(( Borrowing stuff from the anime cause I can XP Ah the beginnings of quite the fight. ))


"You dare expect this Sesshoumaru to comply with an order from you." The inuyoukai said coolly, particularly indifferent to get a rise from the hanyou as he knew the comment would.

To that, InuYasha growled ferally, wide eyes narrowing as if that was some sort of threat that should be seriously regarded. Sesshoumaru only eyed him as the hint of a smirk appeared to play at the corner of his mouth. The youkai was never one to convey emotion but he did happen to find the half-breed that terribly amusing. It was almost painfully simple to manipulate him in all his stupidity. He was far to human for his own well-being and no matter what he might say, do, or the way he might try to act, it was all a facade put together out of his delusion, the hanyou deluding himself into thinking he was more demon than human.

"What can you do half-breed...?" Sesshoumaru quietly began, the tone causing well-placed hesitation in the hanyou. Enough that he visible tensed despite the massive sword his claws wrapped around. "What might you possibly do to stop me from this?"

"What are you-?" the question began, naturally as InuYasha needed, certainly, to know if his brother was at work at some ill-intended plan.

And it seemed he was. His grip around Kagome's neck tightened, only just to ensure she understood, no that she and the dog-demon understood that the human girl was fully at his disposal and there was nothing to undo it.

Now, the hanyou was squarely in the trap Sesshoumaru had sought to have him in. And just as planned, he'd stepped willingly into it. This was the end for him... However, there was one here who had no business playing witness to the blood soon to be spilled on this very ground. Amber never leaving amber, he summoned his vassal, "Jaken."

"Y-yes my Lord." The imp stammered, whether out of fear of the unfolding events or surprise at being called, Sesshoumaru barely cared. It was not at all surprising that the little demon corrected himself out of pride, "Yes Lord Sesshoumaru."

"Take Rin out of sight of this clearing." He said tonelessly.

"Yes my Lord."

Without bothering to look, he could hear the imp approach the little girl with muted demands relaying they were leaving and she only consented because it was at the inuyoukai's request.

"Jaken." Sesshoumaru again prompted but continued before the imp answered, "Should anything happen to her while I am not present, you will die."

The little demon swallowed nervously. It was not the first death threat he had received and nor would in be the last but he had enough sense to take each seriously. Thus, he did as he was told and a moment later, he had disappeared from the clearing along with Rin.

Mind cleared, Sesshoumaru again smirked at his younger half-brother who immediately replied, "Let her go or-"

"Or?" the older of the two interrupted to question. "You bother to trade words with me this time. You hesitate because of this girl." His gaze briefly flicked to Kagome before returning to InuYasha as his claws lit green around her neck. Talking was out of the question for her unless she was quiet. Too much movement and the poison of his claws would begin to eat away at her very flesh, leaving deep sears that would not at all heal unless he himself took care of it, something that was never bound to happen.

As for what had been said, InuYasha didn't seem to be able to answer that because this time it was entirely true. He knew his brother controlled Kagome at the moment, and thus him. A wrong decision from her or him could cost her her very life in the blink of an eye.

Given the hesitation, Sesshoumaru took the opportunity to muse, testing how far the hanyou's hindering emotions could be pushed this time, "InuYasha, your patience with this creature is astonishing to me. You protect her, indulge her, even seem to love her..."

The hanyou winced at the implication, gaze quickly leaving Kagome and staying away from her as more was said.

"Certainly these feelings of mercy of yours are not something I inherited from our great and terrible father. It must have been that mother of yours, that human mother, who caused our father to meet his end so ignobly. Her blood affects you as well. Is it that which so endears you to them? To this miko?"

Despite not looking at her, InuYasha's gaze moved, conveying that he was thinking for a change. He wanted to deny what his brother said. To deny every single word but how could he do that? It couldn't really be true, he knew, it was just that he was never one for words though he knew how to counter this perfectly.

"What about that little girl?" He spat with a venomous smirk on his face, "If you don't have any mercy, why did you just get rid of her?"

"You dare expect this Sesshoumaru to comply with an order from you."

The narcissistic aura he was giving off, coupled by the arrogance that dripped off every one of his deliberate, even-toned words made Kagome wonder how exactly it was possible to contain so much pride. Had Sesshomaru forgotten how InuYasha had managed to saw off his left arm? Never mind that he had a new one. Did the inuyoukai forget that InuYasha had the power of Tetsusaiga at his will? Never mind that Sesshomaru had a new sword. The tai youkai could have at least pretended to be a little wary!

Thinking this as she dangled, the tips of her brown loafers grazing the untouched, thick green grass, from the clutched grip of the impassive inuyoukai. The angle was starting to give her a neck ache, and his claws were uncomfortable against her throat, but to bring it up to him would probably just make things worse. Her arms dangled by her sides, as she felt that trying to pry Sesshomaru's fingers would be futile.

Her eyes were on the hanyou as Kagome tried to stay still, watching how he was handling the hostage situation. No doubt he was terminally frustrated and ready to do something reckless.

"What can you do half-breed...? What might you possibly do to stop me from this?"

InuYasha tensed. She was half-relieved that he wasn't about to do anything stupid, but also half-disappointed. The sooner she was out of his grip, the better.

She saw hints of puzzlement in the younger brother's liquid amber eyes as he spoke guardedly: "What are you-?"

His question was interrupted as Kagome felt the hard fingers squeeze tighter around her throat, forcing a half-cough, half-whimper from her throat at the sudden constriction of her airways. Whereas before she had been hindered with the flow of oxygen, it now became even harder. Her hands involuntarily flew, trying to wedge themselves between the youkai's hand and her neck, attempting to take the stress off her throat as tears of surprise and pain rose behind her eyes, knowing that her neck was going to have some major bruising if she ever got out of this. The miko cursed at herself internally, unable to communicate verbally her displeasure.

I'm so weak! she thought furiously. So stupid! If I hadn't run off alone, if I hadn't gotten so angry, if I hadn't brought up her - we wouldn't be in this mess. It's all my fault. Desolation built in her chest, disappointment in herself apparent as the purely reflexive salt brimming at her eyes took on a more emotional shape. I'm so useless!

Her parade of self-pity was broken abruptly as his voice cut through, harshly calling a certain servant.

"Jaken."

Kagome felt a swell of contempt for the mindless green imp, who answered promptly. Y-yes, my Lord. Yes, Lord Sesshomaru."

"Take Rin out of sight of this clearing."

"Yes, my Lord."

Kagome could hear the quiet, brief protests from Rin, and then the compliance as she was led away by the imp. The significance of the child's being escorting away was large and an ill omen. She knew that Sesshomaru, for unfathomable reasons, sheltered the blissful girl, and that he tried to keep her away from bloodshed. Meaning, she knew as a knot grew in her stomach as well as one in her badly-angled neck, that he planned on there being bloodshed.

"Jaken. Should anything happen to her while I am not present, you will die."

Kagome had the sudden urge to smile. This Lord Sesshomaru was such an enigma. While this blatant display of care about Rin proved said child's theory that he did care, the reason she was being sent away seemed to prove that he did not.

Once the imp and the child were gone and Sesshomaru's attention was returned to herself and the hanyou, InuYasha found a voice.

"Let her go, or-"

"Or?" Kagome wanted to sigh in exasperation. InuYasha's attempted statement was almost sweet, but it was also unnecessary and stupid. All three of the clearing's occupants knew that the hanyou had nothing to bargain with, versus the life Sesshomaru had as blackmail. The tai youkai continued. "You bother to trade words with me this time. You hesitate because of this girl."

A slight hum built in her ears. She couldn't see it, but by the flow of youki she could feel gathering at his claws which were placed precisely against her throat, she knew he was drawing out his poisonous claws technique. Kagome watched the frustration behind the liquid amber eyes of her captor's younger brother grow, even a bit of helplessness finding its place there.

However, the words the youkai spoke were true. Usually InuYasha wouldn't have bothered to wait - he would have recklessly thrown himself at Sesshomaru. But now... something important was stopping him. The miko was touched that her hopes had been spoken aloud, confirmed - that she did indeed mean something to the hanyou. That she meant a lot. Confirmed even more as InuYasha was unable to object lest he be so obvious in his lies.

"InuYasha, your patience with this creature is astonishing to me. You protect her, indulge her, even seem to love her..." Sesshomaru continued. Kagome couldn't see his face, but his words were as impassive as ever in that smooth baritone.

Protect me? Well, yeah... Almost every time we battle a stinking demon, Kagome thought, a little bitter at the second part of the thought. Indulge me? I... guess I can remember a bunch of times he's let me have my way... But the last one? Love me? Doing those things... I guess it means he cares, she noted with a lifting spirit, but... he does those things for other people, right? Just because... it doesn't mean... Kagome struggled with the thoughts, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.

He loves me?

