The Internal Dynamics by Zoe

This is not for you.

Hello everyone!! This is the first fanfiction I've written in a loooooong time. I'm open to critique! Please read and review, tell me what you think and if you like it! I'm going to try to update weekly,if not bi-weekly (life permitting of course).

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The morning sun shone brightly down on the small village, illuminating the small drops of morning dew clinging with futile desperate hope to the vegetation. It was only just past dawn, the soft song of swallows still ringing through the branches of the forest. A rare serenity that spoke of silence and peace lingering that surely would never break- -

“INUYASHA YOU STUPID JERK!!! SIT!!”

The earth groaned and broke as a familiar being with long white hair collapsed forward, aforementioned swallows taking to the air to escape the unknown predators. A moan of agony emitting from the body clothed in red fire rat fur graced the ears of a demon slayer, monk, demon cat, young fox demon and a very pissed off priestess.

“That’s it, you ungrateful dog! I’m sick and tired of hearing your whining about my cooking- if you can’t handle it, then DON’T EAT! SEE IF I CARE!” Kagome’s blue eyes flashed wildly with unconcealed rage.

The said miko had decided to wake up significantly earlier than she normally did to create a big breakfast as to start off the day on a good note; sure that their travels would bring on a familiar exhaustion she felt daily since discovering the Senjoku period four years prior. Normally high schoolers in her time were not off tramping all over feudal Japan and instead spent a lot of their day in school, sitting and furthering education.

Kagome turned on heel and marched over to her well-used big yellow back pack, furiously shoving her items into it, a low scowl set across her pretty, young features. She had worn her high school uniform to the feudal era the last time she’d left; having just returned home from school. Her hips adorned a grey, black and red plaid skirt that ended mid-thigh and she wore a grey wool cardigan over a white button-up collared shirt with a with crimson ribbon encircling her neck.

“I’m going home; and don’t you DARE complain about it, InuYasha. I need to catch up on some school work and take a MUCH needed break away from YOU,” she snarled, not once looking back at the red hanyou.

“Take your time Kagome, we’ll be here when you’re finished,” Sango smiled gently at the young girl. She was but a few years older than her dear friend, thus also being a woman, she understood the young girl’s irritation. She also had noticed Kagome periodically sneaking away from them to ‘take walks’ or ‘find food’ and return with nothing. Sango had no doubts in her mind what was causing the increased reactions from the miko; even on a good day InuYasha’s selfishness would’ve irritated her. After all, everything would’ve been fine if he could’ve been civil and recognize the effort the young lady had put into making a big elaborate breakfast for everyone, all he’d needed to do was say thanks and shut his big fanged mouth. Instead, he chose to act as selfishly and ignorant as most young males, and simply complain that he didn’t like what she’d made as much as his ‘ninja food’ and that she shouldn’t have bothered.

Kagome probably would’ve gotten over it fine if it had stopped there, but as the Inutachi knew, InuYasha’s idiocy tended to know no bounds, and he continued to assault the young miko’s confidence by stating each and every single thing he could find ‘wrong’ about the meal or what could’ve been made ‘better’ than it was. Too salty, too sweet, bad texture… The inu’s distastefulness had been his own downfall.

Kagome straightened and stood up as she slung the heavy bag over her shoulder,

“Thanks Sango, I know time flows differently here than in my own, so I hope I’m not gone very long.”

“Would you like to take Kirara with you?” Miroku came to stand beside his destined woman; a friendly smirk curved his lips softly across his face. Kagome thought about it for a moment, then shook her head,

“Naw, I’ll walk off some frustration. We aren’t too, too, far from the well. Plus, if I were to take her, I would probably get home still angry and someone else would pay this idiot’s price,” she spoke softly, nodding her head towards said idiot who was just climbing to his feet, his eyebrows sharply angled down.

“Maybe you’ll walk off some of your shitty attitude as well if we’re lucky,”

Shippou sighed heavily beside the tree he’d been as the whole situation played out,

“InuYasha, you can be soooooo stupid sometimes,”

“Shut up, brat! I wasn’t talkin’ to you now, was I!”

Miroku and Sango looked upon the half demon, both similarly portraying unimpressed expressions. The miko’s hand tightened almost painfully on the strap she was holding, her anger flaring to life once more,

“You… Are… Such a… Such a…” her fury-fogged mind attempted to supply names, but none of them seemed strong enough to express her feelings,

“JERK!! SCREW YOU!!”

