Bound by Honor

By: CelestialGolden

Chapter 4: Radiantly Human

Kagome was roused by a low timbre, forcing its way past her slow and haunting dreams. Her eyes opened as if through a fog, this having been the first truly restful sleep she had gotten since the defeat of Naraku three days prior. It was only once her gaze met that of the demon before her that she realized the urgency in his voice. Something was wrong.

"Miko. The monk's heart has stopped beating."

Her stomach dropped with dread at his words. She couldn't let Miroku die, not after everything that he and Sango went through to finally be together. She jumped up from her spot by the fire, ignoring the painful protest of her aching muscles and still healing wounds. Her arm continued to throb, but Kagome paid it no heed. Running over to Miroku, she saw that his skin was deathly pale, his lips turning from grey to blue, and his chest no longer rising and falling in the stuttering breaths he had been taking. Without a second thought to the toxicity of Miroku's blood, Kagome immediately placed both of her hands on his chest, pushing down in a quick cadence, counting to 30 before pressing her lips to his and exhaling deeply into his lungs. The bitter tang of whatever was poisoning his blood cut her tongue, but she continued on. It would be something she would worry about later. She could not let Miroku die. Not today. Not after everything he and Sango had gone through to be together.

Sesshoumaru's voice behind her made her push down harder on his chest, hoping somehow she could bring her friend back from the brink. "Miko," he said, "The pallbearers of the underworld are here. Tenseiga does not wake."

Her backup plan of Sesshoumaru reviving her friend would not work. She needed Miroku's tired heart to resume its beating. "Miroku, don't you die on me." She said breathlessly, as she continued her frantic pace. It must have been minutes, but felt like hours, until her taiyoukai companion spoke once more.

"His heart is beating again. It is weak, but it beats." She gave little thought to the awe in his tone, focused as she was on witnessing for herself the steady rise and fall of his chest and feeling the slow throb of his pulse against her fingers. She sighed in relief, though she knew it was only a matter of time before he lost the battle once more. Without medicine to treat the poison, she had only one more option to pursue. It needed to be now, as she was beginning to feel the effects of the poison she had just exposed herself to. Her lips and tongue burned, the tingling spreading through her face. Soon she knew she would be sick, too.

"Sesshoumaru. The poison in his body is demonic. I'm going to try to purify it. I would have tried before, but I didn't have the strength. My powers were exhausted." She said softly, turning to look at him and hoping that he would be willing to do as she asked without question. There wasn't much time. "I need you to take Inuyasha and Kirara away from here. My powers and body are still exhausted from the battle. I can't guarantee I won't lose control again."

Sesshoumaru only nodded, his amber eyes cutting to the blisters forming around her mouth. "You are poisoned too."

Kagome nodded, trying to ignore the slow burning through her system and the fear winding its way around her heart. "That's why it has to be now. If it doesn't work- if my powers can't cure the poison, will you make sure my friends are safe?"

"Hnn."

That was all the answer she needed. "Thank you. I'll count to 30 after you leave."

Sesshoumaru picked up the slumbering neko youkai that had been curled up by Kagome's backpack, placing her on Inuyasha's chest. He carefully lifted his brother, blankets and all, into his arms and made his way out of the cave. Once he was out of view, Kagome placed her hands on Miroku's chest, heedless of the blood still oozing from his body and seeping onto her skin. The damage had already been done. Taking a deep breath, she began to summon her powers from their place inside her soul, focusing on the task at hand and doing her best to ignore the dark and icy fear that lurked at the back of her mind. Now was not the time to be afraid. Now was the time to trust that the Kami were not finished with her yet.

"One…two…three….four…"

—

Sesshoumaru perched in the tallest tree he could find and looked down at his sleeping brother's pained face, distracting himself from his jumble of thoughts by attempting to feed him more of his youki. He was rewarded with a faint pulse and a few more silver hairs. The pulse seemed to disturb Kirara, as the Neko growled but did not wake. The wounds that Kagome had carefully treated were healing, but it was a very slow process as the gashes were deep and the small youkai seemed to have exhausted herself. He could feel her youki still nestled in her tiny form, curling in on itself and trying to recuperate. He would have to instruct the Miko on how to sense these things.

