Starcrossed

Sesshoumaru looked out his window at the childish sound of giggling. The sight that greeted him immediately pulled him to join in the fray. He wanted nothing more than to take his half-brother’s place right now as playmate and confidant of the child that he was now swinging around. But unfortunately, he knew well that he couldn’t.

Kagome had come to their door a few scant years ago with her mother, attempting to sell girl scout cookies to ‘the filthy rich neighbors up the way’ in hopes that she could win first place in the Brownie division, and hopefully a coupon to eat free at the popular pizza joint. Sesshoumaru smiled as he thought of how much of a pizza junkie the girl was. But needless to say when his little brother answered the door and saw a little girl a few years younger than him in appearance with a little red wagon, he became her best friend. It became mutual when he managed to throw a temper tantrum that convinced his parents to buy all the cookies in the wagon so they could play in it. The Killing Perfection cringed in memory of the high-pitched wailing the resounded from the boy. The ringing had lasted for a full week before the last vestiges left him able to hear anyone not talking directly in his sensitive ear.

Despite the tensions between the races of demons and humans, the two families learned to respect and enjoy each other. Kagome’s ancestors came from a long line of powerful priestesses and lived on a shrine. Sesshoumaru’s father was the Great and Terrible Dog General that once ruled with an iron fist until a human hime captured his heart, or in Sesshoumaru’s opinion, his loins. Despite both species’ inclination to slaughter the other, the always managed to have tea every Saturday as the children played. He was avoiding this weekly ritual at that moment. It wasn’t that he loathed the company of Kagome, her mother, or the semi-recent addition of her little brother Souta, but rather he hated to pay any attention to the meaningless subjects they found to talk about, such as the weather, the price of eggs in China, of gas and conservation efforts. His mind was in other fields of importance. Namely the past.

At the ripe young age of 2584, Sesshoumaru was the leading expert in the archeology field of the Sengoku Judai era, also known as the era of Warring States. True that is was an unfair advantage that he lived through it, but that’s what made him so useful. So instead of playing with the little girl that he found at the oddest times was wise beyond her years, he made sure he stuck himself up in this hole every Saturday as he geographically notated where important events from his adolescence occurred.

His mind once more wandered, which normally was so unlike him, to the first time he found himself alone with the little runt. His parents had gone out with Ms. Higurashi to lunch and had left him in charge of making sure that the two brats didn’t ruin the house and the infant didn’t accidentally kill himself. Inuyasha had gone off to get some water for the two of them leaving Kagome alone in the room with his older and scary brother.

Kagome had always been the friendly type, so instead of judging Inuyasha’s older brother solely on his word, she shakily got to her feet and walked over to him. He sat reading the newspaper on the sofa, studiously ignoring her. Kagome, like a little puppy, sat at his feet and cocked her head to the side, waiting to be acknowledged. Several minutes passed in which he began to feel uncomfortable with the eyes he felt boring into the front of the newspaper that doubled as a shield.

Just when he was about to growl and demand why she was so rude, a loud shriek of “HELP” resounded from the kitchen. Heaving a sigh, Sesshoumaru got to his feet, avoiding the girl there, and went to see what mishap the boy had started this time. Inuyasha was over two hundred years old, but was still trapped in the body (and sometimes he speculated the mind as well) of an eight year old. Any year now, the boy should hit his growth spurt and cease to be such a weakness to his clan. Although it is true that it took Sesshoumaru, a full blood, five hundred years to reach his adolescent stage, he refused to believe that he was nearly as stupid, needy and pitiful as this boy during his entire prolonged childhood.

The sight that greeted him gave him an immediate migraine. It seemed that half way through getting a glass of water he decided he wanted soda, chips, salsa, a sandwich, and something else he didn’t even want to guess about. All of it ended up on the floor, on top of the idiot.