Her black hair flicked silently over her shoulder, the hem of her grey plaid skirt dancing around her creamy thighs as she turned and started towards the path they’d come from the previous night.

The hanyou’s golden eyes narrowed, his cheeks flushing,

“Well it takes one to know one!!”

“SIT!” Her angry voice exploded back into the clearing, closely followed by another earth-breaking thud and cry of anger and pain.

Sango huffed heavily and closed her deep brown eyes, scowling with obvious irritation; sometimes she pitied the young priestess having to put up with the brunt of the half demon’s immature attitude.

Miroku sighed, his hands rose while he shook his head, softly speaking to everyone in general,

“You’d think he’d learn sometimes… Alas, the outcome has turned out the same. A mad young maiden, time travelling back to the future while a bad-tempered idiot lays out across the ground.”

“Hey, Kagome! I’m not done talkin’ to you! Get back here! HEY!! KAGOME! KAGOOOMEEE!!!”

Kagome growled, mumbling to herself as she made her way through the forest paths. Sometimes that idiot’s immaturity surpassed even the level she thought it capable of,

“Sometimes I wonder… Ooouu I should just march right back there and sit him to the center of the Earth!”

She had been wondering for some time now, barely paying attention to where she was walking as she fumed in her head about the hanyou. It would take another half a day to get back to InuYasha’s forest, so she wasn’t too concerned about it.

How dare he criticise me and my food… And I will go home when I WISH to! Kagome growled in her mind, her blue eyes portraying the irritation she so obviously felt, Yeah! As if I haven’t noticed him taking off in the middle of the night to see a certain someone. We all know of YOUR little escapades to miss miko of the dead.

Her brown loafers that had previously been methodically thumping at a quick pace finally began to slow. From underneath blue-black bangs, the young girl stopped to survey her surroundings, going so far as to turn in a complete circle as she attempted to get her barings.

Perfect, first breakfast and now this… Where the hell am I? Her minds voice rang out internally as she blinked again; ceasing her spinning, her soft locks coming to rest on her small rounded shoulders.

I… I think I recognise this place… I think I know that tree and rock… Or maybe that pile of bushes over there…

“Dammit… Yup, I’m lost,” she sighed, finally conceding to the obvious, “Well… I guess I’ll just keep going, the next village I come upon should at least be able to direct me.”

Night soon began to descend on Kagome; she wouldn’t allow herself to think of the fact that she was still in the forest, only armed with a bow, a quiver of arrows, and the few limited supplies she had stuffed into her pack. Yes, a box of tampons would work SO well against a demon. Maybe if only to absorb the saliva dripping from it’s mouth at the thought of eating her flesh-

“GAH!! Stop stop stop stop STOP! Stop thinking, Kagome!!” she scolded herself, closing her eyes as she thunked her head with tightly wrapped fist as if the motion itself could dislodge the many thoughts of her impending condemnation.

“Thinking stuff like that is NOT conducive to finding your way home, just… keep walking!” the miko tried to spur herself on.

Convincing herself to not think of the dangers surrounding her became harder and harder as twilight surrounded her, caressing her soft skin with fingers of cold. Kagome shivered, suddenly wishing she hadn’t left her sleeping bag with Shippou and Kirara, at least then she could have something to wrap around her shoulders.

The miko let out a slight gasp as a branch bypassed her grip and swung towards her, nicking her cheek for the twentieth time that day. She held back a growl of annoyance; she was completely covered with cuts and scratches on her legs, arms, neck and face. What was one more, really.

A loud crack rang in her ears like a gunshot, her blood instantly running cold. Wide blue eyes glanced off to the side, her body froze momentarily as she began to mentally make a battle plan. Kagome suddenly didn’t feel as brave as normal on her own, in the forest, in the darkness of coming-night. Her human sight was not nearly as good as the two demons and one hanyou she traveled with. Her scent wasn’t either. She also couldn’t help but compare her hand-to-hand skills and demon knowledge to that of her sister-like best friend and taijiya; or the ability of using sutras like the houshi.

Kagome almost shook her head, forcing her mind to push aside the issues that didn’t require immediate attention, like her fear. She unslung the bow from her shoulder with one hand crossed over her chest, the second reaching to remove an arrow as silently as she could. At least she was a much, MUCH better shot than she had been when she’d been thrown into this new reality four years ago.

