Love: Lost and Found

Chapter 6-

LadyTigresa-ull see, read VdownV lol. When I go back to school tom. Tho ill probably only put one chapter out per day. Im hoping to finish this story within the month tho. Im not sure if I should make it a long fic or not. Ill definitely have it finished before school gets out, I hope, lol.
Ann- hehe thanks! ::hugz back:: hugs are fun, woo! Lol
PJ- yes I know, this one's mind is evul, but genius at the same time, mwahaha! And thanks for the spelling! Lol
Sourgirl-oh but aren't they? Adorable, I tell you!
Kams- thankies again, I will do a few really long ones, but probably during the week in place of two chapters. ^_^
Rachi- yay! Another faithful review, lol. Urs always make me chuckle, lolies.
Inferno of Hell- I am thankful you have spared me ::bows politely:: this Dani doesn't get tooooo nasty... ^_~ ::wink wink:: I will update, no worries! ^_^
Niki- yes, I know, evil InuYasha is a fav. of mine ^_^ hehe
ENZERA- he he, thanks!


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...
"Ah! Firiel, wait!" Kagome called out again.

"Yes, Mi - Kagome?" she smiled.

"You never told me where Sesshomaru was."

"Oh, yes, right. We're not quite sure, as he left not but a very short while ago, right before you woke up, I believe. He seemed in a hurry, so no one wanted to get in his way to ask him. Sorry I don't know much more, Miss Kagome," she said. Kagome forced a smile.

"*Just* Kagome, ok?" she grinned embarrassedly. Firiel nodded, though gravely.

"Lord Sesshomaru might not take a liking to that though, having a servant refer to her Mistress on such terms-"

"I'll speak to him, if that's what needs to be done," Kagome interrupted. The poor girl probably feared punishment from Sesshomaru if he ever heard or found out. Firiel returned her usual warm smile to her face.
...
Sesshomaru the inuyoukai gave a roar and a growl combined. His massive form had spilt and crushed the surrounding trees, his tail knocking down more as it swayed in fury.

"Sesshomaru you didn't answer my questions!" InuYasha yelled in frustration. The giant dog only leapt onto InuYasha's tiny form, smothering him with enormous paws. A few of InuYasha's ribs cracked noisily, causing him to yell out.

"What, little brother?" a voice echoed into InuYasha's head that could only be Sesshomaru's, "Can't take what you deal out, eh?"

"I didn't give anything like this, ass!" he yelled back, squirming. He raised the Tetsusaiga and let hit fall with force onto one of the giant paws, slicing a few toes off of his left paw. Sesshomaru barked and yelped in pain, but continued to hold InuYasha down.

The demon's blood leaked out onto the hanyou. Sesshomaru would no longer hold back. His eyes went wide, pupils small. The giant loomed closer to InuYasha, the poisonous saliva beginning to drip down stickily. Before the large drop of drool hit InuYasha, Sesshomaru unsheathed his remaining claws, piercing InuYasha a few times in the chest, one on the neck, and one down the side of his face. The drop fell with a soft 'plump' onto InuYasha.

InuYasha screamed out for mercy.

"Sesshomaru!" his voice was high-pitched and scared. "Forgive me, Sesshomaru, forgive me Kagome!!" he yelled as loud as a hanyou could, his screams echoing out over the forest and surrounding plains and villages. Sesshomaru grunted and returned to his human-like form. His partial fingers continued to bleed, and he stabbed InuYasha in the chest with what remained of the fingers on his left hand, and grabbed his neck with the right.

He pulled InuYasha's body up by his neck, eyes still covered red. "Let this be one hell of a lesson, brother," Sesshomaru hissed next the doglike ear. "Don't *ever* mess with my female again!" he said through gritted teeth. He smiled maniacally as his poisonous saliva seeped into InuYasha's wounds. He spun his half-brother in the air, grabbing him now by the nape of his neck. Sesshomaru leapt up high over the trees, and tossed InuYasha to the fringes of the forest. 'Someone from the villages will find and care for him,' he thought.

He picked up the discarded Tetsusaiga. It was in its ratty katana form, useless. He narrowed his eyes at it and threw it across the clearing, hitting ground so that the rusty blade dug deep into the forest soil and stood upright. He spat on it before taking off running back to his home and Kagome.
...
The sun was fully up now, though it was still fairly early. Kagome thought again she heard distant yelling, but shrugged it off. She finished cleaning herself and just sat there in the hot springs. She had been served breakfast there, which was rather pleasant. She leaned back against the warm rocks with a sigh. Her wet hair was plastered and stuck all over her face and neck, the rest of its length floated will-nill in the steamy water.

