A Self Called Nowhere

Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders
What the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of
Should you worry when the skull-head is in front of you
Or is it worse because it's always waiting where your eyes don't go?

--They Might Be Giants


She should follow her instincts, that's what her mother had always told her. When a situation doesn't feel right, follow your gut. Damned if her gut was having a hard time making up its mind. One side was grumbling that she should leave...post-haste...and the other argued that she had a duty as a healer to say. The healer in her won out, as always. Besides, she'd promised Rin and you don't back out of promises made to the dead.

"Damn it all..." She hissed, wincing as she shifted his weight off her shoulder.

She'd managed to have him sort of support himself. His head and chest was propped against one of her shoulders and she'd wrestle with him to switch when it got too uncomfortable. At first, she'd been trembling scared but as time went on her fear magically transformed itself into annoyance. Mostly due to the fact that the blood coming from his eyes was currently making its way quite happily down her arm.

"Why me? I mean, really!," she thought indignantly.

Why was she plagued by men with overly pretty hair who got themselves into hopelessly life threatening and desperate situations that inevitably led to her own discomfort as well as the eventual ruination of her clothing?

Lightly, she shook him and he barely responded. Her fingers accidentally brushed against his neck, which was covered by long tendrils of pale hair. His skin was warm to the touch, much too warm. It actually burned with fever, so hot that she wasn't able to linger on the spot. Hissing through her teeth, she pulled her fingers away and looked at them curiously. They were slightly numb and she rubbed them together thoughtfully, entranced that she could barely feel her own fingers. Staring into space, she collected all her thoughts, even the ones that didn't make much sense. She'd kept herself from the link he'd created that stupid, unspeakable afternoon which had changed everything. Normally, if she'd shut herself off, she'd feel him pawing at the walls. But there was nothing and that was worrisome.

Anyway, nothing would be served by getting hysterical over things that may or may not happen. She was still herself and no amount of supernatural bubkiss was going to scare her. Hell, she'd faced scarier things than this. There had to be a way for both of them to get out of this unscathed...and not involving possibly dangerous, life threatening curses. There just had to be. Besides, no matter how hard she wished not to be here, nothing could change the fact that she was. Furthermore, like it or not, he needed her. Of course, once he was better she was sure he'd be incredibly ungrateful. The ass would probably insist that she never speak of it again, and she wouldn't, most assuredly. This fact wasn't going to stop her from helping him out. There was no doubt in her mind, she was needed here. Maybe that's why he chased her. Maybe he knew he needed her help and being without his more coolly logical side, he gave into that urge. Or something like that. Who knew really?

It wasn't like Sesshoumaru was the world's most open book. For all she knew, he could have been chasing her for that ultra super secret recipe for muffins she'd been hiding all these years. More likely, his youkai pride simply wouldn't allow him to lower himself to beg a human for help. So he forced her, the big, stupid, soon to be ungrateful jerk.

Now he couldn't. He was too weak to. She just bet that deep down he was resenting the fact that he'd even have to stoop so low as to force a human to help him. Bet he just hated the idea and now he really had no choice. Now he was at said human's mercy to either help him or leave him to die ignobly in a field.

Cradling him in her arms, she pushed back the hair that'd plastered itself to his neck. Black, diamond shaped splotches marred his skin right around the area Kaede had pulled the dart from. They seemed most concentrated around the juncture between his neck and shoulder. The splotches moved upwards from there, spreading across his neck and right up to the back of his ear. In the very same places he'd "examined" on the day that must not be spoken of.

She absently remembered Sango speaking of a mark...a mark on her neck. She had a mark on hers, he had a bunch of similarly shaped discolorations on his in nearly the same spot and the pieces of the puzzle came together. The mark was ritual and reciprocal, if she were to guess. Just last week Kaede had lectured her on aural weak spots. With deep aggravation, she realized she hadn't listened quite as carefully as she should have. She'd spoken about chakras, and how to open them to heal or if it were necessary, to hurt.

