Fallen

Chapter 13

Following Robin back to the settlement Kagome tried to reign in her emotions. She was upset and confused as she resolved to ignore the youkai who had hurt her. Sure Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were two different beings but they now had more in common. They had both succeeded in breaking her heart. Their methods had been different but the result was the same.

'How had Sesshomaru known about the situation between Inuyasha and I?' Kagome sighed. It was just one of many questions that plagued her thoughts and the others she refused to give voice too. She had know about Sesshomaru. Kagome knew what he felt for humans. Truthfully there had been no pretenses of his feeling towards her. But why a kiss? Surely there had been other ways to punish her hasty words. Absently she traced her still swollen lips with her fingertip.

As the trees parted and Kagome saw for the first time the sight of the Sherwood settlement, she was in awe her previous thoughts forgotten for the moment. The old trees had become a haven of leveled tree houses inter connected by rope bridges. For the time period it was truly a marvel of ingenuity. The settlement was like a oasis in the endless trees. Through the flurry of activity there were shouts of greeting as Robin led Kagome in to the center of the settlement. Sesshomaru cloaked and silent followed like a shadow. It bothered him a bit that Kagome had not spoken a word to him.

Eagerly the men and women pressed forward to meet the new comer who was looking at them just as curiously with large cobalt eyes. Lady Marion took a second look at the small figure introduced as lady Kagome and reached out. “My dear, what are you wearing?” she asked kindly pulling Kagome aside. Kagome looked at the ground sheepishly. “I didn't have much of a choice.” she muttered. At her words Marion announced to the crowd that they could meet their guest after she spoke at length with her. Marion being nobility was not questioned and led Kagome away followed by the young woman's companion.

Though the young woman Kagome had not mentioned much about her companion and she had not alluded to whether her companion was of a particular gender, Robin had the feeling that the being was male. The way he followed her seemed odd to him but as he always did he kept his council on the matter to himself. It was not really his place to speak of such things. If Kagome and her companion were on such terms then he would not interfere.

Marion led Kagome to a small hut tucked back in the trees. After giving a warm smile to the other women she led Kagome in to one room hut. When the young woman's companion followed, Marion just smiled to her self. She had noticed that the midnight haired young woman was pointedly trying not to look at the figure in the thick dark cloak and she also recognized the look in her eyes. Marion was very familiar with the longing that was hidden in those endless blue eyes, she also knew that the being who was standing with their back to them was no woman. With another bright smile Marion drifted over to a trunk and began digging out several gowns of different colors. She paused for a moment and then withdrew a gown of sapphire blue just a shade or two darker than the small woman's eyes. Kagome feeling overwhelmed remained silent.

“Alright, disrobe.” Marion instructed her as Kagome blushed to her roots casting a subconscious glance at the silent figure in the corner. Finally she sighed and did as told. After the male clothing had been removed one of the other women slid a simple white shift over her head and followed it with the heavy gown. Shifting it in to place and fussing with Kagome's thigh length midnight locks, Marion and the other woman stepped back and sighed. “Beautiful.” Kagome blushed at the praise from the auburn haired fair skinned beauty, and lowered her eyes. Marion shook her head. “I'll bet that at least one or more of our young men will be loosing their heart to you.” she said with a light heart-ed laugh. Kagome shook her head. “I doubt it.”

From his place in the corner Sesshomaru stared unabashedly at the object of his secret obsession. The shadows hid his eyes so he felt that there was no harm in his observance. He personally disagreed with the noble woman's praise. Beautiful was simply to low a praise. She was perfect. But he did agree with chagrin that the woman's assumption of the male reactions was going to be accurate. He suppressed a growl. Oh no, he most certainly did not like that idea. But with the current standing between the girl and himself he could not see a way to change it. Once again he wanted to sigh. What had possessed him to say something so cruel? He had panicked but that was no excuse.

