"You're such a jerk!"

"Better than a weak human!"

Kagome glared furiously at the inu not three inches from her face. They had been arguing for the better part of two days now, and honestly she couldn't even remember what had started the fight. All she knew was that she wasn't going to back down first. After their initial falling out they'd switched between large spans of time during which both children simply ignored each other and these rapidly escalating shouting matches.

"Just because I'm human doesn't mean I'm weak!" Doing an impressive imitation of a growl when he scoffed at her claim, the young girl's hands fisted in frustration. "You'll never be a great leader if you can't admit that humans are strong in their own ways!"

Snarling at her accusation, he shot back, "That's because they are not strong! I could easily overpower the strongest human alive with little effort!"

He was quickly loosing his patience with her pathetic attempts to defend her humanity. The fact was, when compared to youkai, humans were weak and therefore she was weak. And having grown up during a time where might meant right, the young inu was determined to not retreat until she admitted she was wrong.

"That's not true strength," the tiny girl insisted, holy energy sparking across her skin in her agitation. "My Papa said true strength comes from never being afraid to live and protect-"

"And he's dead because of that foolishness!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Sesshomaru wished he could take them back. He watched as Kagome paled, the light in her cerulean eyes guttering in the wake of his insensitive outburst. The silence between them stretched, and the brash lordling couldn't apologize, couldn't speak around the misplaced pride choking him. Seconds ticked by in the heavy stillness of the room and he watched as her shoulders seemed to slump in defeat.

"...he said that true strength comes from protecting those you love from harm," her voice was barely a whisper, the gentle tones distorted by the bitter pearls curling in the corners of her eyes.

"Papa... h-he-" she choked on a sob, swiping at the evidence of her sorrow with a clenched hand. "He turned the car at the last minute. That other car... it was going to hit my side, but Papa protected me."

Her message was clear. Lip trembling as the tears finally slipped down her pale cheeks, she pinned him with a defiant glare that communicated everything she'd left unsaid.

My father was a human... and he was not weak.

Sesshomaru had never felt more ashamed of himself. As his best friend turned and walked away from him with her heart on her sleeve, the thoroughly reprimanded pup realized exactly how weak he was in that moment compared to her.

~o~

Later that night, Sesshomaru found Kagome sitting beneath Goshinboku, her back to him. Clearing his throat to catch her attention, he felt guilt swamp him when she refused to even acknowledge his presence. Knowing he deserved every moment of her silence, he settled himself on the opposite side of the tree, wanting to give her the space she so clearly desired.

He'd been trying to get her alone for hours now so he could apologize, but she'd eluded him at every turn. The moment he walked into a room, she had walked out of it, and he couldn't blame her. If he was being honest, he didn't even want to look at himself so ashamed was he of his thoughtlessly cruel outburst. But now that he had her alone, he didn't want to waste his opportunity.

"I-I am... I didn't mean—uh..." he stumbled over the words, clumsy in his first-ever apology. Clenching his teeth at how foolish he was sounding, he finally barked out a bit more harshly than intended.

"This Sesshomaru was wrong!" A sigh of relief followed his confession, and when she didn't respond or make to leave, he forged ahead.

"I was wrong. About humans... and about your Otousan." Shifting closer to her around the base of the tree, he bowed with his forehead to the cool, packed earth. "I shouldn't have said that about him. He was indeed a human of strength... as are you, Kagome."

Taking a breath as she had still made no move to acknowledge him, he finished in a rush, "I still want to be friends, so please forgive me?"

...

The silence that met his youkai hearing filled him with fear. He couldn't lose his best friend, he couldn't handle her hating him, and with those thoughts in mind he sat up, intent on making her listen to him. Prepared to beg if need be. However, the moment he took in her face, the inu realized how pointless any further discussion would be.

Because Kagome was sound asleep!

Feeling a little disgruntled that she hadn't heard his apology and a lot relieved that she wasn't rejecting it either, he gently trailed a claw over her still salt-stained cheek. Frowning as she shivered, he finally noticed the chill in the air as the sky became darker. Moving to pick her up, he was startled to see a loosely folded piece of parchment clasped in her hand.

'Paper,' he corrected himself as he gently pried her fingers open, remembering when Kagome had taught him about the difference between the two. Checking to see that she was still sleeping, he carefully unfolded the page and was shocked to discover his name on it. Quickly reading the short note, Sesshomaru felt his heart clench.

~ Sessho-chan,

I know you didn't mean it. I know you were just angry, and would never really hurt me on purpose, and so I want you to know I wasn't really mad I'm not mad anymore. I don't remember why we were fighting, but I don't want to argue anymore. If you'll agree to a truce, we'll never bring it up ever again.

Hopefully Still Your Friend,
Kagome

"Thank you, Kagome-chan," he murmured as appreciation for the slumbering girl consumed him. Tucking the note inside his pocket, Sesshomaru eased his arms beneath his friend before dutifully carrying her back inside bridal style.

Not wanting to be far from her, but knowing her room was off-limits, he laid her down on the couch before grabbing a blanket. As he tucked it in around her shoulders, she whispered his name in her sleep. Eyes softening with unrestrained affection, he spent the rest of the night watching her dreaming face and planning how he would ever repay her the kindness she showed him each day.

...in which open-foot-insert-mouth begins to make sense to Sesshomaru.

I know... the angsts. Some humor coming in the next chappie, but this brings to an end the 7 Days of updates!

Now now... no crying!

On another note, if you haven't voted yet, please go to the poll on my profile or follow this link to help me choose what Sessho-chan should be for Halloween! journal/poll/3228418/

This chapter is NOT beta'd because I'm not going to rush my loverly beta like that, so deal with the errors peeps.

As always, feedback and comments are VERY appreciated XD

ENJOY!

All Characters Belong to Rumiko Takehashi
Plot Bunnies Belong to Me