“Then I will follow you into the dark.”
It was the dead of night, yet none of them were sleeping. Tense, resolved silence filled the overly large camp. Despite the high number of people, no one was uttering a word. Three wolves, two demon slayers, two inuyoukai, a monk, a kitsune, a young girl and her guardian, a two tailed fox, and a miko; they all sat in silence as the fire crackled and in the distance, cicadas chirped. All heads whipped to look at the face of the young miko when she heaved a heavy sighed and forced a smile onto her face.
“Well, I think that I’m going to go and take a bath. Best be relaxed and well rested for tomorrow.” The light humor was lost on the serious crowd; it was too late in the night to be well rested at this point. She continued to gather her bathing supplies and looked at Sango expectantly. The demon slayer shook her head and leaned more heavily on the monk at her side. Kagome smiled at the cute scene and nodded understandingly as she slung a towel over her shoulder and turned to walk into the forest. Behind her, she could feel him following.
“You can walk with me, you know,” she called teasingly, the smiling coming more easily to her lips this time. A barely discernible “hn” was heard over the crunching of leaves beneath her feet before he was at her side. They walked in companionable silence before Kagome hummed softly under her breath and reached out a hand to clasp his. Mindful of his claws, Sesshomaru wrapped his hand around hers and held it gently. Normally, he wasn’t much for this sort of display of affection, but he could sense her anxiety and dread. He knew that she needed this support right now and he was willing to provide it.
When they arrived at the hot spring, he turned and scoffed at her foolish sense of futuristic modesty as she stripped from her clothes and slid into the water. Once he heard the tell-tale splashes, he turned slowly to see her shoulder deep in the water with her back to him.
Throwing her modesty out the window, he silent relieved himself of his own clothing and stepped into the water behind her. He hardly noticed her tense before she relaxed and leaned back into his naked chest. Normally, he would be aroused by the image of her, naked and wet right before him for the taking. With her feelings in tumult, though, he found it highly inappropriate to proposition her right now. Using his large hands, he massaged her shoulders carefully, hoping the work the knots out and help her relax some. Her head lulled back to gaze up at him and she offered a weak smile. He hummed back and continued to massage for a few moments before she pulled away and slid her head under the water. He watched wordlessly for a moment until she resurfaced and moved her dripping hair out of her face. She was still tense; her face pinch in worry and Sesshomaru couldn’t help but growl softly in the back of his throat. He wanted to easy her of this worry, but he knew not how. Slowly, he moved toward her and she looked up at him with anxious eyes.
“I’m scared, Sesshomaru.” Her voice was soft and he was glad to hear her addressing this worry. He didn’t interrupt her as she continued.
“I could die tomorrow. What would happen to Shippo? Or Inuyasha and Sango and Miroku?” Finally, she looked up at him with scared eyes. “What about you?”
He had never heard her voice sound so small. Never had he heard such fear in the strong miko he had come to love. He was surprised by her words though. She had never shown such self doubt before. He had fallen for the strong, self confident, fiery, stubborn miko that was loyal and loving. This scared child before him was a miko he didn’t see very often, if ever. Sliding toward her in the hot water, he reached out and took her into his arms and held her to his chest. Gently, he ran his claws through her hair and grumbled in his chest when he nuzzled him and sighed happily.
“Fearing death is useless, Kagome.” She looked up at him with wide eyes when he spoke and he pressed to continue.
“Koi of mine, someday you will die. Whether it is by Naraku or an accident, someday you will die. However, this Sesshomaru will be close behind. I will follow you into the dark.”
Kagome opened her mouth to protest. He couldn’t honestly believe that if she died, he could follow her into death. What would happen to Rin and Shippo?! He cut her off before she could speak though.
“And I will bring you back.”
Tears sprang to her eyes immediately as her mouth fell shut and she whimpered in the back of her throat at the flood of emotion ripping through her.
