Chapter 14 – Different
Author's Note:
This is dedicated to LoveInTheBattleField who seems to be counting the months and days until I update. Thank you for the reassurance that you are still with me. I am a loooong way before I finish this story. I see this story with at least four parts. I have a rough outline ready until the third part. Hmmmm.. I hope you all stick with me until the end.
A shout out to all those who leave me reviews, they are what keep me going. Your notes are what I look out for whenever I open my account. Big hugs to rockster0810, flynalien, PopcornCandyGirl109, Althea2005, Moons-chan, Kikireed and to a Guest who left me some love.
Long after Kagome feel asleep, the Taiyoukai sat awake.
He could still feel the miko's warmth against his side as she stood beside him.
Her citrus scent still hung in the air around him with the moon flower.
He could still hear her peculiar steps.
He could still taste her at the tip of his fang.
Sesshoumaru became more aware of the miko since their encounter that night. Before, all he could see was how alike they were. Now, he started to see how she was different from Rin.
She smiled differently. Where Rin gave a toothy grin when she was particularly pleased, the miko would only give a hint of her teeth through her lips. Then there would be a dimple that would play on the left side of her lower lip and another one on her right cheek.
She laughed differently too. Where Rin's laugh sounded like a bubbling brook, the miko's laugh was like a tinkling bell. It was light, fresh and invites you to see what she was laughing about.
One particularly stifling afternoon, they stopped for a rest. There was no wind in the forest and it made the air sticky. The miko was back to wearing her scandalous attire. He made a note to have the dragon do away with the atrocious green dress that she called a uniform.
"Whew! It was a good thing that I changed to my uniform this morning," the miko sighed. "I really don't know how you guys do it, but I can't imagine walking around in a kimono in this heat!"
"It takes modesty, miko, which you obviously lack," the Taiyoukai disdainfully answered as he glared at the miko's exposed legs. The miko stuck out her tongue at him as she fanned her legs. Sesshoumaru added a note to have the dragon get a heavy kimono in replacement of the uniform.
The miko tried to make light conversation with him which he ignored. She soon gave up. She transferred her attention to the snoozing beast. At first, she watched how the dragon slept then suddenly, her face lit up. She took a particularly long blade of grass and stealthily crept towards the dragon. Uhn woke up but she made a shushing motion to it. It obliged and just waited to see what the miko will do.
The miko took the grass and ticked it towards the sleeping head's ear. The ear flicked back and forth but the head continued to sleep. The miko silently giggled. The miko transferred to the other ear which also flicked. This time, Ah faced its head the other way as if to get away from the offending ear-bug.
The miko moved so she could face the sleeping dragon's head. Sesshoumaru got a better view of the miko's face. It was then he noticed her dimples. It was peeking in and out of her cheeks as she tried her best to hold in her laughter.
She then decided to tickle the dragon's nose with the blade of grass. At first, the dragon's nose just twitched. Then, it snorted and snuffled. At last, the sleeping dragon's nose couldn't take it anymore. It snapped its head back and let loose a big sneeze. Ah looked blearily around. It looked surprise at the sight of the miko crouched in front of it. Then, it zoomed in on the deadly-looking blade of grass in Kagome's hand. The miko was openly laughing now which earned her a glare from Ah.
"Did you see that Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kagome managed to ask in between her bouts of laughter. "Ah looked so funny!"
The Taiyoukai didn't answer but looked on. He did appreciate the silliness of the miko's little escapade. In any case, his dragon was not worse for wear.
The offended head was starting to get angry. Uhn bumped its head to its partner as if to pacify it. Ah realizing that there was no point in getting angry just sulked which made Kagome laugh all the more harder.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for disturbing your sleep Ah," Kagome said as she hugged the pouting dragon head. "I won't do it again, promise. This is all Sesshoumaru-sama's kimono's fault."
The dragon heads both looked up at her in surprise. The Taiyoukai just raised his eyebrow. The miko leaned in close to the dragon's ears and whispered. "You see his kimono and how it covers all of his body?" Kagome asked as the dragon's looked at the seemingly indifferent Taiyoukai.