"Shit..." she exclaimed softly, balling her hand into a fist as she squinted, struggling to remember what it was the elderly miko had said, "Work, brain, work!"

In her head, she desperately tried to recall the chakras and their placements and meaning. All the while, the daiyoukai in her care was losing precious time. She imagined she presented a rather ridiculous image, sitting there in an open glade, murmuring to herself while she cradled an injured inu-youkai in her lap.

Quietly, she recited what Kaede taught her despite the frequent frustration she felt at her brain's inability to remember anything. When it finally decided to work, she almost let out a hoot of joy.

"Sahasrara, Ajna...Vishudda..." She proclaimed triumphantly to no one in particular. "Crown, head, neck...the Vishudda chakra is located in the neck!"

Kagome allowed herself a pat on the back, not only because she actually remembered one of her lessons but because she'd correctly applied it. The discoloration on his neck was evidence of an aural weak spot, meaning that he'd used a chakra...or a variant of the concept. That chakra controlled communication and rituals using it were generally intended as a way to reach gods, spirits, etcetera, etcetera...or as a conduit for otherworldly powers. So, if she were to guess and guess she did, it was possible he'd opened up the Vishudda chakra to strengthen his own aura and it being the throat chakra it was no wonder that's where the mark appeared.

But something puzzled her.

If he was using it as a conduit and the mark was a gateway that went both ways it'd allow him to draw directly from her aura while siphoning his through hers to cleanse it. It should have slowed the poison, thereby extending his time on this earth while he waited for the cure. Mostly likely it had slowed, somewhat...but there was still something off. Something wasn't right. If he'd opened up that chakra for the ritual, he should be getting better. He'd been drawing off her for days...so why was he so bad off? She looked more closely. Her neck was where he'd concentrated his youki but the point of contact on his neck was blocked somehow, therefore this was where the degradation began. Either way, whatever it was he intended to do hadn't happened and he'd just gotten worse.

She wondered then about the poison, maybe it was blocking it somehow. Surely, poison being his weapon of choice, he was immune but judging by the state he was in, it was quite the opposite. Perhaps his natural poisons had aided the Kindoku, thereby blocking any positive effects that ritual was supposed to bring. Maybe his poison had allowed the Kindoku to bind itself more tightly to him by pretending to apart of his body. It didn't act much like a poison at all...more like a virus or the youkai equivalent of a virus and virus like, it had infected that which would spread it faster. Too fast, perhaps fast enough to block or nullify the intended remedy...it was a long shot but it sort of made sense to her, anyway.

In any event, the Kindoku had begun to feed on his youki in earnest and he suffered for it. Probably would die from it if something weren't done soon. Being forced to fight and defend himself using his youki had done him no good. It had exacerbated his condition quite badly. If the Kindoku had indeed fused itself to the poison in his blood, as she thought, then it had gotten the chance to take a nice little trip throughout his body, drinking more fully from his aura as it went. She watched the disgusting little black diamonds visibly increase in size and in number. He had very little time left.

Her fingers gently touched blacked parts of his neck. She ignored the unnatural and uncomfortable heat and the dreadful numbness that spread through her fingertips upon contact. There was only one choice now, she'd have to unblock the Vishudda chakra and finish the ritual. She'd have to do that thing that he did on that afternoon, whatever that was. She didn't pretend to know what might happen if she did. She did know that if she could figure it out, she'd help him...maybe even save him, what danger this involved and the possible consequences of her actions were negligible. For Rin's sake...even for his, she'd do this.

No matter that he would be ungrateful to her...or very possibly homicidal.

No matter that this was drawing her down a dangerous path.

No matter what Inuyasha and her friends would say afterwards, this was the right thing to do.

The only thing to do.

With a look of determined apprehension, she righted the youkai in her arms so that he was in something approaching a sitting position. It wasn't easy; she had to shoulder most of the burden herself, quite literally, as his entire weight rested on one of her shoulders. Trying not to think too hard, she guided his head as best as she could to the place he'd examined before. There was the barest hint of a reaction from him as he turned his head ever so slightly, instinct guiding him into doing what was necessary to survive.