All of a sudden, even though for the briefest of moments, Kagome realized how much she wished the statement were true. However, her moment of truth was short-lived and after a moment of light-headed giddiness, after the second of epiphany-like acceptance, the very notion of it was gone. It couldn't be possible. Because InuYasha was in love with a dead woman - and if one needed to look any further than that, they could see it in the way he treated her.

And after moments her thoughts were out of her head - though the sentence Sesshomaru had spoken haunted the back of her mind. Her gaze, once vaguely vacant, returned to focus on the hanyou - who wouldn't meet her gaze. Saddened, the miko heaved a bitter internal sigh. Of course. If anyone came close to using the words 'love' and 'Kagome' in the same sentence, InuYasha would either deny it whole-heartedly and/or decide that he wasn't going to look at her for fear of seeing Kikyo and feeling guilty. But 'love' and 'Kikyo'? He wouldn't deny it. Oh, no. He would still feel guilty and not meet Kagome's gaze, but there would be no way he'd deny it.

But yet Sesshomaru still felt the need to continue. "Certainly these feelings of mercy of yours are not something I inherited from our great and terrible father. It must have been that mother of yours, that human mother, who caused our father to meet his end so ignobly. Her blood affects you as well. Is it that which so endears you to them? To this miko?"

Kagome prickled. At his insult of both humans and InuYasha - and his mother. Because by saying that, he was being not only hypocritical but arrogant yet again. If Sesshomaru was so big and bad and youkai, how come he took care of Rin? Fed her? Sheltered her? Even gave her a playmate! If that wasn't mercy, she didn't know what was!

Thankfully InuYasha seemed to be in the same line of thought and managed to voice it before Kagome managed to hurt herself by doing so.

"What about that little girl? If you don't have any mercy, why did you just get rid of her?"

Though worried that the accusation aimed at the youkai lord would somehow end up worse for herself, Kagome was glad InuYasha had made it. Someone needed to put Sesshomaru in his place!

((Lol. Good call on stealing from the anime... it fit there perfectly. I found this really awesome Sess/Kag fanfic on FFN... it's really long but really good. Here's the link if you're bored wanna read it sometime. It really gave me a new perspective on both Sesshomaru and Kagome, and I thought it might be helpful as a reference.))

(( Yeah I figured the reference worked best here. I'll have to look at that fanfic then. Do I sense someone becoming a Sess/Kag fan? Lol. …Dang. You completely and totally pwned my last post with your last one so I will try to do better with this *digs herself a hole* ))


For a moment, there was nothing but silence, the weight of InuYasha's accusation filling the still air. As tense as it was, InuYasha himself refused to back down. He knew he was right. Perhaps, the inuyoukai known as his brother acted as if he was so impassive but he knew better than that. They were only half brothers, the strength of demon blood the dividing line ultimately between them no matter what might support any other division. To number the times they had met as children would be to count only on one hand. Much time had passed since then but InuYasha understood the basics about Sesshoumaru despite how complicated the tai-youkai wished to make himself seem.

The understanding came from merely observing the properties of the swords given to each of Inu-no-Taisho's sons. Tetsaiga, the sword of immense power was given only to the one of the two that would hold enough strength of will, integrity even, to not wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting world. Such could easily be done with a sword such as Tetsaiga. But as much as the hanyou went on and on about his strength, he, if given the true choice, would not cause damage if just for the sake of it.

Tensaiga, the sword of extraordinary healing was given only to the one of the two that would hold enough compassion of heart, empathy even, to restore the souls and life of those from which the two were wrongfully taken. Such could easily be done with a sword such as Tensaiga. But as much as the inuyoukai carried on about his impassiveness, he, if given the true choice, would heal each who he deemed worthy to.

Tensaiga had taught Sesshoumaru compassion and deny it as he might, InuYasha knew better. What he did not know was that his elder brother now held a sword in addition to Tensaiga. He would know soon enough.

There were a great many more secrets known by only the two brothers. They were buried away in the past for, to bring up something that old and that personal would be the absolute worst possible way the brothers could injure each other. To bring up secrets would declare open war between the two, blatant drive for death the two had been silently skirting for some time. The past was forbidden, neither dared to speak of it.

And as many secrets as there were, Sesshoumaru's lack of mercy was something he held though it could not necessarily be said it was from their father. It was only because InuYasha knew this was an outright lie that he had excused the insults. Sesshoumaru was pathetic in trying to cover everything up and he hadn't hesitated to point that out.

And presently, the inuyoukai had not answered, in fact, his expression relaxed from his fixed, smug glare out of surprise. InuYasha using his mind to argue for once? It was enough to have surprised Sesshoumaru though it only took a moment for him to recover and the hint of a smirk on his face solidified that.

"Your ignorance precedes you little brother." He stated calmly, tone as easy as if he spoke of the weather. "Do not talk about what you do not understand. Besides…your concern is better left for the girl."

And with a smirk turning cruel, Sesshoumaru's grip around the human girl's neck, wringing a panicked exclamation from the hanyou, "Kagome!" But his call was futile. The youkai's claws began to press ever so lightly at her neck, causing poison to start searing through her skin. It was only at small points but the effect should be enough to get Sesshoumaru what he wanted. And it did. The girl responded and InuYasha rushed forward without hesitation, the purest of rage wild in his gaze. Kagome was let go instantly, dropping however she would. Sesshoumaru hadn't killed her though the scars would be permanent unless he himself saw to their removal, which was not bound to ever happen.

Smirk dissolving in a second, Sesshoumaru drew Bakusaiga and shot forward. With a deafening clang of metal in combination with a noise like the crack like thunder, the two swords collided. Shifting for ground, each of the brothers forced his weapon forward but neither gained ground in the struggle that seemed to last for minutes though it was only seconds.

Then, taking initaitive to hold the offensive, Sesshoumaru threw his weight and pushed Tetsaiga's thick blade aside with his own. In the time it took for InuYasha to regain his stance, though it was only seconds, the inuyoukai had swung Bakusaiga straight down. Unfortunately, there had been enough time for InuYasha to bring his sword up horizontally sheilding himself from the blow.

Metal wrenched as Sesshoumaru fought to force his brother back. It worked to little avail but he kept at it. Defending would keep the half-breed occupied at least for the moment.

With a swing, InuYasha forced Bakusaiga away. But he had not anticipated the inuyoukai to utilize the momentum. Throwing his weight along in the direction he'd been forced as his sword swung, Sesshoumaru turned a full 180 degrees with Bakusaiga. Given that it hadn't been expected, the sword openly met the side of the hanyou's torso. A short spray of blood was sent into the air, staining both Bakusaiga and InuYasha's clothing. With enough force, the inuyoukai could have severed his brother's entire spine clean through but he had been deliberate in the amount of force. It was not enough to kill InuYasha but it was definite progress to that end. Needless to say, the blow would have instantly killed a human.

The hanyou had stumbled back and Tetsaiga's blade hit the ground with an earthy thud now that only one hand gripped the hilt. The other had gone to his side, clutching at the deep slice where he could feel fractures through two of his ribs.

"Come now little brother." Sesshoumaru taunted icily from where he stood. "Out after one strike? You disappoint me."

Lips pulling back over pure white fangs, InuYasha growled ferally, the human was leaving his senses, being replaced with what demonic blood did course through his veins. Slowly, as if to warn, his hand left his freely bleeding side to grip Tetsaiga. The stains of blood on the hilt were meaningless. He lifted the sword from the ground and tensed, preparing to rain strikes down on his brother.

((As I recall, the only time InuYasha utilizes his demon blood as such by transforming, it's when he lets go of the Tetsusaiga and is near death. Of course if you DID plan to have InuYasha go psycho killer on everyone, you could just have Sesshomaru casually knock away the precious fang and cut him up a bit more. Sorry to be telling you what to do, it's just that I'm a shrew like that XD
And no need to fear, I shall stay the fan of my favorite couple forever more: InuKag! Because the catch about that fanfic is that in the end, everything goes pretty much back to normal with our favorite, complicated romance between the hanyou and the schoolgirl. Except she's changed and yadda yadda. Stronger, apparently, but who cares!! Lol.
And don't go digging holes, Botan-chan! I just got lucky. You do 1700-word posts all the time! And you just pwned the post I'm about to write!))

You could cut the tension with a butter knife.

Silence hung heavy in the air, and though she was still not in view of the youkai lord's somewhat feminine face, she could tell InuYasha had hit home. And that there was no way the hanyou, who wouldn't presently meet her eyes, would back down - he never did. He had perhaps called out the only lie Kagome could accuse him of telling, but whether Sesshomaru would ignore it, come up with some smart-alack retort, or do something else was unclear. No one spoke for a long moment, until Sesshomaru broke the silence with his ice-cold baritone:

"Your ignorance precedes you little brother. Do not talk about what you do not understand. Besides... your concern is better left for the girl."