"See how the weather's hot and stuffy, right? It got to you and me didn't it? Well, that's what happened!" Kagome exclaimed as if it explained everything. When the dragon just kept looking at her, she elaborated. "Earlier I was bored, feeling hot, missing my friends and my son.. So I tried to talk to Sesshoumaru-sama but he wouldn't talk to me. Then, I saw you and got the idea of tickling you. Now, I realize that the reason why Sesshoumaru-sama wouldn't talk to me is because was because his kimono was making him feel hot!"
"Has the heat addled your mind, miko?" the Taiyoukai asked.
Kagome turned to him and laughed. "I think so too, Sesshoumaru-sama!"
The Taiyoukai then realized that no laughed like Rin and the miko around him. At court, youkai and human alike laughed not because of merriment but because of his position. Some laugh to bring attention to themselves, some to curry his favour and some to ease their nervousness. Only Rin and the miko around him with no thought of his position.
Sesshoumaru listened to the miko laugh as she tried to cajole the still pouting dragon. Her laugh was nice, carefree and inviting. 'It makes her look nice,' he thought. The Taiyoukai frowned at this and suddenly stood up.
Noticing the atmosphere change, Kagome looked to him. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"
He deign answer the unspoken question. He just started to walk away leaving the perplexed miko to follow after him.
She played differently. Where Rin would pick out flowers here and there, the miko would only take the few that she needed. Rin, being the child she is, oftentimes picked more flowers than Jaken or Ah-Uhn could appreciate.
She daydreamed differently. Rin would daydream of fairies, princesses and goddesses. The miko's daydreams were more on a 'practical' note, for the lack of a better word. Her daydreams consist of miraculously getting all of the Shikon shards without harming Kohaku and purifying Naraku. The taijiya's family would be resurrected. The houshi will be freed from the curse and will marry taijiya. The kitsune would have his family back as well. Strangely enough, there was no daydream about his half-brother, the corrupted miko and herself.. He did wonder about that. If she did have them, maybe she was careful to keep them to herself.
Kagome was ecstatic that they camped at another hot spring last night. She woke up early so that she can soak in the hot spring again before they started moving. She was able to gather enough flowers yesterday afternoon to make a nice flower. She planned on taking advantage of the spring since she didn't know when the Taiyoukai would decide to stop at another one.
As she was about to sneak by the dragon, it woke up. Kagome was able to stop it in time before it was able to rumble its usual morning greeting. She motioned it to go back to sleep but it stubbornly got to its feet to follow her. Kagome didn't have any choice but to let it follow if she didn't want her campmate to wake up. Before passing that Taiyoukai, Kagome laid a flower beside him. "Thanks again for stopping by this hot spring," she murmured.
What she didn't know was that Sesshoumaru was already awake since she first stirred. He usually woke up at the crack of dawn. He found it strange that the miko was already up. He decided to keep an ear out to what the miko was up to.
"Aaah.. Hot springs are really the best," moaned Kagome. "You know Ah-Uhn, after this is all done and Naraku is gone from the face of the Earth, I really hope that my Sango-chan and Miroku-san will get together. I worry for them both, you know. Miroku-san just can't seem to control that hand of his and Sango-chan can't handle that. She gets soooo jealous! Well, I would too if the man I loved went around touching all the women around. I mean, Inuyasha still..." Kagome trailed off. "But you know, Kohaku-kun will make a great uncle. Sango-chan told me how he liked to take care of the kids in their village. I could almost see them now.. Sangon-chan, Miroku-san and Kohaku-kun in a happy home."
Sesshoumaru noticed the miko's pause in her ramble when she came to jealousy and his half-brother. As he thought, the miko is very conflicted about the half-breed's relationship with the undead miko. His treatment of her did not help the matters either. It was wise of her not to daydream about her relationship with him. Daydreaming would cultivate hope and that hope would only turn to despair.
He absently picked up the flower the miko gave him. Hope is like a flower. It blooms when it's cultivated and easily wilts when neglected. The Taiyoukai wondered if deep inside her, the miko was actually keeping a flower for the half-breed.