Shutting her eyes she dozed off for a while, enjoying the sweet perfume of the gardens and wondrously blue sky, which happened to be slightly dotted with white poufs of clouds. She smiled softly in her sleep, amazed at how beautiful Sesshomaru's home was.
...

Sesshomaru walked through his gates, slightly fatigued. He was abruptly attacked by a bouncing ball of black hair and servants, who immediately bandaged his hand. Rin giggled and poked his now-poufy covered left hand, claiming that it was squishy.

"Rin, do you know where Lady Kagome is? Is she still asleep?" Sesshomaru asked his daughter-figure gently.

She nodded proudly. "In the gardens!" she giggled. She had known Kagome was in the springs, but had conveniently forgotten that little fact.

"Would you like to join me to go and find her?" Sesshomaru asked her, his voice a gentle monotone. She giggled again and nodded, grabbing his unbandaged right hand to hold. They walked through a few hallways and open-air hallways, finally coming to the gardens. Sesshomaru let the scents of the flowers and plants help ease his fatigue. Though the smell that washed over the strongest was that of Kagome's. Rin had been right, Kagome was in the gardens. They walked on several different beaten paths, looking around for the miko.

After a few minutes Rin had decided to run off and play in the flowers, leaving Sesshomaru to look on his own. His nose led him towards the hot springs. Without thinking she might actually be in them, he excitedly walked towards her smell. He stopped in his tracks when he came around the corner. He was looking upon a naked, dozing Kagome. His eyes went wide and he stared.

No woman he had ever laid eyes on looked so beautiful to him. He watched her with ardor, never moving or making a sound. Finally she woke up, letting out a small sigh and yawn.

"I'd better get dried and dressed... need to look good when Sesshomaru comes back!" she grinned to her self. Sesshomaru became elated. 'She wants to look good... for *me*?!' He thought ecstatically. Kagome pulled herself up and out of the spring, droplets of water dripping off of her skin and from her hair. She took the towel Firiel had left for her and began to dry, much to the Lord Sesshomaru's pleasure.

He watched with hungry eyes, watching every move her thin, curvy body made, following the towel and her hands as her wet hair fell around her face. Sesshomaru could feel himself rising, but restrained it as best he could. When Kagome finished drying her body she began to attack her hair with her slightly damp towel. Finishing with that, she slipped into the light green kimono she had brought along. The black embroidery on it caused her hair to look more vivid and shiny. It fit her a bit loosely, clinging slightly to her curves.

Sesshomaru quietly rushed back the way he came, and made sure his steps could be heard as he walked back up it. He didn't want Kagome to think he'd been spying on her. Kagome was bent over, twisting her still damp hair into the towel so she wouldn't get her kimono wet. Her obi remained untied, hanging loosely around her waist. She heard him coming as she continued to knot the towel on top of her head.

"Hi, Sesshomaru!" she grinned from her awkward position. He let a return smile play across his lips, but never fully stay. He came to stand by her, waiting for her to stand. As soon as she did he grabbed the loose ends of her obi and tied them, though with a bit of trouble because of his loss of fingers. Kagome took his hand in hers, to Sesshomaru's surprise.

"What happened!?" she exclaimed, looking up from his hand to his eyes.

He didn't want to tell her right away what had happened, and he didn't want to lie to her.
"An accident," he said simply. "I'll tell you later on in the day," he added.

"May I heal it?" she asked, not asking if he wanted her to or not. He looked at her porcelain face for a moment, and then nodded. She pulled him to sit down on a large rock next to her. Using a great deal of miko powers often made her legs go weak, sitting was best when she had to use a large amount of power.

She took his hand into her lap and began to unwrap the handiwork of the servants. The bandages were bloody on the inside, but the remnants of his fingers had all ready healed over, skin stretched thin. 'Demons really do heal fast,' she thought, filing away that bit of information. In her mind's eye she could see the missing fingers reappear as pink, ghostly ones. She placed those fake fingers in her palm and shut her eyes gently.

Sure enough, after a few moments of concentrating, the fingers grew back. Sesshomaru looked at her lightly perspiring face. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times. He looked into her eyes for a moment, then grabbed up his sleeve and wiped away her sweat for her. His clothes were stained slightly with blood, especially his other sleeve. He did not mind though, he often had blood upon him.

She smiled up at him then placed her hands on his blood-soaked sleeve and clothes. In a moment they vanished as if they had never existed. Little did she know that most of that blood was InuYasha's.

"You really are all that they say you are," Sesshomaru murmured. Kagome looked up at him.

"Who...? What do they say about me?" she asked, puzzled. He finally smiled, but only briefly.

"'They' are the common folk. The people of all of the villages and towns often spread word of heroes. They take you as one of their greatest heroines, you know?"

"M-me?!" Kagome stammered, unsure that he was thinking of the right person, perhaps.

