An Education by UnknownRandomness

What Do You See?

A/N: Here, have some bittersweetness. I was eating gherkins with grapes whilst writing this, perhaps that's why it turned out this way! XD  Please review if you feel so inclined.

Prompt: Nephology - The study of clouds.

Word Count: 722

She was a strange creature, that young and inexperienced miko who followed his half-brother. He had thought it from the very second she had gained his attention when he had removed the pearl from the mutt's eye.

He now found that very same thought fleeting through his mind as he watched her stare into the heavens, splayed on her back atop a grassy knoll, allowing the dappled sunlight that peeked through the swiftly moving clouds to play on her face. The daiyoukai had originally thought her to be asleep, but upon closer inspection he saw her eyes flickering over the sky, a slight smile on her peaceful face. Rin had also done this before, but he had not been curious enough to inquire after the action, dismissing it as a young human occupation. Yet here was the miko, almost a full grown woman partaking in the same activity! It was incredibly odd.

"Miko."

The woman started, shooting up from the ground, only to relax slightly when she noticed it was her new-found ally. 

"Good afternoon, Sesshoumaru-sama. I hope you are doing well."

He frowned at her respectful yet somehow completely disrespectful greeting. She was far too familiar and comfortable around his person. Had she forgotten that he had made attempts on her life?

Ignoring her words for now, he watched her closely, noting her ever-present grin and wandering eyes. After a few moments of this, she lay back on the grass, resuming her sky-watching. He allowed her to continue for some minutes before he decided that answers were in order.

"Miko, what purpose do you have for constantly staring at the sky?"

She raised her voice slightly, so that she did not have to move to face him when she answered.

"I am doing what is professionally known as nephology."

The Western Lord frowned minutely, annoyed that she had not elaborated on this foreign term.

"It's the study of clouds." Her voice was lightly teasing, clearly she knew of his ignorance.

Sesshoumaru raised a perfectly sculpted brow. "You are clearly taking me for a fool with your childish fabrication."

The woman's light laughter was strangely pleasing. She sat up and turned to her companion with a happy smile.

"I'm not; in my time, it's a proper occupation which helps tell the coming weather so that you can be ready for it." 

The inu didn't respond to her words immediately, rather he moved closer towards her seated form before looking down at her upturned face. 

"And will you be able to tell this Sesshoumaru what the weather will be for the next day?" 

Her grin widened, but it appeared a little self-deprecating and her hands fidgeted with the grass by her thighs. "I'm not a proper nephologist- I just look at the clouds for shapes that appear inside them... Like that one over there; it looks like a bunny rabbit!"

Sesshoumaru ignored this last exclamation, satisfied that his ward and the miko did share the same childish tricks. He turned to leave, but the woman's bright question made him pause.

"What shapes do you see in the clouds, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

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Months passed and the pair grew closer as they studied the skies together (whenever the weather permitted it). Although he was loathe to admit it, studying the clouds with Kagome was quite entertaining. Rin had also joined their sessions too, but she always grew bored after a while and would leave them to play.

The youkai would have been happy to continue in this way for many months to come, but their fun came to a sudden end one rainy morning.

He hadn't been present when it mattered most, nor had his half-brother or her friends been fast enough to stop it. Apparently they had been battling a ferocious snake youkai. It had attempted to harm the kitsune, and the miko had defended him at the cost of being doused in the demon's venemous saliva. She had appeared fine for long enough to dispatch the creature.

Only afterwards did the damage become obvious. Kagome's brilliant blue eyes had clouded over; the acid having affected her swiftly and painfully, eating away at the sensory nerves behind her lids.

Within ten minutes of the saliva coming into contact with her skin, the miko was rendered completely blind. Never again would Kagome Higurashi study the clouds.