Remembering that morning, the Taiyoukai came to the biggest difference between Rin and her. They smelled differently. Rin smelled of the sun and flowers that she loved to play with. Though the miko used flowers to scent her bath with, still had a citrusy scent to her with a touch of magic. Did the miko dabble in the magical arts as well as the holy? Looking at the woman-child, she did not seem to be one for it. She trips over her own legs, has a penchant for holding conversations with herself and uses strange words. On second thought, those same observations could be argued for her usage of the magical arts..
"Miko, why do you smell of magic?" Sesshoumaru abruptly asked.
Kagome who was busy telling Ah-Uhn about photosynthesis promptly tripped. She picked up herself and dumbly looked at the Taiyoukai. "Huh?" She intelligently asked.
"This Sesshoumaru does not repeat himself," he said.
Kagome gulped and looked around uncomfortably. She knew that he meant about the well's magic and she couldn't let him know about it. She still wasn't sure if Sesshoumaru will be an ally or an enemy. Who knew what could happen if he knew? What if he outlived everyone and knew about the future? What if he tried to go for world domination?
Kagome's mind was in a whirl. She didn't know how to answer and she was the worst liar in the world. "Uhm.. Because.." she hedged as she frantically thought of a reason not too far from the truth. "Uh yeah, Shippou does magic. He showed me a trick or two before I left for home," she explained while rubbing her lower lip with her thumb.
The tip of Sesshoumaru's mokomoko-sama twitched. "Miko, do not try this Sesshoumaru's patience," he intoned in a calm voice. "This Sesshoumaru can smell your lie."
He could hear the miko's heartbeat speed up as she fidgeted with her kimono. "Ano.. Sesshoumaru-sama, it really is kitsune magic.."
"Wench, do not insult this Sesshoumaru's intelligence," he said. He could smell it if it were kitsune magic. He discreetly sniffed towards the miko's direction. Though the magic scent was fainter now, it was still there. The scent was stronger when he first met her. It was as if it was fading as time passed. When he encountered them in the past, the scent had varied strength in it. Why is this so? Looking carefully at the miko, he could tell that she was not a native of this land. From the manner of speech, her dress and the way she carried herself pointed to this fact.
"The magic is connected to how you get from your home to this land," Sesshoumaru stated. From the way the miko's eyes popped out and the way her scent spiked with fear, he knew that he was right.
"How.. How did you?" Kagome stuttered and gasped. He hit the nail on its head without even realizing it. Just add in a well in there and a bit of time travel, he would have the answer. Since he arrived on it on his own.. "Well, you got me, Sesshoumaru-sama. You are exactly right. Magic is how I get to my home and back to this land," Kagome timidly explained. "But please don't tell anyone okay? Since I'm a miko and all, I might get into trouble."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at the miko. There were no signs of fidgeting or lip rubbing. The miko seemed to be telling the truth. But he was still doubtful. She gave in too easily with her answer after her apparent effort to lie about it
Kagome let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding as soon as the Taiyoukai's gaze left her. 'I swear, those eyes are weapons in their own right!' She mentally railed. 'It's like they're laser beams or ocular lie detectors or something!'
The silence that followed was very uncomfortable. The Taiyoukai could smell the nervousness radiating off the miko. Her Miko energy was also quite agitated. Granted that he was not exactly their ally and that he tried to kill them on more occasions that he could count, why hide her mode of transportation? Why magic? Couldn't she use horses instead? Also, why the secrecy?
After a while, Kagome meekly spoke to the Taiyoukai's back, "By the way, Sesshoumaru-sama, is there any chance that you may lead me back to Inuyasha's forest? I really miss my friends and my son, Shippou."
The Taiyoukai continued walking on as if he didn't hear her.
"I also think that you're okay now, Sesshoumaru-sama," Kagome added in a soft tone.
Sesshoumaru paused in his stride and slid a lazy golden eye towards the small miko. She met his gaze with a soft light in her eyes. The Taiyoukai only saw honesty and concern reflected in her eyes. It was just like the miko to think of others instead of herself.
"Why would you need this Sesshoumaru's help in going home when you can use magic?" Sesshoumaru asked.
He looked away and walked on leaving a furiously blushing miko.
A/N: Leave me with some love please!