Disclaimer: I, GinKitsune, do Not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters. All Rights to that title go to Rumiko Takahashi-san. This fanfic is solely for fan entertainment only.

A/N: Well another chapter up, another lack of sleep night, for some reason my brain only becomes active to write when I feel like a zombie. I'm not so sure that's a good thing, ne? But being a night owl I guess anything earlier is just to slurred to my brain, part of the reason this chapter was delayed is because of my lack of resolve for certain aspects in this story: when/where/how etc you know. So, I hope I didn't take too long getting this out and lose anyone's interest D: I don't wanna lose any readers! But if I rush it out I could potentially mess this up and present something really confusing and utterly unreadable. Well I'm done blabbing now- I tend to talk a lot when tired…*yawn* Let me know what you think so far, someone asked me about Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. And I'd be willing to answer you but I'm not sure if Everyone wants an answer to that so please e-mail me if you wish to know my plans/or lack of, in that area.

Please Review!


Chapter 5: May

"Sesshomaru!," Kagome screamed out as a flash of razor sharp claws came desperately close to slashing his neck wide open, Sesshomaru leapt back swiftly away from the humongous water dragon that had attacked him.

Quickly Sesshomaru retaliated as a wave of poison poured from his fingertips, but before the acid reached it's target the large demon moved out of range, the movement so fast it was just a blur. Sensing it's new location to be behind him Sesshomaru side stepped and drew up his sword in time to parry the attack aimed for the back of his neck. The water dragon was very intent on his decision to lop his head off, swiftly it jumped back away from him before he could make an attack of his own.

So it does possess some intelligence, Sesshomaru silently mused to himself, his golden eyes scanned the length and size of the large brownish green demon, it's scales glistened in the sun light casting different hues designed to distract and momentarily disable it's enemies. A deep resounding mirthful laugh flowing from it's tawny mouth.

"Thisss is all you've got? I expected more of a challenge, after your boasssting about taking my ssshard away from me after all," It slithered out like a snake, a mocking smile spreading over it's face showing the sharp teeth within it's mouth. "face it dog, you and your mate will die here today by my claws!"

Gracefully Sesshomaru leapt forward with amazing speed and slashed forward across it's chest but the attack hit thin air. His eyes widening momentarily as he felt the stabbing pain of a razor sharp claw drag down along his arm. He stumbled forward from the sudden attack and leapt away before another blow could be landed on him. The Shikon no Tama shard had greatly increased this demons power, he had to put an end to this right now.

Kagome screamed out in shock and worry as she witnessed the attack land and slice right down his arm, with his only arm injured would he be able to fight? She knew he couldn't allow himself to lose to such a demon but the strain of worry wouldn't be quieted so easily, he was in pain and she was going to put an end to this mess. But before she could devise a plan she realized the demon was looking at her now, her scream had pulled it's attention away from him. Good, she thought, her face sharpening into a determined expression, coldly she recited a chant Miroku had taught her long ago as she fired off an arrow at the water demon.

It leapt back and away but not before losing half of it's tail due to her powerful attack, cursing as it wailed out in pain, "We're Not mates, demon, get that straight before I end Your life!" She knocked another arrow and began to chant once more but the laugh that bellowed from the creature this time was shocking and maniacal.

"Oh really?," it sneered at her, "then tell me girl, why do you reek of him, if you're not mates then you two Must be very clo-," it's sentence was cut off suddenly by an attack from Sesshomaru. His sword making a landing blow and slashing across it's back.

"That is enough, it's time for you to die, do not feed yourself full of false hope that you can defeat this Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru stated as the demon screeched out in pain, thrashing about it's tail -what was left of it- leaving destruction in it's wake, it's red eyes filled with rage as it quickly lunged forward at him. It's claws meeting air as Sesshomaru took advantage of the opening, Toukijin cutting a deep gash through it's stomach leaving a waterfall of blood to flow out of the nearly incapacitated demon, in desperation the demon gathered energy into it's mouth; no doubt about to fire off a large energy beam at Sesshomaru.

