Elements by Artemisgirl

Chapter 1

A/N: Hello, dear reader! You seem to have stumbled upon Elements, a tale of the true meaning of love, understanding raw emotion, and self expression without words, centered around Kagome and Sesshomaru. Luckily for you, this authoress Artemis has written fanfiction before, so she knows what she is doing, to an extent. At the end, please leave a review, and share your thoughts with her.

And now, without further ado...

"Ses-sho-mar-u!"

Sighing and rubbing his temples gently to ward off a headache, the great taiyoukai lord raised his head, glaring at his young ward, who was charging at him. While anyone else would have faltered at his harsh gaze, the girl ran forward, completely oblivious, and flung herself around his knees.

"Sesshomaru! Jaken says he won't let Rin near unless Rin stops talking!" She looked up at him urgently. "But Rin does not want to stop talking! Rin just wants to eat!

Sesshomaru sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly in a rare show of exasperation. "Rin," he started. "Why does-"

"It is not true, Master!" A large, deformed looking toad came hurtling out of the tall crab grass and immediately threw himself on the ground, lying prostrate in front of the sitting youkai lord. "It is not true!"

"Jaken," Sesshomaru said tiredly. "Get up."

"You lie!" Rin accused, pointing a tiny finger at the demon toad. "You said Rin could not eat unless she was quiet!"

Sesshomaru shut his eyes, the throbbing in his head growing, despite his efforts to the contrary.

"I only told the girl that you would not want to bother with her incessant ramblings, Sessshomaru-sama!" Jaken insisted. "And that if she kept being so noisy that-"

"You wanted Rin to starve!" Rin said dramatically.

Sesshomaru briefly wondered why he, a great taiyoukai lord, was listening to this senseless squabble.

"I said no such thing, my lord!" Jaken squawked indignantly. "I merely suggested that she be quiet, as you were tired and resting and might not want to feed her if she kept-"

"You lie!" Rin announced loudly. "Jaken said Rin could not eat unless-"

"-I was merely looking out for your best interest, my lord-"

"-but Rin likes to talk-"

"-disturbing your rest, master, so I-"

"-and Rin did not want to starve-"

"-child, lord, and she would-"

"-then Rin called Jaken a smelly-head because he would not give Rin food-"

"-merely trying to be of assistance to you-"

"Enough!"

Jaken and Rin both froze at the taiyoukai's commanding tones, watching as he rose to his feet.

"Jaken," he said, still pinching the bridge of his nose, "go find Rin some food."

"But, my lord-" Jaken objected.

Sesshomaru silenced him with a sharp look, making the toad stumble backwards, bowing deeply.

"Yes, my lord. Right away, my lord." Jaken stumbled off into the crabgrass, apparently too frightened to look back.

Rin watched Jaken go curiously.

"Did Jaken annoy Sesshomaru-sama?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Rin," Sesshomaru said tiredly. His tone was firm, but gentle undertones of affection seemed to creep in. "Go back to the field with Ah-Un until Jaken brings you food. You may play in the flowers, but you must play quietly."

"Okay!" Rin agreed happily, throwing her arms around the taiyoukai's knees before skipping off towards the flower field, humming.

Sesshomaru watched her go, sighing. Having heard of a rumor of Naraku's location, he had resolved to depart from his palace, planning to slay the filthy hanyou once and for all. Jaken, his retainer, had insisted on coming along, and Rin had pleaded to join him as well, exclaiming she how she didn't feel safe in the castle without Sesshomaru there. Grudgingly, he had let them both come with him, and they had set off with his dragon, following the rumors to find the target.

They had been traveling for a little over a week, but it seemed closer to a century to him. If the two kept bickering like this, he didn't know how he would handle it. His famed icy demeanor was slipping more and more each moment he spent with them, and his irritation continued to grow at an alarming rate.

Deciding to go for a walk to relax somewhat before nightfall, Sesshomaru strode off into the woods, leaving the annoying child and the obnoxious toad behind.

He deserved this, at least, for his patience. A lesser demon than he would have slaughtered them days ago.

The trees thinned, and Sesshomaru found himself in a clearing. Such a clearing was a good place to lie down and relax in, he reasoned, moving forward. Something on the ground shifted, and he was startled to see that a woman was lying down in the center of the field.

Slightly surprised that a woman would be in such a place on her own, he moved forward, planning to simply scare her off. He moved towards her silently, dimly wondering why he hadn't smelt her, when he felt a sudden rise in holy energy.

Stopping, Sesshomaru paused. It was a miko in the meadow. He scowled. That explained why she was on her own, at least: she could fend for herself. It also made things more difficult. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the young priestess. She somehow seemed familiar...

She was lying down, her black hair spread out behind her. She seemed to be watching the sky, judging from the positioning of her head and eyes, though there was nothing odd to be seen. She seemed average enough.

Her clothes, however, were another story. The strange white and green cloth that exposed so much skin was highly recognizable, once he had noticed it. The miko was InuYasha's wench, the strange girl who had been able to withdraw the Tessaiga. What was her name? Kaede?

Sesshomaru froze, his eyes alight as the girl shifted. Sitting up and turning to look directly at him. He tensed, his hand automatically going to Tokijin's hilt. Her eyes narrowed.

"Sesshomaru," the girl said, her tone carefully neutral.

"Human," he said shortly, placing his hand firmly around his sword. He felt Tokijin's evil aura pulse and grow beneath his hand, comforting him.

The girl tensed, and Sesshomaru felt her holy energy increase. The amount present in the tiny slip of a girl shocked him; it was much more than he had encountered before when they battled.

