it seemed that he wasn't going to give her the chance to keep up. Stupid jerk. And since she couldn't see him the only thing that told her she was going in the right direction was his demonic aura, which wasn't exactly an easy thing to concentrate on while trying to dodge branches and roots.

In fact, she was so distracted that she didn't even notice that Sesshoumaru had stopped moving until she burst through the trees and nearly ran into his back. His sculpted, extremely nice, very masculine, bare back.

Oh my, her brain commented as her feet continued on autopilot.

SPLASH! Kagome tripped head first into the stream.

Sesshoumaru lowered the cloth he had been using to wash himself with and turned to stare at the girl. "Miko, what are you doing?" he asked as she sputtered and splashed her way into a sitting position.

Her hair was in her face, there was mud between her fingers and undoubtedly all over her back side, and she was pretty sure she may have swallowed a mouthful of algae. Looking for my dignity? Attempting to grow gills? Trying to drown before I can embarrass myself even more than I already have? She grumbled to herself.

Kagome pushed the wet hair out of her eyes and stared at her legs moodily. "I'm making a collect call, wouldn't happen to have any quarters would you?"

Sesshoumaru racked his brain for a moment before deciding that perhaps the miko was messing with him. "Do not be facetious," he scoffed.

She snorted. "Wouldn't dream of it."

When she made no move to remove herself from the stream Sesshoumaru started to grow impatient. "I was not aware humans bathed with their clothes on," he said dryly, dipping the cloth back into the stream and then bringing it up to scrub his chest.

Shiny, her mind drooled.

"I wasn't aware you bathed at all," she mumbled, a blush creeping over her cheeks as she tried to look away. Funny, but she could have sworn she heard her eyes protest as she averted them to her lap.

Get a grip Kagome, she mentally slapped herself, you always knew he was attractive, now he's just a little more...exposed.

"That is ridiculous, how else would I stay clean?" He asked, perplexed.

Kagome shrugged sloppily. "I don't know...you scare the dirt away?"

He just raised a brow.

Way to go Kagome, that made loads of sense, she chided herself.

"Whatever, you bathe, I bathe, we all bathe! Now, can you put a shirt on!" She snapped, trying really hard not to blush and failing miserably. Thankfully he still had his hakama on...she didn't even want to imagine what her face would be doing if he didn't.

It would probably just explode, she mused to herself.

Sesshoumaru looked down at his bare torso. "Does this bother you, miko?" He asked, an amused smirk playing on his lips as he removed the cloth from his chest to expose him and all his muscley glory.

Kagome only huffed and crossed her arms, her sopping clothes making an odd squishing sound as the wet fabric slapped together.

"Have you never seen a man's chest before?" He tried again.

"Of course I have!" She said stubbornly and then mumbled, "just not very often."

And never one so attractive, her treacherous brain piped in. Shut it brain! Or I'll give us a concussion, I swear!

"I see," he said, the smirk fading as he suddenly became very distracted, "but perhaps you should be concerned about your own modesty at the moment."

Kagome lifted her backpack out of the stream and watched as several liters of water began to pour out. "Huh?" She asked airily, she was too busy thinking about the fact that all of her worldly possessions were now completely soaked to concentrate on deciphering his cryptic messages.

"I believe you may be... cold," he said.

She tossed her pack onto the grass and started the incredibly complicated task of unsticking herself from the mud. "Of course I'm cold! This water is freezing," she grumbled, finally managing to stand.

Sesshoumaru gave an exhausted sigh and cleared his throat meaningfully, looking down at her chest and then promptly looking away as though he was very interested in the clouds.

"What are you..." Kagome looked down. "EEEP!" She squealed and quickly crossed her arms over her chest, her face turning a red so bright she was sure she could direct air traffic with it. "Why didn't you say something! Pervert!"

Wet, shirt plus skin is NOT good! She thought hysterically.

"I did say something," he pointed out.

"Well... that-that's not the point!" She stuttered, collapsing onto the nearest rock and sniffing in a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and total misery. "And now my bag, and everything in it, is soaked!"

