AN: Last tumblr prompt, thanks for reading these short prompts (though this one got too long lol)

Mute Promises

Four claw marks licked their way up from collarbone to the edge of Sesshoumaru's chin. They were healing now, but the flesh remained red and sore. In a way, the Daiyoukai had been lucky to lose only the use of his vocal cords, as he could've easily lost his jaw.

Such a disgraceful injury for one so proud.

Kagome hadn't been there at the time during his battle with an eight tailed kitsune, but she noticed the after-effects. Sesshoumaru still visited Rin at the village. He still looked unaffected, haughty and holier than thou, and yet...

She frowned, watching Jaken chatter to him. Golden eyes were narrowing, brow twitching. His lips parted, as though wanting to say something, before they pressed into a thin, grim line. With frustration marring his features, the demon lifted a hand.

Jaken stopped. "Mi Lord? What ails you? Do you require assistance? Ah! Do you want me to fetch Rin for you? Because I can-"

Sesshoumaru reached into his white and red hankimono, producing a piece of parchment. Gracefully folding his legs beneath him, the mute lord took out some ink and began writing his response.

The abject humiliation colouring his proud features tugged at Kagome's heartstrings. She'd heard from Jaken that Sesshoumaru's throat would mend in a few months at most considering demon healing. The idea of seeing him having to struggle to communicate for such a long stretch of time strengthened Kagome's resolve as she grasped an idea with both hands. Turning on her heel, she headed for the Bone Eater's Well.

"Sign...language?" Rin tilted her head.

Kagome nodded, seated in a clearing before the little girl, the imp and the frowning Daiyoukai. She'd thought it best to discuss such a sensitive subject in private. Inuyasha would likely laugh if he saw Sesshoumaru being instructed by a human.

"It'll help Sesshoumaru communicate with you both instead of resorting to writing everything down. It's just a temporary solution until your vocal cords heal, but this is usually helpful for deaf or mute people."

"Bah!" Jaken lifted his head up snootily. "The great Lord Sesshoumaru does not need the likes of a human technique in order to get across feelings to his loyal vassal- gah!"

Sesshoumaru's foot had smushed down on his head, pinning him to the grass.

"Mrph- see! That means he wishes for me to be quiet. E-excellent communication mi Lord!" Jaken squeaked out from under his boot.

Golden eyes lifted to Kagome's, and Sesshoumaru inclined his head to prompt her to continue.

Smiling and emboldened, she turned to her book. "Souta had a girl in his class who was hard of hearing so I helped him learn some sign language. I picked up a bit from the experience, but I'm by no means an expert. So! Let's all help each other learn."

Rin clapped her hands and gave a cheer of exuberance. Deciding to start, Kagome gave them some easy and basic things such as greetings and general enquiries.

"This is- 'how are you?'" Motioning with both hands, Kagome looked at her pupils, Rin watching her and replicating the movements perfectly. Jaken had smaller arms and hands, so his signing was a little different, but competent.

Sesshoumaru remained still.

Frowning, Kagome looked over the top of Rin's head at him. Her cheeks puffed up. Maybe he found it embarrassing but the others were obviously trying.

Thin lips tugged up at the corners from her glare.

Deciding to continue, the young woman went into other subjects such as places and basic items. When dusk started to settle in, Sesshoumaru abruptly stood and left without another word.

Kagome folded her arms, feeling more than a little peeved. Here she'd been, trying to help him express himself all day. A thank you would've been nice.

"Byyye Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin called after him, waving as Jaken hurried to follow. She then noticed Kagome's dark look. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Broken from her thoughts, the miko gave an awkward smile. "Nothing, it's just...if he didn't want to be taught he could've left at the start."

"Ah, you don't need to worry. Lord Sesshoumaru is really happy you're taking the time to teach us."

Kagome had her doubts about that but didn't reply, ruffling her wild hair with affection.

The very next day, upon stepping out of Kaede's hut and stretching her arms with a tired yawn- Kagome jolted. She'd near bumped into a sturdy chest-plate. Sesshoumaru stared intently down at her.

Raising a brow, the miko set both hands on her hips and waited.

Golden eyes crinkled at the edges with wry amusement. Sesshoumaru stiffly raised his hands, signing 'I need your help.'

Kagome immediately became concerned, but he turned a palm out flat and looked mildly annoyed, frowning at his hands.

Trying to align her thinking with the taciturn demon, who would never ask for 'help' she said; "do you require my assistance, Sesshoumaru?"

