Review Replies

Mistress Kira- Fires of Hell : Awwh! This chapter has more! And there's a lot more to come :)

llebreknit : Yes, sometimes I do feel bad for Inu Yasha too.. but something had to sever the bond between them.

TheIYobsessed : Hao has unexpected relations, let's just say that :P

Chapter 17 - Behind His Golden Eyes

Kagome and Rin were out playing on the grounds with Kagome trying to teach Rin how to climb a tree. Currently, she was sitting on a branch and Rin was on the ground pouting. Kagome stifled a giggle and looked down at Rin appreciatively. "I told you Rin-chan, grab the branch, jump and then swing your leg o—"

"What's going on here?" a cold voice cut in, frightening Kagome and making her jump.

Her arms flailed and she lost her balance. She tried to grasp the tree branch, but her fingertips couldn't find a good, solid hold. She felt her body slowly tipping and she paled as the ground got closer and closer.

A smirk tugged at Sesshomaru's lips as he stepped in the path of Kagome's falling body and caught her easily.

Kagome felt strong arms encircle her and her eyes opened cautiously. She found herself staring into Sesshomaru's smirking face, "Sesshomaru!" she squeaked.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin cried, "Kagome-chan was teaching me how to climb a tree." She bounded up to the demon and locked her arms around his legs.

"Really?" Sesshomaru asked silkily, "She doesn't seem to be very adept at it herself."

Kagome's eyes widened, "Hey! That's only because you scared me!" The wind suddenly whipped Kagome's hair into a flurry and she shut her eyes tightly to keep them from watering.

"Well show me again, will you?" Sesshomaru swiftly put the miko down. She glared up at him defiantly before turning and marching up to the tree. Her steps faltered when she noticed it wasn't the same tree. This one had a trunk as wide as a small hut and extended high into the heavens. The miko stumbled backwards in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the top.

Kagome gulped and turned back around to face him, "This is too big. No one can climb this!" Sesshomaru was no longer standing where she'd left him. She looked around for a moment before she heard him.

"Looking for me?"

Kagome's gaze slowly travelled up the trunk of the tree until she spotted something white that didn't seem to belong. She squinted and before she knew it, it was gone.

"No one can climb it eh?" a voice taunted lightly behind her.

"You don't count," she huffed. She didn't bother turning around and instead looked into the distance, searching for the little girl she had been mentoring in the art of climbing trees. "Where is Rin?"

"She is with Jaken, trying to climb that tree you fell out of," Sesshomaru answered silkily.

Kagome turned back to him, "So how is it up there?" she asked gesturing to the large tree.

Sesshomaru's smirk faltered at the innocent question, "Would you like to see?"

Kagome's eyes widened, "Really?"

Sesshomaru gave her the slightest nod and holding her gaze, walked up to her and slowly looped an arm around her waist. He enjoyed the way her blush became progressively darker as he advanced. Still not breaking eye contact, Sesshomaru leapt into the air, "Hold on tight."

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, unable to continue their staring contest. Her fingers tightened around the fabric of his haori. Kagome thought that by now she'd be used to this; she'd done it countless times with Inu Yasha. This was different though; Sesshomaru's grip wasn't as tight and his leaps were longer and far more graceful than his half-brother's… she kind of felt like she was flying.

An unexpected headache caused Kagome to bury her face into the youkai's shoulder in grimace. This headache seemed to last longer than the previous ones and when it finally receded, she noticed that they had stopped moving. Carefully, she lifted her face and peeked to her side.

Sesshomaru watched the miko carefully, as soon as he'd felt her face pressing into his shoulder, he'd assumed that she was frightened and he'd found a large branch and perched. He watched as her large eyes soaked in the tiny sceneries below.

Flat, green land sprinkled with pools of blue that sparkled brightly in the sun caused Kagome to draw in her breath. In some areas, Kagome could see the shoreline and the vast ocean that surrounded Japan. Standing on her tiptoes, she could even see the mainland. Breathless, Kagome turned back to the demon lord, "It's beautiful."

Sesshomaru's stoic mask slipped a little as he gazed down at her.

Kagome blushed under his steady gaze and she turned to look down at the world again. "I wonder where Inu Yasha is…" a cold hand clenched her heart and she blinked. Hurt filled her insides as she remembered what had happened. It seemed like ages ago, when in truth it wasn't that far back. Kagome blinked furiously, 'He loves her, I can understand that.' The hand around her heart loosened, 'Inu Yasha loves her…' Kagome's eyes watered and she tipped her head backwards to keep the tears from flowing down her cheeks. When she thought she could hold them back, she gave Sesshomaru a wavering smile, "I'm sorry." Her voice broke and she wiped at her eyes furiously.