If she was successful in purifying the poison.

Though she was once the ally of his bitter enemy, Kagome had become a rather enjoyable companion. She was not intolerable, though her inane chatter sometimes drove him to frustration. She had been his only source of amusing conversation whilst traveling with his brother and their group. The others were too afraid to approach him, and Inuyasha was not one for intellectual conversations. He thought of the miko's actions, immediately jumping to the monk's rescue without concern for herself. The foolish woman had now put her own life in danger. If she could not cure this poison, then there was nothing he could do to help her. His irritation at this fact nearly overrode his awe at how she had brought a man back from the dead with only her hands. She did not use her powers, she had no youki of her own, no sword to cut through the pallbearers of the underworld, and yet she had cheated death on this night. Now she was attempting to cheat it again.

He felt the rise of her powers as a flame on the edge of his senses. He had carried her youkai companions nearly a mile from the cave, far enough that her powers would not kill him, but not so far that he could not hear her scream if she were attacked. He could be back in seconds, should she need his assistance.

For a moment he wondered how she had come to earn his concern, but the faraway hum of her powers reminded him that he owed her his life. The fact that she protected him now solidified that he should continue to protect her until she and her companions were once again able to continue without his assistance. He could never let it be that anyone under his protection was harmed. Somehow, he thought that Kagome would likely still be carrying on without his assistance. She would have awoken after her fight with the panther youkai, stitched up her own wounds, and continued to care for her friends without him. The confidence he had in these thoughts surprised him.

He had always thought humans to be weak, their inner light barely enough to sustain them through their short lives. Why was it that this human, one who had hidden behind his brother upon their first meeting, one he had assumed to be just like the rest, seemed to radiate with an inner strength greater than that of most youkai?

He sat pondering these things as the horizon began to grow brighter, signaling the coming dawn. Inuyasha began to shiver as the dew settled upon the forest. Twice he had to summon his youki whip to dispatch a carrion youkai. Despite the beacon of the Shikon no Tama from the cave, none of the youkai seemed to venture there. The hum of the miko's strong powers was almost as strong a warning as his own youki. Hours passed, and he felt a blast of purification powers from the cave, a shockwave that thundered through the earth and shook the leaves of the trees. Screams of lower youkai echoed through the forest as they met a sudden end to the raw strength of her unleashed powers.

As silence fell, Sesshoumaru gathered his brother and the Neko to his chest once more, jumping from branch to branch to see what had become of the woman who sought to cheat death.

—

Kagome wasn't sure how long she was in a healing trance. The sounds of the night had long ago fallen away, all of her senses turned inward towards Miroku and herself. She pushed her powers into his body, feeling the gentle presence of her friend for the first time since the battle. His powers came forward with hers, so weak that she almost missed their presence, but there nonetheless. She felt the stutter of his weakened heart, the slow trickle of this thickened blood through his veins, the shudders of his ragged breathing. She felt all of these things as if she were him, and the pain he was going through was immense. For a moment she was nearly overwhelmed.

The pulse of a faraway familiar aura brought her mind back into focus. She was here to heal Miroku. How would she heal something if she didn't know what it was? His heart skipped a beat, and she pushed her conscious self further into him, knowing that she would soon be out of time. She slid her powers through his blood, noting with hope that it sizzled and came clean as she passed by. After what felt like hours of searching, her soul beginning to ache with the effort of using her already abused and exhausted powers, she found the darkness that had been poisoning him. A terrifying, tarry blackness was sitting in his formerly cursed hand. It roiled and bubbled as she drew her powers close to it, knowing that her task had only just begun.

Pooling her powers deep within herself, she reached out a tendril of her power to touch the darkness. Pain seared through her body, and a maniacal laugh echoed in her head.

Naraku. She would recognize that voice anywhere.

The last of the evil youkai's soul was sitting in Miroku's formerly cursed hand, slowly poisoning him from the inside out. At the realization, Kagome began to feel the dark aura within her friend and within her own body. The only way that she could save her friend and herself was to completely purify the last part of Naraku from the world.