The taiyoukai sighed and picked up his carefully folded haori and obi from the rock he had rested his things on. "You may cover your person with these until your things are dry," he said stiffly, holding them out to her without looking at her. "But, I suggest you divest yourself of your filth before hand."

Kagome looked up at him, "Really?"

"I am not in the habit of repeating myself," he warned.

"Thanks," she mumbled, feeling like a jerk for calling him a pervert. He was obviously just trying to warn her.

At least he hadn't made it too awkward; Inuyasha would have gaped at her before exploding into a tirade embarrassed nonsense. She used to find his boyish reactions endearing, but after awhile they were more than just a little tiring. She understood that by hanyou standards Inuyasha was still just a teenager, but he killed things for a living! If that didn't force someone to grow up, she didn't know what would. After all, Sesshoumaru was still a young adult by demon standards, but he seemed to have the maturity of an eighty year old man!

In fact, now that she thought about it, it was kind of nice to travel with someone who had more than just an ounce of maturity for a change.

"I'll go wash up now," she said sheepishly as she took his offerings, careful not to get any mud on the impeccable clothing.

He gave her a curt nod and she gave him a quick smile before turning on her heel and disappearing around the nearest bend in the river.

Obviously he didn't watch the way the thin, wet, now almost translucent cloth, clung to her hips as they swayed. Of course he didn't have to concentrate on not following after her and offering to help her out of those dirty clothes. No, none of those things and or thoughts could possibly have crossed him mind, because he was far too busy counting to ten thousand.

Obviously.

Kagome, in the meantime, was climbing out of the water feeling significantly less mud-covered than before. She shook herself free of water as best she could before slipping on Sesshoumaru's haori and tying the bright obi around her waist to keep it closed. It was long enough that it fell to her knees, and the sleeves were almost as long, effectively hiding her arms entirely.

She rolled the sleeves as best she could and gathered her ruined clothes, heading back towards her demon companion with a skip in her step.

But when she finally reached him, all of her playful happiness evaporated.

There he was, standing on the bank of the stream and staring at the clouds as though they held all the secrets in the world and would reveal them if only you looked hard enough. He was beautiful, Kagome realized: his silver hair dancing about his bare waist as it blew in the wind, his pale skin gleaming in the midday sun, the flawless magenta stripes that adorned his hips.

The only flaw in his entire body was the stump where his left arm had once been, but even it had a sense of perfection. The skin was smooth and soft instead of gnarled and mangled as it should have been.

Kagome sat down on a rock - suddenly she felt sick.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru was very busy. In fact, he was so busy he hadn't even realized the miko had joined him. Of course he had sensed her coming, had smelled her on the wind, but his mind seemed unable to process what that meant because he was just so darn busy. Yes, he was very, very busy doing anything but thinking about the fact that Kagome was wearing his haori and nothing else.

A stoic, demon lord he may be, but he was also a man, and it seemed that this scantily clad miko would not allow him to forget it.

One-hundred and forty-seven clouds in the sky, he mentally calculated. The wind is blowing from the southeast, it would take approximately fourteen seconds to slice that tree into sixteen equal pieces, the full moon is in three days, Kagome is currently naked under my clothing, if I...damn.

"I'm sorry," Kagome muttered, completely unaware of the inuyoukai's internal struggle.

Sesshoumaru nearly jumped in surprise, but restrained himself so that only his eyes flickered in her direction. "Hm?" He questioned.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, her eyes turning to the ground. "About your arm... I mean you were trying to kill us... but I always felt bad..." Kagome sighed and took a deep breath. "What I mean is - I'm sorry about what happened to your arm."

Sesshoumaru looked at her hunched form and shrugged. "It was not you who cut it off."

Kagome peaked up at him shyly from beneath her lashes. "I know, but I was there, I gave Inuyasha the Tessaiga," she said sullenly. "Aren't you mad?"

She watched as he frowned slightly and very slowly walked over to sit beside her. For a second she thought he had decided that she did have a point, that he should be mad and was coming over to chop off her arm as payment. But apparently that wasn't the case.

Which really was a relief; she liked her arm.

