I smiled at Kagome's curious look towards my right shoulder, where my tail had always rested before. It was still unusual for me to smile at her, and so I believe I might have worried her for a moment. But not for long, since Shippou had begun to apologize (yet again) for injuring his mother.
This had always fascinated me. This kitsune, a youkai, had been taken in and accepted by a human, a miko no less, and treated as a son. It reminded me of Rin and myself, actually, and I found myself wishing to have the feeling of protecting a child again, as I had done for her so many times.
But back to the young priestess' question. She said she would only show me the God Tree (for whatever reason that they thought it was important), only if I told her where my tail was. Very well.
"Very well, Kagome," I knew she hated being called 'miko', 'human', or anything of that sort, as Shippou and I had two hours to talk about her life in the past, where he told me things from his point of view, sometimes revealing things that Kagome herself had not realized. "My tail, like my markings, has actually been hidden. My markings fade away unless I use some of my youkai energy, whether it be just a little extra strength or speed, or for greater things, such as my transformation into my true form, which I need to do at least once every few months. Then, my tail reappears for a day or two, before disappearing once again, yet another part that must remain hidden to the humans around me. In the past, I could show my tail easily, as it proved me a youkai, and my markings showed I was a Taiyoukai. Here, with no knowledge of these things, the humans would have never understood or accepted it. And so we must conform. Horrifying, but true."
Her eyes were wide as she looked back and forth between myself and the kitsune, who merely nodded his head in agreement. As she sputtered to find something to say, I felt the need to keep her from completely embarrassing herself, as I knew she would later berate herself for it. After all, she held so many things as being completely her fault.
"And now, why is the fox wanting for you to show me the God Tree?" She began to blush again, and started to give the kitsune a glare that I think she may have learned from all the times she fought with me, as it looks uncannily like mine.
"Well, you see, I um... When I was sent back here after the battle, I was really upset... I um... I carved names into the God Tree. Names of the people I knew would be dead by now, and people I didn't want to forget." She was blushing even darker now, and I wondered what this had to do with me. Was my name on there?? Did she truly think I would be dead by now? Or perhaps...
Then it hit me. She had befriended Rin. And she knew Rin was a human, which meant she would have died before this time. I wondered if she had truly done what I thought she had. My curiosity as great as usual, I stood and held out my hand to help her rise. She stared at it for a moment, looked up at me, then back to my hand, and I was about to scold her for her lack of trust before she slipped her small hand into mine again, not as small as Rin's had been the first time I had felt her grab my hand, but smaller than my own.
I heard a quiet cough to my right, and turned to see Shippou blushing slightly and smiling at us. I recognized that look. He would smile like that every time I glanced at his mother to ensure she was not in pain, or when I called her 'Kagome', rather than the other demeaning terms she had been used to hearing from my brother. He was smiling at our closeness, and I was surprised to find that I didn't mind the miko's hand in my own. Like before, my clawed fingers curled around her own, and her blush deepened as she stood before me, her legs wavering slightly before straightening, making her chin lift in pride as she began to slowly walk towards the door, my hand still in hers.
This display of weakness and strength reminded me of her wound, and the fact that it had healed so quickly. I had wondered what the tremors she was giving off earlier were. They soaked into me and through me, soothing my soul and calming my mind before completely enveloping her in an invisible shield. I had guessed they were her miko powers healing her body, and yet Shippou had looked as awe-struck as myself. And since he had traveled for so long and knew so much about her, him being shocked at this display of power told me he had never witnessed the like. Besides, I had seen her clot the wound with her power, and this was slightly different.
As she led me downstairs with Shippou following us, I looked into the living room where she had been injured in the first place, only to see a red stain that I could smell was her blood, and her mother leaning over the stain with a cloth, trying to scrub the floor clean. At our approach, her head lifted and she watched in surprise as her daughter came over to her and winced.