'You will not take my friend from me. You will not take away the rest of our lives and our hope for the future. You are dead and gone, Naraku. It is time that you are finally banished to hell.' Though her physical mouth did not move, the words penetrated the darkness of the poison that had begun to fog her mind. She did not wait for the aura to respond in kind, as she took the powers she had collected and shoved them all into Miroku's hand, watching as the darkness imploded on itself and the evil aura fizzled with a scream and attempted to jump into the air to find a new host.

The fission of her powers against the dark aura was the most painful thing she had ever felt in her life, so painful that her body was momentarily frozen in a silent scream. Though her body could not move, her soul was still capable and did not feel any pain. She allowed her soul to separate from the pain-from her own body and follow the aura into the air. Knowing that her youkai friends would be safe, she made no attempt to control it as her powers sparked and sizzled into the air around her. With a stuttering breath, Kagome allowed the full strength of her powers to detonate, feeling the rush of strength and the ringing in her ears as a bright explosion, louder and stronger than that of the final battle, flew outwards from herself. She heard the screams of nearby youkai as the shockwave continued through the forest. Her soul reconnected with her body and the pain she had been feeling, though dulling by the second as the evil aura was shredded to nothingness, was once again at the forefront of her mind.

For a few minutes, all she knew was light and the smell of a lightning storm.

Her hands, still resting on Miroku's chest, were the first part of her body she became fully aware of. Eyes still closed, Kagome quickly pushed her exhausted powers into his body to check that she had eliminated all of the darkness from him. It caused excruciating pain in her chest, but she had to make sure. She saw nothing but light in Miroku's body, and as she pulled back into herself, she felt a rush of gratefulness and the familiar warmth of her friend's spiritual energy.

She opened her eyes next, knowing that the growing dizziness would not likely get better and that she was about to pass out. Before her stood Sesshoumaru, with Inuyasha still in his arms and an indecipherable look on his normally stoic face. She could only manage a brief, breathy laugh, as she felt her body start to sway. She felt her mouth move as the dark spots swam in her vision, and as her consciousness faded she could have sworn she heard a laugh.

—

Sesshoumaru watched as once more the miko lost consciousness in front of him. It was no surprise, after the immense power that had thundered from her small form, that she would be beyond exhausted and her body would demand immediate rest. It was the words that left her mouth as her body fell that made him laugh out loud for the first time in almost a century. "Sesshoumaru-sama, I cannot contain myself."

He knew that she must have succeeded in her task, if she was in good enough spirits to joke. Sniffing the air in the cave, he picked up the tang of lightning, as her powers always left, the gentle tea scent of the monk, and the crisp clean water and ginger of the miko. There was no scent of sickness from her, the blisters that had formed on her mouth were gone. The monk's face was no longer grey, some pink had returned to his cheeks and his breathing was steady, his heartbeat strong. He no longer smelled of rotting blood and his wounds no longer oozed.

Placing his brother back in his spot, he slashed his hand and fed Inuyasha some more of his blood. This time, the pulse that came from him was stronger, and almost 1/4 of his hair turned from midnight black to silver. His ears, fangs, and claws had yet to return, but his fever was beginning to abate. From across the cave, he could hear the miko's teeth chatter in the cold. The fire had gone out and the chill of the early morning had fully taken hold. Kagome's bedding was cold and damp from the dew, and he could not put her back in it and expect her to feel any semblance of warmth.

He restarted the fire with the aid of one of Kagome's matches, remembering her long explanation of how they worked. She knew many words that he did not, which was not an easy feat for anyone to accomplish. As a Son of the West, he had been given many lessons and was well educated. The Miko was the only one he had ever met who could teach him things that he did not know. It was after this first lesson in "chemistry" as she had called it that he had first gained a grudging respect for her. Looking down at her shaking and pale form, Sesshoumaru made his first selfless decision in many centuries. He did not try to excuse it or blame it on his need to maintain his honor. She was cold, and he was warm.