Kagome saw her chance as the shot became clear, without a second thought she poured her holy energy over the arrow in a wave as she released it, it luckily flew true and exploded into the demons chest with a shattering loud crack. White light flashed blindingly as the demon was shredded by the massive amount of holy power, landing in a bloody heap on the ground below Sesshomaru, who stared impassively at the demon and back at her. With the current danger over now Kagome couldn't help but stare at him in return, her blue eyes taking in his sleek figure, the wind blowing softly through his silver hair. Momentarily her fingers twitched at the thought of what it would feel like but all thoughts vanished as soon as they had come. Her eyes landed on the long gash flowing down his only arm, he was hurt and that needed tending to even if he was a demon and didn't want any help.

Swiftly Sesshomaru sheathed Toukijin and softly touched down onto the ground, cold eyes stared down at what was left of the demon once that girl had finished with it, inwardly his youki cringed at the holy aura still emitting from the corps. He silently waited for her to catch up to gather the shard he couldn't see in the mass, after a moment of her searching she found what she was looking for and plucked the tiny sliver out of it's right arm, it purified instantly in her hands before she turned to place it in the tiny pouch she had tied to her waist. Eager to be away from the mess she began to walk away back to Ah-Un, the mount was around a hundred yards away, clear of the battle field. Her eyes were glued to her surroundings as her feet carried her, but then she noticed he hadn't moved, Kagome half turned and gave him a questioning look.

"Is there a problem, Sesshomaru?," She questioned as she looked up into his eyes, his empty mask in place as always, Kagome had learned to look for answers through those golden depths. It was the only clue to what he was thinking, even if she couldn't read him all the time, it was much more to go on that anything his face had produced. But his eyes didn't give her any hints to what was on his mind.

"No," He curtly replied before walking ahead, pausing as he reached her, "you should work on restraining yourself, lest you drive away anything with a heartbeat within a days walk," and then he was in front of her, leaving her to stammer after him.

"H-hai…" Kagome stared at his retreating back a few moments before briskly catching up to him and took her position beside him but still keeping their respective personal space. After spending a month alone with Sesshomaru on the daily basis Kagome realized his comment even in it's monotone and a bit harsh, it was a compliment from him to her strength, as close as it would get coming from the taiyoukai beside her.

Reaching Ah-Un Kagome grabbed her bag and pulled out a long thin bandage and began to walk over to Sesshomaru, his eyebrow twitched slightly for the briefest second, a small smile took over her lips at the little slip. "Allow me to bandage that,"

"It will heal before nightfall," he stated as he looked down at the large gash.

"Yes but well, the blood will draw unwanted attention to us before then, which I think we'd both rather not deal with," she pointed out logically.

"I'm capable of wrapping it myself," he fired back.

"Oh I know but it will just save us a bit of time if I do it, besides I've done this plenty of times before so I won't take but a minute and we'll be ready to go again," she inched closer and took his silence as confirmation. Sesshomaru resigned to amuse her and stared down at her as she wrapped his arm skillfully, idly wondering just how many times she had to tend to wounds, had Inuyasha really been so incapable of battle without injury that they were left with wounds often? His eyes trailed along a long thin scar over her neck that disappeared into the fabric of her hoary, his nose caught her scent and momentarily he lost himself in the light pleasant scent of honeysuckle and lilac.

"There, all done," Kagome finished securing the bandage and stared up to find him watching her, she blushed and hesitantly stepped back and took up residence along side him, he inspected the bandage with a critical eye for a moment before nodding and in silence they began to walk once again. Idly she tried to clear her mind and shove away the nervousness she had felt from the small contact and close proximity. Silently she wondered Why Sesshomaru hadn't out right denied what the water demon had said, did he believe the demon just wasn't worth his time to correct? What did the demon mean anyway, she knew they walked side by side and his scent might linger on her a bit but from her understanding of the dragons words- she was covered in his scent. No demon had ever said anything like that before…it didn't make sense. With a sigh she tried to shove those thoughts away as well.

