Kagome's eyes were wide with shock as she stood with Sesshoumaru's lips over hers. His lips were warm on hers and she thought inanely that Sesshoumaru had nice lips. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru felt Kagome's small puffs of breath on his lips and was shocked at his lack of revulsion. It was, of course, a plan to enrage Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru had intended only to cause the hanyou pain for nearly killing Sesshoumaru's charge. Instead, what had merely been a means to an end had turned into something unpredictable. She tasted good.
Sango, Miroku, and the two young ones, Shippo and Rin, stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. Inuyasha gripped the hilt of Tetsusaiga helplessly. His heart clenched painfully as he watched what was going on right in front of him. Is this how Kagome felt when she saw me in the forest with Kikyo? Unable to look away, Inuyasha berated himself for letting this happen to Kagome, for not be able to prevent Sesshoumaru take advantage of her. Inuyasha growled in angry frustration as the kiss seemed to last forever. Finally, Sesshoumaru broke the kiss only to brush his lips against Kagome's ear. Then he pushed her forward, causing her to stumble slightly. Sango rushed forward as Kagome quickly spun around, inexplicably wanting to see the expression in Sesshoumaru's eyes. The youkai was nowhere to be seen and neither was Rin.
So it happened that Kagome ended up traveling with Inuyasha once again as they continued their quest for the Shikon shards. Along the way, Inuyasha learned that without Tetsusaiga he would lose control of his youkai blood when threatened by mortal danger. With repeated transformations, the uncontrollable flow of the strong youkai blood would cause him to lose his sanity and become a beast that knew only battle. And so time passed and what happened with Sesshoumaru faded from the minds of everyone, except for three. To these three, the incident remained fresh in their minds, haunting their daily lives with the feelings and thoughts invoked by what had passed on that day.
How had things turned out the way they had? Kagome treated everyone as though nothing had happened; her relationships with them remained the same as before. All remained the same except Kagome and Inuyasha. Inuyasha was his usual rude self and Kagome got mad at him like before. But it didn't go unnoticed by the hanyou that the anger seemed a bit forced at times. It was the same way with his efforts to make Kagome lose her temper in attempt to have things the way they were before. Kagome seemed reluctant to touch him and it made them all awkward when it became obvious. Where before she often rode on Inuyasha's back, lately Kagome preferred riding with Sango on Kirara. That meant he had to carry the houshi on his back, of course, the new arrangement was not welcomed by neither Miroku nor Inuyasha.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome seemed to slip further and further from him with each passing day. He frowned, unable to pinpoint what made him so dissatisfied with the relationship between Kagome and him. Ever since that incident with Sesshoumaru, and the scene with Kikyo, something seemed to be missing in his relationship with Kagome. Of their little group, Kagome was the first he had met. She was the one who drew out the good in him and in many ways she helped him accept his identity as a hanyou. She was the first to find out the date when he turned human and he trusted her to keep that secret safe. Inuyasha shook his head in annoyance, the garbled mess of thoughts confusing him. Inuyasha wondered idly what Kagome had felt when Sesshoumaru had kissed her.
Lingering further behind, Kagome was walking with Sango while Inuyasha lead the group. Ever since she had seen Inuyasha with Kikyo she found that the comfortable relationship they had before had become awkward. At times, Kagome found her resolve weakening but held to her decision of having Inuyasha only as a friend. Late at night, when no one was watching, Kagome would softly touch her fingertips to her lips and remember. At that time, when Sesshoumaru had kissed her, he had whispered something in her ear, something confusing.
~*~*~*~
"Sesshoumaru-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama. Ne, when is Kagome-neechan coming to visit?"
"..."
"Ne ne, Kagome-neechan daisuki! We had fun when she came with us last time. I hope she visits soon!"
"She doesn't know where we are, Rin." Sesshoumaru watched Rin's mood deflate a bit, inexplicably tugging at his heartstrings. "She is probably with the hanyou somewhere, searching for the Shikon shards."
"Oh, she too busy for us then?" The youkai watched in alarm as Rin's face fell. Refusing to let his alarm show, the youkai adopted an expression of faint curiousity, as if waiting for her next words. Don't start crying, don't start crying, do not start crying. After witnessing Rin's tears for the first time, Sesshoumaru found that he did not like to see his young charge crying. Sesshoumaru almost sighed with relief as the child tilted her head to one side and smiled brightly without warning, eyeing Sesshoumaru expectantly. "Ne, Sesshoumaru-sama, if we helped Kagome-neechan find the Shikon shards she would have time to see us, right?"
"Rin, the Shikon no Tama, and now its shards, are dangerous. The Shikon draws evil towards it like moths to a flame. Those wanting to possess the Shikon would stop at nothing to get what they wanted."
"But that means that Kagome-neechan is in danger! What if she gets hurt? Then she won't be able to come play with Rin and Sesshoumaru-sama."
"..."
