Incomplete by Sesshysgirl-08

Puzzle Piece

Hi all! I know I owe you guys a new Watashi no Tenshi chapter, but I had to write something else to get the juices flowing again. This is just a quick one shot that, if a lot of people want me to expand on, I will. Otherwise, enjoy my one-shot =P. Any Dokuga readers- you won’t get the story reference, I have an Inutaisho/Kags story posted on ff.net, but because Dokuga is strictly Sess/Kag (I’m not complaining! It’s the best!) I haven’t posted it here.

Disclaimer: the more I admit that I literally have no rights at all to anything Inuyasha related the more my life becomes less meaningful.. =[ haha

Enjoy!

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He felt his lungs expand, felt the cool night air fill them, and felt the oxygenated blood burst from his heart and course through his body. Slowly, so very slowly, he released that same breath, having gained what was needed he let it go, the lingering moisture of it remained on his porcelain lips along with the cool drops of the gently falling rain. Captured strands of pure moonlight shimmered, practically glowed, with the collection of the falling precipitation and he sighed once more. He let his head gently fall against the damp trunk of a tree and took in one more deep breath, the scents of earth, moisture, life, and longing met his keen nose. As he once again let the precious air go, set it free, he wondered why something so easy, so simple, could not be achieved in other facets of his life. Why could he not simply let her go? It was so effortlessly done seconds ago, this act of exoneration, and yet when it came to her, the girl with eyes the color of rain and a smile that rivaled even the sun, his very soul cried out against it. Standing in a motion so fluid that grace would turn green with envy, the man made of moonlight and shadows, of indifference and anguish, a man so painfully perfect and yet so completely fragmented, began to walk.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

The sound of the falling rain soothed him in such a bittersweet way. These drops, these insignificant pellets of water, achieved something that he could only dream of. They were pieces you see, pieces of a puzzle that, when they touched the earth, were complete. They combined into one grand picture of life, gained peace through their long journey, something that he was not sure he could ever gain himself.

His feet continued forward.

He did not know where he was going, though it mattered little so long as he was away from that camp if only for a few moments. He could not breathe her scent, lilies, sunshine, and love, such intense love that it was impossible not to return. He could not be encompassed by that feeling; it wrapped so warmly around his heart when she was near and it shook him to the core. Fear was an emotion he had felt but once in his long, long life and he had decided that he would never feel such a despicable emotion again. And yet, when her eyes landed on him, when he saw the love she held for him, that snarling fear arose again. She did not know what it meant to love one such as him. He was all that was dark. His very soul was coated with blood from the many lives he had ended and he had done so with ease and a great sense of satisfaction, even enjoyment. He was a youkai, the very definition of evil and he took great pride in being the most deadly of them all. He was the monster in many a dream, the creature with the red eyes and terrible fangs that made you shiver with fear, made you pull your blanket more tightly around your body and huddle closer to the fire.

And what was she? Innocence, love, warmth, light, everything he was not. She would not, could not, love him truly if she knew all of him. That was why the great and terrible lord felt fear once more, for he wholly desired nothing more than her love and to return it with everything that he was, but he surely could never achieve such a goal. She would not allow it once she knew all of him.

She had looked at him with those eyes, those large blue gems that captivated all that he was, before he had left the encampment. She had been confused; he had seen it in those deep, deep depths and yet he had spun on his heel and left despite the glimmer of confusion and the tang of hurt in her scent. He had begun walking, needing the space and air free of her scent, he was too easily lost in it.

Shaking his head of mercury tresses he let his yearning citrine eyes gaze at the full moon and slowly pivoted on his boot clad feet. He had been gone quite a while and it was indeed time to return. And yet, he was slightly reluctant to leave the small clearing he had wound up in. Glancing around the silver sewn trees and shadows one last time he took a step forward and stopped, his head instantaneously snapping in the direction of the trees. The crack of a branch in the thick foliage surrounding the clearing had him immediately on alert. His hard eyes pinpointed the spot within seconds, he was a predator, the most deadly in fact, and he would greatly enjoy slowly killing whatever senseless beast had wondered onto his path.

His eyes widened marginally when, rather than a brainless varmint, Kagome stepped slowly into the resplendent moonlight. She steadily made her way over to him, stopping when she was only a few steps away from his person. He raised his chin haughtily, his voice so very, very cold.

“Miko.”

She smiled warmly at him then, much to his chagrin, and took a step closer.

“Sesshoumaru…”

His name was a breathy whisper on her lips..so soft he had barely caught it and laced heavily with emotion. He narrowed his eyes and set his broad shoulders making his stance one of intimidation and indifference. Inwardly though, the sound of his name on her lips made him tremble and the emotion it carried heated his blood. With a deafening crack the sky ripped open and rain poured more heavily around them, the intensity perhaps mirroring the magnitude of their own internal emotions. His eyes picked up the small movement of her lips as they parted before once again forming words.

“I don’t know why I’m doing this now Sesshoumaru, maybe because I just couldn’t wait any longer. This is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done and hopefully you won’t cut me into little ribbons for this…but, I can’t keep pretending that I don’t need you, that I don’t want you, and that you’re not constantly on my mind..”

Halcyon eyes widened marginally at her words and he knew he had to stop her now, before he could not…and before he could perhaps not stop himself.

“Cease your meaningless talk, miko, This Sesshoumaru does not wish to hear you speak. Had I desired conversation I would not have left.”

He saw the hurt flash briefly in her eyes but it was quickly replaced with resolve. A small nod of her ink black tresses seemed to be her external display of determination and she quickly forged on.

“Ya know, a year ago I would have just shut up. I would have thought, Kagome, you’re crazy..just walk away. But..not now. I’ve noticed how you look at me right before dawn when you think I’m asleep…I see the tenderness there, Sesshoumaru. You’ve been traveling with us for a year and I’m still the only one you talk to. You protect me first, before anyone else…that has to mean something. So, okay, maybe I am crazy, but maybe, just maybe, I’m not.”