Kagome was finding it hard to slip into the nothingness she had grown accustomed to after the incident. Everything just swirled around in her now, like bright colors flashing through her mind, and she too often found herself staring at Sesshoumaru from the corner of her eye, he confused her to no ends. At first she thought he was a cold hearted demon that was only out for power, how could she not after their past encounters? Her eyes flicked over to him and quickly away again, but not before seeing the barest hint of amusement in his eyes, as he noticed her attention on him. It was kind of scary to Kagome, how she had begun to learn how to read him. He never showed any expressions on his face, occasionally his stance would shift slightly and his eyes would change, that being the only things she learned how to read over their time.

Sesshomaru slowed his pace just a fraction when Kagome started to fall behind a bit, though it wasn't really enough to be noticeable it didn't escape her attention. Inwardly Kagome growled in frustration, why was she noticing such small details and why did she even consider the gesture worth noting on to begin with. She wished the numbness would just come back, and come back with a vengeance, she'd much rather feel nothing than feel so awake so damn often. Why couldn't this whole thing just blur by and be over with already, instead it felt like the world had slowed down to a torturous crawl. Silently she stared over at Ah-Un who leisurely flew just to the left side above them, they only rode on him when they needed to gain a lot of ground within the day. A sigh escaped her lips as she was swallowed up in the sounds around her and the sun beating down against her, she wanted a bath…

Sesshomaru wasn't exactly sure what to make of her position, by all rights she should walk behind him, not next to him. But he didn't get the indication from her that she felt it as a challenge, to prove she was on the same stature as him, not in the least actually. He was beginning to assume that wherever she had come from, this was a normal occurrence, so he allowed it. Plus it also allowed him to keep a closer eye on her when needed, his eyes shifted over to her when he felt her gaze on him, a light pink blush flushed to her cheeks in embarrassment. She was quite the little puzzle indeed, how could such raw power reside in a being so small? He wondered as his eyes swept over her frail form, he had wondered this very question many times now but still hadn't found an answer. She was human, but much more all the same, in their battles he had seen her strength and couldn't deny it.


~A few hours later~

"We stop here for the night," Sesshomaru said, startling Kagome out of her thoughts of a hot bath just in time to avoid colliding head on into his shoulder, when had she gotten so close, quickly she side stepped to gain her balance back and nodded. Taking in the area around her Kagome searched for signs of water, as if reading her mind Sesshomaru glanced over to her east. "There is a spring just over that rock formation, do not wander far, I will be back shortly." He then turned around and walked away, off to hunt her supper no doubt, it had become a routine and she couldn't deny that she found it endearing now. After this long he knew she was capable but still continued to supply her meals. Her attention on full alert to her surroundings, Kagome gathered a fresh pair of clothes and soap from her pack and made her way to the spring, her lips quirking up at the idea of not bathing in a freezing cold river bed.

Reaching the spring she glanced around to be sure there was no one around before stripping off her clothes and stepping into the water, grateful to find that it wasn't too cold, actually it felt very nice against the dying days heat. Keeping her bow and quiver close by she sunk down fully into the water with a sigh, taking a minute to simply enjoy the cool water over her heated body, relaxing her pent up muscles into butter. As the sounds of wildlife around her gave her clear indication nothing was amiss she allowed herself to close her eyes and sank completely into the water. Her mind wandered back to the silver haired demon she traveled with, her heart lurched painfully for a moment as a flash of Inuyasha went through her mind, she broke her head free of the water and sighed. She knew he wouldn't want her to grieve her life away but it was hard to let go…