Trembling uncontrollably, she pressed her hand over his blemished neck, wincing as she could feel the heat invade her flesh. The sensation was unpleasant, painfully so, and it took every bit of will power in her to resist the urge to tear her hand away. Gritting her teeth, she took a controlling breath and concentrated more fully. In her mind's eye, she could see his aura and the living black miasma that was choking it off. The Kindoku was like a weed in a garden, it grew and grew, subsuming all other vegetation in its zest to reproduce itself.

The ebbing tide of her power was crashing against the walls in roiling turmoil. It could feel the taint of true darkness and it wanted to purge it. It warred with the more rational parts of her mind that held it back, afraid that it would burn all that stood in its path. The nature of her power was quite the opposite. It wanted to quash the fire that burned, to put it out and end it for good or for ill. It burned her flesh that touched the wound. It burned her mind and it was trying to burn her spirit as well. It burned all it touched. She could feel it using that line of his youki that attached them to suction power from her as well, but she wouldn't allow it.

She shuddered, her eyes opening a crack and she saw the hand she'd laid on the youkai's neck. It was plastered to the flesh, a bright purple glow flickering between splayed fingers. She noted distantly that her hand appeared to be smoking as if on fire. Breathing in deeply, she confirmed this rather disturbing fact. Her hand was smoking because it was being burned as the poison tried to etch itself into her flesh. It hurt worse than any torture her mind could devise and she closed her eyes tightly enough to cause tears. Concentration was becoming quite impossible as the pain was unreal. The sickness had imbedded itself into the gold aura intertwined with her own, and it was grasping for her. She was penetrated by it, surrounded on all sides by a consuming blackness that overwhelmed all. Every sense was tuned to the agony it caused and her mind went blank in an effort to manage the pain.

Spasming, there was a dim realization that somewhere along the line she'd made a miscalculation. Merging spiritual essences wasn't something a novice, like she was, tried without guidance or experience, unless, of course, they had no choice. She knew this, but hoped that by just following the exact events of the previous merging everything would turn out all right. But this wasn't anything like the last time this happened, and that was just the problem. She couldn't replicate the original event because the main participant was currently half-dead. It was no languorous afternoon encounter, comfortable in it strangeness. No, this was suffering on a level she didn't even know existed.

Her soul felt as if it was being torn apart, a feeling which she had unfortunately an accurate measure for. She could feel his pain and it only added to her own. Sweating and trembling, she made nearly noiseless gasps to quell the agony, her hand quite literally burning with pain. The smell was unbearable. It felt like her flesh had been seared to his and she wanted to pull away so badly, but it hurt too much to move.

All thought blackened as waves of agony overcame her, the holy power inside her desperately fighting off the darkness that had begun to consume. Her eyes fluttered and she could feel her grip on the conscious world waning. She struggled to maintain the shreds of her thinking self and the control it gave her, all to no avail.

Kindoku is a living thing. It wasn't an inert poison that was content merely to travel through the bloodstream to do its job. It sought out its prey, targeting the systems it wished to destroy. And destroy it did, with perfection that was nearly beautiful for its sheer belligerence.

The aura it had been feeding on was drained and almost worthless; it felt out for another potential victim. An aura that was clean, healthy, and quite pure. It didn't matter what it was, the poison didn't like to discriminate. It couldn't distinguish between Sesshoumaru's demonic aura and the divinity in Kagome's ki. All it could feel was new, untainted energy and it fell upon it, pressing into the crashing waves of purifying energy attached to the now entirely useless youki.

This new agony was too much. It hurt beyond imagining, beyond words, ripping through her like a sharp, stinging tidal wave. Kagome threw her head back and screamed. All control was lost. Something inside her exploded and burst outwards in a raging torrent of purifying energy. It flowed from her like the ocean as it breeched the retaining walls during a storm, battering anything that dared impede its passage. Rushing forward, it consumed the poison. Crackling across the darkness, it left nothing but light in its wake.