"Oh man, I'm sorry, mama... I didn't realize it was this bad. I'll clean it, if you want me to." The mother merely shook her head and looked pointedly at the spot where the wound had been. She had seen it in the middle of it's healing, yes, but she didn't know that it was almost perfectly healed now, faster than Inuyasha and even myself ever could.
"No, sweetie, it's okay, but what about you?? What are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't be walking around right now - " Kagome cut her off with a waved hand before she finally relinquished her grip on me and lifted her shirt enough to expose the former wound to her mother. The woman's eyes widened at the sight, and she hurriedly made her way to the young priestess, looking closely in disbelief. I couldn't help but glance as well, only to be even more shocked. It was gone!! Not even a scar was left behind!! I looked up at Kagome's face, taking in her slightly embarrassed look and the fact that her hands were slowly trying to push her shirt back down. Without even realizing it, I found myself wanting to help her.
"Your daughter is a very fast healer, and I was surprised myself. I apologize again for the blood on your floor, and for allowing Kagome out of bed so soon, but she wished to show me the carvings she made into the God Tree." Now I noticed Kagome and Shippou openly staring at me, jaws slack. I raised a curious eyebrow at them, but heard Kagome's mother tell us to go ahead, and that she'd worry about food after she finished cleaning up. With a nod, I grasped Kagome's hand in my own again before leading her and a still-shocked kitsune out the front door and to the tree where my brother's scent was the strongest, proving to me that THIS was the same tree he had been pinned to for 50 years, and that it was what they called the God Tree.
~*~*~*~
'Did he just APOLOGIZE?! And to my mother??'
While I was trying to get used to this idea, he seized my hand and went outside, Shippou following close behind us, as surprised as I was at this new side to Sesshoumaru. We were so used to the 'Die, Inuyasha!' and 'This Sesshoumaru does not have to listen to you humans' Demon Lord that it was unusual to hear him be so polite, no matter the fact that I had gotten used to him being kinder to me. Shaking myself out of my stupor and adding this on my "How Sesshoumaru Has Changed" list, I focused on the more important things for now.
Like the fact that he was still holding my hand, and I didn't mind. I felt comfortable like this, with Sesshoumaru and Shippou. My son and... well, I don't know what Sesshoumaru classifies as now. Used to, I'd say 'enemy' or 'Inuyasha's half-brother', but now... I want to think he's my friend. He's done nothing but be polite to me ever since I saw him in this time, and I was delighted to be seeing this side of the once cold-hearted demon.
As we approached the God Tree, I led him around to the spot where Inuyasha had been pinned for so long by Kikyou's arrow, and where I had carved his name into the flesh of the bark, leaving a marker so that anyone who visited this place would know the legend of Inuyasha was true. If they even knew the legend, that is. Otherwise, they'd be left reading kanji and wondering why those particular characters were chosen.
There, before our eyes, were the names of seven people, all human except for the inu-hanyou himself. Miroku, Sango, Kaede, Kikyou, Rin, Kohaku, and Inuyasha. I watched as Sesshoumaru's golden eyes skimmed over all the kanji on the tree, stopping painfully at the marks that created Rin's name. He looked at me briefly, then turned his head back to the words before him.
"I thank you. I made a place for Rin, as well. Only hers is in stone. I would not be surprised to see this tree outlive the block I carved her name into." I was stunned. He was thanking me?? And what did he mean about the tree living longer than stone? Was it because a rock could be shattered, while a sacred tree was left untouched?
I was brought out of my thoughts when I saw Shippou's fingers tracing slowly over Miroku and Sango's names, before moving to brush against Inuyasha's and Kohaku's. He missed them, I knew, although we had never really gotten to know the younger of the two demon exterminators. I glanced over at my adopted son, only to watch as tears began to well up in his eyes at his memories. Slowly, I released the demon lord's hand and moved to hug the saddened kitsune. After a gentle squeeze, I felt my own eyes beginning to water. I think I would have cried then, had Sesshoumaru not rescued us both by quietly suggesting that we go out to eat rather than forcing my mother to cook for extra. I would have insisted, but I knew that I didn't really want to try and eat dinner with the whole family, considering my grandpa was just as certain of his prowess as a priest as ever.