He had been there that day. When Inuyasha had driven the girl away. He had come to confront her and discover her reasons for allowing the spider hanyou to live. At the time though he'd been angry he had assumed that there was a logical reason and had decided to reserve judgment. His blood had boiled at the sight of the miko in Inuyasha's arms but he had been unable to turn away. Then when Inuyasha uttered that name he had gritted his teeth to remain silent and hidden from the two. Her look of utter heartbreak had been the same one she'd given himself only an hour ago after he'd kissed her. Perhaps that was why he felt so guilty? Not only had he rejected her but he had reminded her of that day. Why did he care? It was so unlike him to second guess anything or to feel remorse for his actions. He shook himself as he followed the two women from the hut and back to the settlement.

Eyes of every color humanly possible widened as they saw the young woman now properly clothed. Her elegant features were accentuated by the simple cut of the gown. The thick mass of her midnight hair had been braided back and a simple strand of pearl was twisted through it. She looked like a foreign princess from a distant land. Every male eye was enjoying her visage. Robin stepped forward and reached for her hand but Kagome smiled apologetically and put her hands behind her back. Lady Marion however moved forward and placed her hand in Robins. “ M' lady Marion, you have out done yourself. She is a lady.” he complimented. The lady flushed and batted his arm playfully. “Oh you. She was before, she just needed the proper clothes.” Walking over to Kagome she linked her arm through her's “Kagome and I will be great friends.” she announced with a laugh.

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Later that night, Sesshomaru watched her un-braid her hair with a stronger feeling of remorse than he could ever remember feeling at any time in his life. He wished fervently that he had made a different choice in his words for the second time that day, but falling low enough to apologize to a human was not going to happen. Still he did not wish to go through the remainder of their journey in silence no matter how he preferred it. This silence was heavy with his guilt and her sorrow, he couldn't stand it. But, he refused to break it first. It was her fault for goading him and even more her fault that his punishment had gone awry. If she hadn't kissed him back...

He didn't want to admit he'd been wrong. He glared at the back of her head. He could tell that she was still angry by the stiff set of her spine and the bitter stinging scent of fury pouring off her not to mention the emotions pouring through the bond. He drew a deep breath, no he didn't want to say anything but he couldn't take the silence for one more minute.

“Onna, have you checked the scroll?” he asked quietly. She turned slowly and narrowed her eyes at the question. “No. Why don't you check it yourself?” she snapped picking up the scroll and throwing it his direction. He caught it and walked over to where she sat. Glaring down at her for a moment he pulled on the scroll, it didn't budge. 'As I thought.' Silently he set the offending parchment on the rough bed and turned his back. It was beneath him to beg for assistance so he sat beside crudely cut window and stared out at the starry night sky.

Robin of Locksley had honored his word and had gone above and beyond the original terms of their deal of food and clothes, giving them also a room in an unoccupied tree house and an invitation to stay as long as they liked. He had alluded that there was a matter he'd like to speak to her about but had sent her off to bed after her third yawn.

Kagome looked around, the small one bedroom hut was sparsely furnished but there was a bed and rough dresser occupying the space. The bed was large enough for two and Kagome blushed at the implications as to why they had been give the particular room. Thinking of Sesshomaru brought her thoughts back to the matter at hand.

Kagome was angry at his words but more than anything else she was confused. Sure she knew that she'd said the wrong thing when she'd insulted his pride. But she had felt so much in his kiss. She knew that it had been more than just to prove a point. And she was certain that he had enjoyed it as much as she. But what she couldn't figure out was why he had said such unkind words and how had he known about Inuyasha's rejection? How had he known that Inuyasha had abandoned her? Was it that the kiss had been more than he'd expected and so he'd lashed out at her, selecting the most hurtful words he could think of? It was so unfair. Why did she have to get stuck with another stubborn emotionally constipated Inu youkai? Kagome sighed even though she could feel his guilt. It seemed like she would have to apologize first because he wasn't going to.

