Explode by S'revan

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The beginning.

Sesshoumaru never wondered, even to himself, why he seemed to be always patrolling his lands instead of staying in his comfortable fortress while his dependable dependants patrolled for him. It never occurred to him to do so. In fact, it rarely occurred to him that he had been patrolling for a long time. It was not his nature. Like any dog, he was more concerned with the present than with any past or future.

He stopped walking when he felt an intense amount of holy power not too far away. It was just outside of his territory, a potential threat. Besides, he was curious, so he went to check it out.

He arrived at the clearing and stared for a while at the tree that was emanating such power, but it didn't respond to his presence, and it didn't seem to be any more animate than a regular tree. There were what looked like a pair of shoes and some strange white things near its base, but nothing more. And that holy power.

A drop of blood fell from above him to hit the ground, and he looked up quickly, surprised to see the girl that traveled with Inuyasha. She was gripping the branch she clung to with such strength that her limbs trembled, her jaw clenched and her eyes shut tightly in what had to be a painful position. Her palms were bleeding from where her fingernails had cut into them. She was shaking, obviously distraught, but, did not cry. She was also the center and source of the holy power he had sensed, and it was coiling visibly around her and making it difficult to see her clearly.

-

Kagome, for her part, was unaware both of Sesshoumaru and the fact that she had finally broken through whatever it was holding her powers in check. She was concentrating on not crying, because Inuyasha had chosen Kikyou in front of her. No hesitations, no delays, no pained looks or flattened ears, just straight out and flat. Just a simple question: "Inuyasha, if I were alive, still... would you choose me over her?" And just a simple answer: "Of course." Nothing more. Granted, he had seemed surprised. So had Kikyou. Hell, Kagome had definitely been surprised. But she wasn't going to be the one to break this time, so she had sat Inuyasha for being a two-timing jerk and gone off to this tree.

"Wench."

She stiffened, looked towards the voice, saw Sesshoumaru, and lost her balance and her grip just enough to tumble to the ground, nearly landing on him in the process. The fall, and his face, were terrifying, and she felt her powers welling up. But she wasn't focusing them into an arrow!

It poured out of her anyway. She realized that he was going to be purified. No! He wasn't attacking her, she would not kill him! Besides... besides... Kagome gave up on trying to find reasons and just focused on trying to control these powers, trying to keep Sesshoumaru from being purified. He didn't deserve to become a lump of ash.

He didn't become one. Temporarily blinded by the flash, she blinked, knowing that she had not landed completely on the ground and wanting desperately what she was on so she could get off. Slowly, the spots marring her vision turned from white to blue to intense, sun-yellow, then red, and she could see again. She had somehow hit Sesshoumaru on the way down, knocking him back, and she was balanced precariously on his knee, supported by his arm. The other hand was beginning to drip green and reach for her throat.

"Sesshoumaru," she said shakily, wishing she had an arrow, or at least that she could pull her skirt down, "how many arms do you have?"

"One," he replied, still intent on his task.

"No... I think I just gave you your other one back."

He stopped, pulled back, and raised both arms before him, incidentally knocking Kagome off his knee in the process. She took the opportunity to roll away and fix her clothing.

He stood, examining them. Surely he had had only one arm? But now there were two, and they were both his. Ah well. If that was the way it was, then that was the way it was.

Kagome watched him warily, staying kneeling near the tree as her only form of protection. You could never leave Sesshoumaru; you had to wait for him to leave you. He was faster than she by far, and he'd probably enjoy chasing her if she tried to run away. He was silent for a long time, why she didn't know. Finally, he looked at her, and gave a graceful, if somewhat grudging bow.

"It seems I am in your debt," he said. "Thank you."

When he turned to walk away (with a hwrr), she surprised herself by saying, "Wait!"

He stopped and looked back over his shoulder at her.

"Um," she said. "Look, I really don't know how to do anything with my powers. I was never trained... But you..." She trailed off unhappily.

"You want me to train you."

"Yeah."

"No."

"Hey!" she said, taking refuge in anger. "I nearly purified you just now! The least you could do is teach me not to."

"It would be easier to kill you. The demon world would be much happier."

"So would Naraku," Kagome pointed out. "He's been trying to kill me this entire time."

"He has some sense, then."

"No, I'm just what's keeping him from completing the jewel and becoming a full youkai."

He was silent, and turned away.

"Please?" she said. "I really don't want to go randomly purifying things out of existence, and you're pretty much the only one I can ask."

This time he half-turned, so that his profile was to her. "And my brother?"

"Inuyasha... prefers the undead golem form of my previous incarnation," she said sadly, then with wry humor: "And he's never been one for control."

Sesshoumaru smirked, and his eyes widened slightly in amusement. "True," he said. "Very well." And he reached out, snagged her arm, and began to walk away.

"My shoes--!"

"You don't need them. Come."