He resumed the spot along the wall of the cave that he had come to call his own, pulling the unconscious miko into his arms. Quickly her shivering ceased and her muscles relaxed into true slumber. She had exerted more strength in the course of three days than any youkai he had ever known. She deserved the first truly restful sleep she would get in as many days. He tucked his loaned haori more firmly around her sleeping form, trying to ensure she stayed warm. Mokomoko-sama drifted from his shoulder of its own accord, wrapping around the miko's exposed legs. She snuggled deeply into his side in her sleep and his instincts growled in contentment.

Hours passed and the monk's scent grew stronger and cleaner, the sickness finally purged from his body and death driven back by the miko sleeping next to him. The technique she had used to bring him back- beating his heart for him and pushing her own breath into his body, was one he had never seen before and he assumed was something from her future world. The knowledge she possessed surprised him, and he could not help but feel the respect he had for her grow at the thought that there were likely many more miracles within her capabilities that he could not comprehend.

His brother's scent began to change as well, as the sun marched its way across the sky and the cool morning mist broke into afternoon sunshine. The breeze on the air was still chilly, and thus the fire in the cave remained lit and the miko stayed snuggled in his robes and mokomoko-sama. Faintly, Inuyasha began to smell faintly less human than before, and the sickness that had blanketed him like a fog began to dissipate.

It was as the sun began its descent in the sky that the miko woke from her slumber, her stomach grumbling loudly. Her eyes gazed up at him, blue and flecked with confusion before embarrassment permeated her scent. He pulled back his mokomoko-sama and released his hold on her, and before she could speak the taijiya groaned loudly, announcing her return to consciousness. Kagome rushed to her feet, forgetting her own exhaustion. She wavered on her feet, and he steadied her before she had the chance to fall. He did not miss her small "thank you" as the dizziness passed and she made her way to her friend. He sensed some carrion youkai growing close to the cave, despite the warning of his youki. He turned and left the cave to dispatch the threat. Rin would be returning soon. He hoped that she fetched more clothing for the miko as he had requested. It was not proper for her to wander about in his robes, at least not when there were others to…misunderstand his intentions.

—

Kagome woke feeling warm and content for the first time in a long while. Her body was sore, but not overwhelmingly so, and the well of her spiritual powers was replenished once again. Though she could feel that using her powers much in the next few days was out of the question, she had not damaged her soul by overusing them as she had feared. Even if she had, it would have been worth it to save Miroku. 'Wait…' she thought 'if I'm sleeping, then they haven't been looked after!'

At the thought of her friends, her eyes popped open and were met with the intense gold eyes of her taiyoukai ally. She blinked, confused. He was…awfully close? Hadn't she passed out next to Miroku?

She was warm…very warm. The silk of his haori was soft against her skin and the smooth and cool caress of his hair soothed the rapidly heating skin on her cheek. She was…curled up against Sesshoumaru? How had that happened? The soft and fluffy warmth on her legs was his mokomoko-sama. She was completely invading his personal space, and he didn't seem particularly bothered by it. She was frozen in confusion, feeling like she needed to say something to break the tension of unexpectedly awakening in the arms of the Lord of the Western Lands, but she couldn't think of anything appropriate to say. The only thing running through her mind was the absurd future pickup line "So, you come here often?"

Sango groaned from her makeshift bed, and Kagome was quickly snapped out of her thoughts. She rushed to stand, but felt the blood drain from her head. A wave of dizziness made her pause, but strong hands steadied her for a moment. She thanked the youkai behind her quietly, already recovering from her head rush, and hurried to Sango's side just as her friend's eyes opened. She sensed Sesshoumaru leaving the cave, but knew that he was staying in the area and thus was a bit relieved to not have to face the awkward tension again anytime soon.

"Sango?" Kagome said, unsure if her friend was truly awake.

Sango blinked and looked around the cave, attempting to sit up. Kagome pushed her back down for a moment, wanting to make sure she was strong enough to talk before attempting sitting. "Kagome? What…what happened?" Sango said softly, clearly confused.

Kagome found Sango's wrist with her fingers, feeling for a pulse to make sure that it was in normal limits. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Sango blinked up at the cave ceiling, trying to remember. "We…we were camping outside a clearing and then…Naraku! Kami, he escaped again, didn't he?! Wait…Miroku! Where…" She tried once again to sit up, and this time Kagome helped her into the position and propped her up against the cave wall.