She took in a small breath and wiped the pouring rain from her face. Looking directly into Sesshoumaru’s gilded orbs she spoke again.

“Please tell me I’m not crazy, Sesshoumaru…”

She looked, searching his eyes for something, anything at all. There was a flash of something as quick as lightning in his cold orbs and then it was gone. A derisive snort was her answer along with his perfectly annunciated sentence.

“This Sesshoumaru can confirm only that you are, miko.”

Another searing flash of hurt combined with humiliation crossed her features and the salty tang of tears combined with the refreshing scent of rain. How he wished he could just tell her, but doing so would only bring them both pain. She would never understand who he was, the darkest depths of his soul, and his telling her how much he truly desired her would only, in the end, hurt her. He would expose his underbelly to this woman; make himself vulnerable, for her only to walk away, this he knew. What sense did it make to hurt them both? He could take this pain, hide it, and she could move on to someone more like her, a man more worthy.

He watched her eyes shimmer, swore he saw lightning flash across their nearly obsidian depths, and as the rain and tears coursed down her cheeks she spoke again. Her words were sharper than any sword he had ever faced, cut more deeply than any enemy ever could have, and left him bleeding.

“I don’t believe you, Sesshoumaru. Ya know what I think? I think you’re scared, no, terrified, of admitting that you can actually feel anything! You hide behind that mask, pretend that nothing affects you and that you’re so strong. Well, let me tell you something, real strength is standing here, pouring out your heart to someone who is too scared to return the favor!”

Her eyes were wild, her ebony tresses stuck to her face and her body taught with emotion. She was beautiful…and so very right.

“It’s sad really, I used to look up to you, think you were some untouchable, invinsible..god. You were so strong…you were the one rock that I knew would never, ever budge in my life if only you would acknowledge that you were meant to be in it. But you can’t do that, can you?”

A bitter laugh passed her lips as she began to shake from her exertion. She looked up again at his impassive face and shook her head in defeat.

“Of course you can’t. I should have known better. You were always such a mountain in my eyes, Sesshoumaru, but now, now you’re nothing but this tiny pebble. You’re not strong at all…you’re…you’re a coward who I sorely misjudged. I never thought that it was possible and for once in my life I’m so sad that I proved myself wrong.”

A deafening silence hung between them broken only by the pounding of the rain and cracks of thunder. He watched her, her head bent in defeat and her breathing rocking her entire body. How had she known, how had she been so right? He was being a coward. Never before had the great and terrible Lord Sesshoumaru allowed his fear to control him, but now, that was exactly what he was doing. She had seen straight through his front and still she had come. She had known there was a risk in him rejecting her, had known that she was in fact the one exposing her belly, and yet still she had come. And yet here he was allowing fear to cripple his tongue, his large body still as death, unable to utter a response to her truthful words. And all at once she was turning, spinning, leaving him and he could no longer be a coward. She would understand, she would love him, and if not, he would move on just as she seemed so adamant about doing now.

Fast as the lighting in the sky he had her small wrist in his large, deadly hand and was turning her back around to him, making her look at him once again.

First there was anger on her face, it ruined her beauty, such an emotion was never meant to mar her angelic features. But, as her cobalt eyes connected with his and she saw the vulnerability there, saw the raw emotion, the longing, the desire, the deep deep apology in them, her features softened.

“You…”

He started, his rumbling baritone shaking her to the core, making something warm and light and sweet course through her. Something so close to hope that she was almost scared to acknowledge it, but wanted so dearly to embrace it and never let it go.

“…are correct.”

He looked lost, like he didn’t know what to say and that was perfectly fine with her. Everything she needed to know was in his eyes, in the way his shoulders caved around her to protect her from the rain, the way his thumb was rhythmically caressing the inside of her wrist. Sesshoumaru was not a man of many words; he was a man of actions, of body language, of communicating without sound. She knew exactly what he was saying.

“It’s okay, Sesshoumaru.”

Her smile was blinding and she took a step closer to him, her scent was all around him, her warmth embracing him, her love still calling to him and he realized what a fool he had been. As their eyes connected he wondered how he had ever imagined this creature rejecting him. She would always understand, would always accept him, and always, always love him. Pulling her close and wrapping her tightly in his embrace he apologized with his eyes and brought his nose to her neck, nuzzling the soft skin and drinking in her scent.

“I was a fool..I thought that you would turn away from me..I did not consider that you would accept me, all of me. I am sorry, Kagome.”

She laughed, a sound so sweet and soothing and beautiful that his soul sang upon hearing it, and playfully swatted his arm.

“Well, just don’t let it happen again, mister!”

Sesshoumaru chuckled deeply at that, at her easy forgiveness of his ignorance, and Kagome was stunned by the beauty of it. He brought his large hand to her cheek, caressing it sweetly before capturing her lips. His lips were so warm and soft and yet so undeniably masculine and she yielded completely to his longing, to his desire, to his love. Nothing in her life had ever felt so right.

As Sesshoumaru kissed her he marveled at how perfectly they fit together, how wonderful she tasted, and how undeniably right this was. He felt the rain course down his cheeks and knew, she was his puzzle piece, she made him complete. She brought him all the joy and love and acceptance that he would ever need. His envy of the rain vanished, for he was whole.

“I love you, Sesshoumaru.”

The whisper made his eyes turn into pools of rich, melted gold and his lips curved once again into a small, genuine smile.

“And I, you, Kagome…always.”

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Done. It was short and sweet and I don’t think it turned out too badly. Let me know what you think if you have the chance =]. Thank you for reading my one-shot!

-Sesshysgirl08