Chapter 12 – Clean

Kagome took a deep breath and smiled brightly. "Wait up, Sesshoumaru-sama!" She called out. "Come one, Ah-Uhn, hurry up or else we'd be left behind!"

Yes, being cheerful felt loads better than being cautiously silent. Besides, Rin wouldn't like it that her Sesshoumaru-sama was sad just because she isn't here anymore.

'Yes, maybe this was inevitable,' Kagome thought to herself as she hummed while following Sesshoumaru.

"Ano, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kagome ventured to ask her silent companion. "Where are we heading by the way? I was wondering if you were heading to Edo by chance? I would love to see my friends again and go home for fresh supplies."

Kagome had been following Sesshoumaru for over a week now. Most of her wounds have healed and her soreness is almost gone. Sesshoumaru's bite s were the only ones that are left. With the way it was drying and scabbing over, she would say that it will be healed in another week. She flexed her shoulders and found that the pain is minimal now. It meant that her flesh have knitted well inside.

They have settled into a routine. Walk in the morning after sunrise, stop for a rest in the afternoon, walk on just before dusk and then sleep. She didn't question why Sesshoumaru allowed her to follow him. But she felt grateful because she was able to focus her Miko into healing herself more.

He pretty much ignored her existence even when she talked to him. He never answered, not so much as a customary 'hn' from him. But she was okay with that. But she really needed to know where they are and where they were heading.

If she didn't know any better, she would say that he didn't care. But she knew better. Why else would they always be near water? Why would their camping sites have medicinal plants? Why else would there always be edible mushrooms, fruits and nuts for her to eat when Ah-Unn mostly ate grass and he.. Well, she had never seen him eat. But she was sure that he didn't eat mushrooms, fruits or nuts.. Not if he could help it, maybe.

The most telling was the hot spring and kimono.

"You know what I miss the most about home, Ah-Uhn?" she asked the dragon who just nodded genially at her. "It's the hot water system. I can have hot baths at any time of the day and at any time of the year. Man, I miss soaking in my tub with my bubbles and soaps. What I wouldn't give to soak in one right now!"

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but listen in on her conversations with the dragon. He has come to the conclusion that the miko is at times delusional. She talked about the strangest things. What in the world is a 'shopping mall' and a 'microwave'? Now, she is talking about a 'hot water system'? Does she mean a hot spring? But why phrase it in such a weird manner? She really is such a strange girl.

Speaking of strange, her manner of dressing is most unacceptable. She is showing too much of her skin. Only the tops of her thighs are covered by her ragged cloth. He growled to Ah-Uhn. A growl so low that the miko did not even hear it. The dragon growled back a confirmation and flew off.

"Hey, wha.. Ah-Uhn where are you going?" Cried the miko. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Ah-Uhn is going away. He growled at me and went off. Is it something I did wrong?"

"Quiet," Sesshoumaru commanded.

"But Ah-Uhn.." The miko protested.

"The dragon is doing as this Sesshoumaru commanded," he said without missing a step.

"Oh, is that so? I thought I did something to offend him," she said. "When is he coming back? It's getting dark now. How will he find his way back to us?"

Sesshoumaru continued to walk on. He was not re-thinking the wisdom of his decision. Now that the woman was left with him, she will aim her ceaseless chatter at him. Now, the miko was fidgeting and was worrying about something.

"Ne, Sesshoumaru-sama," she began. "I know that Inuyasha is a hanyou but he eats regularly. No that's wrong actually, he eats more than regularly. If I don't control the food supply, he would finish my chips in one sitting."

'Chips?' Sesshoumaru's eyebrow quirked as he turned to the miko.

"I know that you are a full-blooded youkai and do not require regular feeding," she continued. "But I hope that you are not skimping out on your meals. It's just that I'm a bit worried that you haven't eaten in over a week. I mean, unless you do it when we're asleep.. But uhm, if you're uneasy of leaving me alone with Ah-Uhn, uhm, not that I mean you will be worried about me or that you would be ever uneasy about me or for that matter concerned about me.. Uhm.. Anyway, just please eat when you need to, okay? Just let me know if you need to eat and I think you would like to do that alone, just tell me and I won't follow you and I will just wait for you so.. Uhm.. Yeah." She finished lamely as she blushed under the Taiyoukai's gaze.

Sesshoumaru will not admit it but he was surprised. The miko was worried about his eating habits. Or more correctly, she was worried if he was going hungry because she was following her. It was presumptuous of her, that she admitted painfully. But mainly, her thoughts were for him – whether he eats correctly or not.

