The Best Laid Plans...

Five days later, Kagome sat in Saya’s hut humming to herself. ‘Things are progressing nicely.’ She thought, smirking at the memory of the feathers. Toshiro had found her at the edge of the village the first morning, intent on the task of helping the miko whom had taken up temporary residence in his village. He had acted impressed that she had managed to kill several ducks, cleanly killing them with an arrow piercing their heads. He had explained that they would save the feathers for future uses; the larger, stiffer feathers would become fletching for arrows, while the smaller, softer ones would be stitched into blankets and furs to help provide warmth during the winter months.

Kagome had taken one of the longer tail feathers and used it to tickle his neck and ear; when he had finally managed to stop his laughter, he had retaliated by tickling her in the same manner. The encounter had ended abruptly when Kagome’s senses had begun to scream at her that there was a demon in close proximity. Toshiro had noticed the immediate change in her demeanor and when she told him she sensed a demon nearby, he had quickly gathered the remaining birds and told her he would alert Lady Saya and then go finish dressing the remaining game while she investigated. Oddly enough, when Kagome had gone in the direction she had sensed the demon, she had found no traces of anyone or anything unusual.

The next morning, she met him at the edge of the village with a small deer. He had smiled at her brightly and taught her how to hold the knife and separate the skin from the meat cleanly. As she was pulling the skin off, a lock of hair had drifted to cover her eyes. Having her hands full, she had attempted to blow the hair away from her face for a few seconds; Toshiro observed her behavior and with a small grin he had taken the lock of hair and tucked it behind her ear, using the pad of his thumb to softly caress the outer shell lingeringly as he removed her hand. When she looked up at him, he blushed brightly and adverted his eyes, stammering out an apology. She had smiled at him and softly thanked him for his help.

The following days progressed similarly, with light caresses and lingering glances during the teachings. Then this morning, she had killed another boar. Toshiro had met her at the edge of the village again, and noticing her kill he had told her that he would help her gather some herbs from the forest after her miko training for the day, then teach her how to dry the meat using smoke to store it for winter months when fresh game was sparse. He explained to her that they would dig a large pit and let a fire burn to wood coals in the bottom of it; then when it was coals they would toss smaller pieces of freshly cut wood into the pit. The meat would be cut into strips and rubbed with her herbs, then hung from sticks tied together to form a grate which would be placed on top of the pit. Finally, they would cover the grate with leaves so the smoke would be contained within the pit, doing the work of drying the meat as it is cooked.

Kagome was looking forward to the herb gathering this afternoon, she would be alone with Toshiro in the forest. She imagined that he would hold her hand as they walked amongst the trees looking for the herbs, and she might actually get him to kiss her if things went the way she wanted.

&--&--&--&

Inuyasha sat on the deck of a ship currently sailing to the continentent; the sun was just beginning to peak up over the horizon, giving the smooth surface of the water an eathreal glow. His thoughts drifting to the conversation he had with Sesshoumaru two days ago. ‘Kagome has really changed me, forced me to grow up and face life; no more running. Hell, I didn’t even threaten the bastard when I asked him to look out for her, what the hell is wrong with me?’ He had held the first real, adult conversation with his brother ever; and his brother hadn’t ridiculed him about his speech, manners, or attitude. Hell, for the first time in his life Sesshoumaru had actually looked at him like an equal, who would have thought that was even possible?

‘Feh, just cause I talked to him like that once don’t mean I gotta do it again. I can just be my normal self and not worry about anything. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. Nobody will ever know how much Kagome has made me think about life. Now…who would be worthy of her affections…’ With these thoughts, he closed his eyes and sighed. This was gonna take awhile, Kagome is to special to just give her to anyone. “Hell, even I don’t deserve her.” He muttered under his breath. ‘Feh, if I stay away long enough, maybe Sesshoumaru will choose a mate for her to get her outta his hair…yeah, that’s a good idea. I just gotta make sure we don’t find no shards for a few weeks…’ With this, he nodded to himself once and then jumped up, smiling. Time to rest for a bit, then figure out how to distract the rest of the group so they didn’t notice he was stalling…

&--&--&--&

Sesshoumaru sat in his den, meditating over the events of the past few days. Inuyasha had signaled for a meeting 4 days prior to ask Sesshoumaru a favor. The temporary alliance that had been formed the weeks before Naraku’s demise had solidified over the past years; and although the bond had not strengthened to complete trust between the brothers, it had not stopped growing yet. For Inuyasha to request this favor of Sesshoumaru was a show of trust and admiration.

