Glowing beacons glittered across swirls of deep cobalt and indigo.
"It's brilliant," she breathed with wide eyes to the sky.
While his original intentions for traveling during the night were to circumvent unwanted combat, Sesshomaru found the most favorable perk of their new schedule was Kagome's awe induced silence. Aside from the occasional ooh's and ahh's that escaped her, she remained mute in her star gazing.
This is bearable, he told himself. In fact, it was moments like this that she reminded him of Rin. Genuine, inspired by such simple things, and most importantly - quiet. Usually.
He could hear himself think. What a wonderful luxury. And yet in this pleasant stillness, he found himself dearly missing his young ward. The absence of flowers braided into his hair. No playful laughter to fill the void he had forgotten was there until he was forced again to face it without her.
That child had become a daughter to him, awarding him with warmth and fulfillment for his paternal affections - as brisk and subtle as it may be.
Sesshomaru looked to Kagome, recognizing the resemblance in her sparkling eyes to Rin's childish sincerity. And then he noticed her clothes.
"You're attire is ruined," he stated, looking at a large stain of his blood that had long since set into the fabric. Nothing would remove it now. Kagome was taken aback a moment, not expecting Sesshomaru to break his precious silence. But if he was offering her a chance to talk, oh she would take it.
"I know. And my shoes are completely worn, too. I'll be surprised if they last another day. And we're out of food. And your clothes aren't looking too hot, either."
'Looking too hot?' he thought. 'What an odd thing to say.'
"There is a village coming up along this path shortly," Myoga chimed.
"Perfect," Kagome purred, cupping her cheeks in both hands at the hopes of finding a hot spring to bathe in. And what girl didn't get excited about buying new clothes?
She pulled forth a small amount of change from her pocket and began to count it in her palm. Sesshomaru plopped a hefty sack of money on top of hers. "Save it," he said. "This will more than suffice."
The village was nothing impressive, and yet Kagome found something of interest at every stall that happened to still be open so late into the night. Noodles, a cooking pot and a few utensils for eating, woven blankets for the cold they would no doubt endure once they reached the Mountain's pass.
Sesshomaru was impressed when she choose a sturdy, well made hunting knife for various uses like skinning and gutting prey. "Well, it won't do to dull such nice swords for those tasks," she had said.
Everything she purchased she had found at a bargain, which he found practical. However, she was by no means frugal when it came time to purchase clothes, and while he enjoyed high quality clothing, it made very little sense to be spending so much on attire that would more than likely be destroyed in the remainder of their journey. Look how easily her original clothing was sullied.
Still, he allowed her the liberty of selecting their new wardrobe, and she dressed him a deep midnight blue tunic with slacks that he wore under his usual armor. She had picked a sleeveless Chinese inspired tunic for herself. It was made of a lilac silk, a slightly darker shade used for the trimmings. She also bought a pair of black shorts - which where no better than her previous green skirt in Sesshomaru's opinion- and black boots reaching just below her knees with sheer black socks covering a few inches higher.
Kagome still looked wildly inappropriate, but he surmised it was necessary to wear garments that allowed her to fight. It was difficult to move adequately in most proper garbs.
As they made their way to a hot springs that one of the merchants had pointed them to, Sesshomaru noticed quite a few wondering eyes laid firmly on Kagome. These men looked hungry, sneaking glances glazed over with lust, and he did not like it.
He snaked his arm around her waist, intent on detouring the gawking men, eliciting an ugly croak of surprise.
"Whoa, whoa, what do you think you're-"
"Quiet, girl."
He snarled, more towards the men than Kagome, causing a few to step back and look away.
It irritated him that she did not immediately understand his intentions. Upon their alliance, she became a tool to him, no different than his armor or his sword. And he was possessive. He would never allow one to openly gawk at his belongings, why would Kagome be any different? She, however, did not seem to share his sentiment.
She turned on her heels to face him, smacking his hand away.
"My name is not 'girl'," she flustered. "It's Kagome."
"This Sesshomaru does not-"
"Say it."
"What."
"My name," she demanded. "Say it."
"I do not-"
"Then don't touch me," she said coldly. Kagome proceeded to walk a firm ten feet in front of him with her nose to the air until they reached the springs. Was she trying to provoke him?
The springs were small, but pleasant, surrounded by smooth rock and thick, lush trees. Oh Kagome practically melted into the steamy water with a hum of approval.
"Don't you dare peek!" She had howled at Sesshomaru before entering.
He was slightly offended. "This Sesshomaru does not spy on bathing girls." How audacious of her to assume she possessed something he wished to see.
But he would remain close, bathing just on the other side of a large bolder. He had a unnerving suspicion that one of the village men may attempt to sneak into the springs after her. From this position, he could simply turn the corner should he hear a disturbance.
Content this arrangement did not leave them too exposed, Sesshomaru sank into the water. Sore muscles were a novelty to him, but the aches soon soothed. He pondered for a moment previous events.
She was cross with him, this much was clear. Though he preferred her irate silence over her sickly kind and chatty nature, it would not do to have an uncooperative ally. How could he rectify the situation? There was no way of knowing how long she would be mad, but he surmised she was capable of holding quite the grudge. He decided it best to take action.
"Kagome," he called, but not too loudly. They were close enough to still speak relatively quietly, so it was best to do so. After a moment...
"Yes?" Her voice had noticeably soften at his recognition of her name.
"I believe that perhaps this Sesshomaru was... insensitive before." He found himself suppressing a sickly sensation in his gut at the thought of lowering himself this way.
"I am... sorry." He grimaced at the words as they left him.
Abruptly, the water around them blazed, bathing him in a illuminated glow. He was around the border in an instant, sure the cause of this light would be ominous, but instead found the source dangling from Kagome's neck. The Shikon Jewel. It shined with brilliance, it's intense aura licking at all it made contact with.
As soon as is came, it fled, leaving the two to face each other in nudity.
Her breath hitch at the sight of him before her. Realizing she was just as lude, she plummeted to the water, raven locks surfacing in swirls around her.
"SIT," she barked, blinking in momentary confusion as he watched her, still upright and rather unimpressed.
"You forget yourself," he said. "I am not your domesticated pet hanyou."
"Oh. I'm sorry I- Sesshomaru!" She squawked. "Your hair!"
Disinterestedly he twirled a lock and brought it to his eye for inspection only to find...
"Silver?"