Unsevered Ties

A/n: Oh jeeze. Sorry for the confusion! Chapters 2 & 3 didn't take when I uploaded them, but 4 did! Fixing the issue now!

VI

"I know you like to have orphans follow you around everywhere, Kagome, but seriously? I think this is going a bit too far!"

Kagome began to tune out the ranting hanyou as they walked, her eyes drawn to the dragon flying impossibly high, hovering above them. It would glance around them briefly, before returning its gaze back to them. She began to wonder if he was keeping watch on them.

"-now you have a fucking god following you like a lost puppy! Though, I have to admit, I can't wait to see Kouga's reaction to him, but still-"

Kagome smiled as she watched the dragon loop about the sky playfully, its emerald eyes finding hers and shining happily as it seemed to be performing an intricate dance in the sky.

"Surely having Kagome-sama befriend a kami is a good thing, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked as he walked beside Sango, who was also staring up at the flying being in wonder.

"I think Haku-sama is cool!" Shippo chirped, making the group turn to stare at him.

"Haku?" Kagome asked curiously, and the boy blushed.

"I heard the villagers referring to him as 'that cursed spirit Haku'," the kit whispered, and Kagome grinned, scooping up the kit to playfully swing him around.

"You did wonderfully, Shippo! Now we know what to call him!" she said, giggling, and the boy preened under her praise.

"If nothing else, maybe he'll be able to help us defeat Naraku," Inuyasha scoffed, and the monk sighed.

"The spirits of rivers are gentle beings, my friend," Miroku said, and the hanyou scowled.

"Is he a god or a spirit?" he demanded.

"He's a kami. Born of the river, to embody it's spirit, its life. But he is a god...its hard to explain," Miroku said quietly as they all saw that the dragon was watching them intently, as if it knew they were talking about it.

"Haku-sama is a kami," Kagome said firmly, squeaking in surprise when the dragon suddenly dove down to hover beside her, nuzzling its muzzle against her stomach in an affectionate manner before twirling around her and back up into the sky to survey the area around them.

"He's fast," Sango murmured, steadying the slightly off balance miko.

"He's a dragon. Wind is their thing," Inuyasha said, looking up sharply when he heard what sounded like a sharp bark come from the being above them.

"I feel Sesshomaru's energy coming closer," Kagome said quietly, and the hanyou scoffed.

"Looks like we have a look out," he said as the dragon descended to wrap its long, lithe body around Kagome protectively as the taiyoukai appeared.

"You like to keep strange company, half brother," Sesshomaru said quietly as he walked into the clearing, his small group following him.

"You have your own dragon..." Inuyasha said, motioning vaguely towards Ah-Un, completely at ease around who they had considered an ally for the better part of two years.

"Ah-Un follows me. You're dragon follows your miko," Sesshomaru said as his group walked along side theirs, waiting for Haku to slowly uncoil himself from Kagome and take to the the skies before they began to continue their journey.

"For the last time, Sesshomaru-sama, I am not Inuyasha's miko," Kagome sighed, and the inu glanced back at her, falling back a step to walk alongside her, rather than his brother.

"For the last time, Miko, I do not require an honorific," he quipped back, making her smile.

"I'll stop using it, if you call me by my name, Sesshomaru-sama," she said playfully, and the inu blinked down at her.

"Oi! Stop flirting, will ya! We have ground to cover!" Inuyasha called back, a slight frown on his face when his brother sent him a slight glare.

"Heh, you don't know what flirting is, Inuyasha!" Kagome giggled, blinking when she felt something tap against the top of her head.

Looking up, she found herself staring into emerald eyes as they walked, the dragon flying just above her pressing his cold, wet nose against her forehead. She laughed before she reached her hands up to run her fingers through his teal mane, smiling as a purr echoed through the air.

"You've found yourself a rather...powerful pet, Kagome," Sesshomaru remarked casually, and the dragon huffed a ring of smoke at him, making the taiyoukai narrow his eyes.

"Haku-sama is a dragon, Sesshomaru. I can't consider him a pet," Kagome said, and let out a strangled cry as she felt something long and wet brush against her nose, jerking back hard enough that she fell to her back.

"H-he licked my nose!"