Uh-oh. 'Your concern is better left for the girl.'

Her blood went almost as cold as the inuyoukai's was metaphorically, eyes widening at the implications of his easy remark that would soon be fulfilled.

As the miko felt the grip on her neck tighten even more, she heard the reaction provoked from InuYasha. Panic clouded his eyes as he was no longer leading his gaze astray from her in guilt. "Kagome!"

And then Sesshomaru's poisonous claws started their work, pressing ever so lightly against the soft tissue of her neck and throat. Instantly, tears born purely of searing pain leaped behind her eyes and began to flow ceaselessly, coupled nicely against the jagged shriek that emitted from her lips. As the white-hot, sour pain gained area, it needled through several layers of the delicate skin of her neck, dissolving as it went. It was then that Kagome realized what other mercy the inuyoukai showed: when using his youki-enhanced, poisonous claws, he managed to chop heads clean off or separate bodies in half, instantly killing his prey. This was only a light taste of Sesshomaru's poison's capabilities, and if a light touch of his sickly green claws was this bad, she didn't want to imagine dying from a full-blown slash.

As she was tossed several feet away and into the ground - slamming butt- and back-first into one of the large (but thankfully smooth) boulders in the clearing, knocking the breath from her lungs. She knew that in addition to her neck, if the tai youkai's poison didn't finish her off with the most painful few minutes of her life, her back would be nastily bruised as well.

She heard the clang of steel on steel, but Kagome was too involved in her own agony to pay much attention through her tear-blurry sight. As soon as her body recovered from the shock of the impact against the boulder, her hands flew to her neck in a reflexive action, her body thinking that massaging the wound would help. However, her body failed to register that massaging poison would not help at all, and so the instant her fingers touched her neck, she yanked them away with another yelp of pain. Stupid, stupid! Kagome thought to herself as she clenched her eyes shut. She could feel the poison slowing, its effects weakening. Her throat was totally raw and would probably be scarred for the rest of her life. Kagome wiped the salt from her face as she breathed shallowly, trying to block out the dull burn that still plagued her neck.

What her eyes then caught was the sight of Sesshomaru completing a fatal spin, landing a blow from his sharp blade into the side of InuYasha. Tetsusaiga fell to the ground with a deep thud, one hand leaving its hilt to clutch at the hanyou's injured side. His brother's icy baritone cut across the air: "Come now little brother. Out after one strike? You disappoint me."

She heard the low growl emitted from deep in his throat - one she recognized. His hand slowly left his injured side and returned, bloody, to the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.

"InuYasha!" Kagome cried hoarsely, the thinned skin of her throat crying out in protest as her Adam's apple moved against it. As she exerted what seemed the last of her speaking abilities to call out his name, new tears leaped over the tops of her flood walls, caused both by the pain speaking had caused her and of worry and fear - for him - of what was happening. He better not lose the Tetsusaiga, Kagome thought. If he did, she knew, the lock on his demon blood would break and overcome his body, his eyes turning crimson as the telltale sign.

(( Oh no, I remember the specifics and you're not a shrew, I'm the same way with YYH. Him picking up Tetsaiga was a sign he's not going all 'psycho killer' this time. I'm starting a crescendo here, so I'm not about to go full out already.
Lol, just wondering. Yeah, I'll have to read that one apparently. Is it really in character etc.?
Ah I won't then. It's not luck though, I believe you're getting better ^^ You considered writing fics yet?
I may post alot but quality over quantity. A 200-word post can be just as important as a 1000-word one. ))

---

Despite the how carefree and thus arrogant the taunt of the inuyoukai was, it was strategic, just as everything was. It was not easily noticed due to his still proud expression, but Sesshoumaru was carefully scrutinizing his brother's response as it would surely allude to just how much he was to expect in retaliation from the hanyou. He held no fear of the other though he watched; he was not so proud that he was ignorant to think lack of attention was necessary.

InuYasha had gotten angry, if that was even quite the word to use. He was becoming mindless through rage, Sesshoumaru could sense it though the bestial noise was more than enough of a clue. Still, little occurred beyond that than the half-demon shifting his stance as he raised his sword again. He was determined then, in some strange way, to keep hold of the human part of him? By all means, this was not something reasonable in the tai-youkai's eyes. InuYasha was the very one who worked ceaselessly, with whatever words or threats he could manage, to emphasize the part demon blood in his veins. And yet, here he was not using the extent of his power, whatever the amount was. Such hypocrisy. It was not reasonable but Sesshoumaru could still have easily explained this: the hanyou's ill-placed affections when it came to humans.

Speaking of which, the girl was apparently just well enough to manage a cry, feeble as it was. There wasn't a thing she could do about what she witnessed, the full-demon knew. She was useless. What in the world did she hope to gain from drawing the hanyou's attention? ...Ah yes, of course. The miko would not want him to continue, the reason for that quite easily explained by the very same reason InuYasha would want to fight. Strange that mutual feelings between the two would provide incentive to two different reactions in this situation. Stranger still that the pair was so utterly ignorant to not have seen it by now. He'd as much as stated it and yet Sesshoumaru highly doubted his words had penetrated the block around their stubborn minds.

Still tensed, ready to set into motion in the next second, InuYasha looked to Kagome. He hated seeing her cry, always. Again to think he might be the cause was enough to have kept him from immediately lashing out at his brother. She didn't want him to continue this fight. Kagome hadn't needed to say it, he knew it. Outright, she'd never really come out to say she hated seeing him constantly put himself in harm's way but he was able to piece two and two together. She was a peace-keeper, the type to find a reasonable, non-violent solution to things.

Ridiculous, it was. The human girl had stopped InuYasha with a simple, hoarse cry. Did the foolish girl have the slightest clue she had made herself more of an element in the situation? If she were to press, be it some sort of sad expression or who knew what else, Sesshoumaru knew InuYasha was bound to relent. If they departed, so be it. He had achieved what he had hoped to thus far. Inevitably, the fight would continue at some point, be it now or a month from now.

((1. Awesome. I hope you don't keep me in suspense too long, though... I might expire. Like milk past its due date! Or something more... you know... explosive... when it gets past its 'due date'... maybe like a time bomb set off by suspense.
2. Yeah, "Seven Feudal Fairy Tales" really is in character and stuff. It won tons of awards, several for being in character. I'm telling ya, this lady is good. Anyways the story is that Kagome manages to trap herself and Sesshomaru in a magic scroll by reading it while digging through InuYasha's mother's things which our favorite hanyou in turn dug up. And then they have to progress via role play (HA!) through seven fairy tales to get out of the scroll. And it has special treats, like meeting Sesshy and Inu's supposed grandfather, who just happens to be a domestic dog slash... very hawt nudist inuyoukai. LMAO.
3. Arigatou! You really think I'm getting better? I think I improved a lot since I joined Taboo. And yes, I have been writing fics - a bunch of them, actually.
4. WHEW! One heck of an OOC chat. I even had to number the topics! I think we might have to start a new topic just so we can talk outside of the PRP XD))

---

Kagome didn't know why she had called his name. She could call it a reflex - she seemed to call the name of a certain hanyou quite often. And in all different states of mind and situations and emotions too. She said his name when she was fire-spitting angry at him, well more yelling his name really; when she was sad and crying, she called to him for comfort; when she was happy, she talked to him to cheer him up, too; when she was in trouble, and needed help, she cried for him to save her; and like now, when she was worried about him and wanted him to stop something that could hurt him or start something that could heal him; even as simple acknowledgement that she seemed to need, despite the fact that it need not be out loud. Kagome knew she could achieve in one look what would take what seemed like forever to say. And sometimes, the way she said his name was more than enough to get across her emotions.

InuYasha.

If the miko didn't know better, she would say that that word was the one that settled on both her lips and her mind the most often. Perhaps she said it so much because she was afraid that if she didn't constantly reassure herself of his presence, he would disappear - perhaps with Kikyo, of hwom she was the reincarnation. Perhaps she called him so often, whether he could hear her or not, because she was constantly trying to figure him out - and figure out how she was feeling about him. Perhaps she said his name so much because she wanted him to know that she cared about him... a lot. Maybe she cared more deeply, to the point of...

Whatever the reason his name had left her hoarse throat this time, his head turned to her. Hesitating. Because he could tell - he knew - that she didn't want him to continue. That she didn't want him to hurt himself. That she wanted him to stop fighting Sesshomaru, stop throwing himself into harm's way, and she wanted him to start taking better care of himself - and let himself be taken care of. Kagome knew that he knew what she wanted. Their eyes met and if the hanyou had any doubt, it was erased.

Her sepia gaze said it all.

I don't want to do this anymore, spoke her eyes, her demeanor, her expression, her actions - louder than any words could. I want to go back, where it's safe. I don't want you to hurt yourself any more, I don't want you to hurt anyone any more, and I don't want to get hurt any more. I've had enough of all this. Please.