"Miroku is ok. He's injured too, but he's recovering. He hasn't woken up yet. Naraku is dead." Kagome watched her friend process that information, going over to the fire to put the broth on to boil and retrieving some jerky from the smoker. Now that Sango was awake it was important to get her to eat if she could stomach some food.

Sango reached greedily for the canteen in Kagome's hands, intending to drink deeply from the canteen. Kagome pulled it back from her mouth. "Go slowly. You've been asleep for a long time." She took a few more conservative sips before handing the canteen back and accepting the jerky, chewing slowly. Her mind was racing at the information Kagome was telling her. How long could she possibly have slept? It was evening, and the last thing she remembered it was morning, so a few hours?

"How long was I out?" Sango asked, glancing forlornly in Miroku's direction. He looked ok from here, but she wanted to check on him desperately.

Kagome noticed her friend's preoccupation but didn't comment on it. "Three days."

Sango's eyes widened. How could she have been out for that long? That was far longer than she had ever been unconscious after an injury. She must have been in very bad shape. "Three days?! No wonder I feel awful…How did we get here?"

Kagome brought the now steaming broth from the fire, producing a spoon and cooling it a bit before offering it to Sango to eat while they spoke. "I woke up in the battlefield and everything was dead. I sort of…found you all and brought you here. Kirara helped carry Miroku and Inuyasha."

Sango paused. Kagome was of a slighter build than herself. While not weak by any means, she had just fought long and hard in the battle. How had she summoned the energy to carry her? "You…you carried me here? And cared for us all for three days? You're injured too! And…what are you wearing?" She glanced down at herself. "I'm wearing your clothing."

Kagome nodded. "The snake youkai's venom caused a lot of swelling and I didn't want to put anything too constricting on you, so I put you in my pajamas. Your arm is still a bit too swollen for your armor, so you'll have to content yourself with my pajamas for a few days longer."

Sango attempted to spoon the broth into her own mouth, but her arms were incredibly weak and she struggled to get the first sip. It was embarrassing, being so weak she could not feed herself. Kagome did not comment, but took the spoon from her hand and began to hold it up for her to use. Already she was feeling sleepy again, but she fought it. It was too early to go back to sleep. She had only been awake for five minutes! She wanted to distract herself from her exhaustion. "Kagome-chan, you never explained what it is that you're wearing."

If she hadn't been looking carefully for a response, Sango might have missed the blush that colored her friend's face. "It's um…Sesshoumaru's haori. He loaned it to me. I didn't have any clothing left after making all these bandages." Kagome very much wished the conversation would turn from her being clothed in the taiyoukai's garments. It was reminding her of how warm and gentle his arms had been a few moments before.

"Did Sesshoumaru stay with us all after the battle? That's very unlike him." Sango said, fighting back a yawn and struggling weakly against Kagome's hands guiding her back to laying down on her blankets once more.

Kagome smiled at her friend's vain attempt to feign wakefulness. In reality it was impressive that Sango had managed to sit up and have a full conversation after waking from a 3 day coma. "He showed up after a panther youkai attacked the camp. I'll tell you about it next time you wake up. You need to rest and get better. It's a long journey back to Edo."

Sango nodded, the throbbing of her wounds and fuzziness in her head finally convincing her that sleep was a very good idea. "Okay. Night, Kagome-chan."

"Goodnight, Sango-chan." Before the words had even left her mouth, Sango was once again asleep.

Kagome stood and sighed deeply. It was comforting that at least one of her friends had woken and was well on her way to recovery. All that was left was for Inuyasha's youki to return and fight the infection, for Miroku to heal from the damage done to his body and awake from his coma, for them all to get into traveling condition, and for them to make the 3-day trek back to Kaede's village in Edo.

Oh, Kami, were they not out of the woods yet.

She checked on Miroku, relieved to see that he no longer had a fever and his wounds had finally begun to close. She used her powers to check once more that he had no remnant of the dark aura in his body. Her chest ached with the effort of channeling her powers while exhausted. She hoped that Sesshoumaru planned to stay a few days longer, as she was not in fighting condition with her miko abilities down for the count. Kagome spoon fed him some of the broth, knowing it was the first bit of nourishment he had managed to keep down for two full days. Now that his blood was no longer toxic she took the time to carefully clean and re-dress his wounds. She hoped he would wake up soon.

