InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Flower Girl ❯ Devotion ( Chapter 73 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

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He arrived at the well just as the blue lights faded, and reaching down, he felt her tiny hand placed in his, with an inward smile at how dainty she really was, he pulled her up and over the rim of the well, and set her gently down before him.

Kagome smiled up at Sesshoumaru uncertainly as he stood before her, seemingly studying her, and she frowned, concerned.

"Is something... wrong?"

He gestured at her hand. "What is that?"

She looked down, and then looked back up with a smile. "That's a camera. I've mentioned them before, when we've talked. It's used to take pictures of things."

Grabbing his hand as he cocked a questioning brow, she put the camera in it and said, "Okay, look. See this window here," she switched it on, and he watched, taken aback, as the grass below their feet came into focus, "you point it where you want to take a picture, and then you press this button."

She pulled away from him and moved a few feet away. "Now, point it at me until you see me in the window, and then push the button I showed you."

Curious look firmly planted on his face, he did as instructed, lining her up within the window, and then pressed the button - and almost startled when a bright light went off from the 'camera'. Looking up quickly, he caught sight of Kagome with a big smile on her face as she moved back to his side.

"Let's see it!" she laughed. "How did your first picture turn out?"

He cocked his head, then, and looked at her with reservation, then looked down at the camera as she pulled it up.

There, within the so-called window she'd spoken of, was Kagome, in the same pose she'd been in when he'd pressed the button.

"Oh! You did pretty good for your first picture, Sesshoumaru. Anyway, that's what a camera is for. When I take it home I can hook it up to my computer and print that picture off onto photo paper - and instant portrait!"

"Hn." He didn't understand half the references she was using, but the concept at least was understood. "Why have you brought that object here now?"

She looked sad for a moment. "I wanted to take a picture of you to take back to my family so they can see what you look like, since they'll never get to meet you."

Should I tell her now... or wait until later?

I think... later.

"Come, miko. I wish to take you and the children somewhere for the rest of the day. We will go retrieve them now."

He turned and began walking in the direction of the village, leaving the camera in her hands, and she smiled a bit as she shut it off, then hurried off to follow along behind him.

He wants to spend time with us... as a family...

She smiled wider, happiness beaming from her aura at the realization.

As the sun began to set later that evening, she sat back with a satisfied, tired smile against some boulders near the fire that her Lord had started, and hugged her arms around the children that were curled drowsily up to her.

She would never forget this day, and she looked over at Sesshoumaru, who was sitting just a bit away from them with a contented look on his face.

"I don't know what made you decide to do this... but I'm glad you did," she said, almost shyly.

He flicked her a glance when she spoke, and then stood, moving silently out into the meadow they'd spent the day in, and her brow furrowed as she wondered at his strange behavior.

A few minutes later, he returned, and moving to stand before her, he looked down on the three of them with a look in his eye she'd never seen there before. After a few moments, he pulled three rather large flowers from his sleeve, and handed one to each of them.

Kagome stared at the flower, unsure.

Rin, however, caught on immediately. "Oh... sunflowers!" She beamed up at Sesshoumaru, then caught Kagome's confused look, along with Shippo's, and smiled even wider, if that was possible.

"Mama, it stands for devotion," she said, holding the flower tenderly. "Sesshoumaru-sama is showing us how he feels about us instead of just saying it."

Kagome's eyes widened as Shippo gasped, and she looked up at Sesshoumaru.

He nodded. "Rin knows this one well, Kagome. Words are, after all, easily spoken, and just as easily broken. Actions speak clearly - and mean more."

She thought about that as the two children whispered together happily, and she realized he was right. "I understand," she finally sighed, and smiled at him, her heart in her eyes, showing him how such gestures made her feel, and she knew he had caught on when the slightest hint of a smile lit his features...

And his eyes.

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A/N: Family day! Yay! Bi-polar Sesshoumaru... one side, sadistic and cruel, and the other, to those he cares for, devoted and protective. Ah, well, that's a true inu for you - anyone who has a dog can tell you that they can be devoted and loving to their families - and vicious to those outside their little pack.

Amber