If the message her face communicated seemed whiny or spoilt, it wasn't meant to. If the message seemed tired and hurt and worried, good - because that was what it was supposed to say.

Kagome could feel another pair of amber eyes on her, though the gaze hers was not locked with was so much colder than the liquid metallic sheen of InuYasha's. Of course Sesshomaru would look to the one who was interrupting his fight. Of course his eyes would be boring holes through her. The miko didn't want to look at the inuyoukai - so she didn't. She didn't want to face him and the question she had left unanswered, despite the new outlook she told herself she had adopted towards the tai youkai. She didn't want to deal with the anger that would later come from the hanyou. She didn't want to face or deal with anything right now.

All she wanted to do was go back to Kaede's village, get her neck fixed up, and lie down. Or perhaps down the well to her own time to take a nice, long bath and fall asleep on her comfy pink bedspread after taking lots of Aspirin.

Was that too much to ask?

((Figures Kagome would be thinking about sleep and painkiller at a time like this, eh?))

(( Sent everything over to a new OOC so we don't clutter up the roleplay with all our talking. And great apologies for taking sooo long. ))

---

Not a word had left her and yet he had heard everything she had said. So strange that the clearest speech between the hanyou and human, all fully exchanged and understood, was through something as simple as looking at one another. In reality, it was quite something itself but there was none wise enough in the world, perhaps aside from Lady Kaede, would could have identified the foreshadowing.

Daily, what Kagome did might confuse him, but what she said without words was something he couldn't have failed to understand even if he had tried. And the strangest thing about the hanyou's unusual perception was that it was unique to her, meaning, he had never once heard Kikyo in this way.

I don't want to do this anymore, she began everything she wanted to say but might not have found the words to, it was all there, I want to go back, where it's safe. I don't want you to hurt yourself any more, I don't want you to hurt anyone any more, and I don't want to get hurt any more. I've had enough of all this. Please.

All she wanted was for it to stop.

For once, it occurred to him that she would never have been in situations like this if it weren't for him. Demons didn't exist in her world. Every bit of this, especially this fight, was unnatural to her. She came back to this Era time after time despite how different and how out of her comfort zone it, no, this all was. It was somewhat of an enlightening thought. One that brought his mind full circle to why all this had come about, the fight.

"Then why are you still trying?"

He wanted the answer to that question more than to continue the fight.

He would always be a demon. There would always be fights because it was in his very blood. But this once, he could stop, for her. Consciously, Tetsaiga lowered until it touched ground though InuYasha still gripped it. An apparent sign he was slowing, stopping this altogether for the time being.

As far as what Kagome considered Sesshoumaru to be preoccupied with, she was entirely right. He could see just in the eyes of his younger brother, the will to continue was gone. Not that he couldn't be given incentive, naturally, but how effective would anything have been at that point? He well understood the nature of the relationship between the two, perhaps he was the only one, but it was the effects of it, an example being now, that puzzled the inuyoukai. Was it really so true that InuYasha was ruled by such a simple thing as affections for the priestess girl? Pathetic. It was so very human really. By all means, no demon was emotionless, not even him truly, but to be ruled by such? Ridiculous.

There would be no instigation to continue. This fight was now worthless to him as, if he managed to force it onward, the hanyou would not nearly be as motivated knowing his precious miko was fully against the idea. Another time. Yes, this would continue another time, and soon. Without a word, Sesshoumaru had disappeared in a flash of silver over the rock facing wrapping the clearing like walls. And the moment he was out of sight, all tension of the situation was dissolved as quickly as if it had never existed.

Sesshoumaru was gone, he knew, but he hadn't watched, his amber gaze was still on Kagome. InuYasha's concerns were availed now that tension was gone entirely. For a moment, he simply looked, gaze raging with the emotions defining all he very well might never say. Finally, he relaxed and looked elsewhere as he shouldered his sword as easily as usual. Looking back to Kagome, he spoke at length,

"...Get up, we're leaving." Perhaps a demand but his tone was devoid of force and he stood waiting with no air of impatience. There wasn't anything else to add, at least not yet. But, no doubt the previous fight that had caused all this would be addressed soon enough.

Precious moments passed, filled with silence; Kagome was almost afraid that Sesshomaru might try to make a move while InuYasha was staring at her, with his eyes uncharacteristically clouded over in thought. But then, the miko was well-aware that something so... dishonorable, so easy was not the dai youkai's style. No. Even she knew that Sesshomaru was better than that. The schoolgirl also knew, from the understanding look in her hanyou protector's eyes, that his resolve to fight was gone and therefore, the tai youkai who was most likely only here to use InuYasha as a toy, would have no reason to stay any longer.

However even as she thought this, painfully propped up off the ground and just barely so, her face wet though no rain poured from the sky, her chocolate gaze was locked on the metallic, liquid amber of the one of the silver-haired, dog-eared, red-clothed boy standing halfway across the large clearing from her.

Kagome knew that he understood her; he always had. In a way, that was strange, but since the hanyou was exceptionally socially awkward, she had quickly had to develop the ability to understand his body language and his thought process rather than his words (because his words were often not true, anyways) if she ever hoped to understand him. And the miko supposed that somewhere along the way, he had learned to do the same with her. The connection was not odd between the two of them, since they had spent valuable time and effort (or at least, she had) in achieving this kind of understanding. In situations like this, it really paid off.

So when Kagome looked in those amber orbs, she couldn't even pretend like she didn't understand what was in them. A flurry of emotions she still felt insecure enough not to be able to identify, but a question that she could. A question that scared her, not per say of the answer but of the response he might give to it.

So why do you keep trying?

The miko knew that when he visually asked this, the hanyou probably meant that he had only just realized that the things she did were illogical and unnecessary. The fact that he knew that made her happy, because it meant that he was on his way to finally understanding how she felt about him and hopefully, solidifying his own feelings. He had to know that she didn't sacrifice all this, put up with everything, for any kind of personal gain; in fact, both of them knew that she undoubtedly got the raw end of the deal. She wanted to clarify her reasons to him, but fear kept her from doing so. She despised herself and felt even weaker than she usually did for being affected that way by the thought of saying three little words to him - albeit, three little words that were her whole world. Rejection played the larger part in the equation and for now, Kagome futilely avoided the question, breaking the gaze as a blur of silver silk (the dai youkai, naturally) flew by in her peripheral vision, gone from sight.

Finally. Sesshomaru had departed; fleetingly, Kagome wondered exactly how much of their silent conversation he had understood. Probably most, if not all of it. The idea that the Lord of the Western Lands had interrupted upon her deepest secrets and feelings made her want to slap someone and turn the color of a tomato at the same time. But why would he even want to understand, anyways? It wasn't like he was going to go gossip about it or anything. Oh, now that was a hilarious picture; Kagome knew this wasn't a time for laughing, but the image she now had in her head of an even more feminine-looking Lord Sesshomaru sitting around with tea and gossiping to other prissily-dressed inuyoukai over tea was almost too much for her to bear.

Attempting to turn her mind to more serious thoughts, she succeeded for the most part but was still about to bust a gut, though nothing showed outwardly except a few extra blinks; it seemed her face was frozen into its current expression. That was, she was about to bust a gut until she realized how much she was disturbed by that same idea of Sesshomaru having insight onto her thoughts and feelings like that; she had no doubt that she was painfully transparent since even the hanyou could read her like a book, despite his tremendous density and if InuYasha could do such a thing, there was no doubt about Sesshomaru.

And then, the miko wondered why her thoughts were contemplating Sesshomaru so often... it seemed that the dai youkai was on her mind almost as much as his younger half-brother.

But a gruff, quiet voice that still managed to carry over to her, strangely devoid of impatience, interrupted her contemplations.

"...Get up, we're leaving."

Without so much as a bitter thought to his less-than-polite words, filled with only pitiful gratitude, Kagome got to her feet and was proud of herself for only wobbling a little bit on her shaky legs. She flashed InuYasha a grateful half-smile before making her way over the luscious grass and rocks towards her eternal savior.

When she reached him, something hit her, and her eyes widened. Blinking once, after a moment she was fine again, but the realization that had struck her was absolutely the farthest thing from fine.

"Hey, InuYasha?" Kagome addressed him quietly, averting her eyes to look at her feet and ignoring the throb still present in the remaining skin of her neck. She continued, equally quietly, "I... I'm sorry. I was being selfish, back there... only thinking about myself... and what I wanted." The miko was sick and tired of apologizing, but this was a 'sorry' she didn't mind saying because she knew that the hanyou deserved it. She was ashamed now, of acting the way she did, of being so weak and selfish; that was why Kagome couldn't meet his gaze. She felt so incredibly guilty.