He did not know how to respond so he just turned on his heel and walked on. He remembered when he was wounded and Rin tried to get him to eat. This miko was also doing the same. No one since Rin has been worried about his health. Rin used to leave fruits and nuts beside him in an attempt to get him to eat. She lay down a portion of what she found and smile up at him. Though he didn't acknowledge the offerings, that didn't stop him from kicking Jaken when he scolded Rin for giving him human food. She eventually stopped when she realized on her own that he didn't eat fruits and nuts.

He was roused out of his memory as Ah-Uhn rumbled a greeting to the miko from a distance.

"Eh? That's Ah-Uhn!" Kagome waved at the dragon. "Hey, welcome back! We're here, over here!"

The dragon landed just as they reached a clearing to rest in. He sat down under a particularly large tree.

"Hey, Ah-Uhn! Where have you been, huh? I was worried when you suddenly took off," she greeted the dragon.

He growled an instruction to the dragon to show Kagome his pack. Uhn nudged his pack while Ah grasped the miko's shirt.

"Eh? What's that in your bag, guys?" she asked as she investigated the pack.

The package was made of rice paper that crinkled as she tore into it. He heard the miko's soft gasp as she took out the kimono. It was a simple white kimono. The only decoration it has was the white flowers printed on the red obi. He frowned. He didn't expect the kimono to have the colours of his house. His instruction to the dragon was to procure a simple kimono for a lady. If anyone was to see the miko in such colours, it may imply that he was keeping the miko. Well, he would just have to make sure that no one would see the miko in his company.

The miko suddenly jumped up and ran to his side. "Sesshoumaru-sama, domo arigatou gozaimasu!" Kagome gushed. "I will be sure to repay you for the kimono and I am sorry if my clothes right now are offending your sensitive sense of smell.. I don't normally wear the same clothes in a week but given my current situation right now, I can't help it. But arigatou again! I am sooo happy right now! I get to wear clean clothes at last!"

Sesshoumaru was close to being amused. It seems that the miko thinks that he gave her the kimono because of her smell. She didn't even stop to think that she is actually offending his sense of propriety. It shows where her values lay, though. She values being clean more than showing her skin. But then again, he took a delicate sniff at the miko, she didn't smell unpleasant even after wearing the same clothes since their meeting. It may be because she has a ritual to wash her body in the morning and at night. She is very clean for a human. Rin, on the other hand, only bathes when he tells her to.

"Ooooh, I am so going for a bath even if it's cold! Hey, Ah-Uhn, which direction is the stream please?" she asked the dragon.

Sesshoumaru growled another instruction to the dragon as he led the miko away.

After a while, he heard a shriek of delight and a shout of thanks to him when the miko finally found the hot spring.

Kagome was more than ecstatic as she pulled out the kimono from Ah-Uhn's package. The kimono was not only beautiful but it was also clean! It has been so long since she had clean clothes to wear. She did not try to think that the reason Sesshoumaru sent a kimono for her was because she was beginning to offend his sense of smell- that's just too embarrassing for her.

"Well, it's not like I have any choice," Kagome huffed to herself while scrubbing with what soapy plant she could find along the banks. "I mean, it's not like I enjoy wearing the same clothes every single day or that I enjoy being grimy. This is Sengoku Jidai for goodness sakes! No drive-inns, no convenience stores with convenient little bottles of bubbles, no cute little toothbrush with fruity toothpaste and the worst of it all – no shampoo and conditioner!" Kagome moaned as she dove into the water to rinse herself.

"So yeah, I don't have any choice in this," she consoled herself as she came up for air. "So I don't care whether the great Sesshoumaru-sama finds my scent offending."

Ah-Uhn just looked on, thinking that their new charge is as peculiar than the previous one.

Kagome hummed as she dried of herself. She soaked in the hot spring until her fingers and toes became pruny. But she was happy that all the grime and dust have been washed away by the hot water.

She flexed her shoulders and arms. The hot water helped in disinfecting her wounds. It also relieved the inner ache in her muscles. 'A week or so and I will be good as new,' Kagome thought to herself.

She carefully put on the kimono Sesshoumaru gave to her. She really liked the flowers on the obi. "These are moon flowers right, Ah-Uhn?" She asked the dragon. "Do you know where I can find some of them?"

The dragon lumbered to its feet and started walking off. Kagome picked up her newly washed though tattered school uniform and took off after the dragon.

A/N:

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