With a nod, I made my way back to the house while the two youkai waited for me outside. After telling my mother and changing into another one of my favorite dresses, this one blue, I raced back to where I had left the duo, only to find them waiting patiently. Well, somewhat patiently.
"Wow, Mom, you took long enough!" I stuck my tongue out at my son childishly, probably making Sesshoumaru wonder which one was supposed to be the parent. But he didn't point it out, and we made our way to his waiting car, so that he could treat us to dinner. No matter that I had basically spent the whole day with him, telling him my story, showing him the well, getting stabbed in the stomach by Shippou, healing for two hours, interrogating them when I woke up, apologizing to mom, and showing him the God Tree. I was still kind of nervous.
I mean, it's not every day a Taiyoukai takes you and your adopted child out to eat, right??
When we arrived at his restaurant of choice, I tried not to stare in shock. I had never been able to come here, since it was REALLY expensive. But, I had heard that the food here was wonderful, and that they featured dishes from all over the world, from America's steaks to Europe's desserts. I shook my head and took a step back.
"This is WAY too expensive. Let's go somewhere else, where we don't have to worry about ruining Sesshoumaru's wallet, ne?" But all I got in return was a pair of teasing looks, one much more so than the other. Sesshoumaru wasn't very experienced at teasing a person, I guess, which explained why his look was merely a flash of golden eyes and a slightly upturned mouth, whereas Shippou had a full-blown grin on his face, looking as though he was about to die laughing at any moment.
"Don't worry, Kagome. You shall not damage my funds, if that is what you mean. Besides, Shippou and I agreed on this earlier, while you were still sleeping." At this, I turned to glare at Shippou, who gulped and smiled at me innocently with wide eyes. Man, I hated that look. That was the 'I'm so cute and lovable and sweet and innocent and you know you don't really want to hurt me' look. And it worked, too, dammit!!
Sighing, I shook my head in defeat. Almost immediately Shippou relaxed and hugged me, while Sesshoumaru merely nodded before walking into the building, leaving my weak spot and I to follow. When we walked in behind him, though, he was speaking to someone else quietly, and he almost seemed tense. As I moved closer, though, I was able to make out what they were saying, and I knew then why Shippou had tensed up next to me.
"Well, Lord Sesshoumaru, I never thought I'd see the day when you came in here smelling like a human and kitsune. It almost reminds me of someone else, but who....?"
"Keep that tongue still in your head, or else this Sesshoumaru will make sure it does not move again." Now THAT was more like the Sesshoumaru I knew.
"Sorry, it's just unusual for me to see you here and for you to be smelling like... well, like Inuyasha. In fact..." A couple of sniffing sounds. "That scent... it CAN'T be..." I heard the person step forward, and I finally placed the voice. I knew who it was. I knew who was talking about Inuyasha, and saying that Sesshoumaru smelled like him. I tried to slink behind Shippou and hide, but I couldn't. It was too late. I knew he had caught my scent, and I knew that any second now I'd be greeted by someone I hadn't seen in a long time, and would have to explain how I was still alive all over again.
"It does not matter who I smell like, and if you compare me to him again, you will not live to regret it." As Sesshoumaru continued to threaten the other demon, I couldn't help but wonder what he looked like now. It had been so long since I had seen him. Did he look the same, or had he changed as much as Shippou? For that matter, did he ACT the same? That's what I was really worried about, I guess.
Finally, my curiosity got the better of me, as it always seemed to do, and I found myself making my way over to the two youkai and peeking around Sesshoumaru's shoulder, only to watch as a familiar face turned to stare at me, his eyes wide and his jaw open in astonishment.
"K-Kagome?!!" He took a step towards me, his hand outstretched, and I moved from behind the human- er, youkai wall to greet the demon that I hadn't seen in so long.
"Hi, Kouga."