Glancing up, some tension seemed to leak from broad shoulders. Nodding once, Sesshoumaru pivoted smoothly on his heel and gestured to follow. Biting her lip, Kagome smiled a little to herself and ducked into the hut briefly to grab the sign language book, before hurrying after him.

After wrapping an arm around her waist and gathering clouds of youki to their feet, Sesshoumaru flew into the sky with Kagome in tow. They'd travelled for a little while, with Kagome sneaking glances up at his regal features. Her eyes had naturally drifted to the angry-looking cuts healing on his throat.

Inhuman eyes flicked down- catching her staring. Kagome swallowed, voice gentle; "do they hurt? They look painful."

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly, though his lips thinned resentfully. His claws came up to ghost over the abused flesh.

The ridiculous, random urge to kiss his wound entered her mind, and Kagome blushed, quickly looking ahead. Where had that come from? Not like a kiss is going to make it all better. Idiot.

Sesshoumaru took her to the Western Stronghold of all places.

Completely out of her depth, Kagome stared as Jaken helpfully spoke 'for' his lord, who she assumed had relayed his wants earlier. All three of them stood before a large gathering of demons within an official-looking room, sitting around a low table.

"And so mi Lord requires you all to learn this 'sign language' from the miko Kagome, in order to communicate with you himself. Though she is a filthy human, please bear with her teachings- ow!" Sesshoumaru prodded him aside with his foot, before raising hooded, glowering eyes at the council of demons. Irritated, deadly fingers twitched at his sides.

The demons hurriedly agreed to learn.

And Kagome? Kagome felt that she didn't have much of a choice but to help.

Teaching a group of pristine, upper-class demons that looked as though she was the bane of their existence wasn't exactly easy. Luckily Sesshoumaru sat with them most of the time, but others he had duties to attend to.

Kagome taught them as best she could, and when some outright refused to demonstrate what they'd learned, Sesshoumaru sent them withering glares. His youki would slide out, thick and choking like heady smoke from flames.

The demons would then quickly raise their hands and start signing.

"Very good, advisor Kito. Oh, but your hand should lie flat on that last part," Kagome said, continuing to instruct.

"General Takamatsu, please don't make that gesture. It's actually a little rude."

"Lady Kaaya, can you-"

A hand rose in the air. "What is the point in our learning how to communicate in sign ourselves if we only need to ascertain what Lord Sesshoumaru is saying? This is a waste of time." A burly looking battle demon frowned.

Kagome blinked and hummed, folding her arms. "Well, I find that the best way to learn something is to demonstrate it yourself, rather than just reading what the signs mean. If you feel like you know enough, then you can go. I won't stop you. But," she smiled. "I won't teach you again. Hopefully you'll know what Sesshoumaru is signing to you. I dunno if he'd be too pleased if you misinterpreted his wishes, do you?"

The various demons in the room broke out into chuckles or soft giggles hidden behind ornate fans. The burly demon's ears turned red, and he piped down grumpily.

Inwardly grinning, Kagome continued with the lesson, not noticing Sesshoumaru's unwavering attention on how she moved, the way she spoke, the brightness of her gaze that could sharpen into annoyance.

He stared, and thought of them long after the teachings were over.

A few days later, Inuyasha had inevitably arrived, asking just what the hell she was doing.

"Teaching, duh."

"Why though? Not like you owe that bastard anything. Besides, he ain't even paying you!"

Kagome snorted and laughed, tidying the makeshift 'classroom' she'd set up. "Neither does Kaede when I deliver her medicine or pick herbs. But it's fine. Know why?" She reached out and pat the Hanyou's shoulder. "Because we're friends."

"Keh. Like Sesshoumaru counts you as a friend."

That stung a little more than she thought it would. Kagome glanced away and shrugged. "Well even if he doesn't see me like that, I feel like I'm doing some good here. He's been communicating with his staff and advisors so much easier using sign."

Inuyasha grumbled to himself, not exactly liking it, but unable to dissuade her. Not much could sway the stubborn miko once she set her mind to something.

Venturing out with Rin one afternoon a few weeks later, Kagome adjusted her summer hat. Inuyasha had brought over her yellow backpack during a visit, allowing the priestess to leave the Stronghold dressed in more modern clothes.

Kagome assured Jaken that they wouldn't go far, just for a little wander in the adjacent forest that bordered the sea.

"It's nice to visit Lord Sesshoumaru's home sometimes," Rin smiled, adjusting the collar of her summer yukata.