After the grueling hour in which he managed to clean up the kitchen despite his brother’s help, he decided to go make sure the infant was still alive and the girl still… still, when he came across the brat curled up next to his newspaper breathing deeply. His first instinct was to become irritated and throw the girl from the place near his perch, but one never to be irrational, he instead picked up the newspaper and sat next to her, trying his hardest to avoid physical contact. As he scanned the political section of the demon newspaper he began to wonder why he was so prejudiced against the girl. The only conclusion he could come up with was that she was Inuyasha’s friend.

Several minutes silently passed as Inuyasha continued to clean himself up as Sesshoumaru had ordered, and little did the stoic demon notice how a certain child had shifted until her head rested next to his thigh. Or how his hand had settled on her head with his fingers entwined in her hair. He found himself listening to the sound of her breathing rather then reading of how the latest candidate had a good chance of besting his father as the youkai human ambassador in the next election. The steady slow rhythm was oddly comforting, and he found that his youkai was quietly soothed to the point of being quelled. How could his natural enemy be such an oddity that she gave him a peace that he had been lacking since a pup?

It made no sense that he would not feel like running his claws through her skull instead of through her hair. She was the exact opposite of him, in every way embodying that which he should want to destroy. Even if she was only a five year old girl, he could feel the immense dormant power restlessly circling her soul. Strangely it never seemed to want to hurt him, and wasn’t aggressive in the least. And neither was he aggressive to her.

Her sudden shifting caught his attention and he noticed how much he had been distastefully “spacing out”. He turned his head to meet her cerulean gaze and was astounded at the words that fell from her immature and small five-year-old mouth. “InuYasha was wrong. You a nice big brother. I can tell. You mean to him cause he need to be… may-chure, and tough like you. But you can’t fool me… I can see you…”

Sesshoumaru stared silently, stunned, as the little girl yawned and snuggled back up to his leg. Where had she developed such insight? Not that he would ever admit to the correctness of her assessment of his character. That would not be prudent for maintaining his stoic and authoritative image. Instead he focused on how she needed to be tutored in the pronunciation of her native tongue, even if she was only four.

In a matter of moments the girl was back asleep, and the baby quietly playing in his pen. Everything was serene. Until,

“KAGOME! GET AWAY FROM SESSHOUMARU! HE DOESN’T LIKE TO BE TOUCHED!”

Sesshoumaru just knew that this ringing in his ear would last at least two weeks this time.

“InuYasha,” he growled, intending to physically show his brother how to shut his mouth, when a still small voice interrupted with a “Shut up stupid head…”

Kagome sleepily glared at the loud mouth boy and stuck out her tongue, her cuteness immediately diffusing the fight. The hanyou looked taken aback before mumbling something asinine about taking sides, and sitting in front of the TV to watch Blue’s Clues. With the exception of the noise of the TV and of InuYasha’s responses, the rest of the time passed quickly and quietly.

It was eight o’clock when Sesshoumaru heard the parents return, and gently he removed Kagome from his person, noticing how she had her upper body draped across his lap. He could not suffer allowing his parents to see him as a child’s pillow, because the snide remarks from InuYasha’s dam would never end. Ever.

So as he watched Ms. Higurashi carried her sleeping children back to the car, he knew he had to distance himself, because any relationship with this child would be a waste of time and inappropriate. And that is why at the moment he sat in his office watching his brother as he played with Kagome, wasting his time being productive, instead of wasting is being amused by an intriguing little sprite.

Maybe there was more than he was willing to admit to himself to this attraction to a five-year-old girl. Something he was afraid of discovering…

“Oh how the mighty have fallen,” he murmured to himself, immersing himself in his work more. “How they have fallen hard.”





A/N: Hey! Who likes foreshadowing? Do me a favor and review! Thanks to SinfulWidow, Lover, Kisa, and Sugar0o for reviewing already. I promise to update once a week on Tues. or Wed. Any suggestions will be considered for the future plotline too, so definitely email me at mmmitchinfl@aol.com . Flaming, although not appreciated, is welcome.



Next Time. Ch2. Age 10

Sesshoumaru brings a new demoness home, while Kagome’s visiting. How will she act to Kagura’s slut-like ways when she has a very important question for him about… mating? Also, InuYasha’s growth spurt hits, so why is he so protective now of Kagome?