Absently she grabbed the soap and began to clean her body as her mind once again took on another train of thought, her friends and family, how she missed them. Sango's sisterly love and understanding, Miroku's wisdom albeit lecherous at most times, Shippo's adoring mischief. Her family.. Mom would know how I feel…likely she could give me some advice to dealing with this…. she sighed at her thoughts, she just wanted her mothers embrace and comfort, even ojii-san's history lessons would make her feel at least somewhat normal again. Sota always managed to make her feel like she had no other stress than dealing with a preteen annoying brother if anything else, but she loved him all the same, all of them. Coming back out of her thoughts she finished up her bath, she had to get back to the camp before the sun set, and Sesshomaru would be back soon, she had to get the fire started soon unless she wanted a late meal.


She ate in silence as usual, Sesshomaru sat resting against a tree off to her left not far away, thoughtfully she glanced over at him. The light of the fire casting his hair into a contract that tugged at her attention before she moved on to his face, the dark magenta stripes stopping her inspection, I wonder if the skin is raised or smooth as the rest of his face? she wondered as she chewed on her bottom lip, a surge of bravery went through her all of a sudden. She put her food down beside her and stood, gaining his attention to her, there was that confused look in his eyes again. He hid it quickly as he waited for her to speak, she moved closer to him, determination in her blue eyes. What is she up to?, he wondered as she moved to sit in front of him.

"Um…Sesshomaru, I know this might sound crazy to you and utterly pointless but…could I…test something please?" She half stammered out as she avoided eye contact for staring at the bark of the tree behind him. Test something? What could she be wanting to test? The confusion was back and stronger now, she gulped and waited for his approval. Taking a moment to consider it- whatever she had in mind, he reasoned it couldn't hurt to entertain her once more, he nodded slightly and watched her closely. She blushed suddenly as she hesitantly raised her hand, her fingertips touched the crescent moon on his forehead and ran lightly over his skin. She bit her lower lip as the blush grew darker, her hand came closer to cup along the side of his face and ran along his cheek, what was she doing? He wasn't used to such contact.

The skin didn't rise or fall with the markings, no it was just as smooth as the rest of his face, she drew her hand away from his face and scooted back away. Whew, least that's out of my system now, she glanced up at him and was relieved that she didn't find anger or disgust in those golden depths. "Thank you, I'm sorry if I was intrusive. Curiosity killed the cat you know?" No he didn't know, that expression was beyond his current years, but he said nothing and watched her get up and move back to her place near the fire. His face still tingled from her touch, though it was light he could still feel it, what kind of test was that? His markings? She was thinking about his markings? Shouldn't he feel disgusted that she was thinking of him at all? But he wasn't… that disturbed him more than her touch. No, actually her touch was quite pleasant, though it shouldn't be so, inwardly he scoffed at himself and closed his eyes to rest.

Kagome yawned as she placed her plate down next to her bag and pulled out the wool blanket, it was now time for sleep. With a full stomach Kagome laid down onto her matt and stared up into the dark star filled sky above her, the fire softly crackled and added to the sound of nightlife beyond their small camp, the sounds rocked her into a sleep as images of silver and magenta played across her closed eyes. Sesshomaru cracked open an eye and watched her drift off to sleep, deftly his hand came up to touch his cheek as he watched the movement of her breathing, rising and falling rhythmically. She really was hard to understand, a real challenge, but Sesshomaru loved a good challenge. He would figure out her strange behaviors and what went on in that raven haired head of hers. Tonight would be one of the occasional nights she slept without waking with a scream in her lungs, without the sorrowful look in her eyes, and the scent of desperation and fear pouring off her body.


A/N: It's me again, I just wanted to also let everyone know I've written a little one shot Bleach songfic starring Kira and Hinamori and I would LOVE IT if you guys would give it a read and share your thoughts! :) The next chapter shouldn't take me too long, so long as my brain doesn't go into melt down yet again, but in the mean time please take a moment to give that a read while I storm up some more idea's for Sesshy and Kagome.

Please Review!