"I..." She paused. Here came the excuses she knew had to come, to make herself feel better for acting so childishly; to lessen some of the guilt and the blame she knew only existed from herself to herself. Kagome hated having to justify herself all the time, but with every mistake she made, it was the only way to keep her sanity, pitiful as it was. She continued: "I just... can't stand it when... when you get hurt." She didn't voice the second part of what she wanted to say, because that part was only for herself; she didn't want to make him feel guiltier than the miko knew he already did.

...Because when you get hurt... I feel like it's all my fault... And when you get hurt protecting me, it is my fault.

Then, she added something to her mental speech that had nothing to do with how she felt when he got hurt, but everything to do with why, especially when, as thought and as he usually was, protecting her.
I'm so weak. So helpless. So... useless.

Sighing, she added one last thing. "Do you think you could... forgive me?"

At any other time, perhaps it would have been quite the surprise to note that Kagome did not argue his demand, even if it obviously lacked trademark force of tone. They always argued, it was simply what they did, and every opportunity to do so, at least as it seemed, either of the pair would quickly pick a fight. This was hardly the case now. No, now was the rare in-between when serious matters had complicated things. Indeed they had this time; the last fight had brought up things never before addressed so directly, things perhaps neither of the two wanted to talk so openly about. All the same, the words were out there and the serious nature of the circumstance held off any pointless fighting. At least, for the moment anyhow as there was no way it would last.

As she stood, InuYasha only just seemed to recall the reason for her unsteadiness, the marks evident on her skin. He scowled. Sesshoumaru would be repaid for that. He nearly winced perhaps out of reflex to catch the clumsy girl but she managed to hold her balance. By chance, perhaps it was the solemness that even the hanyou felt that made the half-smile catch him off guard. Eventually, he figured she was content to be rid of Sesshoumaru. And who wouldn't be after all? His gaze remained on her as she walked over, making little noise with steps through the grass.

Again, she surprised him. His dark brow drew together slightly to see her eyes widen. InuYasha would have cast a look around for potential danger but held off as she only looked to him. But there was nothing wrong with him. Was it some thought of hers? He knew Kagome thought silently to herself sometimes, significantly more often than himself, and she also did not often let him in or those thoughts if he was bothered enough, or more like annoyed enough, to ask her about them. After just a moment she appeared to be just fine but that did not stop him from wondering whether to ask of it this time or not.

"Yeah, what?" He questioned her in turn as she prompted. Once again, the words were the same he might use any other time but not containing quite as much sarcasm as usual. It must be important if she wasn't looking at him, he supposed. Sometimes Kagome did that. He would never have guessed it was truly because she felt guilty though the apology hinted at it.

To that, he didn't know what to say other than to dismiss the issue as if it didn't matter to him, even if it did. Still, she sounded really sincere this time, to shrug it off nearly seemed a wrong choice now. He was given more time as she went on to explain, to give at least one reason behind what she'd said. And he didn't question her reason. He both wanted to know and did not, perhaps because, somewhere in the back of his mind, he already suspected what she might say. He wasn't ready to address another Impossible Question yet.

She had gone on to end with a request for forgiveness. As she had sighed, so did he but almost wearily, if not frustratedly. As always, InuYasha could not admit things or stay serious too long without pointless frustration taking up it's place as resident emotion. "Yeah, sure." He shrugged minutely as he answered. Choosing not to dwell on his own reply, he continued, "Stop worrying about me getting hurt alright?" InuYasha sounded annoyed as usual though the expression on his face wasn't altogether there yet, "I'm half demon, a few scratches are nothing." This, of course, brought him around to the present where a wound still remained open in his side. Blood was still continuing to stain his haori but the color was already so close, it wasn't quite as noticeable as it would have been otherwise. Still, the cut through the red outer layer of the garment was easily seen. No doubt Kagome would force medical care on him one way or another but she still shouldn't worry so much, he would heal in no time at all.

The sigh that InuYasha in turn let out was predictably frustrated but surprisingly weary. Kagome kept her faint surprise in check as she struggled internally between the options for the cause of his weariness. Either he was tired from his battle with Sesshomaru, or he was tired of something about her. The second option the miko found to be more likely, though there were still subcategories to it as well. Was he fed up and tired of her excuses? Her apologies? Or was it just her weakness that set him off? Was the hanyou tired of interrupting his battles and delaying the end of what he started because of her and her safety and her persistent need to be protected and taken care of?

Whether she took the small gesture the wrong way or not, Kagome's mood dampened even more though she was careful to conceal her gloom. It wouldn't do for poor InuYasha to feel guilty for expressing his opinion without even realizing it, resulting in him not knowing what he did wrong or in turn how to fix it.

Thankfully InuYasha didn't notice her further depression and continued with his predictable answer to her equally predictable apology. "Yeah, sure." He gave a tiny shrug in response, frustration seeping through in volumes - though Kagome knew it was because he rebutted any attempts for human emotion to show... or, at least, he tried to. He quickly continued before the miko could express anything to the full, little more than a slight look of grateful relief and even a slight bit of amusement.

"Stop worrying about me getting hurt, alright? I'm half demon, a few scratches are nothing."

And his voice was in that same annoyed, cocky tone, with that tiny trace of reassurance subconsciously thrown in for her benefit that always managed to convince her into a state of confidence for his health. It would have worked again, too, if he had been able to put up his tough mask - the one that managed to hide all emotion but anger, annoyance, frustration and few others. But it was not yet all there, and the last sentence in his statement of course drew her eyes to the cut in his side she knew was much worse than it looked because of the color of his robe.

Worried dark browns knit together as Kagome eyed the area where Sesshomaru had hit him the worst, noticing the liquid shine and slightly darker areas that betrayed the amount of blood lost. Sure, he had suffered worse, but despite his voice the miko was becoming as completely ignorant of his brave words as she would had he a hole through his gut. Which, much more than she would like, he often did. What was more was that the young student was sure she had heard his bones crunch in that hit, and the both of them still did not know the properties of the inuyoukai's new sword.

Fortunately for InuYasha, Kagome was lacking the first aid kit that, had it been on her at the moment, would enable her to start fussing over her favorite hanyou. As it was his injuries were serving incredibly well to distract her from the fiery ache covering the bruised and burned skin of her own neck. (It only really hurt when she moved it.) However, as much as she was opposed to the idea of hitching a ride on his back as usual and straining his injury, the miko knew very well that not only would InuYasha blatantly reject the idea of walking the whole way, but it would take longer and she wanted to force him to let her treat his injuries sooner rather than later.

She gave a reluctant grunt/sigh before resigning herself and settling into a familiar position on her back, careful to avoid touching or irritating the gash in his side.

Kagome had several regrets from this particular experience. Namely, being weak enough and stupid enough to be caught alone by Sesshomaru, and then pathetic enough to beg to go home. Also in the mix of regrets, however, was one that she would not get to spend more time with the adorable Rin and, admittedly, Sesshomaru despite how much he scared her so that she could work on that new approach towards him.

Sadly, however, that new approach like so many things and techniques and healthy habits before would lay forgotten in the back of her mind, finding no real motivation to continue them and then annoyed later that she did not make use of them when she could. And unless something big, something important, happened to make those habits and techniques and things needed and urgent to do, they would stay that way.

Given that she didn't reply right away, InuYasha was nearly surprised. Kagome always seemed to have some sort of argument for his hard-headed behavior as far as his being concerned about personal welfare. But she hadn't said a thing yet. To expect one thing only to get another was just a little more annoying to him. Kagome should act like Kagome... Right? He blamed his brother for upsetting, well, the whole normal balance of things with the stunt he'd taken the time to pull.

A corner of the hanyou's fanged mouth quirked downward into a half-scowl to convey his annoyance further when he noticed Kagome eying his side. At the very least, it was like her not to believe him but about this, wasn't she usually alright or accepting at least? What was the problem then? He opened his mouth ask just that but thought better of it. After a fight and given his state, which was not so hot even he would never dare admit it, he wasn't too keen on starting an argument when there wasn't an open gash through his side. Were one to ask, of course, he would comment that he barely felt it. And for such a terrible actor as he was in general, he thought he was doing a decent job then of acting like he didn't have fractures to worry about. Stupid really to be so proud but it was something he and his brother had in common.

Scowling still, he was prepared to remind her that he wasn't about to stand out in a field all day but the noise she gave in reluctance was enough to reassure him she remembered. And indeed she did. After she settled, InuYasha was off as usual.

Each of the two was quiet as the hanyou bounded away from the peaceful clearing and back toward the treeline. As the trees began to gather around him while he moved further into the forest, so his thoughts weighed in.