Curiously, the purifying flood had directed its power, only attacking the Kindoku while leaving the youki surrounding it intact. In fact, her aura seemed to insulate the youki as it burned away all but the slightest traces of the poison. And once the flood leveled out, and the waters ceased to rise, there was a pregnant pause as the gold youki her aura protected temporarily recovered its strength. What she'd accomplished was a momentary fix, but it had rather instantaneous results.

The once nearly comatose daiyoukai woke with feral fury, his eyes snapping open to glare brightly in the dim pastel light. When they turned their gaze on her, she couldn't help the surprised gasp that left her lips. Those eyes, those eyes burnt into her soul, and she didn't want to look directly in them for fear of being caught, but she couldn't look away. Moments ago they were black like midnight, cloaked by the sick taint of the poison. That sickness had lost its hold and the curtains over his eyes were thrown wide.

With another burst of energy, his youki broke free. A whiplash of bright gold surrounded him like mid-morning fire. His hair was lifted by the force of its exit as it stretched, reaching out to all life around it as if grasping for purpose. It pushed into her chest and she could barely breathe. The smell of orchids and rain overwhelmed her, and though it wasn't unpleasant, it seemed to sit on her chest like a stone.

Without provocation, he snarled and lunged at her. Abruptly, the world spun, and she was vaguely reminded of those spin toys they had when she was little. She used to sit on it for hours just spinning until her head reeled. In a frightening nod to her childhood pastime, scenery whirled 'round and 'round and she was so very dizzy, though this time was less pleasant than it had been in the past. Just as suddenly as it began, the spinning stopped. Disoriented, Kagome barely realized what had happened as she was slammed unceremoniously into the ground with Sesshoumaru's hand buried in the earth right next to her head.

The sickly sweet smell of his dokassou filled her nostrils. It made her feel dizzy and nauseous. Her eyes fluttered as she struggled to remain conscious. She concentrated on the blurry image of melting earth next to her head. Absently, she worried about her hair and its proximity to the rapidly disappearing ground. Her eyes widened fractionally as she watched the green light gathered in his hand sputter. It winked in and out like a broken neon sign before disappearing all together, leaving nothing more than smoking earth behind. She blinked, breathed in tentatively and coughed; silently glad that'd stopped before reaching her hair.

Errant droplets of half dried blood fell on her cheek not far from her eyes, startling her from her reverie. She shook her head uncomprehendingly, her eyes gazing upward to look for the source. The source rather inconveniently turned out to be Sesshoumaru. She stared at him, eyes wild and staring as he in turn glared back at her. It was there again, the fear for her life had returned and it was thick and heavy, hanging at the back of her throat. Her breath hitched, and she felt herself exhaling and inhaling in fits as starts as it overtook her body. She was trying very hard not to panic, key word being trying. The occasional plips of blood that hit her cheek and his unwavering gaze tended to distract and draw her attention. It was all rather nerve wracking.

It quickly became obvious to her over a nice twenty minute stretch of time that killing her apparently wasn't apart of his great plan. Or maybe it was part of the plan and he just moved it back without even informing her of the scheduling change, which was very rude by the way. Though she supposed it wasn't so bad, seeing as she'd have an extra few minutes of life. So perhaps she could forgive his rudeness for now. Then again, he might not have a plan at all, which wasn't much like him. But everyone should be given a little slack under such extraordinary circumstances.

To her eyes, he seemed untroubled by most of this. He just sort of hovered above her quietly, like a very bored god, with his hand still stuck in the dirt. It didn't seem to bother him though, it was almost as if he meant for it to be there...not doing the green poison death mist thing that he normally did. Maybe he wanted to make a nice hole to plant flowers or something. Maybe the dirt was therapeutic. Maybe it gave his skin that bright new glow. Whatever it was, he hadn't moved from the spot he occupied above her.