“Look Sesshomaru, I knew better than to provoke you and I shouldn't have. I know anger is no excuse. So I just wanted to say...” Kagome sighed again and looked over at Sesshomaru. He was glancing at her from the corner of his eye waiting for her to continue. “I'm sorry.” Sesshomaru was silently stunned by her apology. Kagome felt a jolt of shock from him before it was squelched as he turned his eyes back to the window. He acted for all intents that he had not heard her but finally he replied “Hn.” His tone unreadable to his mood.

Kagome sighed and shrugged at the noncommittal sound. She hadn't expected an apology in return but an acknowledgment would have been nice. Silently she decided to change the topic. “So, did you read the scroll?” She asked conversationally. He turned to look at her again. “No.” he admitted quietly. Kagome smiled softly at his tone. Though he had not voiced it she had heard a form of apology in his voice and it was enough. “Why don't we look at it together?” she suggested scooting over to give him a place to sit on the bed.

Though she had expected him to decline he silently sat beside her as she picked up the scroll in silent acceptance of his decision. The scroll opened easily in her hands and she stared at it as her brow wrinkled, “Hmm this is really odd.” she whispered as they gazed at the odd symbols that should have been legible like last time. “I can't read it. Can you?” she asked finally. Understanding that she was not questioning his intelligence he looked closer at the scroll and then blinked narrowing his eyes.

Sesshomaru frowned at the odd symbols that he had never before seen. He could not understand why neither of them could read the scroll this time. It seemed that as part of the spell they were able to speak and understand the language of the location they landed in so why then could they not read the language this time as well? “No.” he frowned slightly. Kagome shrugged. “Until we can read it, I think we are stuck here.”

“Indeed.” he stated coolly. “Do you know where this Sherwood Forest is located?” he asked casually. It was the first time he'd had a chance to ask her and he was curious as to the extent of her knowledge.

Kagome sighed thoughtfully “I think so. If I'm right we are smack dab in the middle of eleven hundreds England. Roughly four hundred and fifty three years in the past from the Sengoku Jidai. The man with the messy dark brown hair that gave me the cloak for you is Robin of Locksley as you know or Robin Hood. Will Scarlet, the man I met first is his half brother though I don't know if that knowledge is known yet but I am fairly certain that the rest of his men here are his bunch of merry men.” she stated as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. He looked at her from the side turning only his eyes. “Merry. Men?” he questioned raising an elegant silver eyebrow. Kagome grinned and nodded. “Un huh. That's what they're called. “Hn, ridiculous title.” he stated simply, but Kagome blinked. Sesshomaru's eyes looked...amused. She giggled silently as she pulled her bag closer.

“Did you ever travel away from Japan? You know when you were younger?” Kagome asked as she pulled out another of her text books from her bag. When he didn't reply Kagome flipped open her book and looked longingly at a multicolored map. “You know I've always wanted to travel the world. To see the great pyramids of Giza, the Eiffel tower in Paris and many other places.” she sighed as she looked out the window her change of mood catching his attention. “When my father was alive, he used to tell me about all of the wonderful places he'd seen. I always wanted to see them too.”

Sesshomaru looked away from her wet glistening blue eyes as he listened to her speak. He was uncertain as to the emotions he could feel from her but he was loath to see her cry. Perhaps keeping her speaking would forestall the tears? “Yes.” he said quietly in a unnamed tone. “My father and I traveled to many places. He had allies in many lands and frequently took me along when he would attend meetings. I have not heard of the places of which you speak but I know of what it is like to loose one's parent.”

Kagome looked over at him surprised by his reply to her question. “How-how old were you? When he passed?” Kagome asked her voice catching on her un-shed tears. Sesshomaru looked at her silently for a moment unsure as to way he had spoken in the first place. “It was the winter of my four hundred and fifty sixth year.” he replied watching her for some sort of a reaction. She smiled sadly “I was seven. One day he left for an archaeological dig and never came back.” she sighed heavily. “It was so long ago that sometimes I can't remember what he looked like. I can't remember the sound of his laugh but I remember that he loved to. Do you remember what your father was like?”