“What if I die alone? What if Naraku destroys me completely and there is nothing to bring back. I don’t want to die with him, Sesshomaru. I want to protect you all and save the jewel and save the future, but I’m so scared to die out there.” Her voice was slightly stronger, but it still wavered as she spoke and tears dribbled down her cheek. Calloused thumbs rubbed the tears away gently and they moved down to her chin to lift her watery blue eyes to meet molten golden ones. Pressing his forehead to hers in an unusual sign of affection, he looked into her eyes, hoping that she could see all the emotion there.
“I promise you this, Kagome, that if you are alone when your soul embarks, I will always follow you into the dark. I will bring you back no matter where you go, what happens to your body, or how you die. You belong here,” his hand brought her tinier one to his chest, “With this Sesshomaru and the children and your friends. There is nowhere else that you can be. Whether heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, there is no vacancy for you in either of them. You belong here.”
Kagome choked on her tears before she forgot her modesty and threw her arms around Sesshomaru’s neck, pressing her bare, wet chest tightly to his. He had never said so many words to her before, and never had he showed so much emotion in front of her. Crying loudly into the crook of his shoulder, he rubbed a hand up and down her back to try and calm her. Deciding that they weren’t actually going to bathe, he carried her carefully out of the spring and set her gently on her feet. Her hands came up to press against her eyes to try to stop the streams of tears. Sesshomaru reached down and unfolded her soft yellow towel.
Draping it over her head, he rubbed her long hair gently to fluff it dry before he moved to her long slims and slim stomach. Once he deemed that she was adequately dry, he turned the towel on himself and dried quickly. While he dried off, Kagome managed to stop crying and pulled on her pair of jeans and T-shirt easily before shrugging into a sweatshirt and waiting for Sesshomaru to dress. He was done in a matter of moments and when he finished, he just stared at her. She looked smaller than usual, exhaustion lined her face and her eyes were puffy and red from crying. She looked pitiful, yet so gloriously beautiful that it made Sesshomaru’s heart clench in an unpleasant way for a moment. Stepping toward her, she took his hand in the one that wasn’t holding her shampoo and they started to walk toward the camp.
The walk was slow and relaxed; they felt no need to hurry back to the tense atmosphere of the campsite. They enjoyed the moment alone with each other. A few feet before they entered the campsite, Kagome squeezed Sesshomaru’s hand one more time, for strength, before she released it and stepped away from him.
When they entered the camp, they were both pleasantly surprised that everyone had fallen asleep since they had left. Pleased that the atmosphere was no longer tense and unpleasant, as well as the fact that they wouldn’t be seen, Sesshomaru stepped closer to Kagome and drew her body against his. She dropped her shampoo in her bag immediately before wrapping her arms around his waist and holding there. She sagged after a moment and Sesshomaru remembered that she was worn out, along with the fact that tomorrow was the most important day of all their lives.
“The soles of your feet are well worn down, Kagome; we walked for most of the light hours today. It is time to sleep now,” he wiped a few stray tears from the corners of her eyes, “There is nothing to cry about. Tomorrow is a monumental day for us all.”
Gently picking her up, he laid her near her strange sleeping roll that she insisted on carrying around. She burrowed into it immediately; the children already underneath snuggled close to her. Sesshomaru smiled softly at the scene and lay near Kagome’s head so that he could stroke his fingers through her hair to help her relax and waited for sleep to take her. He didn’t have to wait long. Soon, she was relaxed and her breathing was deep.
Gazing down at her and at the children cuddle around her, his heart softened slightly. Her long black lashes kissed her slightly flushed cheeks, her plump lips were slightly parted as she breathed deeply. Her arms were protectively wrapped around the kit and Rin. She was beautiful, and strong. Far more than worthy to be his mate. Pleased with this thought, and knowing that he needed to rest, he bent down to Kagome’s sleeping form to whisper one last token.
“We’ll hold each other soon, Kagome, when the threat of the hanyou is no more. And if your soul embarks, I will follow you into the dark.”
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I don’t own Inuyasha or the song “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”. They both belong to their respective owners.