"Yes, Miko, you. They say that you are wise and educated far beyond your years. That you have wondrous powers, and strength exceeding that of an average woman. You help anyone, strong or weak, evil or good, if they are in pain or in need of assistance. That you gave up a wondrous life from another time to help in the defeat of Naraku. That you are polite, and understanding, and very fair. And not only fair in judgment, but in beauty also..," he trailed off. He looked to her again. "They say that you are, in a sense, perfect - except," he let another grin flash, "in your choice of clothing, though no men tend to complain." He winked at her. Kagome blushed.

"Do people really say all those wonderful things about me?" she asked timidly. She placed her hands on the rock beneath them, her face flushing a deeper red as she looked down into her lap and at her bare feet.

"Yes, my Miko, they do," he replied softly. 'Put your hand on hers, fool! For added effect!' his inner voice egged. He obeyed subconsciously, placing a slightly calloused hand on top of her small, also slightly calloused hand. Her head jerked up to look into his face. Fear laced her for a moment, but vanished as soon as it came when she saw the look in his eyes.

Suddenly he realized what he was doing and stood up quickly. She followed him, suddenly realizing she must look ridiculous with the silly towel on her head, blushing, becoming very self-conscious. Sesshomaru looked at her, an odd expression of sadness and longing mingled together on his fine face. 'You can't let yourself fall for this human miko!' Sesshomaru's brain shouted furiously at him. 'Yes you can!' his other voice exclaimed.

Sesshomaru raised a hand to Kagome's face to brush her cheek gently with his knuckles, but stopped just before touching her soft skin. 'Stop it, Sesshomaru!!' 'NO!' the scream rent through his head, causing him to flinch slightly. Kagome looked at him oddly, watching his face change subtly. 'You WILL love her!' it screamed again. The other voice remained silent. Sesshomaru's expression returned to normal, and this time only longing shone through his eyes as he looked into Kagome's own.

His hand finally brushed softly against her blushing cheek. She blushed deeper and averted her eyes to stare at their feet, but she placed her own smaller hand over his, making sure his hand wouldn't move. He took another step closer to her, feeling the heat of her blush near the base of his neck. Seeing his black shoes near her own bare feet, she curled her fingers around his and looked up again.

"Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru!" Rin yelled, bursting through some bushes behind Kagome. She released his hand and spun around, jumping in surprise of the girl's yell. Inwardly Sesshomaru was ready to kick to girl and return to Kagome's and his heated moment, but restrained himself.

"Yes, Rin?" both adults asked. Kagome caught Sesshomaru's eye as he came to stand next to her, a smile was tugging at his lips again, but soon vanished. The girl giggled.

"I found her!" she grinned, pointing at Kagome.

"Ah, but I think I found her first, Rin," Sesshomaru retorted, though teasingly.

"Grr," she replied in a mock growl and launched herself into Sesshomaru's legs, attaching herself to them. Sesshomaru bent slightly so he could look at her properly. She looked up at him with an innocent smile, causing one of the demon's perfectly arched eyebrows to quirk upwards. Kagome stifled a laugh.

A soft padding of feet approached.

"Kagome! Are you out yet? Lord Sesshomaru has returned, if you're not out you'd best-" Firiel silenced her yelling when she turned the corner and came across their odd scene. Kagome, at the sight of Firiel's confused face, doubled over laughing, her hair towel flumping off of her head and to the ground. Rin giggled at Kagome's laughter, and Sesshomaru glared warningly at Firiel.

"How, again, did you address Lady Kagome?" Sesshomaru demanded softly. Firiel turned red.

"No, Sesshomaru - I asked her to call me by only Kagome. Being called all those fancy titles so often makes me a bit uncomfortable," she murmured. Sesshomaru looked down at her, and then nodded after a moment. Firiel looked as if a visible weight had been lifted off of her shoulder. Sesshomaru then looked from Rin to Firiel, giving the servant a body language sign to take her away. Kagome didn't notice, to Sesshomaru's hope.

"Come on, Rin! Time for a snack!" Firiel said to the young girl. With a happy huff the girl bounced away with the servant, leaving miko and demon alone again.

'Kiss her fool, you know you want too,' his head whispered to him. 'No,' he instantly replied it. 'I can't be jumping into things like this too fast,' he continued. 'Then at least kiss her hand!' 'All right, all right!'

Sesshomaru bowed slightly to Kagome.
"May I escort you through the gardens on walk, my fair Miko?" he asked nervously, though not letting it show. She, also nervous, bowed back to him in return.

"I would love to."

"I hoped so," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, then took up her hand his his. He brought it slowly to his lips, shining eyes never leaving Kagome's. He let his lips skim down part of her finger, touching ever so gently, then placed a kiss in the center of the back of her hand.