For a moment Sesshomaru was torn with indecision. Part of him knew he should remain silent, but he wanted to answer her. He wanted to finally open up and speak of his great and terrible father but what could a human onna understand of his complex feelings? What could she possibly understand? And yet his baser mind knew that she would understand his anger and his frustration if he spoke of it. But could he? Sesshomaru felt like he stood at a cross roads. If he opened up to her, if he told her so much about him he knew things could never be the same. He would be giving a part of himself to her, a part he could never take back. Did he want to take such a chance?

She was trustworthy that he knew from watching her. She had also proven to be loyal to those she called friend, even to that fool who shared his father's blood. Although they had only been together a short time Sesshomaru already felt oddly at ease in her company and it bothered him. She was human and yet so was his Rin. Rin did not repulse him with her humanity and oddly neither did the miko. Silently he made a choice, hoping he would not come to regret it he stood and walked to the window.

Kagome tilted her head to one side as he stood. For a moment she had felt him waiver through the bond. She had been almost certain that he was going to ignore her question or tell her that it was none of her concern so when he drew a soft breath and spoke it startled her.

“I remember many things of my father. He was fearsome in battle, but he too loved to laugh. Though I could never understand his reasoning he loved life and reveled in it constantly. To many he was thought of as good and kind but to me he was a horrible father and mate to my mother. It was after he died that I realized that I was and had always been merely a pawn to keep the elders off his back so that he could be with his mortal concubine. He threw everything away and I still do not understand why.” He turned his eyes to where she sat. “What is it about your kind that draws mine?” he asked softly to no one in particular, noticing for the first time that she was silently crying. He been thinking so hard that he had not smelled her tears so they surprised him.

He frowned at the despised crystalline drops. “Why do you shed these tears?” he asked his tone held a faint touch of worry. Kagome raised her eyes to his and looked at him. His normally cold eyes were unguarded and she found herself unable to keep the truth from him. “Because you don't. I can feel everything you do through our bond. I know you are hurting and lonely.” He opened his mouth as though to stop her but she held up her hand. “I know I'm human and that you think that my emotions are a sign of weakness and you might be right but I can't help the way I am. You may hate me for it or laugh and throw it in my face but I still want to be your friend.”

It took Sesshomaru a few moments to pull himself together as he took in her words. Her wide eyes were so hopeful that he found himself struck speechless. Many emotions flashed through him and then he glared at her. “This Sesshomaru desires not your friendship or your tears.” he said flatly. Kagome nodded expecting him to say something like that. “I know, but you need them.” she argued softly. His eyes widened as he suddenly felt vulnerable to her gaze. He hated feeling vulnerable in any situation but in this case it was a very uncomfortable feeling more so than it had ever been as a child, for he had not felt such a feeling since then.

Kagome wasn't done though. She studied him silently before she spoke again. “I can see it now. You hide behind a mask of indifference when you are uncomfortable. Even when you lash out at me, I know that it's because you don't know how to feel so you resort to anger.” She offered him a small smile as she unknowingly stripped away the last vestiges of his protective walls. She had laid him bare and open to her though he hoped that she was unaware. Sesshomaru wasn't certain of what to think of what she'd said. At first he was furious that a human would dare to analyze him, but then he realized that he had merely been right. Speaking to her had changed everything between them. The changes troubled him and left him feeling even more uncertain and he slammed his walls back in place as he stood.

Roughly he turned away and pointed at the bed. “Sleep.” he ordered as he stood and moved back to the spot he'd been sitting in. Kagome looked at him without flinching. She knew what she'd felt through their bond, although unsure as to how deep it went she knew however that something between them had changed. His eyes were guarded now but they were slightly softer as he looked at her. Deciding to think on it later Kagome smiled sleepily. “Good night, Sesshomaru.” After her breathing evened out, Sesshomaru whispered, “Good night...Kagome.”