Kagome then went to check on Inuyasha and was pleased to see that there was much more silver in his hair and a small bit of youki in his aura. It was only a sliver, but it seemed to be making a difference. Though he still had a fever, it was not as high as it had been before and the infection in his leg seemed to be improving. She fed him some of the herbed paste she had made the day prior and cleaned and drained the infected wound as well as she could. She managed to feed Inuyasha the last of the broth and knew she would need to make more. Her stomach grumbled loudly and she grabbed a piece of jerky from the smoker before sitting down to assess her own wounds for the first time that day.

Her side was throbbing slightly, but the wound had sealed closed. It wouldn't bleed again and there was no longer a need for the tight wrapping she had used on her stomach. She had very few bandages left, so she lightly coated the wound with a salve and loosely wrapped it with the same bandage she had used before. The claw marks on her collarbone and shoulder were sealed as well, though they hurt more than the wound on her side. She applied salve there as well before finally revealing the wound she was most afraid to see- her arm.

Though it had never ceased hurting, she had reached a point where she could ignore the pain and focus on other things. She was surprised when she looked at the previously blistered and disfigured skin to see that it had healed significantly. The blisters were gone, replaced by thick scabs. What was bare and oozing plasma was now merely pink and irritated. There was no way she healed this way on her own. The pain was still excruciating, but the wound looked as though it had achieved weeks of healing in the span of one day. Was this her powers at work? She couldn't normally achieve any healing like this without hours of concentration.

The mystery was one that bothered her greatly, but ultimately she decided that she couldn't solve the puzzle right at that moment. She put more of the salve on the burn and tightened Sesshoumaru's haori back over her torso. The silk had cooled from the minutes it had been off of her skin, and she sighed at the soothing feeling of the material on her back. She was honestly a little sad that she would have to return this cloth to her youkai ally.

Kagome decided to make the best use she could of the remaining hours of daylight and set out to find some root vegetables for more stew and to retrieve the last of the venison from the stream for preserving and use in a new broth. She remembered to grab her bow and quiver of arrows, her heart much lighter knowing that she might actually be able to draw her weapon now. As she walked to the stream, Kagome took a few moments to enjoy the cleanliness of the air and the peace of the forest. Sesshoumaru had clearly been exterminating the carrion youkai around, as there were no malevolent auras in the vicinity. When she came to the stream, she saw that the net she had woven contained several fish. She gladly retrieved and cleaned them with her knife, putting the filets in with the last of the deer meat she had saved. Nearby there was a small patch of vegetables and Kagome could only assume there must have once been a village or settlement here, for there to be so many herbs and root vegetables growing nearby. She collected a fair amount for a new stew, and carried her haul back to the cave.

When she arrived, she was greeted with an enthusiastic Rin. "Kagome-sama! I'm so pleased to see that you are alright!"

Kagome placed her burden on the cave floor in time to receive a warm hug from the girl. "I'm doing quite well Rin, thanks to you! You did a wonderful job treating my wounds from that panther youkai."

Rin blushed with the compliment. "Thank you, Kagome-sama. I am still learning. I have brought some more healing supplies from my teacher in the West. She is wonderful, and she even gave me some scrolls to study!"

Kagome smiled as she began to prepare her stew and the fish for their dinner. She was glad for the addition of the fish. She had been growing quite tired of venison. "That's great! I wouldn't mind taking a look at them myself. Healing in this era is a little different from where I come from. I'm still unfamiliar with some of the herbs that are used here."

Sesshoumaru was seated in his usual spot and had been silent thus far. She hoped that the earlier awkwardness had passed. He had only done what he could to ensure her warmth after she passed out from treating Miroku. There was no reason for her to feel weird about it, right? She was sure he hadn't meant anything by it. This was the ever-stoic ice prince, Sesshoumaru.

Rin went to Ah-Un's saddlebag, retrieving a tightly wrapped package and presenting it to Kagome. "Kagome-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama requested that I bring this back for you."