Steeling herself against whatever she thought was about to come through the vegetation to her left, she notched and arrow, prepared to draw.

What she had thought would pop through the bushes was so far from what actually did that the miko dropped to her knees noisily as a young girl in an orange and yellow yukata popped her head onto the path.

“…Kagome? Kagome, is that you?” Rin inquired, her brown eyes widening with a smile, “It IS! It is you, Kagome!”

Kagome could only let out a shaky laugh as the young girl lurched forward and ran to embrace her. Her blood pounding so hard she could feel it thudding against the restraint of her veins and arteries, screaming for release. The adrenaline coursing strong through her body would soon wear her out, but all Kagome could think of was that because the girl was there, she was safe as well. Sesshoumaru would never let harm come to his ward.

“Come on, Kagome! Rin is searching for her dinner! There’s a stream around here, would you like to join Rin for dinner?”

Kagome could not help but smile at the small kind girl, wondering how it was that she remained so innocent and happy around a being as cold as Sesshoumaru. That wasn’t to say she hadn’t witnessed the inu youkai’s niceness, he’d helped them a couple times, and she’d been privy to seeing his state of mind when he rescued Rin before. He obviously cared for the young girl, but even then, Kagome had never seen him grace her with a smile, or a hug. Was Sesshoumaru even capable of hugging?

“I’d love to have dinner with you Rin… Do you, um, happen to know where we are?”

“Rin doesn’t…” The girl frowned sadly, then immediately brightened, “Oh! But Lord Sesshoumaru will! We can ask him!”

Rin grasped her small hand around Kagome’s, happy to be of help to the girl; completely ignorant of the miko’s expression of surprise and mild fear. Sesshoumaru would never help her… She was over the thought that he would kill her on the spot like she used to think, but that didn’t mean she was looking for trouble.

“H-Hey, let’s catch some food first, hmm?” Kagome offered shakily, trying to at least attempt to prolong her meeting with the demon lord, thinking about what she could possibly say to him that would get him to help her.

“Oh! Yes! That’s a great idea, Kagome!”

The couple set about to gathering some berries and edible leaves before Kagome showed her to a nearby stream that they could fish out of. The two girls laughed and fooled around while they gathered their dinner, even splashed a bit in the water. It was about 7PM by Kagome’s internal clock’s guess, heading into fall, the sun had started to set earlier than it had before.

After Kagome and Rin had caught six fish, Kagome could no longer deny that the time was arriving where she’d have to face the demon lord. Holding back an edible gulp, the two girls made their way back to Rin’s campsite towards a small smoldering fire.

Jaken raised his irritated green face towards Rin as she ambled out from the brush,

“About time you finished, Rin,” he grumbled, “I’m was about to go in there after you myself be—WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!”

Kagome emerged behind Rin shyly, her yellow bag slung about her back, nervously twirling a lock of ebony hair around her pale fingers. Rin gave Jaken a toothy grin,

“I found her in the forest! She’s lost, so I said we could ask Lord Sesshoumaru where to go!”

Jaken growled,

“you idiot! Lord Sesshoumaru does not have the time for the likes of a lowly mortal gir- OUCH! You insignificant wench! How dare you hit me!”

Kagome’s azure eyes flashed in the fading light,

“Maybe you’ll learn to show some respect next time, Toad, the next one will be harder,”

The imp demon visibly struggled for words at her threat, too angry to come up with anything that didn’t sound immature, so he merely ‘Hmphed!’ and turned his head away from the two.

Rin sat before the fire, shadows dancing across her small frame as she began cooking the fish,

“Look, Master Jaken! We caught enough fish for everyone! Even you, Ah-Un and Lord Sesshoumaru!”

“Lord Sesshoumaru has no need for food often, Rin; you known that,” he chided, secretly not wanting the girl to be displeased when the great youkai turned her offer down flat.

“Speaking of, where is Lord Sesshoumaru, Master Jaken?” The human girl turned inquisitive eyes towards the short imp youkai, patiently awaiting his answer.

“He merely stated he would be back shortly.”

Kagome let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. Smiling a bit more easily, she turned her cooking stick that she had a speared fish on, attempting to cook it thoroughly. Satisfied, she took the stick out from the ground and shifted towards Jaken to hand it to him. He, in turn, looked at her stupidly, blinking repeatedly as if he didn’t know what to do with the stick she was quite obviously handing his way.