His youki had receded a bit, but still twined around him, lifting his hair by its own will. It made for a bit of disconcerting image, he was so still but everything around him moved. Very disconcerting indeed. She watched with a kind of benumbed fascination as a droplet of blood hovered on his cheek. All that blood that had washed over his face had begun to dry, but errant droplets, like this one, still fell. It was thick and viscous. When he moved it would jiggle a bit and then drunkenly drift a bit lower on his cheek. For the last five minutes it had hung from his chin, and she bit her lip in anticipation for its fall. It did fall, with almost deliberate slowness. Her breath caught, inhaling sharply as it hit her chest.

She couldn't see exactly where it had fallen but she could feel it. Her breathing became more rapid as she felt it expand minutely over her breast. One part of it trailing towards her neck, the other spreading down her cleavage, and it tickled terribly. She closed her eyes and squirmed a bit to try and relieve the discomfort. Arching her back, she tried to guide the droplet back towards her neck, hopefully speeding it prog--It was then that she realized her current position under Sesshoumaru, as if she hadn't noticed it before. Truth be told, she hadn't really thought about it...until now. The tickling sensation began again as she abruptly flattened herself against the ground. Everything was made worse by the fact that Sesshoumaru had taken notice of this embarrassing predicament.

Oh, he was staring down at her right now. Staring right at the widening droplet of blood smeared all over her chest. His eyes seemed to soften and though still reddened in blood rage, there was a distinctly contemplative air about them. Absurdly, he reminded her of a very large dog waiting for someone to throw its ball. There was a patient anticipation and latent curiosity in his eyes as he just watched. She'd never seen someone so focused on such a simple task. It was as if the world could fall away in an instant and even then, his gaze wouldn't waver...his attention wouldn't hesitate. She was aware, more than ever, of his youki, which was so lively and animated as it curled expectantly around them both.

Sucking in a large quantity of air, Kagome lay completely still. She wasn't sure freezing was the right tactic to use, but she was out of options. Biting her lip, she stared at the daiyoukai, trying her best not to breathe too much. He inhaled and then exhaled sharply, the puff of air lightly pushing back errant strands of her hair. There was a low sort of rumbling sound coming from him that she didn't much care for. Unconsciously, she flattened herself further, perhaps hoping that she'd somehow dematerialize through solid ground, only to reappear somewhere else far away from him. Defying physics would be a pretty neat trick, if only she was the physics defying type.

Being that the laws of physics hated her just as much as fate did, she remained stubbornly immutable and unable to disappear through solid matter. She could only hope that by miraculous fortune he'd lose interest in her and leave. Rather than doing that, he lowered himself so that he was closer to her. No longer hovering above her, cloud-like, he brought the rain to her. He was quite close, almost lying on top of her. His chest just touching hers and she tried to breathe more shallowly than before. A part of her wondering how little she could breathe without passing out as her chest rubbed just slightly against his. Ah, for the days when she was merely an annoyance to him. She almost longed for those times when he'd insult her humanity before telling her to die or, better yet, just ignore her all together. Yes, ignoring would be nice right now.

None of her current thoughts were helping. They only served to make her more panicky and consequently, they made her breathe harder which made her touch him, starting everything all over again in a viciously annoying circle that just had to stop.

It didn't.

She bit her lip harder and closed her eyes tight. There would be NO encouraging the out of control demon. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she could never get herself calm enough to NOT touch him, consciously or unconsciously. He was too warm and she could feel his breath on her skin and it terrified her, because he was so unpredictable. She wasn't sure if he was going to kill her or...kill her...and she really didn't want to die like this. In her dirty pajamas on the forest floor with a rock wedged in her back. Kagome tried to calm herself, to meditate and bring some kind of control. She had to be clear headed about this, but she couldn't. She was just too nervous and afraid. Her breathing was becoming shallower and more rapid, and she could feel herself tremble. It made her want to cry, which really, really wouldn't help things.