Inuyasha’s serious tone and words still flowed through his brain, “I am leaving with most of my pack for the continent at sunrise tomorrow, there have been several rumors of a demon there with multiple jewel shards. Kagome is staying behind in a village not far from here to train her powers further. Though I protested this decision of hers, she was very adamant about staying there. My request is simple: keep an eye on her for me. She doesn’t think I know, but she’s at a point in her life where she wants to mate, and the males in the village she’s in now don’t deserve her. When I get back, I’ll start looking for someone worth her time; till then though, I don’t want her getting herself into any trouble.” He had gone on and on about this concern, and though Sesshoumaru didn’t want the burden of another ward, he had set out the next morning in search of this village the miko was staying in.

What he had found when he got to the outskirts of the village confirmed Inuyasha’s beliefs. The miko was flirting, with a human male! She had a feather from one of the ducks she was cleaning, and was tickling a young human male. The male, for his part, was beginning to reek of arousal as he took his turn tickling her. At this point, Sesshoumaru had released some of his youki in a threatening manner. The miko’s reaction had been immediate, and he was pleased to see the male head back into the village soon afterwards. As the miko made her way toward him, he had hidden his scent and aura again, and quickly jumped up onto one of the highest branches of a nearby tree.

As the miko left the area, heading back towards the village, Sesshoumaru began to think of a plan. Rin was due to visit this village’s miko in a fortnight to continue her lessons in healing; he would simply bring her earlier than expected. His young ward loved the miko Kagome, and would most likely cling to her during her stay within the village. That would definitely put a damper on whatever flirtation was occurring. He would also have to ensure that the miko had a proper escort whenever she left the village; of course, he would not let her know he was there, however he would make sure no males sniffed around her when she wasn’t under the watchful eyes of the villagers or Rin.

He left back to his mountain home to begin preperations for Rin’s extended stay within the village. By the end of the day, he had made provisions for several of his loyal servants to watch over his home; he ensured the food supplies for both human and youkai would ration for several months, and found suitable lodging for those who would not stay behind. Rin, Jaken, AhUn, and himself would set out for the village in 3 days time; he ordered servants to pack bags for them all with clothing and food rations.

Rin was excited about the upcoming journey, and filled the air with questions about what she would be learning, what she should pack, and should she bring presents for all her friends in the village? Sesshoumaru decided to sit down and partially inform her of the conversation he had with Inuyasha, and explained why they were going to visit the village earlier this month than they had in the past. Rin had listened with a look of concentration on her face, then simply stated “Rin will make sure Lady Kagome spends time with Rin. Rin will make sure Lady Kagome does not spend any time alone with boys, so Lady Kagome won’t get into trouble with Master Inuyasha.” With that statement, the matter was closed and Sesshoumaru was satisfied that Rin would do her part to the best of her abilities.

He had returned each morning to watch the miko with the human male; while there was still contact amongst the two of them, the male hadn’t become aroused again in her presence so he had seen no point in interfering.

It was now the morning of their departure, and a sleepy Rin was clinging to AhUn in her sleep. The sun had yet to rise as the group landed silently on the outskirts of the village, and Jaken quickly began to set up a temporary camp. In a few hours, Sesshoumaru would wake Rin, and escort her to the village; until then, a fire was built and Jaken was sent into the forest to find food for Rin. Sesshoumaru, for his part, scanned the surrounding area for any possible threat. The miko’s scent was carried to him on a soft breeze from the area of a hotspring the villagers used to bathe. Curious to see why she had left the safety of the village so early, he hid his aura and scent then quietly made his way to her.

He found her twisting her body into strange positions. She was looking at a strange object which continually spoke, telling her to twist this way or bend that way. As he watched her, he noticed that the weird thing in front of her seemed to have a miniature human inside it, moving as it spoke. ‘What strange magics does the miko use?’ He thought, watching as she moved to put her butt in the air while her head and hands were on the ground; she slowly moved so her knees rested on her elbows, then straight into the air. From this position, she moved her arms to lay flat on the ground and then slowly lowered her chest to lay flat also as her legs twisted above her to hang her feet just above her head. The object in front of her began to bark more orders, the small person inside it moving their body to demonstrate how the miko was to move hers. He found the sight of her strangely arousing; it seemed as if her body’s actions of twisting and bending were calling out to him, enticing him.