Was that it? Was that all Sesshoumaru planned to do: kidnap Kagome only to bruise her and then leave her? That didn't seem right. If there was one thing he knew well, it was that his older brother wasn't at all simple. The older youkai, when his little brother was concerned, seemed to like nothing more than to make things as complicated as possible. Even Kaede suspected Sesshoumaru had been up to something and it couldn't have been just this fight. No, this was likely just the start of whatever he was up to. That scowl of InuYasha's only stayed at the thought. Ordinarily, this would be little more than a frustrating annoyance but now that Kagome had been involved, he couldn't help wondering if his brother's ill-intended plans had anything more to do with the human girl. Of course InuYasha wasn't worried about her though because that would just be ridiculous.

Upon reaching a familiar clearing not far from the well of the Bone Eaters, the hanyou slowed. He didn't hardly suspect she would want to go home, not that he'd even allow it, but meandering around the woods probably wasn't the best idea either. It was likely in his better interest to head back to the old hag so Kagome could have a proper audience to fuss over him about, of course, so he wasn't too happy with that idea any more than the others. If they were to head to Kaede, Kagome would certainly have to manage some convincing, or what would probably work better, bribery.

((Gwahh. Sorry for taking so long.))

Not a word emitted from the lips of her favorite hanyou as she settled onto him piggy-back style. His hands immediately came up to support her thighs as usual, an action the miko knew so well she didn't even feel awkward about it anymore, strong enough to assure her that he would be fine for the moment carrying her back. Kagome instinctively placed her small hands on his shoulders, deciding that the simple, familiar style of holding on she had used in the days where she had been uncomfortable riding on him for lack of a better term, would irritate her neck less. She would have wrapped her arms around his neck for a sense of security comfortable for the both of them, but such an action would hitch up her blouse so that it rubbed against her neck which she would most definitely like to avoid.

And then he was off, leg muscles catapulting them off the ground, riding up into the sky, almost close enough, it seemed, to reach out and touch the fluffy comfortable-looking clouds, arcing to the peak of his leap and then sloping gently downward until the curve and angle became enough to make someone's stomach rise.

Not Kagome's.

No. At this point in her life, she was unconcerned even as the ground became uncomfortably close, even as her hanyou's less-then-graceful landings jolted her bit by bit to the point that from time to time, InuYasha had to adjust his grip on her and in turn she hers on him. She knew how to elevate herself just a little to brace her joints for the impact, and even how to do so without using his sides like stirrups so that she wouldn't cause further harm to his wound.

Things the miko was suddenly aware of, and contemplating leisurely how it had come to be this way.

Kagome remembered when she was naught but an innocent girl having the worst birthday ever. Not such a bad birthday after all... the miko contemplated with a small smile, leaning her head absently between InuYasha's red-clad shoulder blades. Back then, she had been even weaker and more pitiful and pathetic than she was now. Hard to believe, the miko thought miserably. Too often, the female student felt as if her flaws were being pointed out and critiqued upon, words and analytic looks that sliced her into miserable bits and pieces, then putting her back together with a genuine smile. Every day, it seemed, that there was a battle waged she participated in; even when she wasn't present she knew she was a consolation to her fellow members when they failed: Well, at least I'm not as weak as Kagome. InuYasha never failed to point this out, and it would have hurt her much more had she known he meant the exact opposite of what he said and had she not ammunition to fire back at him in turn.

Eventually the rhythmic leap, arc, land pattern InuYasha's powerful feet and legs commenced lulled Kagome into a half-asleep, drowsy, state, leaving her happy to note that there was one difference about the two brothers that made her happy.

The miko would never fall asleep on Sesshomaru. InuYasha was just comfy this way.

She smile lightly into her hanyou's back and almost giggled into the red cloth, but decided that she'd rather not have InuYasha pestering her as to what was so funny.

Eventually she became conscious of his strides slowing, then coming to an only semi-gentle yet given with more than enough warning stop. Opening her bleary eyes halfway, she didn't particularly recognize the clearing but telltale signs - smoke from dinner fires in the sky in the distance, the smell of familiar herbs growing in the area, faint sounds of lumberjacks working a ways away - indicated that they were near Kaede's village and consequently the Bone Eater's well.

Kagome still had enough reason to know that her mother and grandfather would throw a fit to see her in her current state, not to mention Souta would grow clingy and even more annoying than usual. She'd probably be forbidden to return to the Sengoku Jidai - at least temporarily, which would end up to be much longer than her mother said it would be, until the point of which InuYasha would come to the present and drag her back with him, thus efficiently ending her grounding from the Era of Warring States as soon as it began. The fuss would only make her healing time become unsavory and unpleasant and probably prolong the point of which the wound would heal into scars (which the miko was not too keen on showing her family and schoolmates, either.)

Therefore the easy choice was Kaede's house, though Kagome knew InuYasha's dislike of the kindly old woman would keep him from taking her there on his own. Not, of course, that the hanyou had any other incentive.

All it took was a few easy words, slipping drowsily, softly, and slightly slurred out of her rosy lips.

"I think there might be one last bag of potato chips in my backpack..."

(( No problem. I've been busy anyhow XD ))

---

He hated having to think about things most of the time and this was such an occasion. The best answer to the question of where to go seemed to be deliberately evading him. The faint crackles of fire along with the smells of food assaulted his senses now that they were closer, he had known it all sooner than Kagome's human senses would have detected. It was all the signs of the all-too-familiar village where the particular hag in question lived.

A corner of his mouth pulled downward into a half-frown as if he was truly only half objective to the idea of taking Kagome to Kaede. And perhaps it was half alright to him, not the inevitable fussing at his injury but rather Kagome's. InuYasha wasn't entirely sure why it came to mind then but he supposed it was just because they were both injured recently. Kaede could probably help the miko with the damage to her neck.

The hanyou growled under his breath. He definitely did not intend to stand there deliberating all day but the best choice, Kaede as it was unfortunately turning out to be, was not what he wanted. And, of course, it was likely his pride that would have him continue to stand there, rather stupidly, due to his aversion to the old woman.

"I think there might be one last bag of potato chips in my backpack..."

It was unexpected, her mention of potato chips, and even better for it. That bribery was just the trick, simple as it was. Little topped potato chips, instant ramen or almost anything else edible that Kagome brought from her time. Needless to say, his frown, right along with the annoyed demeanor had disappeared in an instant.

Without further prompting needed, the half-demon pushed off the ground into another effortless bound. Kagome wasn't warned of course but it wasn't like she was going to fall.

The familiar sounds and smells greeted the pair as they neared the intended destination. And once the wooden structure was in sight, the hanyou strode up to it. For a moment, he seemed to forget the girl still held in his claws as his thought was on little more than the promised chips. He appeared only to remember when Kaede came into view just outside her home and he let Kagome go before heading straight into the house, sniffing occasionally to be sure he was on the right track.

At the moment, Kagome was forgotten as InuYasha searched out her backpack but that would likely be alright as it gave the girl time to begin explaining what had happened before he came back to interrupt things. Of course, she would want the old bat's advice though he hadn't a clue why most of the time.

A minute grunt signaling a tiny bit of wind being knocked out of her escaped Kagome, but she was used to such things and recovered quickly. After all, InuYasha was her main mode of travel, and if she couldn't tolerate the somewhat jarring takeoffs and landings, not only would she be left behind but she would be considered even more whiny and helpless than she was.

However, with the events of the day floating around in her mind, Kagome could hardly keep herself from pondering how different it might be riding on the inu youkai brother of her current vehicle. The miko couldn't help but come to the conclusion that Sesshoumaru's steps would be so much lighter, faster, softer, more graceful. However that also probably meant she would be subject to giving up her favorite spot, as she was sure the tai youkai would hardly tolerate carrying her, let alone piggy-back style and letting her fall asleep against him. In fact he would probably just throw her over his shoulder - in a way that still would manage effortless grace no man should possess, too - and impale her on the spikes of his armor.

Oh, what was the use anyway? She was too tired to try to puzzle out the relevance of these thoughts, anyways.

Eventually she felt the hanyou slow to an awed walk and drop her rather unceremoniously, ignoring the half-hearted indignant yelp she gave and the mutterings under her breath.The miko sighed as Kaede came to sit by her and help her out of the position which was coming dangerously close to exposing some floral panties...

"What is the matter, child?" asked the old miko, not unkindly, but in a gently stern manner that reminded Kagome of her own, sometimes-scary but always-smiling mother at home. "Ye look tired. The way ye stormed away the day afore last, methinks ye would not return."

"Well, I always do seem to come back, don't I?" Kagome laughed a bit faintly.

"Ye try telling yonder hanyou such. 'Twas fussing worth a child."

Kagome laughed a bit louder at this, but stopped as her throat started the dull, acidic searing again. She winced.

"What be wrong with thy throat, child?" Kaede asked, concerned, gently taking Kagome's still in-tact chin in her wrinkled, brown hands and lifting it to get a better look. The old woman's eyes widened as she surveyed the damage. "Seems the work of a youkai's poison," she commented gravely. "Not a mortal wound, but..." Lady Kaede looked to the younger priestess, eyebrows rising high on her wrinkled forehead.

