AN: Hello everybody. Really sorry about the long absences, being a mum takes a lot of time, and my muse is being very uncooperative...
However, to keep the 'juices' flowing, I wrote a short story. As per the specification of the 'season challenge' on Dokuga_contest, it's only 4 chapters long. The story IS ALREADY COMPLETED AND PROOF READ. Yup, to avoid making you wait too long between updates, as I am often wont to do, I wanted the story to be finished on my computer before posting it.
So, I'll update once a week (and hopefully I won't forget... ^^' )
If ever you want me to update 'Cravings', feel free to give me a prompt, perhaps it'll help...=]
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy 'Under the God Tree' . Please don't forget to review at the end :D
Thank you to my wonderful beta, who's also my mum...
1 - Boisterous Youth (Spring)
The vibrant green of new life was covering the Goshinboku when a burst of ancient power called him to his brother's village.
He hadn't been in that particular meadow for three whole years now, and he wondered if the Well had opened again. Would the young miko his brother had fallen in love with come back ? That would be a good thing, Inuyasha was unmanageable when depressed, and he loathed having to use violence in front of his young ward; after all, Rin loved the hanyou dearly, but he didn't want her to be tainted by such an uncouth attitude.
He remembered the miko -Kagome- had been efficient in curbing the whelp's language. He smirked: Inuyasha-shaped craters had always improved his mood.
Caressed by the soft breeze, his hair was the only thing moving as he watched the young woman's cheek turn from ivory to pale pink under her long-lost friend's attention, her smile shining like a million suns under the swaying shade of the ancient tree.
Inuyasha was the one to step away from the hug they had been sharing, keh-ing in embarrassment, one clawed hand scratching behind the nape of his neck. Kagome frowned, but let go of him, allowing her friend to put space between them.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly, something was wrong with the idiot. He had expected the reunion to be much more... passionate than that, yet the two friends were walking back to the village without even touching each other. While they talked, Kagome's sapphire gaze was full of questions and concern, while the hanyou's stance looked somewhat apologetic, and tense.
As time flew by, and Sesshomaru came back from time to time to bring supplies to his ward, he observed as Kagome tried to get closer to his little brother and failed, an impenetrable barrier surrounding Inuyasha like steel armour.
The miko called him 'Onii-san', waving to him as if he were an old friend (which he wasn't, he insisted in the confines of his mind), and she never saw the red-clad hanyou flinch guiltily. The Lord glared at his sibling, conveying his displeasure, but said nothing: the doings of mortals didn't concern him after all, even Inuyasha's life was a speck in the vastness of his own existence.
That was probably the one and only time the woman was going to call him that, he wagered, surprised at the twinge of disappointment he felt at the thought. Inuyasha had proven to be somewhat honourable during the Naraku ordeal, but stringing the young miko along was anything but fair to her.
Kagome's demeanour stayed unflappably jovial, and even a smile was plastered on her face like thick make-up, but sometimes at night, when the fluttering lights of fireflies tried in vain to vanquish the deep shadows left by the absence of the sun, she could be found in the meadow under the Goshinboku, pale fingers caressing the thick roots of the tree longingly.
And often during those moments she could feel the golden eyes of her silent guardian on her back, his presence the anchor she needed to avoid succumbing to the deep melancholy she felt.
One day she dared to ask the question burning her lips:
“If Inuyasha was to be compared to a human in terms of maturity, how old would he be?”
When only silence and the soft chimes of young leaves echoed in the dark, Kagome brushed her knees and stood, preparing herself to go to bed, but a gentle baritone answered her before she had the time to walk out of the glen:
“Too young,” he said, no emotion colouring the words she had dreaded to hear.
Kagome hiccuped softly and sighed, taking a few moments to accept the inevitable. She had matured and grown, as humans were wont to do, but Inuyasha stayed the same, boastful and young-minded, unable to fulfil the commitment she wanted from him.
She surprised Sesshomaru again when she addressed him before walking away:
“Don't tell him it's closed,” she said, determination in the set of her shoulders.
The youkai snorted and disappeared in the forest. After all, why would he tell his brother anything? Their affairs were not his concern...
And even when her friends had moved away one by one, the monk and slayer wanting to rebuild Sango's former home, Kohaku following his sister, Shippo going away to study, he hadn't told a soul.
Sesshomaru wasn't a male of many words anyway, and he only kept on coming to visit his little Rin. He wasn't there for the miko, no, she was annoying, stubborn and … too human for his tastes, anyway.
Watching the inu brothers spar, she supposed he enjoyed putting his little brother in his place, too, but sometimes, she would find his burning golden gaze on her.
When it happened, she always smiled to him, respect shining in the sapphire depths.
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Dewa mata