“Well, take it, you’re probably hungry too,” Kagome stately plainly, not in an unkind way. The imp demon silently reached over as if to grab it before catching himself.

“I do not need to accept food from a lowl—GUURPHMM!!”

Kagome, having no explicit want, nor need to listen to the demon, had taken the opportunity to merely shove the cooked fish into his mouth, not wishing to hear more,

“Yeah, yeah, just eat and be thankful,” she muttered.

Rin clambered to her feet and trailed over to the giant, green, scaled two-headed dragon of Sesshoumaru’s, feeding each head a fish. Even from there Kagome could hear the dragon’s purr of appreciation.

All of the sudden Kagome’s head snapped back to look towards the sky,

“A strong demon’s fast approaching,” she stated, fearing she knew exactly who it was. Even with his youki sealed, Sesshoumaru’s presence was unmistakable.

“Lord Sesshoumaru!” Rin cried delightedly, waving her arm back in forth to greet him. Kagome’s blue eyes widened as she saw said white figure descending downwards, silky silvery hair shimmering as it cascaded like of waterfall of so many strands over his broad shoulders and down his back. Kagome could see, even from the distance, how his amber eyes glowed; staring at his ‘pack’ and the outsider. She felt herself inhale as soft black boots touched the ground silently, those bright eyes locking onto her blue orbs. She suppressed a shiver threatening to travel her spine as the demon lord strode towards them with a blank expression.

“Welcome back, my Lord!” Rin chimed cutely, a large toothy grin spread over her lips. Sesshoumaru turned his impassive face towards the young human,

“Rin. Why is the miko here,” it was not a question.

His monotonous tone didn’t seem to faze Rin in the slightest and she replied instantaneously,

“I found her in the woods!”

Kagome sweat-dropped, Just like a stray dog… wow, no pun intended, she opened her mouth to supply the youkai with a better answer.

“I um… I was trying to find my way back to InuYasha’s forest and… got lost.”

She almost regretted speaking as the inu youkai turned to focus his full attention back onto her, his silence disconcerting her a bit. Thank god for Rin who, predictably, broke the quietness,

“Lord Sesshoumaru? Can we help her find her way? Please? Please, please, pleaaaaaseeee?”

“Rin! Do not waste our Lord’s time on such silly sentiments! The girl can find her own way!” Jaken snapped viciously as the young girl flinched back, letting her hands drop to her sides and lowering her head. Kagome felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl, turning a glare towards the imp demon as Rin’s lips formed a small frown.

Sesshoumaru remained silent as Rin mumbled a soft apology before turning narrowing eyes towards Jaken,

“I do not remember telling you to speak for me, Jaken,” the Daiyoukai’s growl rumbled through his chest like a soft threat.

“Y-Y-Yes M’lord, sorry M’lord!” Jaken stammered quickly, lowering his face half in fear and half in respect, “I apologize for my ignorance.”

“Hn.”

Kagome looked upon the scene with growing interest; though she had seen many times that the inu youkai had favored the young human, it still surprised her. Rin looked up to Sesshoumaru with a giant smile, rocking backing on her heels happily. Sesshoumaru once again swung that dangerous gaze towards Kagome, staring at her for a few unnerving seconds before turning away and walking to a tree ten metres to the left; silently sinking to a recumbent position, his back propped against the thick trunk.

The lord closed his eyes then, revealing two magnificent magenta strokes trailing his delicate eye lids, long dark lashes casting shadows over his cheeks. Kagome blinked, no one could deny Sesshoumaru’s beauty… It was ethereal. ‘Beauty’ was not what men commonly wanted to described as, but handsome just didn’t cut it… He was literally just… beautiful. Clothed in deep shadows of blues, blacks and greys, Kagome watched as a slight wind stirred the demon lord’s hair softly around him, the crescent displayed proudly on his forehead looking black against his pale skin.

The young miko ceased her thoughts and turned those azure orbs onto Rin as the younger girl grinned at her,

“We will help you!” she exclaimed brightly as always.

Kagome blinked stupidly, not quite understanding how the young girl came to that conclusion from the little conversation between the two youkai, but figured that if Rin were wrong, this would be the time Sesshoumaru would speak up to correct her. A quick glace towards him and back to Rin settled her thoughts; she’d figure it out later, she decided.