"Se-" After finding it hurt much worse to talk with the injured flesh of her throat stretched taut, the raven-haired miko removed the older miko's hand from her chin and tilted her head forward to a more natural position. "Sesshoumaru, actually," she said with a grimace.

Concern showed in Kaede's face, and Kagome began to explain, ignoring the painful throb each word cost her.

"He caught me running away from InuYasha," she croaked. "I had a choice: to come freely or be dragged away. It would be more of a pain to be dragged away kicking and screaming, so I just followed him... He took me to a clearing where Rin and Jaken were and then we walked for a while until we reached this big clearing bordered by rock walls and a little creek. It was beautiful..." But Kagome quickly shook herself from her scenic reverie and continued. "I spent a lot of time with Rin, actually, when Sesshoumaru was absent. She... she's a very wise little girl." This was said in a wondering, bordering on awed tone. "She said some things about Sesshoumaru that... well... kind of made me look at him from a different point of view." She paused thoughtfully, then added, "And then the next morning, InuYasha came barreling in. Sesshoumaru..." Here came the part she hated to recount, but felt a need to in order to finish her tale. "Sesshoumaru grabbed me by the throat, exchanged threats and some petty insults with InuYasha for a while, and then he did..." she motioned to her scarred and acid-rent neck, "this. And threw me against a rock..." The miko reflected on this thoughftully for a moment, looking away, then continued as she realized Kaede was still waiting. "Then he and InuYasha fought, and InuYasha got cut pretty badly in the side, and then... well..." Kagome found herself struggling to find the words to describe the mental contact between them, but felt that it was a bit intimate to share. "Then I told InuYasha I wanted to go and Sesshoumaru let us leave." She shrugged simply after this, leaving Kaede a bit confused and more than a little skeptical.

"InuYasha took thee back without a fight?" Kagome nodded sheepishly. Kaede glanced out of the side of her eyes towards the hut where InuYasha had gone inside. "Hm." was all she added. Then, she gently helped Kagome to her feet and strode the few yards it took to step inside the hut.

((Sorry for taking so long! Also I had Kagome explain in dialogue because I thought a recap might be useful instead of having to go back and read all those posts.))

Naturally, with InuYasha having already given up Kagome at the moment in favor of hunting down potato chips, one would have expected him not to pay attention to her beyond that. However, given his keen sense of smell, the terribly important snack formerly mentioned was located and opened most carefully in a matter of seconds. And, of course, she just had to go and mention him... A noise somewhere between a half growl and a mumbled curse issued from the potato-chip-filled mouth of the hanyou.

She'd retell the story to the old hag, he had to have expected that. But, that certainly didn't mean he was going to enjoy hearing it. At least it wasn't necessary for her to start with the beginning of the day, no, they all knew how well that had gone... As it turned out, she started with what happened just after the fight, which made sense. And it occurred to InuYasha, even through his mind being presently distracted with the thoughts of food yet-to-be-invented, that he didn't know this side of the story so he listened but not without dropping into his usual way of sitting as if to reinforce the fact that he 'wasn't' eavesdropping. After all, he was only using the gift of good hearing brought on by being half-demon...

"I had a choice: to come freely or be dragged away. It would be more of a pain to be dragged away kicking and screaming, so I just followed him..."

He could have easily faulted her for that, which would obviously be in the form of a verbal insult, but he resisted or it would be exposed he was listening.

"-He took me to a clearing where Rin and Jaken were and then we walked for a while until we reached this big clearing bordered by rock walls and a little creek. It was beautiful... I spent a lot of time with Rin, actually, when Sesshoumaru was absent. She... she's a very wise little girl."

A clawed handful of chips paused halfway on its way to his mouth. There was something wrong with Kagome's tone. Who cared what she said about the little girl? The point was, why would Kagome bother mentioning that?

"She said some things about Sesshoumaru that... well... kind of made me look at him from a different point of view."

Needless to say, InuYasha didn't like hearing that. For one, even he didn't entirely understand why the thought bothered him quite as much as it did but it still bothered him all the same. The fact that she paused, as if to think, was just worse. That little girl had said something to make Kagome think about Sesshoumaru. Didn't matter to InuYasha what the actual thought was; the fact was, Kagome had a reason to think about his brother now... It shouldn't have bothered him nearly as much as it did, should it?

"And then the next morning, InuYasha came barreling in. Sesshoumaru..."

She paused, recalling the details, just as easily as the hanyou did. Seeming to remember his open mouth, he closed it. With her story, she could have stopped there but then it would all have been pointless. The whole thing had started from Kaede observing the scarring resulting from Sesshoumaru's poison. (Yes, InuYasha had been paying attention to that as well.) So, if she stopped, the story wouldn't make sense. Still, the fresh memory wasn't at all pleasant in any sense of the word.

"Sesshoumaru grabbed me by the throat, exchanged threats and some petty insults with InuYasha for a while, and then he did...this. And threw me against a rock... Then he and InuYasha fought, and InuYasha got cut pretty badly in the side, and then... well..."

Though the deep cut in his side was mentioned, the ache he'd mentally forced into something dull wasn't even a concern... Kaede was the only one of the three who had no idea what had happened after that. Without a conscious thought to it, one of InuYasha's ears shifted, facing the hut's entrance, to fully focus on the girl waging a silent struggle with her own words. She hadn't said anything yet but would she acknowledge what happened with, or between rather, the both of them? It was, perhaps, even too sentimental for him to bother thinking about but the fact that he couldn't remember it ever happening before was enough to have him think on it. And come to think on it, how the hell did people talk without saying anything?

"Then I told InuYasha I wanted to go and Sesshoumaru let us leave."

Kagome made it sound like she'd just verbally told him. Forget Sesshoumaru having let them leave, InuYasha wasn't so dense that he couldn't have figured that out. After this end to the story, he wasn't listening as closely. Still, attention couldn't go back to food and he set the bag aside, suddenly not so hungry. And, hands freed, they disappeared into the crimson sleeves wide enough to mostly cover up evidence of his folded arms.

It wasn't a moment after that, the two females came into the hut where he sat. Determined not to see if Kagome was bothered with her little lie, he stared silently at the floor. He was trying to uphold a facade of normality but in doing so, he was wrecking it and not even realizing it. No matter if someone noticed, he could always make something up.

As Kaede helped her inside, Kagome murmured a brief thanks and then sat down on her own. She did feel guilty about her half-lie, but then, she justified it with that the silent conversation was too complicated to briefly explain. And it felt kind of private, intimate almost. Which was probably why the thought of Sesshoumaru witnessing it, and perhaps even interpreting it, was disturbing to the miko. Such a moment was usually as emotionally close to InuYasha as she could get.

Even though she had just taken a nice nap, she was suddenly exhausted, as though simply recalling the events of the past day or two were physical labor. Which was probably why she didn't notice InuYasha's strange behavior at first, but instead groaned, closed her eyes, and promised herself to go home to her nice, soft mattress and get several days' worth of sleep, school or no school.

But when she was done with her longing for the comforts of the future, a relatively brief spell as Kagome knew better than to dwell on such things that were a bad addition to her reputation as a whiny damsel in distress, the first thing the young miko noticed was the lack of crunching. Every time she and InuYasha came back to the village after several days, there was always crunching - as InuYasha indulged himself in one small pleasure after a more often than not long journey.

But there was no such crunching. Kagome was surprised to see a still half-filled bag of salty snacks resting, neglected, by the hanyou's knee. Puzzled, the miko looked up to find Kaede staring rather intensely at InuYasha, as if willing him to act normally; for by now he would have a snide comment probably regarding the comparison of potato chips to Kagome's cooking. Instead, he stared at the ground, very interested in the dirt floor - apparently, he was now extremely concerned with the quality of the soil.

At first, Kagome was confused. She reached for the potato chips, took an experimental sniff. Not that her nose was a fraction as sensitive as InuYasha's. And potato chips probably couldn't expire anyway. But they looked fine. They smelled fine. Kagome glanced at the hanyou again and then, going against her better judgment, extracted a small chip from the bag and put it in her mouth. Tasted fine, too. The miko checked the flavor on the bag. It was his favorite brand, favorite flavor.

Her eyebrows knit low on her forehead. "They seem fine to me," she commented, and shook the bag a little, dropping it in front of InuYasha again. Of course, a lowly human such as myself probably couldn't detect what it is to upset the senses of such a nitpicky hanyou, Kagome thought afterwards.

But the miko doubted that InuYasha would act this way if it were something wrong with the future food. He'd probably be complaining very loudly and pointing out Kagome's total incompetence in choosing snacks. However, if nothing else, she'd get a definite answer as to whether or not it was indeed the chips and perhaps even a hint as to what was gnawing at the hanyou.