She let out a nearly silent squeal as she felt the semi-forgotten droplet of blood elongate, trickling over her neck. It teasingly trailed around the nape before it escaped down the other side. Drizzling down her back and no doubt further staining her tank top. She could feel it back there, all wet and squishy as it soaked into the fabric. It made her more aware of the rocks and the twigs underneath her, more aware of just how uncomfortable she truly was. Kagome grimaced as she tried and failed to resist the urge to squirm, it was just too uncomfortable. Without thinking, she tried to surreptitiously work a hand to her neck to wipe it away. Her movement was accursedly slow and she was so focused on her task and the anticipatory tension of relieving some of her discomfort that she hadn't noticed that he had noticed. He had felt the minute moving her muscles, and her shifting position, no matter how slight. When she began to wriggle with just a bit more vigor, it had gained his full attention. It was taken as a sign of resistance and his reaction was immediate and harsh.

He let out bestial snarl, fangs bared. Instead of taking on a more submissive posture, she stiffened and looked up at him in surprise. Her eyes were wide and challenging as she shrunk from him. More disobedience. She let out a small cry as he clamped down on her shoulder, biting her just hard enough to let her know who was in charge but not enough to harm her.

Kagome's mind went utterly blank. All thought ceased as his mouth pressed hotly into her flesh. It hurt, but it was a dull, warning hurt. Despite this knowledge, she flinched and whimpered, instinctively pulling away from the thing causing her hurt and pain. He growled lowly, the sound vibrating against her chest as he bit down more forcefully. This time it was hard enough to break flesh, though just barely.

She cried out softly, her entire body tensing and trembling at the same time. Tears came then because she was very sure she was going to die. He was going to rip her throat out and she was going to die. Inuyasha would find her parts many weeks later and how in the world was he going to deliver her parts to her mother? What would they put in the casket? Why was this happening? She was so stupid. She should have never helped him...she should have just gone home and then she wouldn't be here...she should have...

The youkai sensed her tension and found it to be distressing. This was not the correct reaction. He growled more softly and without releasing her neck, though loosening his hold ever so slightly. It was supposed to be comforting, a fact that was lost on Kagome. She inhaled sharply, suppressing her sobs as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Her lips trembled, breaths coming out in hesitant little squeaks. She was going to die here and she wondered if it would be appropriate to make her peace with the gods. Most likely it was. Her eyes had closed tightly, so tight that it hurt to hold them in position, but she did anyway. She didn't want to see the end when it came. She didn't want to even have the last fleeting memory of sight. Breathing deeply, she began to recite every prayer, every mantra ever taught to her. They ran through her mind like tiny flash bulbs, snapping on and off in regular rhythm. She still cried and she still trembled, but she had gone limp in anticipation of the killing stroke...or bite as it were.

The pressure on her neck that felt so constant lessened and a whole new sensation took its place. It was warm and wet where his mouth used to be. Distantly, she wondered if that was her blood leaking out of her newly torn throat. In the confusing blackness, a small voice piped up that if her throat had been torn out it would have hurt quite a bit more, and she wouldn't really be breathing very well, as there would be a bloody great hole where her larynx used to be. The warm, wet sensation continued, unabated, as she did a small examination of her physical condition. She found that she was breathing and that was promptly sorted into the list of things that made her happy. Opening her eyes a crack, she found that the world was still in existence. Or at the very least, she was aware of said existence and that was a good thing, wet, warm feeling aside. Then she realized what that wet, warm feeling was and where it came from.

Three distinct thoughts came to mind at that precise moment.

Oh my...hello.

Sesshoumaru licking me now.

and

Please stop.

Not that she was adverse to outrageously handsome men licking her. She was just a bit particular about who was doing the licking and the circumstances of said licking. And this was just unacceptable. It had to stop but there was the large and rowdy question of how. One near death experience in a day was enough for any person. She wasn't sure where she stood in terms of near death experience scoring, but she felt that her day was already chock full of 'em. A girl just couldn't get a break, nowadays. She supposed licking was preferable to the growling and the biting, but if she had a choice it'd be none of thee above. Him licking her was uncomfortable and weird, and clearly, it had to stop because it was getting hard to think. She was trying hard to block out the feeling of his tongue on her flesh. It was a deliriously slow sensation, and despite the unwanted attention, it did feel good, which was bad. All of this led back to the fact that she was having trouble thinking, and her skin was beginning to chafe.