"Oh?" She couldn't help but ask, her eyes searching the taiyoukai's gaze. As usual, his face was impassive and she was unable to read his expression. She accepted the package from Rin, a smile spreading across her face in response to the girl's infectious enthusiasm. The package was wrapped in the finest silk. As she untied it, she felt the material slide through her fingers like cool water. She took a seat near the fire, letting the silk flow open to reveal a bundle of clothing inside. Spreading the haori open, it revealed a beautiful design. The collar had the same hexagonal flower design that was on Sesshoumaru's own clothing, while the material was an iridescent silver. It gleamed like metal in the firelight and was obviously youkai in origin. The collar came together with yellow ties in the front and on the back was a large crest. The hakama were the same blood red as the flower design and were of heavier fabric than the haori.

There were even boots in the package, similar to Sesshoumaru's and the perfect size for her feet. They were made of a supple leather, softer than anything she had ever felt in the feudal era. They would be far better than the crude sandals she currently wore on her feet, her sneakers having long been worn and gone. Kagome was speechless. This was clothing of far finer quality than anything she had ever received. It had its own aura, though it seemed to be waiting for something. She looked at Sesshoumaru once more, confused as to why he would give her such a gift.

"Sesshoumaru…I don't know what to say. I can't accept this, it is too much-" she was cut off when his eyes narrowed.

"The West can afford such. It is nothing." He said evenly, though she sensed a challenge in his words. "It is improper for a woman to be unclothed. It is even more improper for a woman under my protection to be such. You will accept this Sesshoumaru's gift."

Kagome blinked. That was the most she had ever heard the Lord say in one breath. Egotistical and assuming as it was, she found she was grateful for his thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama."

A girlish squeal from her left reminded Kagome that Rin was still present, and the excited babbling that followed was a welcome distraction from the reddening of her own cheeks. She began preparations for the evening meal and retrieved the gifted clothing from its bundle by the fire, excusing herself for a few minutes to change. Outside the cave, it was a crisp twilight. The moon was bright and lit her way to the nearby trees she planned to use as cover, though she knew there to be no prying eyes. Her old clothing felt like sandpaper coming off of her skin, despite having been scrubbed two days prior. She felt grimy just looking at it and wished she had the luxury of bathing before changing into the pristine robes she now possessed. The area was still far too dangerous, as she sensed several carrion youkai nearby and was not willing to risk a fight or injury without need. Sesshoumaru was there and would protect her, but there was no need to be reckless or stupid.

The new hakama flowed cooly along her skin as she pulled them up and into place. She had never worn such comfortable clothing before. The chill of the night quickly faded, however, as the clothing seemed to sense the temperature and warmed against her skin. The aura of the cloth changed to match her own and she felt something snap into place. It felt as though these clothes were made just for her. The under robes went on similarly and the haori warmed against her cheek as she snuggled her face into the fabric. She felt as though she was dressing in incredible finery and hoped that she would not dirty or damage it.

When she slid on the boots and tucked her hakama into them, she felt warm for the first time since the battle. Her friends were safe, all were healing and out of the danger of immediate death, she had company and people to talk to as she was caring for them, and she now felt human again in clothes that were not essentially dirty rags. She felt better than human, in fact. She felt…otherworldly in these clothes.

Rin's gasp as she re-entered the cave led her to believe that perhaps she looked otherworldly as well. "Kagome-sama, you look so beautiful!

Kagome blushed as she knelt to serve her human companion some of the stew that had been bubbling away on the fire. "Thank you, Rin-chan. These must be the best clothes I've ever worn."

Though she knew Sesshoumaru would not eat the stew, she took him the last raw cut of the venison that she had saved for him. He reached out an elegant clawed hand to take it and she met his golden eyes. "Thank you for the gift, Sesshoumaru-sama. I am grateful."

"Hnn." Was his only reply, though she could have sworn she saw his lips curve upward at the corners.

A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back! I'm sorry this chapter took so very long to write. I had a bit of writer's block going on for a long time. I'm back and ready to continue this story where I left off. Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger so long! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story. I'm excited to continue writing it.