"Yeah," stopping on the dirt path, Kagome glanced back at the imposing compound. "Do you sometimes wish you lived here permanently, instead of the village?"

"Mn, no," Rin shook her head. "As much as I love Jaken, Ah Uh and Lord Sesshoumaru, I'm really enjoying Kaede's teachings. She says I'm very good at telling apart the different plants! I stopped a farmer from picking some poisonous berries just the other day!"

Kagome grinned and followed her through the forest and onto more rocky terrain, the ocean within view beyond the lower trees as they stood on a dusty hill.

"That's great. I'm really happy for you to have found your feet."

Rin nodded, skipping ahead a little, before turning back to look at her. "Do you think you've found your feet here too, Kagome?"

"I guess so?"

"It's just…" Rin fiddled with her hair. "You've been really helpful to Lord Sesshoumaru. Maybe you should be the one thinking about staying here."

"H-huh?" Kagome stopped, feeling the ground shift tenuously under her feet but too distracted to move. "That's...I mean it's a little sudden and random. I'm sure he wouldn't want me hanging around like that. Besides once I'm done teaching, Sesshoumaru will probably want me to leave. I've got no reason to stay."

"There's every reason to stay!" Rin burst, practically trembling with emotion. "He would not say it even if he could speak, but you surely must know that Lord Sesshoumaru-!"

Kagome didn't hear the rest. The fragile rock beneath her caving in the second she took a step back too hard. Yelping, blue eyes flew wide- hand reaching out in vain as the miko dropped feet first into the darkness below.

"Kagome!" Rin called after her, hearing a splash.

Fretting, tears pricked her eyes as she waited, straining her hearing. A cough sounded out from down below. "I-I'm okay, Rin! There's water down here. I think it leads to the ocean but I can't see a thing further in."

"I'll help you-"

"No! Don't come any closer to where I fell in, Rin. The ground isn't stable. Just go and get help, sweetie. I'll be fine."

Rin rubbed furiously at her eyes and nodded, though Kagome couldn't see her. "A-alright! I'll go back to the Stronghold! Hang on!"

Gingerly moving around the hold in the ground, the little girl took off at a sprint in the direction of the Western Fortress.

Kicking her legs to stay afloat, Kagome took a few steadying breaths to try and keep calm. The hole above in the cave ceiling provided the only light, the rest of the space pitch black. She wasn't sure how long Rin had been away for. It could have been one minute, it could've been ten. Ethier way, insidious thoughts began to worm their way into her mind.

She didn't know what was in the water with her.

Her imagination began to go wild. Images of giant eels slithering through the current beside her filled her head. Maybe a demonic shark was closing in on her right that second, or the tentacle of an octopus.

Something brushed her ankle.

"AH!" Kagome shrieked, making a break for it in the water. Later on, she'd wonder if it had merely been her other foot brushing against her ankle that had caused the sensation, but at that moment she didn't care. Before she could make it too far however- a sudden flux of water came gushing through the cave. Waves sailed through the tunnel that Kagome was swimming in, sending her flailing through the current and away from the only available light source where she'd dropped in.

Surfacing from the rapid waves that tossed her in the water, Kagome reached out blindly. Now drenched in shadow, she had no choice but to try and get out of the death trap.

Panting, the miko kicked to propel herself forwards, and soon felt solid rock meet her hands. Putting all her strength into her fingers and clinging to the side so as not to be swept away again, Kagome cried out and squeezed her eyes shut.

A hand wrapped around her wrist.

Starting, Kagome stared up unseeingly at the stranger, following their insistent tug that instantly pulled her waist free of the water. Scrambling out of the rushing waves and pulling herself up onto the side, she caught her breath and flopped down onto solid earth.

Soaking wet and nerves shot, she numbly twitched her fingers around the hand still occupying her wrist- quickly withdrawing her touch when feeling claws. A demon.

Her first instant had been to inquire ' Inuyasha?' However, she remained quiet. Kagome inhaled a familiar scent, heart thundering in her ears.

"Sesshoumaru?"

A scratchy, croaking garble wavered out in response. Instead of being dismayed, Kagome reached out in the dark, feeling smooth skin and the hard line of a jaw. Her thumb dragged over a parted lip, and that noise came again, throaty.

That's what he sounds like when he tries to speak?