As the evening wore on, the two females talked excitedly amongst themselves. Kagome grabbed her yellow pack and unzipped it – earning an interested stare from the demons and human girl, and inquisitive question from Rin. Kagome was a bit stuck, unsure of what to do. She didn’t trust Sesshoumaru enough to let him know that she was from the future,

“Uh, we picked up a couple strange things along the journey… This is called a zipper,” she answered uneasily.

Luckily for her, the young girl let it go, seemingly satisfied with the answer. The miko smiled and dug into her bag, looking for one object in particular,

“Ah! Here it is,” she smiled triumphantly and withdrew her hand, holding out a sucker to Rin. The girl looked on in awe, a small hand reaching out to take it. A small breeze blew by leaving Kagome to discover her hand empty and a confused girl whose hand was, also, empty. Feeling a tickle at her shoulder, Kagome looked to her right to see a long lock of silver hair softly swaying. Trailing up the white silk-clothed leg beside her, her eyes met with Sesshoumaru’s face, a suspicious look in his amber eyes as he sniffed at the hardened sugar, a hard set to his mouth.

Kagome held back a sigh, looks like I’m not the only untrusting one. She let a small grin tug at the corners of her lips,

“It isn’t poisoned or anything, Se-Lord Sesshoumaru, it is merely a candy,”

Those suspicious eyes narrowed down at her, lingering for a moment longer before returning to the candy. It was a second more before he must have deemed it was safe enough for his human ward since he let his arm drop and gently tossed it towards the girl, having already begun his way back to his original spot by the tree. This time as he sat, his golden eyes pieced out of the darkness, trained on the two.

Rin tugged at the weird wrapping, seemingly trusting her Lord’s judgement unwaveringly, shoving the hard sphere into her mouth immediately after winning her war with its wrapping.

Kagome’s grin widened as she watched the girls eyes turn into saucers, sucking on the candy deliciously,

“It’s really, really good, Kagome!! It’s so sweet!” she exclaimed, those wide brown eyes smiling as bright as her lips were.

Kagome giggled,

“It’s strawberry flavoured.”

“Well… I guess it kinda tastes like strawberries… but I think it tastes more like the sweep syrup that get from those special trees!”

“It’s essentially what they use to make them, they’re called suckers,” she over-simplified; it would be impossible for the girl to completely understand mass-produced candy unless she knew all lot more about Kagome’s time.

It was a few hours later that the young girl curled up beside the fire. The two had shared many stories, sometimes Kagome even forgot that Sesshoumaru was staring at them from the treeline. Never for long though; Sesshoumaru, if any, was a demon whose presence demanded acknowledgement. Any time Kagome had glanced back, she’d met the demon lord’s eyes; not once did he break their connection. She was always the one to lower her eyes or return them to the younger girl; her lack of comfort must have been evident because Rin smiled at her at one point,

“Don’t worry, Kagome. Lord Sesshoumaru will not hurt you! He’s actually very nice!”

Kagome felt that familiar tugging at her lips, the girl trusted him inexplicably,

“I know he’s secretly nice,” she joked, for the youkai lord had never outwardly showed her kindness, only in a roundabout way that left her wondering, “I just need to look at you to be reassured.”

The girl got a serious look and glanced towards both demons before waving her hand at Kagome motioning her to move closer so she could let her in on what seemed to be a big secret; the miko had no choice but to humour the girl and lean forwards,

“Did you know that, sometimes, if it’s a cold night, Lord Sesshoumaru tells me to wrap up in his fluff, or even puts it over me in the middle of the night!”

Kagome couldn’t help but looked a little shocked, Sesshoumaru was capable of caring to that point that he worried for his wards physical comfort?

I guess I shouldn’t really be so surprised… I mean, Rin is a little girl; it would be cruel to ignore her comfort. I just can’t picture Sesshoumaru giving up something of his for her…

The miko smiled softly; obviously there was more to the youkai than she knew. Kagome thought it was cute, now seeing Sesshoumaru more as a doting father or brother to Rin, the mental image itself warmed her insides.

Her blue eyes made their way to glance back at him once again, only to have him intimidatingly lock her gaze, his slightly narrowed eyes - daring her to see his care as a weakness like his father’s had been. Kagome, for what seemed to be the tenth time that night, held back a gulp and looked back towards Rin. Seemingly, the young girl either forgot, or didn’t know, of the strong hearing inu youkais’ possessed; Sesshoumaru quite clearly knew every word being said.