And so, realizing he wasn't expecting any arm sacrifices, she watched curiously as he simply sat down next to her in his perfect, graceful way and looked off into the distance.

"I tried to kill you, are you not displeased with me?" He said after a moment's thought, his golden eyes turning to her.

Oh yeah, he did, didn't he? She noted absentmindedly. Well, that was rather rude come to think of it...

"I was," she conceded with a nod and a shrug, "but... I got over it."

He blinked, and for a second he almost looked surprised, but the expression was gone so fast Kagome couldn't really be sure if it was there at all.

"Perhaps I have 'gotten over it' as well," he said.

And then something happened that Kagome did not quite believe was possible. In fact, she really wished she could rewind for just a few seconds and make sure that she had actually seen what she thought she saw. And even if she could rewind and freeze frame the moment she still wasn't sure she would believe it, because the idea that Sesshoumaru had actually smiled - not smirked mockingly, or sneered, or lifted a brow, but a true smile - was absolutely impossible...right?

"It is impolite to stare, miko," he said dryly, the impossible smile vanishing just as soon as it had appeared, effectively bringing Kagome back down to earth.

Oh, hello earth, how have you been? She addressed the planet in a daze. Just got back from whatever parallel universe I'd fallen into, did you know Sesshoumaru smiles there? Weird, huh?

She was pretty sure the planet agreed.

"Well, alright then, truce?" She asked, holding out her hand and smiling.

He stared at it for a moment, wondering vaguely if he should so willingly place his hand in hers when said hand could so easily purify him to ash. Then he of course realized how incredibly ridiculous that idea was. As if Kagome were capable of purifying him! Not only would he be able to kill her several times over before she could even summon enough spiritual energy to singe his hair, but he knew she was completely incapable of even thinking to do such a vicious act.

He placed his hand in hers and watched as she squeezed and shook before releasing him with a satisfied smile on her face.

For some reason, Kagome couldn't shake the feeling that the two of them had just overcome some great obstacle. He had basically apologized for trying to kill her... well, it was more like he simply acknowledged that she had the right to be angry with him, but in her mind it was pretty much the same thing. He also told her he didn't harbor any murderous rage towards her for her part in the loss of his arm, which was a particularly nice sentiment. Especially if she had any intention of living once this whole ordeal was over.

Well, I guess it's kind of like starting over, she thought to herself. Only this time, maybe we might actually get along.

"See, I told you I'd be your friend," she said smugly.

I wonder if my clothes will smell like her once she returns them, he pondered before realizing what she had said.

He scoffed. "We are not friends miko, we have simply agreed not to be enemies."

"And if we aren't enemies..." she trailed off expectantly, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Then we are... allies," he finally decided, satisfied that 'allies' did not imply a personal relationship on any level.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head with an air of tired amusement. "Fine, we're allies, but I'm still your friend even if you aren't mine," she told him matter-of-factly. "So, get used to it."

"Silence miko," he growled, his hand coming up to press one long, clawed finger against her lips.

"Hey!" She yelled indignantly, batting his hand away and glaring. "Don't be a jerk!"

He turned his gaze to her, his eyes hard and urgent. "Silence!" He growled impatiently, his eyes drifting back to the trees. "We are being hunted."

Kagome immediately forgot her anger and concentrated her miko powers. Sure enough, only a short distance away, she could feel a powerful demonic presence, its dark youki so foul it almost made her shiver.

"That's a nasty one," she commented, trying not to sound as though her stomach had suddenly been dropped into a tub of ice.

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru replied shortly, his eyes sliding once again from the trees to her. "You will stay here, I will take care of this," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for compromise. "Do not move... and keep your weapons close."

And with that he shrugged on the plain, white inner kimono he had folded by the river, lifted his armor over his head, and wrapped his fur pelt over his shoulder so quickly, Kagome could barely keep up. Finally he grabbed his swords from the rock he had rested them against and disappeared into the forest.

Chapter Note:

To review, or not to review?

That is the question.

Well, if I were you, I would review.

It will keep away my depression.

Note: I do not, nor have I ever, suffered from depression. It just happens to be one of the few words that rhymes with question.