章 29: Pages and Memories
He's reading the book I gave him, Kagome thought, smiling inwardly as she gazed at the daiyoukai who was sitting on a boulder not far away from the camp. He looked serene under the moonlight with his hair softly ruffled by the wind, as if he was an apparition of a beautiful celestial being.
She giggled inwardly. Here I am, thinking of Sesshomaru as a guardian angel when he's a full-blooded inu daiyoukai who could kill me in a heartbeat if I annoy him.
She glanced around the camp. Everyone had settled in for the night. The children have snuggled in her sleeping bag for warmth as winter crept closer. Miroku and Sango were using Kirara's neko youkai form as pillow, and Jaken did the same with Ah-Un. Inuyasha was perched on a tree branch right above the children, his eyes were closed but his ears were twitching. She could not tell if he was sleeping since he always stayed vigilant no matter the time and place.
With the first aid kit in her hands, she silently trudged towards the ledge, careful not to wake any of her companions. The youkai lord did not acknowledge her presence as she paused by the large rock that was as high as her shoulder.
"Sesshomaru-sama? I'm sorry to disturb your reading, but I need to check on your wound before I rest for the night." Kagome half-expected him to glare but he merely closed the book and lightly landed on the ground next to her. They sat in silence and Sesshomaru proceeded to remove his armor and let the top of his silk kimono slip down. Kagome tried hard not to gape at the toned muscles as she gingerly cut and unwrapped the bandages around his chest and shoulder.
A gasp escaped her lips. There was no trace of wound anywhere. The laceration on his chest was gone and the skin was smooth and pale once more. He was bleeding profusely just this afternoon!
"I heal faster than hanyous and other youkai," Sesshomaru explained with amusement in his baritone voice. The miko could swear he even smirked.
Kagome smiled nervously and pointed to her first aid kit. "Well, it looks like I won't be dressing it anymore." Her eyes strayed to the stub that was left of his missing arm and unconsciously reached out to caress it gently. The daiyoukai stiffened at the intrusive touch but gradually relaxed. "I'm sorry about this," Kagome murmured.
"Do not apologize for a deed you have no fault in." Sesshomaru fixed his kimono and replaced his armor. He gazed straight ahead and settled for silence once more.
Kagome pursed her lips. Is that supposed to mean I'm dismissed? But she wanted to stay for a bit longer. Her mind struggled to think of something to say and her eyes landed on the book she'd given him. "How do you find the book so far?"
The daiyoukai took the tome and placed it on his lap. He studied the cover curiously for a moment before responding. "The battle of my father and Ryukotsusei is recorded here quite accurately."
Well, that was honestly unexpected. She had assumed the book mostly told the different wars that gripped Japan during the Sengoku Jidai and did not include anything about youkai and magic. "I didn't know that. It must be nice, reading about the greatness of your father in a book that came from the future."
"Do people still honor him in your time?"
Kagome didn't know how to respond. If she told him that everything about youkai and the Shikon no Tama were nothing but myth and legend in the future, he might grow upset and behead her. This Sesshomaru can smell when you lie, he'd told her once. So if she lied, he'd still grow upset and behead her.
She breathed deeply and sighed. "Five hundred years from now, the country will be filled with more humans, and these forests and farmlands will be replaced with towering buildings. Before I fell into the well and met Inuyasha, I wasn't even aware that there are youkai and that the tale about the Shikon no Tama my grandpa always told me was true. As far as humans know, Inu no Taisho and Ryukotsusei are just another myth from the Sengoku Jidai."
She closed her eyes, aware that it might be upsetting to Sesshomaru hearing the fading glory of his great father. She waited for his claws to tear her head from her body, but his mere response was "Hnn."
Kagome peered at the daiyoukai beside her. His golden eyes were studying the stars now. It was his usual hobby every night, she noted. And the fierceness of those eyes were always replaced with a glassy haze, as if he was seeing something else. As if he was recollecting memories beyond the centuries.
She was startled when Sesshomaru suddenly looked at her with intense curiosity. "Is your father a houshi?"
It took her a moment to compose herself. She smiled sadly. "He died in an accident when I was very young and my memories of him are not that clear, but I wish I knew more of him. But no, I don't think he was a priest of our family temple."
"I did not mean to intrude," Sesshomaru said.
"It's okay. Mama did her best to raise me and Souta without my father. When he died, we moved to the Higurashi shrine with grandpa and we've lived there ever since. Grandpa is a houshi, but most of his sutras don't work." Kagome laughed. She remembered how her grandpa tried to purify Inuyasha with sutras and spells when he first came to her era. Oh, it was such a funny memory.
"If that is the case, why do you have such a strong reiki?" Sesshomaru was looking at her curiously again. Am I really having a proper conversation with Sesshomaru? He didn't seem to be interested in anything concerning humans but here he was, asking questions about her. Yet she welcomed it. She felt happy that the usually quiet daiyoukai was talking to her. He usually just shut her down.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "Kaede-obaasan and everyone else believe I am the reincarnation of Kikyo, therefore I have some of her miko powers. I was born with the Shikon no Tama inside me."
"Explain."
"I was pulled into the well by a centipede youkai. She did this." Kagome shifted a little and pulled the hem of her uniform to show a vague star-shaped scar just above her right hip. "When she wounded me here, the Shikon jewel came out."
"Hnn." Sesshomaru averted his eyes as Kagome unfolded the fabric to cover the swath of pale skin. She blushed when she realized she shouldn't have done that. Inuyasha's going to kill me when he finds out I've been showing some skin to a full-blooded youkai, especially to his half-brother! She shuddered at the thought. Maybe it was time to sleep.
She picked up the first aid kit and rose to her feet. "Well, I should return to the camp. I'm sorry for disturbing your reading earlier." As she walked away, a thought crossed her mind and she paused to look back at the feudal lord. "Sesshomaru-sama?"
He gazed at her, waiting.
"Your father was a great inu daiyoukai. People from my time might not believe the tales about him, but I do. I'm lucky to have met both of his sons. That should count for something, right?"
Kagome smiled and trudged back to the camp. She carefully inserted herself between Rin and Shippo inside the sleeping bag, their small arms enveloping her with warmth. As she slowly drifted to unconsciousness, Sesshomaru's astonished golden eyes floated at the back of her mind.
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