It was shortly after that Rin had fallen asleep beside Kagome, stretched out on top of a blanket, and underneath a second. Kagome prodded at the crackling fire, her eyes seemingly mesmerized by nature’s erratic dance, throwing the whole clearing into sharp reliefs of shadows. Jaken lay on his back a short few meters away, snoring rather annoyingly; the Staff of Two Heads propped up beside him. The miko tugged at the grey cuff of her cardigan sleeve and finally let her eyes be drawn to where they’d been pulling to all night. The demon lord sat in the same position he had reclined in all night, his back against a tree with a knee propped up, one graceful arm slung over it. Kagome could see that his molten eyes were closed, once again revealing those artful brush strokes over his lids. She idly wondered if he were sleeping as she got to her feet. Unthinkingly, her body made its own decision to move her closer to his spot, small soft steps almost inaudibly thumped beneath her.

She must have been within two meters before she blinked, opening her eyes only to find herself looking up into his fierce golden orbs, the stars a backdrop behind him, and struggling to pull in air. Kagome could feel her back pressed against the hard bark of a tree and a warm hand embracing her small neck. Her blood pressure was skyrocketing, adrenaline being pumped through her body before she could even register what had happened in the first place. It took her a minute but she finally managed to drag in a breath noisily after having it previously stolen from impact.

Sesshoumaru stared down at the stupid girl; her ambiguous reasons for nearing his person were locked in her brain that still raced for answers. The Daiyoukai twitched his fingers around her neck, waiting for her to state her wants, completely dissatisfied with the breach of his territory. Surely even the girl knew better than to come into any dog’s territory and expect no consequences? Ignorant humans.

Kagome tried to open her mouth to speak, but her mind just couldn’t properly form her words. She felt heat, his heat, on her neck; his solid frame in front of hers as the youkai held- but not choked – her.

You idiot. What the hell did you think would happen if you went near a sleeping demon?

She mentally scolded herself, a slight shudder racking her spine as she felt the tips of those dangerous claws skim her fragile skin.

“Are you… Are you really going to help me?” her voice sounded a bit raspy, even to her.

Sesshoumaru stared unblinkingly into her eyes; feeling he had gotten his warning to her across, he slowly uncurled his hand and let it drop back to his side. The youkai stepped away to the side, having no want to be near to this human; completely disregarding her question.

“W-Why? I mean, it’s no secret I’m not your favorite… species.”

The youkai had half a mind to tell her his decisions did not require her to understand; but then he didn’t want her to mistake that he was doing it for her, or worse, himself.

“Rin. She desires human companionship.”

The demons curt response had Kagome holding back a small smile. Her gaze swept over his tall build, his stillness surprised her; the only moving parts on him were his hair and clothes, stirring lightly in the warm breeze. She absorbed the view of the malevolent demon in front of her almost guiltily. She had always loved InuYasha, practically from the first time she’d set eyes on those furry white appendages. Though his increasingly frequent midnight visits to a certain priestess had been grating on her confidence for quite some time now. Not that the great Daiyoukai would ever look at her with anything close to affection, mind you; but that didn’t make her blind. And dare she think it? The sight of him in front of her seemed to be doing mean things to her…

“Make no mistake, mortal. This is not for you,” his deep baritone rumbled through his chest, those brilliantly gleaming eyes once again on the raven-haired girl.

“Don’t worry; I never would,” she grinned slightly, “Thank you, Lord Sesshoumaru.”

“Hn.”

Holding back a sarcastic remark about his lack of vocabulary, the girl walked around the demon, giving him wide berth, and back to Rin’s side. The fire was just dying down for the night and exhaustion enveloped her body as her adrenaline died down a second time that evening. She heard the demon lord returning to his original position, mentally making a note to not act like an idiot again… well, intentionally anyway.

Kagome turned on her side, her back facing the Daiyoukai across the clearing. Surprisingly, she was very much at ease with going to sleep; her confidence that the youkai would not let any demon near their camp just for the purpose of protecting the young one in front of her. Rin sprawled on her back, one arm flung up above her head, the other out from her side. The miko could not help but smile motherly at her sleeping habits as she adjusted Rin to a more comfortable position and tucked her in.

Kagome lay on her side, sliding her eyes closed to half-mast; her hand snaking up her body to rest at her throat.

Even now she could still feel the demon’s heat.