Kaede gave a raised-eyebrow stare to Kagome, as if saying, 'After all the time you've known him, you really think it's the chips?' But the miko just gave a little sheepish smile with a tinge of guilt as she wondered if it was her fault, then shrugged and scratched her head innocently. If it was indeed the schoolgirl's fault, she didn't know what she could've done. Unless InuYasha had been listening to the conversation and something had bothered him...?

I had a choice: to come freely or be dragged away. It would be more of a pain to be dragged away kicking and screaming, so I just followed him...

He took me to a clearing where Rin and Jaken were and then we walked for a while until we reached this big clearing bordered by rock walls and a little creek. It was beautiful... I spent a lot of time with Rin, actually, when Sesshoumaru was absent. She... she's a very wise little girl.

She said some things about Sesshoumaru that... well... kind of made me look at him from a different point of view.

Then I told InuYasha I wanted to go and Sesshoumaru let us leave.

Several of the lines of the conversation flashed through her head. Kagome mentally smacked herself as realization dawned on her face. She really should've waited to relate the story to Kaede. There were many things she'd said that she hadn't wanted the hanyou to hear... at least, not so soon.

It must've been something I said, the miko decided with a frown. But asking InuYasha would do no good. He would simply brush it off and then insult her. There had to be a simpler means of finding what she had said to offend him...

(You know what I realized? For four pages, this roleplay takes a long freaking time to re-read! xD And sorry for not having a reply up when I’d specified, the weather briefly killed the electricity last night.)

---

It was only when the shiny bag crinkled in her hand that the hanyou’s gaze shifted from the dirt floor that he’d found oh so fascinating only a moment before. She sniffed, looked and even tasted (oddly enough the same manner of ways he himself might test out a new food) before she commented and left the bag to settle back in the spot on the floor where it had been. Her statement wasn’t entirely right. They were fine to her but they were also fine to him; he just wasn’t interested in having the rest of the chips at the moment.

"Then I told InuYasha I wanted to go and Sesshoumaru let us leave."

It shouldn’t matter at all, the silent conversation he had had with Kagome, and yet the more he tried to convince himself it wasn’t anything to waste time wondering about, the more he simply wondered. Words were for talking. People spoke words. People used words for talking. But how do you hear someone say something if they don’t even open their mouth? Like hell that all of it made sense..

And.. a delayed answer indeed but InuYasha finally remembered he hadn’t answered Kagome,

“They’re stale.” He snapped as his gaze settled on the girl.

Amber eyes lingered a moment and slipped lower to blatantly hint at what his thoughts (and mood of course) were about: Kagome’s neck. Certainly, there were a number of things InuYasha could have been upset by (all those things having just been said by Kagome) but her words hadn’t bothered him at least not yet anyway. Particularly, he wasn’t concerned just about the miko’s neck but about the marks there. The scarring would be less noticeable when it began to heal but, all the same, the marks would still be there and the thought upset him to no end he could define. Sesshoumaru had done it just to show his arrogance or just to piss off his younger brother, or maybe it was a combination of both. Why didn’t matter as much as how? Not how the scars came to be but actually how they could be undone.

Then the dirt was suddenly interesting to look at again.

The scars were terrible and the hanyou felt as if his brother had somehow struck him with poison the same instant he’d seared Kagome’s skin with it. He wanted them gone. Growling incoherently under his breath, InuYasha seemed to begin returning to his agitated self though this time, he had a specific reason for it. Well..somewhat but when did he care about gray areas? All he knew was that the scars were undeniable proof Sesshoumaru had at one point had his hands and claws on Kagome and InuYasha wanted that proof gone. A territorial frame of mind perhaps but then again, it was common enough for the hanyou to slip right into that way of thought that he didn’t notice.

Gaze shifting once more, he glanced at Kaede. As much as he seemed to dislike the old woman, she knew some useful things about old remedies. Not that he wanted anyone touching his side with some foul-smelling paste that would supposedly help, of course; InuYasha was thinking along the lines of something that would make the scars on Kagome’s neck go away. And with one brief glance to the the old woman, his gaze spoke for him, asking for her help. Then he had risen and was up in a tree outside as if to suggest there had been nothing odd about his behavior. He didn’t know why he went outside and up a tree. Well, the inside of Kaede’s house was just getting stuffy. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he was then uncomfortable with the idea of seriously asking for Kaede’s help. He just didn’t ask for help, it wasn’t him. But what else was he supposed to do? Let Kagome go the rest of her life bearing those scars? No.

“They’re stale.”

His golden gaze peeked up through the coarse ivory bangs, a glare that seemed to bore into her, drill through her; and for some reason, Kagome felt as if his offhand comment about the chips were an insult. Stale. They weren't, and Kagome knew it. And even if they were stale, InuYasha wasn't likely to pass them up. Even when she brought out flavors he didn't like, he'd shove them away, then sneak them from her yellow sack and scarf them down when he thought she wasn't looking.

Something was obviously bothering him. Something that was neck-level with Kagome.

Swallowing in a mixture of pain, shame, embarrassment, anxiety, and annoyance, Kagome averted her gaze to the side as she felt the amber eyes settle on her scarred neck, drilling deeper into the wounds and, it seemed, making them ache all the more prominently. She could still feel the tingly aftermath of the boiling, searing pain of the acid eating away at the upper layers of skin. Even now, it hurt to speak, hurt to swallow. But Kagome had borne pain before; she had borne worse, physically and mentally.

The long moment of awkwardness dragged on, until Kagome glanced back at InuYasha tentatively and saw his gaze fixed again on the dirt. She copied him, her feet beginning to fall asleep from being tucked under her sitting body.

She missed the look that passed between Kaede and InuYasha, but not the faint rustle of leaves as InuYasha settled in the tree.

---

Kagome gritted her teeth as the sticky, pasty salve was spread over her neck. The initial sting was soon dulled by a cool, blunt sensation, numbing and relieving. Kaede was rubbing yet another dose on her scarred skin, the previous layer having been absorbed and rubbed off by both her skin and the bandages.

It was roughly two weeks after the Sesshoumaru Incident without so much as a peep from the tai youkai. Likewise, InuYasha had been quiet and very broody, so much so that Kagome wondered if a new moon was approaching. Every time he looked at her, it seemed as if his gaze leveled with her neck. It sent shivers down her spine, made her feel like he was not an inu hanyou, but a vampire of old European lore.

In addition, the words of Rin and Sesshoumaru haunted her. ...Even seem to love her... What do you believe I could need you for? ... protect her, indulge her... You're going to stay with us! ... If a woman needed help, would you help her? - If her appearance was agreeable? ... Circumstances would decide my answer... What's so bad about being alone with Sesshomaru? ...He cares about you too...

But mostly, it was Rin's words the echoed and bounced off the walls of her mind.

"He cares. About a lot of things. Even though he kills a lot and it seems like he doesn't... I've seen him use the Tensaiga. It's magic. It heals people. If Lord Sesshomaru didn't care, he wouldn't carry it around with him. He wouldn't have used it at all. He'd leave it somewhere."

It was that concept that intrigued Kagome; the subtle, telltale signs that only Rin saw, only Rin noticed. And now, Kagome thought happily, only Rin and she noticed. She found herself thinking about Sesshoumaru more and more, piecing apart every encounter she could recall, looking for those little tipoffs. It made her want to be with Sesshoumaru, somehow, to walk with him and ask him questions and maybe, just maybe, get a couple of answers. To understand. To empathize. To befriend.

As was her nature.

On another note, Kagome had, of course, gone back to her own era as she'd promised herself; bathed, shampooed, eaten meals she didn't have to cook, and even spent some time with her friends. However, she had not gone to school, instead stayed home to complete missed work; there was no turtleneck to her school uniform. It troubled her, wondering if the scars would become faded enough to go around the present without coverage. On the bright side, her bruised back was healing nicely; the bruises had gone from purple-blue to yellowish.

But she didn't worry much right now; yes, she had even stopped stewing over the Sesshoumaru Incident and dwelling on InuYasha's brooding. Sango and Miroku and Shippo and Kirara would be back this afternoon; they were returning from an extermination that had taken more manpower and time than first thought. Kagome and InuYasha had stayed behind to follow leads on Naraku; and, Kagome had then hoped, spend a little quality time together (provided that Kikyou stayed away).

After Kaede was done, she shifted restlessly on her knees, a motion uncharacteristic of her. She couldn't wait to talk to Sango, to chatter and gossip and share opinions. In truth, she missed having a girlfriend that knew about both of the parts of her double lives, one not so concerned with the petty matters of hair and makeup and fashion and celebrities.

And Shippo. She missed him, missed coddling him, giving him candy, missed his sweet, innocent demeanor and the way he picked fights with InuYasha.

She even missed Miroku, his sage advice and comic relief.

The most important part was that they would be here soon. But when was 'soon'?