Then his head moved lower, his lips pressing into the skin just above her collar bone and she stifled a gasp. For a moment, she was glad that he'd moved because she really didn't want to have to explain the inevitable hickey. A second later she realized the error in her thought as he sucked on the flesh, lightly licking away blood as his head moved even lower. Dimly, she realized where else he might go. That blood droplet had spread out quite far. He'd cleaned off her neck and was working towards her chest. The next locale he'd head for would be her cleavage...

"Yes, stopping would be good now," she thought as she tried to force her brain to work faster.

This was leading to places neither of them wanted to go and again she was hit with a most familiar question. Why did stuff like this always happen to her? Sure, situations like this sound nice in a story but in reality, this really wasn't all that fun. It was very uncomfortable, awkward, and slightly terrifying. Dully, she gazed at the youkai's bobbing head as it moved below her collar bone. This situation was unbearable. It had to stop, it was how to stop it without getting killed that was the real trick. Taking a deep breath, she set a hand on his shoulder and shook it.

"Sesshoumaru," she whispered, tapping his shoulder again, "S-Sesshoumaru...you have to stop."

He either didn't listen or couldn't hear her because he didn't stop at all. Instead, the licking became more languid, almost deliberate in its slowness, as if he was taking his time to enjoy it. It was almost mocking and if she hadn't been a bit scared of him, she'd be really miffed at his audacity. In fact, she was miffed, firmly telling her fear to go screw. She gripped his shoulder more firmly, her fingers just grazing his neck as she shook him. Hard. He stilled, and she wasn't really sure if she was happy about that or not. At least she had his attention, which again could be a bad thing. His head tilted up and he peered at her through his bangs. He presented a very eerie image with his bright red eyes glowing underneath his luminous hair, made all the brighter by the morning sun.

Faking her courage, she smiled and nodded, speaking in quietly placatory tones, "That's right. Stopping is good. We need to go back to the village now."

He kept very still. Kagome was vaguely worried that she might have insulted him, not that she could tell. He didn't move, which wasn't a good thing.

"Please, let me up."

He pushed away just far enough for him to look her in the face. His head cocked, and he seemed to be considering what she said, or maybe he was just considering what he'd do to her when he finally decided to kill her. Her false courage faltered.

"L-let me up. Sesshoumaru, let me up...please, "she pleaded, steadily growing desperation straining her voice, "Please, this isn't right. Let me up..."

Her continued to gaze at her like that. Looking into his eyes became too much of an effort. He moved then, but not up and off of her as she'd hoped. No, he moved in closer to her. He rested his cheek against hers and it would have been a warm, affectionate gesture if it had not been Sesshoumaru. She might have even liked it had it been a certain someone else. He was slow with all his attentions, and with every brush of his cheek against hers, panic rose within her and not just because his cheeks were still slightly sticky with blood. She kept herself from crying but she couldn't stop trembling in fear. Her thoughts had lost any cohesion at this point and her only clear desire was for him to just let her up and stop this nonsense.

Too abruptly, he stopped, jerking away to gaze directly in her eyes. He looked dissatisfied with something, almost outraged. As if he'd ordered the chicken and they brought him fish instead and he clearly didn't want fish. Much like any customer in any restaurant anywhere, his complaint was quickly voiced. He barked at her and she jumped. This too dissatisfied him and his gaze became a glare. He sniffed, reminding her again of a rather large dog which was funny, and she had to bite the inside of her mouth to prevent the peels of hysterical, sanity breaking laughter that threatened to erupt.

She wanted to be out of this situation and then she wanted to cry for several hours on end until she either passed out or threw up.

It was then that he decided to do something entirely unexpected and completely distracting.