It had been over two months since Sesshoumaru had left Kagome by his ancestral home. Thoughts of the young miko had continued to haunt him in her absence. Something had happened when he had used his psychic powers on Kagome, something different. Somehow, a link had been established between Kagome and himself. Sesshoumaru pondered the possibility of such an occurrence. He had never heard any mention from his okaasan of such a possibility through the use of their psychic powers. There was also no other answer as to why he felt Kagome's feelings so keenly, with little effort.
Sesshoumaru brooded. A mere human should not affect him so, after, he was the lord of the Western Lands. But, he reasoned, I have not yet discovered for myself the source of the warmth radiated from that girl's soul. Touching it had brought back feelings I thought were long dead. It had been comforting and I felt joy? Any warm feelings had long since been banished by long years as sole ruler of the Western Lands. In order to rule absolutely required that he instill fear in the hearts' of his enemies. It was weakness to show softness for with his great power came great responsibility. The thought that he was becoming soft troubled him.
Gazing at the stars, their light calmed the troubled youkai, reminding Sesshoumaru of his okaasan. Okaasan had said that if ever he was troubled, look to the stars. There was much he had forgotten in the many years that had passed but some memories of his okaasan stayed with him. She had said that each shining star held a dream. When his okaasan had been near death, she had told Sesshoumaru to watch for her star. When she left this world, she would join the stars above and shine down on him. She would give him hope to achieve his dreams for only she truly understood him.
His dream. Sesshoumaru himself did not know what his dream was. Once he had dreamed to have what his otousan and okaasan had together, that one true soul mate. But apparently, that had not been real, as his otousan had mated with another after the death of Sesshoumaru's birth mother. His okaasan, Sesshoumaru recognized, was different from other female youkai. Often, the female youkai, more often than not, was the more vicious in comparison with the male youkai. Sesshoumaru's okaasan was compassionate and loyal mate to his father. A powerful youkai in her own right, it was from his okaasan that Sesshoumaru inherited his psychic powers. And it was his okaasan that taught his otousan compassion for humans.
Sesshoumaru's thoughts strayed to a certain human at that thought. That Kagome was different from every other human he had ever encountered. From his observations, the wench showed more intelligence than the humans he usually encountered. She had managed to somehow gain Inuyasha's protection and cooperation after all. Although Sesshoumaru did not think much of the hanyou, he knew of Inuyasha's rash and stubborn behavior and the fact that Kagome could control the hanyou was impressive. Also surprising the youkai was the miko's scent. Sesshoumaru delicate sense of smell was often offended by the odors given off by humans but the Kagome was different. Her scent was enticing. Altogether, Kagome was a different type of being than those Sesshoumaru was used to. Where exactly Kagome came from was unknown as he had never been interested enough to find out. The question bothered the youkai now. Sesshoumaru sensed intuitively that the answer would prove quite interesting indeed.
~*~*~*~
Kagome tried desperately to calm her harsh breathing. Although she had managed to place a fair distance between Kikyo and herself, Kagome didn't hold any false hope to the dark miko giving up the chase. Remembering the look of hatred in Kikyo's eyes, Kagome shivered. She did not understand why Kikyo hated her and wanted to kill her so much. Was it just for the reason that Kikyo couldn't stand there being two of her or was it because she wished to possess the rest of her soul?
Kagome and the others had been searching for a Shikon shard she had sensed nearby when Naraku's poisonous bees had appeared. As usual when dealing with Naraku, the situation soon became chaotic as many youkai attacked their close-knit group. Kagome had been standing off to a side with Shippo while Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku battled the waves of youkai. Suddenly, her upper armed had burned with pain. Surprised, she had looked up to find Kikyo, eyes glowing with hatred for the injured girl. Shippo, watching the battle intently, had not realized the drama taking place right behind his back.
Seeing Kikyo reach back to notch another arrow, Kagome had panicked. She knew Kiko had no reservations as to whether the kitsune was hurt in the crossfire as she tried to kill Kagome. Deciding quickly, she had turned and ran away from her friends. That hadn't been the brightest idea, she reflected as she listened intently for Kikyo. Now she was too far away for Inuyasha to reach them in time. Kagome had known the dark miko meant to kill her but had not realized how badly Kikyo had wanted her dead. It seemed too much of a coincidence that Kikyo's attempt to take her life happened when Naraku attacked.
Kagome gave a muffled gasp of surprise as a clawed hand suddenly covered her mouth and she was pulled away from the tree she was hiding behind. A split second later, her eyes widened further as an arrow imbedded itself into the tree. Horrified, Kagome realized that the arrow would have pierced her heart if she hadn't been pulled away. Kagome tried to see who held her but stopped her struggles as the hold tightened in warning. The hand over her mouth was removed after a slight pause, as if her captor was gauging if she would scream when released. Next thing she knew, Kagome felt herself being lifted into her savior's arms and flying through the air. Kagome cracked open her tightly closed eyes, catching a glimpse of long white hair flying through the air. Inuyasha? But how'd he get here so quickly Blinking in an attempt to see more clearly with the wind blowing into her eyes Kagome caught a glimpse of white cloth flapping wildly. White clothing?! Kagome's eyes snapped open in shock to find herself faced with Sesshoumaru's profile. Looking down, she found Kikyo watching her with cold eyes.