It was Sesshomaru's turn to tense. How was he to defeat an opponent who was obviously capable of countering his energy? His normal opponents were evil and weak youkai with no such capabilities.

The girl seemed to realize the same thing at the same time. Though Sesshomaru was sure she had conquered many a demon with her miko powers on her own, he doubted she had ever defeated one of his caliber before.

Strangely, the fact did not seem to upset her as it had him.

"Sesshomaru," the girl said again. There was an odd glint in her eyes, and it unsettled him.

"Miko," he responded curtly. He let his amber eyes bore into hers, hoping to scare her away. To his surprise, she smiled slightly.

"No need to be so formal," she commented. "Please, call me Kagome."

So that was her name...

"Ka-go-me," he said, trying it out, finding it rolled off his tongue awkwardly. "Kagome," he tried again, this time pronouncing it correctly.

"There you go," she said, smiling at him. Sesshomaru frowned. This human dared to smile at him.

"Kagome," he said, drawing himself up. "You will remove your person from this clearing," he told her, his tone filled with malice. "This Sesshomaru wishes to rest here."

To his astonishment, the girl's smile grew.

"No, I don't think I will," she said, amused. "I'm quite content where I am, thanks."

"It was not a request, human," he growled, his eyes flashing. "I wish to lie in this field – alone."

"All the same, I think I'll stay," Kagome said easily. "After all, I was here first..."

"Wench," Sesshomaru snapped, his patience wearing thin. He was not used to lowly humans defying him. "If you do not move-"

"Back to general terms instead of names again, are we?" she cut in, her eyes sparkling. "And do not threaten me. It is not as if you can force me to leave."

"Human," he snarled, withdrawing Tokijin, "I can kill you with the aura of this blade alone in an instant."

"And I can purify you in an instant with my aura," she returned, smirking.

Sesshomaru internally scowled. A mere miko dared to challenge him? He flexed his claws.

"This Sesshomaru could slash your head off with these claws before you have time to react," he threatened, poison dripping from his nails.

"While I may not react quick enough, my powers could," Kagome told him. "They could form a shield to repel any attacks as soon as you move to harm me, if you so chose."

"The shield would repel your whip as well as your claws," she added, seeing him open his mouth again.

Sesshomaru tried to refrain from glowering at her, straining to keep his composure. First Rin and Jaken's argument had left him irritated, andnow a mere girl had bested him in a verbal battle of wits?This was infuriating.

"It appears we are at an impasse, then," he said coolly, sheathing his sword, regarding her with disdain.

"Not at all," she said, smiling. She moved over, patting the flattened grass beside her. "Come sit with me," she invited.

Sesshomaru frowned in a rare display of emotion. "Join you?" he asked, his tone carefully measured. This whelp of a girl thought she was worthy to sit with him?

"Sure," Kagome replied, patting the ground again. "Seeing as we both want use of this field, we can share it."

"You would relax in the face of your enemy?" he asked, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Kagome met his gaze unflinchingly.

"Yes," she said coolly.

Internally smirking, he moved to sit beside the girl.

Fool. Did she think that they were friends because they had merely exchanged a few polite words? He could slay her in an instant, with her guard so relaxed, miko shield or not! He could take her life in an instant! Watching as the infuriating girl relaxed beside him, he resolved to do just that.

Flexing his claws until they dripped with poison, Sesshomaru turned and swiped. A ripping sound was heard as his claws seared though her clothes and flesh, and his lips curled upward in an evil smile.

There was a bright flash of pink light, and Sesshomaru found himself being hurled through the air away from the miko, landing hard on the ground several meters away in a rather undignified slump. Snarling, he tried to get up to teach the girl a lesson, only to find he could not.

His eyes widened in astonishment as he say her get to her feet, dusting her skirt off, very clearly alive. Her shirt was torn where his claws had ripped it, but otherwise she stood no evidence of the fatal wound.

But how could that be? Was it possible for her, a mere miko, to survive such a killing stroke and to paralyze him, a mighty taiyoukai lord, in the same breath?

Kagome turned to face him fully, walking closer. A sad smile graced her face.

"You think I don't know how to defend myself from youkai?" she asked, her tone tired. "My miko powers are strong. Were you a lesser demon, you would be dead."

Sesshomaru knew with absolute certainty that she was speaking the truth. Strong seemed to be a bit of an understatement in regards to her abilities...

Kagome crouched down, peering at him. Her cool blue eyes met his own amber, and he was surprised at the depth of the pain he saw there.

"I thought I could trust you," she remarked, looking away. "I find now that I was mistaken."

Without another word, she stood up, turning to go.

"The paralysis will wear off after a while," she commented, not bothering to look back as she walked away into the woods, leaving him there, sprawled in the grass, alone with his inner musings.

What a strange girl. Other than InuYasha, she was the only one to ever survive a fatal blow from him, and she had even escaped unscathed, a feat his brother had not accomplished.

What kind of miko was she? He had never known any other like her and had certainly never heard of such power before.

She acted differently from other mikos as well. Her attire, for one, was nothing short of scandalous, as opposed to the traditional modest garb of a priestess. Her words and mannerisms were different as well, unique from that of others.

A memory of the pain in her eyes flickered into his vision, and Sesshomaru was surprised to note he felt somewhat guilty for causing part of it.

Shaking his head to rid himself of such thoughts, he realized that he could move. Wincing slightly, he slowly got to his feet, his body aching in protest. The miko's attack had apparently injured him more than he thought.

Glancing at the sky and the setting sun, Sesshomaru decided enough time had passed, and he moved to return to Jaken and Rin.

As he entered the forest, he cast a glance back at the field, his eyes focusing on the place where the miko had lain, and he couldn't help but wonder when he would see the strange girl again.

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