Sesshomaru gave her a moment before quietly murmuring, "I've been meaning to ask you what happened that night?"

She looked away from him and instead focussed on something in the distance, "I don't really know. When I saw the two of them together I didn't know what to do so I ran. I ran until I couldn't run anymore and then you showed up," she paused, bringing her eyes up to meet his. "When Inu Yasha showed up he started arguing with me and something inside me snapped and that was it. I couldn't control my body anymore. It was like I was watching from the sidelines. I remember seeing myself attack Kikyo and then something white came at me and then I felt like myself again; I had control again." Her eyes lowered to her feet, tears slipping off her chin and disappearing into the crevices in the bark of the tree branch.

Sesshomaru felt something he'd never felt before rise within him; an inexplicable need to cease Kagome's crying. He placed a thin finger under her chin and made her look at him. "Don't," he said softly before releasing her chin and pulling her toward him in an unexpected hug.

Kagome blushed as she was gently pulled into his shoulder, 'Sesshomaru?' Air whipped up around her and she looked up to see the branches of the tree falling away. She fastened her arms safely around him and closed her eyes against his strong shoulder. Although she knew that now was not the time, she let the reality of what had happened wash over her. Tears came faster and faster, she buried her face into his shoulder and felt her tears saturate his clothing. To her it seemed like an eternity before they reached the ground. When they did, she stayed where she was. She didn't let go of Sesshomaru and cried silently into his shoulder.

Sesshomaru didn't know what to do. The girl had started crying full-out into his shoulder during their descent. As unfamiliar as he was with the situation, something stopped him from leaving her. He stood there, arms around her and vice-versa. This was the first time in a long time that he'd hugged someone; Sesshomaru felt a familiar sense of duty. He had to comfort her; she had chosen his shoulder to cry on; she had trusted him to comfort her. Not bothering to mask his emotions, Sesshomaru gently grasped her shoulders and held her at arm's length, "Stop crying."

Kagome heard Sesshomaru pleading with her to stop crying and lifted her gaze to meet his. She was shocked by what she saw in his eyes. Worried golden eyes shimmered in the sun and begged her to stop crying. As she gazed at him with a watery gaze, she thought she saw hints of affection. His desperate show of emotion temporarily distracted her. Spellbound, she stared into his majestic, golden irises. She barely noticed when he carefully wiped away her tears. She watched him and blinked when he disappeared. She glanced around, but he was nowhere to be seen. Kagome was distracted by the unexpected fierce headache that clawed at her. After it died away, she turned and began to go back to Rin.

As soon as he was sure that she'd stopped crying, Sesshomaru had run away as fast as he could. 'What was that? Why did I do that? What is she doing to me?' Confused, Sesshomaru locked himself in his study and buried himself in his papers. He'd always maintained careful control of his emotions; no one and nothing had been able to elicit such a response from him. This female, this human female had unlocked these feelings. 'She needs to go,' he decided. Realizing that Rin and Jin would be very upset, he knew he couldn't let her go yet. 'Damn!' Frustrated, Sesshomaru slammed his fist into his desk, creating a fair sized dent in the wood. Standing abruptly and circling his desk, he began pacing.

He scowled; his thoughts had never been so disorganized before. His mind was unclear, and he didn't know what he should do. Irritated, Sesshomaru threw open his window and leapt out. He began doing rounds of his lands. Fresh air and killing the occasional troublemaking demons normally cleared his mind and that above all else, that was what he needed.

He didn't want to deal with all this right now. In fact, he never wanted to deal with it. Why couldn't everything be simple? Why was Kagome able to bring forth these reactions from him?

He wanted to avoid her, but something drew him to her. He didn't know what it was, but it pleased him and he knew he wouldn't be able to resist for long. For now, he went on absently doing is rounds.

Sesshomaru knew that later, he would see her and despite everything, he would enjoy her presence.

Inu Yasha led the way, setting a fast pace. Miroku, Sango, Kayo and Kirara followed not far behind. The travelers were silent; Inu Yasha's newest resolution had planted hope in all of them. Still, it would take a while to get to Sesshomaru's castle. They weren't even in the Western Lands yet.

Kayo was happy that Inu Yasha wasn't depressed anymore. She looked around and saw that Sango and Miroku weren't upset either. Everyone was happy. Kayo walked along silently, staring at Inu Yasha's back. She was eager to see this Kagome he kept on talking about, but at the same time, she was wary.