"Don't try to talk," she murmured, drawing herself up to sit and weakening. Luscious, soft fur wrapped around her waist, nudging as if possessed with it's own will to draw her closer into a steady heat. Kagome's bare legs met hakama clad thighs. Her cheek rested against the silky feel of his hankimono, no armour meeting her hands. A heartbeat drummed strong and steady beneath her ear, and for some inexplicable reason, tears chose that moment to sting her eyes.

The rush of fear that had been held at bay burst like a dam, and Kagome wrapped her arms around the demon lord, giving a muffled sob into his chest and trembling. "I-I was so scared," she confessed into the dark.

A palm rested on the crown of her head, dragging down soaked dark locks and curling into the strands. Serotonin hit her like a freight train the second it registered that Sesshoumaru was petting her hair. It shouldn't have affected her, but Kagome trembled and pressed herself harder against the security his silent presence offered. A rumbling came from the depths of his chest, like a throaty croon.

Lifting her head, Kagome couldn't see anything in the thick darkness, but smiled into the unknown. "Even with your throat scratched up, you're still trying to comfort me?" She giggled weakly. "Careful, or people will talk."

Two hands grasped hers, raising them into the air between them. Sesshoumaru then opened his palms and kept her touch on his hands as he moved them, signing something that had her breath hitching.

'Let them talk.'

Blinking damp lashes, Kagome swallowed and wet her lips. Lifting her hands, she gingerly touched his face, blindly moving one to his ear, the other dragging down his cheek. Closing her eyes, she managed to get a visual of his face, mapping out the points of his ears, the silky fall of his hair, how his strong jaw felt, captured in her palm. Lips pressed against the pads of her fingers after she accidentally touched his nose.

Raising herself on her knees, Kagome seized her courage and tilted her chin up- relief flooding her when lips found hers in the dark.

His mouth felt simultaneously firm and soft. Kissing him, the miko felt two hands running down her sides, splaying wide on her hips and lifting her onto his lap. Parting her lips, she felt a wet tongue slide into her mouth, brushing toe curlingly light before-

"Kagome! Ya down here?!" A distant voice shouted.

Jolting, a long exhale shuddered out of her, cheeks burning. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck, his cold skin blissful against her own feverish one, while Sesshoumaru made a low, frustrated noise.

Stupid Inuyasha.

After Sesshoumaru lifted her to the exit, which turned out to be the mouth of the cave that bordered the sea, Inuyasha checked her over. Rin had been a sobbing mess. After assuring them as best she could, Kagome was taken back to the Stronghold.

Disappointingly, Sesshoumaru had to leave to attend a meeting that he'd had to put on hold in order to go save her in the first place.

Sighing, Kagome towelled her hair and sat on the porch outside her room. A dip in the hot springs had helped relax her frazzled nerves. Inuyasha had been pretty insistent she leave. In his own way, she knew he was just worried after the minor scare, but she'd turned him down.

There was something she needed to confront first.

It took a few hours. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, subsequent oranges, pinks and purples from the sunset replaced with a dark, cloudless sky.

Kagome looked up at the stars, clutching mokomoko a little tighter around her shoulders. He'd left it behind, and it acted as a barrier against the chill in the air. It smelled like him. Don't ask her how she knew that.

The creak of weight shifting on wood caught her attention, and Kagome turned to see his figure approaching. Sesshoumaru stared, yukata a little loose, exposing a pale sliver of his chest. She quickly diverted her attention to his golden eyes- which were laughing at her.

Kagome huffed, raising a brow when he signed; 'I thought you'd leave with my brother.'

Blinking, she wasn't entirely sure how to take that. When the Daiyoukai gracefully sat down beside her however, eyes guarded, she let the words slip out. They were awkward, and perhaps a little cheesy, but they were sincere.

"I chose you- can't you see?" She gave a soft, nervous giggle, heart thundering. "I'll always choose you."

Silence swallowed them whole, feeling like a physical weight. The rustle of silk signalled Sesshoumaru moving, before lips ghosted over the corner of her mouth, silver hair falling forward to tickle her cheek. Kagome eased into the warmth of his body as naturally as breathing, feeling a hand settle at the base of her spine.

"Promise me," a thin, scratchy sounding voice demanded softly. "Promise me you'll stay."

Sucking in a startled breath, emotion filled her lungs alongside the sharp intake of air. Stinging blue eyes squeezed shut, and Kagome smiled and nodded. "Of course I will, silly. For however long you want."

She felt his mouth smile against her burning cheek.

"Indefinitely, miko."

End