When they met, Kagome could potentially be the last person that Kayo would ever meet. To be honest, many times, Kayo had yearned for death desperately. She'd led an arduous life that had not been very rewarding to her and many times, she had longed to die. Despite that, something inside her wanted to grow old with someone and be able to look back at her life and smile. Kayo didn't want to die but at the same time, she couldn't wish death upon another.

A pounding headache assaulted Kayo and she tensed until it faded away. It seemed that the headaches were getting longer and more painful just as Hao had predicted. Kayo sighed inwardly; this was all too much for her to handle alone. She shook her head and tried to think happy thoughts.

Kayo picked up her pace so that she was next to Inu Yasha.

Inu Yasha glanced at the girl and smiled, "How are your wounds?"

"Much better, thank you," Kayo answered, subconsciously running a hand over her stomach.

Inu Yasha nodded in response. When Kayo didn't continue chatting, his mind drifted off. They'd been walking for some time now and Inu Yasha sensed that the others were getting tired. He stole a glance backwards and saw that the team lagged far behind. Sighing, he stopped walking and waited for Sango and Miroku to catch up to him and Kayo.

Seeing this, Sango nudged Miroku and the two hurried to rejoin the hanyou and the miko.

The four continued walking, with Kirara on Sango's shoulder. By the time the sun began setting, the group had found another village and just outside the village, they'd located an abandoned and rather secluded hut.

Settling down inside the hut, Miroku began a fire in the pit. Sango set to work making food just as the sun set.

Inu Yasha's felt his heart pulsate, the sound reverberated loudly in his ears. He closed his eyes and he felt a cool sensation wash over him. It spread slowly through him.

Kayo was leaning on the wall of the hut opposite from Inu Yasha. Her eyes widened as she saw his aura change abruptly. The colours grew more vibrant and a fist-sized pool of sapphire pulsed as a heart would, this was the innermost colour. Kayo knew that this was his heart. Hidden under all the layers of confidence, hope, affection, cheeriness and determination remained sadness at a depth that Kayo had never seen before. "Inu Yasha…"

Miroku saw Kayo staring at Inu Yasha with wide eyes full of wonder. "He's a hanyou. For one night a month, he becomes a human," he explained.

Kayo understood now, demons were much better at concealing their emotions than humans were; this must be why Inu Yasha's aura was now a spectrum of colours. When he'd still been a hanyou, she hadn't even noticed the blue; she'd thought it was gone. She was wrong, it was there and he was just masking it with all his other emotions. Kayo made the hand sign she'd made before with just a slight change and a wave of Inu Yasha's emotions (instead of memories) rushed toward her and suddenly, she felt everything that Inu Yasha was feeling.

Tears surged to Kayo's eyes, how could she not notice that all this was going on? That this hanyou was putting on a tough front and grieving alone? How could she miss everything hidden behind his golden eyes? Did Kagome mean that much to him? How could he miss someone so much? Kayo gulped and tried to push down her tears. "Oh Inu Yasha… gomen…" She erupted into sobs and was unable to say anymore.

Inu Yasha's brows furrowed. He crossed the cabin and put his arms around Kayo allowing her to cry into his shoulder, "Sorry for what?"

"…" a headache stopped her from responding and caused her to cringe from the sudden burst of pain.

"Kayo!" Miroku cried.

Slowly, the headache went away, Kayo opened her eyes to see Inu Yasha's face staring down at her. The intense emotion was worry. "I didn't know how you felt…"

"Wh—what…?"

Kayo shook her head and sniffed. "Iie, I'm okay now." She sat up straight, pulling herself away from Inu Yasha. She forced a shaky smile and leaned back against the wall of the hut.

Still confused, Inu Yasha glanced at Miroku. Seeing Miroku shake his head, Inu Yasha retreated to his side of the hut. 'What was that all about?' Inu Yasha stared at Kayo. 'What is she sorry about?'

An awkward silence reverberated within the walls of the small shelter. After the silent meal, everyone chose a spot on the floor and lay down.

Kirara curled up next to Sango and the taijiya watched her tiny belly rise and fall as she breathed. 'That hand sign that Kayo did must have allowed her to see into Inu Yasha's thoughts… I wonder what she saw…' Sango's musings went off on a tangent to what Miroku had said earlier; that Kagome will have changed.

'But I don't want her to be different…'

A/N) The first time I wrote this chapter I found that the ending was a little awkward.. It still sounds a little off to me but I think it's better than before :)

I also must give credit for the inspiration of my title to Kelly Clarkson with her song: Behind these Hazel Eyes. Thanks Kelly :)